The Berkeley Daily Planet regularly publishes a foreign affairs column by Conn Hallinan, entitled, “Dispatches From the Edge”.  His columns are devilishly difficult to fact check and analyze.  We would describe them as esoteric, often citing very obscure sources.  Or, when citing a common source, like the BBC, Hallinan can make it virtually impossible to trace his sources by masking them with statements like “according to the BBC…”  Since the BBC broadcasts on TV and radio and in several languages, 24/7, there is little hope of checking his veracity. 

When we read syndicated columnists published in, say, the San Francisco Chronicle, we can readily distinguish the ones on the right (e.g., Deborah Saunders and Pat Buchanan) from the ones on the left (e.g., Paul Krugman and E.J. Dionne).   Because Hallinan often deals with esoterica and conspiracy theories, it is not easy to know from what political perspective he writes.

So we will tell you now and in bold print:

HALLINAN IS A LIFE LONG COMMUNIST

By correctly identifying him as a Communist, we do not mean in any way to demean Mr. Hallinan.  He has every right to be a Communist, just as others have a right to be Democrats or Republicans. Our concern is not so much that O’Malley has allowed a life long Communist to write her foreign affairs column, but that both she and Hallinan fail to let us know this.  Worse, this core fact is obscured by Hallinan’s blizzard of (as we believe we have demonstrated below) falsified data, dubious polls, and quotes taken out of all reasonable context.  O’Malley’s actions in allowing Hallinan to write for the Berkeley Daily Planet are tantamount to allowing a devout Christian Scientist to write a medical advice column, a fundamentalist Christian to write a science column, or a Scientologist to write a personal advice column.  They would have every right to do so, but the public would also have a right to understand exactly which unique and unusual perspective most informs them. 

Hallinan is not the Berkeley Daily Planet's only Communist contributor.  Frequent op-ed writer, Kenneth Thiesen, is a member of the extreme radical Revolutionary Communist Party, founded by Maoist, Bob Avakian, and Joanna Graham is a self-described Marxist.

Like other Berkeley Daily Planet writers, Hallinan is obsessed with Israel.  Very many of his columns concern Israel in Israel part or in whole.  They are, of course, taken as a body, highly condemnatory.  His non-Israel articles often deal with a defense of the Soviet Union and its clients--well, actually, we mean Russia, the rump remains of the Soviet Union.  Indeed, Hallinan writes in the deadly dull and humorless style of a party apparatchik, yet another difficulty in reading him.

In this space we will make an effort to decode some of Hallinan’s Berkeley Daily Planet columns.   What we believe we have uncovered is a disturbing pattern of journalistic malfeasance.  He consistently distorts quotes, polls, statistics, geography, and historical facts with absolutely no regard for truth, using the classic means-justified-by-the-ends methodology of a Marxist ideologue.

So Dark the Conn of Afghanistan

September 2, 2009

Our normal beat is the Middle East in general and Israel in particular. A very large percentage of Conn Hallinan's pieces concern Israel in part or in whole. We believe that he exhibits a profound animus towards Israel.

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Israel has no right to defend itself from nuclear annihilation

September 8, 2009

Hallinan and the Berkeley Daily Planet’s enduring quest to delegitimize the State of Israel took a bizarre turn in an article on January 19, 2007 entitled, “Iran: Thinking the Unthinkable.”

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Hallinan and Syrian Safehouse
August 21, 2009

In his December 4, 2008 column, Hallinan examines various wacky conspiracy theories as to why the U.S. had recently bombed a remote compound in Syria, near its border with Iraq.  The U.S. said it was a safehouse used by al Qaeda to sneak suicide bombers into Iraq. 

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Hallinan Accuses Israel of Genocide

August 21, 2009

In a February 19, 2009 reprint of an article that originally appeared on the anti-Israel site, PalestineThinkTank.com, Hallinan accuses Israel of war crimes. 

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Hallinan's Gallery of Good Guys

May 25, 2009

In this article we will examine a very peculiar direction toward which Hallinan’s radical ideology leads him. For simplicity, we will leave citations aside if they appear elsewhere in this website.

After closely reading many of his columns we can compile a telling pantheon of his heroes.

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Hallinan ducks and covers
April 24, 2009

For those of you who follow us weekly, we will report now on our attempts to contact Conn Hallinan. For those who are new to this space, we would ask that you first read the following piece, "So Dark the Conn of Afghanistan." Full Article >>

Duck and Cover

Hallinan and the Worker's Paradise

March 26, 2009

In an unusual departure from his usual fare of anti-Israelism and conspiracy theories, Comrade Hallinan devotes his column to a rather routine analysis of the worldwide economic crisis. Allow me a personal note that we confess extrapolates beyond the article itself. 
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Israel pulls all Jews from Gaza; Hallinan cries land grab

April 17, 2009

In his December 9, 2005 article, Hallinan accuses then Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, of giving back Gaza just so that Israel could hold on to the West Bank. 

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Hezbollah has no connection to Syria and Iran

April 17, 2009

In the immediate aftermath of the Second Lebanon War, Hallinan wrote an article on September 1, 2006 entitled, "The Aftermath of Lebanon: Myths and Dark Plans." He bandies the word, “illusion,” all over the place as a rhetorical weapon as though this one word can substitute for serious analysis. 

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Would the Russians poison an ex-spy defector with polonium? Never! says Comrade Hallinan

April 17, 2009

After considering every manner of whacky conspiracy theory, Hallinan concludes in his December 22, 2006 article that the only party that certainly would not have been responsible for the polonium poisoning death of former KGB agent and then fierce KGB critic, Alexander Litvineko, were the Russians. Full Article >>

Where did all the Israeli peaceniks go--long time passing

April 15, 2009

In his October 12, 2007 column, Hallinan wildly exaggerates the strength of the Israeli so-c alled peace camp. For example, he insists that that the famous Israeli author, Amos Oz, among others, favor talks with Hamas. 

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Israel bombs an empty building in Syria, risking planes, pilots and war, just for the fun of it

April 15, 2009

In his January 15, 2008 column Hallinan insists that the Syrian reactor which had been recently bombed by the Israeli air force was just an empty building. As usual, he considers every kind of conspiracy theory.  Full Article >>

The Syrian secret nuclear site bombed by Israel

You gotta love those Islamic fundamentalists. They do bring stability

April 13, 2009

In two separate articles, January 15, 2008 and September 11, 2008, Hallinan defends the Islamic Court Union as a force for stability in Somalia.  That’s right, the Islamists! 

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Blaming the victim, Comrade Hallinan supports Russia against Georgia

April 13, 2009

Again, one has to know that Hallinan is a Russiophile Communist to understand why he expresses nothing but sympathy for poor Russia in his August 21, 2008 column where he argues that Russia had no choice but to attack that horrible aggressor, Georgia.  Hallinan also calls for the dissolution of NATO in this article. Like George Bush, Comrade Hallinan has looked deep into the soul of Vladamir Putin and sees only good.

Al Queda would never sneak suicide bombers into Iraq through Syria, would they? Say it ain't so, Conn

April 13, 2009

In his December 4, 2008 article Hallinan seriously examines various conspiracy theories as to why the U.S. had recently bombed a remote compound in Syria, near its border with Iraq .The U.S. said it was a safehouse used by al Qaeda to sneak suicide bombers into Iraq. The one theory Hallinan refuses to even consider is the straightforward, non-esoteric possibility that the U.S. wanted to kill suicide bombers and their handlers before they could act.

How does Hallinan know that Israelis are war criminals? Because Hamas told him, so it must be true

April 10, 2009

In his December 9, 2005 article, Hallinan accuses then Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, of giving back Gaza just so that Israel could hold on to the West Bank. 

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Hallinan convicts Israel of ethnic cleansing on falsified evidence

March 10, 2009

The title of Hallinan’s hit piece says it all, even though it is nearly the only portion of his article which is readable and coherent. The title is “Ethnic Cleansing and Israel.” The charge, as near as we can tell, is that Israel is contemplating the ethnic cleansing of its Arab population.

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DPWatchDog apologies to Hallinan

April 10, 2009

In order to maintain our credibility as the Daily Planet’s watchdog, it is important that we maintain the highest standards of journalism ourselves. The fact that we regard the Daily Planet as malfeasant in so many ways does not give us license to descend to its level.

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