The best albums of 2016
I’m not even going to try and rationalise this surrender to a ‘best of’ listicle.
Articles
Gordon Campbell on the Fairfax/NZME merger
Elsewhere in the world, media cutbacks and consolidation haven’t exactly ushered in a bright new era of more diverse, more substantial news coverage.
Gordon Campbell on news from the US election eve
“The Cubs Have A Smaller Chance Of Winning Than Trump Does”
Yet as we now know…yesterday, the Chicago Cubs concluded their incredible World Series comeback run with an 8-7 victory
Gordon Campbell on the latest McCully fiasco
Well, as Auditor-General Lynn Provost has just found in her long-awaited report into the Saudi sheep deal: plenty.
Gordon Campbell on the last rites for the TPP
Here’s this morning’s latest take on the TPP’s chances of survival. They’re not good.
Gordon Campbell on Britain’s landmark court ruling against Uber
The shockwaves from Uber’s defeat last week in a British court have reportedly already begun to wash up here in New Zealand with some local drivers thinking of taking a similar class action.
Gordon Campbell on the Police (and MSD) abuses of power
Apparently, the Police have deliberately abused the powers of detention they possess under the Land Transport Act…
Gordon Campbell on holidays, Hekia Parata and Badlands
In the past week , many of the postscripts to Hekia Parata’s career as Education Minister have sounded like a schoolteacher desperately trying to find some reason why a D student can be marked up to C minus.
Safe Landings
Wellington Airport’s runway extension faces another legal challenge, on safety grounds
Gordon Campbell on Judith Collins, crime and poverty
It is infuriating to have to explain to a senior Cabinet Minister about the social harm caused by endemic poverty, but here are a few useful pointers for Judith Collins
Gordon Campbell on the RCEP trade deal and other entanglements
So China and the US both have competing trade deals on offer – the TPP for the US and the RCEP for the Chinese – each of which pointedly exclude the other superpower.
Gordon Campbell on political smears and begging
Can a ministerial spin merchant ‘accidentally’ pass on to a journalist the fact that a prominent critic of their Minister is under Police investigation?
Gordon Campbell on tobacco politicking, and the TPP death watch
Has Act leader David Seymour got the easiest job in the world, or what?
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s Budget
Budgies, so their Wikipedia page says, are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech. […]
Gordon Campbell on the latest allegations against Helen Clark
According to former PM and UNDP leader current Helen Clark, the allegations leveled at her this week in a Foreign Policy magazine article by the […]
Gordon Campbell on the rise of the far right, and battle bots
In his victory speech at the Cannes film festival this week, the British film director Ken Loach warned that the rise of far right parties […]
Gordon Campbell on bank scandals and air crashes
Libor. It stands for the London Interbank Offered rate. Back in 2012, Libor became synonymous with a scandal involving the dodgy manipulation of how interest […]
Gordon Campbell on electricity pricing, executions, and Bob Dylan at 75
This week, New Zealand’s crisis of poverty and homelessness has been making headlines around the world. At exactly the same time, Electricity Authority has unveiled […]
Gordon Campbell on New Zealand’s support for the Kazakh dictatorship
Thanks to Sacha Baron Cohen, Kazakhstan will always seem like a bit of a jokey, ramshackle kind of place. To that end, the Stuff story […]
Gordon Campbell on the proposed media merger
Monopolies are bad for people, and bad for capitalism, too. Look at what happened in the late 1980s when a Labour government handed a state […]
Gordon Campbell on the future of conservatism
For years, observers have noted the contrast between Prime Minister John Key’s ordinary Kiwi bloke persona, and the patrician prat more commonly seen in Parliament. […]
Gordon Campbell on how class colours the reactions to the Panama Papers
Not many heroes so far in the Panama Papers saga, but any number of villains. Those villains happen to include: criminals laundering their ill gotten […]
Gordon Campbell on the govt’s token plans for cyber-security
Basically, the world is divided into two types of people: those who think the Panama Papers illustrate the bad shit that some people do, and […]
Gordon Campbell on Pharmac’s grudging concession to reality
Is this any way to run a health system… whereby terminally ill patients are forced into public demonstrations before the government (and its funding agency […]
Gordon Campbell on Pharmac’s indefensible stance on the new melanoma drugs
One of the interesting line items in this month’s Budget will be the one that sets out the increase – if any – in Pharmac’s […]
Gordon Campbell on not crying foul, Argentina
So a couple of guys found to be criminally liable of environmental pollution in Argentina lodge an application with the Overseas Investment Office… in order […]
Gordon Campbell on Trump and the Madman Theory
Years ago, Richard Nixon explained to his chief adviser Bob Haldeman what has since become known as the “Madman Theory” of foreign policy. Basically, if […]
Gordon Campbell on Kiwirail’s latest stint in the dogbox
The denigration of Kiwirail continues. The latest review (based on a 2014 assessment) of the options facing the company have enabled Kiwirail to be hung […]
Gordon Campbell on having an extradition treaty with China
Reportedly, an extradition treaty with China is now on the table, although – thankfully – Prime Minister John Key has also indicated that a lot […]
Gordon Campbell On Our Fearless PM's Foray Into China
Don’t mention the South China Sea dispute. Oh, but he will! Earlier this week, the image of dauntless Prime Minister John Key not backing down […]