Gordon Campbell on the US (and NATO) surrender in Afghanistan
The deal that has just been has struck to end the involvement of the US and its NATO allies in Afghanistan bears the usual hallmarks […]
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Gordon Campbell on where the politically-donated bucks should be stopping
By now, it seems crystal clear that something is deeply amiss with the way that New Zealand political parties solicit, receive and report their funding. […]
Gordon Campbell on Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid
Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the Democratic nomination is taking on an air of inevitability, and that likelihood has been met with elation by some people, […]
Gordon Campbell on our unreal optimism about the economic impact of coronavirus
At this week’s Chinese New Year celebrations, PM Jacinda Ardern was resolutely upbeat that business with China would soon bounce back to normal – better […]
Gordon Campbell on the political donations scandals
Even paranoids have real enemies. While there has been something delusionary about the way New Zealand First has been living in denial about its donations […]
Gordon Campbell on the addiction to Chinese student fees, and a possible future for RNZ Concert
Last week, Australian PM Scott Morrison extended its ban on foreign visitors from or passing through from mainland China – including Chinese students – for […]
Gordon Campbell on the rise of Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg
Oh, the burden of being the front-runner. In 2016, when he was still the feisty underdog, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders set his campaign alight by […]
Gordon Campbell on Concert being bled to enable RNZ’s youth station
Release the frequencies! If only all political crises could be resolved with such (suspicious) ease. In December, the RNZ board signed off on the idea […]
Gordon Campbell on the survival of RNZ Concert
Come July and under current plans, RNZ Concert as we now know it will have ceased to exist. Instead, it seems that Concert is being […]
Gordon Campbell on the economic impact of coronavirus, and the Iowa debacle
As Bloomberg says, the coronavirus shutdown is creating the world’s biggest work-from-home experiment. On the upside, the mortality rate with the current outbreak is lower […]
Gordon Campbell on dodging a bullet over the transport cost over-runs
As New Zealand gears up to begin its $6.8 billion programme of large scale roading projects all around the country, we should be aware of […]
Gordon Campbell on National’s hopes of driving NZF out of Parliament
For months, National’s best (and only?) hope of winning Election 2020 has involved keeping New Zealand First down below the 5% MMP threshold, and out […]
Gordon Campbell on Kobemania, Palestine, and the infrastructure package
Quick quiz to end the week. What deserves the more attention – the death of a US basketball legend, or the end of Palestinian hopes […]
Gordon Campbell on China treating our citizens as coronavirus hostages, and Election 2020
More than once at her post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, PM Jacinda Ardern claimed it would be “very difficult” to evacuate the 53 New Zealanders currently […]
Gordon Campbell On The Coronavirus Outbreak
The coronavirus – its official World Health Organisation designation is 2019-nCoV – is believed to have originated as a seafood-to-human transfer, with ground zero for […]
Gordon Campbell on the double standard that’s bound to dominate Election 2020
Are National really better political managers than Labour, particularly when it comes to running the economy? For many voters – and the business community in […]
Gordon Campbell on dealing with impeccable, impeachable lies
By now, the end game the Republican Senate majority has in mind in their setting of the rules for the impeachment trial of Donald J. […]
Gordon Campbell on why the dice are loaded against women in public life
If they enter public life, women can expect a type of intense (and contradictory) scrutiny that is rarely applied to their male counterparts. If they […]
Gordon Campbell on chilling the warm fuzzies about the US/China trade deal
Hold the champagne, folks. This week’s China/US deal is more about a change in tone between the world’s two biggest economies – thank goodness they’re […]
Gordon Campbell on the excellent new classroom materials about climate change
Inevitably, children hear a lot about climate change – on the news, on the street, from their friends – and a lot of that news […]
Gordon Campbell on the Harry/Meghan affair, and Iran’s latest airliner calamity
Those “Meghzit” headlines seem apt, given how closely Britain’s January 31 exit from the European Union resembles the imminent departure from the Royal Family’s top […]
Gordon Campbell on the Iran aftermath
So, evidently, you can get away with murder. It looks as though a further escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and the US has […]
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie bush fires, and the killing of Qassem Suleimani
In popular culture, Australia is often portrayed as Western civilisation’s last unspoiled frontier, or as its final refuge from planetary disaster. In Nevil Shute’s best-selling […]
Gordon Campbell on the best music of 2019
In a year where so many of the highlights came from female musicians, there was one standout album…
Gordon Campbell on Scotland’s renewed battle for independence
While it isn’t surprising that Boris Johnson won the election, he might also have lost the United Kingdom
Gordon Campbell on what any White Island inquiry might look like
Presumably, if there is to be a ministerial inquiry (at the very least) into the Whakaari/White Island disaster, it will need to be a joint ministerial inquiry.
Gordon Campbell on why raising benefits is a better option than spending on infrastructure
If New Zealand has a pressing need to stimulate its flagging economy, it seems very weird to meet this need with a $12 billion package of infrastructure spending…
Gordon Campbell on the Whakaari/White Island eruption
New Zealand itself is at risk of being seen as a tourism destination where commercial factors determine the boundary line of acceptable risk
Gordon Campbell on the recent upheavals inside Iran, and Coldplay
In the fortnight since the Internet got switched back on in Iran, the ferocity of the crackdown on the recent demonstrations has become evident.
Gordon Campbell on stoking fears about cannabis law reform
It was always going to be hard to have a rational debate on cannabis reform. Far easier for politicians to win votes by stoking alarm.