Gordon Campbell on sending an Orion P-3 to Tonga
Because the undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga cut communications with the more remote parts of the country, it wasn’t at all surprising that as a […]
Humanitarianism
Gordon Campbell on the civil war (and looming famine) in Ethiopia
When the United Nations wheels out its toughest language – Yemen in 2017 was /is“the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe” and (this week) the crisis in […]
Gordon Campbell on why we should care about the US exit from Afghanistan
The history of harm done by the US military is now tending to obscure the harm that’s being done by the polar opposite impulse: American isolationism.
Gordon Campbell on why deportation decisions should be transparent
Kicking the problematic cases upstairs for the Minister to operate as some kind of ‘last chance saloon’ is to turn the deportation decision into a lottery.
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 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 our underfunded Syrian refugee intake, and dairy industry carnage
Once again, our little show pony Prime Minister is prancing around the world offering to take in refugees – from Syria, from Nauru – while […]
Gordon Campbell on the bogus Syrian peace deal, and Judge Antonin Scalia
The good thing about the Syrian peace deal announced on Friday is that it might create a small space for humanitarian relief, but… the ceasefire […]
Gordon Campbell on the US pressure to expand our role in Iraq
Tomorrow, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Tim Keating will be in Brussels for a ministerial meeting of the so-called […]
Gordon Campbell on the rejection of a Pakistani polio worker
Too bad that the New Zealand Immigration and Protection (hah!) Tribunal don’t know how to use Google. If they did, their bizarre decision to send […]
Gordon Campbell on Islam and the Paris attacks
According to polls, a third of Republican voters in Iowa want Islam to be criminalized. Unfortunately, the cornfields of middle America aren’t the only place […]
Gordon Campbell on our role in the deliberate non-defeat of Islamic State
Unlike the US and (allies like New Zealand) Russia and Iran have a very clear goal for their intervention in Syria. Russia and Iran want […]
Gordon Campbell on Australia giving us the flick
Nice bloke, but you wouldn’t want him to run the country. Once again, the failings of John Key on the world stage have been cruelly […]
Gordon Campbell on our apparent inability to stand up to Australia
If you fight your bullies, the TV series Freaks and Geeks suggested, it can be painful at the time… but you earn respect and they […]
Gordon Campbell on Putin’s diplomatic coup over Syria
There’s a simple historical precedent for what is occurring in Syria. During WWII, the Allies joined forces with a known butcher and tyrant – Joseph […]
Gordon Campbell on our response to the Syrian refugee crisis
The full scale of the New Zealand government response to the Syrian refugee crisis – reportedly, the world’s biggest humanitarian challenge since the post-war formation […]
Gordon Campbell on the lack of leadership on refugees
Image: Lyndon Hood – Cartoons: Refugees, Flags and What I Stand For John Key still doesn’t get it. At least he’s now talking about raising […]
Gordon Campbell on Refugees, the Flag and Bo Diddley
There’s a simple statistical reason why New Zealand should increase its refugee intake. Our UN quota has remained static – or fallen slightly – over […]
Gordon Campbell on the government’s response to the refugee crisis in Europe
The government’s refusal to accept an emergency intake of refugees from the hundreds of thousands now pouring into Europe is pretty shameful. This country makes […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s pandering to the redneck vote about refugees, and the SIS charm offensive
Labour’s readiness to play “Gotcha” politics over the 27 incidents where refugee status were first granted and then revoked is pretty shameful. According to documents […]
Gordon Campbell on the Vanuatu cyclone and its media coverage
Having media crews in a disaster zone can help to (a) pinpoint areas of need and (b) provide some re-assurance to the victims that the […]
Gordon Campbell on today’s announcement on sending our troops to Iraq
Click for big version. Later today, the Key government is expected to announce that New Zealand is planning to send about 100 troops on a […]
Gordon Campbell on how Iraq’s visiting Foreign Minister embodies an Iraq that’s not worth fighting for
When Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari makes a whistle-stop visit to Auckland on Friday, he will be issuing a formal invitation for New Zealand to […]
Gordon Campbell on the case for using air power against the Islamic State
There is an Alice Through the Looking Glass quality to the current response to the Islamic State. Everything about it seems inside out. Many people […]
Gordon Campbell on muzzling the Ruataniwha dam evidence
In case anyone still questions the value of our public investment in state radio, the revelations about the Ruataniwha dam project – which began with […]
On the risks of intervention in Syria
As Barack Obama considers the US-led response to the gas attack in Syria, the nuances of that response are getting more, not less difficult. How […]
Gordon Campbell on Key. Ethics and Banks
Article – Gordon Campbell Disclosure rules exist in local body legislation for the public’s benefit, not the benefit of politicians. Yet the explicit message from […]
On the Lieutenant O’Donnell inquiry
The New Zealand Defence Force never ceases to amaze. Yesterday’s report into the death last year in Afghanistan of Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell has found shortcomings […]
On the crisis in Syria
In recent weeks the military crackdown by the Assad regime in Syria has become a refugee problem for neighbouring Turkey, and a media nightmare for […]