Gordon Campbell on the criminalising of rap music
For black youth in America, there can be only three ways out of the ghetto: athletics, music or drug dealing. And for every individual who […]
USA
Gordon Campbell on abortion rights
So a Supreme Court stacked with ideologues selected by Donald Trump is about to make an ideological decision to ban the legal right of American […]
Gordon Campbell on the Oscars, and how an Iran deal could mean cheaper petrol
Uh oh. In an embarrassing case of counting chickens prematurely, the government had sent a delegation to Hollywood to capitalise on the expected Oscar coronation […]
Gordon Campbell on the flaws in the Ukraine sanctions response
The Achilles heel in the West’s punitive sanctions against Russia has always been pretty obvious. Russia may be highly dependent on its oil and natural […]
Gordon Campbell on the tentative response to Putin, plus Putin’s mentor
Plainly, Russia’s war on Ukraine isn’t something Vladimir Putin dreamed up overnight, or did on impulse. With hindsight, Putin has been working for years to […]
Gordon Campbell on Ukraine, and blokes in peril
A great darkness is falling over Ukraine, and it will last for decades. In launching a full scale invasion, Russian president Vladimir Putin is doing […]
Gordon Campbell on the Olympics of ultra-nationalism
Before this year’s winter Olympics Games even began, Human Rights Watch had already condemned China’s intention to use its hosting role as an opportunity to […]
Gordon Campbell on the crisis – what crisis? – over Ukraine
Is Russian leader Vladimir Putin going to invade Ukraine, or is he just bluffing (for now), much as China was a few months ago? A […]
Gordon Campbell on fostering the culture of Covid complaint
Success can be its own worst enemy. If the plane doesn’t crash or the ship doesn’t sink, that doesn’t prove the safety measures were unnecessary, […]
Gordon Campbell on Defence’s desire to join the ”lets confront China” club
China has been put on notice by us. According to the New Zealand Defence Assessment 2021 report released on Wednesday, and set out in bold […]
Gordon Campbell on why an attack on Iran is back on the agenda
Reportedly, Christopher Luxon has the edge on Simon Bridges in National’s leadership contest although there is no firm evidence for that hunch. So, one hesitates […]
Gordon Campbell on why New Zealand needs to change its Defence habits
In a flashback to the military displays of days gone by, one of our frigates recently joined a Carrier Strike show of force in the […]
Gordon Campbell on Canada’s election, and the AUKUS defence pact
Yesterday, Canada held an election in which everyone lost, including the voters. After holding its most expensive ( $C600 million) election campaign ever, the result […]
Gordon Campbell on the Covid exit plan, and 9/11 media memories
Is it OK to feel nostalgic for the period only a couple of months ago, when the government seemed to have a plan for exiting […]
Gordon Campbell on “the old weird” music of America, with a playlist
Here’s some weird old music for the weird realities of lockdown. Like other key phases in popular music – jazz, country, rock’n’roll, punk, hip hop […]
Gordon Campbell on the media’s handling of (a) the Afghan crisis, and (b) the hacked DHB material
Reportedly, there has been “chaos “in downtown Kabul and “chaos“ out at the Kabul airport. “Chaos” has become one of the go-to terms of modern […]
Gordon Campbell on the fall of Kabul
Like a giant Ponzi scheme, the 20 year experiment in nation-building in Afghanistan has come crashing down, in pieces. Since the US and its allies […]
Gordon Campbell on how New Zealand is punching below its weight in Afghanistan
First Vietnam, now Afghanistan. For the second time in living memory, the West has been defeated by the guerrilla forces of a small Third World […]
Gordon Campbell on the geo-political posturing over China’s cyber hacks, plus the weekly playlist
The timing was one of the weirder aspects of this week’s cyber condemnation of China by the West. Why was this piece of political theatre […]
Gordon Campbell on when National’s leaders had a more enlightened approach to gangs
One can sympathise with Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt and the lose/lose situation he has just found himself in. If he had stayed safe and […]
Gordon Campbell on the Lancet’s stance against the Olympic Games, and on the US culture battles over abortion
Yesterday – barely a month before the opening ceremony – the Lancet medical journal has called for a global conversation on whether the Olympics should […]
Gordon Campbell On Britain’s Pathetic Trade Deal With Australia
So much for those assurances that New Zealand would be the first cab off the rank for any post -Brexit trade deal with the United […]
Gordon Campbell on the mosque movie, and the demise of Netanyahu
Plainly, a whole lot of New Zealanders – including PM Jacinda Ardern – are not on board with They Are Us, the mooted film project […]
Gordon Campbell On The Gaza Aftermath, And The Attempted Coup In Samoa
Mere days after the Israeli/Hamas ceasefire, some things have immediately returned to normal. Israeli police have reportedly been in action again against Palestinians gathered at […]
On Budget 2021’s successes and failures
In some realms of the centre-right, Budget 2021 has been portrayed as a “peak Labour” exercise in which the government has veered sharply leftwards in […]
Gordon Campbell on Collins’ desperation, and Joe Biden’s left-wing image
The difficulty with translating the Treaty partnership into the realities of parliamentary rule is that at best, Maori have been treated only as co-pilots, still […]
Gordon Campbell on why raising corporate taxes has become a hot new political cause
Surprisingly, “raising taxes” has become a very fashionable political idea in 2021. That’s right. After decades of being seen (at best) as a necessary evil, […]
Gordon Campbell on why China’s pact with Iran is a big deal, and why a vaccination target isn’t
One of the most significant developments in global politics in a generation has flown in almost entirely beneath the radar of the Western media. On […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s fudging on child poverty, and America’s diplomatic dance with Iran
If you want a good insight into what the limits of tiny, barely discernible steps to reduce poverty actually look like, delve into the latest […]
Gordon Campbell on the latest lockdown, and on Air NZ’s Saudi military sales
A three day Covid lockdown feels like the pandemic equivalent of T20 cricket. Just as T20 isn’t really cricket, this three day breathing space isn’t […]