Gordon Campbell on Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH
This week, the Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s literature turns the spotlight onto Robert C. O’Brien’s book about one family’s encounter with genetic […]
Gordon Campbell On Abel’s Island, By William Steig
ByMore than anything else, Abel’s Island is a tale about love enduring through peril. It is also about the beauty of solitude. Over the course [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The Amoral Panic Over China’s Missile Test
ByHead for the basement, people! China has just tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead! It splashed down somewhere into international waters in [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The Strange World Of Israel’s Domestic Politics
ByThe genocidal carnage in Gaza has not ceased. The settler violence on the West Bank has sharply increased this year, the UN has denounced the [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle
ByThe Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books continues this week with this story by Avi of murder, mutiny and teenage rebellion on the [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The School Lunch Fiasco, And Homelessness
ByThe Auditor General’s damning report on the school lunch programme– and the litany of callous bungles it has uncovered – should require associate education minister [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The Shaky Iran Truce And MPs’ Housing Rorts
ByTo no-one’s surprise, the fragile 60 day truce that began on June 17 has already been broken by attacks on Iran by the US, by [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The Dark Is Rising
ByThis week, the Werewolf series of essays on classic children’s books features Susan Cooper’s 1973 novel The Dark Is Rising. The antlered horseman on the [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On Being Thankful That Someone Is Talking About Income Inequality
ByPolitical myths die hard. For decades it has been taken on faith – all evidence to the contrary – that those business-savvy National Party types [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On RNZ’s Morning Report – Flagship, Or Sinking Ship?
ByNo doubt, the government’s plan (a) to make KiwiSaver compulsory and (b) significantly increase the contribution rate required of both workers and employers would end [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On The Indian In The Cupboard
ByThe Werewolf series on classic children’s books continues this week with “The Indian in the Cupboard” by Lynne Reid Banks. Usually, fantasy offers a means [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On Trump’s Temporary Fix In Iran
ByWhen Britain tried (and failed) to re-take control of the Suez Canal in 1956, it marked the moment when a formerly Great Power was forced [...] Read More »
Gordon Campbell On Being Spooked Into Settling For Less
ByEvery three years around this time, the election campaign begins to feel a bit like the old carnival Ghost Train. All aboard. After the lurch [...] Read More »