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The Complicatist Pt 2: Galesburg, Revisited
Holding aloft a flickering torch for John Darnielle’s older stuff
Gordon Campbell on Carly Fiorina and the anti-abortion scam
So Carly Fiorina – hitherto best known as the CEO who drove Hewlett-Packard to the brink of ruin – was the big winner in the […]
Gordon Campbell on the rise of Malcolm Turnbull
Well clearly, the loss of Tony Abbott – the country’s official spokesman on Women’s Affairs – has left the women of Australia feeling distraught and […]
Gordon Campbell on Corbyn, Trump and outsider politics
Jeremy Corbyn elevated to the leadership of Britain’s Labour Party! Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders on the rise in the US… On both sides of […]
Gordon Campbell on selecting refugees, Aussie generosity and a cat video
Now that we know how many Syrian refugees New Zealand will accept, the focus can shift onto how they’ll be selected, and the criteria in […]
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 the Children’s Commission report on CYF
Accusing the overworked and underfunded staff at Child, Youth and Family of a “dump and run culture of neglect” is the kind of luxury that […]
Gordon Campbell on the flag campaign
So far, the public has treated the government’s flag campaign with something between disinterest and disdain. Most New Zealanders have instinctively seen through the marketing […]
Gordon Campbell on Donald Trump, and Dr Dre
For the past few months, you, me, and Rupert Murdoch have been waiting for the wheels to fall off the Trump campaign, and for some […]
Gordon Campbell on Tim Groser and the Wrecking Crew
At times, a protest march can feel like a futile political tactic, but at least afterwards… Trade Minister Tim Groser can always be relied on […]
Gordon Campbell on China’s devaluation, and Wolf Alice
As China’s currency takes the down elevator towards the basement – and after two days of decline no one knows how far down it will […]
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 Japan’s current doubts that the TPP has any future
Japan has made it clear it thinks New Zealand was the key major stumbling block to a successful conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade […]
Gordon Campbell on the economic bad news, and Turkey’s fears about the Kurds
Traditionally, voters regard National as a more competent manager of the economy. It is the sole upside of crony capitalism: surely these guys must know […]
Gordon Campbell on why we should still oppose investor-state dispute measures
Even in this dark hour for the TPP, the secrecy farce continues. On RNZ this morning, Trade Minister Tim Groser said he looks forward to […]
Gordon Campbell on Tim Groser missing in action on the TPP
While rapid change is always possible in trade talks as they approach the deadline, lets assume that the offers on the table for dairy at […]
Gordon Campbell on D-Day for dairy at the TPP
While New Zealand may feel flattered at being called “the Saudi Arabia of milk” it would be more accurate to regard us as the suicide […]
Gordon Campbell on the PM’s concessions about medicines and the TPP
So, on the eve of the last round of talks meant to finalise the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, Prime Minister John Key has conceded […]
Gordon Campbell on the 1990s retro proposals for our health system
Reviews are under way that could transform the New Zealand health system into our very own version of the Eurozone, whereby DHBs that fail to […]
Gordon Campbell on the government’s dogged reluctance to condemn Serco
The refusal by Minister Sam Lotu-Liga to hold Serco accountable for the company’s failings in prison management is bad enough. Basically, this ingrained reluctance is […]
Gordon Campbell on the new bureaucratic tests facing solo parents
Offhand, its hard to think of a more cynical example of political opportunism than the requirement that solo parents will now need to re-apply for […]
Gordon Campbell on John Key trying to talk up our – and China’s – ailing economy
It wasn’t exactly Winston Churchill rallying the nation in 1940, but Prime Minister John Key chose to open his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday with a […]
Gordon Campbell on the plight of dairy, anti-Chinese sentiments and Pluto
Where now for dairy farmers? On RNZ this morning, Economic Development Minister Stephen Joyce was portraying the carnage of plunging global dairy prices, declining Fonterra […]
Gordon Campbell on the deal over Iran’s phantom nukes, and nuking Greece’s future
Though it isn’t being mentioned, Islamic State was really the elephant in the room in the final phase of the decade-long negotiations on Iran’s nuclear […]
Pitch Perfect
How Pope Francis is selling the world on the Catholic Church