Gordon Campbell on Murray McCully’s avoidance strategy for his latest disaster
Blame the officials. Go to ground. Looks like standard operational procedure for Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, this time with respect to Malaysia over the […]
Art and Entertainment
On the subsidies for The Hobbit
It does have a familiar Winston Peters ring to it. Peters’ proposal earlier this week that Warners should repay its Hobbit subsidies taps into (a) […]
Gordon Campbell and a Canadian analysis of the TPP
As the latest nine day round of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations begins in Auckland today, Canada will be a full-blown participant for the […]
On the relevance of the latest Hobbit revelations
This morning’s release by RNZ of its OIA requests on The Hobbit is not ancient history. It offers a rare glimpse into the fashion in […]
On Gerry Brownlee, the Christchurch recovery and Jafar Panahi
Famously, Winston Churchill once described one of his American political allies as being “the only bull I know who carries his own china shop around […]
On The Hunger Games and body image
Earlier this year, Next magazine published a scary survey on the body image of young New Zealand women, a story that prompted Labour MP Sue […]
On the local government reforms
Clearly, centre-right governments dislike Big Government only when it isn’t their brand of government. When it is, many of the democratic brakes get removed, quick […]
On Tinariwen, and the forgotten war in Mali
Sometimes, civil war in Africa can even bring suffering to the well-heeled patrons of the International Festival of the Arts in Wellington. Tinariwen, the Tuareg […]
On asset sales and the Mallard ticket saga
Click for big version. Way back at the start of this week, the government was in deep trouble on at least three fronts. First, came […]
On Kim Dotcom’s bail application
The Crown is opposing bail for Megaupload CEO Kit Dotcom on the basis of (a) that he poses a flight risk and (b) he could […]
On Peter Jackson and the West Memphis Three
At first glance, the news earlier this week that Peter Jackson has just completed a documentary on the West Memphis Three case might seem somewhat […]
On sports injury; and the West Memphis Three aftermath
[See below for The West Memphis Three aftermath] Imagine if there was a party drug known to kill a number of teenagers around the world […]
On Iran’s increasing paranoia, and its attempts to unplug from the Web
YouTube – This Is Not A Film – Teaser 1 A few months ago, Scoop ran several articles about the Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, […]
On the Brash coup attempt, and Sean Penn
Illustration by Tim Denee – www.timdenee.com For now, the attempt at a hostile takeover of the Act Party by former National Party leader Don Brash […]
On legal aid, and the definitive account of the Hobbit saga
For a party that made the Nanny State such a big part of its 2008 election campaign, today’s cutbacks to legal aid are merely National’s […]
On the nation’s gift of a plastic waka to Ngati Whatua
Wayne Youle, ‘Often Liked, Occasionally Beaten’, 2004. From the 2006 exhibition Plastic Māori – A Tradition Of Innovation There’s a something wrong with putting the […]
On the Key government’s lame response to Jafar Panahi
Click for big version The audience goes in to a support screening of Jafar Panahi’s film ‘Offside’ in Wellington on Sunday. Down at the Ministry […]
On Hone Harawira, and Jafar Panahi at the Oscars
None of the recommendations from yesterday’s hui in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate are likely to delight the Maori Party leadership, but the one that […]
On the campaign to free Jafar Panahi, and Julian Assange
Credit: Cine del Sur Just before Christmas, Scoop reported on the silencing of Iran’s leading film-maker, Jafar Panahi. Panahi has been imprisoned by the authorities […]
On Treasury’s ideological hostility to film tax breaks
Treasury’s religious objection to tax breaks and the left wing’s objection to paying subsidies to US multinationals like Warners have converged in their joint hostility […]
On the US midterms
[Image amoeck, via The 100 Best Signs At The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear] On the eve of the inevitable catastrophe for the Democrats […]
On The Hobbit finale
Great. The Hobbit stays here. Everyone’s happy about that – you, me, John Key, Robyn Malcolm…we’re all so very happy, at least until we look […]
Gordon Campbell on The Hobbit countdown to D-Day
At his post Cabinet press conference last week, Prime Minister John Key was asked (by me) whether the government-convened talks to keep The Hobbit in […]
Gordon Campbell on the end game for The Hobbit
The two main issues that will decide Warners’ decision about where to shoot The Hobbit are both inching towards a resolution. Neither involve the actors’ […]
On John Key’s false rationale for being in Afghanistan, and Vincent Gallo’s sweet revenge
Late last week, a major bi-partisan American organization released its report on the policy options facing the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. This was […]
The ACT horror show, and the Ground Zero mosque
Images, Audio & Report: Hide Ducks Questions on ACT Leadership Coup There’s one way for the ACT Party to solve its current financial problems – […]
On the Heather Roy coup, and the liquor vote
Image & Audio: Hide Ducks Questions on ACT Leadership Coup The entire Act caucus would fit comfortably into a small rowing boat. If Rodney Hide […]
On the making of The Hobbit
Given that successive governments have identified the film industry as a prime catalyst of the knowledge economy, you might have expected more local media attention […]
On The Jackson Film Commission review
So the long awaited, year-in-the-making blockbuster review of the Film Commission has finally been delivered by Sir Peter Jackson and David Court, and is now […]
On banning 18-19 year olds from bars (& cigarette tax)
Girl Talk. See: Gordon Campbell IV’s Girl Talk, About Copyright In what passes for a public debate here about the flow of young New Zealanders […]