Gordon Campbell on dollar parity with Australia, and disarming Israel
As the New Zealand dollar edges towards parity with the Aussie dollar, it seems facile to treat this as some game of Transtasman arm-wrestling that […]
Foreign Affairs
Gordon Campbell on a funeral in Asia, the Northland by-election, and news priorities
Supposedly, New Zealand’s destiny lies in Asia, and that was one of Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s rationales for his bungled reforms at MFAT. OK. So, […]
Gordon Campbell on Pacific spying, Obama as Spock and Kendrick Lamar
So New Zealand has using the GCSB to spy on its friends and allies in the Pacific – and has not only been passing on […]
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 how Europe is (finally) acting against Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses
For decades, the ringing statements on human rights by various European and US governments have been undermined by the diplomatic support they’ve given to the […]
Gordon Campbell on the dairy contamination threats, and parental policing of scary movies
The sole upside for the government in its release of a three month old threat to contaminate infant formula is that the story knocked Winston […]
Gordon Campbell on the legal fudging of the GCSB revelations, Tikrit and Jake Xerxes Fussell
As many have noted, the Hager/Snowden revelations of the spying by our security agencies on our Pacific neighbours and allies is a virtual re-run of […]
Gordon Campbell on whether NZ troops are the least of Islamic State’s problems
Given that it has been politically packaged and sold as a training mission, the Iraq deployment announced yesterday by Prime Minister John Key seemed to […]
Gordon Campbell on the drip-feeding of information about the Iraq deployment
There are two ways of framing the story of our troop deployment in Iraq. They go roughly like this: The Official Version : We are […]
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 Labour’s latest stance on Iraq
On RNZ this morning, Labour leader Andrew Little expressed his support for air strikes in Iraq against Islamic State – and by doing so, he […]
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 government’s reluctance to treat the enemies of Islamic State as its friends
While the government attacks the left’s alleged reluctance to respond militarily to Islamic State, it continues to be strangely timid about another aspect of its […]
Gordon Campbell on the reluctance to support the Kurds against Islamic State
The boundary line between our troops having (a) an ‘advise and assist’ role in Iraq and (b) an actual combat role – which Prime Minister […]
Gordon Campbell on whether Saudi Arabia is a bigger threat than Islamic State
So the US has been holding talks in London this week with its 21 coalition allies, on how best to co-ordinate the military response against […]
Gordon Campbell on the similarities between John Key and David Cameron
This week, Prime Minister John Key was reportedly invited to join a private birthday celebration for the young daughter of British PM David Cameron. They’re […]
Gordon Campbell on Ian Fletcher resignation & GCSB's new role
Like most events in security intelligence, the resignation for “family reasons” of GCSB boss Ian Fletcher has got (a) a simple straightforward explanation and (b) […]
Gordon Campbell on the Charlie Hebdo killings and response
Now that the Kouachi brothers have made their Butch-and-Sundance dash for martyrdom, and now that the millions have marched in Paris and elsewhere to defend […]
Gordon Campbell on John Key’s posturing about Islamic State
One of the main achievements of the Clark government was that it kept New Zealand out of overt involvement in the 2003 Iraq invasion. It […]
Gordon Campbell on New Zealand’s response to Kiwi jihadis
When Parliament resumes on October 20, Prime Minister John Key will reportedly be making a major speech on security and intelligence issues. The speech is […]
Gordon Campbell on the last rites for the TPP
The Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal is one of those litmus issues that has always had more to do with one’s place on the political […]
Gordon Campbell on the troubled aftermath of Scotland’s independence vote
A week can be a very long time in Scotland’s 300 year struggle for independence. The “ No” vote last week that seemed to end […]
Gordon Campbell on a campaign that is ending as it began
This election campaign is getting no less strange as it heads on down to the wire. Winston Peters is still refusing to say whether a […]
Gordon Campbell on the Glenn Greenwald revelations
All that hanging out with the All Blacks clearly hasn’t taught Prime Minister John Key a thing about the ethics of playing the ball, and […]
Gordon Campbell on Obama’s major foreign policy speech today on the Islamic State
For the Syrian people, the next ten years offers them two really unpleasant choices. They can be slaughtered by the forces of the Islamic State, […]
Gordon Campbell on the West’s existential crisis about what to do with Putin, and the Islamic State
Say one thing for Russian President Vladimir Putin. At least he’s given NATO a purpose in life. Right now, that consists of being something that […]
Gordon Campbell on the US foreign policy somersaults over Syria and Iran
Amidst the day-to-day reports about the military advances of the Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, one remarkable aspect of this war has barely […]
Gordon Campbell on the diplomatic immunity fallout at MFAT, and Iraq/Vietnam comparisons
Image by Neetflux Terrific. I’m glad that Murray McCully is well and truly determined to get to the bottom of who screwed up the Malaysian […]
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 […]
Gordon Campbell on the media’s duty to evaluate the Trans Pacific Partnership
One downside of so called ‘objectivity’ is that it can turn the media into a simple megaphone for those in power – especially in situations […]