Gordon Campbell On The Making Of King Donald
After decades of watching the US prop up dictatorships in Central America, South America and the Middle East, there’s a certain irony in seeing authoritarian […]
General Politics
Gordon Campbell on free speech and anti-Semitism
According to Workplace Health and Safety Minister Brooke Van Velden, employers are having to endure a “culture of fear” created by Worksafe, which has the […]
Gordon Campbell on why the second Trump impeachment has to proceed
To the very end, a sizeable Congressional segment of the Republican Party has been willing to defend Donald Trump no matter what he says or […]
Gordon Campbell on the Washington riot and the Georgia results
Hong Kong and Washington DC. On the same morning, the tyrants in power in Beijing and their counterpart in the White House have shown how […]
Gordon Campbell on the inquiry into the abuse of children in care
Apparently, PM Jacinda Ardern has chosen to exclude faith-based institutions from the government’s promised inquiry into the abuse of children in state care. Any role […]
Gordon Campbell on the Peters/Ardern triumph
On the Peters/Ardern triumph by Gordon Campbell There are a lot of good reasons to feel joyful about this outcome. It is what so many […]
Gordon Campbell on yesterday’s Budget
Budgies, so their Wikipedia page says, are popular pets around the world due to their small size, low cost, and ability to mimic human speech. […]
Gordon Campbell on the latest allegations against Helen Clark
According to former PM and UNDP leader current Helen Clark, the allegations leveled at her this week in a Foreign Policy magazine article by the […]
Gordon Campbell on the rise of the far right, and battle bots
In his victory speech at the Cannes film festival this week, the British film director Ken Loach warned that the rise of far right parties […]
Gordon Campbell on the future of conservatism
For years, observers have noted the contrast between Prime Minister John Key’s ordinary Kiwi bloke persona, and the patrician prat more commonly seen in Parliament. […]
Gordon Campbell on how class colours the reactions to the Panama Papers
Not many heroes so far in the Panama Papers saga, but any number of villains. Those villains happen to include: criminals laundering their ill gotten […]
Gordon Campbell on Pharmac’s indefensible stance on the new melanoma drugs
One of the interesting line items in this month’s Budget will be the one that sets out the increase – if any – in Pharmac’s […]
Gordon Campbell on not crying foul, Argentina
So a couple of guys found to be criminally liable of environmental pollution in Argentina lodge an application with the Overseas Investment Office… in order […]
Gordon Campbell on Kiwirail’s latest stint in the dogbox
The denigration of Kiwirail continues. The latest review (based on a 2014 assessment) of the options facing the company have enabled Kiwirail to be hung […]
Gordon Campbell on having an extradition treaty with China
Reportedly, an extradition treaty with China is now on the table, although – thankfully – Prime Minister John Key has also indicated that a lot […]
Gordon Campbell on the banning of a leading Iranian film-maker
For the past fortnight, New Zealand has been obsessing on the reputational risk to this country of being seen as a tax haven – despite […]
Gordon Campbell on political rhetoric, and the Dark Triad
Unfortunately, the systematic use of tax avoidance strategies – by corporates and by wealthy individuals – is not occurring in a vacuum. At an accelerating […]
Gordon Campbell on the political tokenism of the government’s response to the Panama Papers
Image by Grant Buist Prime Minister John Key could have dealt with the clamour for an independent inquiry into the Panama Papers scandal in a […]
Gordon Campbell on the (missing) US links to the Panama Papers, and Merle Haggard
Belatedly, US complicity in the global tax avoidance systems is now trickling out into daylight. To some, one of the suspicious aspects of the scandal […]
Gordon Campbell on whether Donald Trump has peaked
For the past ten days, the world has been daring to hope that the wheels may finally be coming off the Trump bandwagon – sufficiently […]
Gordon Campbell on living in denial about the Panama Papers
So now we know why New Zealand won all those awards for being the ‘easiest place to do business.’ Evidently, foreign firms that register in […]
Gordon Campbell on the tension between health and defence spending, and Batman v Superman
What is the more rational use of taxpayer money? In one instance, we have New Zealanders with orthopedic problems living in pain until they can […]
Gordon Campbell on where Hillary Clinton may be worse than Trump
Anyone with misgivings about Hillary Clinton’s presidential ambitions had them confirmed in spades by Clinton’s appalling speech this week on the Israel/Palestine conflict. In one […]
Gordon Campbell on John Key putting defamation costs on the public tab
So, where are we now on the Teapot Tape saga? According to Prime Minister John Key, Key was wearing his “ leader of the National […]
Gordon Campbell on the government’s impotence towards the banks, and Iran
One of the defining features of this government’s political style is how often Prime Minister John Key chooses to sound like a mere observer of […]
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie banks, and patriotic death porn about the flag
If the New Zealand economy was a tennis player, it would be Maria Sharapova – a player reportedly reliant on artificial stimulants, and corporate endorsements. […]
Gordon Campbell on the security services review, and Bernie Sanders’ victory against the TPP
To no-one’s real surprise, the Cullen/Reddy review of the security services has recommended an extension of the powers of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), […]
Gordon Campbell on the left’s current challenges in Spain
In December, the elections in Spain ended in a four way stalemate. Neither of the two old major parties – the ruling right wing Partida […]
Gordon Campbell on Pharmac’s unequal battle over the funding of Keytruda
Sad to say, but the Key government has never showed much stomach for saying ‘No’ to corporate lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry or the film […]
Gordon Campbell on Rubio’s last stand, and tonight’s Sleater-Kinney show
Well, it certainly was entertaining to watch Rubio succeed in getting under Donald Trump’s skin the other day, in the last debate before tomorrow’s Super […]