Gordon Campbell On The Amoral Panic Over China’s Missile Test
Head for the basement, people! China has just tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead! It splashed down somewhere into international waters in […]
Military and Defence Issues
Gordon Campbell On The Shaky Iran Truce And MPs’ Housing Rorts
To 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 […]
Gordon Campbell On The Epic Falling Out Between Trump And Netanyahu
Here’s a snapshot of government priorities: one third of staff at a key facility that seeks to prevent the incidence of family and sexual violence […]
Gordon Campbell On The Myths Of Frugality In Our Defence Spending
In one sense, Peru is the poster child of political instability, having gone through nine presidents in the past 10 years, with several ending up […]
Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Zombie Shuffle Into A Fuel Crisis
The US rationale for the blockade/entire war is that Iran must never, ever be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and that Iran has always […]
Gordon Campbell On The Rise And Fall Of Hungary’s Viktor Orban
Hungary has made its mark before on the world stage. (Composer: Bela Bartok; ballpoint pen inventor: Laszlo Biro; national dish: goulash.) Even so, why did […]
Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Juggling Of Public Anxiety Over Fuel Prices
When it comes to its public messaging on the Iran war, the Luxon government is talking optimistically, while trying to ease the public gradually into […]
Gordon Campbell On Our Willingness To Earn US Approval, Via China-Bashing
The Chinese Embassy is right. The recent joint statement by Australia and New Zealand condemning China’s actions in the South China Sea reads like a […]
Gordon Campbell On The Weaponising Of IRD
So hard to pick and choose but the $2.9 billion tax break for landlords still stands out as the coalition government’s most abject surrender to […]
Gordon Campbell On The US Attack On Venezuela
In the wake of Winston Peters lame response to the US attack on Venezuela, its almost enough to make one yearn for the good old […]
Gordon Campbell On Māori Customary Rights, And Why Trump Thinks We Don’t Need AUKUS
If something isn’t really broken, no wonder people feel suspicious when government promises to “fix” it to the potential benefit of corporate interests. In 2011, […]
Gordon Campbell On New Zealand’s Willing Submission To The Pentagon’s Command And Control
Decades ago, Alexander Cockburn wrote a column pointing out that the true believers in the power and precision of the defence industry’s latest weaponry tend […]
Gordon Campbell On The Decline Of Winston Peters, And The Attacks On Helen Clark
As usual, last weekend’s New Zealand First conference in Palmerston North was very much about the Dear Leader. Alas, and like many other gentlemen of […]
Gordon Campbell On Teachers, Ferries And The Really Wasteful Spending
In the context of yesterday’s teachers strike, Judith Collins claimed that teachers with ten years of experience “can” (not “do”) earn $147,000 a year. In […]
Gordon Campbell On New Zealand’s Peter Thiel Problem
Reportedly, the moral revulsion being felt around the world at Israel’s actions in Gaza has induced 24 countries to sign a joint letter calling on […]
Gordon Campbell On The West’s War Against Iran
Clearly, the world needs to stop talking about Israel’s right to defend itself, and start talking about the world’s need to defend itself against Israel. […]
Gordon Campbell On Why An AUKUS Led By Trump Is A Scary Prospect
According to Social Development Minister Louise Upton her latest crackdown on the unemployed is just “common sense.” Oh, really. Upston is threatening to reduce or […]
Gordon Campbell on why we shouldn’t buy new planes for the PM
Its not often that one has to agree with Judith Collins, but yes, it would indeed cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” (at least) to […]
Gordon Campbell on the Aussie bush fires, and the killing of Qassem Suleimani
In popular culture, Australia is often portrayed as Western civilisation’s last unspoiled frontier, or as its final refuge from planetary disaster. In Nevil Shute’s best-selling […]
Gordon Campbell on the military withdrawal from Iraq
One fascinating aspect of this withdrawal decision is that it is not a case of victory over ISIS having being declared and everyone else going home at the same time, too.
Gordon Campbell on five reasons not to spend billions on replacing the Orions
Centre-left governments will give Defence whatever it says it needs, for fear that a “No” will result in them being labelled a bunch of peaceniks.
Is Kaiser Bill alive and well in the White House?
The Trump/Kaiser parallels are quite unnerving…
John Pilger, and making war on China
Why is New Zealand taking part in military war games aimed at our main trading partner?
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 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 Pharmac’s grudging concession to reality
Is this any way to run a health system… whereby terminally ill patients are forced into public demonstrations before the government (and its funding agency […]
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 Our Fearless PM's Foray Into China
Don’t mention the South China Sea dispute. Oh, but he will! Earlier this week, the image of dauntless Prime Minister John Key not backing down […]
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 the Defence Force’s spending bonanza
It has been a fairly typical week for this government… mental health services in Christchurch slashed, further massive cuts to DHB funding, and the abdication […]