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. […]
Music
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 […]
Gordon Campbell on the support for the Clintons among black voters
Nevada has been conducting its politics via caucuses only since 2004, and the state’s tepid interest in this method of democratic expression still shows. Historically, […]
Gordon Campbell on the middle class anger behind the rise of Donald Trump
One of the best examples of the Alice Through The Looking Glass nature of US politics occurred on the weekend, when Donald Trump – in […]
Gordon Campbell on the Treaty/TPP overlap, and the Iowa backwash
Click for big version. The people who point out that we already have investor-state dispute settlement provisions in other trade deals and ‘so far so […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s free education plan, Iowa and Jefferson Airplane
The “free” education policy that Labour has just unveiled has some obvious shortcomings. The universities are right to stress that the cuts to their net […]
Gordon Campbell on making the media pay for OIA requests
Click for big version. So it seems that since November, the Reserve Bank has been quietly enacting a policy of charging the media for Official […]
Gordon Campbell on David Bowie
With hindsight, this last week must have been a race to get David Bowie’s final album Blackstar out – and reviewed – before his death […]
Gordon Campbell on Podemos, and Spain’s election stalemate
The events of 2015 taught us a lot about the potential ( and the limits) of left wing populism. Syriza in Greece had started the […]
Gordon Campbell on the Dotcom extradition decision
Inevitably – and with justification – Kim Dotcom has already lodged an appeal against yesterday’s District Court decision that he is eligible for extradition to […]
Gordon Campbell on the rejection of a Pakistani polio worker
Too bad that the New Zealand Immigration and Protection (hah!) Tribunal don’t know how to use Google. If they did, their bizarre decision to send […]
Gordon Campbell on Labour’s endorsement of a combat role
Normally, it is governments that drop their unpalatable measures in the shadow of Christmas, but this time the Labour Opposition is doing so. Apparently, if […]
Gordon Campbell on how the Republicans just buried the TPP
In case you were still holding your breath about the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, you can relax. For months, it has seemed increasingly unlikely […]
Gordon Campbell on John Key’s do’s and don’ts list when it comes to detainees
Since Prime Minister John Key plainly has trouble with the leadership thing, maybe we should keep it simple for him. So, here’s a list of […]
Gordon Campbell on the John Key smear attack, Russia’s sports doping and Allen Toussaint
The rationale behind Prime Minister John Key’s smear attack against Labour yesterday (and the subsequent walkout from Parliament) was obvious enough. When you’re in a […]
Gordon Campbell on Malcolm Turnbull, and rugby mania
When Malcolm Turnbull took over as PM across the Tasman, much was made of him citing the populist touch of Prime Minister John Key – […]
Gordon Campbell on the gender pay gap
Column – Gordon Campbell Care to know what Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence thinks about the gender wage gap? No? Well, I suppose she is […]
Gordon Campbell on copyright, the Authors Guild case and the TPP
A few days ago, Google finally and comprehensively won a very long-running case brought against it by the Authors Guild which had claimed that Google’s […]
Gordon Campbell on the TPP deal reached in Atlanta
If the TPP was the Rugby World Cup, the New Zealand team probably wouldn’t be making it out of pool play. While the final details […]
Gordon Campbell on the Chris Brown furore
Thank goodness Dame Tariana Turia has been able to inject a bit of common sense into the Chris Brown visa issue – her argument being […]
Gordon Campbell on Paula Bennett’s gaffe, and Luna in Newtown
Local Government Minister Paula Bennett’s statement of support for cutting red tape in the building industry was probably self-certified as being politically OK, but it […]
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 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 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 […]
The Complicatist : Loving the Songs of the Vulgar Boatmen
Good lyric writing can be a thing of wonder
Gordon Campbell on the Cullen Review of our security service
Whatever the conflicts and point scoring between them on other issues, National and Labour have always spoken virtually as one on free trade and the […]
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 Privy Council’s Teina Pora decision
The quashing of the convictions of Teina Pora for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett in 1992 has shone a spotlight once again on […]
Gordon Campbell on the recent smackdown over Greece, and Mr Spock RIP
There had been a fortnight of fevered buildup. Yet here we are in the aftermath of the February 28 showdown between the new Syriza government […]
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 […]