Gordon Campbell on Trump and the Madman Theory
Years ago, Richard Nixon explained to his chief adviser Bob Haldeman what has since become known as the “Madman Theory” of foreign policy. Basically, if […]
Newsworthy
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 the myopia of the business news
Listening to the business news is a bit like eavesdropping on the radio transmissions from space aliens. There is no discernible connection between the concerns […]
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 the view from Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo
Sorry for being out of radio contact overseas for much of this week, even as the Cunliffe/Mahuta duo were being deep-sixed by that feisty Labour […]
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 Carly Fiorina and the anti-abortion scam
So Carly Fiorina – hitherto best known as the CEO who drove Hewlett-Packard to the brink of ruin – was the big winner in the […]
Gordon Campbell on the flag campaign
So far, the public has treated the government’s flag campaign with something between disinterest and disdain. Most New Zealanders have instinctively seen through the marketing […]
Gordon Campbell on the economic bad news, and Turkey’s fears about the Kurds
Traditionally, voters regard National as a more competent manager of the economy. It is the sole upside of crony capitalism: surely these guys must know […]
Gordon Campbell on telling the poor to ask for more
The government’s “let them ask for more” response to the dilapidated, cold and unhealthy conditions faced by many families in state housing can only be […]
Gordon Campbell on what Uber and The Hobbit have in common
Remember the Great Hobbit Fiasco of 2010 – when John Key, Gerry Brownlee etc bowed and scraped to the lords of Warners and changed our […]
Gordon Campbell on today’s showdown over Obama’s TPP trade agenda
The defeat that the White House suffered last Friday in its quest for effective ‘fast track’ authority (aka Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA) need not […]
Gordon Campbell on the Sepp Blatter resignation
Any initial elation at Sepp Blatter’s resignation as the overlord of FIFA will be tempered by his declared intention to stay on until at least […]
Gordon Campbell on lessons for Labour from the UK election
If the polls were right – and the pollsters kept telling us how accurate they’d been in 2010, and even Nate Silver was getting the […]
Gordon Campbell on Indonesia’s latest round of executions
Gordon Campbell on Indonesia’s latest round of executions To no-one’s real surprise, Indonesia has carried out its second wave of executions this year. Given the […]
Gordon Campbell on the hair-pulling finale and Gallipoli
Don’t know about you, but when hi-jinks and horsing around are going on, my understanding is that everyone involved is supposed to be having a […]
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 Northland by election, and a TPP news round-up
Incredibly, Winston Peters is back at centre stage of New Zealand politics, and in the role he likes best – as the virtuous underdog, fighting […]
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 […]
On tomorrow’s speeches by John Key and Andrew Little
The Key government has already kicked off the political year on a stridently ideological note, with Environment Minister Nick Smith choosing to lay all manner […]
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 election in Greece, and EU turmoil
The election in Greece on Sunday – and the likely triumph of the left wing Syriza Party – will be only the first of three […]
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 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 the dumping of bad news at Christmas
Gordon Campbell on the dumping of bad news at Christmas By Gordon Campbell If the government really did have good tidings of great joy you […]
Gordon Campbell on Rick Ellis as Te Papa’s new CEO
The recent appointment of former TVNZ boss Rick Ellis to head Te Papa has copped a fair bit of criticism. Much of it has been […]
Gordon Campbell on the Lyttleton executive pay scandal, and more TPP problems
It isn’t often that one story can encapsulate (a) the bogus rhetoric used to justify sky-high pay packages for top executives, (b) the unequal way […]
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 the aftermath of the Greenwald/Snowden revelations
[See correction below. link] The credibility issues have come down to two main ones: 1 The email. This has to do with whether Key knowingly […]
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, […]