Gordon Campbell on selecting refugees, Aussie generosity and a cat video
Now that we know how many Syrian refugees New Zealand will accept, the focus can shift onto how they’ll be selected, and the criteria in […]
World – Middle East
Gordon Campbell on our response to the Syrian refugee crisis
The full scale of the New Zealand government response to the Syrian refugee crisis – reportedly, the world’s biggest humanitarian challenge since the post-war formation […]
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 the government’s response to the refugee crisis in Europe
The government’s refusal to accept an emergency intake of refugees from the hundreds of thousands now pouring into Europe is pretty shameful. This country makes […]
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 the deal over Iran’s phantom nukes, and nuking Greece’s future
Though it isn’t being mentioned, Islamic State was really the elephant in the room in the final phase of the decade-long negotiations on Iran’s nuclear […]
Gordon Campbell on climate change protest, and Iraq training
For sheer style, humour and content fit for purpose, it would be hard to beat yesterday’s Greenpeace protest at Parliament. The fact that the hanging […]
Gordon Campbell on the FIFA scandal , and similar dirty dealings
Face it, it has been a very, very bad week for anyone who thinks that a) FIFA is a damn fine organisation run by guys […]
Gordon Campbell Key’s abuse of secrecy over Iraq & The TPP
Gordon Campbell on John Key’s abuse of secrecy over Iraq, and the TPP For the past week or so we’ve been hearing a lot about […]
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 […]
Gordon Campbell on the inadequate response to sexual violence prevention
On combatting sexual violence, the government has finally begun to undo some of the problems that were of its own making. Early in March, ACC […]
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 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 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 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 case for using air power against the Islamic State
There is an Alice Through the Looking Glass quality to the current response to the Islamic State. Everything about it seems inside out. Many people […]
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 […]