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Gordon Campbell - Latest News [Page 21]
On Why The SIS Need Operational Ground Rules
Friday, 2 December 2022, 9:56 am | Gordon Campbell
This is bad, right? Apparently the SIS used its powers illegally when it raided journalist Nicky Hager’s cell phone and extracted information that still failed to identify one of the key sources for Hager’s 2011 book Other People’s Wars. ... More >>
On The Gaslighting About Inflation
Wednesday, 30 November 2022, 10:58 am | Gordon Campbell
Reportedly, we’re going to need to have a recession next year in order to curb our wild spending habits and bring inflation under control. According to some economists, we’ve all been spending our hefty wage rises so freely that up to 50,000 of us ... More >>
On Entrenchment, And Being ‘Soft On Crime’
Monday, 28 November 2022, 2:30 pm | Gordon Campbell
Good grief. Is it really a grave misuse of power to entrench safeguards against the irreversible sale of key public assets? Hardly. If this country has learned anything over the past 40 years, it should be that New Zealand has suffered lasting economic ... More >>
On The Centre-right’s Internal Ructions
Thursday, 24 November 2022, 10:58 am | Gordon Campbell
For donkey’s years, political commentary has been all about the binaries: left/right, Labour/National, government/opposition, she said/he said. Yet currently, a lot of the fascinating conflict is occurring amidst the centre-right. That’s because National, ... More >>
On Qatar, Joyce Carol Oates And Mimi Parker
Monday, 21 November 2022, 11:29 am | Gordon Campbell
The FIFA World Cup has kicked off amid laments about Qatar’s terrible human rights record, and FIFA’s greed in awarding them the Cup hosting rights in the first place. The criticism raining down on Qatar over its murderous treatment of migrant workers ... More >>
On The Case For Universal Free Dental Care
Thursday, 17 November 2022, 11:47 am | Gordon Campbell
Like Banquo’s ghost, the issue of universal free dental care keeps hovering into sight at Labour’s top table. ‘Tis a goodly, progressive idea, but it is also one that’s been done in repeatedly down the years by the shafts of political expedience, More >>
On Abortion Politics, Murdoch And The DeSantis Surge
Monday, 14 November 2022, 11:55 am | Gordon Campbell
So the Democrats did a whole lot better than OK in the midterm elections despite the cost of living crisis and despite the President’s low approval ratings. How come? In a word, “abortion” was the key mobilising issue. It inspired many women ... More >>
On The Midterms, Adrian Orr And Taxing The Banks
Thursday, 10 November 2022, 11:41 am | Gordon Campbell
It used to be a joke , but it seems that a lot of Republicans really might have moved to Florida to escape from the gulag of Dr Fauci. While in these midterms the “red wave” didn’t happen anywhere outside of Florida, the GOP control of the ... More >>
On Bank Profits, And The US Midterms
Tuesday, 8 November 2022, 11:55 am | Gordon Campbell
So far, the political response to excessive bank profits has held up a mirror to party identity. Labour thinks the level of bank profits is “open to question” but offers no action in response. National thinks the problem must lie with the state ... More >>
On Inflating The Threat Posed By Social Media
Thursday, 3 November 2022, 2:50 pm | Gordon Campbell
It has been a big week for the preachers of the social media apocalypse. During her speech on Monday to the He Whenua Taurikura hui on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, PM Jacinda Ardern told us that the country’s security agencies have ... More >>
On Iran Getting Worse, Alcohol In Sport And A Music Playlist
Tuesday, 1 November 2022, 1:57 pm | Gordon Campbell
So we’ve found a ledge for our Iran policy, and are now doing our best to call it a mezzanine. Yesterday, the government announced the suspension of the Human Rights Initiative with Iran that both countries launched in 2018. The suspension is in protest ... More >>
On Being Rich, White And Detained In Iran
Thursday, 27 October 2022, 12:37 pm | Gordon Campbell
One admirable thing about New Zealanders is that if we blunder into the bush in bad weather without proper food, clothing or a locator beacon, dozens of volunteers will still selflessly go in and do their best to bring us back alive. Ditto if we ... More >>
On Britain’s Latest Prime Minister Du Jour
Tuesday, 25 October 2022, 12:57 pm | Gordon Campbell
Rishi Sunak has vowed to unite his party and the country. Given the rightwards drift of the Conservative Party since David Cameron and Brexit, those two goals are bound to be contradictory. Especially since Sunak has no democratic mandate for the tough ... More >>
On Why Wages And Jobs Shouldn’t Be Inflation Cannon Fodder
Wednesday, 19 October 2022, 12:38 pm | Gordon Campbell
Hearing Don Brash being wheeled out on RNZ as an expert on taming inflation must have caused whiplash among some listeners. Contrary to myth, Brash‘s track record is definitely not one to emulate. In reality, he took up the reins at the RBNZ in ... More >>
On Why Rugby May Be A Health Risk
Monday, 17 October 2022, 12:44 pm | Gordon Campbell
While it is old news that the men who play top level rugby union are a heavier (and taller) lot than they used to be, the details can still be illuminating. Here, for example, are the comparative heights and weights of the All Blacks who played in ... More >>
On The Battle Over Emissions Pricing
Thursday, 13 October 2022, 12:24 pm | Gordon Campbell
According to the leader of the National Party, farmers are this country’s true conservationists, and tireless in their efforts to protect the environment on which their livelihood depends. Hmm. This must mean that some other bunch – trolls, aliens, ... More >>
On The Protests In Iran
Tuesday, 11 October 2022, 12:45 pm | Gordon Campbell
The bravery of the young demonstrators in Iran is extraordinary. This is the third major wave of demonstrations to wrack the country in the past 13 years, and each one has been ferociously suppressed. The demonstrators have risked being beaten and ... More >>
On How The Christchurch Call Serves Big Tech
Friday, 7 October 2022, 9:43 am | Gordon Campbell
At this point in 2022, the Christchurch Call looks like a somewhat forlorn effort to keep alive some of the political good will that PM Jacinda Ardern earned from her response to the mosque shootings. Reportedly, the next Christchurch Call project ... More >>
On Student Debt, Policy Turns And The Beths
Wednesday, 5 October 2022, 11:10 am | Gordon Campbell
It is an old point to make… But boomers did get a pretty good deal out of their free education and plentiful unionised vacation jobs. Then they got into power and cut taxes on their own incomes, thus going a long way to denying the same privileges ... More >>
On Why New Zealand Isn’t Heavily Taxed
Monday, 3 October 2022, 12:43 pm | Gordon Campbell
Allegedly, New Zealand is a highly taxed country with a government prone to big spending. Supposedly, that’s why we need to scrap the top tax rate, in order to attract and retain top talent. National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis said exactly ... More >>
