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Gordon Campbell - Latest News [Page 31]
On Why We Should Abolish The Military
Monday, 28 June 2021, 11:58 am | Gordon Campbell
Last Friday, Defence Minister Peeni Henare announced his intention to seek savings within the circa $20 billion allocated to Defence over the next decade or so. At the same time, Henare also offered assurances that the three really big ticket, multi-billion ... More >>
On The Barriers Facing Female Country Musicians, And The Weekly Playlist
Friday, 25 June 2021, 10:07 am | Gordon Campbell
Like no other performer in popular culture, Dolly Parton is loved and respected by people from opposite ends of the political spectrum, and every point in between. Her hits stopped coming a while ago, though. Modern country music is a genre that’s ... More >>
On Failing To Prepare For Either Mental Health Needs, Or Covid Outbreaks
Thursday, 24 June 2021, 11:01 am | Gordon Campbell
In a week when the Covid scare in Wellington and the national crisis in mental health both hit the headlines, they also seemed like mirror images of each other – in that we seem equally ill-prepared on both fronts. In both cases, contingency planning ... More >>
On The Lancet’s Stance Against The Olympic Games, And On The US Culture Battles Over Abortion
Tuesday, 22 June 2021, 11:05 am | Gordon Campbell
Yesterday - barely a month before the opening ceremony - the Lancet medical journal has called for a global conversation on whether the Olympics should go ahead. But who is able to take part in that conversation? Not the hosts, evidently. In poll ... More >>
On The America’s Cup, Critical Race Theory And A New, Weekly Music Playlist
Thursday, 17 June 2021, 10:36 am | Gordon Campbell
So… Why don’t they just cut to the chase, and call it the Emirates Cup? As this column predicted several months ago, the next America’s Cup challenge is headed overseas. Here’s what Werewolf said back in March : Emirates has made a major commitment ... More >>
On Britain’s Pathetic Trade Deal With Australia
Wednesday, 16 June 2021, 10:27 am | Gordon Campbell
So much for those assurances that New Zealand would be the first cab off the ran k for any post -Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom. Assuming for the moment that this was ever a good idea, the Aussies have managed to get there first. Yesterday, ... More >>
Gordon Campbell On The Mosque Movie, And The Demise Of Netanyahu
Monday, 14 June 2021, 11:54 am | Gordon Campbell
Plainly, a whole lot of New Zealanders – including PM Jacinda Ardern - are not on board with They Are U s, the mooted film project intended about the Christchurch mosque shootings. Here’s how the original Hollywood Reporter story described the ... More >>
On Some After-thoughts About The Climate Change Commission Report
Thursday, 10 June 2021, 12:09 pm | Gordon Campbell
The notion that New Zealand is pluckily - or foolishly – punching above its weight in the march towards carbon neutrality by the year 2050 seems entirely deluded. Either way though, the idea seems too useful for the politicians to surrender it willingly. ... More >>
On The McLachlan Interview, And The G-7 Global Corporate Tax
Tuesday, 8 June 2021, 12:10 pm | Gordon Campbell
TVNZ’s excuse for screening the Craig McLachlan interview last night was really flimsy. According to a TVNZ spokeswoman : “ It looks at his trial by media in Australia, and the impact this had on his wellbeing over a three and half year period.” This, ... More >>
On The Media’s Hissy Fit Over Naomi Osaka
Thursday, 3 June 2021, 11:02 am | Gordon Campbell
Last Sunday as we all now know, Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open. She had felt that the compulsory after-match press conferences would affect her mental health, and detract from her ability to play at her best. She eventually ... More >>
On Why It's Getting Harder To Walk The Tightrope Between China And The US
Tuesday, 1 June 2021, 10:57 am | Gordon Campbell
This morning, China announced it is changing its “two child” family limit to a “three child” policy. This looks like a desperate attempt to fix the problems that China is facing with its rapidly ageing population. Hard to see how this change ... More >>
On Whether We’re Anywhere Near Ready For Our Mass Vaccine Rollout
Monday, 31 May 2021, 9:55 am | Gordon Campbell
As the commencement date for New Zealand’s mass vaccination rollout looms and recedes– and it has now been pushed back until late July at the earliest – the media focus has been on whether Pfizer will deliver a sufficient number of vaccines ... More >>
On A Theoretical Way To Reduce The Scandals Over Political Donations
Thursday, 27 May 2021, 1:04 pm | Gordon Campbell
Political donations have become a reliable source of scandal. Last Monday, the courts continued the name suppression of six people associated with a donation made to the Labour Party that has led to Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charges being laid. This ... More >>
On The Gaza Aftermath, And The Attempted Coup In Samoa
Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 12:47 pm | Gordon Campbell
Mere days after the Israeli/Hamas ceasefire, some things have immediately returned to normal. Israeli police have reportedly been in action again against Palestinians gathered at the Damascus Gate andin al-Aqsa mosque, even though the police brutality ... More >>
On Bob Dylan At 80
Monday, 24 May 2021, 10:11 am | Gordon Campbell
Bob Dylan turns 80 today. And at such a moment, are we gathered here to praise him, or to bury him and erect a monument? A bit of both, I guess. Also, there’s always been a further purpose to the what, how, and why of Dylanology in that it serves More >>
On Budget 2021’s Successes And Failures
Friday, 21 May 2021, 9:39 am | Gordon Campbell
In some realms of the centre-right, Budget 2021 has been portrayed as a “peak Labour” exercise in which the government has veered sharply leftwards in order to satisfy its political base. To the left though, it has seemed more like a wasted ... More >>
On The Next Governor-General
Wednesday, 19 May 2021, 10:42 am | Gordon Campbell
The next Governor-General will have to be named quite soon. Dame Patsy Reddy (appointed 2016) is nearing the end of her five-year term. At the best of times, being a credible local stand-in for a head of state that’s based in London cannot be an easy job. ... More >>
On What Triggered The Carnage In Gaza
Monday, 17 May 2021, 11:04 am | Gordon Campbell
At last count, 195 Palestinians have reportedly died in the latest round of violence, 55 of them children. Roughly ten times that number have been wounded, and thousands made homeless. On the Israeli side, 8 people have died from rockets fired from Gaza. More >>
On Cancel Culture And The ‘hate Speech’ Laws
Friday, 14 May 2021, 11:53 am | Gordon Campbell
If there really is anyone out there who feels genuinely panicked about what ‘cancel culture' is doing to our precious freedoms, then maybe they should just take a deep breath, look hard at who has allegedly been ‘ cancelled’ and see if they can ... More >>
On The Compelling Case For Meatless Meat
Wednesday, 12 May 2021, 11:59 am | Gordon Campbell
Talk about living in a bubble. As vegetarianism and veganism become normalised – there are more options on restaurant menus! - it can be easy to think that the whole world is gradually giving up on meat. Alas, the reverse is true. Americans for instance More >>
