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On National Spreading Panic About The Economy
Tuesday, 20 February 2024, 9:03 am | Gordon Campbell
It is a political strategy as old as time. Scare the public with tales of disaster and stampede them into supporting your ideological agenda because they believe There Is No Alternative. Yet, if the NZ economy truly is as “fragile” as PM Christopher ... More >>
Joe Biden: The Damnation Of Age
Monday, 19 February 2024, 12:07 pm | Binoy Kampmark
He was sweet and well meaning, but he was old. He was hazy. His memory was poor. Doddering, confused, the self-proclaimed leader of the Free World seemed ready to check into a retirement village. That, at least, is the thick insinuation of the ... More >>
Here Come The Steroid Games
Saturday, 17 February 2024, 6:34 pm | Binoy Kampmark
To attribute weighty moral codes to athletes has always been a silly pastime of the judging classes and flesh admiring voyeurs. But sporting bodies, in a manner similar to the clergy, demand something called the level playing field. Fairness ... More >>
Download Weekly: Chorus names new fibre sites
Friday, 16 February 2024, 12:57 pm | Digitl
Chorus names new fibre areas, what the telco sector learned from Cyclone Gabrielle, PC slump continues More >>
On National Passing Bad Policies Under Urgency
Friday, 16 February 2024, 11:10 am | Gordon Campbell
If National really had faith in its welfare policies, it wouldn’t be ramming them through Parliament under urgency – a step that means the policies can’t be exposed to select committee debate, public submissions, expert commentary, media scrutiny ... More >>
Waymo Luddites, the right to disconnect, NZ streaming, consu
Thursday, 15 February 2024, 12:30 pm | Digitl
You can hear me talking about these topics on RNZ Nine-to-Noon with Kathryn Ryan. . More >>
When Courts Intervene: Halting The Transfer Of F-35 Parts To Israel
Wednesday, 14 February 2024, 1:06 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Legal challenges regarding the Israel-Gaza War are starting to bulk lawyers’ briefs and courtroom proceedings. South Africa got matters underway with its December application before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in its campaign ... More >>
On Five Of Luxon’s Gaza Absurdities
Wednesday, 14 February 2024, 11:43 am | Gordon Campbell
Earlier this week, PM Christopher Luxon met with 48 public service CEOs to make sure they were on board with his plans to cut spending on public services so that National can proceed to give the revenue away to those New Zealanders least in need. ... More >>
Auckland train network reliability in question with CRL on horizon
Wednesday, 14 February 2024, 11:28 am | RNZ
There are concerns the problems causing rail disruption won't be fixed before the underground metro is finished next year. More >>
Silencing Francesca Albanese
Wednesday, 14 February 2024, 9:24 am | Eugene Doyle
It was with a sense of disgust rather than despair that I read in the Jerusalem Post today: " 'Antisemitic' UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese banned from Israel." We’re being gas-lighted again and this is a chance to push back ... More >>
Feathery Infiltrators: The Case Of The Pigeon Spy
Tuesday, 13 February 2024, 12:14 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Animals have, at times, been given the same dismissively nasty treatment humans love giving themselves. Be it detention, torture, trial, and execution, the unwitting creatures can be found in the oddest situations, anthropomorphised with all the characteristics ... More >>
On National’s Misleading Policy Packaging
Monday, 12 February 2024, 12:27 pm | Gordon Campbell
Truth in packaging can be a political rarity, but the gap between what the Luxon administration says it is doing and what its policies will actually deliver is looking as wide as the Grand Canyon. Is it possible to run a government for three years purely ... More >>
Absence Of Evidence: Israel’s Case Against UNRWA
Sunday, 11 February 2024, 7:31 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Statistics are often given lanky legs that take their user far. But how they are used, and how they are received, is striking. The current figure of 27,500 dead is a blighting, grotesque fact. But as they are Palestinians, the issue is less significant ... More >>
When Times Were Better: Victoria’s Ties With Israel’s Defence Industry
Friday, 9 February 2024, 12:12 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Times were supposedly better in 2022. That is, if you were a lawmaker in the Australian state of Victoria, a busy Israeli arms manufacturer, or cash counting corporate middleman keen to make a stash along the way between the two. That view is premised on the ... More >>
On The Politics As A Morality Play
Thursday, 8 February 2024, 12:49 pm | Gordon Campbell
To a striking extent, the working class vote in Western societies has been going to right wing demagogues, not to left wing social democrats. Even the mainstream parties on the right of the political spectrum are running the risk of being rejected ... More >>
Growing Call To Make Big Tobacco Pay For Health And Environment Harms
Thursday, 8 February 2024, 9:06 am | Bobby Ramakant
Would you not be surprised to learn that an industry whose products kill over 8 million people every year (even when used as the manufacturer intended), and cause an array of health and environment disasters of epidemic proportion, has not been ... More >>
Breaching The ‘Iron Wall’: How Palestinians Crushed Jabotinsky's Century-Old Ideas
Wednesday, 7 February 2024, 9:45 am | Ramzy Baroud
It seemed strange, if not out of context, when Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News that “Muslims are not afraid of us anymore”. Feiglin’s comments were made on October 25, less than three weeks following the ... More >>
Muddled Analysis: Left, Right, And Wrong!
Monday, 5 February 2024, 7:02 pm | Ian Powell
Sometimes when I contemplate whether to blog on a political subject or not, I struggle with the question of relevance. The fact that the subject interests me is not a guarantee of wider relevance. On this occasion, aided and abetted by personal bias I’ve opted ... More >>
Unaccountable Hackers: The CIA, Vengeance And Joshua Schulte
Monday, 5 February 2024, 1:39 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The release of the Vault 7 files in the spring of 2017 in a series of 26 disclosures, detailing the hacking tools of the US Central Intelligence Agency, was one of the more impressive achievements of the WikiLeaks publishing organisation. As WikiLeaks ... More >>
On Tomorrow, And The Spirit Of Moana Jackson
Monday, 5 February 2024, 10:34 am | Gordon Campbell
Since ACT is sponsoring the Treaty Principles Bill, it is understandable that David Seymour should be catching most of the flak being generated by the Bill. National, by contrast, is offering soothing reassurances that the Bill will be allowed to progress ... More >>
All wards should be treated the same, says Local Government New Zealand president
Monday, 5 February 2024, 10:19 am | RNZ
Councils are attacking the government's proposal to bring back local referenda for Māori wards. More >>
The Edge Of War, Our Battle For Truth
Monday, 5 February 2024, 10:18 am | Eugene Doyle
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell, 1984. On the opening day of the bombing last week, I had to work hard to find out what the Iraqi government thought of the wave of attacks on Iraq by the ... More >>
Forget The Kids: Social Media, Congress and Child Safety
Sunday, 4 February 2024, 3:05 pm | Binoy Kampmark
It was a struggle to see how a child’s welfare was relevant in the latest, shrill debates about technology taking place on The Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee and the leaders of social media companies were on show to thrash out matters on technology ... More >>
New Zealand Goose-steps Towards The Moral Abyss
Friday, 2 February 2024, 11:55 am | Eugene Doyle
With its decision to suspend or “pause” funding to the United Nation’s key organisation that is providing assistance to Gaza’s famished, desperate population, New Zealand could open itself up to a charge of participating in a genocide. I first ... More >>
Collective Versus Individual: Māori Versus 'Maoris'
Thursday, 1 February 2024, 1:45 pm | Keith Rankin
Collectiveness at it most potent has been called asabiyya by macrohistorian and cliodynamicist Peter Turchin. At its least potent , collectiveness is a recipe for social division, top-heaviness, escalating inequality, and societal breakdown. The ... More >>
Collective Versus Individual: Māori Versus 'Maoris'
Thursday, 1 February 2024, 1:42 pm | Keith Rankin
Collectiveness at it most potent has been called asabiyya by macrohistorian and cliodynamicist Peter Turchin. At its least potent , collectiveness is a recipe for social division, top-heaviness, escalating inequality, and societal breakdown. The ... More >>
Flashpoint For War: The Drone Killings At Tower 22
Thursday, 1 February 2024, 12:22 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The BBC’s characteristically mild-mannered note said it all: What is Tower 22? More to the point, what are US forces doing in Jordan? (To be more precise, a dusty scratching on the Syria-Jordan border.) These questions were posed in the aftermath ... More >>
On ACT’s Flat Tax Fever
Thursday, 1 February 2024, 12:04 pm | Gordon Campbell
Party on, dudes. Repeatedly, the policy adventures of Christopher Luxon and David Seymour are taking New Zealand back in time to the most excellent year of 2017. According to Chris and Dave, that’s when government spending was being restrained most righteously ... More >>
Cannibalism, Conservatives And Lies: Australia’s Nemesis Story
Wednesday, 31 January 2024, 1:17 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Palace coups have become a seasonal tradition in Australian politics. Between 2007 and 2018, Australia had six prime ministers, four of whom were overthrown by their own parties, the first five never being allowed to complete their first term in office. ... More >>
Groundbreaking Judicial Verdict Unravelling Dark Political Layers
Wednesday, 31 January 2024, 11:44 am | Syed Atiq ul Hassan
International political experts suggest a connection between the punishment and the alleged involvement of the United States, echoing a historical pattern of Pakistani politicians facing legal consequences when opposing US or British directives .’ ... More >>
Secular Cycles And Empires
Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 1:49 pm | Keith Rankin
Peter Turchin, author of End Times , has spent many years researching cliodynamics . His works in the 2000s include Secular Cycles (2009) and War and Peace and Wa r (2007). A central concept in communicating his research is that of asabiyya , a word ... More >>
No more aid for UN aid agency until Peters satisfied - Luxon
Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 12:48 pm | RNZ
Christopher Luxon has announced contributions to UNRWA will be reviewed by the Foreign Minister, while Helen Clark has criticised nations for pulling out. More >>
Judicial Murder In Alabama
Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 12:46 pm | Binoy Kampmark
During the evening of January 25, Kenneth Eugene Smith, having failed to convince the US Supreme Court to delay his execution, became yet another victim of judicial, state-sanctioned murder. A previous, failed effort, using lethal injection, had been ... More >>
Houthis Save The World
Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 12:46 pm | Eugene Doyle
The State of Israel can butcher thousands of innocents but New Zealand would not lift a finger to provide support to its victims. IDF soldiers can gun down old men and women waving white flags, shell lines of refugees queuing for aid, and deprive ... More >>
On Wasting Money On Defence, And Melanie, RIP
Tuesday, 30 January 2024, 9:56 am | Gordon Campbell
On the weekend, the government signalled once again that “ bold” and “brave” decisions were looming on Defence. That’s political code for lavish spending on weapons systems while essential social services are being cut. The rationale for ... More >>
The ICJ’s Provisional Orders: The Genocide Convention Applies to Gaza
Saturday, 27 January 2024, 2:34 pm | Binoy Kampmark
On January 26, legal experts, policy wonks, activists and the plain curious waited for the order of the International Court of Justice, sitting in The Hague. The topic was that gravest of crimes, considered most reprehensible in the canon of international ... More >>
Mesmeric Weapons: South Africa’s Nuclear Program
Friday, 26 January 2024, 1:00 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The lessons of the South African nuclear weapons program are deep, profound and largely ignored by non-proliferation dogmatists. They show that a regime, even one subject to sanctions and exiled to the diplomatic cold room, can still show aptitude ... More >>
On How Christopher Luxon Is Turning NZ Into A US Proxy
Thursday, 25 January 2024, 11:18 am | Gordon Campbell
How many students can pack into a phone booth? Surely, nowhere near as many as the double standards the Luxon government is packing into its rationale for helping to bomb the Houthis. So outraged are we at the Houthi attacks on maritime trade that ... More >>
May His Like Never Be Seen Again: Scott Morrison Departs
Wednesday, 24 January 2024, 1:40 pm | Binoy Kampmark
His type should never be seen again. Born from the dark well of swill and advertising, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was always the apotheosis of politics’ worst tendencies: shallow form, public service for private interest, and, ultimately, ... More >>
When The Cookie Crumbled: The Ron DeSantis Campaign Ends
Tuesday, 23 January 2024, 2:26 pm | Binoy Kampmark
So much for that. Much had been promised by Florida Governor Ron De Santis to derail Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House. But the attempt to wrest the Republican Party from the orange ogre’s meaty, waving hands was never convincing. In the end, ... More >>
On Treaty Principles, And Nikki Haley’s False Dawn
Tuesday, 23 January 2024, 11:18 am | Gordon Campbell
So the government wants to “debate” the principles of Te Tiriti, even though its own Māori Development Minister has been simultaneously assuring us that these principles are non-negotiable. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to be delivering ... More >>
John Pilger, a Friend of Palestine and All Oppressed Nations, Has Passed Away
Sunday, 21 January 2024, 8:06 pm | Ramzy Baroud
The first and the last time I met John Pilger in person was in 2018. I was invited to deliver a speech at the NSW Parliament in Sydney, Australia. Among the large crowd were many that I knew and respected - a former foreign minister, socially conscientious ... More >>
Community of 11,000 set to lose only supermarket
Friday, 19 January 2024, 12:55 pm | RNZ
Locals in a small, low-income suburb north of Hastings are devastated by the news. More >>
100 Days Of War And Resistance: Legendary Palestinian Resistance Will Be Netanyahu’s Downfall
Thursday, 18 January 2024, 2:44 pm | Ramzy Baroud
Law number one in the ‘law of holes’, is that “if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” Law number two, “if you are not digging, you are still in a hole”. These adages sum up Israel’s ongoing political, military and strategic crises, ... More >>
To Be (a) Liberal
Thursday, 18 January 2024, 2:12 pm | Keith Rankin
I enjoy Bryce Edwards' Political Roundup as a succinct and pertinent summary of current New Zealand politics. But, in The Liberal v Conservative anguish over the direction of NZ politics ( NZ Herald , 3 January 2024) Edwards corrupts the word ... More >>
Cancelling The Journalist: The ABC’s Coverage Of The Israel-Gaza War
Thursday, 18 January 2024, 9:49 am | Binoy Kampmark
What a cowardly act it was. A national broadcaster, dedicated to what should be fearless reporting, cowed by the intemperate bellyaching of a lobby concerned about coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. The investigation by The Age newspaper was revealing ... More >>
On Charter Schools, And The Ghahraman Blame Machine
Wednesday, 17 January 2024, 12:07 pm | Gordon Campbell
According to Act Party leader David Seymour, if we gave 16 year olds the vote and allowed teachers to teach civics classes in high school, the result would be… Well, let Seymour himself paint the picture: The final recommendations of the independent ... More >>
Provisional NCEA results show pass rates drop for third year in a row
Wednesday, 17 January 2024, 11:56 am | RNZ
The Qualifications Authority said three years of Covid-related disruption were probably to blame. More >>
US Lessons For New Zealand’s Health System: Profiteering, Hospital Adverse Events And Patient Outcomes
Monday, 15 January 2024, 4:48 pm | Ian Powell
Although not guaranteed it is likely that the ugly head of ‘Public Private Partnerships’ (PPPs) will be raised again in Aotearoa New Zealand’s public hospitals following last year’s election of a new National-led coalition government. Profit maximisation ... More >>
Israel’s Argument At The Hague: We Are Incapable Of Genocide
Monday, 15 January 2024, 4:12 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Israel’s relationship with the United Nations, international institutions and international law has at times bristled with suspicion and blatant hostility. In a famous cabinet meeting in 1955, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion famously knocked ... More >>
Genocide As A Concept: Binary Or Analogue?
Monday, 15 January 2024, 1:46 pm | Keith Rankin
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) – based in The Hague, in The Netherlands – is being asked by South Africa if the 100-day (so far) slaughter by the Government of Israel in Gaza constitutes a 'genocide'. Thus 'genocide' is presented as a binary ... More >>
On The Gaza Genocide Hearings
Monday, 15 January 2024, 12:42 pm | Gordon Campbell
Don’t hold your breath for a final judgement from the International Court of Justice as to whether Israel is, or isn’t, committing genocide in Gaza. Since 2019, the ICJ has been mulling over whether Myanmar has committed genocide against its Rohingya ... More >>
Tall Tales And Murderous Restraint: Blinken On Gaza And Israel
Thursday, 11 January 2024, 3:35 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The role of the US State Department regarding Israel’s continued obliteration of Gaza is becoming increasingly clear. As the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces continue, the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is full of meaningless statements ... More >>
On Biden V Trump, And The Taiwan Election
Thursday, 11 January 2024, 11:28 am | Gordon Campbell
If the allegations against Golriz Ghahraman are found to have substance – or even if they merely result in an official Police investigation – then resignation looks the only option. The Greens brand is based on its claims to hold itself to a higher ... More >>
Holstering A Career: Wayne LaPierre Resigns From The NRA Executive
Tuesday, 9 January 2024, 3:56 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The now departed chief executive of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) should know. Wayne LaPierre’s time had come to resemble a dictatorship in a hurry, pinching the silver and stomping ... More >>
Circle Of Secrecy: The Iraq War’s Missing Cabinet Documents
Monday, 8 January 2024, 6:48 pm | Binoy Kampmark
They are unlikely to be revelatory, will shatter no myths, nor disprove any assumptions. Cabinet documents exist to merely show that a political clique – the heart of the Westminster model of government, so to speak – often contain the musings of invertebrates, ... More >>
On Immigration’s Role In The Gaza Carnage
Monday, 8 January 2024, 12:17 pm | Gordon Campbell
If the world was in any doubt about what Israel’s endgame in Gaza might be, this (Google translated) Christmas Day report in the Israeli media made it pretty clear: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed [today] at the Likud faction meeting ... More >>
NZ Just Threatened The Houthis.
Friday, 5 January 2024, 2:50 pm | Eugene Doyle
New Zealand has just signed our name to a letter threatening death and destruction to the Houthis of Yemen. More >>
Funding The Imperium: Australia Subsidises US Nuclear Submarines
Friday, 5 January 2024, 1:57 pm | Binoy Kampmark
AUKUS, the trilateral pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, was a steal for all except one of the partners. Australia, given the illusion of protection even as its aggressive stance (acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, becoming ... More >>
Killing Australians In Lebanon: Selected Targets; Selective Morality
Thursday, 4 January 2024, 3:23 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The killing of an Australian-Lebanese national Ibrahim Bazzi, his Lebanese wife Shorouq Hammoud, and his brother Ali Bazzi by the Israeli Defence Forces in a missile strike in southern Lebanon, has been an object exercise in selective outrage, selective ... More >>
