Archive for December, 2014
Wednesday, December 24th, 2014
Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex. Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the ...
Posted in Articles | 9 Comments »
Monday, December 22nd, 2014
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 can bet it wouldn’t be strewing them about at Christmas time – which is, traditionally, the dumping ground for terrible news that the government fervently hopes ...
Posted in Articles | 5 Comments »
Thursday, December 18th, 2014
The slaughter of the children in Pakistan is incomprehensibly awful. On the side, it has thrown a spotlight onto something that’s become a pop cultural meme. Fans of the Homeland TV series will be well aware of the collusion between sections of the Pakistan military/security establishment on one hand and ...
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2014
Whenever the authorities bring a siege situation to an end, there will be criticism if – as has happened in Sydney – any hostages are seriously hurt, or killed. The rationale for the Police decision to storm the café in Sydney will emerge later today. In the Sydney Morning Herald ...
Posted in Articles | Comments Off on Gordon Campbell on the Sydney siege, and DHB budget cuts
Friday, December 12th, 2014
As 2014 grinds to a close, we probably didn’t need one more reminder of this government’s ability to stare reality in the face and declare black to be a very fine shade of white. As you’re probably aware, the OECD has just released a research report that has rejected trickle ...
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2014
So China’s President Xi wants New Zealand to help them to extradite ‘corrupt’ Chinese officials who have fled here with their ill-gotten gains. Hey, who isn’t against corruption? Prejudge the question in that fashion and you automatically end up with the Winston Peters response – sure, let’s do it. Send ...
Posted in Articles | Comments Off on Gordon Campbell on the hurdles to any extradition treaty with China
Friday, December 5th, 2014
While Labour and National fiddle around with the powers of the security services – and warrantless surveillance is still an outrage even if it lasts for only 24 hours, Andrew Little - the big international story this week has been the plunge in oil prices. For once, the Greens and ...
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Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014
The use of cute labels to market bad ideas is what you do when running the country seems like a process similar to selling soap powder. So we probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Key government seems willing to drape its deployment in Iraq in the spirit of Anzac. If ...
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