Israel's PrimeMinister has unilaterally laid waste to years of Middle East Peace negotiations by blatantly ruling out issues that have long been on the table, and in so doing has once again humiliated President Obama's albeit pathetic attempts to resolve the ongoing crisis. Meanwhile the Palestinians are getting on with business.
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The Standard & Poor's Budget
Bill English's third Budget has laid foundations. For a couple of short-term goals, in particular. But what's the point if those foundations are being undermined even as they are laid?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday May 20
Barack Obama gives major speech on US Middle East policy; Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow; Japan has fallen into recession following quake and tsunami disasters; China announces problems with world's largest hydroelectric dam; Strauss-Kahn quits IMF post but maintains he is innocent; and more
Read MoreTwo hard constraints: climate science, and clean coal
Climate scientist James Hansen and Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder debate how to secure the future of coal, New Zealand, and the world
Read MoreLiberté...non; Egalité…sort of; Fraternité…perhaps a little much
Dominique Strauss-Kahn finds himself on the wrong side of the very essence of being a French privileged high-flyer, and it turns out that guilty or not, the sun has proven way too close for this Icarus.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday May 19
US wants IMF to appoint new chief in wake of Strauss-Kahn scandal--talks have already begun to choose a replacement; Eurozone financial crisis won't be worsened by loss of Strauss-Kahn, experts say; China rationing electircity in provinces; Myanmar still holding 2,200 political prisoners despite release programme; Al-Qaeda chooses Egyptian as new leader; White House pledges aid for Northern Africa; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday May 18
NATO ramps up bombing campaign on Tripoli; observers wonder if NATO is putting enough pressure on Qaddafi; Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani says China is his country's 'best friend'; US may send reps to assess food shortages in North Korea; Pakistan fires on NATO helicopter; IMF chief in US prison; and more
Read MoreIt's the end of the world, and I feel fine
So, a record deficit huh? The scene is being painted for a chop-chop Budget, but is our public debt really that bad? Let's take a look at our history...
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday May 17
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn agrees to forensic examination for investigation into alleged sex assault on Manhattan hotel maid; Strauss-Kahn arrest has prompted fears in Athens that they have lost a powerful advocate for economic recovery; Chinese artist Ai Weiwei allowed visit with wife--the first contact with family or friends since his arrest six weeks ago; Japanese authorities say they will have shut down Fukushima nuclear reactors by the end of the year; Egyptian authorities turn on pro-Palestinian protestors; John Kerry to visit Pakistan for counter-terrorism talks; Mississippi floodgates opened to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans; and more
Read MorePrince Charles, won
Prince Charles – unwilling to let his son steal the whole show – almost atoned for a lifetime's embarrassing blurts and blunders, when he aired his passion for agri-culture, not agri-industry. Maybe he shouldn't be put out to pasture, just yet – or is that in fact where he belongs?
Read MoreThat's why flags are such ugly things
Why do our Supreme Court judges hate our glorious war dead so much?
Read MoreDear Don – An Open Letter
The world has changed dramatically since 2005. The Don Brash prescription for change has not. But his venom is now directed at National under Key and English instead of Labour under Clark and Cullen
Read MoreWhy Politics needs Science
What if those in politics could get past what's right and what's left to what's right and what's wrong? That's naive, of course, but it doesn't mean that science couldn't improve the way we decide those big policy questions
Read MorePeter Dunne gets his claws out and his cunning on
It's that time again, when Peter Dunne goes prowling for enough votes to survive another term. Except this time he's thinking bigger. Could it be 2002 all over again for the Centrist Saviour?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday May 13
Qaddafi makes public appearance as rebels advance and NATO bombs Tripoli (+ analysis); At least 10 killed in Yemen protests; US Attorney General says bin Laden "not assassinated"; EU pledges open borders despite Denmark and Italy actions; Japan says early warning system saved lives in quake; and more
Read MoreCosta Rica: small feet and big smiles
In which my musing, about what would make a good life, is helped along by a good list. It sounds a lot like New Zealand
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday May 12
US and China reach "milestone" deal on market access, technology and defence; Clinton still labels China's record on human rights "deplorable"; Another cuty shelled in Syria crackdown; Bin Laden's son demands inquiry; More strikes in Greece as EU reviews bailout; and more
Read MoreChart of the day: Say something already! edition
Osama bin Laden and the Wild West
If the United States is so keen to espouse the virtues of good governance including the rule of law to others, then it is time for it to end its ‘Wild West’ mentality and practice what it preaches
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday May 10
Pakistan government to respond to Bin Laden raid, as US demands access to wives (+ analysis of Bin Laden's targets); Egyptian military partols streets after religious violence; Softer bailout terms for Greece and Ireland?; Bashir faces third trial; and more
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