Syria's deputy oil minister defects from President Bashar al-Assad's regime and joins opposition; Chinese official accuses Uighur militants of having ties to Pakistan; Myanmar's military-backed government is holding peace talks with rebels; US investigates alleged drug running in Afghan air force; video on Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony goes viral; and more
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Poll of Polls archive: 2008 to 2011
For your statistical, nostalgic pleasure.
Read MorePoll of Polls: Post election shake up
The first few polls of the new year and the new term are in, and together they suggest a markedly different political landscape has developed since the election.
Read MoreWomen under-represented as leaders in New Zealand - so what to do?
The first nation to give women the vote now has few women leading newspapers, businessness and political parties. So this international women's day, what can we do about that?
A Lange summer spent re-thinking asset sales
There are altenatives to selling off the SOEs, so why not look at some other options?
Read MoreWhat do we mean by "news media"?
This post from the Law Commission looks at the Review of Regulatory Gaps and the New Media issues paper. Please feel free to join the discussion
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday March 7
Netanayahu insists Iran is developing nuclear weapons, therefore Israel is justified in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities; Asian markets drop in response to China's slowing economic growth; Tibetan teen is latest to set fire to himself as protest against Beijing's Tibet policy; Syria consents to United Nations visit; thousands protest in Russia after Putin's win; and more
Read MoreAli Baba & the mining of New Zealand
The government says it wants to balance green growth with digging holes, but can we do both? Perhaps we should slow down, rather than end up somewhere we don't want to be
Read MoreOf 'sluts' and 'prostitutes' and...Rush
Talkshow host Rush Limbaugh has 'apologised' for his vicious, personal attack on a university student who dared to argue the case for public funding of women's contraceptive health...but it was how he did it that says so much more about him and his Republican party devotees....
Read MoreLooking abroad beyond the smoke of their own chimneys
Why is it that New Zealand's Supreme Court thinks that foreign law helps us know what our law should be?
Read MoreOn exactitude in democracy
The Electoral Commission has to review six aspects of MMP (plus whatever else the public puts before it). Here's my thoughts on the first issue: the thresholds for representation in Parliament.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday February 28
Taliban launch suicide attack outside NATO air base in Afghanistan--nine Afghans killed; Julia Gillard defeats Kevin Rudd in leadership battle; US and South Korea launch joint military exercises on Korean peninsula; North Korea says it is ready for war; Saleh hands over power in Yemen; Bin Laden's Pakistan compound destroyed; G20 defer decision on Greece
Read MoreIran and Hollywood...a brilliant combo with real life lessons
An Iranian movie embraced by Hollywood no less, has poignancy for the sort of belligerence Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu are embroiled in...if only they could see what the Screen Actors Guild could.
Read MoreGillard v Rudd: understanding this fight to the death
With most of the difficult policy changes made, it seems Australian PM Julia Gillard is now tidying house. Opponent Kevin Rudd is being swept to the backbenches to clear the path to the 2013 elections
Read MoreOn the matter of coming 2nd and yet winning
The latest opinion polls raise the prospect of a scenario that's new to modern New Zealand politics – the party that comes second leading the government. And it's something we need to front early
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday February 23
Homs crackdown continues for 20th day, as two foreign journalists killed; Analysis: the role of business owners and questions about military intervention; Rudd resigns prefacing battle for leadership of Australian Labor party; Iran denies nuclear inspectors access to plant; UN council to vote on more peacekeepers for Somalia; Cameron declares al-Shabab a "substatial" threat; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday February 22
Greece gets its next bailout – but do the same problems remain? Greek debt to drop from 160% to 120.5% of GDP; Iran warns of pre-emptive strike is national interests threatened; Americans see Iran as 'top enemy'; Whole classrooms of school children forced to fight in Somalia; South Korea conducts provoctive military drill; Burma junta lifts campaigning restrictions; and more
Read MoreSex and the Republicans - it's not pretty
The American economy must be on the improve, which explains why Republicans have entered the country's bedrooms in a desperate bid to demonise Obama as the destroyer of the constitutional right to freedom of religion. At least they are kidding themselves.
Read MoreGreens growth: The political maths of the centre-left
If the Greens thought the past three years were challenging, just wait for the next three. They – and Labour – need to figure out a new way of growing the centre-left bloc without tearing each other to pieces
Read More"It’s The Prime Minister’s Show” – Really?
Was “The Prime Minister’s Hour” on Radio Live a prohibited election programme? The Electoral Commission says “yes” – the Broadcasting Standards Authority says “no”. And the row needs to be resolved.
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