David Young is happier even than Sue Bradford and Deborah Coddington were to leave parliament. More satisfied than Nicky Hager was when Don Brash stepped down. He is chirpier even than… Tim Watkin.
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Disgraceful conduct, not murder...
The first Canadian soldier to have been charged with murder on the battlefield has dodged that bullet, but been found guilty of disgraceful conduct. Why? What did he do?
Read MoreBut is it Art? No, it's Child Abuse
How the 20th century New York pop art brigade and its middle class sexist followers are too hypocritical to stand up and identify child abuse when they see it
Read MoreDragging Iran out of the Stone-Age
Global condemnation may have forced Iran to abandon plans to stone to death a woman 'convicted' of adultery, but don't count on it. The campaign to fight Sakineh Ashtiani's execution needs more recruits - now!
Read MoreHas Obama indulged in nuclear hypocrisy for Middle East peace?
Obama and Netanyahu met (again) and managed a pretty good rendition of calm and purposeful intent. But Obama's two goals--a nuclear-free world and a peaceful Middle East--increasingly appear to be political pocket lint trapped in his extremely smart suits
Read MoreAfghanistan: stumbling away from the war
If you think the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan is in a mess – take a look at ours.
G8/G20 leaves Canada a large hangover
The billion dollar protection fences are coming down now world leaders have left Canada, but the country has major headaches to deal with following mass arrests, suspension of civil rights and nothing really tangible to show for the outrageous cost of the G8/G20 summits
Read MoreG20: the return to austerity and its effect on NZ
The rest of the world is about to start reining in all those stimulus packages that took the edges off the recession. That could be really good for New Zealand, or really, really bad
Read MoreHow Kevin Rudd won and lost Australia
Rudd's remarkable run in power was driven by state politics, factions and Wayne Swan; and it was those same forces that brought him down
Read MoreAfghanistan: Leaving the Labyrinth
President Karzai has lost his preferred commander – General McChrystal falls on his sword – and New Zealand’s commitment to Afghanistan has not changed. Does anyone know what’s really happening in the labyrinth?
Read MoreG8 and G20 a billion dollar boondoggle
Canadians are aghast at revelations the government is splurging more than a billion dollars hosting the G8 and G20 summits for three days. While most goes on security and of course flowers, there's also cash for a fake lake
Read MoreOne person's terrorist really is another's freedom fighter
As the propaganda war rages on over the Israeli Defense Forces' botched raid of the humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza, it is time for a few home truths about the seemingly endless search for Middle Eastern peace
Read MoreFacing up to the Burqa ban
Quebec has waded in to the burqa fight, and while the legislation that will lead to a limited ban on full facial covering has been suspiciously suspended, the debate of persecution versus xenophobia rages on.
Read MoreGordon Brown: My part in his downfall
So farewell to Brown, one of the great contradictions of post-war British politics and the man who never won an election. And hello to David Cameron, a new prince in troubled times
Read MoreNice hara-kiri Brownie!
Gordon Brown's falling on his sword after losing the British election may have made life more difficult for the Liberal Democrats as they chose between a party that is more in line politically or the party which won the largest minority. Winston Peters may be finding this awfully familiar
Read MoreCanada's secret government on trial
Endorsing Parliament's supremacy over government, Canada's Speaker has ordered secret documents concerning how Canadian troops handled Afghan detainees to be made available to the House
Read MoreGordon Brown and the 'bigot'
The PM's two words that brought his campaign to a thudding halt... and what it means for the next few days on the trail
Read MoreTime to talk with the Taliban?
New Zealand's military chief wants to negotiate with the Taliban. It's a controversial approach that raises the classic question of whether we talk with terrorists... and dozens of other questions alongside
Read MoreMy week with Jake Tapper
This Week, ABC network’s political TV programme, missed the boat when they chose a new anchor – an anchor who isn’t Jake Tapper
Read MoreThe Pope loves the Beatles, but who loves Il Papa?
As the latest Pope passes the five year milestone, rather than take the time to pardon the Beatles, he could do worse than reflect on advice from an American columnist
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