The EU is not all it's cracked up to be
Read MoreWhy publish 'Veitch Breakup' Story? And many other media questions
A whole bunch of things in the New Zealand media and blogs are quite perplexing to watch from the other side of the world... For example, what's with the Kiwi media's swine flu excitement?
Read MoreBain's Travails; or it's not over even when it's over
You might think a jury's "not guilty" verdict finally puts a matter to rest but David Bain is discovering that it can be just the beginning
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday June 12
Iran election campaign ends in acrimony; Iran presidency explained; Guantanamo detainees solution runs into One China policy; Fresh fighting in Pakistan, and more
Read MoreNorth Korea couldn't care less
North Korea's latest bargaining chips, two US journalists, are a human dimension to an out of control nuclear situation which has left the world's diplomats stumped—again. It is now a waiting game to see what they are worth
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday June 11
Ahmadinejad make final appeal in Iranian election; Palau to resettle Gitmo prisoners; All Chinese computers to have sex and violence filters; Russia in joint bid to join WTO; and more
Read MoreThe hide of Hide
Local government minister Rodney Hide didn't earn the nickname "Rhino" for nothing. Still trying to ramrod Super-City government into Auckland, he is now taking on the rest of New Zealand
Read MoreThe problem with the Spanish play
Wellington's Circa Theatre tackles the difficult Spanish drama Blood Wedding with mixed results
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday June 10
Obama gives Israel two years to find two-state solution; Shell Oil settles Saro-Wiwa lawsuit; Guantanamo prisoner heads to trial on US soil; Turmoil in Thailand; and more
Read MoreJohn Key and his failing instincts
Are the Prime Minister's instincts all they're cracked up to be?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday June 9
Hezbollah concedes in Lebanese elections; Europe moves right as moderates stay home; North Koreans sentence journalists; Pakistani villagers rebel against Taliban; and more
Read MoreIt's no Eurovision, but it kind of matters
And the winner is... It's time for the results of elections affecting 491 million people. Should anyone in NZ care?
Read MoreGrowing up with Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton’s latest foray, into The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, is for the vocationally-challenged, not romantically-inclined
Read MoreAnother new logo in the offing?
I've been fretting about the new, vast Auckland and the plethora of shibboleths that will ensue therefrom—especially the logo
Read MoreThe Greatest Show in Town's Final Curtain
David Bain's retrial is now in the hands of the jury. Their verdict will bring down the curtain on a superb piece of legal theatre
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday June 5
Obama's Muslim speech – extensive coverage from US and Middle Eastern media; Police surround Tiananmen Square on anniversary; Bernanke in 'debt trap' warnings; and more
Read MoreThe stench of death now hangs on Gordon Brown
It is Gordon Brown's own political cowardice that will finally do him in
Read MoreTiananmen is no forgotten revolution
Twenty years after the pro-democracy uprising in China's Tiananmen Square the Communist Party remains haunted by its reaction
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday June 4
Obama heads to Middle East in Muslim outreach; US and China planning "landmark" economic talks; British government in cabinet crisis; Cuba divides American States; and more
Read MoreUPDATED: Crosby v Hager: there is something very wrong with our defamation laws
An 11 month legal battle with political consultants Crosby/Textor during an election year reveals the trouble with our defamation laws
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