Haircuts are milestones on the journey of life
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday August 5
Bill Clinton's surprise visit to North Korea (+analysis); Australian suicide bomb plot; Tribal slaughter in Sudan; Venezuelan govt. takes over coffee mills
Read MoreThe DJ Bill English tax re-mix
While the media was focused on other stories, Bill English quietly killed off National's tax cut policy this weekend. But that doesn't mean we can take our eyes off our tax system
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday August 4
Ahmadinejad sworn in as protest leaders boycott ceremony; Bloody weekend as troops killed in Afghanistan; Plague hits China; Israeli foriegn minister faces indictment; and more
Read MoreCarbon footprint: what's your size?
Carbon footprint calculation is a murky science. What to do, when you’ve done everything that you can, and it still might not be enough? Answer: hug a tree
Read MoreAfghanistan: Stop fudging the facts
Mainstream media wakes up to some questionable aspects of
Taking tea with the Taliban
The latest NATO tactic for trying to exit the war in Afghanistan is to reach out to the enemy. Talking with Taliban 'moderates' is now under serious, top level consideration, but do such 'moderates' exist and can they be trusted to finish the job of Operation Enduring Freedom?
Read MoreTwo grumps and a prod - from Bennett & Garrett to drink
As The Verlaines put it so pithily, sometimes "there's too many things to talk of at any one time." [sic-Ed]. Paula Bennett... David Garrett... Andrew Becroft...
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday July 31
US withdrawal from Iraq could be accelerated; China to reduce use of death penalty; more violence in Nigeria; IMF to lend more to poor countries; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday August 30
Iran's detainees; US-China talks come to an end; Chavez ends diplomatic relations with Colombis, and more
Read MoreUncensored: Super Fund Guardian's 40% advice for National finally revealed in full (+Guardian's reply)
After intervention by the Ombudsman, The Guardians of the Super Fund have finally released a full, uncensored copy of their advice to Bill English last year. It reveals a strong fight against the government's 40% local investment target and concerns that the Fund would simply overwhelm the market
Read MoreThe painfully awkward Head Girl
Novelist Margaret Drabble's self-exposure in a new autobiography is both uncomfortable and illuminating
Read MoreMemo to Labour – catch the ball
There's a number of basic rules in politics – don't make mistakes, and don't fight needless fights. Labour needs to heed both.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday July 29
US cabinet in meetings with Chinese leaders (+analysis); North Korea rules out return to six-party talks; Netanyahu resists settlement freeze; mass strike in South Africa; and more
Read MoreDon Brash as Productivity Tsar: this year's biggest political joke so far
To close the gap with Australia, will Brash dare to follow the Australian example? Or will it be Rogernomics: the next chapter?
Read MorePoll of Polls update: minor parties
Only one poll is bothering to get out of bed this winter, but it's tracking some interesting movements by the small parties
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday July 28
US begins diplomatic push into Middle East; Mitchell in Syria to repair relations; Chinese steelworkers riot; Taliban violence resumes in Swat Valley, Honduran army backs down; and more
Read MorePot luck dinner: New Zealand's food mystery
New Zealand’s food supply is the proverbial box of chocolates. Supermarkets offer a buffet of food choices – but when even New Zealand apples don't necessarily come from New Zealand, do you really know where your next meal is coming from?
Read MoreSlimming down the up-sized public sector
The recession is going to change everything else in
World News Brief, Friday July 24
Iraqi PM in Washington for sectarian talks (+America's future in Iraq analysed); Indonesia re-thinks anti-terror strategy; violence in South African townships; China's stimulus wins more praise; Musharraf in court; and more
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