As a tyrannical dictator is ousted in Tunisia don't lose sight of another who has returned to Haiti to cash in on the billions of aid dollars...and meanwhile back in Canada, relatives of the Tunisian are moving in to my neighbourhood!
Read MoreI try to abide by the methodology, when all I want is to follow my heart
It is very important that Ian Wishart hears your honest-to-god, really-what-I think views on critical socialmatters.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday January 21
China admits it has much to do to improve human rights; Is it a shift in tone from President Hu? (+ analysis); Wikileaks banker fined then re-arrested; Who really killed Daniel Pearl?; Japanese debt reaches "critical point"; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday January 20
Tunisian government flounders; Arab leaders to offer struggling Arab economies $2 billion; more evacuations in flood-hit Victoria; economists cast doubt on Vietnam's financial policy; Saudi leaders give up on Lebanon mediation; Karzai postpones inauguration of Afghan parliament; Baby Doc Duvalier charged with corruption and embezzlement 25 years after leaving Haiti; and more
Read MoreHow do you solve a problem like Hone?
Hone Harawira thinks the Maori Party needs to dance to his tune. Are his colleagues going to pull the plug on his stereo?
Read MoreThe Minister “who took the fish out of fish and chips”
Species ranked ‘nationally critical’ are dying in our fisheries. Legislative fixes have twice been voted down by the National party
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday January 19
Chinese president arrives in US for four-day state visit; experts say Chinese diplomatic trip could be most important in 30 years; lack of progress with North Korea-South Korea relationship; Tunisian PM defends new government with old ministers; former Haitian dictator Baby Doc Duvalier returns; and more
Read More2010: Opposition strike bum note, but do hard yards
It was a year of much effort but little reward for Labour and the Greens (and the Progressives). So was it a year wasted, another step towards oblivion? Or was vital groundwork laid?
Read MoreSunday Star Times Loses Its Memory
In taking a whack at Maggie Barry's putting her hand up for the National Party's Botany candidacy, and almost every other journalist who's had a go in Parliament, the Sunday Star-Times editorial gives a once-over-lightly dismissal of some of the world's great leaders.
Read MoreBrownlee’s bucket list
Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee, and his colleagues, have work to do, according to an offshore petroleum environmental assessment, showing big gaps and serious risks in our regulatory practice
Read MorePalin takes the shootin' spotlight
As American mourns yet another appalling shooting, Sarah Palin shoots from the lip - again - reconfirming she would be incapable of presiding over a presidential podium.
Read MoreHave a Big Day Out on us
Free stuff--Win two tickets to the Big Day Out with Pundit
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday January 14
Lebanese government collapses after Hezbollah withdraw support; Qatar and Saudi Arabia work on compromise between Lebanese factions; US will defer to Japan on plans to relocate American air base; record floods devastate Queensland; Joe Biden visits Iraq; violence in Tunisia worsens and curfew set in Tunis; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday January 13
Hezbollah to resign from Lebanon government over Hariri assassination investigation (+ analysis & background); North and South Korea pick up the phone for first time in eight months; Haiti: one year on; High turnout in Sudan poll; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday January 12
Clinton heads to Yemen in secret trip (+ analysis); Brisbane evacuation as flood waters rise in Queensland; Afghan reconstruction boss resigns amidst incompetence claims; Pressure for Portugal bailout grows as Euro bank intervenes; and more
Read More2010: Minor government parties pay the price
What was 2010 like for the smaller parties propping up this government? Not a lot of fun, really. Big holes were exposed in ACT, the Maori Party and United Future, which raise even bigger questions
Read MorePCE and Groser: fix the ETS
In which expert advisory work from the PCE illustrates why the ETS in its present form risks a massive lignite subsidy, and Tim Groser — quite rightly — observes that this would be “ridiculous” and “incoherent”
Read MoreApres nous, le deluge
We may not have a National-led Government after the next election. Here's why we probably will.
Read More2010: A political year of half-measures
The government ended the year on the political mountain top thanks to a lot of luck and bucket full of caution... And my belated pick for minister of the year
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday January 7
US commission blames management at three companies for Gulf oil spill (+ analysis and timeline); South Korea rejects North's offer of talks; al-Sadr returns to Iraq after three years in exile; Republicans take over US Congress promising budget cuts; and more
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