Mediaworks gets a $34 million government bail-out. TVNZ blows $79 million on two non-commercial digital channels. And successive governments drop the ball on free-to-air public service television. There has to be a better way of broadcasting
Read MoreKiddies in Court
The Minister of Justice moved swiftly to change the rules on legal aid eligibility following Dame Margaret Bazley's report, but quick-as-a-flash, nothing's been done on her recommendation that creches be set up for kiddies in courts
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday April 20
Funerals lead to more deaths in Syrian protests; Assad concessions fail to satisfy critics; Rebels beg for NATO troops in beseiged Misurata; Nigeria election winner confirmed, but violence continues; S&P downgrades US debt; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday April 19
Nigeria incumbent on course for victory, but peaceful election turns sour (+analysis); Five dead after Green Zone bombing in Baghdad; Raul Castro pro-term limits, says failures are "embarrassing"; Chinese artist still missing; Six months before Fukushima plant is safe; and more
Read MoreThe Idiotic Cocktail of Politics and Religion
In the midst of the Canadian election campaign - the fourth in seven years - the Conservative incumbents have come up with a doozy...hunt the ethnic vote under the guise of an office of global religious freedom.
Read MoreIn a courtroom next door to Mark Hotchin's... another suppression is granted
I wonder what would have happened to Mark Hotchin if he hadn't been quite so respectable, quite so upper class and quite so, well, rich
Read MoreSomeone give that man a latte
In which the author takes the opportunity to settle accounts in a petty and petulent fashion.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday April 15
NATO meets to renegotiate Libyan airstrikes as Qaddafi besieges Misurata (+ analysis); Analysts say boots on the ground will be required; Inflation in China on the rise; Yemeni protesters clash with military after leader threatens civil war; Obama offers $4 trillion cuts in military and domestic spending; and more
Read MoreCharge of the right brigade
Paula Rebstock is appointed to the ACC Board one day after the resignation of Chief Executive - National lays strong foundations for further ideological assault on ACC
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday April 14
Hosni Mubarark suffers "heart problems" as he's detained for violence and corruption; Egyptian frustration with military grows (+ analysis); Libyan rebels set up fund for international donations, warn of humanitarian needs; China suffers debt rating downgrade; Japan lowers economic assessment; and more
Read MoreNo, Non – Not Libya and the Security Council
Prime Minister John Key should keep his hands firmly in his pockets and avoid enlistment in a Middle East peace-making mission when he meets political leaders in Paris and London this month
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wenesday April 13
Nuclear threat at Fukushima raised from five to seven, the highest level; despite elevated status, experts say damage will be much smaller than Chernobyl; China hosts Brazil in trade talks; Libyan rebels reject African Union ceasefire; Gbagbo faces trial; and more
Read MoreLabour's list not diverse enough... and lessons from '93
Labour's list deserves scrutiny and poses questions - just not the ones raised by Damien O'Connor
Read MoreSelf-serving malcontents and a gaggle of garbage
The Labour party list comes under fact-challenged attack
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday April 12
African Union leaders arrive in Benghazi to begin talks with Qaddafi's regime and rebels; AU says Qaddafi has already agreed to end fighting, allow humanitarian assistance, protect foreigners in Libya and discuss reform; more big aftershocks in Japan; China faces first quarterly trade deficit in seven years; Persian Gulf nations want Yemen's president gone; Obama to push for bipartisan debt talks; and more
Read MoreNecessitas non habit legem
There is a dispute out in the sea. The police must be able to arrest someone ... musn't they?
Read MoreUnique circumstances that keep on happening... and Australia
The government had its hand firmly on the economic tiller this week, tacking strongly through the waves of crisis and public opinion. Then Bill English gave a speech and stumbled
Read MorePrepare for the SM onslaught
Why would I choose to make my vote less equal? Or, the growing challenge from the Supplementary Member system and how MMP can adapt and triumph in the referendum
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday April 8
Ivorian strongman clings to power in his bunker but second attack imminent (+ analysis and multimedia); African neighbours offer Gbagbo exile as ICC launches investigation; Gulf Council seeks to remove Yemen's Saleh; US Congress negotiations on knife-edge; Japan may increase nuclear evacuation zone; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday April 7
Ouattara soldiers raid presidential compound, Gbagbo negotiates with UN; Did the West fail Cote D'Ivoire?; White House warns no "clear path" to Af-Pak victory; Republicans "moving the goalposts" in US Budget standoff; International pressure demands change in Yemen; and more
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