On Tinariwen, and the forgotten war in Mali
Sometimes, civil war in Africa can even bring suffering to the well-heeled patrons of the International Festival of the Arts in Wellington. Tinariwen, the Tuareg […]
Gordon Campbell
On Defence’s failed policy of “civilianisation”
One of the tried and true maxims of management is that business hates uncertainty – because, don’t you know, business can’t be done in a […]
On the Citizens Initiated Referendum on asset sales
The launching of a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the question of the partial asset sales is a useful shot across the bows of the government’s […]
On the mixed-ownership model for state assets
By focussing on the spectre of foreign ownership, the critics of the partial asset sales process have been inadvertedly helping the government, by deflecting attention […]
On Rick Santorum and the Republican primary race
Well, Mitt Romney won narrowly yesterday in Michigan, the family fiefdom that goes back all the way to when his father George ran General Motors […]
On yesterday’s welfare reform announcements
We’ve all become more politically literate the hard way over the last couple of decades. The words “efficient” and “greater efficiency” for instance, has been […]
On the Rudd vs Gillard contest
In its last suicidal spasm this morning, the Australian Labor Party caucus seems certain to choose Julia Gillard to lead it to annihilation at the […]
On Kiwirail’s current problems with its Chinese-built wagons
For many people, Kiwirail’s decision to buy 500 flat top wagons from manufacturers in China instead of building them at Hillside workshops in Dunedin was […]
On the looming “pre-emptive” war against Iran
Iran’s rulers preside over one of the most thuggish, repressive regimes on the planet, but the West’s apparent readiness to go to war over Iran’s […]
On comparing the Crafar Farms court ruling with the China/NZ Free Trade Agreement
At yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference, Prime Minister John Key indicated that the government is waiting for a Crown law office opinion on Justice Forrest Miller’s […]
On the government’s inertia on housing needs
The weekend protests about Housing New Zealand’s Tamaki Transformation programme (which aims to relocate residents of 156 state house to make way for a mix […]
On asset sales and the Mallard ticket saga
Click for big version. Way back at the start of this week, the government was in deep trouble on at least three fronts. First, came […]
On the Crafar Ruling, and the New Asset Sales Shortfall
Clearly, even when you’ve got a rubber stamp, the rubber can still fall off the stamp. That’s what happened yesterday to the Overseas Investment Office. […]
On the Law Commission plan to scrap jury trials
Chances are, scrapping the system of trial by jury is not the top priority for most New Zealanders. Not many of us woke up this […]
On bank profits, and Gerry Brownlee’s asset sales plans for Christchurch
Click for big version. The news that the banks in New Zealand have returned to their pre-global recession levels of profit comes as no real […]
Why State Capitalism Is Beating The Free Market
And why New Zealand is no good at either…
Human Rights, Pinochet and Asset Freezes
An interview with Baron Collins of Mapesbury, recently retired judge from the British Supreme Court
Classics : Tom’s Midnight Garden (1958)
Life (and love) is a dream shared, in Philippa Pearce’s classic novel
The Complicatist: Alan Lomax
A biography of the man responsible for much of the folk, blues and subsequent pop music traditions we know today
On the Maori response to the SOE asset sales
The government’s relationship with the Maori Party over the partial selldown of the state’s four energy companies is not yet terminal, but it is looking […]
On the predator society
In these last few days before Parliament opens and the cycle of normal political life resumes, significant stories are gaining coverage that they might otherwise […]
On Mitt Romney’s victory in Florida
So Romney now looks a certainty to be the Republican candidate against Barack Obama in November, after yesterday’s win in conservative Florida put paid to […]
On today’s protest march in Christchurch
Reading meaning into the utterances of Christchurch mayor Bob Parker is always a risky business, but Parker’s comment to the Press the other day that […]
On the arrest of Mourad Dhina
France can be a mystery, even to its friends. In 1986, New Zealand had its own first hand experience of just how ruthlessly the French […]
On Labour’s current rethink of its identity
Labour goes into its two day Taupo retreat today with what has charitably been dubbed a ‘slow and careful journey’ to a new identity under […]
On Kim Dotcom’s bail application
The Crown is opposing bail for Megaupload CEO Kit Dotcom on the basis of (a) that he poses a flight risk and (b) he could […]
On taking the fall for Anne Tolley
Anyone looking for a textbook case of the apparent politicisation of the public service need look no further than the case of former Northland kura […]
On the guy who REALLY is running North Korea
Years ago and while still a cub reporter, I had to accompany Muhammad Ali, Bundini Brown and rest of the Ali retinue on a week […]
On Cunliffe’s likely role, and France as the next Eurozone crisis country
Later this afternoon, we’ll find out just how the new Labour leader David Shearer has managed the difficult task of rewarding his faction while bringing […]