Mr Brownlee may have dug a big hole for the mining industry, by eyeing up Schedule 4. Conservationists' price: a better Schedule, and a higher test for mining access rights
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday August 25
Taliban and warlords scare of candidates, disenfranchise 1.5m in Afghan elections; Zardari: Pakistan will take three years to recover from floods as epidemics threaten; Six Somali MPs killed in terror attack; Philippine government criticised over kidnappings; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday August 24
Netanyahu says peace talks "difficult" but "possible", as pressure goes on settlements (+ analysis); Gillard and Abbott battle to secure independents' support; Iran opens first nuclear plant; Tens of thousands more Pakistanis evacuated as floods hit the south; and more
Read MoreGod bless America
Where the F word is not a dirty word, and what a breath of fresh air that is.
Read MoreOf Mosques and Madness and Mid-term Elections
The concept of a mosque a couple of blocks from Ground Zero has unleashed the ugly side of American politics, where those who profess tolerance have none themselves. Instead they have a hefty dose of prejudice, jingoism and stupidity and it is all on display.
Read MoreGeorge and the beanstalk: vege myths and legends?
In which intensive vertical vege farming, 30 stories pie-in-the-sky, is dismissed as magical thinking by a bright green man
Read MoreIs Rodney Hide a Bully?
A short history of the ‘primitive combat' that is practiced internally by the ACT Caucus.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday August 20
Last American combat troops leave Iraq, with no government formed – mission accomplished? (+ analysis); Immigration key issue in Australian campaign's final days; Russia's new push into Afghanistan; One million civil servants on strike in South Africa; and more
Read MoreHide, Roy & ACT: Two strikes down, one to go (if Epsom allows)
The party that introduced the three strikes law is itself one strike away from permanent political imprisonment. Its fate now lies in the hands of others, as it looks more like a party of past
Read MoreHow is a brothel for women "progress"?
Pam Corkery's proposed brothel for women--a world first--is another triumph for female equality. Yeah, right
Read MoreBillets doux for Gerry Brownlee
Turning the draft energy strategy upside down, to shake some ‘step change’ out of it
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday August 19
Pakistan floods undermine Zardari, empower military (+ analysis); Geithner hints at government role in US mortgages with private sector in "full retreat"; Lebanon does u-turn on Palestinians; North Korean plane crashes, pilot may have been defecting; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday August 18
Suicide bomber kills at least 60 outside Baghdad army base (+ analysis); US wary of potential "for miscalculation" as Chinese military grows; Japan looks at new stimulus plans; World Bank redirects Pakistan loans as food prices rise; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday August 17
Concern over Japanese growth as yen rises and China supplants it as world's second largest economy; North Korea criticises "US imperialists" and South Korean "traitors"; US questions Turkey's reliability; Russia bans grain exports; and more
Read MoreI don't know this law.... It probably exists only in your heads
Don't be fooled - the "court challenge" to NIWA's temperature records is very little to do with the law and a lot to do with getting your attention.
Read MoreWelfare report aftermath – we won't be fooled again
Response to last week's Welfare Working Group report shows that not so many of us are fooled by shonky stats and a new generation of beneficiary bashing rhetoric
Read MoreAfghanistan – alarm bells should be ringing
If the Afghanistan alarm bells were not ringing in Wellington over the last weekend – they should have been
Read MorePakistan's politics play on as flood waters rise
It is ridiculous to suggest the sluggish response from the donor-world to Pakistan's utter devastation is not related to that country's terrorism troubles, but does it have a president who can stop hard-line Islamists from winning the hearts and minds?
Read MoreFilthy rich: our developing energy strategy
Does this government’s ‘developing country’ shtick, or our luck in being small, give us the moral authority to dine richly on oil and coal?
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday August 13
Stocks in Asia and Europe follow US markets down on back of more bad economic news (+ analysis); Pakistan faces new floods threat; Iraq general warns military won't be able to secure country until 2020; Russia moves missiles into breakaway region; and more
Read More