Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
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 morning and felt dead keen on dumping our centuries-old right to be tried by a jury of our peers, while yearning to adopt the French ...
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Monday, February 13th, 2012
So far, the fighting in Syria has largely been limited to its smaller cities – Homs in particular. Aside from a few isolated incidents the revolt has not yet spread to major cities such as Aleppo and Damascus. All the same, as Syria expert Joshua Landis of the University ...
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Friday, February 10th, 2012
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 surprise. New Zealand banks and their Australian masters have weathered the global financial crisis better than their counterparts elsewhere, and were less responsible than those overseas ...
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Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
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 extremely untidy. Last week’s battle over the government’s attempt to exempt private investors from Treaty obligations over these SOEs has now been further complicated by ...
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Friday, February 3rd, 2012
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 struggle to achieve. This morning, they included another example of consumers being treated as sitting ducks by supposedly “free market” forces.
Apparently, the retail price of ...
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Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
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 the claim that he was not really conservative enough to win the nomination. Sure, he did so mainly by outspending Newt Gingrich in Florida by ...
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
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 ‘People should be careful what they wish for’ was a fascinating statement in the light of today’s citizens’ demonstration in Christchurch.
It is tempting to read ...
Posted in Articles | 13 Comments »
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
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 security /intelligence apparatus will pursue what it sees as the best interests of La Belle France. In mid-January, the arrest in Paris of the highly ...
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Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
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 the leadership of David Shearer. Certainly the man himself has laid out a pretty circuitous route to the Treasury benches, which will apparently be ...
Posted in Articles | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
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 recommence his operations if released. Neither seem to be very convincing arguments. By its very nature, the extradition battle is likely to be a lengthy ...
Posted in Articles | 8 Comments »
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