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A
GOOD TIME TO BE IN GOVERNMENT ~ November
2004
|
| It’s
hard to think of a Government in a rich country that’s been defeated
recently...read more |
| THE
U.S. ELECTION 2004 ~ November
2004 |
| Columnists
and opinion writers in most countries other than in the U.S. are now
grinding their teeth after spending four years stabbing President
George W. Bush with their pens...read more |
THINGS
ARE GETTING BETTER ~ November
2004
|
| In
250 CE, St. Cyprian of Carthage proclaimed: “The world has grown
old. The rainfall and sun’s warmth are both diminishing, the
metals are nearly exhausted.”...read more |
OUTSOURCING ~ November
2004
|
| You
are going to hear a lot about ‘outsourcing’. It’s changing
our economies and will be the focus of political attention...read more...read more |
THE
NEW POLITICS; IS THE PARTY OVER? ~ November
2004
|
| Those
who value democracy the most are those who don’t have it...read more |
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GLOBALISATION
IS NOT NEW November
2004
|
| The
globalisation debate and how nations, businesses, Cultures and individuals
cope is one of the defining issues of our day...read more |
FORGIVENESS
OF DEBT? ~ November
2004
|
| I
recently spent some splendid time as a guest of the World Political
Forum, the brainchild of ex-Soviet leader, Gorbachev, which brought
together a number of major players from the 1980’s...read more |
EUROPE,
A SUPER STATE OR A STATE OF MIND? ~ November
2004
|
| Turkey
is beginning to negotiate membership of the European Union. Why should
we care? No region has had as much impact upon the world over the
past 1,000 years than Europe, that creative expansionist two fingers
that stick out of the land mass, the fist, of Asia...read more |
THE
ENVIRONMENT ~ November
2004
|
| Evangelical
environmentalists and social engineers have made headlines for years
predicting that we will run out of resources and destroy the world...read more |
DIVERSITY ~ November
2004
|
| Here’s
good news. Tolerance is good economics. Reactionaries who fear diversity
beware...read more |
WELFARE ~ September
2004
|
| The
Labour Movement was once about the dignity of labour, now too often
it’s about the dignity of welfare...read more |
TERRORISM ~ September
2004
|
| Last
weekend we remembered and relived those chilling moments of 9/11...read more |
MIGRANTS ~ September
2004
|
| Guess
what’s the largest source of income for organised crime after
drugs and weapons? It’s trafficking in people...read more |
HOW
AMERICANS THINK ? ~ September
2004
|
| Everyone
has an opinion on the U.S. elections. We all need to understand the
U.S., what motivates them, why they react certain ways, because what
they do impacts upon us all...read more |
The
welfare state has enormous shortcomings, but the left's job
is to protect it ~ 31
August 2004
|
| The
labour movement was once about the dignity of labour, now too often
it's about the dignity of welfare...read more |
The
desire for victory at all costs distorts most sports ~ 24
August 2004
|
| Few
events mesmerise the world more than the Olympic Games. Thanks to
globalisation and the information revolution, we can all share the
pain and triumph of the world's best...read more |
Intervention
in the affairs of another state ~ 17
August 2004
|
| Few
things irritate me more than reading headlines criticising the United
Nations, saying the UN should act to stop violence, prevent civil
war and solve some humanitarian crisis...read more |
Water:
the raw material of life ~ 12 August 2004
|
| New
Zealanders have a great under-valued asset that we take for granted
- water...read more |
"Talks
Flounder, Momentum Lost, Regionalism Growing !" ~ 05 August 2004
|
| It
is good that the Doha Trade round has agreed to a framework for future
negotiations...read more |
WTO's
future in jeopardy ~ 27 July 2004
|
| The
World Trade Organisation in Geneva has a self-imposed trade-talks
deadline to agree to the framework of negotiations mandated by the
launch of the Doha Development round. That deadline is this Saturday...read more |
EU
dream proves a nightmare ~ 23
June 2004
|
| It
was touted as Europe's biggest exercise in democracy, the second-largest
ballot after parliamentary elections in India...read more |
Reagan's
humour masked contradictory record ~ 11
June 2004
|
| Like
most centre-left political activists, I saw Ronald Reagan as a dangerous,
simplistic lightweight. Were those speeches Reagan's own? Were those
great one-liners scripted? Was he an actor reading lines?...read more |
Doha
can still give world trade a boost 21
May
2004
|
| Reports
of the death of the Doha Development Trade Round were always exaggerated.
It's hard for journalists to report on trade negotiations. It's about
as exciting as watching paint dry and as confusing as trying to read
alphabet soup...read more |
A
profitable collaboration ~ 11
May 2004
|
| The
first responsibility of a business is to make a profit. Some say it's
their only responsibility...read more |
Alarmist
views miss mark ~ 29
April 2004
|
| I
recently took part in a week-long series of seminars on sustainable
development. Held in several European capitals, it was organised by
Edmonds Management, which is based in Switzerland...read more |
Passion
and contradiction grip Kiwis ~ 06
March 2004
|
| Within
a few weeks, the political landscape in New Zealand dramatically changed.
The popular Labour government, with prudent economic policies, could
boast of low unemployment, a falling crime rate, low inflation, modest
interest rates and a budget surplus. Its leader was dominant in the
polls with a compliant, if not complacent, backbench...read more |
Hutton
Report ~ 04
Feb 2004
|
| The
European media have ran headline stories for weeks saying British
PM Tony Blair would be dog tucker if the Hutton Report implicated
him in the so-called “sexed-up” intelligence dossier scandal
that he used to justify involvement in the Iraqi War...read more |
US
Democratic Primaries ~ 28
Jan 2004
|
| The
United States is a hyperpower unmatched in world history. Everything
she does impacts on everyone. The US gets a cold, the rest of the
world gets pneumonia. US growth pulls and lifts the global economy;
her excellence in research and development into new drugs gives hope
to sick people everywhere. Her military spending matches the next
15 to 20 military spenders put together. When US President Bush gave
his State of the Union address recently, global TV reporters asked
people in Iraq, France, China and Mexico for comments...read more |
WTO
- Doha in 2004 ~ 14
Jan 2004
|
| A
clear sign that the US is willing to take the lead on global trade
talks, its Trade Representative Bob Zoellick this week sent a letter
to fellow trade ministers in an attempt to get the Doha Development
round of negotiations moving...read more |
Indian
elections ~ undated
|
| Recently
I wrote about India as an emerging economic giant whose success has
been overshadowed by China’s re-entry into the global economy
and its World Trade Organisation membership...read more |
Multilateral
Meltdown ~ 2003
|
| No
nation can survive, prosper, and be safe without the cooperation of
others. None can by itself guarantee its citizens clean air and water
and none can manage its tax systems, its markets, or even its airline
schedules without global and regional agreements and institutions...read more |
Beware
the enemy within ~ 12/06/2003
|
| I
have a theory. The Westminster system of parliamentary democracy is
now driven by the pressures of a talkback, telecratic, opinion poll,
focus-group driven political system. Australia and New Zealand have
a hybrid Westminster system of elected MPs who can at any time change
leaders. This is a freedom that does not exist in a presidential system.
Richard Nixon would have been dog food at a party caucus meeting;
so perhaps would Bill Clinton...read more |
Liberty,
democracy and the great divide ~ 06/06/2003
|
| Recently
an Egyptian friend whispered to me at a dinner party: "Be careful,
an election in Saudi Arabia could elect Osama bin Laden."...read more |
Trade
is the best form of aid ~ 26/05/2003
|
| The
protesters are right when they say the world trading system is unfair.
But it's not a case of too much free trade; it's a case of too little
free trade. Blaming the World Trade Organisation for these injustices
is a bit like blaming the Red Cross for World War I...read more |
Corporates
realise benefits of being a good citizen ~ 09/05/2003
|
| A
very good living is being made by people like Naomi Klein writing
books against global corporates, such as her bestseller, No Logo.
(Please, there's no bitterness because she outsells my books.)...read more |
N
Korea: beggar and chooser ~ 01/05/2003
|
| Recently
I visited South Korea for a conference. The two Koreas are a stunning
example of the differences between the success of an open society
and the dangerous, grotesque failure of a closed one...read more |
Winning
the peace is the key ~ 25/03/2003
|
| For
months, people have been discussing a war with Iraq. The fact that
there is a war is a failure of diplomacy and the institutions created
to keep the peace. Alas, history has taught us that sometimes it comes
down to direct action when you are not dealing with sane or rational
people...read more |
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