# Thought Crimes Politics, news, and culture from New Zealand and beyond. I share opinions, but am prepared to change my mind. Postmodernism sucks. Page: Feed: --- ## [Don Brash & Te Pāti Māori agree on a strategy](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/don-brash-and-te-pati-maori-agree) _2026-08-18 · Ani O’Brien_ After 30 years of Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation, we may finally have reached the point where everyone works out how to properly game the system at the same time. ## [A week is a long time: 15 August 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-15-august-2026) _2026-08-14 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [I took Martyn Bradbury to court & still think the HDCA needs reform](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/i-took-martyn-bradbury-to-court) _2026-08-14 · Ani O’Brien_ How an interim court order became The Shawshank Redemption ## [Chris Penk took the fall, but here’s what I know.](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/chris-penk-took-the-fall) _2026-08-12 · Ani O’Brien_ A fledgling coup nipped in the bud. ## [The Greens are being remarkably honest. We should listen.](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/the-greens-are-being-remarkably-honest) _2026-08-10 · Ani O’Brien_ A plan for a very different New Zealand ## [National's list and the quirks of MMP](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/nationals-list-and-the-quirks-of-mmp) _2026-08-09 · Ani O’Brien_ National needs more votes, not a new electoral system ## [A week is a long time: 8 August 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-8-august-2026) _2026-08-07 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [The Activists Behind Winston Peters' Mock Execution](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/the-activists-behind-winston-peters-mock-execution) _2026-08-02 · Ani O’Brien_ Left wing political violence gets a free pass, again ## [A week is a long time: 1 August 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-1-august-2026) _2026-07-31 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [Behind the curtain of a NZ media scandal](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/behind-the-curtain-of-a-nz-media-scandal) _2026-07-29 · Ani O’Brien_ Appointing the aligned is democracy, not corruption ## [Finnish Seedboxes — Up to 20Gbps (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/a1o3W382jSQF) _2026-07-29 · **Sponsored**_ Private Finnish seedboxes with 1–20Gbps speeds, RAID storage and 14‑day refund ## [No to Blasphemy Laws: people have rights, religions do not](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/no-to-blasphemy-laws-people-have) _2026-07-26 · Ani O’Brien_ The long campaign to criminalise criticism of Islam continues to demand blasphemy laws ## [A week is a long time: 25 July 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-25-july-2026) _2026-07-24 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [A week is a long time: 18 July 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-18-july-2026) _2026-07-17 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [Can we have proper conversations about the Treaty, assisted dying, AI, farming, media, politics, & our future?](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/can-we-have-proper-conversations) _2026-07-15 · Ani O’Brien_ I appear to have agreed to tour New Zealand in winter ## [Was this Corrections case settled to avoid a precedent Crown Law & Human Rights Commission did not want?](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/was-this-corrections-case-settled-to-avoid-precedent) _2026-07-14 · Ani O’Brien_ A quick response to the latest assault on human rights by trans activists in our public sector ## [Hear me out: Ban the hardware not the software](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/hear-me-out-ban-the-hardware) _2026-07-11 · Ani O’Brien_ We need to save childhood without destroying adult freedom ## [A week is a long time: 11 July 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-11-july-2026) _2026-07-10 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [Chris Hipkins is New Zealand's Teflon politician](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/chris-hipkins-is-new-zealands-teflon) _2026-07-07 · Ani O’Brien_ Chippy the Accountability Houdini ## [A very personal message](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-very-personal-message) _2026-07-04 · Ani O’Brien_ I thought long and hard about sending this ## [A week is a long time: 4 July 2026](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/a-week-is-a-long-time-4-july-2026) _2026-07-03 · Ani O’Brien_ A New Zealand Politics weekly wrap-up ## [Marketplace for AI-Powered Professionals (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ksZCJsxNjj4a) _2026-07-03 · **Sponsored**_ Find professionals who use ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude to deliver work faster. ## [Politicising a Tragedy: PSA takes the gloves off](https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/politicising-a-tragedy-psa-takes-the-gloves-off) _2026-07-02 · Ani O’Brien_ New Zealand's largest public sector union increasingly sounds like an opposition party.