How To Get There 28/4/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Politics
Deep stuff
Should white supremacists be preferred over ISIS?
According to media sources in the United States Twitter won’t autoban white supremacists because too many GOP Politicians would be banned.
Regulating social media
Is it possible that the zeitgeist for global social media regulation is peaking at the right time, and the big tech giants will accede?
Sri Lanka
A junior Sri Lankan Minister has suggested that the recent bombings was an ISIS inspired response to the Christchurch mosque bombings. But others are not so sure that this is right.
Everything Should Be Made As Uncomfortable As Possible, But No Less Comfortable
When providing a voluntary carbon-offset scheme, make it as simple as possible, but not simpler, and tell people about it.
Kiwi Cultural Cringe is Alive and Well
New Zealand is too small for high-achievers and star-performers and does not offer enough challenges and rewards.
Confirmation bias
The internet neatly divides us into separate isolated tribes with polarised views of what are the issues and what is reality. How do we engage in a civilised discussion to educate each other and reach a consensus of what we should be doing?
How To Get There 21/4/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Don’t Rock The Titanic!
The pace of politics of transformation is glacial but it is unstoppable.
About the CGT decision
With the benefit of hindsight the decision not to proceed with a capital gains tax was almost inevitable.
National’s culture review shambles redux
Simon Bridges has given a train wreck of an interview this morning on Radio New Zealand’s morning report about National’s culture review. It appears that National is keeping the report secret because of fears that the report may be leaked.
Reflections on Free Speech and Public Discourse
Silencing dissonant voices only leads to more and stronger dissonant voices and further radicalisation.
Assange Must Be Extradited
There is no doubt that Julian Assange should be extradited when his UK jail sentence ends. Justice demands it.
How To Get There 14/4/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Black Hole
The first image of a black hole has been released. It’s brighter than expected, but kinda underwhelming.
National’s culture review shambles
National’s internal cultural review has been completed but two female MPs most affected by recent events were not interviewed.
Are We Expecting Too Much Of Our Political Leaders?
Political leaders must have expert knowledge on many topics and near-perfect recall. No naps allowed and no room for error.
How To Get There 7/4/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
This Is Who We Really Are
As we prepare for ANZAC Day, the Kapiti RSA has been viciously attacked for wanting to show solidarity with NZ’s Muslim community. Maggie writes about what that means and suggests who we really are.
Life and Death in Aotearoa – Debating Euthanasia
David Seymour’s Private Member’s Bill on euthanasia is back for debate in Parliament. Maggie looks at one of the great social issues of our time.
Walking the Human Rights Tightrope in NZ Prisons
The question of prisoners’ rights has hit the news today. That’s rare because we don’t normally care.
A new Guest Post from Maggie puts the case that we walk a tightrope when we seek to simplify the complex issues at play in prison.
How To Get There 31/3/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Rooting Out Racism
TS regular Maggie with an excellent analysis of the challenges facing men in a society in transition and what that means for the fight against racism.
Leading a feminist Pacific
It’s time to convert Ardern’s massive global symbolic capital into a lasting legacy for the Pacific. It’s time for a feminist international development policy.
WTF Free Speech coalition?
The Free Speech coalition has attacked the Chief Censor’s decision to rule the Christchurch Mosque killer’s manifesto as objectionable as an attack on free speech. But the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties has characterised the Censor’s decision as being entirely conventional.
Reform of the SIS
Following the Christchurch Mosque murders there are strong calls for an inquiry into the SIS. But should it be given more power or should it be reformed to remove a pretty clear blind spot.
How To Get There 24/3/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
The power of compassionate politics
Jacinda Ardern has shown over the past week that she is one of the country’s best leaders.
DPF does the right thing
Kiwiblog comments have been turned off as David Farrar grapples with how to handle a crisis concerning hate speech.
How To Get There 17/3/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Magicked-Up Weapons
I’m glad Anne-Marie Brady will get the chance to present her “Magic Weapons” paper to the select committee examining the last election. At long last it might get given some proper critical examination, of its content as well as it provenance. In my opinion it reads like a long list of the blindingly obvious, mixed with a large dose of conspiracy theory. It certainly doesn’t show much sign of the sort of critical thinking one might expect from an academic.
How To Get There 10/3/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Simon Bridges is rooting for the Greens*
Simon Bridges makes a passionate plea for the environment and for a mate.
Jihadi Justice
Should we let the ‘Bumbling Jihadi’ Mark Taylor back into NZ? What message do we send the world if we don’t?
Venezuela, China and Russia
In the new world order of robber barons in which most states are collectively so weak that they no longer effective resistance against large corporations, we should start to view states as diplomatic fronts for corporations.
The Green’s electoral law reform petition
The Green Party’s launching of a petition to seek changes to the electoral system has met with some Trumpian style rhetoric from the right.