How low will Bridges go?
Simon Bridges has wondered out loud if anti semitism stopped the Government from sending a senior representative to a Holocaust memorial in Israel.
Open mike 28/01/2020
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The Fourth Estate struggling in the social media world
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog
Ahead of the 2020 General Election in New Zealand, Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that her party is committed to run a factual election and has signed up to a social media tool to help prove it. The 2020 NZ election will be an interesting case study of whether in the social media age there can be honest political debate free of misinformation and manipulation of facts.
Steve Mnuchin, not Greta Thunberg, needs to go back to school
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has attacked Greta Thunberg for not understanding the economics of climate change. But he has then been roundly criticised by a number of people, including his wife.
Chinese New Year
With China’s New Year arriving, and a terrible flu virus struggling to be contained within it at the same time, it’s time to reflect again on China’s future and impact for New Zealand.
Climate change thought experiment
What if…
Open mike 27/01/2020
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Constructive Criticism and Team Work In Politics
Team play is more important than ever in politics.
How To Get There 26/01/20
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.
Open mike 26/01/2020
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Open mike 25/01/2020
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Daily review 24/01/2020
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Open mike 24/01/2020
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Daily review 23/01/2020
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Labour is signing up to Facebook transparency tool
Jacinda Ardern has announced that Labour will abide by Facebook Ad Library Report rules which allow voters to see where campaigning money is being spent on Facebook ads. And that it will have its major policies independently costed.
The right is splintering on climate change
The right appears to be splintering on climate change, with former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull describing Donald Trump as the world’s leading climate change denier. And locally National MP Andrew Bayley has talked the profound effects of climate change on Antarctica’s ecosystems at the same time as Paula Bennett is attacking educational material designed to make children think about climate change.
RIP Terry Jones
Sad overnight news with the death of Terry Jones being announced.
Open mike 23/01/2020
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Daily review 22/01/2020
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Rally Against War on Iran and Iraq – Wellington noon Sat 25 Jan
Join people from across the globe for this international day of action to show our opposition to any new US war on the people of Iran or Iraq. Our message is simple: * No war on Iran * No war on Iraq * Troops out. More information on Facebook here.
Trump impeachment trial – gold for comedians.
The hypocrisy of the defenders of Trump defenders in the US Senate is providing grist for comedians and satirists. Here are a few examples looking at Trump supporters in the US Senate.
Open mike 22/01/2020
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Daily review 21/01/2020
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Power, the Acceleration of Cultural Evolution, and Our Best Hope for Survival
Originally published by Post Carbon Institute, Richard Heinberg writes about humanity’s relationship with power and how this presents both great danger and great opportunity.
The great political heist that wasn’t
National has hinted darkly that the theft of laptops from its headquarters was possibly motivated by political considerations even though it had been told of a similar burglary of a neighbouring office had also occurred recently.
Open mike 21/01/2020
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Daily review 20/01/2020
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Bridges will talk tough to the Philippines but not China
Simon Bridges is visiting the Philippines. And unlike his recent trip to China this time he has decided to talk tough to the local leaders about human rights.
Trump’s not so bad
an occasional series.
Open mike 20/01/2020
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Federated Farmers launches petition against its business model
Federated Farmers has started a petition against an educational resource that teaches about climate change and activism because it does not present their industry in a sufficiently positive way.
How To Get There 19/01/20
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.
Open mike 19/01/2020
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National created more working groups than Labour
The Herald has reported that National in its first two years of Government created *more* working groups than Labour.
Open mike 18/01/2020
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Why UK Labour lost? Part 9: What the party needs to do now.
Originally post on Nick Kelly’s blog
The broader context of this defeat is that over the last century, UK Labour has won 8 out of the last 28 general elections. Overall the Labour Party is not a successful electoral force in the UK. What makes the 2019 loss harder, is that the party lost sections of its historical base in the North of England and the Midlands.