The White House Correspondents Dinner is really an acid test for whether the media elite will formally make peace with American fascism.
Attendance will be a useful shortcut for which broadcasters & 'journalists' must be hounded out of the profession & never allowed on air again
Back in the 90s I remember reading @jonathancoe.bsky.social’s book ‘What a Carve Up!’, and thinking that it should be prescribed reading for every kid in secondary school.
More effective than a dozen classes on ‘civics’ in teaching people about politics, power and wealth.
Democracy cannot be upheld if certain groups of people are categorically excluded from voting. It is therefore crucial that the technology used and data required during the electoral process does not lead to the exclusion of voters. Learn more: privacyinternational.org/long-read/57...
The increasingly prominent role of data and tech in the election process can affect the right to privacy and lead to a chilling of political participation, particularly for minoritised groups.
"There should be no mystery why younger Americans are as pro-Palestinian today as their forebears were once pro-Israeli. Rabin staked his life on peace. What will posterity say of Netanyahu?" My column on why America is falling out of love with Israel. www.ft.com/content/353e...
‘just how central was Peter Mandelson to the Starmer project’ is a question that is becoming increasingly close to being permissible, and I think Starmer is 100% done once it starts being asked
You're telling me a giant corporation lied & underdelivered on promises to the public to get $750 billion in tax breaks
This is my surprised face
I don’t think the collective lemming-like urges of the PLP should be so lightly dismissed.
Good luck with that. There’s probably a Trump incident that covers all those bases in one go though?
Actually, I’d also bring back AppleWorks (neé ClarisWorks). And if not that, then a basic flat file (non-relational) database that integrates with the Pages app. Previously used AW for so many different mailing lists and mail merges; it was very handy.
As usual not even one single mention of pupils who use their phone as an essential medical or assistive technology.
Nope, just “phones bad”
Yeah. After reading some of the other suggestions, yours is the best. I’d like them to bring back their own WiFi boxes, updated with the latest standards and mesh networking. Plus I’d love an Apple NAS. But as you say, that would undercut their content and storage services sales, so won’t happen.
Yes. As you noted, it’s a skill that people can be trained to develop. But I very much doubt such training exists as part of new MPs’ induction, let alone refresher training.
Wellington deluge - a tragedy - An ‘ordinary’ storm with extraordinary impacts - infrastructure can't cope with these weather events and sadly its likely to get worse. Climate scientist James Renwick set out the problem: theconversation.com/an-ordinary-...
Yes, I was having flashbacks to squirming at the ineptitude of select committee questioning that I sat in on a few times.
No end to the tales of his poor judgement. The only way to stop more of them coming out in the future is to remove him from the position where he makes those poor decisions.
Really does seem as though McSweeney had Starmer wrapped around his little finger, and so what McSweeney wanted was what happened. Both had shockingly poor judgement, when good judgement is the core attribute for both people’s jobs.
If nothing else, the decision to sack Robbins, when he didn't need to, must rank as one of the most absurd acts of political self-harm any prime minister has yet committed. All of this eminently foreseeable.
Why beneficial ownership transparency is so important for investigative journalism and securing justice, from @occrp.org www.occrp.org/en/feature/h...
Image one description: Picture of the following text: "In 2021, it was revealed that police all over the country were stopping rangatahi Māori in the street and photographing them for no reason. Tens of thousands of photos were added to police databases, over 50% of them of Māori. The Supreme Court, IPCA and Privacy Commission all said this was illegal. Now the government is changing the law to make these practices legal. Police will be able to photograph you and your kids, anytime and anywhere, and keep those photos forever. Here’s what you need to know about the Policing Amendment Bill…"
Image two description: Picture of the following text: "What the Bill does The Policing Amendment Bill gives police the power to photograph and record anyone, both in public and on private property, so long as they think it “will or may support” any function of the Police. That means they don't need to suspect you of anything. Any intelligence gathering can be justified simply “in anticipation of the possibility of future offending.”¹ This kind of discretion has already resulted in rangatahi Māori being targeted. This is a massive violation of rights to privacy and freedom from unreasonable search."
Image three description: Picture of the following text: "Who the Bill targets Before the IPCA and Privacy Commission stepped in, more than half of the photos that police had collected were of Māori.² This isn’t a coincidence. The police’s own research confirms deep institutional racism.³ Māori are six times as likely to come into contact with police for no reason than Pākehā, and are subject to warrantless searches at a rate four times higher.⁴"
Image four description: Picture of the following text: "Tamariki and rangatahi are not protected Police were illegally stopping tamariki and rangatahi in the street to photograph them and record their details.⁵ The Bill makes this practice legal, and includes zero protections for children and young people. It creates a pipeline for tamariki and rangatahi Māori into police databases and a lifetime of surveillance by the justice system."
You have until Wednesday 22nd April to submit against the Government's bill that will allow Police to photograph you and your kids for any reason and erode our political and civil liberties. You can make a submission and find a guide to submit here: papa.org.nz/2026/04/12/p...
An article in the Times today by Kathleen Stock in which she claims, incorrectly, that ‘when the gay rights cause first got going, the ideal was toleration’.
To correct the record:
The gay rights movement I was a part of in the 1980s and 90s was not aiming for ‘toleration’.
Mere acceptance was not enough.
How would that help the isolated queer kid?
No. We wanted that child to know they would be loved and celebrated just as they were.
We recently revealed the government allowed UK companies to send drone engines to Israel without export licences.
Asked about this, trade minister Chris Bryant refuses to answer.
Bryant also misled parliament about UK aircraft parts for Israel.
www.declassifieduk.org/revealed-how...
What does it mean when civil disobedience isn't a message to the political system but a rejection of it?
2025 NZCCL VUW Law essay prize winner Jessica Ye decolonises civil disobedience in the NZCCL webinar, 7:30pm Tuesday 5th May.
Details and sign-up here: nzccl.org.nz/5th-may-2026...
"Beneficial ownership transparency remains one of the most effective tools for preventing corruption in the extractive sector" - @eitiorg.bsky.social
Learn about international changes by reading the EITI 2025 progress report eiti.org/eiti-progres...
#beneficialownership #OpeningExtractives
"Low-income households will get [free] plug-in solar panels to cut their energy bills, the Government has announced."
This is how you do a just transition.
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Almost everything we argue about is a substitute for the thing we should be arguing about: the immense wealth & power of an oligarchic class, which captures governments, ruins lives and wrecks the living planet.
This class redirects our rage at scapegoats. To resist its lies is to resist its power.
This lack of grasp of the nuance in the process reflects poorly on the PM. It appears to be a politician’s and lawyer’s worldview (and a crude and unsubtle one at that) compared to a public service management worldview. Skin-saving, not leadership. Just like the hasty suspension of FCDO role in DV.
The Policing Amendment Bill vastly expands Police surveillance powers and enables the use of body cams without any additional oversight. It also allows Police to designate no-go areas nearly anywhere and on the flimsiest of grounds.
Read our full submission: nzccl.org.nz/submission-p...
bsky.app/profile/open...
