Breaking Views Update: Week of 15.08.19

Saturday December 21, 2019

News:
Calls for councillor's resignation after 'racist' joke at Wanganui meeting
"Repo has an unfortunate connotation doesn't it," Vinsen said. "Repo means repossession. I don't know if I'd like to live in that street."

Race relations commissioner Meng Foon said the joke was in bad taste.

GWPF Newsletter: Attenborough Tacitly Admits Netflix Deception

Green Blob & BBC Start Anti-Boris Johnson Campaign

In this newsletter:

1) Attenborough Tacitly Admits Netflix Deception
GWPF TV, 19 December 2019
 
2) Green Blob & BBC Start Anti-Boris Johnson Campaign
GWPF, The Guardian, BBC 18 December 2019

Barry Brill: Climate Change Commission ”Fatally Undermined”

The potential credibility and standing of the Climate Change Commission announced by Minister James Shaw has been fatally undermined by the inclusion of four full-time climate change careerists and campaigners, according to the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.

“The statutory role of the Commission is to provide independent evidence-based advice on those long-term policies which will most effectively abate emissions and promote adaptation. Its key role is to budget emissions abatement to tolerable levels of economic pain,” said Coalition chairman Barry Brill.

Guy Steward: The Left is Wrong about Fascism

It’s heartening to see the landslide victory of the Conservatives in the UK with support across different socio-demographics. It shows amongst other things what voters disenchanted by the frequent failure of left-wing parties can do when there are viable alternatives. May we see something similar in New Zealand in 2020.

And it’s fascinating to observe the reactions—especially of vociferous left-wingers—to resounding defeats like this. It reveals their political integrity or lack thereof. 

Street protesters tend to come across as less rational, less adult, in their reduction of everything to accusations. Granted that duplicity is no one’s preserve, and everyone occasionally wears the hypocrite label. Yet the political left at the street level take the cake, because while their banners display moralist statements like “Say no to racism”, they are quite OK with lying, smearing, slandering, misrepresenting, inferring evil intent, hating, threatening, and cursing anyone considered too “right” or conservative. …but please “Say no to racism!”.

GWPF Newsletter: Boris Johnson May Ditch EU Green Regulations After Brexit, No 10 Suggests

Greta Expectations = Great Flop

In this newsletter:

1) U.N. Climate Conference Flops As Nations Deadlock On Hot-Button Issues
Valerie Richardson, The Washington Time, 16 December 2019
 
2) Boris Johnson May Ditch EU Green Regulations After Brexit, No 10 Suggests
The Independent, 17 December 2019

GWPF Newsletter: Boris Johnson May Abolish BBC Licence Fee In Wake Of His Election Victory

Yes, Prime Minister: It's Time To Cut The BBC Down To Size

In this newsletter:

1) Boris Johnson May Abolish BBC Licence Fee In Wake Of His Election Victory
The Sunday Telegraph, 15 December 2019
 
2) The Government Is Right To Consider The Future Of The BBC - They Should Start By Scrapping TV Licences
The Daily Telegraph, 14 December 2019

Frank Newman: Madrid 2019

She moaned about over crowded trains, but travelled first class.  That pretty much sums up the hypocrisy of do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do radical environmentalists. 

"She" is Greta Thunberg, Times 2019 person of the year. The climate change icon tweeted a photo showing her sitting on the floor of a rail car among a pile of luggage, looking reflectively out of the window. Presumably her thoughts are of the earth's demise. The caption is, "Traveling on overcrowded trains through Germany. And I’m finally on my way home!"

She was returning from the annual UN Climate Change summit in Madrid.

Clive Bibby: The small guys fight back - they have nothing to lose!

The remarkable political successes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump against what most "experts" described as insurmountable odds has to be the story of the year - at least that is the way l see it.

I hope you will have the patience to bear with me as l give my reasons for making that claim and also volunteering why it is important that this region, way down here at the opposite end of the planet, needs to take heed of any lessons we can learn from this northern hemisphere phenomenon.

Sterling Burnett: Climate-Change Alarmists Are Getting More Delusional In Their Predictions

Evidence is growing that climate alarmists — those peddling the delusion that human-caused climate change is destroying the Earth — are growing ever more desperate. 

Barely a day goes by without some so-called expert or group of experts proclaiming the world only has one year, two years, 10 years and so on to substantially reduce fossil-fuel consumption, or else it will be too late to prevent multitudes of cascading global disasters that make the biblical plagues of Egypt pale by comparison.

Yet, evidence shows people aren’t buying into the climate delusion. This has alarmists acting like used car salespersons, using ever direr and shriller language to get people to buy their “product,” which is ever more intrusive control over their lives.

Matt Ridley: The EU’s absurd risk aversion stifles new ideas

Excessive regulation means the health and environmental benefits of new technology are suppressed

With tariffs announced against Brazil and Argentina, and a threat against France, Donald Trump is dragging the world deeper into a damaging trade war. 

Largely unnoticed, the European Union is also in trouble at the World Trade Organisation for its continuing and worsening record as a protectionist bloc.

Frank Newman: Brexit exit for Corbyn

The UK Labour Party has been slaughtered in the recent election result. It's their worst result in 80 years. Electorates that had been Labour bastions forever have fallen as life-long Labour supporters held their nose and voted for Boris Johnson's Conservative Party - or didn't vote.  

Brexit was a crucial factor as was Labour's archaic socialist policies and its repugnant leadership. The Labour Party's position on Brexit was political rather than principled and their messaging was unclear. Were they for a Brexit exit or not? Voters simply wanted clarity and after years of political deadlock voters had had enough and pro-Brexit Labourites voted accordingly.

NZCPR Weekly: 2019 in Review

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we review the Government’s performance in 2019 and look ahead to the 2020 election, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Bob Edlin outlines some bizarre changes being introduced into prisons by Labour ‘to reduce Maori reoffending’, and our poll asks which party you think is likely to lead the country after the next election.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Breaking Views Update: Week of 8.12.19

Saturday December 14, 2019

News:
Call for social work to be 'decolonised'
A Massey University researcher is calling for social work education in Aotearoa New Zealand to be decolonised. Social work lecturer Dr Paulè Ruwhiu, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, has just completed her PhD research into the process of decolonisation and the experiences of Māori social workers and Māori social work students.

GWPF Newsletter: At Last! Rebel Member States Reject EU Green Finance Law In Setback For Climate Goals

Arctic Temperature Was 7°C Warmer Than Today 10,000 Years Ago

In this newsletter:

1) At Last! Rebel Member States Reject EU Green Finance Law In Setback For Climate Goals
Reuters, 11 December 2019
 
2) COP Ritual, Stage 5: UN Climate Summit Deadlocked
Reuters, 11 December 2019

Sterling Burnett: The Paris Climate Agreement Was Doomed Even Before the US Withdrawal

The Paris climate agreement is a bad deal for America, costing jobs in the United States and putting the country at a competitive disadvantage with our international competitors. By finalizing this starting process on November 4 of this year, President Trump kept his campaign promise to put America first.

“It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with many, many other locations within our great country before Paris, France,” Trump said at a 2017 Rose Garden event, which initially announced the intention to withdraw.

For America’s sovereignty and continued economic success, Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement is among the most consequential actions he has taken since being elected president.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: The start of a new era in the Middle East?

2019 has been a good year for Vladimir Putin with Donald Trump effectively handing over the reins as chief powerbroker in the Middle East, or at least a substantial part thereof, to him.

Putin did not need any further prompting once the US army units began their withdrawal from northern Syria. Within a fortnight he was in direct talks with Erdogan and a ceasefire was put in place. Days later, Turkey announced that it had ended its military operation against the Kurds. Russian and Turkish units began to patrol the 20-mile strip of land adjoining the Turkish border. (Trump claimed a great American diplomatic victory – he had threatened to annihilate the Turkish economy should they try to wipe out the Kurds. A BBC news report fittingly showed a line of Russian armoured vehicles on patrol as they presented this dubious announcement.)

Karl du Fresne: That Garrick Tremain cartoon

Cartoons can be a tricky issue for editors. It’s not enough that they should simply be funny, and indeed some of the best are not. To be truly effective, cartoons need an edge. They should be provocative.

Accordingly, editors need to cut cartoonists a lot of slack. They will sometimes publish cartoons they know some readers will find offensive, and that they may even find offensive themselves.

Brent Edwards: Political Roundup - Should Kris Faafoi be sacked?

The latest allegations of a corruption scandal involving a Cabinet minister suggests this government is far too loose when it comes to providing access to power for friends and associates.

Kris Faafoi is in trouble because of his alleged role in helping a mate with an immigration matter when he was the Associate Minister of Immigration. On the face of it, the evidence is bad for Faafoi, as it looks like he has breached the Cabinet Manual rules which prohibit helping mates out by doing them a personal favour.

NZCPR Weekly: The Dark Age of Political Intrusion

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we reflect on the insidious impact on society of interventionist governments, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Sir Roger Douglas explains the importance of policies to empower New Zealanders and he outlines the dismal state of affairs today, and our poll asks whether you believe New Zealanders are too complacent about the loss of personal freedom.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

GWPF Newsletter: Revolt Brewing Against EU’s ‘Unrealistic’ Climate Goals

German Car Industry Makes Stand Against New EU Commission's Climate Goals

In this newsletter:

1) Revolt Brewing Against EU’s ‘Unrealistic’ Climate Goals
EurActiv, 5 December 2019
 
2) EU Deeply Split About Net Zero Climate Goals
EURACTIV.com, 4 December 2019