GWPF Newsletter: Sceptical Climate Scientists Coming In From the Cold

Climate Science And The Illusion Of Knowledge

In this newsletter:

1) Sceptical Climate Scientists Coming In From the Cold
RealClearInvestigations, 30 December 2016

2) Republican Attorneys General Eager To Dismantle Obama’s Climate Agenda
The Washington Times, 26 December 2016

Karl du Fresne: All this cultural appropriation must stop

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in a flagrant act of cultural appropriation. So did several thousand other people.

We watched a Christmas parade. Santa Claus was in it, complete with mock reindeer. Most of the floats were decorated with Christmas symbols: fake snow, tinsel, stuff like that. A brass band played traditional English carols. 

Muriel Newman: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

On behalf of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research we would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year! 

Thank you so much for your interest during the year - and for the contribution you have made to the debate -  and best wishes for 2017.

GWPF Newsletter: Frack On! UK High Court Gives Fracking Green Light

At Last: UK Fracking Expected To Start Within Months

In this newsletter:

1) Frack On! UK High Court Gives Fracking Green Light

Reuters, 20 December 2016

2) At Last: UK Fracking Expected To Start Within Months

The Times, 21 December 2016

GWPF Newsletter: The $3.5 Trillion Fracking Economy Is About To Get A Lot Bigger

OPEC’s Nightmare Scenario: U.S. Frackers Are Winning The Oil War

In this newsletter:

1) The $3.5 Trillion Fracking Economy Is About To Get A Lot Bigger 
The Daily Caller, 17 December 2016
 

2) OPEC’s Nightmare Scenario: U.S. Frackers Are Winning The Oil War 
The American Interest, 18 December 2016

Kevin Donnelly from Australia: How Swede it is - a good education

Given Australian students are going backwards in the inter national TIMSS and PISA tests, where we are now out performed by more than 20 countries including Kazakhstan, England, the United States, Slovenia and Portugal, something must be done.

One approach is to remove the dead hand of bureaucracy and adopt a market-driven model. Around the world, cutting-edge reform involves giving parents financial help to choose where their children go to school, and schools are given the freedom to manage themselves.

Karl du Fresne: John Key: the whatever man

I’m forced to admit that I don’t understand my fellow New Zealanders.

John Key was possibly our most popular prime minister in living memory, but even after his eight years in office I struggle to understand his appeal.

People call him charismatic. I must grudgingly accept that he is, although to me he's more enigmatic.

Trump’s Secret Weapon To Reverse Obama's Climate Policy

How Obama’s Climate Rules Might Unravel

In this newsletter:

1) Trump’s Secret Weapon To Reverse Obama's Climate Policy
Bloomberg Government, 12 December 2016 
 
2) How Obama’s Climate Rules Might Unravel
Bloomberg, 15 December 2016

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we look at political change and some of the challenges of the year ahead, our NZCPR Guest Commentator, Anthony Willy shares his forthright analysis of the draft constitution that Sir Geoffrey Palmer is proposing for New Zealand, and our poll asks whether you think National is more likely to work with NZ First now that Bill English is the Prime Minister. 

Thanks for your interest and contribution during the year – and best wishes for 2017.

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

Trump’s Top Nominations Signal Push For American Energy Boom

North America: 21^st Century’s Energy Superpower

In this newsletter:

1) Trump’s Top Nominations Signal Push For American Energy Boom
PoliZette, 13 December 2016
 
2) Climate Sceptic Rick Perry Is Trump’s Pick To Lead US Department of Energy 
Post Register, 13 December 2016 

Bryan Leyland: Things you know that ain't so - electric cars

"Things you know that ain't so - our renewable energy resources will charge our electric cars."

The government is promoting (in effect, subsidising) electric cars because it believes that the electricity they need to charge the batteries will mostly come from our renewable energy resources – hydro, geothermal and wind.

The reality is somewhat different as you can see from my comments on a recent government press release:

George Smith: Ayn Rand Predicted an American Slide toward Fascism

In a letter written on March 19, 1944, Ayn Rand remarked: “Fascism, Nazism, Communism and Socialism are only superficial variations of the same monstrous theme - collectivism.” 

Rand would later expand on this insight in various articles, most notably in two of her lectures at the Ford Hall Forum in Boston: “The Fascist New Frontier” (Dec. 16, 1962, published as a booklet by the Nathaniel Branden Institute in 1963); and “The New Fascism: Rule by Consensus” (April 18, 1965, published as Chapter 20 in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal [CUI] by New American Library in 1967).

Karl du Fresne: The road toll statistics they tried to bury

I checked the latest road toll statistics a few days ago. Interesting.

For the year from January 1, road deaths were up from 291 last year to 300. For the 12 months to Tuesday, they were up from 315 to 328. For driver fatalities, the figures were up from 138 to 151 (for the calendar year to date) and from 146 to 170 (over 12 months).

Michael Coote: Key leaves lingering racist legacy

Few other politicians have done more to create conditions ripe for the destruction of racial equality

Gone- by- Monday Prime Minister John Key shrewdly picked a retirement date amenable for collecting one of those New Year’s honour knighthoods he personally reinstated.

GWPF Newsletter: Met Office Data Confirms Record Drop Of Global Temperatures

Britain Faces Green Energy Crisis, Senior Regulator Warns

In this newsletter:

1) Met Office Data Confirms Record Drop Of Global Temperatures
Mail on Sunday, 11 December 2016

2) David Whitehouse & David Rose Discuss Reactions To Global Cooling Post-El Nino
GWPF TV, 12 December 2016

GWPF Newsletter: Trump Picks Climate Sceptic To Head Environment Agency

Ebell Offers Energy And Environment Agenda To Next US Congress 

In this newsletter:

1) Trump Picks Climate Sceptic To Head Environment Agency
Financial Times, 8 December 2016

2) Scott Pruitt: Climate Debate Is ‘Far From Settled’
National Review Online, 17 May 2016

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week, we reflect on the Prime Minister’s resignation, as our NZCPR ‘Guest Commentator’, we feature John Key with his explanation for his decision, and our poll asks what effect John Key’s resignation will have on National’s chances of winning the 2017 election.

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

Frank Newman: Valuations and statistics

A few months ago I reviewed two websites that had made finding property data whole lot easier: Trademe Property Insights (trademe.co.nz/property/insights) and Homes.co.nz.

Both apply a secret algorithm, to arrive at a suggested market value for residential properties, and provide a range of information about the property. They take what's called a desk top valuation approach - they look at recent sales in the area and compare the actual selling price of each property against its most recent capital value (as shown in the rates notice). They then apply that percentage change across all properties in the area to arrive at an estimated market value. No property inspection is carried out so the approach is inherently flawed. Both sites are upfront about these limitations and point it out in various disclaimers.

Richard Epstein from the US: America’s Immigration Quagmire

America’s immigration problem raises a huge set of thorny issues. At a theoretical level, it is difficult to articulate, let alone implement, the ideal immigration policy. While there are compelling arguments in favor of the basic norm of free trade, an open immigration policy could lead to massive political dislocations. 

Allowing the free flow of goods across borders is quite unlike allowing people to do the same. Goods do not put potential burdens on educational, health, and social service institutions; they do not participate in political activities, lobby to become citizens, or vote. 

GWPF Newsletter: Trump Plans To Overturn Obama’s Pipeline Ban

Trump’s Full EPA Transition Team Named

In this newsletter:

1) Trump Plans To Overturn Obama’s Pipeline Ban
Nasdaq News, 6 December 2016
 
2) Trump Advisors Aim to Privatize Untapped Oil Reserves on Native American Reservations
Reuters, 5 December 2016

GWPF Newsletter: Despite Denial, Global Temperatures Dropping Fast

All Global Data Sets Show Temperatures Falling As El Nino Ends

In this newsletter:

1) Despite Denial, Global Temperatures Are Dropping Fast
GWPF Observatory, 5 December 2016
 
2) New Study: Global Warming ‘Hiatus’ May Last Until 2030
The Daily Caller, 1 December 2016

Daniel Mitchell: OECD Economic Research Finds That Government Spending Harms Growth

At the risk of understatement, I’m not a fan of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Perhaps reflecting the mindset of the European governments that dominate its membership, the Paris-based international bureaucracy has morphed into a cheerleader for statist policies.

All of which was just fine from the perspective of the Obama Administration, which doubtlessly appreciated the OECD’s partisan work to promote class warfare and pimp for wasteful Keynesian spending.

Matt Ridley: Why is the left reviving apartheid?

The student union at King’s College London will field a team in University Challenge that contains at least 50 per cent “self-defining women, trans or non-binary students”. 

The only bad thing Ken Livingstone could bring himself to say about the brutal dictator Fidel Castro was that “initially he wasn’t very good on lesbian and gay rights”. The first page of Hillary Clinton’s campaign website (still up) has links to “African Americans for Hillary, Latinos for Hillary, Asian Americans and Pacific islanders for Hillary, Women for Hillary, Millennials for Hillary”, but none to “men for Hillary”, let alone “white people for Hillary”.

GWPF Newsletter: New Shale Wars: OPEC vs US Frackers

Can the U.S. Become an Energy Superpower in 2017?

In this newsletter:

1) OPEC Cuts Output, US Shale Industry Rejoices
The American Interest, 30 November 2016

2) Shale Wars: Where Are Oil Prices Headed As Saudi Arabia Lets The Big Bet Play Out?
Forbes, 30 November 2016

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: How long until someone does something about North Korea?

As the year draws to a close, I can’t but wonder how many more years will pass before we see the demise of the last bastion of Stalinism – the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea a.k.a. North Korea. I suspect it won’t be all that many, for things are coming to a head.

Korea was referred to as the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ by 19^th-century Western adventurers owing to its seclusion.