1. Trump urged against Romney
Donald Trump has been turning away intelligence briefings since becoming US president-elect, having had just two briefings in three weeks. By contrast, the Vice President-elect Mike Pence has been receiving briefings daily. [Washington Post]
Meanwhile, key Trump aide Kellyanne Conway was on Thursday linking to a news piece about Republicans urging Trump against choosing Mitt Romney as Secretary of State because of Romney's savage attack on Trump during the campaign. [Nolan D. McCaskill/Politico]
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Conway said she was receiving a "deluge of social media and private communications" about Romney and in a later tweet said: "Kissinger & Schultz as Secs of State flew around the world less, counseled POTUS close to home more. And were loyal. Good checklist."
Not looking good for Romney, and another sign of the Trump camp's isolationist approach to foreign policy.
Former CIA director David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty to removing and retaining classified information which he shared with his biographer and mistress, is offering his services to the president-elect. [Hilary Clarke/CNN]
2. Brexit will dampen wages
Yesterday I referenced Britain's Office for Budget responsibility in predicting real wages growth would stall as a result of the costs of Brexit. Today, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says the outlook for British workers is "dreadful" and real wages will be worth less than what they were in 2008. [BBC]
Donald Trump and the Brex Pistols. Nigel Farage: (Still) head of UKIP, the UK Independence Party, but soon to be replaced, having announced his resignation after a successful Brexit campaign. Arron Banks: Close confidant to Farage, an insurance tycoon worth a £100 million ($124 million) who funded the Leave.EU campaign and is UKIP's biggest donor. Andrew Wigmore: Former head of Leave.EU's communications during the Brexit referendum, and a friend of Banks. Raheem Kassam: Editor-in-chief of Breitbart London; formerly Farage's political adviser, he briefly ran for the UKIP leadership. Photo: Twitter @RaheemKassam
UKIP's Nigel Farage fought for Brexit to "take back control" but now wants to abandon his country for the United States, basically because being a high-profile political figure has taken its toll on his family, according to The Times. Farage's spokesman says the story is nonsense. [Lucy Fisher]
Farage last night celebrated 20 years in politics at a function at the Ritz on Picadilly, on the same day that the staggering $100 billion Brexit bill was unveiled in the budget update. [Mikey Smith, Patrick Lion/Daily Mirror]
Tellingly, just 10 UKIP MEPs/MPs attended. He will leave behind a party riven with internal divisions and huge financial problems. The party garnered just £9,500 ($15,995) in cash donations between July and September. The party's main donor, Arron Banks, has said he will stop bankrolling the party. [Sky News UK]
Douglas Carswell, UKIP's only MP in the British Parliament (the others are members of the European Parliament and will be out of a job once Brexit is done), is toying with returning to the Conservatives, from which he defected in 2014 as anti-EU sentiment reached its frenzy. [Politics Home]
My must-read today is this fantastic piece in the New Statesman on former British prime minister Tony Blair. Blair wants to re-engage with politics because he's worried about the shift from the centre. His thoughts on globalisation and particularly its effects on identity in fuelling Trump and Brexit are particularly interesting. [Jason Cowley]
3. Aus politics
Tony Abbott's former health adviser, Terry Barnes, says politicians have caved in to the public health lobby. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Terry Barnes used to work for Tony Abbott when he was the health minister. This week he's given a fairly excoriating speech lashing the Coalition for having no health policy. He's got a point.
What's more, he's suggesting some new radical proposals, including making drunks, diabetics and smokers pay more for their healthcare. [My report/Fairfax]
Michelle Grattan has some interesting background on why Peter Dutton is targeting second- and third-generation Lebanese Muslims and why just one MP, moderate Trent Zimmerman, spoke up in the partyroom on the issue. [The Conversation]
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Former Labor minister-turned-commentator Graham Richardson says Bill Shorten has made a mistake by attacking Dutton over his comments. [The Australian]
Shorten's response was "daft" and "opportunistic," agrees Simon Benson. [Daily Telegraph]
Stunning comments from the Greens Senator Nick McKim, who does not dispute the fact that 22 of the 33 people charged with terrorism offences were from second- and third-generation Lebanese Muslim backgrounds, but says: "just because something is fact doesn't mean that it's reasonable or productive to talk about it." [Sky News]
This shows just how far the left have to go in grappling with how the suppression of these conversations has aided the rise of their political opponents worldwide in Trump, Brexit and, of course, at home with Pauline Hanson.
And the Greens have come up with a way to try and derail the government's second industrial relations bill which, if passed, would re-establish a construction industry watchdog. [Michael Koziol/Fairfax]
Laura Tingle on how struggling Cabinet Minister Kelly O'Dwyer was openly mocked during her address to the superannuation industry is a good read. [Financial Review]
4. A challenger to Merkel?
Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a European Union leaders summit in Brussels in March. Photo: Reuters
Martin Schulz has quit as President of the European Parliament to stand in the German elections, which could lead to him running against Angela Merkel for the chancellorship. [Jennifer Rankin/Brussels]
5. War in Syria
A Russian strategic bomber refuels en route to a mission over Syria. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry
In what could be a serious escalation of the conflict in Syria, Turkey, a NATO member, is threatening retaliation after three soldiers were killed in a suspected Syrian airstrike. [Reuters]
6. Snapchat growth explodes in Australia
Photo: Getty Images
I'm a little dubious about how much of a political message you can get through on Snapchat, but have been quite impressed with the way Barack Obama's team have conveyed the President's work.
Interestingly, I find Snapchat and Instagram the best at feeding you ads that don't get in your way, although my Insta feed has been clogged with way too many ads lately.
Max Mason has some really interesting stats on how many Australians are using specific social media platforms. Facebook remains the biggie, but Snapchat is experiencing rapid growth and has reached four million Australian users. [Financial Review]
If you snap, you can add me – latikambourke.
And that's it from me today – you can follow me on on my other social media platforms, including Facebook for more.
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