Gordon Campbell: On The Mueller Probe, And Russia’s Economy

In itself, the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for interfering in the 2016 US wlll do little to change pre-existing views about the Robert Mueller investigation into Russia’s meddling in US presidential politics... More>>

Gordon Campbell: On The Nunes Memo

Every now and then the US system erupts and throws up a piece of political magma that can’t be described or explained in any rational fashion... More>>

ALSO:

• Earlier Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI Statement on HPSCI Memo

Ross Webb: Our Union-Powered Past
Labour’s soon-to-implemented workplace relations policy aims to address the imbalances in our economy, but has sparked fears among some that it marks a return to ‘the bad old days’ of the 1970s. But what exactly was happening in the 1970s? And what has caused the ‘imbalances’ that Labour is now trying to fix? More>>

ALSO:

• First Union - Labour-hire bill could lift thousands out of poverty

Joseph Cederwall: Progress On Open Government, Finally
The Open Government Partnership features an Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) with an independent reviewer assessing each Government’s performance in order to keep them honest. The IRM for New Zealand has just released the latest draft report on New Zealand. More>>

Gordon Campbell: On The Selling Out Of The Kurds
Kurdish lives were expended to serve US – not Kurdish – military and diplomatic goals, in the belief that the US and European powers the Kurds had served so steadfastly in the battle against IS terrorism would be rewarded, afterwards. Instead, there is every indication the Kurds are being sold out once again. More>>

ALSO:

• Binoy Kampmark - Kurdish Frictions: Turkey’s Campaign in Afrin
• Franklin Lamb - 2018 portends intensification of Syria’s Civil War

Gordon Campbell: on the inquiry into the abuse of children in care
Apparently, PM Jacinda Ardern has chosen to exclude faith-based institutions from the government’s promised inquiry into the abuse of children in state care. Any role for religious institutions – eg the Catholic Church – would be only to observe and to learn from any revelations that arise from the inquiry’s self-limiting focus on state-run institutions… More >>

Summer Reading:

• Charlotte Graham - Protecting the protectors - I OIA'd every council in NZ and all I got was this headache
• Veronika Meduna - The Kaikoura Rebuild: A Scoop Foundation Investigation
• NIWA - A year of new knowledge
• BusinessDesk - Year in Review: NZ stocks head for best year in five - NZ politics keeps business world on its toes - Kiwi ends 2017 much where it started
• Wellington.Scoop - 2017 - Counting Our Losses
• Music - Ed Sheeran dominates NZ End of Year Charts
• Joseph Cederwall - Malian ‘Desert blues’ Revolutionaries to storm WOMAD
• Gordon Campbell - Best New Music Of 2017
• Joe Burton - The US election hack, fake news, data theft: the cyber security lessons from 2017
• Tom Peters - Government seeks to contain outrage over Pike River disaster

Charlotte Graham: I OIA'd Every Council In NZ...
A “no surprises” mindset and training and advice that has taught public servants to see any media interaction as a “gotcha” exercise perpetrated by unscrupulous and scurrilous reporters has led to a polarised and often unproductive OIA process. More>>

ALSO:

• Newsroom Out-Links - Opinion: It's time to open up the Closed Government Act by Bryce Edwards - Shane Cowlishaw: The OIA is broken, can it be fixed?
• The Spinoff Out-Link - Bluster, waste and delay: the new reality of a rotten OIA | Sam Warburton

Veronika Meduna: The Kaikoura Rebuild
A Scoop Foundation Investigation The South Island’s main transport corridor will be open to traffic again, more than a year after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake mangled bridges and tunnels, twisted rail tracks and buried sections of the road under massive landslides. More>>

Charlotte Graham: Empowering Communities To Act In A Disaster
The year of record-breaking natural disasters means that in the US, as in New Zealand, there’s a conversation happening about how best to run the emergency management sector... More>>

ALSO:

• NZTA - Afternoon opening confirmed for SH1 north of Kaikoura - Be aware of SH1 closure zones around Kaikoura - Night Time Closure Hours on SH1 Around Kaikoura
• NCTIR - 7 December Special Bulletin - Kaikoura Earthquake Update
• Road Transport Forum - SH1 reopening a significant achievement
• Forest and Bird - Wildlife benefit from road reopening
• Department of Conservation - Seals, camping and short walks on journey through Kaikoura

Campbell On: The attacks on Lorde, over Israel
The escalation of attacks on Lorde for her considered decision not to perform in Israel is unfortunate, but is not entirely unexpected…More

Jan Rivers: The New Zealanders Involved In Brexit
There are a number who have strong connections to New Zealand making significant running on either side of the contested and divisive decision to leave the European Union. More>>

Rawiri Taonui: The Rise, Fall And Future Of The Independent Māori Parties
Earlier this month the Māori Party and Mana Movement reflected on the shock loss of their last parliamentary seat in this year’s election. It is timely to consider their future. More>>

Using Scoop Professionally? Introducing ScoopPro
ScoopPro is a new offering aimed at ensuring professional users get the most out of Scoop and support us to continue improving it so that Scoop continues to exist as a public service for all New Zealanders. More>>

ALSO:

• Scoop 3.0 - How You Can Help Scoop’s Evolution
• ScoopPro - Helping PR Professionals Get More Out Of Scoop
• ScoopPro: Helping The Education Sector Get More Out Of Scoop

27-29 Sept: Social Enterprise World Forum Live Blog
1600+ delegates from more than 45 countries have came together to share wisdom, build networks and discuss how to create a more sustainable future using social enterprise as a vehicle. Attending the Forum were social enterprise practitioners, social entrepreneurs, policy makers, community leaders, investors, activists, academics and more from across the globe... More>>

Scoop Hivemind: Medical Cannabis - Co-Creating A Policy For Aotearoa
Welcome to the fourth and final HiveMind for Scoop’s Opening the Election campaign for 2017. This HiveMind explores the question: what would a fair, humane and safe Medical Cannabis policy look like for Aotearoa, NZ in 2018? More>>

ALSO:

• Julie Anne Genter - Access to Safe, Affordable and Legal Medicinal Cannabis
• Shane Le Brun - Do We Really Need “Pharma Grade” Medical Cannabis?

Lyndon Hood: Notes On National’s Election Campaign, In Poem Form
Nationyl’s bitumen-ing / As they du du / Seed groweth / River floweth / Then ‘dozer drives thru / Highway ensu. More>>

George McClellan: Gareth Morgan v The TVNZ Debate
In light of Gareth Morgan's application to the High Court for an injunction to get TOP included in TVNZ's leaders debate, George McLellan discusses under what circumstances might a judge interfere with editorial prerogative. More>>

ALSO:

• The Opportunities Party - Morgan disappointed at debate decision - Morgan Calls out Peters for a Real Debate Anytime Anywhere
• Internet Party - Internet Party Denounces Election Meddling By Media
• Image Out-Link - Politicats — SunnyBoy Entertainment

Gordon Campbell: On The US Public’s Attitude To Nuclear War
A recent MIT report on public attitudes to several global war scenarios suggests that the American public is far more tolerant of the mass killing of civilians – either by nuclear or conventional means – than the nice people in the media commentariat commonly tend to assume. More>>

ALSO:

• BusinessDesk - While you were sleeping: Stocks slide on nuclear tensions
• NZ Govt - North Korea nuclear test utterly deplorable
• CTBTO Preparatory Commission - CTBTO on the unusual seismic event detected in DRPK
• United Nations - UN Secretary-General on North Korea's Latest Nuclear Test
• Binoy Kampmark - Unnerving the Donald: North Korea’s Sixth Nuclear Test
• Binoy Kampmark - The Korean Powder Keg

Birthday Report: The Scoop Foundation Turns Two
Election years sharpen the need for independent, accurate and honest news, and Scoop has risen to that challenge in 2017, supported by the Foundation. This was a year for the website to flourish... More>>

Joseph Cederwall: Open Government – Inoculating Against Fascism
A distinct lack of open, inclusive and transparent political and economic systems is emerging as a key factor in this growing crisis of modern, liberal democracies. More>>

Rosalea Barker: Admission Day, Hawaii
Admission Day or Statehood Day commemorates the admission of the Territory of Hawai’i into the United States of America on Friday, August 21, 1959... Here is an account of how I passed the holiday in my new hometown of Kaunakakai. More>>

Any Questions: Scoop Launches New Q&A; Website
It’s an easy way to find out party positions and allows you to view candidates’ answers side by side. It’s also a way for you to make your voice heard this election, and get the parties talking about the things that are important to you. More>>

ALSO:

• Office of the Clerk - Public invited to watch disollution of Parliament
• NZ Govt - A busy and productive year in the House
• Rawiri Taonui - The Maori Election

Lyndon Hood: Social Welfare, Explained
Speaking as someone who has seen better times and nowadays mostly operates by being really annoying and humiliating to deal with, I have some fellow feeling with the current system, so I’ll take this chance to set a few things straight.. More>>

ALSO:

• Out-Link - Speaking Power to the Truth: The Political Assassination of Metiria
• Out-Link - The myth of the benefits cheat is a sign of unkind times | Zoe Williams | Opinion | The Guardian

Scoop HiveMind Project: Universal Basic Income - Are We Up For It?
This is an opportunity for you as one of the 4 million potential funders and recipients of a Universal Basic Income to collectively consider the issue:
1. Is UBI is a desirable policy for New Zealand; and
2. How should a UBI system work in practice. More>>

ALSO:

• Hivemind - BINZ Proposal Sets Out 4 Steps To Progress a UBI in NZ
• Basic Income NZ - What is owed to us? Introducing a UBI in New Zealand
• Joseph Cederwall - UBI could increase human well-being and help save the planet - Universal Basic Income - The Future of Work in Aotearoa?
• Pii-Tuulia Nikula - Introducing a UBI in NZ – Insights from the Finnish Trial
• Michael Fletcher - A UBI may be a good idea – but.....
• Max Harris and Alexander E. Kentikelenis - Basic income could build community in age of individualism