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Fox News/Google Iowa Republican Undercard Debate – 28 January 2016
The last Republican debates before the Iowa caucuses on Monday 1 February were held on the evening of Thursday 28 January (US Time) at the Iowa Events Centre in the state capital of Des Moines. Undercard Debate This debate was held at 7pm ET (1pm Friday NZT) and...
Trump Refuses to Attend GOP Iowa Debate Hosted by Fox News/Google
On 26 January 2016 (US Time), Bret Baier, host of Fox News's Special Report, announced who had qualified for the final Republican debate on Thursday 28th January 2016 US time before the Iowa Caucuses on Monday 1 February. The line-up was to look like this: However,...
CNN Democratic Town Hall – Iowa 25 January 2016
Monday night US time (Tuesday afternoon NZ time) there was one of the few chances for USians to see the Democratic candidates on television. It was a Town Hall style affair, moderated by CNN's Chris Cuomo. The audience, who were mainly Democratic voters, submitted...
Auē Tēnei Wiki: Vladimir Putin – Killer?
Staying with the leadership theme - this time an example of really bad and corrupt leadership - Vladimir Putin. A report was released this week into the death in London of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko at the age of 43. Litvinenko, who was born in Voronezh...
Tau Kē Tēnei Wiki: The International Reputation of President Obama and the USA
There's a whine we've been hearing from Republicans with ever-increasing frequency since the start of Obama's presidency: that the United States is less respected than it was in the Bush era, and especially that his leadership is seen as both weak and of poor quality....
Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump
And you thought the Republican race couldn't get anymore bizarre! Breaking news from the New York Times Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump, Rallying Conservatives. This link was sent to me by my brother. He's been a Republican supporter for a while. His profile is one...
GOP/Fox News Business Debate: 14 January 2016
The Undercard Debate (6pm ET, Noon Friday NZT) Held in North Charleston, South Carolina, this debate was moderated by Fox New Business anchors Trish Regan and Sandra Smith. It was supposed to feature Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum. Then...
Reza Aslan in the Media
It's been a while since I mentioned Reza Aslan. For myself, I don't know whether he's duplicitous, whether he really believes what he says, or whether there's another explanation. I do know that much of what he says is inaccurate. It's been fifteen months since I...
Auē Tēnei Wiki: Cop Shot in Philadelphia
At about 11.40 pm Thursday (US time) 30-year-old Edward Archer, allegedly ran at police officer Jesse Hartnett while he was sitting in his patrol car, firing a gun. Archer reportedly discharged eleven shots, the last at point blank range actually inside the car. He...
Tau Kē Tēnei Wiki: Sea Otter Pup at Monterey
It wasn't this week, it was last year - 20 December 2015 - but I only found out about it yesterday and it's so cute that I decided to make an exception. 🙂 Monterey Bay Aquarium in California is an institution dedicated to conservation of the oceans (especially...
Charlie Hebdo – One Year Later
Note: This post contains depictions of Mohammed. If you find such things offensive, do not read this. If you choose to read anyway, don't blame me. When I wrote about the Charlie Hebdo massacre a year ago, I headed the post with this quote from Stephen Fry. It remains...
Paxton Marshall Critiques Sam Harris’s “Sleepwalking Towards Armageddon”
Regular readers will know that one of the most frequent commenters here is Paxton Marshall, a retired professor, most recently of the University of Virginia. He and I (and other commenters) disagree a lot, and the topic of that disagreement has often been the opinions...