Incoming Feed Items

Some commonly used “rules of thumb” produce very bad results 

We all know and use rules of thumb. They’re handy for simplifying otherwise difficult problems and quickly making reasonably prudent decisions. We know that we should measure twice and cut once, that a stitch in time saves nine, and that we should allow a little extra following distance when the roads are slick.  There’s a second, and related metaphor involving thumbs:  “putting one’s thumb on the scale,” meaning to bias the results of a measurement by tipping the scale in one direction to achieve a desired outcome.  That’s equally applicable to many of these rules of thumb:  they exist and are crafted as they are to push decisions in a particular direction.  That’s especially true for many commonly applied planning rules.

What purport to be “standards” in the worlds of transportation and land use are in many cases just elaborate rules of thumb. And while they might have made sense in some limited or original context, the cumulative effect of these rules is to tip the scales so that we have a transportation system which is by regulation, practice, and received wisdom, “all thumbs.”

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the shocking public disintegration of relations between the United States and Ukraine, why many Australians are feeling less secure with Trump in office, and what that means for the future of the Australia-US alliance.

This discussion was recorded on Monday 3 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Read more about the research on the Australia Institute website.

Order What’s the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Host: Angus Blackman, Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Photo: Biden White House Archived/Flickr (US Government Work)

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

Our second lived experience panel explores the outcomes of the current, inequitable system, as experienced by every day Australians with regard to climate change adaptation and resilience.

Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne. The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Lived Experience Panel Two: Climate Change and the Regions appeared first on Per Capita.

Political economist, writer and advocate for economic system change, Dr Katherine Trebeck gives the final keynote address for the Community Tax Summit. Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

Katherine’s roles include writer-at-large at the University of Edinburgh, Economic Change Lead at The Next Economy, and Strategic Advisor to the Centre for Policy Development. She co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) and also WEAll Scotland, its Scottish hub.

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post Katherine Trebeck: Keynote Address appeared first on Per Capita.

Tax Justice Network Australia’s Mark Zirnsak, Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research’s Jason Ward, Oxfam Australia’s Josie Lee, and Professor Grantley Taylor join the panel on International Taxation. Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne.

The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post International Taxation appeared first on Per Capita.

The final session in the summit, Emma Dawson, Terese Edwards, Iain Walker, and Peter Lewis combine to discuss how we can take what we’ve learned from the past two days and apply it to changing the Australian tax and transfer system.

Recorded on the 21st of February as part of Per Capita’s Community Tax Summit, at Solidarity Hall at Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne. The Community Tax Summit bought together Australian NFPs, Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups and more to kick off a “big conversation” about Australia’s tax and transfer system. There our panels of experts and those with lived experience demonstrated that there is an genuine appetite for tax and transfer reform, which is both needed and wanted in the next term of Parliament.

The post How to Achieve the Change we Need appeared first on Per Capita.

Sophia Cho and John C. Williams

Well, thank you, and thanks to all the gathered delegates and luminaries and media professionals.

And thanks especially to the hosts of the Munich Security Conference for being able to put on such an incredible event. We’re, of course, thrilled to be here.

And, of course, it’s great to be back in Germany. As you heard earlier, I was here last year as a United States senator. I saw Foreign Secretary David Lammy and joked that both of us last year had different jobs than we have now.

But now it’s time for all of our countries, for all of us who have been fortunate enough to be given political power by our respective peoples, to use it wisely to improve their lives.

I was fortunate in my time here to spend some time outside the walls of this conference over the last 24 hours, and I’ve been so impressed by the hospitality of the people, even, of course, as they’re reeling from yesterday’s horrendous attack.

And the first time I was ever in Munich was with my wife, actually, who’s here with me today on a personal trip. And I’ve always loved the city of Munich, and I’ve always loved its people.

And I just want to say that we’re very moved, and our thoughts and prayers are with Munich and everybody affected by the evil inflicted on this beautiful community. We’re thinking about you, we’re praying for you, and we will certainly be rooting for you in the days and weeks to come.

Introduction

This guide provides a clear introduction to Bluesky—its features, benefits, and how political movements can use it for outreach and organizing.

Whether you’re an individual, an organization, or a political party, this resource will help to establish a presence, build an audience, and navigate the platform with confidence.

Social media is in chaos right now and X is one of the most chaotic, not to mention its evolution to become a space more reminiscent of bedlam than a network of thriving online communities.

In this guide we give you an overview of the biggest alternative – Bluesky and some basics for how progressives, organisations and political parties can utilise it. 

What is Bluesky 

Bluesky is a social media app designed to be open and independent, rather than controlled by a single company. It runs on the AT Protocol, an open-source system that allows anyone to build and connect social apps.

​It is a microblogging platform where users can share short text, video or images. It looks and feels very similar to Twitter. 

In a poll of 2009 Australians, conducted before the weekend’s disastrous White House event with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, 31% rated Trump the greatest threat to world peace, compared to Russian President Putin (27%) and Chinese President Xi (27%). 15% were unsure.

Almost half (49%) said they felt less secure since the election of President Trump. 17% feel more secure.

Respondents were asked if they thought Australian interests would be better served by a closer alliance with the United States or a more independent foreign policy.

44% said they’d prefer a more independent foreign policy. 35% would prefer a closer alliance with the United States.

The research also found:

• 56% of women feel less secure since the election of Donald Trump
• 53% of Baby Boomers, 51% of Gen Xers, 44% of Millennials and 45% of Gen Zers say they feel less secure since the election of Donald Trump
• 48% of Labor voters would prefer a more independent foreign policy, while 30% would prefer a closer alliance with the US. Among Coalition voters, 49% would prefer closer ties with the US and 34% would like a more independent foreign policy

“This is a potentially seismic shift in Australian thinking about America,” said Dr Emma Shortis, Director of the International & Security Affairs Program at The Australia Institute.

Introduction

Learn how to create an effective campaign plan with your group with this series of short videos from Friends of the Earth UK.

Are you planning a new campaign? STOP!

Your campaigning will be far more impactful if you create a strong and clear campaign strategy.

Follow this short video series, download the activity sheets and learn how to create a campaign plan with your group.

5 Key Questions

A lot of successful campaigns have been based on methodologies established by Marshal Ganz, a veteran US community and union organiser. His approach involves answering 5 key questions which we’re going to work through – with the help of some video tutorials – to help you develop your campaign.

These questions are: 

Introduction

The Health Equity Narrative Lab is a groundbreaking initiative designed to transform public perception of the need for health equity.

These guides provide storytelling and powerbuilding strategies to expand the choir and base of people supporting health equity.

About

Initiated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by the BLIS Collective, in coordination with Story Strategy Group, the Lab developed an innovative narrative tool designed to help organizations, advocates, and funders inspire action to shift cultural perceptions around health in the United States. At the heart of this work is the Health Equity Narrative House, a comprehensive schematic that guides storytelling and powerbuilding strategies.

The Health Equity Narrative House

The purpose of the Narrative House is to provide an understanding of the narratives we need to disrupt, amplify, create, and organize around in order to build an environment and society where achieving health equity is possible.

The Narrative House is a schematic that can be used for framing, storytelling, organizing, and grantmaking.

Thank you so much for your interest in becoming a trustee of the Equality Trust – we are really excited to be growing our team as we continue our work to challenge concentrations of income, wealth and power so that everyone can have a good life.  2024 was a pivotal year for the Equality Trust, […]

The post Trustee Recruitment appeared first on Equality Trust.

This is a longer post than my usual, due to the significance and intricacy of its topic. On March 1, 2025, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District Court of the District of Columbia issued a critically important opinion. Jackson ruled on the merits of a Trump administration challenge to the statute creating the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). She decided that the statute is constitutional and that Trump's effort to fire the head of OSC was wholly unlawful. She issued a permanent injunction requiring executive branch officers and staff to respect the authority of the current Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger, and to refrain entirely from interfering with his performance of his job. Because Jackson ruled on the merits and granted immediate equitable relief to Dellinger, the case is very likely to swiftly reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The defendants, Trump administration officials, have already given notice that they will appeal Jackson's decision and order to the D.C. Circuit, the intermediate appellate court between the District and Supreme Courts. The litigation and the issues it presents are a major battleground in the war to save U.S. constitutional democracy from dictatorship.

On this bonus episode of Follow the Money, Walkley Award-winning journalist Stephen Long speaks to three young climate advocates about the impact of climate change in Tuvalu and Kiribati, their dismay at the continued expansion of fossil fuels by Australia and other developed nations, and how they are fighting for the future of their societies.

Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute’s fortnightly newsletter.

Order What’s the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Gitty Yee, Communications Officer, Tuvalu Climate Action Network

Guest: Aselu O’Brien, Draughtsman, Lands and Survey Department, Government of Tuvalu

Guest: Robert Karoro, National Coordinator, Kiribati Climate Action Network

Host: Stephen Long, Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes: