New Zealand Herald (March 18)
“In the wake of the Christchurch terror attack” we need to ensure “zero tolerance for casual racism.” No longer can you simply ignore or make excuses for these views. You need to “call them out, shut them down, report them, do whatever you need to do to ensure that this level of everyday racism is no longer accepted in New Zealand…. The Christchurch terrorist who livestreamed the massacre spent two years planning it, being fairly open about it all online, in forums and social media. Someone, at some point, could have stopped it. But they didn’t.” Now we know better. “You don’t get to ignore it anymore…. Spreading hate on social media can be criminal. See it? Report it.”
Tags: Casual racism, Christchurch, Criminal, Excuse, Hate, Ignore, Livestreamed, Massacre, Report, Social media, Terror attack, Zero tolerance
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Star (August 16)
After the police shooting of a black man, violence erupted in Milwaukee, “one of the nation’s most segregated” metropolitan areas where black male unemployment hovers around 50%. “While there is no excuse for what happened, there is a reason. Adults and teens exploded with anger and frustration because something is fundamentally wrong; something that has been building for decades.
Tags: Anger, Black man, Excuse, Frustration, Milwaukee, Police, Segregated, Shooting, Violence
Wall Street Journal (April 21)
“For Europe to grow faster, the political class will eventually have to stop looking to the ECB as the growth engine of first and last resort.” On Thursday, Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, was unusually blunt in his criticism of other European politicians because they “have used the relief of low interest rates as an excuse not to do reforms.”
Tags: Blunt, Criticism, Draghi, ECB, Europe, Excuse, Growth engine, Interest rates, Politicians, Reforms
The Economist (December 6)
“Shinzo Abe’s expected victory in next week’s snap election will leave him no excuse for further backsliding on structural reform.” He has yet to demonstrate enough “vigour in pushing through the tough, market-oriented reforms that he has repeatedly promised.”
Tags: Abe, Backsliding, Election, Excuse, Japan, Market-oriented reforms, Structural reform, Victory
Wall Street Journal (September 5)
“You can’t say Mario Draghi isn’t doing his part.” Trying to deliver another economic “miracle,” the European Central Bank (ECB) President lowered interest rates and increased the negative rate institutions pay on funds deposited with the ECB. “Too bad the politicians keep using Mr. Draghi as an excuse to dodge their responsibility to pass pro-growth reforms…. Europe’s main economic problem is a political class that doesn’t want to address the structural impediments to growth that have nothing to do with monetary policy.”
Tags: ECB, Europe, Excuse, Growth reforms, Interest rates, Mario Draghi, Monetary policy, Politicians, Responsibility, Structural impediments
USA Today (August 3)
“As the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, China and America hold the key on global warming. If the U.S. acts to curb emissions, it puts pressure on China to go along. If it doesn’t, it gives China an excuse to delay.”
