"With the loss of trust in our political institutions and politicians today, we need a political summit to build consensus on democratic reform and the restoration of trust. Such a proposal, if carefully explained and implemented, could produce real political and policy dividends for its advocates and more importantly, for Australia. “Democracy” has been narrowed down to a view that it is only about elections and not about well-functioning institutions. the highest bidder."John Menadue, Pearls and Irritations 19/9/21https://johnmenadue.com/john-menadue-our-democracy-is-decaying-from-within/?mc_cid=1022438797&mc_eid=ff9389eb5b 

The latest thoughts from leading Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) funds investing in innovation to decarbonize their respective industries.Whereas traditional venture capital funds are purely financially oriented, CVCs’ objectives often bifurcate into prioritizing strategic and financial returns. In a world of corporate net zero commitments, CVCs have bolstered their mandates to invest in accelerating climate technologies. Startups are considered to be bad at scaling, and corporates bad at innovating - so the upsurgence in CVCs’ investment into climate startups is exciting for their partnership potential to scale climate innovation. I'd love to see some Aussie success stories here.image credit: ClimatechVChttps://climatetechvc.substack.com/p/-corporate-climate-venturing

Google’s Jigsaw project collaborated with the digital rights NFP Access Now and the censorship measurement company Censored Planet, in a report that found Internet shutdowns are "growing “exponentially”: out of nearly 850 shutdowns documented over the last 10 years, 768 have happened since 2016"The report's results should give policy-advisors, governance and ethicists alike pause for thought. What can should we do to minimise this threat?https://jigsaw.google.com/the-current/shutdown/Image by Chaitawat Pawapoowadon from Pixabay 

Reading a story for only 10 minutes a day is amazing for a person’s mental well-being and creativity, according to a world authority on the usefulness of fiction.The article goes into say that there are different novels for different emotions. It includes Hamlet for grief, Jane Austen novels in general for warding off heartbreak, Virginia Wolfe’s Mrs Dalloway for anxiety, or My Brilliant Friend for loneliness.The key is to try something a little bit different with each book, just minutes a day can improve your well-being.https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/wellbeing/reading-wellbeing-creativity-ideas-angus-fletcher-osu-wonderworks-star-wars-1196037/amp

Such a great idea and would cause so much fun!The owners of Town Square Belfast have created a bar table on wheels.Town Square bar shared the video on Facebook, writing: "You can now order at the bar, BUT you must remain seated whilst drinking inside. We know it’s confusing, but don’t worry; we’ve got you sorted! Introducing the new Town SQ wheelie tables."One of the owners said that, although customers have been trying to book the table, the idea was created as a joke, to poke fun at the Covid-19 restrictions issued by Stormont.https://www.independent.ie/videos/belfast-bar-owners-create-mobile-table-as-method-of-adapting-to-covid-restrictions-40848921.html