General Debate 27 April 2017

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William of Ockham

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/26/trump-tax-cuts-proposal-deductions-brackets

God helps those who help themselves…
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April 27, 2017 8:01am
- stephieboy
  
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  Apparently paying for it by slapping on an import duty on all imported goods and drastically cutting defence spending .
  
  Make America great again.
  
  Yah !
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:29am
- Scott
  
  I know that Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 15%. The idea is to encourage firms to stay in the United States or relocate to the United States and hire more American workers. It’s a campaign promise that he is trying to follow through on.
  
  Of course Congress may not cooperate because Democrats as a general rule don’t like tax cuts and don’t like to shrink the size of government. Many people think it is a good idea and a chance for the American worker to get jobs which is what Trump campaigned on.
  
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  April 27, 2017 10:59am
  - Kimbo
    
    Would American bosses hand on tax cuts in the form of higher wages for their workers? Even if they did, doubtful that even with a company tax cut American unskilled and semi-skilled workers of the Rust Belt could compete with nations that pay 50c/day, but let’s see how it pans out. What next? Tariffs, import restrictions and subsidies, aka “trade war”?
    
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    April 27, 2017 11:09am
  - Scott
    
    Many people think that the US economy is shackled by too much regulation and the very high corporate tax rate. By tackling regulation and lowering taxes Trump believes the US economy will boom. And for what it’s worth I think he’s right.
    
    As to the higher wages then I would suggest a booming economy does lead to demand for skilled workers and therefore we would expect wages to rise, particularly if skilled workers start to become in short supply. And unskilled workers can at least expect jobs to work in and feed their families.
    
    Scott predicts that if Congress passes big tax cuts then US economy will boom in the next 12 months.
    
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    April 27, 2017 1:36pm
    - Kimbo
      
      …and as you picked Trump to win despite others (me included) insisting “not likely” I defer to your superior predictive skills, sir!
      
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      April 27, 2017 1:39pm
      - tf78
        
        I picked him and was very unpopular for a while especially just after predicting brexit – I know I’ve been told it’s all my fault, but things really did have to change and they will.
        
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        April 27, 2017 6:13pm
duggledog

Well everyone in this house says well done to the young man who castigated the Nicky Hager acolytes for their grossly inappropriate protesting on Anzac Day.

The whole point of National Day is, we all agree the occasion is of such import, we all join together to celebrate it.

Who would deem Waitangi Day morning at the upper Marae to be appropriate for protesting against what bullshit the Treaty is? Nobody. That would be made out to be inappropriate from Bill English down.
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April 27, 2017 8:10am
- MCos
  
  National Day?
  We don’t have a National Day.
  Waitangi Day was briefly renamed New Zealand Day by Norm Kirk.
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:21am
  - cmm
    
    I think dd means a national day appointed for a specific purpose – in this case a day for honouring troops.
    
    Anzac does not promote war. What it does do is acknowledge that some people have gone to war and gone through hell and we can acknowledge that.
    
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    April 27, 2017 8:25am
    - Rachael Membery
      
      For our freedoms that are currently being eroded.
      
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      April 27, 2017 10:53am
      - Paulus Gnome
        
        Freedoms that are being abused
        
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        April 27, 2017 2:38pm
  - Paulus
    
    ANZAC Day is our National Day.
    Some Iwi in the Bay of Plenty now want it to include the local Maori Wars, which keep turning up, within ANZAC Day.
    Local support apparently is far better on ANZAC Day than Waitangi Day which is really only for Maori.
    
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    April 27, 2017 8:52am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    Do Kiwis even have a national identity? A national “image” (South Island sheep farms, etc.) perhaps, but I don’t think anything close to an identity.
    
    (The State is doing its best to blur and dilute it, if it even exists.)
    
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    April 27, 2017 8:57am
    - stephieboy
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      Certainly not a national identity defined by the alt and rabid right.
      
      At the end of the day does it really matter ? .
      
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      April 27, 2017 9:10am
      - All_on_Red
        
        Of course it matters. If our Country doesn’t have a National identity we are just a Hotel.
        
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        April 27, 2017 9:35am
- mara
  
  I have no time for Hager either but he and his motley crew had every right to peacefully protest. We might think it inappropriate but the law allows it in a free country. Bottom line.
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:15am
  - Sponge
    
    Just because they have the right to protest on ANZAC Day does not mean they are right to protest on that day.
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:33am
    - VicParking
      
      They have no moral compass.
      
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      April 27, 2017 10:36am
    - Rachael Membery
      
      I think that it is good that they protested, I think that the disgust and upset that it caused should harm Hager. He might as well have released his book on ANZAC day!!!
      
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      April 27, 2017 10:56am
  - niggly
    
    Forget about this “every right to protest” nonsense.
    
    It’s about appropriateness and inappropriateness.
    
    For example on “World Peace Day” (or some other peace/victim vigil remembrance day) it would be inappropriate for a group of people to turn up with a banner promoting armaments like missiles and bombs in order to “keep the peace” as a counter protest.
    
    Sure they would have “every right to protest” but it wouldn’t be appropriate now would it.
    
    So kudos to the 12 year old for calling out the inappropriateness of Peace Action Wellington. He was correct, they can protest any other day (there are 364 other days to chose from) but to do so on ANZAC Day was inappropriate.
    
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    April 27, 2017 10:08am
  - tf78
    
    Respect is a word so often forgotten these days and this is a prime example. I know that young boy was very precocious but he was also correct and I think good on him, but I wouldn’t want to live with him.
    
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    April 27, 2017 6:17pm
G152

Kodos to the kid.
He said pretty much what most there were thinking.
And the bloody hypocrite mayor wanking on about service… Were spit guards issued?
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April 27, 2017 8:13am
oldpark

Our Keystone type Immigration Dept could strike again. Rumour has it that the Uber taxi-driver who fast tracked an American family to Wellington,for a very important business meeting,could be fast tracked out of NZ. His alleged crime,he drove for longer than 5 HOURS without a break. The convicted Afghanistan three time loser, sexual kiddie fiddler ,is allowed to stay in NZ,and even gets a favourable 5 years extension,providing ,no more kiddie fiddling. The Uber taxi driver who put NZ on the map by his great service, could be booted out of NZ by our Keystone Immigration dept. NZTA are investigating,on a complaint,from another taxi business,who obviously dont believe in customer service.
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April 27, 2017 8:15am
- fernglas
  
  Read it more carefully. He was driving without a break for a full shift and then a return journey to Wellington. He got paid for it. He says that if he gets taken to Court he will voluntarily leave the country because he has been to Court before and didn’t like it. If a truck driver had done the same hours he would be rightfully prosecuted because it is dangerous.
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:23am
  - PhilBest
    
    But the point with truck drivers is that they are tempted to do this continuously, and many would do it if it were not for the regulations; in the case of a Taxi or Uber, this is totally exceptional, and far more “voluntary”. When the driver was asked if he would do it, he would be able to make a call about how fresh he was feeling. Fair enough to put this request out in an emergency of circumstances and see if someone rises to the challenge. It is not as if we are arguing about normalising a new practice.
    
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    April 27, 2017 8:45am
    - godruelf
      
      I’m sure taxi drivers would be tempted to do huge hours regularly if the business is there.I would rate this emergency on about the same level as a memorable occasion where someone wanted to make a rugby game. At least in that case I think they were driving within hours and with a police escort.
      
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      April 27, 2017 8:57am
      - pdm
        
        `At least in that case I think they were driving within hours and with a police escort.’
        
        And extremely fast – while paperwork was (allegedly) being completed in the back seat.
        
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        April 27, 2017 9:24am
      - PhilBest
        
        It’s not so much a question of normalising long hours, which is a clear issue – this is a single ultra-long distance drive at a prohibitive cost, which ensures its rarity.
        
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        April 27, 2017 9:36am
      - Ed Snack
        
        I once was “trapped” in Whanganui after an ANZ flight to Auckland couldn’t land because of crosswinds.
        
        The pilot just walked off and left us and thanks to there being the NZ National Bowls championship (or something like that) there were no cars to rent and no accommodation available short of Marton.
        
        So with a group of other passengers, we found a taxi/shuttle driver to take us to Auckland. One meal/comfort stop in Taumuranui, seven hours arriving at about 1 am. Then presumably the driver went back.
        
        Not prosecuted or anything, should he have been ?
        
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        April 27, 2017 12:12pm
  - Viking2
    
    The point really is, what harm was done other than the hurt feelings of some overpaid twat at NZTA.
    
    Obviously the taxpayer donates far too much money to that outfit.
    
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    April 27, 2017 8:41pm
    - mikenmild
      
      Maybe that should be a criteria for any prosecution. Blew over the limit – “never mind sir, no one was harmed. Drive carefully”.
      
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      April 27, 2017 8:43pm
- Jack5
  
  Uber has another side. It is a big international commercial organisation that brings to force its full-time strategists, PR people-propagandists, and managers as it tries to pick off cities around the world one at a time. It uses its muscle spending millions fighting local bodies.
  
  When I say “pick off”, I mean smash all regulations in the way of its mode of operation, whether these regulations are set up locally or nationally, and whether the regulations are set up for safety reasons or not.
  
  If Uber wants NZ to end its driver-hours safety rules, then Uber should fuck off out of New Zealand and stay out.
  
  Less predatory organisations make similar use of cellphone network will arise – organisations happy not to fight countries’ and cities’ democratic regulations.
  
  Uber got edged out of China by a home-grown similar business. We should watch for the arrival of that giant in NZ, too.
  
  http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/blog/us-cities-stood-up-regulate-uber
  
  http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-everywhere-uber-is-banned-around-the-world-2015-4?IR=T (this site will make you adjust your ad. blocker).
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:38am
  - Jack5
    
    These allegations against Uber are from an American court filing reported by Bloomberg:
    
    Wilshire Law Firm Files Lawsuit Against Uber Technologies, Inc., Rasier, LLC and Rasier-CA, LLC for Price Discrepancy in Uber’s Upfront Pricing Model
    
    Apr 19 17
    
    On April 3, 2017, Bobby Saadian and Daniel Miller of Wilshire Law Firm filed a proposed class action suit in federal court on behalf of their client, Sophano Van, against Uber Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries Rasier, LLC and Rasier-CA, LLC.
    
    The complaint alleges that Uber, intentionally, manipulates the route data reported to customers and drivers by using one route in determining its upfront pricing and then transmitting different navigation instructions to drivers. This creates a discrepancy in the price that Uber is charging customers and the amount that Uber is reporting to drivers; allowing Uber to pocket extra money, in addition to the booking fees and percentages permitted under its agreement with drivers.
    
    Uber started utilizing upfront pricing in various cities across the United States in mid-2016 and switched over to the current upfront pricing model in California around September 2016.
    Uber’s upfront pricing requires customers to select their pickup location and destination, in advance, and then charges them a fixed price for the transportation. However, when an Uber driver arrives to pick up the customer, Uber provides the driver with a different route that results in less compensation to the driver.
    
    When the trip is completed, Uber sends the driver a breakdown of the total fare, Uber’s fees, and the payout to the driver. However, the total fare reported to the driver is not the total fare collected by Uber from the customers. The proposed class action has been filed to put an end to this misconduct by Uber and to obtain fair compensation for the drivers, who have been underpaid by Uber’s misleading fare reporting.
    
    These accusations need to be regarded as allegations, but they reflect some of the controversy around Uber.
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:49am
    - cha
      
      but they reflect some of the controversy around Uber.
      
      The controversy around Uber can be sheeted home to the CEO.
      
      https://danielcompton.net/2017/03/14/uber-bombshell
      
      https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/23/technology/travis-kalanick-pushes-uber-and-himself-to-the-precipice.html
      
      https://techcrunch.com/2006/07/05/use-red-swoosh-to-serve-files-for-free/
      
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      April 27, 2017 10:00am
Southern Raider

There is no justice system.

48 year old rapes a 15 year old girl. Days after the accusation Police still haven’t made arrest and father of the young girl sees the offender walking down the town street. He stops to confront this mongrel and ends up roughing him up.

The 48 year old has now been convicted of the rape and is in prison, but now the Police are prosecuting the father for assault
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April 27, 2017 8:16am
- Dafixeruppa
  
  Well what it shows is that if you decide to mete out justice to some low life that rapes your daughter, make it really worth it since you will go down for it anyway.
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:46am
  - Nigel Kearney
    
    … since you will go down for it anyway.
    
    Not if I’m on the jury. Where can we chip in to help pay his legal costs? If any left over, I don’t mind if he keeps it.
    
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    April 27, 2017 8:54am
- SGA
  
  I empathise with the step-father – all my instincts would be to want to do the same thing. That said –
  
  He stops to confront this mongrel and ends up roughing him up.
  
  does mininise the incident.
  
  He leapt from his car and punched Haward repeatedly about the head and face, before headbutting him. Haward suffered bruises, swelling, and concussion, and lost a tooth. A police officer who attended the scene said he was worried Haward was going to die.
  
  Vigilante justice is a mixed bag. At this point, the police were still investigating the rape complaint, and the complaint was indeed genuine and the guy was convicted. If it hadn’t been?
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:55am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    Huge age disparity between the rapist and the step daughter, I wonder if the rapist was a mate of his?
    
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    April 27, 2017 4:16pm
- SGA
  
  To add to my earlier comment –
  I don’t think that the police have much choice other than to prosecute in this particular case. To do otherwise is a tacit endorsement of vigilante justice.
  It’s the job of the jury and judge to determine the extent to which the circumstances mitigate his alleged offending.
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:08am
  - MCos
    
    I vaguely recall a very similar incidence some years back. The ‘vigilante’ also received a fair amount of public sympathy. However not so much for subsequent unrelated assault convictions!
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:23am
- 4077th
  
  A bit of jail time would be a small price to pay if the victim was one of my daughters. Seems to me the step father exercised a great deal more restraint than I would have had.
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:58am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    It fucks up you life. Visas, travel, employment, credit risk etc. Far bigger impact for someone who is of good standing in community than beneficiary class.
    
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    April 27, 2017 4:52pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Police & judges hate people poaching on their turf, and will do them to the utmost of their ability. I knew of a guy 20 years ago who was attacked by a skinhead with a baseball bat in a petrol station forecourt. Managed to disarm him and beat the shit out of him. He was jailed for 3 months for (excessive?) self defense.
  
  Why does it seem that low lives get endless second chances while generally upstanding people get nailed first time? Like the book Bonfire of the Vanities – police and judges love to work over people from the right side of the tracks to address their personal feelings of imbalance with their usual fodder. Seen this in a few other cases too.
  
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  April 27, 2017 4:50pm
duggledog

My point is it’s not appropriate to protest war and the possibility a kid got killed by Kiwi soldiers on a National Day.

It’s ‘the’ day.

Those c***s knew nobody would touch them, and they knew whatever they did would get enormous media coverage.

I won’t ‘defend to the death their right to protest’. Not at that location, not at that time, not on that day. What they did was nasty, not pious. Pure and simple
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April 27, 2017 8:32am
- PhilBest
  
  Some “anti war” stuff is downright treasonous, and come actual wartime it would be logical to intern certain activists. Their motivations have never been so much “anti war” as “pro” victory of our enemies.
  
  Once the Commie bloc enemy had collapsed and looks unlikely to be resurrected (Russia and China are both in a condition of right-wing, crony, oligarchic capitalism now), they are in a state of dummy-spitting rage, looking for any enemy anywhere, to support against us, regardless of how evil.
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:50am
  - stephieboy
    
    Phil Best , the missing ingredient in terms of “right-wing, crony, oligarchic capitalism “is of course Trump’s America .
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:13am
    - AgentBallSack
      
      God, you dribble some shit.
      You stupid stupid boy.
      
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      April 27, 2017 9:38am
    - PhilBest
      
      Trump’s election platform was one of sorting this out; if he doesn’t sort it out, hopefully someone else will. Obama already let his voters down by seeming to them, to be the guy who was going to do it.
      
      Outright socialism is not the answer, the end to cronyism is the answer. Lenin said “a capitalist will sell you the rope you will use to hang him”. Ayn Rand retorted that that kind of capitalist needed to be hung anyway before they sold the rope to the Commies.
      
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      April 27, 2017 9:40am
      - Disaster Area
        
        I don’t disagree with what you say; Trump was elected to sort out the cronyism and revolving door between government and lobbying.
        The problem is the people whom have been appointed to his cabinet.
        It’s not a good look when he uses his daughter and son-in-law as go-betweens. Its also a touch hypocritical when he criticised Clinton for her links to Goldman Sachs and then appoints six people who have worked for them.
        
        Meet the new Boss – same as the old Boss.
        
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        April 27, 2017 10:02am
      - All_on_Red
        
        ‘The problem is the people whom have been appointed to his cabinet.’
        
        There is only one ex Goldman Sachs person in Trumps Cabinet- Mnuchin.
        Ross worked for Rothchilds but his experience in turning around manufacturing coys is relevant.
        https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/trump-cabinet-tracker/510527/
        
        They’re all pretty good actually. There might be six ex Goldman people appointed in various places but Trump gets to appoint a couple of thousand throughout the various Departments so it’s a small number in that context.
        But only ONE in the Cabinet.
        
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        April 27, 2017 11:00am
      - Disaster Area
        
        Trump will be the third out of the last four Presidents to have picked an ex Goldman Sachs employee for Treasury Secretary. Hardly draining the swamp.
        
        Whilst these people may not be in the inner Cabinet, they are so close as to make little difference.
        http://heavy.com/news/2017/01/donald-trump-goldman-sachs-drain-swamp-steve-bannon-steven-mnuchin-gary-cohn-jay-clayton/
        
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        April 27, 2017 1:19pm
      - Paulus
        
        I now see that Obama is charging US$400,000 to give a paper in New York, and that is the charge now.
        Yeeps ——–that is more than Bill Clinton and Hillary who only charged US$300,000 (each) for the same kind of speech.
        
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        April 27, 2017 1:51pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Sigh….’Draining the swamp’ refers to lobbyists. Not ex Bankers joining his Cabinet or his Admin. It’s about when they leave…
        
        ‘Trump promised to impose stronger “revolving door” rules, which basically say an official cannot leave government and then start lobbying his or her former colleagues. He did what he said he would do: Set a five-year revolving-door ban for his appointees; it’s in an executive order on ethics he issued in January.
        He also said he would ask Congress for a five-year lobbying ban on senators, representatives and top staffers. (They currently face one- or two-year bans under separate House and Senate rules.)’
        
        Given the way you are constantly wrong I’m starting to think the nom de plume ‘Disaster Area’ accurately reflects your comments!
        
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        April 27, 2017 2:34pm
      - stephieboy
        
        All on Red , you really haven’t grasped the mettle about Trump and his rhetoric versus his actions .Various of his appointees have beeen made exempt from his 5 year ban rendering his claim to drain the swamp quite meaningless ,
        
        “How Trump’s ‘drain the swamp’ words compare with his actions”
        
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11843203
        
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        April 27, 2017 2:56pm
      - Disaster Area
        
        All_on_Red
        ‘But the Trump administration is more vulnerable to conflicts than the prior administration, particularly after the president eliminated an ethics provision that prohibits lobbyists from joining agencies they lobbied in the prior two years. ‘
        
        ‘President Trump has surrounded himself with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants, some of whom are helping shape policies that benefit the industries they have recently worked for. A myriad of potential conflicts of interests found in an analysis of financial disclosures, lobbying records and interviews with current and former ethics officials, have arisen throughout the executive branch’
        
        From: http://www.salon.com/2017/04/16/the-trump-administration-raises-serious-concerns-with-potential-conflicts-and-ethics-violations-report/
        
        So what you’re saying is that it is OK for these people to go from lobbyist into the administration, as long as they don’t go the other way?
        
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        April 27, 2017 3:16pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Btw Bannon left Goldman Sachs TWENTY SEVEN years ago.
        
        Stephie, he exempted a guy who worked for 77 days in govt. 77 days! A five year ban would be a bit harsh for him huh. The NZH are morons. As for you, you’re a disgrace and a POS.
        
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        April 27, 2017 3:21pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Hahahahaha, you guys are getting ridiculous.
        None of his Cabinet are lobbyists. Trump has to appoint thousands of staff. He runs the Executive.
        You’re now all saying no one who has spoken to Govt can ever be in government.
        What a moronic position.
        But no doubt you are the sort of morons who think that only Govt people can run a Govt. And the more the better.
        It’s so pathetic watching you guys scramble with your Trump Derangement Syndrome and searching for ANY reason to criticise Trump it’s funny.
        Sad!
        Lol
        ‘Comments are a Disaster Area’- bwahhahahahaha
        
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        April 27, 2017 3:29pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Hey DA, good luck with your new bestie Stephie.
        Not for nothing he’s called Kiwiblogs Dumbest Commentator.
        
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        April 27, 2017 3:37pm
      - stephieboy
        
        All on Wed , you obviously havent a clue,
        
        Step 1 of Donald Trump’s anti-lobbyist crusade: pack his transition team with lobbyists
        “Drain the swamp” — by filling it with rancid water first.
        
        http://www.vox.com/policy-and-
        politics/2016/11/11/13587120/lobbying-trump-corruption
        
        DUH !
        
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        April 27, 2017 3:40pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Stephie the Creepy Stalker
        Trumps governing now. Transition is over….
        No point quoting something from last Nov. Do try to keep up. DUH !!!!
        Gosh, you’ve had quite the hammering today huh.
        Good job
        You’re a disgrace.
        
        Vox, NZH, Salon – snigger.
        
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        April 27, 2017 3:47pm
- mara
  
  Is nastiness now inappropriate? There are shades of nasty. Who decides what is nasty or nice? My late Dad was a submariner during WW2 and he would have thought they were ignorant idiots and laughed at the protest.
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:30am
  - Kimbo
    
    Yep. And good on your late dad fighting for the freedom to both protest (in bad taste)…and laugh.
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:38am
- Longknives
  
  You should read the Standard’s Post on Anzac Day- There is some drip claiming they are “haunted” by the alleged death of ‘Little Fatima’ at the hands of our evil soldiers etc etc
  Christ- ‘Little Fatima’ quite possibly doesn’t even exist! Yet these dropkicks are ranting on about it like it’s far more important than the thousands of young New Zealand Soldiers who perished?..
  The Left genuinely disgust me.
  
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  April 27, 2017 1:27pm
stephieboy

Southern Raider , small problem there .The Police have the task of presenting a case in court that will meet the reasonable doubt test as well as the Judges rules on evidence .

Not on the whim of your say so.
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April 27, 2017 8:33am
Happychappy

Well it looks like Winston Peters has got himself off side with the Herald and finally the media have got sick of his bullshit and taken him to task. They have retaliated after he called out their two reporters saying that it is Winston that has his facts wrong and not the two Journalists that he sent a letter complaining about. So finally a media outlet has got out the toilet paper to wipe off one of Winston Peter’s smears.
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April 27, 2017 8:48am
- Keeping Stock
  
  There’s only one reason why the Herald has slagged off Peters Happychappy; Peters took a swipe at two of their “finest”.
  
  The media love-hate affair with Peters will continue undamaged, because he says newsworthy, controversial things, and that’s good for ratings and sales.
  
  It’s time the serial xenophobe was put out to pasture, but there’s nobody in Winston First with the intestinal fortitude to stand up to him and call him out for his racist ranting.
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:06am
  - G152
    
    If the media had half a brain they’d stop reporting Peters platitudes.
    And if pigs had wings they wouldn’t need traffic choppers
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:13am
    - Keeping Stock
      
      Quite so G152. The media played a large role in getting NZ First turfed out of Parliament in 2008 over the Owen Glenn donation.
      
      Within a year, the same media regretted its role, and did its utmost to get Peters reinstated in 2011. They reckoned Parliament was too boring without him, but it was probably more a matter that they actually had to work to get stories, rather than having Peters open his gob, blurt out something offensive or controversial, and give them copy fodder for the next few days.
      
      Winston Peters and the New Zealand MSM deserve each other. And in case anyone is confused, that is NOT a compliment 😎
      
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      April 27, 2017 9:50am
cmm

Have we gone into a completely parallel universe?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/91937707/trust-linked-to-head-hunters-gang-set-to-win-appeal-against-being-taken-off-charities-list

“The trust was granted charitable status in 2008 after claiming its purpose was to reintegrate and rehabilitate freed prisoners… Suspicions were raised two years later, and an investigation was eventually started in 2013, leading to the trust’s removal in January.”

It took 2 years to suspect that a gang-run charity might be a bit dodgy?
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April 27, 2017 9:03am
- fernglas
  
  And 4 years more to decide that it was not?
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:17am
- Kimbo
  
  Would you like to be the public servant sent to investigate and interview the “administrators”? I know of cops who have relocated to Oz in the face of gang threats. How much more some 70kg desk-bound Wellington public servant weakling?
  
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  April 27, 2017 9:25am
  - PhilBest
    
    Have you read “Mau-Mau-ing the Flak Catchers” by Tom Wolfe?
    
    This is a whole book on the very phenomenon you describe, in US cities. All written in Wolfe’s masterly satirical style. I recommend.
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:44am
    - Kimbo
      
      No, I haven’t. Thanks for the recommendation. I don’t usually read fiction (suffered through ‘Catcher in the Rye’ a few years ago – over-rated!), but I have heard Wolfe’s ‘‎The Bonfire of the Vanities’ is superb, even though the subsequent movie bombed.
      
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      April 27, 2017 10:01am
      - Longknives
        
        “..suffered through ‘Catcher in the Rye’ a few years ago – over-rated..”
        
        Didn’t feel compelled to murder anyone famous then?
        
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        April 27, 2017 1:22pm
      - Kimbo
        
        No, and not that I’m condoning what he did, but Chapman did have John Lennon’s number as “a phoney”. Lennon was once complaining to the Beatles’ original roadie and later Apple manager, Neil Aspinall about money, contracts disputes and post-Beatles law suits. On being told, “Yeah, John, but
        
        Imagine no possessions
        I wonder if you can
        
        …to which Lennon replied, “It’s only a bloody song!”. Quite. He didn’t like “give peace a chance” when it came to knocking around his ladies, either.
        
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        April 27, 2017 1:34pm
      - Longknives
        
        Chapman still wanted an Autograph first though Kimbo…
        
        http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/john-lennon-signs-autograph-mark-chapman-1980/
        
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        April 27, 2017 1:56pm
      - SGA
        
        Been many years since I read “Bonfire of the Vanities”, but I don’t remember thinking it was that fantastic. Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff”, on the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed.
        
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        April 27, 2017 7:25pm
  - Jack5
    
    Kimbo, we could tighten some of our controls on trusts.
    
    Not only gangs, but international money launderers seem to be making use of our lax trusts regime.
    
    Who is pressuring National against reform? Is it the big law firms?
    
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    April 27, 2017 9:53am
    - Rachael Membery
      
      Charities and trusts are not the same.
      They probably do do some rehab work, but for their own or those that they wish to recruit.
      
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      April 27, 2017 11:17am
      - Jack5
        
        Surely a charity can be a trust and vice-versa, Rachael?
        
        But NZ’s charity regime is flawed. It allows the Seventh Day Adventists’ food manufacturer, Sanitarium, and Ngai Tahu’s many businesses to operate free of company tax. That is unfair to their tax-paying competitors.
        
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        April 27, 2017 1:10pm
      - Rachael Membery
        
        But they are arguing their Charitable status, presumably for tax purposes.
        
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        April 27, 2017 4:19pm
      - KevOB
        
        The tests of charitable go back to a Statute of Eliz. I. A charitable purpose was recognised for the advancement of religion, relief of poverty, education.
        Sanitarium maintains the SDA Church and Ngai Tahu is likely doing good works among its tribe. Greenpeace does not qualify: its work is political.
        The tests are still valid and ultimately GST gets levied on payments used in the hands of recipients.
        
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        April 27, 2017 4:26pm
- KevOB
  
  Bad people may still do good works. The test is the works not the people.
  The article states the charitable status was stated as withdrawn because of lack of compliance with documentation requests.
  That is a common problem with the present Charities (Bureaucracy Unbounded) Commission.
  Everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. Money laundering or sources of funds are separate issues.
  
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  April 27, 2017 4:37pm
BeaB

The anti-immigrant comments by Winston Peters and Andrew Little make both of them unfit for public office.
Add to that, both of them have a loose arrangement with the truth.
Andrew Little even told a lie in court, when he declared he had not received a letter from the Hagamans. Their lawyer produced it. Little then admitted he had received it!
Then he said on Radio NZ he had not called for a 50,000 cut in immigrants when he clearly had.
We are accustomed to Winston’s posturing.
However, someone who aims to be Prime Minister should, I believe, be someone we can trust to tell the truth.
Andrew Little has shown us on more than one occasion that he is not that person!
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April 27, 2017 9:20am
- Jack5
  
  BeaB, are you arguing that National should campaign by supporting NZ’s current immigration regime?
  
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  April 27, 2017 10:09am
  - BeaB
    
    I am quite happy with the current immigration regime. NZ is very fortunate to be able to attract talent from all over the world. The more people we have here who want to work hard, the better for all of us. With such a low level of unemployment, down to the bottom of the barrel, we know Andrew Little’s plans to train the no-hopers to build our houses and look after our elderly are laughable.
    
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    April 27, 2017 10:27am
    - Jack5
      
      Pack them in, BeaB.
      
      NZ has been running balance-of-payments deficits for about 40 years.
      
      It’s pie in the sky hopes that the world will lend increasing amounts to meet widening deficits as the population surges. On top of that, lending, too, to upgrade roads, streets, city services, hospitals, prisons, schools and universities.
      
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      April 27, 2017 1:17pm
- 4077th
  
  1. Union stooge
  2. Flagrant defamer
  3. Mr 7%
  4. Selective memory
  5. Unelected MP
  
  Captain of the Hindenburg that is Labour.
  
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  April 27, 2017 10:10am
BeaB

I cannot understand why the media have never called him out for telling lies. Does he get a free pass because he is Labour?
Was he under oath in court? Because that was an outright lie about the letter.
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April 27, 2017 10:47am
cha

An art deco fantasy come to life.

http://www.embraerexecutivejets.com/en-us/jets/lineage-1000e/pages/manhattan.aspx
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April 27, 2017 12:05pm
Manolo

Animals like this are almost impossible to stop:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4447800/Isis-inspired-student-left-bomb-tube-train.html
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April 27, 2017 12:06pm
Inandout

Virgin flights will be last choice for me from now on. What is it about these billionaires that makes them think they can buy elections? So Branson says he lost a contract because of Brexit, well there will be another around the corner.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4449220/Branson-bankrolls-Gina-Miller-s-bid-oust-Brexit-MPs.html
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April 27, 2017 12:47pm
- howitis
  
  Branson.
  A unicorn
  
  A self made billionaire who actually worked solidly to make his money before becoming a lefty busy body.
  More prevalent in the UK than NZ.
  Fortunately.
  
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  April 27, 2017 6:13pm
Manolo

Rats abandoning a sinking ship:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/26/isis-exodus-foreign-fighters-caliphate-crumbles

Large numbers of foreign fighters and sympathisers are abandoning Islamic State and trying to enter Turkey, with at least two British nationals and a US citizen joining an exodus that is depleting the ranks of the terror group.

Stefan Aristidou, from Enfield in north London, his British wife and Kary Paul Kleman, from Florida, last week surrendered to Turkish border police after more than two years in areas controlled by Isis, sources have confirmed to the Guardian.

Dozens more foreigners have fled in recent weeks, most caught as they tried to cross the frontier, as Isis’s capacity to hold ground in Syria and Iraq collapses. Some – it is not known how many – are thought to have evaded capture and made it across the border into Turkey.
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April 27, 2017 12:49pm
Tauhei Notts

I heard on the radio that Mr 7% will abolish secondary tax rates.
Can anybody here tell me how that can be done without the introduction of a flat tax rate?
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April 27, 2017 1:20pm
- krazykiwi
  
  Is he referring to the higher rate applied to ‘second jobs’? I’m not even sure if that tax structure still exists, but if it does getting rid of it mades absolute sense.
  
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  April 27, 2017 3:20pm
- KevOB
  
  There is no Secondary Tax as such. Income tax is levied on the total assesable income at a graduated rate. The PAYE tables catch what is due well for a single source but with a second job the tax needs to be deducted at the rate matching the higher bands or else there may be tax owing to be collected later. The secondary rate can be personally set on application.
  Something similar is seen with RWT where 33% may be deducted from tiny amounts of bank interest.
  A flat rate would make no difference unless all taxes were levied at that rate. As it is now most people pay no net income tax at all; the former rebates have morphed into Working for Families etc. GST covers all providing a basic state revenue.
  
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  April 27, 2017 4:12pm
  - sooty
    
    Flapping his gums again!
    
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    April 27, 2017 5:48pm
  - howitis
    
    Exactly.
    Also if you remove the ability to tax where necessary at a (correctly) higher rate and people should have been paying at a higher rate they will have a tax liability.
    
    There are many that live week to week so would not be able to find the cash to pay, and then face potential escalating interest bills.
    Ask John George Russell about interest on interest on your tax bill.
    
    Then there would be howling from the trenches that the employer should have taken more tax at source.
    
    There are some who are born to rule.
    Mr 100% Angry, but only 7% Loved is not one of them.
    This shows his lack of understanding of business and even home based economics.
    Maggie Thatcher he is NOT.
    
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    April 27, 2017 6:35pm
krazykiwi

Now this is the type of support I’d like to see for the Greens here in NZ. German voters must be finally waking up with the eco-madness preached by their Green nutters.
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April 27, 2017 3:17pm
- dad4justice
  
  The sooner the communist good for nothing freakshow greens are obliterated from the political landscape the better, as they are only fit for a compost bin.
  
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  April 27, 2017 4:25pm
  - stigie
    
    Yep, i agree Dad, the parasites should keep their noses out of everything and stick with the environment !~
    
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    April 27, 2017 5:45pm
    - dad4justice
      
      Hi stigie I had to laugh today the CCC emblem is a Cathedral and a river which I presume is the Avon , the Cathedral is rat infested pigeon shit hole and the Avon is the most polluted river in Canterbury. God bless New Zealand the land of retards! The greens are just part of the bureaucratic inertia that infest this once proud land. Time to sack all of them and start again.
      
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      April 27, 2017 5:50pm
      - stigie
        
        Dad:-
        
        Is this the rat infested pigeon shit hole of a Cathedral that your good mate Jim Anderton is trying to get the taxpayer to front up for repairs..?
        
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        April 27, 2017 6:01pm
    - dad4justice
      
      Jim Anderton is part of the reason why Christchurch is a city in ruins. Him and the likes of Tim Bummet, Drunken Dalzeel and Klarkula had to be exposed somehow eh ?
      
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      April 27, 2017 7:06pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Tell us about your exposure, D4J.
        
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        April 27, 2017 7:14pm
      - dad4justice
        
        Exposure? What do you mean son of Norma?
        
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        April 27, 2017 7:18pm
      - mikenmild
        
        You exposure of those characters. Was it a decent exposure or your specialty – indecent exposure?
        
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        April 27, 2017 7:27pm
Ross12

It would be interesting to have Hugh P And Phil B’s view on what is happening in the Canadian mortgage market
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-26/canadas-housing-bubble-explodes-its-biggest-mortgage-lender-crashes-most-history
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April 27, 2017 5:28pm
mikenmild

The secretaries of State and Defense have described Trump’s approach to North Korea:

“to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners”
“to convince the regime to de-escalate and return to the path of dialogue.”
“We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies.”

Meet the new policy; same as the old policy.
Apparently Pence had the wrong idea when he went to the DMS and declared that era of ‘strategic patience’ was over. Maybe it is even a good sign – of Trump showing better impulse control.
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April 27, 2017 5:59pm
- Kimbo
  
  Like Nixon’s quip about his insurance policy at the height of his unpopularity during the Vietnam War protests: no one would be stupid enough to assassinate him as he would then be replaced by Vice President Spiro Agnew
  
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  April 27, 2017 6:33pm
cha

A brigade to Poland and possible radar/missile interceptors to Hawaii.

Getting mighty hot in the kitchen.

https://www.stripes.com/news/army-to-move-brigade-s-worth-of-firepower-into-poland-1.465372#.WQD414WcG3B

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/national-security/article146897144.html
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April 27, 2017 6:17pm
howitis

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/91972268/government-confirms-812m-for-state-highway-1-fix
Nearly 900 mill allocated to fix Picton to Christchurch road.

Will Fletcher Building get this and cock it up as well?
It is not like they deserve any more corporate welfare but Santa Joyce will no doubt oblige.
After all it is other people’s money, not his own.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/90681045/fletcher-building-a-serial-underperformer-which-needs-to-earn-back-trust

They are a far cry from the company that built Sky City 20 years ago.
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April 27, 2017 6:48pm
EAD

ISIS (who our (((MSM))) are always quick to point out “claim responsibility” for every terror attack in the West) apologise for once………………for opening fire upon Israel:

https://www.rt.com/news/386027-isis-apologized-israel-golan/

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon accidentally acknowledged Israel has an open communications channel with an Islamic State cell in the Golan Heights.

“There was one case recently where Daesh opened fire and apologized,” Ya’alon said on Saturday, as cited by the Times of Israel.
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April 27, 2017 6:57pm
- mikenmild
  
  Any luck with a source for that Churchill ‘quote’ yet?
  
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  April 27, 2017 6:59pm
  - EAD
    
    Milkmaid,
    
    I don’t believe I’ve ever called anyone a name in Kiwiblog, but you my friend are a pillock
    
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    April 27, 2017 7:23pm
    - mikenmild
      
      That would be as close to an admission that the quote was bogus as we are likely to get.
      
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      April 27, 2017 7:28pm
      - itstricky
        
        Same as starboard and the examples of Maori privilege. Just keep calling the requestor names and ignoring it and eventually you win by proxy.
        
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        April 27, 2017 7:58pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Oh yes, starboard and his Moriori bullshit – although he’s hardly alone in that.
        EAD’s a special case – it’s rare to sight a self-professed Nazi in the blogosphere.
        
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        April 27, 2017 8:05pm
      - EAD
        
        The difference is though Tricky – we’ve debunked Milkmaids laughable “debunking” attempts many, many times yet still he comes back with his needling snide comments.
        
        His behaviour on the Anzac Day threads was classic MM and there for all of us to see – deny, obfuscate, and creation of strawmen in order to disrupt and destroy threads. In other words….trolling.
        
        http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/04/general_debate_25_april_2017.html#comment-1916483
        
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        April 27, 2017 8:10pm
      - itstricky
        
        So, how’s about that quote, then?
        
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        April 27, 2017 10:53pm
Pete George

Roy Morgan poll April 2017:

– National 43% (down from 43.5)
– Labour 29.5% (no change)
– Greens 13% (down from 14.5)
– NZ First 10.5% (up from 7.5)
– ACT Party 1.5% (up from 1)
– Maori Party 1% (down from 2)
– United Future 0% (down from 0.5)
– Internet Party 0% (down from 0.5)
– Conservative Party 0.5% (no change)
– Independent/Other 0.5% (no change)

http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7219-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-april-2017-201704271533
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April 27, 2017 7:01pm
nasska

….”Conservative Party 0.5% (no change)”….

That is really, really scary. One in twenty New Zealanders of voting age want to pull us back into the Dark Ages where magic & superstition reign supreme.
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April 27, 2017 7:37pm
- mikenmild
  
  0.5% is one in two hundred.
  
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  April 27, 2017 7:45pm
  - nasska
    
    You’re right…..I was having a senior moment!
    
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    April 27, 2017 7:47pm
    - mikenmild
      
      I trust you are better at counting sheep, etc, or whatever maths you rural folk need.
      
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      April 27, 2017 8:08pm
      - nasska
        
        In my defence I admit to taking the agriculture option at college. I was also educated largely by unionised NZ teachers so you can’t expect too much! 🙂
        
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        April 27, 2017 8:17pm
- stigie
  
  And Labour at 29.5% Unfuckingbelievable..?
  
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  April 27, 2017 7:45pm
stigie

Must be rather sad at the Stranded if all they can muster up today is 12 comments on Open Mike and that was put up at 6am.

The brilliance from Caitlyn !~
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April 27, 2017 8:08pm
- mikenmild
  
  Nothing like the lively debate and sparkling repartee to be found here.
  
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  April 27, 2017 8:09pm
stigie

Just so much more good humour here Milky ole chap !~
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April 27, 2017 8:13pm
nasska

A bloke notices his neighbor putting a ‘Princess On Board’ sign in his car window.

“Alright mate” he said, “I didn’t realise you had a daughter.”

“We don’t” the neighbour replied, “our son came out as gay this morning.”
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April 27, 2017 8:42pm
- Fletch
  
  I see that the Herald has a story about possible “discrimination” after a beauty shop refused to thread a Whangarei gay man’s eyebrows? The article is accompanied by the most Instagramed shot ever of the guy with his eyes all sparklied up.
  
  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11846191
  
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  April 27, 2017 10:17pm
  - itstricky
    
    Filters are filters. What’s his picture got to do with it?
    
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    April 27, 2017 10:56pm
Surely Knott

Just finished watching first live stream of the Waitakere Ranges Local Board. They discussed how research shows safety concerns raised by white people is “white fragility” and whites perceive their environment as more unsafe than other ethnicities.. White fragility! This is at a local board meeting. Imagine white being replaced by any another colour skin, and the term used to dismiss concerns of any other ethnicity . And who’s to say the white person’s perception is wrong . Maybe it should be white high expectations. But It pisses me off the board spend money to go to conferences where the key message is to dismiss ratepayers concerns. Would have much rather they didn’t go to the conference and spent the money on something useful like improving a local park or fixing the flooding and pipes.
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April 27, 2017 9:50pm
Manolo

Fighting do-gooders, liberals and traitors:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SANCTUARY_CITIES_THE_LATEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-26-21-12-55

Sessions said late Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice cannot accept a judge’s ruling blocking the order and would continue to fight the cases in court. It was not clear whether he planned an appeal.
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April 28, 2017 12:25am
Manolo

Freedom of expression as understood by the Left:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/04/26/uc-berkeley-gears-up-for-violent-protests-over-coulter-speech-cancellation/
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April 28, 2017 4:51am
- mikenmild
  
  Who would have thought anyone wanted to hear Anne Coulter’s babbling nonsense?
  
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  April 28, 2017 6:48am
  - Fletch
    
    Yeh, but who’d pay $400,000 for an hour of Obama’s babbling nonsense? Oh, wait… Yeh, the big banks.
    
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    April 28, 2017 11:21am
    - stephieboy
      
      Fletch , Obama babbling nonsense ? Pamela Geller’s speaking and appearance fees ?
      
      https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/booking-request.php?SpName=Pamela-Geller
      
      LOL !
      
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      April 28, 2017 11:27am
      - Manolo
        
        How much would you fork out to see your messianic idol, stephieboy?
        
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        April 28, 2017 11:46am
      - Fletch
        
        stephieboy, your point being? This is not her website, it is obviously a firm that handles engagements on behalf of speakers and for the fee there is a dropdown box asking what the host is willing to pay, the lowest option being “$5000 or less”. I would say it depends on the venue and that she would speak for hardly anything if it were a school etc.
        
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        April 28, 2017 11:57am
    - cha
      
      Obama will be around for the next 30 years and more. Might want to pace yourself, Fletch.
      
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      April 28, 2017 11:38am
      - Fletch
        
        But seriously – $400,000 for one speech? For a Wall Street firm? The same guy who once said, “I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat-cat bankers on Wall Street”.
        
        Tucker question Zak Pekanas about the payday –
        
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42uM4xq_Weo
        
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        April 28, 2017 11:52am
      - cha
        
        A former elected official who did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat-cat bankers on Wall Street is now a private citizen looking to make a dollar in a market that sets the price.
        
        Don’t you like the power of the market, Fletch?.
        
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        April 28, 2017 12:00pm
      - stephieboy
        
        Fletch , $400,000 ? Let the market decide .Speaking of fees etc Trump payback those Polish illegal workers and subtractors for lost earnings and wages .
        
        Throwing stones in glasshouses stuff !
        
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        April 28, 2017 12:00pm
Rachael Membery

Still waiting msm, Bill English, Michael Woodhouse et el.
Yes, even Winston.
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April 28, 2017 7:00am
Manolo

It would be a best-seller in Mt Roskill:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/27/race-to-build-world-first-sex-robot

Harmony smiles, blinks and frowns. She can hold a conversation, tell jokes and quote Shakespeare. She’ll remember your birthday, McMullen told me, what you like to eat, and the names of your brothers and sisters. She can hold a conversation about music, movies and books. And of course, Harmony will have sex with you whenever you want.
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April 28, 2017 11:53am
Hugh Pavletich

NEW ZEALAND: WILL THE CURRENT (HOUSING NON-PERFORMING) GOVERNMENT BE THROWN OUT 23 SEPTEMBER ?

New Zealand First in the box seat to decide next NZ Government as National Party neck-and-neck with Labour/Greens – ROY MORGAN | interest.co.nz

https://www.interest.co.nz/news/87377/new-zealand-first-box-seat-decide-next-nz-government-national-party-neck-and-neck

In April support for New Zealand First was up 3% to 10.5% putting Winston Peters’ party now clearly in the box seat to decide which parties will form New Zealand’s next Government after September’s election the latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll finds. … read more via hyperlink above …

… NOW … THANKFULLY … HOUSING HOPE ON THE HORIZON ! …

Bernard Hickey of Newsroom reported recently …

https://pro.newsroom.co.nz/articles/1629-newsroom-pro-s-8-things-at-8-trolling-millennials-is-easy-defamation-retrials-loom

7. Just in case you missed it…

One curious coda to the RMA debate that concluded last week was that the Opposition parties plus ACT and United Future all voted again during the third reading debate for amendments that would have abolished Rural Urban Growth Boundaries and allowed the financing of infrastructure bonds paid for with targeted rates.

The amendments were defeated by National and the Maori Party.

The irony of a Government that has railed against restrictions on land development by councils voting against removing those restrictions should be noted. And also that the proposal for infrastructure bonds was backed by the right-leaning New Zealand Initiative and voted for by the Greens and Labour. Strange times indeed.

… NEW ZEALAND’S GLOBAL – LEADING HOUSING CONSENSUS …

… WHERE IS THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ? …

NEW ZEALAND’S HOUSING CONSENSUS: WHERE IS THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ? … HUGH PAVLETICH … NOT PC

http://pc.blogspot.co.nz/2017/01/auckland-worlds-fourth-hardest-to-buy.html

… Further extensive information accessible at …

Performance Urban Planning

http://www.performanceurbanplanning.org/
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