General Debate 21 February 2018

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pdm

This is number one and the fun is about to begin.
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February 21, 2018 8:01am
- Biscuit
  
  Well done, pdm!
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:50am
  - gump
    
    Did anybody else catch the developing story about Jordan Williams? It looks like the reporters at Stuff have blown apart the fiction that the Taxpayers’ Union is politically neutral.
    
    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/101604786/Taxpayers-Unions-Jordan-Williams-personal-email-connected-to-Judith-Collins-website
    
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    February 21, 2018 12:35pm
    - Keeping Stock
      
      Are they suggesting that Williams is not allowed to have a political opinion, or political friends?
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:57pm
    - Callum
      
      Did you possibly consider as the article indicates that someone just put his address in on what appears to be a fake e-mail account? I mean, the website was registered to Judiths office and all this information is easy to track. You would need to be next level stupid to use real details for this sort of thing and expect not to be traced.
      
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      February 21, 2018 4:32pm
    - Gabby
      
      What is Jason Evil up to these days?
      
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      February 21, 2018 5:18pm
sooty

No Joyce is not the answer. Judith is though.
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February 21, 2018 8:02am
- flipper
  
  And your Membership number is ??????????
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:07am
  - brett68
    
    How many members does National have?
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:44am
    - Positan
      
      Irrelevant. Only members of National’s caucus have votes.
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:22am
      - brett68
        
        The point I was going to make this that well over a million people voted National.
        
        That million+ is what the National MPs should be thinking about when they cast their vote, not the few thousand old crusties who have a membership.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:40am
      - SPLOOGE
        
        Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
        Yep, over a million but clearly not enough was it?
        More people voted not for National and as National had burned all their bridges (blame lays squarely on the fat controller Joyce for that) they had no chance of winning.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:04am
      - brett68
        
        Yep, I agree not enough people, so then you’ve got to ask who’s going to grow the vote and where are those votes going to come from?
        
        Those votes are not going to come from some made up blue-green environmental bullshit party, they’re going to come from the female voting block
        
        Facts are National are the party most Men vote for and the Labia party the opposite obviously.
        
        Straight away that cuts the field down to two
        
        Collins and Adams
        
        Out of the two I think Collins will do a better job than Adams, she’s got presence she’s got fight, she’s got media appeal and best of all she’s not an Ardern clone.
        
        National cannot beat Ardern by putting up an Ardern clone, that’s the recipe for failure,
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:39am
  - Colville
    
    Are you so stupid to think that the correct leader is the one that just does what National Party memebers want?
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:44am
  - DifferentPerspective
    
    flipper
    sooty’s membership number is unimportant!
    
    It’s not about what the members want, it’s what will win the election. For goodness sake! Are you blue rinse brigade so intent on emulating the failed Labour years that you want to go through the cycle of losers like Labour did when they got kicked out?
    
    Remember the merry-go-round:
    – Goff
    – Shearer
    – Cunliffe
    – Little
    before you get to a candidate that can win?
    
    Seriously denial is not a strategy. You need to look around at what is being mooted outside the party groupthinkfest.
    
    The party members’ votes are secured, they’re going to vote for NP whoever it is. Their opinions are unimportant, the opinions of voters however is not. Don’t extend the Labour Lite strategy to thinking like the unions and installing leader’s that cannot win.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:00am
- Aliog
  
  It depends on the question. If the question is “who will excite elderly male National voters and guarantee National the opposition benches for a decade?” then Judith is the answer.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:10am
  - Right of way is Way of Right
    
    However, if the question is “Who is most likely to be able to hold the Government to account?” Judith is also the answer.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:16am
- Gabby
  
  ‘Who looks disturbingly like Joyce?’ is the question sooky.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:00am
cmm

Hi stephie

I hope you didn’t get too wet standing in the rain with your toothbrush.

Well finally those morons in galactic command IT got something working and a message got through. There has been a bit of a change of plan.

There were also two other candidates that they didn’t tell me about: a Ukranian taxi driver working in Singapore and a hairdresser in Bogota.

I say “were” because the hairdresser is no longer in the picture. He got back to his 17 floor apartment at 3am and somehow had a “hunting accident” in the shower, then fell off the balcony. Sounds a bit sketchy to me, but that sort of thing often happens to people associated with the Clintons so I suppose it is plausible.

So now it is a two horse race: you and the taxi driver. I’m sure you will beat him easily.

That does mean they will send in a second assessment team to check you out, probably today or tomorrow. They should be easy to spot because earth air has too much oxygen so they carry around hand-held respirators that are disguised to look like coffee cups.

You guys really need much more CO2 in the air. No wonder most of your people are so intellectually stunted (you being the exception stephie). Haven’t your scientists joined the dots that intelligence has gone up since the industrial revolution due to more CO2 in the air? Anyway, I digress…

Remember that our galaxy has crap dental health so good dental hygiene is seen as a sign of wisdom. If you see any people carrying coffee cups be sure to show them your toothbrush.

GD comms security is still good. There was a brief moment where the Maggy-bot got probed from Eastern Europe somewhere, but security tell me that is all sorted and they didn’t actually get any data. Maybe they are just covering their arses.

I will try to find out some more about the taxi driver to run interference for you.

Stay alert!
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February 21, 2018 8:04am
DigNap15

Anyone but Amy progressive Adams.
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February 21, 2018 8:04am
- DifferentPerspective
  
  Sadly DigNap15, if you listen to the hardcore NP members on KB, Amy is their preferred leader. They’ve applied more losing Labour Lite thinking to it and they’re going to go full Little by picking a candidate that maxes out on:
  – uninspiringness
  – cucked left-wing wetness
  – having a vagina (because you know, feelings)
  – ignoring public sentiment
  – ahhhh niceness, because that’s what is going to inspire voters to boot out the CoL (doncha know)
  
  The fix looks to be in. CoL safe in 2020. Judith will be passed over and will probably say “Fuck this and leave the party to continue on their Labour Lite disasterous ways”.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:06am
Captain Mainwaring

What was Air NZ thinking when they stopped flying to Wellington at 2.45 yesterday afternoon? There was no wind and it didn’t start to blow until about 8 pm and even then it wasn’t as strong as what they would normally operate in?
Were they thinking of their own convenience rather than that of their customers?
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February 21, 2018 8:05am
- igm
  
  Unions!
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:11am
  - VicParking
    
    Shortage of planes. As it is they need to lease planes from Portuguese charter operator Hi Fly to plug gaps in their schedules.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:20am
    - Captain Mainwaring
      
      Sarc right? The Portuguese A340 is filling in for a 787 with engine issues. Not used for domestic flights to Wellington.
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:23am
      - Lance
        
        My daughter paid extra to go Air NZ at Christmas to Aus.
        The Polish P.O.S that turned up was farcical beyond measure, it broke down EIGHT FUCKING TIMES attempting to leave NZ before the flight was cancelled. Then after deplaning they were sent to the wrong gate and it only got worse from there.
        Upon inquiring why the 12 point failure (the story was long) the answer was smarm and ‘fuck you’.
        I used to be a fan of Air NZ, now they are JetStar
        
        Things can go wrong but clusterfucks are human failings.
        
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        February 21, 2018 12:48pm
      - Rich Prick
        
        To be fair, the plane is on a wet lease, so that would have been Hi Fly’s crew “helpfulness”. I’m not too sure I’d pay to be stuck in that business class for seven hours though.
        
        http://www.hifly.aero/en/a340/9h-tqm.html
        
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        February 21, 2018 1:54pm
- RalphT
  
  Probably worried about spilling the tea. There was very little wind where we are and while Air NZ should think of its customers’ safety, they should cancel flights when there is an actual risk, not when they think there might be one. Well and truly shown up by Jet Star.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:12am
  - G152
    
    I remember SAFE working out of Wellington.
    When even the seagulls had shut up shop the Freighters were still trundling in and out.
    And there were certain PPL’s at Paraparaumu who used to sneak in around the coast at naughty altitudes 🙂
    Delivering aircraft for Maintenance at Wellington Aero Club of course 🙂
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:46am
    - Captain Mainwaring
      
      Yep those Bristol Frighteners were memorable. In a decent northerly they would take about 20 minutes to get to Johnsonville.
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:25am
    - Gravelroad
      
      I was at Wgn airport waiting to cross Cook Strait when Air NZ decided to cancel all flights mid-afternoon due to wind. This was a couple of years ago.
      Regular announcements were made demanding passengers leave as the airport was going to close.
      And I do mean”demanding”.
      Went along to the regional airline desk.
      “Are you still flying”?
      “Yep. Boarding shortly”. No problem.
      Great service.
      
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      February 21, 2018 1:47pm
- KiWombat
  
  Better to be safe than sorry
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:19am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    And giving customers time to make alternate plans if need be.
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:40am
    - mandk
      
      alternative?
      
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      February 21, 2018 8:54am
  - cmm
    
    “Better to be safe than sorry”
    
    Yup, fly with your steel toecaps on!
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:35am
- holysheet
  
  With the Green, Liabore and Winston first MPs in Wellington polluting the city with their hot air and crap, perhaps Air NZ looked at their poor bookings and made a call to protect the traveling public.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:21am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Typical modern overreaction to safety. No civil airliner crash deaths in whole world in 2017
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:23am
  - stephieboy
    
    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
    UN, overreaction to safety might suggest that airline safety regulations etc should be more lax .
    
    In what way ?
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:49am
    - Jack5
      
      Stephie X: you haven’t yet elaborated on your mysterious and lewd post in the General Debate thread at 10.45 last night.
      
      (It’s about 10 or 11 posts from the bottom of the thread).
      
      Very weird, even for you Stephies. Was it some sort of call for help?
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:05am
      - mikenmild
        
        Jack
        This is not my fight, but out of curiousity I looked at that comment.
        Did you realise that stephieboy was quoting the comment from AgentBallSack immediately above? I look forward to you pursuing AgentBallSack in your determination to explore the mystery and lewdness.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:36am
      - Jack5
        
        Butt out, Milky.
        
        The Stephiestani’s question was addressed to me, and there was a direct question at the end.
        
        It was a lewd, mysterious post.
        
        I asked him to elaborate. I wondered, and still wonder, whether he was suffering some sort of psychotic episode.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:54am
      - mikenmild
        
        You are confused again. You should read AgentBallSack’s original comment, which stephie quoted and then asked if ABS was turned on.
        Suggestions of homoeroticism seem par for the clourse here. And now you’re even telling me to ‘butt’ out.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:58am
      - Jack5
        
        Bugger off, Milky, and let Stephie X speak for either himself of the duty Stephie was who on duty last night.
        
        Stephie, you addressed me directly, concluded with a question, and I asked you to elaborate.
        
        Are you going to?
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:02am
      - Jack5
        
        Edit: Let Stephie X speak either for himself or for the Stephie who was on duty last night.
        
        As Milky is laying a false trail, here is the Stephie’s post which I asked him to elaborate on:
        
        Jack 5 ,
        
        “.. Treat them like smokers. If you smoke cocks, you pay for your own healthcare, taxed to the hilt until theyre bleeding from the arse. Just as we expect smokers to pay more than their fair share. Fuck ’em.”
        
        Turns you on ?
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:04am
      - mikenmild
        
        As I said before, it was a quote from AgentBallSack’s 9.19pm comment.
        All stephie asked was whether it turned you on, and now you are telling me about ‘butts’ and ‘bugger off’.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:18am
      - Jack5
        
        Stephie X – keep hiding behind the skirts of Aunty Milky, then.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:49am
    - softail 1450
      
      septicboy, just F O.
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:19pm
  - Gabby
    
    That would be down to the typical modern overreaction to safety. You great steaming neocolon.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:07am
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      Kiwiblog comments policy:
      “Give other commenters the courtesy of referring to them by the name or alias they use on this blog”
      
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      February 21, 2018 11:53am
      - GoVege
        
        It’s just a bit of fun, UN.
        Don’t take it personally. .. 🙂
        
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        February 21, 2018 2:32pm
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        It’s tedious and childish, designed to denigrate and adds nothing. Trolling pure and simple.
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:26pm
      - Gabby
        
        Paw Urban Snofwake, mummy kiss it betta.
        
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        February 21, 2018 5:21pm
  - Paulus
    
    But the first civilian one earlier this week in Russia.
    
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    February 21, 2018 1:46pm
- oldpark
  
  Air New Zealand scored an own goal and then some when they crapped their pants cancelling all flights out of Wellington.
  Jetstar saved the day and even the night for many, many airline passengers abandoned by the airline called “Air New Zealand”.
  To rub it in a bit more Jetstar is owned by the Australians.To see them take off into a three knot wind at six o clock .Just when there was live coverage from the Coalition of Corruption and Confusion controlled TVNZ,was not a good look for the hundreds of passengers dumped by Air New Zealand. They are fast becoming” fair weather friends”. Go Jetstar.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:29am
  - Colville
    
    “Go Jetstar”
    The first time anyone has said that in the history of the world.
    Jetstar is famous for cancelling flights if they are sub economic.
    Never ever ever book a last flight of the day on Jetstar unless you like overnight bus rides.
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:49am
    - oldpark
      
      Take your point Colville. Except in this instance Air New Zealand last flight out of Wellington yesterday was 2.45 pm. Jetstar yesterday beat Air New Zealands last flight yesterday by many more flights.
      Not forgetting the many ,many Air New Zealand passengers dumped by that Airlines decision to cut and run.
      The angst by many of the dumped passengers was obvious. Especially since overnight accomodation was at a premium. Not a good look by the Singapore registered Airline called Air New Zealand.
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:06am
    - RightNow
      
      I was scheduled on the 9.10 Wellington to Auckland jetstar this morning. Was a bit worried when they told me yesterday the flight was cancelled, but was able to change to the 8.35am flight, so guess it wasn’t economical for them to put on the 9.10.
      I don’t think I’ve flown jetstar before, mostly because I keep reading how bad they are, but $35 for the flight and $11 for checked baggage got my business. Have no complaints, somewhat ironic that my taxi to the airport was $35 though.
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:41am
    - Lance
      
      I posted further back up the thread now Air NZ has turned into a piss poor airline that no longer gives a shit about it’s passengers.
      I was shocked at the utter clusterfuck my daughters flight was at Christmas and then the smart arse reply to my complaints, actually I was more wanting to know how could they be so utterly disorganized.
      
      Air NZ used to be great, something has gone wrong with them recently.
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:55pm
      - 4077th
        
        I travel almost exclusively with Air NZ. Last month I tried to book a flight for my wife using my airpoints (of which I have a lot), the cost of the flight was fairly high and economy only. I was told that if I wished to use airpoints to pay for the flight it would cost me $180 or 10% of the points used but needed to be paid separately. After climbing down off the ceiling I told them where they could insert said flight and used another airline. Needless to say, Air NZ is no longer my airline of choice. I am now looking at the best way to accumulate airpoints and status points for future travel. I have heard of OneWorld but have no clue about others. I travel a lot to Asia and Europe. Any suggestions greatly accepted.
        
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        February 21, 2018 2:42pm
- G152
  
  Probably ran out of alternatives.
  Most of the South Island appears to have been clagged in
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:34am
- slightlyrighty
  
  I think Air NZ over-reacted when they pulled the pin. There is a difference between inconveniencing customers and un-necessarily doing so. By their actions yesterday, Air NZ definitely did the latter.
  
  I am writing this from Auckland where I have been stranded. Should be home today but Air NZ have dropped the ball on this one. Better safe than sorry is a good option, but planes can be turned around if needed. Air NZ have cancelled flights they did not need to, and pissed off passengers the should not have.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:56am
  - Right of way is Way of Right
    
    You never even popped in to see me either, you prick! My beer fridge remains distressingly occupied with Guiness!
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:20am
JibberJabber

Well Kate, welcome to NZ where the rights of scum are held paramount over those of honest, innocent Kiwis.
A place where taxpayers funds are a bottomless pit for the lowlife turds to use to ease the boredom of jail time.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11998690

A place where, if you are unfortunate to become the prey of these feral beasts, you are just a number, an inconvenience to the other useless wasters that sit on the bench.
Shame on you for demanding that they do their fucking job.
Don`t expect the rest of the bleeding hearts to wake up anytime soon.
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February 21, 2018 8:07am
- kowtow
  
  Kate making a living out of drawing attention to an issue she thinks shouldn’t be drawn attention to. Duh, irony alert.
  
  The Lying Media.
  
  ‘How is it possible that thugs like Liam Reid, convicted murderer and rapist, are still getting headlines and attention?’
  
  Cos you just done it , darling. FFS!
  
  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11998690
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:07am
- GoVege
  
  Why?
  …..because lawyers are scum too?
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:08am
  - GoVege
    
    Lawyers who enable scum who rape and murder innocent young women to get taxpayer financed legal aid to take frivolous claims are scum too, IMHO.
    
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    February 21, 2018 2:28pm
    - fernglas
      
      And the QC who was specially appointed by Legal Services to decide whether this was a proper case for the grant of legal aid, and decided it was?
      
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      February 21, 2018 2:32pm
      - GoVege
        
        Don’t tempt me, fernglas. ..
        
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        February 21, 2018 3:14pm
JasonJohns

national worked hard to make china like nz. and now all the work’s being undone by irresponsible academics criticising our key trading partner.

in australia they are also poking the dragon
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/clive-hamilton-poking-the-chinese-dragon/news-story/eef6add51ca1e0919236984b7f0b96be
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February 21, 2018 8:08am
- fernglas
  
  China is nothing like NZ.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:09am
- kowtow
  
  Is jasonjohns a chicom troll?
  
  Past few days he’s been attacking a NZ academic who has been the subject of alleged Chicom crime.
  And he’s making out the Chicoms are right to break the law in NZ and the academic is wrong to point out their growing power and influence in NZ?
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:15am
  - Swifty
    
    Definitely trolling.
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:19am
    - Kimbo
      
      Yeah, but JasonJohns is an amusing troll, and there are so few of those on Kiwiblog (amusing, I mean, not trolls) so he deserves encouragement.
      
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      February 21, 2018 8:53am
      - Swifty
        
        Agreed.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:00am
      - Jack5
        
        JasonJohns seems likely to be the banned Kea, IMHO.
        
        Kea is/was a high IQ troll, and could/can be entertaining. Mostly satire.
        
        The satire is/was good, though he/she does have some hang-up about Jews.
        
        If it’s the person I suspect Kea is, that may relate to a Christian Arab in the family tree. (Bit quirky to talk of a mountain parrot’s family “tree”, isn’t it?)
        
        What stuffed up the pure “Kea” presence on Kiwiblog was that a campaign tended to spiral and end in an attack on our host, DPF. Like a falconer who has to wring the neck of an out-of-control bird, DPF had to ban Kea.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:20am
      - Kimbo
        
        JasonJohns seems likely to be the banned Kea,
        
        Nah. JJ is way more amusing than Kea/realityczech. Doesn’t do abuse, just plaintive calls for a military coup d’état to restore decency to NZ politics. 😉
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:26am
      - GoVege
        
        But what I wana know is….where’s Icky? (The dude who flew to close to the sun?)
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:18am
      - rightoverlabour
        
        Oi what military coup? Where and when do I sign up? Do we need to bring our own guns and ammo, or is this going to be supplied? Also, has a safety analysis been done, and who is supplying road cones to keep onlookers safe? And what rank will the leader go by, General, Brigadier or Fieldmarshall? Important questions. I want to be a Colonel.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:13pm
- SPC
  
  Do not worry.
  
  The police know the government do not want them to catch the Chicoms involved. And if they did the government would simply cover the matter up as a diplomatic matter (and not raise it with Beijing).
  
  Thus letting all Chinese in New Zealand know that even locals cannot challenge Beijing and be safe in New Zealand. Because western governments value free trade more than the rights of Chinese residents – and also local citizens.
  
  Then again our security services have been bed with imperial power for decades, so are readily able to switch to kowtowing to a new imperial power, China.
  
  As the academic notes the Beijing plan is to bring to heel all Chinese in the world, so there is nowhere a centre of resistance to their autocracy, not even amongst the citizens of other nations.
  
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  February 21, 2018 2:37pm
artemisia

Interesting to see the upcoming government education announcement and how it matches up with Labour’s education policy (a commitment of $4b in additional funding to the education sector).

There is a long list of specific funding in Labour’s policy, not including a much longer list of reviews, investigations, new quangos, groups and functions.

http://www.labour.org.nz/educationmanifesto
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February 21, 2018 8:10am
- redeye
  
  Yes the headline: “Government to announce education reforms on a scale not seen since 1989”
  
  The detail: “A review of Tomorrow’s Schools, school property, early childhood education, polytechs, and hosting two national education summits are understood to be some of the Government’s plans for this term alone.”
  
  So just multiple reviews and and 2 summits.
  
  Sounds like their approach to most things.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:49am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I like the following items on their manifesto:
  
  Labour will designate funding for night classes and other adult learning opportunities
  
  Labour will ensure the continued provision of special residential schools for the students with the highest needs
  
  Labour will raise the standard of entry into the teaching profession by requiring the Education Council to establish and maintain a vigorous process for pre-screening entry into all initial teacher education programmes
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:17am
  - Jack5
    
    Most of the good night classes survived after subsidies were cut.
    
    Many of the classes that disappeared were rubbish – subjects like “learning reflexology”.
    
    Subsidised classes provided rental income for secondary schools that hosted them – mainly in the evenings. That may be Labour’s interest: funnelling taxpayer cash to the workplaces of Labour’s most staunch supporters.
    
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    February 21, 2018 11:30pm
Komata

CM

Re: ‘Were they thinking of their own convenience rather than that of their customers?’

Possibly, although CAD may have had some input.
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February 21, 2018 8:10am
holysheet

Trump supporters unite and rejoice. Political scientists have just voted Trump the worst president ever.
When have they gotten it right?
President Trump? NO!
Brexit? NO!
Along with the pollsters they were wrong. Oops…..
35 2
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February 21, 2018 8:14am
- Harkman
  
  What a joke that survey was. They’ve raised Obama to 8th. None of the categories include the economy or the participation rate. What. The love of Lincoln cracks me up, over 620,000 died when he was in office, hyperinflation, currency collapse, a real mess, lawlessness covered up. Most academics (57% of the survey were Democrats, 12% were establishment Republicans) view Obama, who was walked all over, as an international success because of the Iran deal and Paris Accords.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:55am
cmm

Tree deficit hitting 33,333,333 today!
28 1
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February 21, 2018 8:17am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  @cmm
  
  what are you doing tomorrow?
  I’ve got 66,000,000 trees to plant and was wondering if you could rustle up a planting crew for the day.
  Yrs in anticipation
  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-plant-66-million-trees-12-hours-environment-campaign-madhya-pradesh-global-warming-climate-a7820416.html
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:24am
  - KiWombat
    
    Maybe we should import more indians to help with our commitment – 10 or 15 plane loads ought to make a dent in 33,333,333 !
    
    12 2
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    February 21, 2018 8:26am
    - waikatogirl
      
      Shane, KiWombat is joking about importing Indian tree planters! ?
      
      9 1
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      February 21, 2018 8:39am
    - Right of way is Way of Right
      
      I can get them all drivers licences, no problems!
      
      13 1
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      February 21, 2018 10:07am
  - cmm
    
    Moss are wee trees aren’t they?
    
    I’ve got a square metre of moss which is something like half a million moss plants. Twenty minutes and I’ve done my share – including fifteen minutes of smoko.
    
    15 1
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    February 21, 2018 8:46am
- KiWombat
  
  About time we saw some indication of progress then cmm – maybe a photo of Sir Shane and WeeWinnie with a couple of acres of their seedlings, that at least will show they know the species.
  
  Rather believe we will hear more about MP’s overpayments though
  
  17 2
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  February 21, 2018 8:24am
  - stephieboy
    
    kiWombat , Internal affairs have made it quite clear that the accommodation over payment to our PM and Deputy PM was a mistake on their part .
    
    3 30
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    February 21, 2018 8:53am
    - KiWombat
      
      Perhaps it was, but if a $10,000 unexpected deposit into your account was made, would you just think “that’s nice” and do nothing about it?
      
      These people are supposed to be managing our money, and this isn’t a very good sign. Particularly as it’s not the first time !!
      
      20 1
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      February 21, 2018 9:15am
      - stephieboy
        
        KiWombat , send letter of complaint to Internal Affairs with a wagging finger and thumbs down emojis
        
        2 29
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        February 21, 2018 9:23am
      - Gabby
        
        They prolly just thought they must be getting the China money now keywomble.
        
        4 15
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        February 21, 2018 10:19am
    - Shaun the Sheep
      
      BE’s over payment was a the same as declared by the AJ.
      Didn’t stop you banging on about it though.
      Glass houses and all that.
      
      16 2
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      February 21, 2018 10:34am
    - softail 1450
      
      SEPTICBOY, F/O.
      
      12 3
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      February 21, 2018 12:22pm
  - Piniwi
    
    But KiWombat it is funnier still when Jones starts listing where “region” development will be happening as it (when) it gets started.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:40pm
kowtow

Turdeau in India.

‘A junior Indian minister greeted the Canadian prime minister when he landed in New Delhi accompanied by his wife and three children.’

I wonder how long the Turd family practised doing that greeting.

What a prat.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/trudeau-india-modi-government-snub-canadian-pm-180220070516092.html
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February 21, 2018 8:20am
- stephieboy
  
  kowtow , and the President of the USA bows to the Saudi King ,
  
  https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/05/21/trump-slammed-hypocrite-bowing-saudi-king-smith-nr.cnn/video/playlists/president-trumps-first-foreign-trip/
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:00am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Great fake news post Ralph which demonstrates why you’re still KBs Dumbest Commentator
    Did you watch the video?
    Six foot plus Trump is bending down so the old frail King can hang an award necklace around his neck.
    Even the commentator said “this is not bowing and it is a silly commentary”!
    Silly Ralphie
    
    18 1
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    February 21, 2018 10:26am
- tf78
  
  I happened upon question time in the Canadian Government last night and could not believe was an absolute prat Trudeau is. The opposition were questioning him as to how many times he had met with the Ethics commissioner (as he is being investigated for his trip to Billionaire Island) (I think that’s what it’s called). He obfuscated over and over again as though he’d been schooled by our very own Winston, he is the smarmiest person I have yet to listen to. There seems to be an international text book for Labour type governments.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:22am
- Gabby
  
  How long did you practise curtsying before you met the Queen kobknob?
  Prat.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:21am
DigNap15

On what grounds did they make their decision?

Jobs,
Popularity?
Legislation passed
Business confidence?
Trade ?
6 1
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February 21, 2018 8:20am
godruelf

Was great to hear on Newstalk ZB that we now have a “Motorway” between Pukerua Bay and Paekak. Unfortunately it’s currently closed but must have been a fantastic road building job by the government in the past 6 months.
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February 21, 2018 8:21am
- RalphT
  
  And it wasn’t even on their list of things to do in the first 100 days. Aren’t we lucky to be blessed with a government that not only keeps all its promises but delivers even more!
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:49am
  - KiWombat
    
    I drove on this back in October – I think the new noise is about the extension to Levin.
    
    So please defer judgement until that part is complete !
    
    2 2
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    February 21, 2018 9:21am
- Steve Wrathall
  
  This shows how necessary Transmission Gully is. And yet if the Greens had had their way it would not be being built.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:52am
Dave Mann

I’d like to put it out for discussion that if National is to become government again in the near future it really needs to have a natural coalition partner on the right because no one party csn be expected to get 50% of the votes under our fragmenting MMP system.

I think many people kinda naturally assumed that Peters would go eith National…. but as we saw the bastard just upended the table for his own benefit and we all (not least NZF voters saw the chaotic result).

I really don’t think National has a chance of winning in 2020 – regardless if who is leader – unless they have a partner to bounce off and energize and create a genuine feeling of ‘presence’. The danger is just too great of a repeat of 2017…. National gets the highest vote but ends up at the mercy of flakes abd opportunists.

Anyway, them’s my thoughts. Could National go it alone and succeed? Discussion please?
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February 21, 2018 8:22am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  The front lines are in the center. Hard left or right are irrelevant, because lacking an alternative those voters go with Labour or National anyway. I would like Act to grow, but doesn’t impact Mats chances of winning 2020
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:29am
- Chris R
  
  This discussion is possibly a week too early. The future of National will be more discernible once the new leader has been selected by caucus. For my part, I continue to believe that when JK retired Bill ought to have remained the Finance Minister and a fresh leader positioned then. As I said yesterday, a Collins/Joyce team would smash the Jacinda/Robertson coupling. If this occurs, yes, perhaps National might find it gets to govern alone.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:31am
- mandk
  
  “Could National go it alone and succeed?”
  
  Possibly, but unlikely.
  
  There needs to be a true environmentalist party that is able to work with either National or Labour.
  
  And Maori need to realise that Labour is only ever going to treat them as vote and lobby fodder. Step up Lance O’Sullivan, and provide your people with some real leadership.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:34am
  - Dave Mann
    
    Good point. Maybe I’m wrong in saying that National needs a coalition partner on the RIGHT. Perhaps what they need is just a coalition partner full stop. But, god help us…. the greens and/or the Maoris?
    
    Maybe a true and credible conservative grouping of some sort is looking for a political voice?
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:44am
    - mandk
      
      Nothing wrong with being green.
      
      The problem is that too many greens think that the Green Party is the answer.
      
      13 1
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      February 21, 2018 9:01am
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        I’m not sure about that, because generally being ‘green’ means abandoning the ability to look dispassionately at data, take into account multiple factors from economic tradeoffs to changing demographics and wider public preferences, science and rapidly improving technology and instead making choices based on nothing more than your feelings and what some celebrities tell you to think.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:11am
    - Kimbo
      
      Disagree. It is the total number of votes the left and right blocs get, irrespective of how they are distributed that determined government. NZ First will likely be gone in 2020, and based on the efforts of Colin Craig, Kim Dot Com and Gareth Morgan, getting a new party over 5% is near impossible unless it is utterly compelling. With the NZ First vote likely to collapse under 5%, the total “wasted” vote will be higher next time. So 47% should be sufficient to see National win. As there is likely little cross over between voters from National to the Greens or vice versa, National should chasing votes from two sources.
      
      1. The disaffected NZ First vote
      
      2. Labour. So as the numbers of parties in Parliament diminish, the 2020s are shaping up like the old days of FPP, a straight drag race between National and Labour.
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:06am
      - Piniwi
        
        But Kimbo we so easily overlook the 38 page secret plan from the old drunk which is likely to include a safe seat for him so he can get more FU money. However even if that is the case he will have depleted team with his tanked party vote. Sure wild speculation until the new leader is elected which may possibly result in our worst nightmares becoming all too real. Or not.
        It goes without saying it will determine more policy settings, direction and means to get across the house in 2020.
        Already after one day of showing some improvement Mallard has slid off his perch again today and let Davis off scott free when he said to Nikkie Kay. Put up or shut up. He is not handling even the slightest pressure well. Only outdone when Clark was fielding question on behalf of the Minister of Finance? Talk about dumb and dumber.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:00pm
  - Biscuit
    
    Exactly, mandk.
    
    A more centrist Maori Party and a true Environment Party should be there to feature in EVERY coalition discussion .. i.e. be able to fit into either a leftist Government or a rightist one.
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:55am
- waikatogirl
  
  Dave M, If you really thought Winnie would go with National then I can’t take anything you say seriously. ?
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:43am
  - Dave Mann
    
    No I never thought that…. and I said so many times on this blog in response to those who were pushing for Peters in order to ‘keep National honest’. I was one of the ‘two ticks National’ commenters here.
    
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    February 21, 2018 8:49am
    - waikatogirl
      
      Whew, Good news Dave! ?
      
      3 2
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      February 21, 2018 9:09am
- Awww C-mon
  
  IMHO, A rejuvenation to the right of National, Nats themselves owning the battle in the centre and like mentioned a ‘Teal’ option. Maori Party coming back into play once Liarbour screw them again (wait for it, it’s coming)
  
  Judith won’t win the leadership contest, she should go to Act and be freed from the shackles of the Nats collective fear of offence.
  
  MandK is on the money with Dr O’Sullivan leading the MP back into Government. I think the MP is ‘teal’ option NZ lacks, little bit of marketing and spin, get Kennedy Graham on board. One or two from TOP and it’s all on.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:54am
  - Piniwi
    
    Chill A. The native party is a gonner and will not be a force of any kind and NEVER a passenger in a National lead Government EVER again. The crunch is the leadership choice then once this is settled we can look forward for our next shambles offering of a Budget.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:06pm
- 4077th
  
  Your discussion aside, but not entirely, National secured their loss when they tried to pot Winston for his super overpayments. It should also be said Winston has a very well known dislike for English and would not have been better than 50/50 if the super clusterfuck had not been leaked. But back to your question, I think the question is more of a marketing exercise. It’s we’ll known there is almost no media influence for the right other than KB and Mr Oil. Mr Oil has routinely run the natural partners out of town with his attacks on Craig and Dunne. He also ran a campaign to “teach National a lesson” favouring the wheezing, drunken dwarf and looks for the most part to have achieved exactly that. Since the election he has also been less than positive toward the leadership with his long running obsession with Collins. So, what does that leave? KB? There is a gap in the market where Mr Oil once lived…
  
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  February 21, 2018 3:13pm
  - Gabby
    
    Back n the 8063rd we reckon a bloke called Mick McHoreskin had a bit of influence, and there was some bod named after a bikky in the wireless business was quite chummy with Sir Ponyboy.
    
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    February 21, 2018 5:33pm
kowtow

The Dunkirk spirit , well and truly dead ,due to welfarism and entitleism.

‘KFC chicken shortage causes chaos as police tell customers to stop calling over branch closures ‘

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/20/kfc-chicken-shortage-causes-chaos-police-tell-customers-stop/

If today had been April 1 I’d a thunk this was their joke article , unbelievable.
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February 21, 2018 8:24am
- holysheet
  
  Yes, looking at and hearing all those young budding sjw’s, I despair for the future of the poms.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:31am
- Rich Prick
  
  You have to wonder about some people. Mind you, most living in Tower Hamlets rely on State intervention just to achieve basic human functioning.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:00am
- simpleton1
  
  Good news for chickens.
  “Fewer chickens are dying for KFC” 🙂
  
  Less fees being paid for halal certification.
  
  8 1
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  February 21, 2018 9:47am
- Piniwi
  
  Funny kowtow that chicken man is short of chicken but things are worse here. Enticed by the idea of finally getting some fish and chips locally was drawn to MacDonalds fish and fries for a quick snack. First branch after walking a block was out of fish. On to the other store on the way home only to find they were out of fries! You can imagine the reaction when rice was offered and no means to serve just the fish. After much discussion with I guess a team leader an apple pie was offered to make up the order. Great but it included a 10 min wait and then got half way beck to the vehicle to realise NO apple pie. Finally got back to the vehicle to find a parking ticket on the wind screen where there seemed to be no parking restriction. No point in feeling special at the next nearest vehicle had one too. No drama as it only costs the equivalent of $2.60 for parking infringements.
  End result getting a fast food snack provided some good exercise and a snack that proved the picture is better than the real thing. Living is learning but the best food is served at home hands down.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:25pm
waikatogirl

Paul Bloxam, the Australian/NZ HSBC economist who called the NZ economy “rockstar” has upgraded the years 2014-2016 from 3% to 3.75% growth.

How long before we see the CoL damage this growth… Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
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February 21, 2018 8:33am
- Chris R
  
  I think we may already be receiving a fore-taste of the damage the CoL can wreak. The business confidence ratings are falling and there’s a constant odour of Unionism in the air…eg Air NZ’s early embargo on flying into/out of Wellington yesterday at 2.45pm and the idiotic education changes being ostensibly led by Hipkins the clown. We are all now prey to mean-spirited unionism and their bullying ways. The sooner we consign the Winston constructed government to the trash heap the sooner this country can continue to flourish.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:39am
  - igm
    
    Is Peters NZ’s most hated ever politician?
    
    28 2
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    February 21, 2018 8:56am
    - stephieboy
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      igm , not as far as I’m aware . What ’s behind you’re morning sulk ?
      
      3 33
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      February 21, 2018 9:02am
    - Rich Prick
      
      Yes.
      
      21 2
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      February 21, 2018 9:02am
      - stephieboy
        
        RP , another whinge of the day ?
        
        A merry heart doeth good like medicine.
        
        King Solomon
        
        2 29
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        February 21, 2018 9:03am
      - Rich Prick
        
        I’m not sure how one word amounts to a “winge”, but given your stunted intellect, it could be entirely possible. But only to you.
        
        22 2
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        February 21, 2018 9:16am
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      Nah, Muldoon (deservedly) or possibly (and wrongly) Roger Douglas.
      
      4 8
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      February 21, 2018 9:15am
    - SPLOOGE
      
      No. That would be Judith Collins.
      
      3 16
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      February 21, 2018 10:07am
      - softail 1450
        
        splodge, are you a little embarrassed this morning about your drunken rage last evening?
        you should be, an old sailor like you should know by now that its folly to start boozing in the morning and then shoot your stupid mouth off late in the evening.
        
        13 3
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        February 21, 2018 10:15am
      - Gabby
        
        softcock14yo, have you got the banana seat out yet, or is it still firmly wedged where it shouldn’t be?
        
        3 12
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        February 21, 2018 10:28am
      - lifesgood
        
        Terrified of her, aren’t you?
        
        7 2
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        February 21, 2018 11:47am
    - Piniwi
      
      Cheers igm for highlighting most like the outright win he can have. Even Mallard has tired of his feeble efforts during OQT.
      On the other side of the house it is great to see the likes of Mellissa Lee showing such good form with putting questions to mention just one from the deeper talent pool.
      
      2 0
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      February 21, 2018 10:37pm
  - Piniwi
    
    But but ChrisR these are their good days. They have struggled past their first 100 with minimal damage leaving us waiting for the pain of being financially drained.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:30pm
- Jack5
  
  The focus has switched from GDP growth, which has been fuelled by the immigration surge, notably the student visa citzenship rort.
  
  In GDP per capita figures, the picture is more realistic.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:07am
- cas
  
  Having just seen the drone footage of the Takaka Hill washouts, I think Robbo’s fiscal responsibilidy will be sorely tested after the repair bill is calculated. How will he balance the budget if unfortunate things like natural events keep occurring.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:14am
  - softail 1450
    
    CAS, he could ask bill english, he had to figure it out for 9 years and done a damn good job.
    
    14 2
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    February 21, 2018 10:18am
  - Piniwi
    
    True cas the Golden Bay got a pounding as far Bainham which the roads end before starting the Heaphy Track we can only speculate how that fared. Then we note the Kaikoura road suffered some serious washouts and slips that will take more than a twitch or two of the nose to sort out. Meanwhile the alternative highway 63 work has been stalled to prioritise trams up north or misdirected road funding. Gita seemed to be reasonably fast moving but did shift a little more to the south so the top of south has been seriously the biggest casualty with any casualties. Campbell shows his ignorance when he discovered Hector on the West Coast. It’s Buller you moron. Those that know it also know it is the seaward side of the narrow coastline that is the western side of the alps. Too many forget that it is in boats one goes down to the sea in and not dwellings. Great sea views which they can so easily become part of and is more good luck than good planning that stopped it happening before.
    Really amusing for spectators as there can be a lot of problems even before another major earthquake hits as Karma is delivered from above.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:57pm
- Harkman
  
  Well it is a certainty.
  
  3 1
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  February 21, 2018 10:00am
iMP

Dave Mann you’re right. No matter how well NAT does now or in the future, or whom they make leader, they cannot govern without a partner.

ACT is not a real party. The only real chance in 2020 is that Greens and Nzf dissolve in polls pre-election and its a two-horse race. Ie an MMP FPP that NAT could win.
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February 21, 2018 8:34am
- redeye
  
  I cant agree with this. Multiple coalition partners just mean the potential for wasted vote is higher. Especially if the partners are just new parties.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:00am
  - DifferentPerspective
    
    Wasted vote sounds like a great idea.
    
    Split the Green vote so that the watermelons get kicked to the kerb – I’d buy that for a dollar.
    
    Anything to return us to a two party situation so Labour are never in power again.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:14am
    - Kimbo
      
      Nope, it will never happen, or at least it is unlikely, especially in 2020 as the Greens can argue they need more votes to actually be in any coalition with Labour (and with NZ Fist likely to be gone, that is a real possibility and vote attractor among the further left voters). If the Greens were ever going to go under the 5% threshold, 2017 was it. Gareth Morgan’s policies were green-conscious, and then Meteria Turei did everything she could to wreck their chances. Nonetheless they still made it.
      
      And any attempt by National to astro-turf a right-wing conservation party will be treated with contempt, and will lose twice s many votes for the right-bloc than it would win.
      
      Sorry, DP, but the Green political brand is here to stay.
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:19am
      - DifferentPerspective
        
        Well Kimbo, I hope with every fibre of my being that you are wrong.
        
        But sadly, I suspect you may be right.
        
        I just don’t see how National can obtain the Treasury benches now that Act is fading into a joke party and the clueless MP is dead in the water. You can’t govern in an MMP environment alone.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:56am
      - Kimbo
        
        @ DifferentPerspective
        
        …then see my post above at February 21, 2018 9:06am. Winning on their own and/or with ACT in Epsom is very do-able for National in 2020 and beyond. Indeed based on current voting trends (admittedly an easy thing to extrapolate incorrectly) in the 2020s we are likely heading for the equivalent of the old MMP era where a straight contest between National and Labour (with the Greens locking in the far left vote, and scaring others voters rightward to National as a result ) is on the cards.
        
        Which means, as always, elections will continue to be won in…the centre.
        
        Hence, any “far right” coalition options for National would also scare some (more?) soft voters in the centre towards Labour.
        
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        February 21, 2018 11:07am
      - Piniwi
        
        Perhaps Kimbo but indications are firming up that it might be might be in name only since after 25 odd years the “made” it into Government. The result of which sees their support tanking? Going forward they along with whatever remains of NZF will be seen as Labours support partners and their case by necessity than intent. That is why they are the COL as we await Labour to start to pace them in the downward stakes.
        
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        February 21, 2018 11:05pm
- DifferentPerspective
  
  Act hasn’t been a real party all the while the idiot Seymour has been ‘leader’.
  
  His strategic initiative this year to boost party membership and grow the vote to the level where they’re able to survive without the life support gift of Epsom …… dancing with the stars.
  
  Really? That was the big idea? No wonder he shrunk the vote so much.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:12am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Media has shrunk and become left-partisan to the point that all right wing parties and particularly minor right wing parties to which the media are unsympathetic anyway, can no longer get any useful coverage to improve name recognition. Act is dying for lack of oxygen. What other options do they have?
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:21am
  - Sideoiler
    
    Act hasn’t been a real party all the while the idiot Seymour has been ‘leader’
    
    The rot set in when Brash was made leader of ACT, that someone thought Banks was even a remotely good idea beggars belief.
    Banks was the end of my ACT party membership.
    Seymour is just the quicklime on the party’s rotting corpse.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:41am
    - Dave Mann
      
      just the quicklime on the party’s rotting corpse
      
      My god that’s a fine piece of imagery! If you ever write a book please let us know and I’ll buy it!
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:30am
  - SGA
    
    Act hasn’t been a real party all the while the idiot Seymour has been ‘leader’.
    
    I always thought that the writing was on the wall when they needed to make John Banks leader.
    Add: Sideoiler – “snap”
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:43am
  - Piniwi
    
    Uptick error DP you must be one great ball of fun at a party unable to decide if the glass is half full or empty when the best host only ever fill the empties.
    It was only by the narrow of margins that National missed being almost able to go it alone this time with the old drunk pleased the election was not even one week later. IMO it is game on even at this early stage as there are some serious cracks in the COL they are rapidly trying to talk over. Soon they will be too gaping to be pulled together with butterfly plasters as their support base grow increasingly impatient with the slow progress. We on the other hand know real progress will be as scarce as chickens lips as they relentlessly rotate in ever decreasing circles up their own poll.
    
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    February 21, 2018 11:16pm
EAD_TWO

Leading alt-right (the stuff of Stephieboys nightmares) Commentator Irish Savant weighs in on the MSMs fawning coverage of Black Panther (the greatest movie of all time apparently)

http://irishsavant.blogspot.co.nz/2018/02/hail-wakanda.html?m=0

abridged:

Have you ever seen anything like the carefully-orchestrated hype surrounding Black Panther? The uniformity and obsequiousness of the reaction would have made Stalin blush, making Pravda’s responses to his speeches forensically hostile by comparison. It is of course all part of the Magic Numinous Negro Project, the objective of which is to make blacks seem like the best breeding material for shiksas and ultimately blend Whites out of existence.

But what really blows my mind is the reaction of African-Americans. They, in some unfathomable dimension, seem to think Wakanda is real and take immense pride in it. I kid you not. The following are from a representative sample of journalists and ‘academics’………….

Apart from black pride the project has greatly enhanced black cohesiveness and sense of identity. I gather that black-only screenings are taking place all over America and Whites feel frozen out in mixed-race audiences. Identity politics on steroids. And that’s good. Identity politics is good for Whites even though – in factbecause – right now we’re the only race that doesn’t self-identify. But that’s changing as we get marginalised, mocked, devalued, discriminated against and programmed into believing that inferior races are our betters…..in our own countries, the ones carved out by our ancestors for us, their descendants.

Very well said. The truth is, far from a technological futuristic Nirvana, we can see real life examples of what Wakanda would really look like.

Africans managed to turn the Paris of the West (Detroit) with all of its beautiful architecture and civic spaces into the Mogadishu of the West in less than 2 generations.

The less you say about Johannesburg the better.

I guess just like the “Maoris living as one with nature” narrative, most developed minds are able to see through the bullshit for what it is but for young minds it must be turning their world view and reality upside down.

You can see already the effects of Marxist PC indoctrination in the current SJW/Snowflake generation.

“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” – Vladimir Lenin
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February 21, 2018 8:35am
- stephieboy
  
  EAD TWO, share with us your vision of white panther ,
  
  This ?
  
  Forgotten Fatherland
  
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56844.Forgotten_Fatherland
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:38am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  You should be proud of the movie Black Panther as it embodies so many of the principles of the Alt_movement:
  – Nationalism
  – Cultural chauvanism
  – Putting one’s people ahead of “outsiders”
  
  Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POZCF9t9FUI
  
  Black Panther showcases identity politics.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:58am
  - stephieboy
    
    Odakyu -sen , Japan has come a long. ,long way since Pre and WW2 Xenophobic ultra nationalism. . But there are still those there who pine for the good old days .
    
    http://content.time.com/time/covers/asia/0,16641,19990816,00.html
    
    Are you one of them ?
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:07am
    - Inandout
      
      How can you stephies comment when you haven’t even lived there? That Time article is almost 20 years old FFS.
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:19am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      stephieboy,
      
      (Channeling Crocodile Dundee)
      “That’s not Japanese nationalism.”
      “This is Japanese nationalism!” (At least one form of it.)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHJsoCAREsg
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:02pm
      - Piniwi
        
        No sweat Odakyu-sen many appreciate the depth of culture as well as tradition that Japan has and in most part they soon “fit” in to the Kiwi way. So much so that those who were posted to Honda NZ “needed” a drawbar on their company car as the very first extra. Then came a new kind of learning curve served up by local conditions as they hit a gravel road with their boat in tow. Likely their only major cultural clash with the car being the biggest casualty. It was fun trading Japanese/English words with another of you countrymen. He soon had a long list of local idiom that all meant “fuck off” and the biggest English/Japanese dictionary ever seen. By the end of his tenure he was developing a great sense of humour and ready to accept hide-your-pyjamas as a morning greeting. Taking them on the golf course in groups was something altogether different and some of the fastest rounds ever had. Fun times for all who cared to make just a little effort.
        
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        February 21, 2018 11:43pm
- kowtow
  
  Ha ha.Some wit coined this a while ago….
  
  Beirut used to be called the Paris of the east , now Paris is the Beirut of the west.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:59am
  - kowtow
    
    As if on cue.
    
    ‘A huge brawl between 20 people in the Pont Neuf area of the capital resulted in five people being hospitalized for knife wounds and other injuries.’
    
    Tamils, so enriching.
    
    https://www.thelocal.fr/20180220/paris-knife-brawl-between-rival-gangs-leaves-5-wounded
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:25am
cmm

I see you Jaffas are getting an 11.5 cent “congestion tax” on petrol.

The problem putting it on petrol sales is that it does nothing to fix congestion. If you want to use a tax to discourage activity then you have to link the tax to the problematic activity.

In other words, the congestion tax should be applied when you go into congested areas at peak times – like the London charge which is only applied between 7 am and 6pm in certain areas.

And on top of that the money is just going into a fat transport slush fund which will most likely be spent on subsidizing a whole lot of whacky ideas, most of which will never see the light of day.

Therefore it is a tax that is unlikely to fix anything.

It will keep the consultants fat and happy though.

I can guarantee one outcome though: they will recommend even more taxes and levies and surcharges. It will also be in Wellington within five years and Christchurch within ten years.

Go Goff!
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February 21, 2018 8:36am
- sooty
  
  Just another reason to buy prptrol down country, or not visit.
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:56am
- VicParking
  
  I hear that Auckland’s Councils Trough is not big enough. Due to Goffs team getting another “Yes” team member the trough and the room the trough is in in now too small. Council is looking to build a new one using the fuel tax. Goff released a statement saying ‘It is important that all members of my Council “Yes Persons” get to trough out equally.’
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:58am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  the tax will go to increasing the number of cone monkeys. They have high visibility so it will appear that actual work is being done, even though nothing useful will be achieved.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:23am
  - cmm
    
    On youtube there is some drone footage showing that they’re actually just playing checkers.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:29am
- Harkman
  
  “Christchurch within ten years.” Chch is run by the Labour party, Chch is bankrupt. It’ll be here sooner than that.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:37am
  - cmm
    
    Yup, but they won’t be able to call it congestion charges – for another few years anyway.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:50am
    - Harkman
      
      Half the central city streets are now mostly cycle ways, they’re more congested now than prior. ?
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:43pm
      - Piniwi
        
        Yes Harkman it was such a shame to see that added to which is a seemingly circular route to get anywhere important. My relation struggled to pick me up when the coach arrived and was woefully late as well as dizzy from circling to get there. On home vacations the coach is a safer way to travel Nelson/Chch while also getting a scenic catch-up but the lasting impression of the rebuilt CBD is of an on-going disaster area. It does however it still deserves the label of Red Zone.
        
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        February 21, 2018 11:56pm
stephieboy

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
The face of multicultural and diverse Auckland where our future begins and ends and works ,

http://www.noted.co.nz/life/life-in-nz/facing-our-future-how-the-population-boom-is-transforming-auckland/

http://www.rhythmhouse.co.nz

Dizzy with success !
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February 21, 2018 8:36am
- EAD_TWO
  
  Well you have certainly got one part right Stephiegoy – Multiculturalism is certainly where the future of the country our Ancestors built and died for ends.
  
  NZ is fast becoming another debt plantation outpost of Globalism Inc. where our culture is whatever the corporates deem it to be, where cash matters more than character and the joy & fulfilment of being something bigger than oneself is lost in a sea of “humanity” where nothing is worth saving because everything is “equal”.
  
  See video below:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC272WG3NEs
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:45am
- cmm
  
  So long as the population is the only thing to go “boom”…
  
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  February 21, 2018 8:59am
- Jack5
  
  Mai Chen correctly says:
  
  Sixty-five and older is the biggest-growing sector of the population, and they’re overwhelmingly Pakeha. But the young are disproportionately brown and yellow.”
  
  In the 2013 Census, 30 per cent of Asians were aged 20 to 34, compared with 18.7 per cent of the total population. A third of international students apply for permanent residency and stay.
  
  In the first big ethnic transformation in NZ, there was a treaty between Maori and the British, then years of warfare.
  
  This time nothing. Just a stab in the back of white-Maori NZ by politicians.
  
  We have posters in this thread suggesting Britain has lost its spirit. What happened in NZ?
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:28am
  - Jack5
    
    I said NZ politicians had stabbed NZ in the back.
    
    That was a bit strong. They just sold the country.
    
    So many politicians have been rewarded with soft, paid posts on boards of Asian companies in NZ.
    
    The soft colonialist expansion by China continues through our local bodies. Sister city junket trips, and then there’s the fulsome praise for Beijing that sometimes comes from the hype regional promotional companies set up by local bodies.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:43am
  - lastmanstanding
    
    So the people who built this great country over the past 45 years.
    
    Wisdom comes with age and life experience.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:53am
- Harkman
  
  Multiculturalism has never worked.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:38am
Nukuleka

The government is calling for submissions about making all dairy products halal compliant. It is time for organisations such as the SPCA and animal rights activists to say that making NZ animal products halal compliant is tacit approval of the barbaric and cruel practices that are involved in halal slaughter in Muslim countries. It is not enough to say that here in NZ we stun animals prior to slitting their throats and saying Islamic prayers over the dying animals. Halal slaughter is a vicious and inhumane practice and should be protested against wherever in the world it is practised. Shame on NZ for condoning it through ‘compliance’.
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February 21, 2018 8:37am
- brett68
  
  Do you have a problem with this?
  
  http://kb.rspca.org.au/what-is-kosher-slaughter-in-australia_117.html
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:02am
  - Nukuleka
    
    So is the NZ government promoting kosher compliant practices in the slaughtering of animals? No. Argue the point rather than attempting to introduce red herrings.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:04am
    - brett68
      
      Actually, the government banned Kosher slaughter because it’s considered barbaric and cruel.
      
      Halal is not an issue because the animals are stunned before they’re killed not so in Kosher slaughter.
      
      https://www.mia.co.nz/what-we-do/trade/halal/
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:52am
- VicParking
  
  Agreed. Does this mean that we will have to employ Muslim milkers. Stephie will be rubbing his hands with glee as he anticipates a free run on a Goat Dairy Farm. “72 Virgins and I’m not dead”. ???
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:04am
  - cmm
    
    Vic: What’s with the eggplant emoji?
    
    Is that one of those things where if you have to ask, you don’t want to know.
    
    10 1
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    February 21, 2018 9:12am
    - VicParking
      
      Just a random choice on my part.
      http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/eggplant-emoji-?
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:28am
      - cmm
        
        I’ll go with the random choice hypothesis.
        
        Anything else is pretty disturbing.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:30am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    I prefer my beef unmolested.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:24am
    - GoVege
      
      But did you meet the cow? 🙂
      
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      February 21, 2018 2:00pm
    - Piniwi
      
      Sadly UN good beef is not as readily available for the domestic market as the best aged cuts are exported. To this day the best beef apart from the old Lasso Restaurant in Willis St Wellington was a from a cube roll carried home down the leg of a freezing workers overalls. No bull.
      
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      February 22, 2018 12:15am
- stephieboy
  
  “Here’s what you need to know about the halal meat debate”
  
  “..It was compulsory for all animals to be stunned before commercial slaughter in New Zealand. Stunning ensured an immediate loss of consciousness to prevent animals feeling any pain during the slaughter process, the MIA said.
  
  “In New Zealand there is no exemption to the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning, unlike in some other countries. Halal slaughter requires that the animal dies from the ‘halal cut’ to the throat, ie that the pre-slaughter stun is not powerful enough to kill the animal.
  
  “In premises that undertake halal slaughter in New Zealand, reversible electrical stunning is used to ensure that animals are rendered unconscious instantaneously and remain unconscious at the time of slaughter, thus complying with both animal welfare and halal requirements.”
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99623151/what-is-halal-meat
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:18am
  - Jack5
    
    The video posted (briefly – before being taken down) on Youtube by a Maori Muslim convert who is a works butcher, showed brutal halal slaughter of sheep in NZ without preliminary stunning.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:23am
    - stephieboy
      
      Jack5 , then the butcher would be breaking the law . I think this could happen on some farms in NZ where animals often and informally slaughtered ,contrary to regulations . .
      
      Video post take down ? How convenient !
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:29am
      - igm
        
        What in hell would a Islam-aligned loser know about farming? When I killed a beast it would always be shot first, then slaughtered, not facing Mecca, without first shooting.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:36am
      - Jack5
        
        It wasn’t informal. The video was made in a commercial meat plant.
        
        Muslims’ religion may condone them lying to non-Muslims, but it’s more difficult with video.
        
        Now, Stephie X, about your post in the General Debate thread at 10.45 last night (not far from the end of the thread).
        
        Are you going to elaborate? Was the duty Stephie trying to tell us something about himself?
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:37am
      - Right of way is Way of Right
        
        Fat fingers igm, didn’t mean to report you! Interesting concept though. Do Islamic hunters shoot to wound/disable, then kill when the beast is facing Mecca, or do they only take the shot when the beast is facing the right direction?
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:50am
      - mikenmild
        
        Jack
        See my ccomment above, when you first raised this. You should be pursuing AgentBallSack.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:51am
      - Jack5
        
        Butt out, Milky.
        
        Stephie X addressed the post to me, and made a direct question to me.
        
        I don’t care what some other poster said.
        
        Stephie X: please respond.
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:57am
  - Nukuleka
    
    Yes we do this in NZ. Fine. My point, which is made quite lucidly, is that by making our animal products halal compliant we are condoning the barbaric practices overseas. Do follow the plot, Stephie. Keep up with the play.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:07am
    - GoVege
      
      Not only that, Nukuleka.
      We are facilitating the Islamisation of our western nation.
      It won’t be only farm animals that suffer.
      
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      February 21, 2018 2:20pm
    - Piniwi
      
      Thanks Jack5 now there is a cartoon in the making and a chuckle from a mental image. Cannibal cultured native Muslim convert with their own version of the first cut being the deepest. We pause to wonder what old Billy T would make of that one. RIP mate you were one of a kind as well as a great barrier scream.
      
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      February 22, 2018 12:23am
    - Piniwi
      
      True N it has been common in most rural areas for the local butcher to have their own abattoir for conventional animal slaughter and breaking down of the beast. Methodology for this is very traditional to provide fresh meat to their customers as a must visit for the children when visiting country cousins. It is quite a sight to see a beast hung up and broken down while still warm.
      
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      February 22, 2018 12:31am
  - skyblue
    
    We should not pander to the whims camel fuckers. Meat should be killed in the old way. If some cloth heads wants meat they should pay a premium elsewhere in speciality stores. Prisoners can have tofu and lentils as replacement for non halal meat.
    PS – I have thrown bacon onto a mosque doorway in the UK years ago, felt so good.
    
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    February 21, 2018 2:28pm
    - GoVege
      
      Lucky you not doing time for such a heinous crime, skyblue. Be careful though…you might be extradited back to face justice. 🙂
      
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      February 21, 2018 3:20pm
- Fletch
  
  Halal is a scam. There’s nothing in the Koran that says animals have to be killed this way. The certification has turned into a big money-making thing, with companies handing out massive amounts of money for a useless certification and logo.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoCnEBnoqNE
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:23am
  - VicParking
    
    Stephie..here is your chance. Show us the Paragraph in the Koran to dispute Fletch. Your silence is so loud.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:32am
  - Twinkletoes
    
    It does have a section about slaughtering Islamically in “The Reliance of the Traveller”, a short version of Sharia Law.
    
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    February 21, 2018 12:11pm
- Piniwi
  
  Sadly Nukuleka the bending to this archaic doctrine has been going on a very long time with no real tangible gain. The prospect of increased exports to Halal sorts of countries have never been realised since most are more into war than feeding their population. So much so that should NZ ever have a competitive alternative to the AK47 developed we could make a killing.
  
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  February 22, 2018 12:08am
Manolo

Money to be made in the fake news business:
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2018/02/19/flashback-cnn-and-msnbcs-enthusiastic-coverage-russian-sponsored-anti
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February 21, 2018 8:53am
Swifty

Hey Stephieboy – why do you get so many things wrong all the time? And why do you come here and do it so publically?
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February 21, 2018 9:23am
- VicParking
  
  Bots are crude tools and as yet unrefined, especially the Labour ones. Look at the Standard, I rest my case
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:34am
Maggy Wassilieff

Lawyers win their defamation case.

“There are particular legal problems and challenges in relation to the Internet. One of these is that publication is to the “world at large” and not confined to any particular group of people. It is well established law that publication takes place at any point where internet content is downloaded and read,” he said.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/101624649/lawyers-awarded-84000-in-defamation-case-against-man-with-malicious-website
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February 21, 2018 9:23am
- Jack5
  
  It’s one thing to defame lawyers on the Net, but the report says this guy flew a plane without a licence.
  
  That’s figuratively and literally over the top.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:34am
Swifty

It stands to reason that when you import people from corrupt countries you also import their corrupt practices.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/101627284/licence-bribery-scandal–hundreds-of-drivers-lose-licences

Gotta love that diversity!
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February 21, 2018 9:35am
- Right of way is Way of Right
  
  You reading over my shoulder Swifty??
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:45am
  - Swifty
    
    Great minds think alike.
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:56am
Right of way is Way of Right

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/101627284/licence-bribery-scandal–hundreds-of-drivers-lose-licences

Lots of people paying for a drivers licence up front apparently.

The staff involved have been sacked or moved to areas where they no longer have access to licence issuing equipment.

Sadly, whenever I hear about cases like this, or where migrant workers have been exploited, my first reaction is to assume that there will be a significant number of Indian nationals involved.

This seems to be borne out by the statistic that there has been an 11 fold increase of conversion of Indian licences to New Zealand ones.

Can anyone please explain why Indians seem to have this reputation everywhere they go? It’s quite perplexing to me? I know a lawyer who has worked on a couple of high profile recent cases where Indian migrant workers were exploited, leading to the closure of a chain of indian restaurants in Auckland.

They stiffed him on the legal bill too!
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February 21, 2018 9:36am
- Swifty
  
  I’ve got two Indian flatties.
  
  They say this behaviour is normal right across India. It is accepted. It is the ‘done thing’. A number of times they have remarked to me how wonderful NZ is – in that they have not been expected to grease the palm of officials for licenses, visas, education enrolments etc etc.
  
  It is why Indian civil servant roles, and especially police and military roles, are so eagerly sought and hotly contested – you can become set for life after just a few years of using your official position for personal gain.
  
  Apparenty though, India is slowly improving. Less people are prepared to put up with it, they say.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:55am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    But it is a strong reason to be very cautious about allowing any govt dept to have a high proportion of immigrant indians working there. Planning depts in particular.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:16am
    - Swifty
      
      One could think of WINZ too – where they’re in the business of doing out of actual cash.
      
      And the banks – where crooked bank officers have signed off on dodgy loans in return for backhanders – as we have recently seen in the news.
      
      Plenty of crooked NZers though – I just dont want to add to their number! 🙂
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:27am
  - Dave Mann
    
    My wife is Indian and we’ve discussed this same topic. We broadly agree that Indians will often try to screw you in business or ‘get one over you’ in order to succeed. This is in contrast to the Chinese who tend to rely on giving good service so that you’ll come back again.
    
    These are generalizations of course, but I think they’re often the case. Certainly I found a high degree of untrustworthiness when we were in India but I can’t compare it to China because I haven’t been there.
    
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    February 21, 2018 11:12am
  - Colville
    
    After 16 years running an engineering company that did a lot of restaurant work, if I had to quote a large job for 3 different clients, none of whom I knew or could get intel on;
    A dutch guy
    A Chinese guy
    An Indian guy.
    The Chinese guy I would add 10% to standard costs to lose the 10% in the bargaining, which I enjoy, the Chinese enjoy and they always come back again. Probably get paid in grubby bundles of notes. Which we always declared 🙂
    The Dutch guy I would add 20% because the last bill wont get paid and there will be endless whinging.
    The Indian, I would refuse to do any design work and only quote on plans by others. I would never supply any info about the quote as he would use that to price check. I would add at least 35% and get a deposit that covered all materials before I landed anything to site.
    All learnt from hard experiences.
    True story. removed 2 extract fans very early morning in the dark from inside a roof space after unscrewing the roofing. The fans were not worth much but payback can be fun. 🙂
    
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    February 21, 2018 12:51pm
    - skyblue
      
      I do the same in the wholesale chemical business. For Indians/Chinese you always quote high. They love to beat you down and feel good within themselves with the end result, which is often at the high end of the pricing structure anyway.
      
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      February 21, 2018 2:33pm
- artemisia
  
  When I was last in Bali, I asked our driver (local, educated in NZ) why some vendors were so pushy, a bit physical, loud and insistent when it was clearly a turnoff for our group at least.
  
  His answer was that the government recognised exactly that and had worked very hard to educate on better ways to approach and sell to tourists. But some locals had generations of the old ways behind them and just could not adjust, even when it was not working for them.
  
  Same for others I expect.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:56am
  - fernglas
    
    In Bali, most of the vendors are Javanese, and therefore Muslim. I rest my case.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:34am
    - GoVege
      
      And what they pass off as chicken or lamb, is probably cat or dog.
      
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      February 21, 2018 1:57pm
  - waikatogirl
    
    We had an Indian client who stiffed us on the invoice after delivering the product. Six years later he turned up wanting some more. Hubby said he’d supply more product if our ‘client’ paid for the previous order upfront and also paid upfront before delivery of next lot.
    Revenge can be sweet, hubby upped the price on both orders by 20% just for him. ?
    
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    February 21, 2018 1:02pm
- lastmanstanding
  
  Alas the Indian and Chinese culture have a very different view to us as regards what we call corruption. They call it facilitating business.
  Anyone who has done business in these countries and in the Middle East knows that certain “payments” are required in order to being able to enter into discussions around the business.
  
  Indian Chinese and Middle East business people all think we are rather quaint in our approach to business. Some even say we are naive.
  
  Thats how it is.
  
  When in Rome do as Rome does.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:58am
  - Swifty
    
    Naive perhaps, but it’s one of the reasons why they live in shitholes and we do not.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:03am
  - simpleton1
    
    “When in Rome do as Rome does”
    
    As one above mentioned, so “times are a changin”
    “Paris of the East.
    Beirut of the West.”
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:06am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    GDP per capita is strongly correlated with less corruption.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:18am
  - Gabby
    
    Munter McMutton understood this lostmong. And people just didn’t geddit.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:47am
- Piniwi
  
  Well R India is that place where even a modest Morris Oxford had a waiting list of 7 years only to end with an old model made from even older tooling and dies. There’s no tool like an old tool. Wrinkles and all.
  
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  February 22, 2018 12:37am
Positan

In the present line-up I don’t give Mark Mitchell any chance, but in his interview last night I was utterly appalled at the insensitivity and immaturity of Three News’ reporter, Lloyd Burr, asking about Mitchell’s 2004 experience in Iraq where for 5 days he was forced to defend himself and others from a huge force of attacking insurgents. Burr asked the question over and over again, “how many did you kill?’ – which was neither relevant nor remotely material to Mitchell’s leadership aspirations.

If Burr had worked for me he’d be gone now. Three News should sack him forthwith. His “capability” and any perception of credibility are transparently non-existent.
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February 21, 2018 9:40am
- DigNap15
  
  Perhaps that Burr scum, was trying to portray Mark in a bad light.
  
  Bad things happen in war.
  
  If someone invaded NZ Burr would be the first to run.
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:46am
- Swifty
  
  One of the most gross questions one could ever ask of another.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:05am
  - simpleton1
    
    Swifty, Quite right !
    I never would ask that of my Uncle that was in the battle of El Alamein, when he told of how the “tommy gun” was used.
    
    He also explained how time and again, suicidal yet brave German snipers set up on desert dunes, and the difficulties they made, until the problem was solved.
    
    Yet nothing graphic, though I was well aware of his severe battle wounds.
    
    Burr was looking for a rabbit hole to go down with touchy touchy feelings.
    A man just has to do what a man has to do.
    Burr is no man.!
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:15am
- Swifty
  
  I’ve been in the fortunate position of doing a lot of my recent hunting with a currently serving NZ SAS Sargeant.
  
  Since meeting him I’ve made a point of never asking him anything about his work. Ever.
  
  I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why we continue to knock about together.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:16am
  - Right of way is Way of Right
    
    I’ve been in the fortunate position of being a welcome witness to a discussion between 4 ex SAS personnel, all of recent vintage. I asked no questions, but simply sat in awe as these 4 legends talked about the times when they all served together. The overwhelming sense I got from those 4 was a sense of consummate professionalism and honour in service.
    
    I can also say that far from being the bloodthirsty killers that some elements in the media seem intent on portraying them as, (Yes Fairfax, I’m looking at you!) they often acted as a moderating influence on some of the more gung ho special forces who were more of the shoot first deny questions later ilk.
    
    I bet your SAS mate is cut from the same cloth, eh Swifty!
    
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    February 21, 2018 11:07am
    - Swifty
      
      All I can say is he’s very considered, thoughtful, quite reserved in nature and one of the most physically capable NZers I’ve ever met. A less ‘gung ho’ type I am yet to meet.
      
      Very competent with firearms, bush work, vehicles – but he’s not a cook, whereas I am so that works well for both of us.
      
      When in the bush and he wants to get my attention he doesn’t whistle or speak like most others he makes this ‘knock knock’ sound, like two pieces of wood being banged together – you’d swear the sound did not come from a human throat. For obvious reasons I’m sure.
      
      I’ve seen him around others and all he ever says, when asked, it that he’s ‘in the army’ and that his role in the army is ‘training’ and the conversation stops there generally.
      
      One day on a long walk on a Maori block in the King Country he did open up on the use of the Barrett M82, particularly about his use of explosive ammo for stopping lightly armed vehicles – it was clear that it played a significant part in his work.
      
      One night after a few post walk beers – he pulled out his laptop and brought up some hunting pics. Some of them were of him guiding William. I am pretty sure he said it was not during an official visit – he had just sneaked in to NZ for a hunt. Quite cool I thought.
      
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      February 21, 2018 11:33am
      - Swifty
        
        *armoured vehicles
        
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        February 21, 2018 12:39pm
- waikatogirl
  
  Virtue signalling by Burr.
  
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  February 21, 2018 1:18pm
- Paulus
  
  Burr is proving to be one of the worse twisted political interviewers now on the box.
  I cannot stand his smarm.
  Isn’t his new boss one of the new many women political chiefs.
  So he had better smarm harder.
  
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  February 21, 2018 2:08pm
DigNap15

Indians work together.
They employ their own, and they bring their own corrupt practices.
Why do think Indian food is so cheap?
Vinod is out the back working under the table so he can get residence.
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February 21, 2018 9:43am
- Kimbo
  
  Or they are operating as a family business. But if, by implication, you want to criticise people who run a dairy, and open for 14 hours a day, seven days a week because you are prepared to do the same and Kiwi jobs are being “stolen” as a result, go for it…
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:46am
  - DigNap15
    
    I would go for it if they were needed, but
    
    Dairies were once part of NZ’s fabric.
    Then in the 1970’s they just about died out as being irrelevant with Service Stations and Supermarkets open longer hours.
    The only reason the indians run them is to provide a job for their family.
    All they are doing is selling cigarette and other rubbish at high prices to our poorer people!
    
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    February 21, 2018 9:51am
    - Kimbo
      
      And poor people struggle to find the transport to access service stations (which, again because of the excessive hours are often run by Indians, the independent ones. anyway), so they need/want a local dairy in the neighbourhood. And you do know they don’t force people to frequent their stores?
      
      I would go for it if they were needed
      
      Yeah, Nah. I’m calling “bullshit” on that one, sorry, DigNap15. I sure wouldn’t work those hours! But yes, as I said, they do it as a family business – plus they don’t like middleman, nor trust bureaucracy, so they want to be in control of and see the money and deal with people they know they can trust. But they usually make damn sure their kids who work in the business also study and become an accountant, or STEM graduates. Sounds like the sort of people this country can use.
      
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      February 21, 2018 9:59am
      - cmm
        
        I agree 100% Kimbo.
        
        All the Indian families I have talked to here have big plans for their kids and the kids have those big plans too.
        
        The daughter of the delightful family that run the local Indian Take away is doing really well in nursing and is the pride of the family. She’s the first person in their family to do any tertiary education.
        
        They’re taking the opportunity with both hands and are adding value to society. More like them every day!
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:47am
      - Jack5
        
        Kimbo, I reckon you might be getting jabs with a big needle from a nice Indian nurse.
        
        Of course they are marvellous people!
        
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        February 21, 2018 11:20am
      - Kimbo
        
        @ Jack5
        
        He he he. Most of the nurses I encountered in my recent stay were Filipinos. And they were marvelous, fully professional and bloody nice people.
        
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        February 21, 2018 12:15pm
      - Right of way is Way of Right
        
        Concur with the comments regarding Filipino nurses. Most of them are US trained, very competent and VERY compassionate. Had a 5 day stay in a hospital in Manila once, and they couldn’t have been more professional. Expensive though, glad the company paid for that one!
        
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        February 21, 2018 1:01pm
  - GoVege
    
    They’re incredibly hard working (Indian dairy owners).
    The ones I speak to in South Auckland are all working to put their kids through university so they can have great careers.
    If only the average Kiwi person was a fraction as hard-working and devoted to their kids’ welfare as they are.
    Yet every day they risk being robbed and murdered by the dregs of society who contribute nothing and drag up umpteen kids to a life of crime at the taxpayers’ expense.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:54am
    - holysheet
      
      If only the ferals were as hard-working and devoted to their kids’ welfare as these indians.
      
      This is what you meant to say, right?
      
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      February 21, 2018 3:57pm
      - GoVege
        
        ….yeah, holy.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:07pm
- kowtow
  
  ‘International education in New Zealand is designed to bring in as many students as possible, concentrating on revenue rather than high-level qualifications. It offers students a pathway to immigration through part-time work as they study and post-study work visas. And it has targeted India, where millions of people seek to escape a lifetime of poverty and corruption and some are prepared to cut corners for a better life in New Zealand. Not surprisingly, the system appears wide open to abuse. Rotorua-based Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology interim chief executive Neil Barns’ description this week was: “Some of these providers are not involved in quality education. It’s a front to get students through into fairly much indentured labour in New Zealand.”
  
  Indians scamming Indians scamming New Zealand taxpayers who are scammed by our own gummint.
  
  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11762347
  
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  February 21, 2018 9:59am
  - Swifty
    
    My Indian flatties say the great majority of Indian students are here for one purpose only – residency. Plain and simple.
    
    India is brimming with quality educational institutions and which teach in English. Indians don’t need to come here to get a good education……
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:11am
- Inandout
  
  I suspect Indian parents do encourage their children to educate themselves, more so the ones from better occupations. I had a dairy in the 80s when supermarkets were first allowed to be open Saturday mornings. It had a dramatic effect, at least in Takapuna, which admittedly was a well heeled area. I don’t envy the hours Indians work in dairies.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:30am
  - Swifty
    
    Or when they get weapons shoved in their faces – as happened to my local dairy owners recently.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:33am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Now they have to contend with Cycle lanes replacing their car parks.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:45am
DigNap15

Then we see Indian immigration officers gaurding our borders!
That is crazy.
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February 21, 2018 9:47am
- Harkman
  
  Why are foreigners always taxi drivers? You’d think that people who know where everything is would be better for the position.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:03am
  - Kimbo
    
    Because they are more prepared to work the longer and less sociable hours hours at lower cost, and pursue the prospective reward of economic independence/self-employment than more-established locals.
    
    So what you are in effect saying is, you don’t want migrants with a competitive work ethic. And you want to pay higher taxi fares.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:12am
    - Swifty
      
      And low barriers to entry (into the taxi market).
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:31am
    - simpleton1
      
      At a certain point in the past, I knew of a few small towns, that had maoris operating the corner dairy. Not many business opportunities, and little demand for taxi services.
      That was great, that one of them took the risk, and pushed and pulled their extended family to work.
      
      There from an inside perspective of business, they would have learnt not to eat or smoke the profits.
      Everything is accountable, and responsibility and self-discipline to keep the business viable.
      A great example to lead them on to other things in life. Their children have done very well in life now, gaining good education, and moved on.
      
      That opportunity of learning those skills seem to be gone now. Oh well, social welfare is not too far away, as one of those business elders lamented to me.
      Now others do not gain the toe hold of beginning business, education through that in house discipline of working in their own family shop.
      We must not create other problems, solving Asian/world problems.
      
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      February 21, 2018 10:37am
      - Jack5
        
        Supermarkets, mini-markets and online grocery services and the decline of smoking have made most dairies obsolescent.
        
        They are largely a pathway into the country through business-entry immigration classifications.
        
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        February 21, 2018 11:06am
    - Jack5
      
      Morning, Kimbo.
      
      Yes, immigrants tend to be prepared to work for less, and that’s rational. Tt’s a foot in the door of the country as well as a living.
      
      As Uber and its competitors put the squeeze on taxis wages will likely drop further and hours increase so taxi driving will increasingly become the preserve of (now mostly Asian) immigrants.
      
      Taxi driving, like possum hunting and few other occupations, used to be like a pool of reserve jobs. In hard times, many white collar folk aged 40 or so up who lost jobs would move into driving taxis. Many agriculture and meat workers in a down turn would go after possum skins in a similar way. Or in earlier years they might go rabbiting (for the bounty), or deer hunting, or, in the South Island, gold panning in the rivers and on the black beaches.
      
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      February 21, 2018 11:04am
    - Harkman
      
      I’m not being anti immigration Kimbo, I’m just pointing out the irony, that the people who don’t know their way around are getting jobs as guides and I’ve seen some classic lost taxi drivers lately.
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:57pm
      - Kimbo
        
        Fair call.
        
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        February 21, 2018 1:25pm
  - Gabby
    
    Because it’s a shitty job hackman.
    
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    February 21, 2018 10:53am
Captain Mainwaring

So SH1 has been seriously affected by sea swells north of Pukerua Bay and caused chaos for commuters.
Your thoughts on the viability of the overdue Transmission Gully route again please Marquess.
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February 21, 2018 10:04am
- mandk
  
  Marquess would prefer to have a Wellington LRT with an optimistic BCR of 0.05.
  
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  February 21, 2018 10:18am
Fletch

Looks like NOAA is changing temperatures again by as much as 3 degrees to make their graphs like up with the warming narrative.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/20/delingpole-noaa-caught-adjusting-big-freeze-out-of-existence/
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February 21, 2018 10:35am
Hugh Pavletich

WERE WOMEN LIBERATED TO BECOME MORTGAGE SLAVES … REALLY ?

Posted at … https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/02/happy-donut-day-sydney/#comment-3053167 … and … https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/02/macro-afternoon-366/#comment-3053192 … check excellent comments on MB threads …

A new wave of female employment is coming to the rescue of the Aussie economy … Domain Australia

https://www.domain.com.au/money-markets/a-new-wave-of-female-employment-is-coming-to-the-rescue-of-the-aussie-economy-20180213-h0w0fa/

Women in the Australian workforce are coming to the rescue of the economy, with official data showing a huge rise in employment numbers was significantly boosted by middle-aged women.

Housing affordability issues could be a key trigger behind the jump in the number of women in full-time employment, according to a senior Commonwealth Bank economist Kristina Clifton, who notes a clear relationship between housing affordability and jobs figures.

The Australian labour market soared in 2017, with 403,100 jobs created – almost four times as many as the previous year and the most on record – and the participation rate for women entering the workforce jumped 1.3 percentage points to a record high 60.6 per cent, compared with just 0.5 percentage points for men. … read more via hyperlink above …
.
.
Dear Editor: ‘The bottom line is that many women are stressed and overworked’ – Independent.ie

https://www.independent.ie/life/dear-editor-the-bottom-line-is-that-many-women-are-stressed-and-overworked-36503784.html

Dear Editor: ‘The bottom line is that many women are stressed and overworked’

A mother-of-two penned a letter to Independent.ie this week to express how she would readily give up her professional job to rear and bring up her kids, but she feels trapped by the cost of her mortgage repayments. The mum, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she feels that being a mother is, for her, the most important job in the world, but she feels that life in Ireland is such that both parents must work outside the home in order to make ends meet. Read her letter here: … read more via hyperlink above …
.
.
Mrs Doonan with her husband and two children seemed to live OK in Sydney 1966 … when housing was affordable …

SYDNEY AUSTRALIA 1966 – YOUTUBE VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR1CU8NjGW0
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February 21, 2018 10:45am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  I managed to score the second downtick of many.
  
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  February 21, 2018 11:02am
  - Hugh Pavletich
    
    Captain Mainwaring … in case you missed this Monday one …
    
    NAB (National Australia Bank) tightens loan-to-income limits – MacroBusiness Australia
    
    https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/02/nab-tightens-loan-income-limits/
    
    … Pavletich comment on thread …
    
    LEARNING FROM THE IRISH 2007 HOUSING CRASH … THE SEVERE COSTS OF MULTIPLE STRETCH …
    
    It’s high multiple lending that ‘does in’ the Banks and their customers … as they learned with the Irish housing bubble collapse in 2007.
    
    When the housing bubble burst there … putting all its Banks to the wall and requiring bailouts exceeding 70 billion euro or about $NZ 109 billion (note interview with Prof Bill Black and others link below).
    
    Irish housing across its metros on average went from 4.7 times annual household income in 2007 to 2.8 a few years later … refer the schedule of Demographia Surveys at http://www.PerformanceUrbanPlanning.org .
    
    Australia is currently 5.9 times … New Zealand 5.8.
    
    What was the capital base of the Irish Banks in 2006 and 2007 ?
    
    If a 4.7 unweighted median multiple across its metros blew the Irish banks out of the water, how come the Australian and New Zealand ones are supposed to survive 5.9 and 5.8 respectively ?
    
    Following the bust, the Central Bank of Ireland found in subsequent research, it was high income multiple lending (more so than high loan to value lending) that did the most damage to the Irish Banks … and it imposed a general lending cap of 3.5 times gross annual household incomes.
    
    A year earlier the Bank of England had capped at 4.5 times.
    
    In normal housing markets house prices should not exceed 3.0 times annual household income, requiring sensible mortgage loads of about 2.5 times (Demographia Survey http://www.demographia.com ).
    
    Prof Bill Black & others discussing the Irish financial system performance may be of interest … Youtube
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7zd5dRILBw
    
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    February 21, 2018 11:14am
    - Harkman
      
      Then why did your beloved Labour lower the 20% deposit rule after coming in? Seems not very prudent.
      
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      February 21, 2018 1:02pm
  - Gabby
    
    You’d move faster if you changed your crusty gruts occasionally cap’n.
    
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    February 21, 2018 5:50pm
- mandk
  
  Hugh, you make it difficult to get your point across by posting too often and including too many links.
  
  However, you do raise an interesting point on this occasion.
  
  Many women have become wage slaves in the pursuit of the bigger house, the second car, the overseas holidays. What starts as choice ends up as no choice.
  
  But, then, most men were always in that position.
  
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  February 21, 2018 11:47am
  - Hugh Pavletich
    
    mandk … Lending multiples are way way out of hand.
    
    Do watch that Life In Sydney video above.
    
    It was normal then for the bloke to be the sole income earner .
    
    There were enormous social pressures on men then to be the financial providers of the family … to the extent they were considered ‘losers’ if their wives were forced out to paid employment !
    
    It must be hell for young guys today living with exhausted wives. The Opinion / Letter in the Irish Independent noted above is very helpful indeed.
    
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    February 21, 2018 12:03pm
    - Hugh Pavletich
      
      With Millennials shafted the world over, it’s time for a global revolt – Leith van Onselen – MacroBusiness Australia
      
      https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/02/millennials-shafted-world-time-global-revolt/
      
      By Leith van Onselen
      
      This site has frequently railed against the unfair treatment leveled at Australia’s Millennial generation.
      
      This inequity is most apparent in the housing market, where today’s younger generations are being forced to pay far more than their parents to live in smaller and poorly located accommodation. But it extends beyond housing and includes a whole bunch of things like: … read more via hyperlink above …
      
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      February 21, 2018 12:48pm
      - Hugh Pavletich
        
        Across The Developed World, Millennials See Boom Times Turn To Bust | Zero Hedge
        
        https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-19/across-developed-world-millennials-see-boom-times-turn-bust
        
        As the resurgence of anti-establishment, populist parties across the developed west would appear to suggest, young people in the world’s wealthiest countries are coping with levels of doubt and pessimism unlike anything witnessed in modern history. And a recent study published by the think tank Resolution Foundation incorporating data from eight developed countries – but focusing on the UK – found that the millennial generation will almost certainly be worse off than the generation that preceded them.
        
        The rates of growth in home ownership, incomes, life expectancy, the broader economy and a host of other factors is slowing rapidly in developed countries, contributing to an air of pervasive pessimism, which the study also captured.
        
        As Bloomberg points out, in the UK, Generation X was 54% better off than the baby boom generation, which consists of people born between 1946 and 1965. Millennials (people born between 1980 and 2000), meanwhile, had incomes just 6% higher than those of Generation X at the same age. … read more via hyperlink above …
        .
        .
        With Millennials shafted the world over, it’s time for a global revolt – MacroBusiness
        
        https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/02/millennials-shafted-world-time-global-revolt/
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:27pm
      - Hugh Pavletich
        
        Posted at … https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/02/links-22-february-2018/#comment-3054117
        
        UNITED STATES: Existing Home Sales Extend Plunge, Biggest Annual Drop Since 2014 | Zero Hedge
        
        https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-21/existing-home-sales-extend-plunge-december-nar-blames-inventory-not-rates
        
        After new- and existing-home sales tumbled in December, expectations were for a modest 0.5% rebound in January (despite plunging mortgage applications and soaring rates). But that did not happen as existing home sales tumbled 3.2% MoM to its lowest level since Aug 2016. … read more via hyperlink above …
        
        Mortgage Applications Plunge Most Since 2015 As Rates Soar | Zero Hedge
        
        https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-21/mortgage-applications-plunge-most-2015-rates-soar
        
        A week ago we highlighted the tumble in US mortgage applications, and things just got worser-er. As mortgage rates extend 4-year highs, home purchase applications plunged 15% in the last few weeks – the biggest drop since Feb 2015. … read more via hyperlink above …
        
        Mortgage applications tank, as rising rates make homes less affordable … CNBC
        
        https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/mortgage-applications-tank-as-rising-rates-make-homes-less-affordable.html
        
        •The numbers are getting uglier for potential homebuyers and homeowners looking to save some money.
        
        •Mortgage interest rates jumped again last week, causing mortgage application volume to fall 6.6 percent from the previous week.
        
        •Volume was just 3.5 percent higher than the same week one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. … VIEW & READ more via hyperlink above …
        
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        February 22, 2018 5:01am
DifferentPerspective

FL school shooting looks a bit false-flaggy

So the lovely, clean cut kid who’s been getting wall-to-wall coverage on the fake news network (CNN for SB) turns out to not be so ‘clean-cut’. He’s a meth-head with previous arrest for possession! And we all know that you can’t believe a thing a meth-head says.

When you roll that together with the careful coaching by CNN of those activist kids being interviewed – when you watch this kid stumbling over his lines, he seems so much more like the addled meth-head he really is. Oh yes and his daddy is ex-FBI (cos they’re so trustworthy they don’t even try to prevent school shootings any more).

All this careful staging, the FBI doing nothing despite all the complaints to them, the crisis actors – but of course, it’s purely coincidental that it’s taken some of the attention off Obama being caught spying a la Watergate on Trump.

The MSM are lying to us all day, every day.
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February 21, 2018 11:21am
- stephieboy
  
  DP, I guess they’ve found the assailants look alike on fb , instagram etc to connect the dots ?
  
  Conspiracy Weary
  
  A bizarre theory claiming that singer Avril Lavigne was replaced by a doppelgänger after she killed herself was started as a joke on a Brazilian web site.
  
  Singer Avril Lavigne died and was replaced by a doppelgänger.
  
  X FALSE
  
  https://www.snopes.com/avril-lavigne-dead-conspiracy-theory/
  
  I take it you believe Elvis is still alive ?
  
  LOL
  
  1 19
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  February 21, 2018 11:53am
  - DifferentPerspective
    
    I tell you what’s hard to believe… and that’s a sitting President subborning organs of state security to spy on a presidential candidate in an attempt to influence the outcome of an election to install the corrupt bought and paid for enabling wife of a serial rapist. And the MSM refuse to cover anything other than the weird painting of the ex-President and his butch wife.
    
    That’s what unbelievable looks like.
    
    However, if that’s all true, then I can believe anything of the deeply dishonest swamp dwellers in the FBI who are attempting a coup against a democratically elected President.
    
    Killing a few kids and lining up a few meth-heads with lots of facial make-up to cover up the meth acne to spout anti-Trump bullshit is highly possible.
    
    But I forget myself, you probably are saving up your pennies to go see Crooked Hillary when she comes down under because you believe – it’s OK when the left do it!
    
    6 6
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    February 21, 2018 3:13pm
    - MCos
      
      Right wing nutters attack kids whose mates have just been gunned down by right wing nutter.
      
      Who’d have thought?
      
      Don’t forget the absurd story that two of the other kids to speak out were actors.
      I’m sure that’s just the start.
      
      Parents of those killed at Sandy Hook have been accused of fabricating the whole story.
      
      People whose kids get killed in a school shooting or whose mates get killed in a school shooting find out very quickly, if they didn’t know already, that they need to have a fucking thick skin if they start looking for answers.
      
      4 4
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      February 21, 2018 4:47pm
      - DifferentPerspective
        
        Well so long as you ignore the facts then you make perfect sense.
        
        1 1
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        February 21, 2018 10:18pm
    - Gabby
      
      Course you’d gve anyone claiming to be running for president immunity wouldn’t you Dippy.
      
      3 5
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      February 21, 2018 5:53pm
  - softail 1450
    
    septicboy, with the shit you continually post its hard to believe that you are still alive.
    
    0 1
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    February 22, 2018 6:26am
Jack5

The man in Christchurch accused of murdering a prostitute then burning her body is trying self-diagnosed mental illness as a defence.

He’ll be holding the race-prejudice defence in reserve.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350819/murder-accused-gives-gruelling-account-of-killing
18 1
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February 21, 2018 11:25am
- GoVege
  
  Insane Moron….another butcher of animals who moves on to our own species.
  Even compares his victim to the animals he kills on his job.
  Suppose it helps if you get in a bit of practice first..
  
  6 4
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  February 21, 2018 11:39am
Jack5

Imported corruption.

NZ driving licence scam. Hundreds to lose licences.

Allegation that you can buy a heavy driving licence for $3000.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350883/revealed-hundreds-of-drivers-lose-licences-after-bribery-scandal
12 1
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February 21, 2018 11:31am
- kowtow
  
  We are instructed that there are not one but two “c” words that we’re not allowed to use.
  
  Cunt and corruption.
  
  This scandal will quietly be put t bed. Why are no chrges reported to be pending?
  Aren’t the police and/or immigration authorities involved.
  So many questions….. but it will quietly disappear , meanwhile our agenda driven left wing media will continue to scream , Look at the Trump squirrel , Look at the Guns in the US.
  
  But a massive danger has been let loose on New Zealand roads and the gummint’s immigration policy of flooding this country with Indians and Chinese is complicit.
  
  7 1
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  February 21, 2018 1:29pm
- DigNap15
  
  And have the staff been sacked and charged?
  
  1 1
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  February 21, 2018 6:42pm
dime

let me get this straight.

prime minister feelz gets overpaid thousands of dollars but only gives it back when busted?

how much money does she need? half a rock a year not cutting it?

Dime would love to know how much she donates to charity every year. for someone who feelz more than anyone on the planet, i bet shes as lousy as fuck
13 2
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February 21, 2018 11:37am
- stephieboy
  
  dime , as I understand the accommodation overpayment was a mistake by Internal affairs . Not an attempt by Jacinda and Winston to conceal that fact to their advantage ,
  
  2 23
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  February 21, 2018 11:50am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    every day you clearly demonstrate that you know sweet FA about anything.
    
    12 3
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    February 21, 2018 12:09pm
  - Inandout
    
    Of course stephie, just like Clinton knew nothing about any uranium deal.
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVG1q49yPaY
    
    I know nothing.
    
    16 2
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    February 21, 2018 12:25pm
  - holysheet
    
    Yeah Na, It’s different when you lefties do it!
    
    9 2
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    February 21, 2018 1:11pm
    - fernglas
      
      I’m not a fan of either Peters or Ardern, but given both of their recent histories, do you really think they would have gleefully trousered what they knew to be an overpayment?
      
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      February 21, 2018 2:35pm
oldgolfer

Stuff to close or sell 28 community and rural mastheads.
No one should be surprised.
12 1
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February 21, 2018 11:41am
- Surely Knott
  
  Bryce Edward’s article about political lobbying, yesterday, was interesting and had wide coverage. While it touched on the Nats, the big story was about Jacinda, who hired a big-gun lobbyist as her Chief of Staff for the last 4 months. But the picture, next to the headline on lobbyists showed a pic of the Nats. You would have to read 3/4 of the story to find it was Jacinda who was donkey deep in it. The story also ran on newshub which showed a picture of the beehive. Where is the fair press. Jacinda is caught in bed with the lobbyists and her picture isn’t on the article. So she will continue to maintain her pure image except for the people who read the full article, which won’t be her voters. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11998380
  
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  February 21, 2018 11:49am
  - holysheet
    
    Liabore voters weren’t the problem last time. It was all those dumb arse ones who voted for winston first to teach the nats a lesson. There are a few here on KB, who hopefully are regretting their stupidity.
    
    18 2
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    February 21, 2018 12:05pm
  - kowtow
    
    Very good article, very disturbing. Of course we have our own swamp here and are ruled by a political /elite class out of touch with the lives of ordinary New zealanders .
    Image is everything though and both Key and Jax had masterful spin doctors.
    
    6 1
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    February 21, 2018 1:42pm
- DigNap15
  
  Sounds like a good buy (not)
  
  Its a shame, but a sign of the times.
  
  The things is that we do need journalists to find and report the news, otherwise we will have nothing to cut and paste.
  
  6 1
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  February 21, 2018 12:35pm
  - dime
    
    cool name. do you still dig men, sexually? HAHAHA
    
    4 3
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    February 21, 2018 12:49pm
    - Gabby
      
      dim’s gettin jelly. dim wants a cool name too.
      
      2 5
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      February 21, 2018 5:59pm
lifesgood

If Judith Collins doesn’t get leader she should start her own party which would then be a useful coalition partner for National. I am sure she would have plenty of supporters.
9 4
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February 21, 2018 11:51am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  Totally agree. She could even ask Seymour if he’d like to join her.
  
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  February 21, 2018 1:58pm
rangitoto

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11998698

Keep your wallets tightly closed if you are a net tax or Auckland rates payer
6 1
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February 21, 2018 12:40pm
- skyblue
  
  I agree. To me this is a larger story than it will be given credit for. After last weeks Fletcher’s debarcle it is well know construction costs are going up more than what companies tender for. But I am guessing that the RAPEPAYER will carry the burden.
  
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  February 21, 2018 2:40pm
  - thedavincimode
    
    But I am guessing that the RAPEPAYER will carry the burden.
    
    No wurries – goofy’s got your back with cost savings elsewhere. Trimming out business class air travel from the $0.5m annual cost. No word yet on trimming out on the $5.0m goofy personal PR department cost though. I expect he’s still working through that and having a few conversations.
    
    3 1
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    February 21, 2018 4:32pm
Keeping Stock

Chris Hipkins has announced the intention to undertake the “biggest educational reform New Zealand has seen in almost three decades::

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/101599735/government-to-announce-education-reforms-on-a-scale-not-seen-since-1989

I’m sure this has nothing at all to do with Hipkins being caught out by Nikki Kaye at Question Time yesterday. Despite the government having been told by the Ministry of Education to stay away from negotiations over Charter Schools, which the MoE is undertaking, Kaye got Hipkins to admit he had a clandestine meeting with the operators of two Northland schools while he was at Waitangi. Kaye already has a complaint to the Auditor-General alleging a perceived conflict of interest by Kelvin Davis.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there’s a media conference to announce plans for a massive overhaul of education, via a review group. There’s no policy yet, just a review, and lots of good intentions.

You have to hand it to Labour; they are good at diversions. In the meantime, Hipkins is fast becoming Jacinda Ardern’s biggest liability.

Footnote: Here’s the exchange between Nikki Kaye and Chris Hipkins yesterday:

4. Hon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Education: What specific advice, if any, has he received from officials that advises him to not visit partnership schools?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): I discussed the issues with Ministry of Education officials last year when we were planning the process of ending charter schools and removing it from legislation whilst transitioning those individual schools. We agreed that the contract negotiations would be handled by the Ministry of Education, and I made the decision not to visit charter schools while that process was taking place. I’ve been largely successful in doing that, with one exception. I’m not, however, ruling out visiting them in the future.

Hon Nikki Kaye: Has the Hon Kelvin Davis, Willie Jackson, or Peeni Henare been involved in any partnership schools discussions with him?

Mr SPEAKER: Order! There’s a requirement for a question to flow from the primary question. The primary question was very specific and that was advice to him—to the Minister on him visiting partnership schools. That doesn’t involve any other Minister. I will let the member have another crack at getting it within order.

Hon Nikki Kaye: In light of his answer regarding visits with partnership schools, can he confirm that he did have a meeting with a partnership school at Waitangi, and who organised that meeting?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes, I did and I’ve been very open about the fact that I had a discussion with sponsors from He Puna Mārama Trust, who run two partnership schools. I had that discussion whilst at Waitangi. I was asked by them whether I would meet with them. I thought in the circumstances, given it was a large public event at which they were going to be present, it would’ve been awkward not to have a discussion with them.

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20180220_20180220_04
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February 21, 2018 1:16pm
- Gabby
  
  Well that’s shocking. Ponyboy would have come up with a smartarse remark that failed to be funny or answer the question, and Tim Macindope would have howled with simulated laughter. What a falling off in standards there has been.
  
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  February 21, 2018 6:03pm
- sooty
  
  Dumb teachers equal dumb kids! Reading, writing, arithmatic, is essential.
  When l went to school, from 1955 there were some slow kids. But l can not remember any that could not read and write. The more time spent wasting time with touchy feely shit like maori, mean they are not learning the essential things!
  
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  February 21, 2018 6:25pm
Rich Prick

Dotgone? Please, please let it be so.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11998870
The department has not even told its new minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, the inquiry is complete although legal experts say it almost certainly would recommend Dotcom be deported.
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February 21, 2018 2:20pm
UpandComer

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/02/16/investigation-usa-swimming-ignored-sexual-abuse-for-decades/

Pizzagate isn’t real guy. But US gymnastics and US swimming have 100s of child abusers. Good to see CNN and all the media all over it like they were on the allegations about the Catholic Church. Wow. 100s, all known about for decades, and no one did anything.

So let’s see just in the last few days that’s ‘currently’ the entirety of the UN, India, all the aid groups and NGOs in Haiti, and now US Olympic gymnastics and US Olympics swimming in their entirety.

Wow. Find a liberal institution please that isn’t completely fouled by this.

At least Marriot Hotels are trying to take action https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/02/19/our-hotels-fighting-human-trafficking-but-we-cant-do-alone-arne-sorenson/336959002/

What a shame that euthanasia organ trafficking is happening right alongside all of this.
6 4
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February 21, 2018 2:31pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I watched Al JaZeera’s investigation into the Barry Bennell/Manchester City Football child sex-abuse case last night.
  
  Frightening stuff how adults close ranks around abusers in their midst.
  http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/child-sex-abuse-victims-scared-silence-180208070846608.html
  
  http://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/
  
  8 1
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  February 21, 2018 3:37pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    You know it all probably starts with a bit of perving at the Mall…
    
    9 3
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    February 21, 2018 5:00pm
    - GoVege
      
      Always the mall…the mall…the goddam MALLLLL!!!!! 🙂
      
      1 1
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      February 21, 2018 7:13pm
SPC

Trump has responded to three shootings.

Trump says he will end bump stocks, Congress has done nothing yet since the Las Vegas shooting.

This in addition to improving background checks (the church shooter had an unreported assault on his wife).

And would accept a move to increase the age for assault rifles (18 at the moment, the recent school shooter is 19).

But will anything get through Congress?
4 2
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February 21, 2018 2:45pm
- All_on_Red
  
  They are also talking about giving State Judges the right to seize guns if someone’s behaviour warranted it and the Police were concerned.
  There’s no doubt some of the States need to tighten up on how they check buyers suitablity. I think Florida is one of the worst.
  Btw, a semi auto rifle is not an Assault Rifle.
  By definition of its purpose an Assault Rifle has to be an Automatic- hard to suppress fire if it isn’t.
  Lots of Federal scrutiny if you want an automatic.
  In case you are confused. AR stands for Armalite, not Assault Rifle…
  
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  February 21, 2018 2:55pm
  - mikenmild
    
    Is it correct the industry has moved away from the term ‘assault rifle’ to ‘modern sporting rifle’?
    
    5 5
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    February 21, 2018 2:59pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      No
      Assault Rifles have always been auto. Right back to the original AK47 and Thompson machine gun
      They were designed to suppress enemy fire when charging a position and then clear the trench.
      
      7 3
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      February 21, 2018 3:26pm
      - Swifty
        
        Not quite right AoR.
        
        The Tommy has always been referred to as a sub-machine gun owing to its use of pistol caliber ammunition.
        
        The AK, you are right, has always been classed as an assault rifle owing to its use of rifle caliber ammo.
        
        4 1
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        February 21, 2018 4:02pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Fair enough Swifty, although the Thompson was designed for assaulting enemy positions and especially clearing trenches.
        Of course the War ended before they could really sell a lot of them and the company struggled after that.
        Until gangsters noticed how effective they were.
        
        7 1
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        February 21, 2018 4:11pm
      - Swifty
        
        AoR – yep, that’s my understanding of their history too.
        
        1 1
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        February 21, 2018 7:07pm
  - SPC
    
    Not so much.
    
    The bump stocks are applied to semi-automatics. First measure.
    
    The third measure refers to
    
    “On Tuesday, the White House signalled it was open to an age limit for people buying AR-15-type assault rifles, like the one used in last week’s deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. The age limit in most US states for buying an AR-15 is 18.”
    
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43135584
    
    3 4
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    February 21, 2018 3:08pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Uhuh, so the BBC is also display their ignorance and are wrong calling an AR15 an Assault Rifle. The phrase “AR-15 type assault rifle” was not said by Sanders at the Whitehouse.
      Rather disengenuous of you to imply it was.
      Bump stocks were being put on AR15’s because they are semi auto.
      Here, pop down to Gun City and buy an AR15 here if you like.
      https://www.trademe.co.nz/sports/hunting-shooting/rifles/centrefire/auction-1547990710.htm?rsqid=cbd67969bae446ed93b98740c5ab98a3
      Only need the basic A cat license.
      
      5 2
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      February 21, 2018 3:33pm
      - stephieboy
        
        All on Red , Assault or not you’re quibbling about definitions ,
        
        “…Gun advocates maintain that semiautomatic weapons such as the AR-15 should not be classified “assault weapons” because they are not fully automatic and because the guns have recreational uses, such as hunting and target shooting.
        
        Yet gun-control advocates say that distinction is arbitrary and that the weapons are just as dangerous because they are designed to kill a large number of people quickly. They often point out that the AR-15 has a high muzzle velocity, which, combined with the small .223 round, produces a violent ricochet through an animal body if it hits bone.
        
        Bolt-action rifles with cartridges loaded in 30.06, a common deer-hunting caliber, fire a round that travels slower with more blunt force, though the muzzle velocity varies for lighter and heavier rounds.
        
        In 1994, an assault-weapons ban signed by President Bill Clinton outlawed the AR-15. But the law had a lot of loopholes, and gun manufacturers circumvented it by modifying the weapons. The ban expired in 2004, and sales of the gun increased during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. The National Rifle Association labeled it “America’s most popular rifle.”
        
        https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2018/02/15/4-basic-questions-about-the-ar-15/?utm_term=.9231b556e223
        
        That it is described as a” sporting rifle ” is a joke !
        
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        February 21, 2018 3:46pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        No Ralph, I’m not quibbling. I’m sure that to be called an Assault Rifle, it has to be automatic.
        Bit hard to keep the enemies heads down when you’re running ( as in ASSAULTING their defences) at them if you can only fire single shots.
        You see where the name comes from now?
        Given how Swifty handed your arse to you yesterday I’m surprised you stick your head up to talk about guns.
        But hey #stalker
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:15pm
      - stephieboy
        
        All on Red Herring .con ,
        
        This clinches it for me . End of story ,
        
        “Yet gun-control advocates say that distinction is arbitrary and that the weapons are just as dangerous because they are designed to kill a large number of people quickly. They often point out that the AR-15 has a high muzzle velocity, which, combined with the small .223 round, produces a violent ricochet through an animal body if it hits bone.’
        
        Now continue the red herrings ( your speciality ) if you wish and the myth you can casually walk into a NZ gun store and buy a AR 15 , no questions asked . No police gun licence , no endorsements etc .
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:22pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        We’ll have to say that when an AR is used like this
        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eSsRbKzxk-8
        It’s hardly sporting!
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:23pm
      - stephieboy
        
        Al on Red Herring.con,
        
        This definition I feel comfortable with . Common sense suggests also ,
        
        “Age limit for buying AR-15 assault rifle ‘on the table’: White House”
        
        https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns-white-house/age-limit-for-buying-ar-15-assault-rifle-on-the-table-white-house-idUSKCN1G42SR
        
        Red herrings and quibbles or not .
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:25pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Stephie/Ralph
        You can’t help telling lies can you.
        Note I said A cat.
        Not ‘ , no questions asked . No police gun licence , no endorsements’
        And the A cat is the basic license. No endorsement needed.
        You didn’t learn anything from Swifty did you.
        Everyday, you show yourself to be dumb.
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:38pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Stephie,
        Reuters used the term Assault type rifle not the Whitehouse.
        Which proves my point how ignorant the MSM is.
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:42pm
stephieboy

More insanity in light of the Florida school shooting ,

“Missouri children sell tickets to win an AR-15 assault-style rifle in wake of Florida shooting”

Another item could have chosen for the raffle but the coach says he kept it after ‘getting all the hate’

Children in Missouri are selling raffle tickets for an assault rifle despite 17 people being killed by the weapon in the Parkland, Florida school shooting just last week.

The Neosho, Missouri youth are going to use the profits to support their baseball team.
Levi Patterson, who coaches the seven- to nine-year-old kids, told the Kansas City Star the fundraiser was planned before Nikolas Cruz allegedly used an AR-15 assault rifle to gun down 14 students and three adults at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on 14 February.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/florida-shooting-ar-15-missouri-baseball-team-raffle-gun-control-a8218351.html
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February 21, 2018 3:53pm
- EAD_TWO
  
  I upticked you as I think this raffle is a great idea.
  
  It shows people aren’t losing their minds as the MSM goes into overdrive with all sorts if mis-information, wrong conclusions and frankly narrative enhancing lies.
  
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  February 21, 2018 4:14pm
  - stephieboy
    
    EAD TWO , where is the misinformation in that link other than you think the raffle is great idea ?
    
    1 14
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    February 21, 2018 4:17pm
    - EAD_TWO
      
      DifferentPerspective posted a great takedown above.
      
      The biggest 2 pieces of misinformation that were circulated by the MSM were:
      
      ➡️ that the Latino Nikolas Jesus Cruz was “White” – some MSM outlets went as low as to Anglocise his name to Nicholas Cruise.
      
      ➡️The other was the now debunked ADL claims that Cruz trained with a “White Supremicist” Group. Of course however, the retraction was released after the lie had been splashed around the world by the corrupt MSM.
      
      PS: Can you send me a link to the raffle as I’d like to buy a ticket so I can have a chance to add to my two hunting rifles & shotgun.
      
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      February 21, 2018 4:22pm
      - stephieboy
        
        EAD TWO , rather like Presidential candidate Ted Cruz ? ( like Ted likely of Cuban origin ).
        
        Or Cubans racially inferior ( non Ayran ) ?
        
        You’re not confident about your gun sighting and aim ?. Hence the need for more to add to your arsenal to shoot Deer and Thar etc
        
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        February 21, 2018 4:45pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        ( like Ted likely of Cuban origin ).
        
        Just as likely to be of Spanish origin …. like Penelope Cruz
        https://www.biography.com/people/penelope-cruz-9262753
        
        or Phillipine origin…. like Pru Cruz
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudenciana_Cruz
        
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        February 21, 2018 6:01pm
      - Swifty
        
        In the NZ hunting situation i.e. the game we have here and the widely varying terrain we enjoy it is easily argued that a hunter has AT LEAST 3 centrefire rifles alone, let alone rimfire or shotguns.
        
        For years I’ve run:
        
        A Winchester lever action in 30.30 when I’m on the pigs. A Sako .223 for pure ease of shooting on anything up to medium sized game and a larger calibre for the big stuff and when you’re shooting over longer ranges. Right now I’m using a Tikka in 7mm-08.
        
        Up until recently I’ve used a Sako .243 for over 20 years as well as I just love the caliber.
        
        Good on you EAD.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:29pm
- rangitoto
  
  How many tickets did you buy?
  
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  February 21, 2018 4:16pm
- Rich Prick
  
  Good on that man, after all, people kept buying Renaults after the Paris truck attack killing 84. Have an up-tick from me.
  
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  February 21, 2018 4:20pm
virtualmark

All you Trumpanzees need to read this http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/374777-dem-wins-ky-state-house-seat-in-district-trump-won-by-49-points

The Kentucky district is the 18th formerly Republican-held district to fall into Democratic hands in a special election since Trump won election

This is the thinking Republican’s fear … that Trump will destroy the GOP for a generation. Your Orange God King is leading the Republican Party over a cliff. But hey, he makes the left angry so that must make it okay right?
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February 21, 2018 4:25pm
- All_on_Red
  
  Yeah the Dems have had a good run in the Districts.
  The Polling on the Mid Terms seems to have swung the GOPs way though after trailing by 10 points.
  The Polling has always been too generous the the Dems traditionally too.
  We will see.
  ‘The Politico–Morning Consult poll finds that 39 percent of likely voters would support a generic Republican candidate in November, while 38 percent would support a Democrat. Nearly a quarter of Americans, 23 percent, are undecided.
  http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/373761-poll-gop-erases-dem-advantage-on-generic-ballot-ahead-of-midterms
  
  I think you’re a bit harsh on saying Trump will destroy the GOP.
  His approval amongst them is over 90% and he is doing better with Independants.
  In contrast Nancy(crumbs) Pelosi is now the lowest rating Politician.
  
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  February 21, 2018 4:54pm
  - virtualmark
    
    90% of Nero’s mates approved him burning Rome down too. But the day after the fire they’d still lost their houses …
    
    Trump better hope you’re right because if the Dems take Congress in November their first order of business will be his impeachment.
    
    Note: What worries me is not so much that the Republicans are losing special elections … just as with by-elections here the ruling party typically does poorly in specials. What does worry me though is the (abnormally large) size of the vote swing.
    
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    February 21, 2018 4:58pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Impeach him for what?
      I think after the Senate GOP failed to repeal Obamacare that there was widespread frustration with them.
      I reckon the Tax Cuts have turned it around. That combined with the booming job market.
      I doubt the GOP will lose Congress. The math on the seats up for reelection works for them. Not enough swings possible.
      The Senate might be closer. The GOP might lose one or two but they possibly might win one or two as well.
      We’ll see if the old adage ‘it’s the economy stupid’ applies.
      
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      February 21, 2018 6:27pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Impeach him for what?
        
        Any impartial following of the Mueller investigation would have to very strongly suggest Mueller has Trump dead cold for obstruction of justice.
        
        Nixon: Impeached for obstruction of justice.
        Clinton: Article of impeachment for obstruction of justice.
        
        From what’s been published – and Mueller has way more information than what’s been published – then the case for Trump obstructing justice is stronger than with Nixon or Clinton.
        
        While the Republicans hold the Congress Trump is safe. If the Democrats hold the Congress then you have to expect they would quickly progress the Mueller work to an impeachment proceeding.
        
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        February 21, 2018 6:47pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Sigh
        There’s plenty of legal opinion saying he hasn’t done any obstruction. It’s a nonsense allegation.
        Nixon destroyed evidence, Clinton coerced witnesses.
        The current charges by Mueller are a nothing burger. Charging 13 Russians for spending $56,000 in States Clinton and Trump spent $81 million!
        And they spent most of it after the Election. Funny that Moore went to one of the protests they organised.
        Lol
        Its not a great result for Mueller
        Looks like Flynn is going to have his charges dismissed too. That Brady order by his Judge is going to cause a problem for the FBI and accordingly Mueller. 302’s altered. Tsk tsk.
        Manafort might have a problem though.
        The investigations to watch are Nunes, Sessions on the FBI and the DOJ inspector Generals.
        The IGs report due soon.
        Iirc about ten have now resigned from the FBI and DOJ- all implicated.
        Ex CIA Director Brennan is in the shit now. Perjury.
        Nunes is the one working up the chain. Rice and Powers could be in trouble too. Who’s left above them?
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:03pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/12/04/dershowitz_no_case_for_obstruction_of_justice_against_trump_would_be_constitutional_crisis.html
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:12pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Okay. How much are we wagering on Mueller returning a recommendation that Congress prepare articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice? Along with suitable documentary proof that supports his recommendation.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:19pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Dershowitz’ opinion has been widely discredited. If his opinion were true then why did Nixon stand down?
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:22pm
      - virtualmark
        
        All_on_Red,
        
        Two interesting reads for you.
        
        First, a view on where Alan Dershowitz is wrong in his “the President cannot obstruct justice” opinion …
        https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/872640417325621248
        Note that as the author says he studied under Dershowitz, who gave him an A+ in criminal law.
        
        Second, a good overview of what legally constitutes obstruction of justice in US law … https://twitter.com/sethabramson/status/956907272143327233?lang=en
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:31pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Thanks VM
        I read your links.
        The thing is Trump can fire Comey- and Comeys now exposed behaviour shows he deserved to be fired.
        Whilst Abramson gives some good definitions he fails to provide any actual evidence of Trump obstructing any investigation.
        Where’s the money shot.
        Trump, notably, has let things run.
        There is no there, there. Besides if it was as Abramson says, then Trump would have been charged by Mueller now.
        But he hasn’t.
        As for Dershowitz. He’s impartial. He voted for Hillary.
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:40pm
      - virtualmark
        
        What I see the legal consensus is is that:
        
        1. A sitting President absolutely has the authority to sack the head of the FBI,
        2. But if they do that with a “corrupt intent” then that is still obstruction of justice.
        
        3. A sitting President cannot be indicted, for any crime, including obstruction of justice
        4. But a sitting President can be impeached, including on the grounds of obstruction of justice (clearly, given the Nixon & Clinton examples)
        5. Once impeached, when they are no longer the sitting President, then they can be indicted.
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:10pm
      - virtualmark
        
        We can agree to disagree whether there’s any there there with the Mueller investigation of Trump. But keep in mind Mueller is the FBI agent who took down the “Teflon Don” Gambino family … he’s methodical and he knows how to run an investigation. I wouldn’t dismiss his work lightly.
        
        I suspect Mueller has Trump cold on obstruction of justice, which is just 1 of the (at least) 4 threads in his investigation.
        
        I suspect Mueller has Trump cold on collusion (“Thread 2”) too, albeit “collusion” is a difficult term to define legally. Manafort, Gates, Page, Papadopoulos, Flynn, Don Jr & Kushner (and more) are all in the gun together on this one. I predict Mueller’s report will show … awareness and fellow travelling … between the Russians & Trump dating back to at least November 2013.
        
        I suspect Mueller also has Trump cold on money laundering too (“Thread 3”). Not just DJT either … it’s been an open secret in finance circles that the Trump organisation was financed by Russian oligarchs & mobsters via Deutsche Bank’s operation in Moscow.
        
        Yes, we’ll have different views on all those issues, and we all have to just wait and see what Mueller reports. But based on who we know Mueller has been interviewing, who he’s charged, and who he’s flipped I think what I’ve outlined above is a sensible map of his investigation.
        
        (Note: The fourth thread in his investigation is the actions of foreign individuals to pervert the election … which is the 13 indictments you saw last week).
        
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        February 21, 2018 10:22pm
- Inandout
  
  The main election will tell, but if he keeps his wall promise he may be OK.
  
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  February 21, 2018 5:09pm
  - virtualmark
    
    You mean the promise that Mexico will pay for it?
    
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    February 21, 2018 6:51pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Let’s see how the NAFTA renegotiation plays out.
      
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      February 21, 2018 7:09pm
AgentBallSack

People keep calling Stephie “Ralph”. but I am pretty sure that Stephie isn’t this Ralph T you talk about. AFAIK It’s always been common knowledge that Stephen is his first name and he shares a surname with that chromosonally challenged singer Susan.
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February 21, 2018 5:59pm
- AgentBallSack
  
  When you think about it it makes sense, Steph’i’e(n)Boy(le). The rumour he is Ralph has never bothered him, nor does he care if that person is outed.
  
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  February 21, 2018 6:09pm
  - Kimbo
    
    So stephieboy was a lock on the 1983 Lions rugby tour to NZ?! 😉
    
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Boyle_(rugby_union)
    
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    February 21, 2018 6:47pm
- nasska
  
  …..”he shares a surname with that chromosonally challenged singer Susan”…..
  
  He can’t reason, write or spell for shit but maybe he can sing.
  
  How about a demo tape? 🙂
  
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  February 21, 2018 6:13pm
  - AgentBallSack
    
    The way you mention demo and stephie in the same breath makes me nervous. Allahu Snackbar!
    
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    February 21, 2018 6:34pm
- All_on_Red
  
  Nah, he outed himself when he skited about doing a reading at St Albans on Christmas Day and his name was on the roster on their web site for that day. Dumb eh.
  It still is.
  Then his Facebook page was linked too on St Albans web site. Rather telling he’s taken that down and also had DPF remove his post about doing the reading…
  He’s serving tea this Sunday. Pop down and say hello.
  I’m tempted to call in and hand out some PERVWATCH flyers ?
  If he stops being an arsehole I might cut him a break.
  
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  February 21, 2018 6:37pm
  - nasska
    
    Next time Kimbo shows up I’ll get him on to it. As a professional Godbotherer he’ll probably be able to do a nudge-nudge, wink-wink with the powers that be at St Albans.
    
    If that fails he’s got a direct line with Hughie…….we’ll get the good oil one way or the other! 🙂
    
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    February 21, 2018 6:46pm
    - Kimbo
      
      Thanks mate. Like a died-in-the-wool Calvinist like me is going to have time for “An Anglican Church in the Catholic Tradition”?! The English Reformation you say? Great idea – let me know when it happens. 😉
      
      http://www.saintalbans.org.nz/
      
      Much less imitating charismatic fanatics who think they have a telecom line to hear directly from God?! As per John Calvin, “God speaks to us via Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures…and outside of that lie numberless fallacies of the devil”. 😉
      
      Bottom line – you’re an atheist but you don’t reckon the excesses of Stalin belong at your door? Fair enough. Kindly pay me the same courtesy with the theism of stephieboy! 😉
      
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      February 21, 2018 6:51pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Top notch weirdo, Calvin. You into his whole predestination magic trick?
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:02pm
      - AgentBallSack
        
        After a great bottle of sun ripened grapes (thank you Lord), a shit load of tax paid (thanks Jacinda), I really shouldn’t argue with you over which God has killed the most people. Especially during the Cricket.
        Good Health to you Kimbo!
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:03pm
      - AgentBallSack
        
        Milky you would be more of a Joseph Smith type believer? There are flaps of gold hidden somewhere, but we can’t show you the agreement?
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:11pm
      - Kimbo
        
        @ mikenmild
        
        Top notch weirdo, Calvin. You into his whole predestination magic trick?
        
        Depends how you define it, especially in relation to free will/efficacy. Put it this way, as per Moses, Jesus and Paul, and also Augustine, and in conjunction with the biblical command to all to “repent and believe”,
        it’s a biblical doctrine. But then I’m guessing you are doing a drive-by snark, and not interested in a nuanced conversation on the matter… 😉
        
        But btw, Calvin was the father of modern systematic biblical study – with its impact on literary study in general, and was a superb example of the intellectual heights that were achieved by the early humanist tradition. In short, one of the key players in that movement of Renaissance, Reformation and (the later) Enlightenment that laid the foundation for our present civilisation, and the benefits you and I enjoy.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:15pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Hah. The Mormons couldn’t even make up a better name for their angel than Moron(i).
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:16pm
      - mikenmild
        
        I’m not denying the influence of his odd ideas, which evidently some sects of the wider delusion still find compelling. Although of course that humanist tradition (not exactly started by Calvin) led inevitably to the position where the followers of the imaginary deity could split into an even more prolific, and weirder, conglomeration of sects.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:28pm
      - Kimbo
        
        Calvinism, as per the Presbyterian, Reformed and Congregational churches is a well-established Protestant tradition, not a sect. It’s polity and understanding of the separation of church and state was a crucial element in the rise of the Dutch state that flourished in the 17th Century, the English Civil War that established the principle of lex rex and laid the foundation of our modern constitutional democracy, and was a key element (along with Deism) in the American Revolution. Not to mention the scientific ability of the Scots in the Industrial Revolution. Plus there is that work ethic thing. that brought honour and nobility to any worthwhile vocation, not just clergy. So, on balance, and despite the execution of Servetus – discussed with nasska on this thread a few days ago –
        
        https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2018/02/general_debate_17_february_2018.html),
        
        …I’ll take Calvin, and Oliver Cromwell, and Thomas Chalmers, and , warts and all. Put it this way – they helped shape who we are.
        
        But then your significant insight/objection to Calvinism seems to be that it is a form of theism. Yes, but colour me unimpressed by the depth of your analysis… 😉
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:36pm
      - nasska
        
        …..”“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”……
        
        Matthew 12:25
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:40pm
      - Kimbo
        
        As per Billy Shakespeare, even the devil quoteth Scripture! 😉 The universal church is not divided in Christ. We share the same head, and like any family, have our disagreements about some things.
        
        4 There is one body (church) and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4: 4-6)
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:44pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Tradition v sect? I suppose the difference is that most countries can burn all the members of a sect (or they all commit suicide?) but a tradition would require thinking bigger.
        No one is doubting that these crackpots have influenced the world, but “my weirdo was more influential than those other weirdos” is not very reassuring.
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:44pm
      - nasska
        
        ….”have our disagreements about some things”…..
        
        Once you start disagreeing about what isn’t there something’s got to give. 🙂
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:49pm
      - Kimbo
        
        “my weirdo was more influential than those other weirdos” is not very reassuring.
        
        You do know your pejorative “weirdo” is prejudging the matter, don’t you? 😉
        
        So instead, deal with pragmatic and empirical facts, and then judge by the overall legacy, pro and cons, warts and all, and then compare Calvinism’s legacy to an avowedly atheist tradition/ideology that is opposed to Calvinism, and to which Calvinism returns the compliment, like, oh I don’t know…Marxism. Or does an atheist like yourself have another sect from your side of the divide to offer as a comparison?
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:51pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Gosh, now you are starting to talk like a really broad church. Who do you get to excommunicate? Just the Mormons, Quakers and Unitarians?
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:53pm
      - Kimbo
        
        And no, atheists aren’t necessarily answerable for the excesses of communism, so does an atheist like yourself have another sect/ideology from your side of the divide to offer as a comparison? You do know “I don’t agree or like it” is less than compelling to those who disagree with your…take on reality, spiritual and otherwise,
        
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        February 21, 2018 7:57pm
      - Kimbo
        
        No, not the Quakers. Heterodox and heteropraxic but still classical Trinitarians, or at least they don’t deny the doctrine, unlike the (tri-theist) Mormons and various forms of Unitarians. Still leaves billions of Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants of various shades, Copts, Armenians…
        
        Welcome to join us, mikenmild, and actually get some skin in the game on the matter of differences in doctrine, polity and practice.
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:01pm
      - Kimbo
        
        @ nasska
        
        Once you start disagreeing about what isn’t there something’s got to give. ?
        
        Yeah, but it’s not my place to comment, let alone enter into your wider family’s despair at your lack of good manners. 😉
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:11pm
      - Swifty
        
        Kimbo, if I may, what’s your ‘knock it out of the park’, numero uno, never fail, argument for:
        
        1. the existence of a god
        2. that it takes interest in human affairs and occasionally intervenes (if you believe that it does so).
        
        Many thanks.
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:20pm
      - Kimbo
        
        @ Swifty
        
        You may indeed ask and delighted that you did, but I don’t claim that they are “‘knock it out of the park’, numero uno, never fail, argument(s). As per my discussion about Calvinism with mikenmild above (ok, I’m being generous to his level of engagement 😉 ) , the reasons one comes to belief in God are more than rational. Not necessarily irrational, but more than that, which is fair enough as truth and human beings’ apprehension of it is more than rational. Indeed, as per my Calvinism, I think they stem first from an initiative God takes, stirring interest and faith within us. But wherever possible, all of us are responsible to cultivate that desire through the means he has revealed (church fellowship, study of Scripture, prayer) .
        
        Having said that, I’m unimpressed/less than compelled by Aquinas’ 5 proofs for the existence of God:
        
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Ways_(Aquinas)
        
        …and find that attempts to argue an intelligent designer , from all of the complexity that modern science has revealed, for example is nothing new.
        
        But my same answer for both your questions (both of which I believe to be true, i.e., the existence of God and his active interest in our well-being), the compelling answer for me at least, is…Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures.
        
        Have had this discussion with mikenmild on a few occasions, but by any reasonable standard, the New Testament is a well-attested and abundantly found artifact of ancient history, that seems to have come down to us with the original oral traditions intact. And unlikely as it is to occur, there is an inbuilt form of potential falsification – as per I Corinthians 15: 17 (And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins), if the bones of Jesus do turn up one day, the whole thing is revealed as a sham. Not sure Judaism or Islam, for example, can point to a point of potential falsification.
        
        So it is up to the humble and/or curious or reader of the New Testament to decide, “is this sufficient to inspire faith that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, sent to die for our sins and rise again to create a new humanity and world?”
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:38pm
      - Swifty
        
        Kimbo – thank you very much.
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:44pm
      - nasska
        
        …..“is this sufficient to inspire faith?”……
        
        No!
        
        Next question? 🙂
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:46pm
      - Kimbo
        
        @ nasska
        
        You seem to assume you speak for all of us. So that automatically disqualifies you as a “humble reader”. 😉
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:57pm
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        Stalin the ex seminary student?
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:59pm
      - Kimbo
        
        @ UtbanNeocolonialist
        
        The Crusades, Inquisition and the Salem witch trials are a fair cop. But you really want to try and pin Stalin to.,.Christians?! ?
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:05pm
      - nasska
        
        ….”disqualifies you as a “humble reader”. “……
        
        I make no claim to humility. 🙂
        
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        February 21, 2018 9:07pm
  - AgentBallSack
    
    AOR I am not convinced, but I missed that exchange. I know when I got banned once and asked on DPFs FB page whether I had been hacked (only to be told no I was banned for using the C-Word), I got lurked by a certain FB profile under that name. (I deleted the interaction between DPF and I for those stalkers out there)
    
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    February 21, 2018 6:51pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Well he quoted the entire reading he was doing on the 25th and it matched the name Ralph T on the Roster and his now gone Facebook page.
      http://www.saintalbans.org.nz/rosters.html
      I’ve got a copy of his post on my computer at work.
      Some Christian eh.
      
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      February 21, 2018 7:18pm
  - Awww C-mon
    
    AOR,
    
    Problem is we all know he won’t stop being an arsehole. The pattern of poor behaviour is too settled, if not declining.
    
    It appears either he will eventually step over the mark with DPF and lose privileges or an intervention will occur that will lead to SB commenting elsewhere. What we won’t see is SB acting with any maturity. His half arsed and embarrassing apology to Maggy proved that.
    
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    February 21, 2018 7:16pm
    - Swifty
      
      I’ve noticed he is very reluctant to man up and admit when he’s wrong. More usually he’ll attempt to rewrite history, as he tried on you today, or try to change the topic.
      
      Contemptible. What a little toad he is.
      
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      February 21, 2018 7:34pm
    - AgentBallSack
      
      DPF hardly ever bans people who cause division. He’s a guaranteed comment and rebuttal maker. Look at Hugh and his repeated bullshit every day link whoring and huge posts. Still here.
      Remember the “Ban Penny” phase? Crickets
      
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      February 21, 2018 7:46pm
      - Awww C-mon
        
        He has already had 5 strikes, #6 will be 2 months on the pine.
        
        I agree he won’t get kicked for simply being a dick, but he has form when it comes to stepping over the line.
        
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        February 21, 2018 8:00pm
sooty

Why not just call him idiot!
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February 21, 2018 6:14pm
sooty

Fatboy may be catching an areoplane, yet! Finished the report, just needs to go to minister.
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February 21, 2018 6:31pm
AgentBallSack

Word of the day for 21 February 2018 – Pozcum

pozcum
Semen that is HIV-positive, comes from someone with GRIDS.

pozcum tastes like licking a 9v battery
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February 21, 2018 6:41pm
- nasska
  
  Thanks for the info Ballsack……never knew that.
  
  I must have led a sheltered life. 🙂
  
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  February 21, 2018 6:50pm
  - AgentBallSack
    
    Mate it’s a community service I am providing. Never again will you be embarrassed at parties when your friend says “I pozzed some neg assholes last night”. You can high five them. sip your GBH, and add it to their score.
    I bet you can’t wait for tomorrows update either!
    
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    February 21, 2018 6:55pm
    - mikenmild
      
      “Fascinating” [Spock observes AgentBallSack’s sexual obsessions]
      
      5 4
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      February 21, 2018 7:07pm
      - AgentBallSack
        
        Fascination is an emotion. Impossible for a Vulcan
        
        2 0
        Report
        February 21, 2018 8:14pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Is it too much to ask for a R-70 rating to be attached to your Community Service postings?
      
      I feel I’m too young and impressionable to cope with so much information.
      
      9 1
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      February 21, 2018 7:09pm
      - AgentBallSack
        
        All part of our Gay New Alphabet World Maggy. I can’t control it anymore. I did my part and bred 2 children who don’t need letters to describe themselves. From now on its up to the rest of you!
        
        6 1
        Report
        February 21, 2018 7:18pm
      - waikatogirl
        
        Me too Maggy. Last of my innocence knocked for 6.
        Mind bleach required! ?
        
        6 1
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        February 21, 2018 7:25pm
AgentBallSack

I hope we bowl better tonight. Its our Achilles heel at the moment.
5 1
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February 21, 2018 7:24pm
- mikenmild
  
  “Another dumb slog”
  Cricinfo accurately describe NZ’s approach this evening, and the whole ethos of 20/20 at the same time.
  
  7 0
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  February 21, 2018 8:14pm
  - Kimbo
    
    Yep. Sooner they take the advice of the English coach and remove 20/20 from the international calendar and leave it for the leagues the better. Only 4 test matches for the Black Caps this season – and it stretches some 5 months! But then they have to find some way to pay the bills.
    
    3 1
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    February 21, 2018 8:17pm
- wombatge
  
  you will have to bowl your heart out.
  I feel for the kiwis, we have a huge bank of 20/20 players to choose from.
  Your openers have been fantastic.
  Tonight, unfortunately they didn’t come home.
  There will be another day.
  
  3 0
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  February 21, 2018 8:19pm
  - AgentBallSack
    
    I hate this format. Never been a fan. ODI or test all the way. (Please 5 day purists don’t downtick me). That said, the drive for 4 day test cricket will do the same. Play the freaking game and stop fucking with it!
    
    4 2
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    February 21, 2018 8:25pm
  - Prince
    
    Major problem for selectors is there are no more Otago, Canterbury or Wellington players to drop.
    Doull and Styris must be scraping the northern barrel for players to push.
    Chapman hasn’t got it, Seifert can’t bat or keep at this level, Boult doesn’t understand the game. Santner doesn’t care.
    It’s a shambles.
    
    2 0
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    February 21, 2018 9:00pm
rightoverlabour

Very sober reading.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/02/20/why-north-korea-and-america-could-be-at-war-by-april.html
1 1
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February 21, 2018 7:25pm
- mikenmild
  
  Trump could make a start by getting around to something radical, like bothering to nominate an ambassador to South Korea.
  That aside, the premise of the article that the US can pressure China and Russia into heavying North Korea seems flawed. I’m not sure what leverage the US has there apart from the idea to hassle those two countries more at other points of contention.
  
  2 1
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  February 21, 2018 7:37pm
  - AgentBallSack
    
    Its almost like China and Russia ignore the UN decrees that they are founding members of. But Trump (I mean the USA /sarc) gets the heat.
    
    5 2
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    February 21, 2018 8:09pm
    - mikenmild
      
      Not like you to be such a supporter of the UN.
      Russia and China are scarcely unique among the very many UN members not living up to their international obligations.
      
      3 3
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      February 21, 2018 8:12pm
    - AgentBallSack
      
      I don’t support the UN. Theyre a quasi-governmental agency with no borders determining a nebulous outcome for the rest of us which, stupidly, Western Governments listen to. At least they don’t have to live with the outcomes of their suggestions. Living in ivory towers and whorehouses and all that.
      
      6 1
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      February 21, 2018 8:19pm
AgentBallSack

I often say ‘it’s okay to be white’ to wind people up (and because it is). But no one who knows me would be surprised if I said I am a dinosaur. I have been strapped, caned, punched, beaten, abused, bullied, all without recourse to touchy feelingz to make me feel better. All those things didn’t break me. As a consequence I don’t believe in namby pamby bullshit or kowtowing to tears and emotional bribery (this kind of makes me a bad partner lol).
But I will support my kids to the end of the earth and they know it.
It’s okay to be Jurassic
10 2
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February 21, 2018 7:36pm
nasska

If only we could convince the Chinese that Muslims’ testicles are aphrodisiacs, within ten years they’ll have disappeared.
12 1
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February 21, 2018 8:06pm
Awww C-mon

Significant but hurt at the stranded over CPTPP….. bahaha fucking losers.

And on the daily review drums are beating for Little Andy, sorry Taxinda but don’t return from mummy duty, the knives are out and no one cuts as fast and hard as a leftie

This is going to be fun!!! And hopefully a National PM before they fuck up anything else.
8 1
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February 21, 2018 8:26pm
- nasska
  
  Did you notice this AC? ‘BM’ at 12:24 pm:
  
  …..”They voted Ardern, not Labour.”…..
  
  At least someone amongst the thickos gets it.
  
  8 1
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  February 21, 2018 8:38pm
  - Awww C-mon
    
    He goes well at speaking sense to the great unwashed over there.
    
    It’s a great line though, every time you ask a Labour voter what is different to the party under Little or Ardern the silence is deafening
    
    7 1
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    February 21, 2018 8:44pm
    - nasska
      
      …..”what is different to the party under Little or Ardern”…..
      
      Little, AFAIK, isn’t pregnant & as such has no means of distracting the MSM.
      
      7 1
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      February 21, 2018 8:51pm
    - AgentBallSack
      
      Little doesnt have a supply of VIPOO in his handbag. Or morning sickness. Or a partner facing drug charges?
      
      6 1
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      February 21, 2018 8:54pm
      - mikenmild
        
        It’s always entertaining to google the latest rumours.
        Here’s my pick for the most credible news site:
        http://mediawhores.co.nz/category/meet-the-whores/
        
        2 1
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        February 21, 2018 9:36pm
      - nasska
        
        From Mike’s link:
        
        …..”90% of violence on this Plane comes from our violent & thoughtless treatment of animals = almost as if we were all some sort of alien species – and by then eating that ethereal fear, violence and suffering. In the true spiritual sense. Rest assured.
        
        Eat tortured factory farmed animals – you and your family end up under the knife yourselves. Guaranteed. A universal/ inescapable law.”…..
        
        Methinks that GoVege is going to dine out on this revelation! 🙂
        
        4 1
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        February 21, 2018 9:41pm
      - mikenmild
        
        Plus everything is a Jewish/Masonic conspiracy, of course. They have a particular thing for Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings.
        
        4 1
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        February 21, 2018 10:05pm
Manolo

A waste of time. It will never happen:
http://m.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/JPost-Exclusive-Trump-team-briefs-Security-Council-on-Mideast-peace-plan-543193
3 1
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February 21, 2018 8:48pm
- DigNap15
  
  Yes, leave them to it.
  The arab, muslim world has been fighting for 1,400 years.
  
  PS
  I am sick of the news shots of the bombing in Syria.
  There are now just two enclaves of anti Assad left.
  The rest of Syria is either normal or getting back to normal.
  The world is not going to save them.
  So just surrender, and the bombing will stop.
  
  4 1
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  February 21, 2018 9:39pm
Manolo

The poor hag Pelosi:
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/heckler-confronts-pelosi-wealth-much-worth-nancy/#more-30926

OpenSecrets.org listed Pelosi as the 6th richest member of the House in 2015, with an estimated net worth of $100,643,521. The staggering wealth makes Pelosi the seventh richest person – and richest women – in Congress.
4 1
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February 21, 2018 8:50pm
- DigNap15
  
  Drain the swamp!
  
  4 1
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  February 21, 2018 9:40pm
DigNap15

After seeing the democrats in action, and in the news media etc.
I have really come to dislike them.
Nasty mean spirited people that want to sell the USA out!
5 1
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February 21, 2018 9:42pm
Manolo

The barbarians warn the Jewish State:
http://m.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/We-will-level-Tel-Aviv-to-the-ground-senior-Iranian-official-warns-Israel-543100
2 1
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February 22, 2018 7:16am

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