General Debate 24 July 2018

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EAD_TWO

I see Elle MacPherson is dating UK based Doctor Andrew Wakefield and there are now moves afoot in Oz to have him banned from entering the country as he is a “vaccination denier” and “extremist” having published a medical paper that linked the MMR vaccine to early stage Autism.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/australia-may-ban-elles-new-lover-a3893841.html

Now I’m no medical expert, but what is unquestionable is that the # of children being diagnosed with Autism or ADHD has absolutely skyrocketed over the past generation.

I don’t know if there is a cause and effect relationship, or any linkage whatsoever but it is undeniable that the rise in such afflictions has coincided with the increased prevalence of the MMR vaccine.

But a medical post this is not – What is most disturbing is the reaction of the MSM and Australian State. Why do they seek to shame and ban from entering the country those who dare hold views that aren’t part of the approved narrative?

Like the current Lauren Southern debacle, why can’t the public be allowed to hear any views, let alone an even-handed discussion take place in the public domain in certain subjects?

Whether it be Southern, Andrew Bolt (immigration), David Irving (holocaust), Jo Nova (global warming) or Wakefield (vaccinations), why is it that some subjects are met with such a wall of over the top rhetoric & hysteria such that speakers are silenced or even banned from entering Australia yet the Aussie Border Force are quite happy to let returning ISIS fighters back into the country?
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July 24, 2018 8:05am
- EAD_TWO
  
  Perhaps the answers lie in 2 of the great philosophers of our time – The bans we’ve seen being issued from on high have moved us even beyond Animal Farm❗
  
  “Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. Anyone who has lived long in a foreign country will know of instances of sensational items of news — things which on their own merits would get the big headlines-being kept right out of the British press, not because the Government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that ‘it wouldn’t do’ to mention that particular fact. So far as the daily newspapers go, this is easy to understand.
  
  The British press is extremely centralised, and most of it is owned by wealthy men who have every motive to be dishonest on certain important topics. But the same kind of veiled censorship also operates in books and periodicals, as well as in plays, films and radio. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is ‘not done’ to say it, just as in mid-Victorian times it was ‘not done’ to mention trousers in the presence of a lady. Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.” – George Orwell, Animal Farm
  
  And Orwell thoughtpress ownership was concentrated back then – what must be think of it now❗
  
  Enoch Powell warned us of tactics of using hyperbole to silence dissent:
  
  Have you ever wondered, perhaps, why opinions which the majority of people quite naturally hold are, if anyone dares express them publicly, denounced as ‘controversial, ‘extremist’, ‘explosive’, ‘disgraceful’, and overwhelmed with a violence and venom quite unknown to debate on mere political issues? It is because the whole power of the aggressor depends upon preventing people from seeing what is happening and from saying what they see – Enoch Powell
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:13am
- srylands
  
  Andrew Wakefield is a fraud. Literally. He falsified his research. The original article in The Lancet on the link between autism and MMR is now acknowledged as false. It caused untold harm and death. He was struck off as a doctor.
  
  Can you not see the difference between him and Lauren Southern?
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:15am
  - EAD_TWO
    
    No he did not – dozens upon dozens of his peers defended his work.
    
    You are just regurgitating the “acceptable” opinion that the MSM tells you.
    
    By your logic, you must believe that Southern was a criminal just because the UK Border Patrol detained her for being a “far right extremist”….. after all, the Pollies and MSM wouldn’t collude if their very existence and whole narrative was under threat now would they ?
    
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lauren-southern-far-right-canada-racist-calais-detain-uk-ban-enter-visa-a8254116.html
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:21am
    - stephieboy
      
      EAD TWO,
      
      “..dozens upon dozens of his peers defended his work”
      
      Such as… ?
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:33am
      - DifferentPerspective
        
        Sqwawk. .. proof Sqwawk!
        
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        July 24, 2018 11:10am
    - hullkiwi
      
      No they did not. I was living in the UK at the time he published his paper. He cause untold harm & confusion with the aid of the MSM. His work was not properly peer reviewed before it was published.
      
      You raise the issue of autism. The problem has been thd need of lobby groups and parents who have been apt to label children with a syndrome. Current statistics are that one in six children are on the autistic scale. Much of this is lazy medicine.
      
      You take any selection of primary school children and you will be able to use current criteria and find multiple instances of “autism” & ADHD, & to compound the issue use other “experts” and all those diagnoses would be considered bogus.
      
      I know of two boys – one the head teacher wanted seen by a doctor for ADHD & the other diagnosed as autistic with sensitive hearing. In both cases neither child had been seen by an ENT specialist. In both cases the problem was lazy medicine as both boys had extreme glue ear. The first case it had built up over 9 months & in the second over 3 years. In both cases the boys displayed symptoms of what people consider ADHD & autism, and doctors will confirm children with glue ear will display such symptoms.
      
      So why the problem, some of the reasons include:
      1. Dr Google & people not understanding what they are reading;
      2. Pressure on the medical services for instant answers and quick turn arounds in patients because of funding cuts;
      3. Schools no longer have visiting health experts testing children’s sight & hearing (cost cutting again); and
      4. Parents wanting their children labelled as “special” or with a syndrome, so they can get additional support. The problem is, such parents don’t realise the dangers for their children in such actions.
      
      I know this because of our experience with our son. He is quite normal and achieving after a glue ear infection burst in February of this year.
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:52am
      - 4077th
        
        Teachers, Parents and the Medical profession are keen to put labels on problem children without actually looking any further than the fashionable diagnosis of ADHD or Autism. These are the go-to category’s of the day as are Peanut allergy or Gluten intolerance. Categorising naughty children as either of the above, discounts the need to examine the family or parents avoiding conflict and the distinct possibility the parents are dud or at the very least not interested in their child’s education, using the school as the child’s only means of discipline. Lazy parents often produce “problem children”. The children most definitely have an attention deficit, it is not a disorder, they are a product of their environment.
        
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        July 24, 2018 9:37am
  - Shaun the Sheep
    
    You’d think the Lancet would restrict publication of research that is not peer reviewed, especially when it has the potential to be as explosive as Wakefield’s.
    I agree that Wakefield is a fraud, but the Lancet was too easily duped in my opinion.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:13pm
- mandk
  
  “the # of children being diagnosed with Autism or ADHD has absolutely skyrocketed over the past generation”
  
  This is interesting, but is it because more children actually have autism and adhd, or is it simply because these conditions are more likely to be recognised nowadays?
  
  And, if it is true that more children are getting autism and adhd, how do we know it is anything to do with vaccination? For example, couldn’t it simply be that young brains struggle because modern life bombards them from a very early age with visual stimulation.
  
  Ultimately, though, the biggest problem with Wakefield is that he faked his research and cannot be trusted.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:28am
  - EAD_TWO
    
    Ultimately, though, the biggest problem with Wakefield is that he faked his research and cannot be trusted.
    
    “Ultimately, though, the biggest problem with Wakefield is that The MSM told us he faked his research ~~and cannot be trusted.~~ therefore people can go on living their life comfortably numb like the folks in 1984″
    
    There – fixed it for ya ?
    
    Obey, Trust, Believe, don’t look behind the curtain – the media has used a “boo word” to stop you from thinking.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:54am
    - Batman
      
      I realise this is hard for you to believe, but not everything is an msm plot to rule over us all.
      
      Correlation is not causation. We have got better at diagnosing conditions like austism and ADHD etc. There is ZERO link to MMR or vaccines in general.
      
      What do you huff every morning? You should probably lay off it for a while.
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:09am
      - EAD_TWO
        
        97% of the experts agree climate change is man made:
        
        https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/may/16/climate-change-scienceofclimatechange
        
        Only a denier or an extremist could argue against the authority of the MSM. People who deny this should probably lay off it for a while……
        
        See your fallacy?
        
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        July 24, 2018 9:14am
    - srylands
      
      No The Lancet told me he faked his research. That is good enough for me. I clearly don’t have the time on my hands that you do.
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:26am
    - mandk
      
      EAD_TWO: never failed to buy into a conspiracy theory.
      
      How about answering stephieboy’s question and give us the names of some of the dozens upon dozens of his peers who supported his work?
      
      It should be easy enough.
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:28am
      - Keeping Stock
        
        I guess that once you’ve nailed your colours to the mast of holocaust denial, every other conspiracy theory is small beer.
        
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        July 24, 2018 10:38am
      - Ed Snack
        
        It isn’t that conspiracy theories are necessarily false, I think the Watergate affair was at first categorised as a conspiracy, but on investigation (at some length and only with assistance from the FBI assistant director Mark Felt aka Deep Throat) the true scope was revealed.
        
        There’s nothing wrong with suggesting a link between MMR and Autism – but ten one gets into scientific research and the ethics thereof.
        
        It is at this point that EAD goes off track – if you do thorough research into what Wakefield did and the protocols of his research you find that not only did he not follow proper research guidelines but that he also had a significant conflict of interest in the results. And his results don’t stand up, they can’t be replicated and there is no apparent statistical correlation between MMR vaccination and Austin. So if you study two populations, one group were vaccinated and one wasn’t, then the difference in the incidence of Austin spectrum diagnoses is not statistically significant. That is sufficient to show me that the criticisms of his research are well founded.
        
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        July 24, 2018 11:09am
  - Chris R
    
    The numbers of diagnoses of autism have increased at a pace the same as the confusion about the affliction. I question whether this debate can be heard until a resounding and reliable definition of what autism actually is; has been achieved/agreed upon. The very fact that reference is made to “being on the spectrum” confirms that to date the definition has both a front door and a back door.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:12am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Another reason is that as society became more egalitarian, people married partners more like themselves, so maths geeks marry maths geeks etc – and this leads to much higher incidence of some genetically linked brain issues like (eg) Autism.
    
    This is a big problem in the Bay Area, California
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:43am
- I Hate Wordpress
  
  Wakefield is a quack. Not sure he should barred from entry because of it though.
  
  As for random conincidence I’d look closer at the petrolium industry dumping tonnes of lead into the atmosphere for decades.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:54am
  - srylands
    
    Yeah I wouldn’t deny him entry.
    
    Anti vaxxers and their close cousins really piss me off. Because they damage and impose risk on everyone. If it was just them they damaged I wouldn’t care. But they literally sicken and kill children. And yet in New Zealand, they are largely indulged.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:21am
    - hmmokrightitis
      
      Same srylands, by all means allow him a platform, but that comes with sunlight on his less than honourable past. EAD, you dont get removed from Dr status for just pissing the media off – the man was / is a charlatan and has been exposed as such by his peers. You cannot point to anything that suggests his peers, in any numbers, supported him.
      
      I have a cousin who is an anti-vaxxer. She is completely nuts, and will not listen to any logic whatsoever. But that doesnt mean she shouldnt be allowed to hear what she considers to be her truth. There will always be people who will see blue no matter how red something is.
      
      As for autism, the rate of diagnosis has climbed for a range of reasons, one of them being the fact that the spectrum has widened significantly over the years. My eldest son, nearly 18 was diagnosed when he was 4, and I realised I showed the same symptoms / traits he did, and yet I was never diagnosed, merely thought it was my normal, which it is.
      
      For the record, Mr nearly 18 is acing school, and in the top 5% of his year. Like me he struggles a bit with some things, but we know what those are and we deal with them – together, now that I know why I struggle with some things too.
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:35am
      - Don the Kiwi
        
        “………. and I realised I showed the same symptoms / traits he did, and yet I was never diagnosed,…..”
        
        Maybe that’s why we can’t understand your ‘nom-de-plume’. Can you understand it – or perhaps interpret it for us? 😉
        
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        July 24, 2018 4:53pm
  - rangitoto
    
    You would really have to blame the automotive industry or public demand for that. The lead was required to make the engines used at the time to run smoothly.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:48am
- Shaun the Sheep
  
  ADHD is usually misdiagnosed.
  Usually the sufferers have DDD
  (Dad deficit disorder)
  That is why the disorder affects mainly – but not exclusively – boys.
  These boys are further disadvantaged by our modern (slack) parenting and teaching styles. They need maximum routine, order and discipline (not the beating kind) that are deemed old fashioned today.
  Nothing whatsoever to do with MMR vax.
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:45am
- chiz
  
  EAD_TWO:Now I’m no medical expert, but what is unquestionable is that the # of children being diagnosed with Autism or ADHD has absolutely skyrocketed over the past generation.
  
  There are two reasons for this. First the definition of autism has broadened over the decades. Second is that vitamin D levels have been declining in western populations as we spend more time in cars and in front of screens. Vitamin D deficiency was recently confirmed to be a risk factor for autism. So, even if the definition of autism had remained the same over the decades we would still a rise in autism rates purely from our increasingly indoorsy lifestyles.
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:56am
Inandout

Why is Simon talking tough now, why not months ago? Also Duncan and Mark are at odds with each other’s political views, and Ruby lips chants the snowflake hymn.
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July 24, 2018 8:08am
- kowtow
  
  “Why is Simon talking tough now”
  
  Latest advice from a focus group?
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:16am
- Paulus
  
  Simple -the media is overawed by Cinderella and baby that they still tend, and will continue, to ignore Simon and the National Party.
  The so called media are already setting up their entrenched position for the next election.
  And Shane Jones is getting the news as soon as he spends our billions to buy a Northland seat so that Peters can continue in Parliament and provide continual dribble, as he is doing now, with the view is that we are expected to listen to his tripe.
  Can’t wait for more baby pictures in the next few months – we will have a monthly report photo tableau.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:19am
  - stephieboy
    
    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
    Paulus, or is it more simple than a vast MSM media conspiracy.
    
    Simon simply is not making the cut!
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:36am
    - DifferentPerspective
      
      Wrong on the first, right on the second
      
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      July 24, 2018 11:12am
  - RF
    
    I am making up a photo montage of the Hillbillie family so I can have a screen saver of them on my laptop.
    
    Usually when I feel the need to self harm after being subjected to an overdose of the chosen one I flagellate myself with a branch from a gorse bush. I believe that by having the screen saver I can quickly achieve my ultimate goal without the need to look for gorse..
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:09am
  - Piniwi
    
    Except Paulus the media party have decide this is attack Simon Bridges week by the tone of the opinion pieces being rushed out. Some are upset that he chose to tour around and actually engage with voters to hear their concerns rather than pander to the Media party. They would prefer him to follow the COL MO and make policy on the hoof without consultation, discussion or consideration of what is best for NZ. We might hope along with some strong messages of the pains of the “transition” are inflicting he also got some course correction on his own thinking and hinted direction.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:28pm
- peterwn
  
  And you are referring to what?
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:20am
- KevOB
  
  A punch is more effective when an opponent is tottering particularly if the ringmaster is the opponents best friend.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:28am
- RW Capitalist
  
  Reasons
  1. before the election he was a minister in a different portfolio (not his place to comment)
  2. before the election, he was not the leader
  3. since the election, there have been other things to focus on, ie cancelling of tax cuts etc
  4. there will be more things to focus on in the future, as this govt. screws up the economy (I think 120 jobs at the warehouse, is just the beginning)
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:44am
Monique Watson

Can someone explain who are the fuckers driving this bus?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12093951

The City Rail Link is going to be bigger. How? For Starters? It’s a Fuckin’ Isthmus. And yeah, Electric might give the Lefties the jollies.
The same ones who are against Eden park concerts but it sure as shit won’t get more people to destinations quicker. Expect delays.
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July 24, 2018 8:08am
- Andrei
  
  What amazes me is Wellington has a plan to move to electric busses
  
  And yet for years and years they had electric busses and just withdrew them all and dismantled the system
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:11am
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    You clearly don’t understand the difference between trolley buses and self-contained electric buses and on previous evidence you wouldn’t have the brains to understand if I explained it to you.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:16am
  - Viking2
    
    Replaced old tech for new tech.
    Happens everyday.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:17am
  - peterwn
    
    The power supply units for the 600v DC were decades old and used old tech ‘mercury arc’ rectifiers. They belonged to Wellington Electricity and they needed replacement. To justify the cost there would have needed to be a commitment to run trolley buses for many more years something that the WRC could nor reasonably commit to. Also trolley buses cannot be purchased ‘off the shelf’ hence are horrendously expensive.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:29am
    - 4077th
      
      Not to mention the very dangerous overhead DC lines that also restricted movement of taller vehicles. I expect the levels of ozone in central wellington have dropped significantly since they retired them.. A Greenie conundrum? 🙂
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:48am
      - peterwn
        
        Ozone produced due to trolley bus or electric train pickups would be minimal compared with that produced by vehicle exhausts.
        
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        July 24, 2018 10:37am
- Fletch
  
  They are bound and determined to get people out of their cars due to some virtue they see in public transport being more environmentally sound or some such rubbish. Goff & co wouldn’t be seen dead on a bus or a train: that is for the great unwashed masses. Meanwhile, all this will cost the taxpayer.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:29am
  - marcw
    
    My prediction 2 years ago of a blowout to $7billion is now looking conservative (from the initial $2.5billion claimed). Now, in 2018, it’s looking more like $8 – 10billion. An un-survivable millstone on Aucklanders (and by extension, NZers) necks. Watch for an application from NZLGA to charge all other Local Councils to bail out Auckland from bankruptcy. ACC will have well and truly exceeded their loan limits.
    
    You voted for these retards remember.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:32am
    - hullkiwi
      
      Yes there will be a blow out. Remember there is also the ever expanding LRT scheme.
      
      Yes these schemes will bankrupt Auckland. Hence the govt will bail out Auckland.
      
      This is the left’s revenge forvMuldoon’s think big. Only it is bigger & more pointless.
      
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      July 24, 2018 10:01am
- tf78
  
  The CRL would make a wonderful central interceptor for the sewage from Herne Bay.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:31am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  I’ve been using the new Wellington bus service and it’s excellent. On time, friendly drivers, nice fast trip. Kids got to ride upstairs on a double decker in the school holidays. I could drive but I’d rather spend the time reading.
  
  When you read in the paper that it’s all a mess, just remember the story was probably written by a sad lefty with their knickers in a knot because some workers didn’t get everything they asked for.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:45am
- VicParking
  
  Bigger means wider tunnels and bigger stations. Only going to cost $100 million. Tender documents to be release by the end of the year.
  To quote Holy, give Goff a enema and he could fly around on a Drone.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:58am
- hullkiwi
  
  Monique the answer is simple. It is the Transport Blog feeding these people.
  Lowrie (editor in chief of the blog) published a piece last week about his concerns for CRL. His principal concern was the K Road station in Mercury Lane, will not have capacity & can’t be retrofitted. They want a bigger station and more exits. To justify their concern they are using dubious stats.
  
  What these people keep assuming is that pax growth will continue at 5% pa and greater numbers will get off at all stations. This is bulls**t. Trains are on fixed lines between a & b, there is a finite number of trips each way between a & b and once at max it will not keep growing. In particular CRL is about travel between West Auckland & the CBD. Despite the redevelopment of the CBD, the number of jobs in the CBD has not been growing as fast as these people have been projecting and further not all city workers/students come from West Auckland, so they will not use CRL. This is why Key & co were reluctant to give the green light to CRL in the first place.
  
  The left idiots who are pushing all this do not understand where the people of Auckland live, where they travel to or from; and what transport they require to travel. These left wing idiots just want bigger “public transport” like other international cities. This to them will make Auckland look like other international cities.
  The biggest non excuse to do something you have ever read.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:36am
  - hullkiwi
    
    What I forgot to write. The current project is running late by over 12 months; the budget is already over $5bn & not all elements of the project have been tendered out. So, projections of $7bn may not be too far fetched.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:53am
  - 4077th
    
    It occurs to me that the real elephant in he room is the North Shore and the blocked artery that is the harbour bridge. North Auckland has been expanding, very quickly, for the last 3 decades and the only “new route” is the motorway connection through Greenhithe. This added nothing to the congestion issues, in fact it created more with people in Glenfield now travelling through West Auckland to get south or to the city. Add this to the growing population of the west and ergo..more congestion. A rail link to Albany under the harbour or a purpose built rail viaduct from Pt Chev to Chelsea should be a priority not looping the city.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:06am
    - hullkiwi
      
      That is why the blog people want LRT up the Northern Busway & the second harbour crossing to be light rail only.
      
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      July 24, 2018 11:48am
waikatogirl

Should beneficiaries face sanctions? Simon Bridges has come out swinging against the CoL dismantling expectations put in place by National. Sanctions have dropped 22% in the last 9 months. The CoL does not believe in accountability.
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July 24, 2018 8:11am
- Awww C-mon
  
  Yes, and if you are honest and responsible with the benefit you should never face them while on it.
  However if you are not honest and responsible why should the taxpayer keep handing out?
  (Not meaning you personally of WG)
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:15am
  - waikatogirl
    
    I’m not on a bene so didn’t think you were talking to me AwwwC-mon. ?
    
    I agree, apparently beneficiaries have issues so they don’t have to be accountable?
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:24am
    - Awww C-mon
      
      Fark, I have issues too! Off to IRD to see how I go with my Tax bill
      
      ??
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:28am
    - KevOB
      
      Who is WINZ accountable too? They are quite arbitrary. The reduce benefits at will and make deductions. Anyone who is aged or has health problems is best not to appeal as it is more damaging.
      
      What about the COL changed payments? Where is the paperwork explaining the amounts? My inner accountant suspects we are being short changed.
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:47am
- Keeping Stock
  
  Good on Bridges. And Newshub is running a poll on the subject, with 76% of respondents saying that there should be sanctions if beneficiaries do not meet certain obligations. Vote here:
  
  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/07/poll-should-beneficiaries-face-sanctions-for-failing-to-meet-certain-obligations.html
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:17am
  - pdm
    
    Thanks for the link Inv.
    
    Now voted and showing 71% after my vote.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:25am
    - RalphT
      
      I voted and it’s now down to 69%; and no, that’s not an indication of how I voted.
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:36am
    - tf78
      
      69% when I voted with only 27 voters. I did a poll on there last week and the numbers at the time were eleven voters and then the total went backwards. Don’t know if it’s a dodgy poll or not now.
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:37am
      - ldypen
        
        Hahaha.. of course the poll won’t work properly..look who’s running it!
        
        14 1
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        July 24, 2018 8:43am
      - VicParking
        
        Frasier house will be ringing around to get the NO vote up. Might give us a break
        
        17 1
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        July 24, 2018 9:00am
  - Piniwi
    
    Thanks KS and followed the link to be part of the reduced 63% as the NO voters are waking up. Also note the 2000 growth in numbers is the Job Seeker benefit that is in that special group not seen in unemployment stats. This though is where sanctions are essential if they fail to meet their obligations for this better rate.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:59pm
- Harkman
  
  Did you see Barbara Dreaver (blah blah Dreaver) last night? We need a new welfare benefit for looking after old, ill family members. Crazy, you now need to be paid for something that family members have done for hundreds of thousands of years. I bet this piece was coordinated by Labour, guarantee it. A new policy for next year’s budget to “look caring.”
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:18am
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    See any white faces In the article? You know, the wallet.
    
    Did you notice that everyone was at least 9′ 3″ according to the height for weight chart?
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:27am
  - rangitoto
    
    I saw that. Bludgers putting their hand out for more tax payer money.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:55am
  - GoVege
    
    Old Pakehas have been stashed in rest homes at a cost of about a grand a week each to the taxpayers for many, many years.
    Whereas Polynesians have been caring for their old people at home for no payment and no expense to the taxpayer.
    And with family members having to take time off work and education to do it.
    That’s what they’re talking about.
    
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    July 24, 2018 11:31am
    - Paulus Gnome
      
      And i am happy that they get to show their family that respect, commitment and love, but you are asking ME to pay for it and i am sort of over being the wallet for every fat fuck who thinks they are ‘entitled’ to satisfy their feelz.
      
      fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck right off. Pay attention at school, don’t spend your lunch money on fizzy and pies, don’t tithe to the church, get a better job and pay for it yourself
      
      7 4
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      July 24, 2018 12:44pm
      - GoVege
        
        Paulus: then should we stop paying for old Pakehas too?
        Should we kick them out of the rest homes and onto their kids’ doorsteps and say: “you look after them”?
        
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        July 24, 2018 1:18pm
      - GoVege
        
        BTW, it’s very rare for Polynesians (and Asians too) to put their handicapped or elderly into residential care.
        They save this country a fortune by looking after their vulnerable, and ought to have a bit of financial support.
        My aunt’s second husband had a son brain-damaged at birth.
        He stayed in expensive facilities for most of his life.
        They paid nothing, even though they owned multiple properties.
        
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        July 24, 2018 1:59pm
    - DJ Ward
      
      They want thier pension payment. They are also more likely to have a person at home full time. You simply can’t leave some elderly by themselves. They have a far better culture towards elderly than the average westerner. It could also be an issue that pakeha live longer resulting in some of the difference.
      
      You did not tell the truth about no payment. If they are entitled to the pension they get payed by the taxpayer. If not entitled because they are essentially foreigners it’s not NZ taxpayers responsibility.
      
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      July 24, 2018 3:13pm
      - GoVege
        
        Most of them would be entitled to the pension.
        But it costs the taxpayers a lot more to keep them in residential care.
        Believe me, most of the old people keep their pensions to themselves.
        The old have way too much power in other cultures.
        It’s the younger women who bear the burden of looking after everybody AND working and not even getting to keep their money.
        They’re the ones who need some support.
        Fortunately for their families they’re used to being virtual slaves.
        Time we all stopped taking them for granted.
        
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        July 24, 2018 4:09pm
- Piniwi
  
  But waikatogirl the Septic one assures the sheeple that it is not anything to do with sanctions being eased? Another starry eyed Minister who talks the talk but has no concept of how to walk the walk. The reduction in sanctions is the direct result of those at the coal face choosing the soft option of not imposing any more for their own safety, sanity and rewards for compliance. They put their personal safety and well being on the line when having to notify delinquent beneficiaries their benefit is being cut. Even back in the day it was never one on one as the staff member would have at least one other in attendance for such encounters. Not something the Minister would be familiar with as she moves security guards out and “clients” will get flowers and hugs to make them feel welcome.
  
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  July 24, 2018 2:52pm
secondcumming

I well remember just about spitting coffee all over my keyboard, after reading that murdering pedo, Philip John Smith, had won a government payout after a High Court Judge ruled that the Department of Corrections had ignored his ‘human rights’ by barring him from wearing a wig in jail. No wonder this country’s judiciary is an international laughing stock!!

Now had he been subjected to a *Russian Foot Massage*, maybe he might have had a case.
RT reports……

https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1020775170821296129

[CAUTION: video may be upsetting to lib snowflakes]
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July 24, 2018 8:16am
- peterwn
  
  I thought the Appeal Court overturned that. Anyway the cost of dealing with his escape should have been deducted from any compo.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:32am
  - KevOB
    
    Added to that should be the cost of holding a secure cell for him while AWOL. Lawfare works both ways.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:50am
  - ztev
    
    You are right peter.
    Mar 2018 Court of Appeal overturns payout. sc is stuck on replay back in 2017
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:56am
    - secondcumming
      
      But what did you think of the vid, ztev? That’s worth a replay….. LOL!!
      
      4 2
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      July 24, 2018 9:02am
    - Keeping Stock
      
      The original High Court decision was a disgrace, and the CoA rightly overturned it. Smith used the wig as part of his disguise to escape custody and flee New Zealand. Baldy’s “hurt feelings” case was just another sideshow by one of the most dangerous and manipulative prisoners under the care of Corrections.
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:39am
kowtow

Very muted response by the media to a mass shooting in Canada and a mass stabbing in Germany.

Had either event occurred in the USA it would have been Trumps fault and a call to ban something or other.

Of course another reason is that we mustn’t question immigration/ multiculti/diversity which has turned both Germany and Canada into much more dangerous places than they used to be.
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July 24, 2018 8:20am
- waikatogirl
  
  The little 10 year old shot has since died in hospital. An 18 year old girl was shot and killed at the scene.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:33am
- Harkman
  
  Was the shooter Muslim? Or a Nazi?
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:23am
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    Worse than either, a white middle class tax paying hetrosexual Trump supporter.
    
    9 4
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    July 24, 2018 9:31am
  - Harkman
    
    I got it, Hussein, the religion of peace strikes again.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:26am
  - mara
    
    He is named as Faisal Hussain, 29. His family say he has been mentally disturbed for years and treatment was ineffective. Canada will see much more of these disturbed people as their numbers radically increase under Trudeau’s watch.
    
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    July 24, 2018 11:34am
    - GoVege
      
      We will probably get them here too.
      Non-western cultures have problems acknowledging mental illness and seeking help.
      The murderers of Christy Marceau and the young mum jogger on Shore Road probably came into this category.
      
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      July 24, 2018 1:24pm
Paulus

Heard this morning that Trump’s poll with the Republican Party is over 80% now.
Don’t you hate that ?
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July 24, 2018 8:22am
- Fletch
  
  And his overall polling is up to it’s highest yet at 45%.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:31am
- ztev
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  So the people who support Trump are republicans ?
  However the numbers are the exact opposite in the other two groups, Democrats and Independents.
  Roll on November when we will see how that works out for the Republicans- as even at the 2016 election they lost seats in Congress.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:34am
  - Harkman
    
    They’ll do better than you think, McConnell just needs to delay the Kavanaugh vote until election time so Republicans have a reason to come out and vote.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:26am
BlueGriffon

Another sob story today in the Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12091011.

“after…… and debts to various lenders she is left with around $100 for food”. Yesterday it was credit card bills.

Can we not see that the issue is actually DEBT!
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July 24, 2018 8:25am
- DigNap15
  
  And the fact that the father is not there to support her.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:26am
  - DJ Ward
    
    He can’t support the children in these situations.
    He couldn’t do anything to support the kids while in prison.
    He is unlikely to be allowed any, or meaningfull contact with the children due to his actions.
    Any child support he pays is confiscated by the government. So even if he can get a job which is likely to be low paid, no extra money will be provided to support the kids. His finances as a result will be so depleted that he also will be unable to make direct investments in his kids.
    
    You are wrong in saying support her.
    She is not his responsibility.
    The kids are but government policy prevents that from happening.
    
    I hope that prison has helped in his addiction to this abhorrent life and family destroying drug P. I doubt that any meaningfull effort has taken place for that to happen.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:16am
- ztev
  
  On a personal level it may be best if the reporter took them to a budget service first.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:36am
  - BlueGriffon
    
    You might win with the upvotes today , great idea ztev.
    Also see if some fit into the low asset procedure or these charities can fix the root of the problem and pay off the debt. Then these people need to be stopped from getting into more debt.
    
    The debt repayments come before everything else as there are big consequences if they get behind. This is why the debts are paid before the kids are clothed and fed.
    
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    July 24, 2018 8:47am
    - ztev
      
      What always baffles me with some people who live week to week is the ridiculous ‘personal insurance’ cover they have. They kid themselves that they really need $250K of life insurance
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:01am
      - Captain Mainwaring
        
        Probably the victims of sharp salesmen.
        
        12 0
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        July 24, 2018 9:25am
      - Paulus Gnome
        
        Always a victim and always someone elses fault.
        
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        July 24, 2018 9:33am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        It can be difficult for middle-class, latte-swilling folk to comprehend the life of poor folk.
        
        Lectures in Class theory don’t really reveal the day-to-day chaotic detail of some folks’ life.
        
        Although it’s not about NZ, this book provides a glimpse into the life of debt-ridden folk and the difficulties they have putting their lives onto easy street.
        https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Elegy-Memoir-Family-Culture/dp/0062300547
        
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        July 24, 2018 10:27am
      - Nermal
        
        Who are you, and what have you done to ztev?
        
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        July 24, 2018 12:46pm
- softail 1450
  
  Bluegriffon, to be fair she is getting the shit beaten out of her by her ex ,that is a more serious situation than her debt in my opinion….
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:57am
  - BlueGriffon
    
    True, but she’s got herself away from that now, thank god. She’s on a good pathway now and you can tell she’s a good mum. My problem is they are blaming her rent, when the debt spiral is the problem. We never get told how much debt the people are paying. In one example way back before the election, it was $300 a week.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:09am
  - DJ Ward
    
    She was assaulted. He went to prison.
    She is not getting the shit beaten out of her.
    You lied.
    He is no longer in her life.
    She has to live with her choice of partner.
    
    She has to live with her choices.
    If she had been supportive of her partner and sought help rather than belittling and continually putting him down, shaming him in front of the kids, then maybe, just maybe, he may not have snapped.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:24am
    - GoVege
      
      What a load of cr*p, DJ.
      Any “man” who beats a woman is a cowardly creep.
      You have NO evidence that she ever provoked him.
      She sounds like a good mother and person.
      Her life will be hard, and her kids’, simply because their father is not man enough to do his job and support his family.
      
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      July 24, 2018 1:30pm
      - DJ Ward
        
        Yes women are all perfect.
        Men are all useless.
        
        Women never do anything wrong in relationships.
        It’s always the mans fault.
        
        Women are never violent.
        All men are violent.
        
        I get it Go Vege.
        You hate men.
        
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        July 24, 2018 2:48pm
      - GoVege
        
        That’s pretty childish DJ.
        I admire men who support their families, not those who terrorise them.
        There are bullying men and bullying women.
        Men are physically stronger so they tend to do the most harm.
        Unfortunately we have abandoned some of those old fashioned values that used to work for families, such as:
        It’s wrong for a man to hit a woman.
        Men have a duty to support their children.
        (Plus a few more in the Ten Commandments.)
        
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        July 24, 2018 3:16pm
      - GoVege
        
        BTW DJ, I like men because I had an amazing father, who unfortunately worked himself to death like a lot of decent men do.
        
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        July 24, 2018 3:22pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      @DJ Ward
      
      Did you read the article?
      
      The bit about how the father started using P then started abusing the mother and threatening her with weapons.
      Is that type of behaviour justified?
      
      We are talking about adults here, not animals.
      No amount of “put-downs or shaming” justifies an attack on another human.
      
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      July 24, 2018 3:29pm
      - DJ Ward
        
        I didn’t say it justified violence. Thanks for the Feminist, don’t discuss causation of DV.
        
        The question I put to you, if the put downs and shaming never took place would, in turn, his actions have taken place. He wasn’t violent in the begining so what changed?
        
        It is idiocy to justify his violence just as it is idiocy to ignor things that develope or cause that to be a result.
        
        That ignorance is the cause of societies inability to address DV in any let alone a meaningful way. The DV industry from social services, NGOs, Lawyers are all part of this men are responsible, women are victims bullshit. The gravy train relies on the ignorance of men’s experience in society.
        
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        July 24, 2018 5:34pm
      - GoVege
        
        DJ: most people who are violent learned to be so by watching violence in the home.
        Most victims of violence. …male or female…would never dare provoke their bully.
        It is NOT put-downs and shaming that leads to violence.
        It is usually an over-developed sense of entitlement on the part of the bully.
        Most abusers start out with a domineering personality, and get worse by those around them letting them get their way to placate them.
        Nothing succeeds like success, and violence usually works to get bullies their way.
        
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        July 24, 2018 6:43pm
    - Shaun the Sheep
      
      Someone touched a nerve there DJ.
      Your outrage has biographical undertones?
      
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      July 24, 2018 8:25pm
- VicParking
  
  It’s the truck that pulls up outside twice a week. I can buy now and pay later its so convenient.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:04am
  - Keeping Stock
    
    Unfortunately, those who buy from those predatory trucks (and there are a few of them around Whanganui), have never heard of or don’t understand the concept of interest. Nor have they heard the old Latin proverb caveat emptor; let the buyer beware.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:01am
- Local Miller
  
  One has to question the facts of this article. $415 for a 30 hour week is $13.83 per hour, WAY under the minimum wage of $16.50. Why are the papers not reporting on of following up on this?
  
  Then I note that they haven’t given the numbers for all the other benefits she gets, and how much these come to in the end.
  
  While you hear a lot about not having warm clothes, I have to ask if these people ever go to the local Op Shop or Savemart to buy things. My 22 year old daughter, works 4 days a week at a cafe and shares accommodation, has just gone to Australia for an open ended working holiday, all payed for in cash. I don’t think any clothing she has (besides smalls) doesn’t come out of an Op Shop. She has a 2nd hand car she bought for $3600 cash, with 50,000 ks on the clock. But then we taught our kids to: not mix with the wrong people, no kids (sex) outside of marriage (if he wants it he better put a ring on it), work, save, be frugal. Happy kids, happy parents, and no burden on the long suffering tax payer.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:06am
  - I Hate Wordpress
    
    $13.83 is about right for after tax.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:47am
  - DJ Ward
    
    Your daughter is in complete control of contraceptive choices. She has a dozen options, plus can demand condom use. She can get a miscarriage pill or abortion in the worst case. She can opt for adoption as well.
    There is negligible risk of pregnancy when females choose and act responsibly to avoid it.
    IE any pregnancy is a purposefull or negligent act by the female.
    Why do you think forcing someone into a marriage is a good idea. Didn’t you meen if she wants it she has to manipulate a person into marriage, as long as you approve of him/her. LOL.
    
    What high flying male will choose your OP shop girl? Her options are limited.
    What would you tell your son? Only use prostitutes?
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:45am
- Left Right and Centre
  
  Er – it reckons 1 in 5 NZ kids don’t have their own bed.
  What the F ? Really ? Bollocks.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:21am
DigNap15

And that Newshub article says that since the COL took over there have been 2,000 more people on the job seeker benefit
I thought the economy was booming under the COL
Or is it that its easier to get on the dole now.
More jobs for bureacrats.
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July 24, 2018 8:30am
- Prince
  
  There is no longer any evidence required that the ‘job seeker’ is seeking a job.
  Hence the increased uptake. Free money.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:25am
MCos

Interesting article from the Thai newspaper Samui Times about the corrupt justice system in the resort province of Surat Thani – about 500ks south east of Bangkok.
This includes the well known Ko Samui.
In short; if you’re a tourist in the area and get into an altercation with a Thai of some influence – don’t argue & back off at a run!
http://www.samuitimes.com/corruption-injustice-murder-continue-to-flourish-throughout-surat-thani-province-particularly-on-koh-tao/
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July 24, 2018 8:34am
- stephieboy
  
  Karl Kraus must have had the President and his supporters in mind . A psychological quirk known as the Dunning-Kruger effect,
  
  “..But as a psychologist who has studied human behavior—including voter behavior—for decades, I think there is something deeper going on. The problem isn’t that voters are too uninformed. It is that they don’t know just how uninformed they are.
  
  But as Psychological research suggests that people, in general, suffer from what has become known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect. They have little insight about the cracks and holes in their expertise. In studies in my research lab, people with severe gaps in knowledge and expertise typically fail to recognize how little they know and how badly they perform.
  
  To sum it up, the knowledge and intelligence that are required to be good at a task are often the same qualities needed to recognize that one is not good at that task—and if one lacks such knowledge and intelligence, one remains ignorant that one is not good at that task. This includes political judgment..”
  
  https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-supporters-dunning-kruger-effect-213904
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:48am
  - holysheet
    
    When you are educated, you’ll believe only half of what you hear.
    When you’re intelligent, you know which half.
    
    28 1
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    July 24, 2018 9:00am
    - stephieboy
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      holysheet, like Clinton body count, Seth Rich, Pizzagate conspiracies etc the staple of most Trump supporters?
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:05am
  - Harkman
    
    You suffer from the “Dunning-Kruger Effect”
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:29am
- starboard
  
  Thailand is a bent as ztev and shariaboy. Trick is to keep your mouth shut and your head down, always remembering that you are a guest in their country.
  They tolerate us, we are just a cash cow to them.
  From hookers to bar owners to taxi drivers, farangs are walking ATM’s to be fleeced. All said, I love the place.
  
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  July 24, 2018 10:01am
  - MCos
    
    “They tolerate us, we are just a cash cow to them.”
    A cynic might say that is how tourists are seen here too.
    
    13 1
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    July 24, 2018 10:39am
holysheet

Police in Hamilton pulled over a local lad and were amazed to find the car was registered, had a WOF and fully insured. It wasn’t stolen and there were no stolen goods or drugs found. The driver was sober AND He had a full licence and no demerit points. A police assistant commissioner said, “We had no option but to fine him $180 for wasting police time.”
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July 24, 2018 8:34am
- DJ Ward
  
  Police in Hamilton pulled over a local las and were amazed to find no warrant or reg, and no seat belts on her 3 kids. The police apologised for pulling her over stating they were looking for a local lad.
  
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  July 24, 2018 10:53am
  - hullkiwi
    
    Police north of Hamilton pulled over a local lass driving a 1970s Holden. She had no drivers licence, she was was heavily intoxicated. The car had no WoF, no registration plates, no reg tax, no insurance, the tyres were bald, the car was not road worth. There were 3 kids on the back seat ranging from 3 months to 3 years.
    
    The police apologised for racially profiling the lass and let her drive away with no action.
    
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    July 24, 2018 12:12pm
    - holysheet
      
      Fuck me, I had no Idea the Hamilton plod were so bad.
      
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      July 24, 2018 12:34pm
      - hullkiwi
        
        Try the East Coast. Can’t arrest your whanau.
        
        3 1
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        July 24, 2018 5:25pm
Fletch

Girl Scouts ditching badge awards for politically correct bullshit…

https://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/07/23/girl-guides-home-skills-ditched-protest/
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July 24, 2018 8:34am
- VicParking
  
  I’m surprised they still call it the Girl Scouts. Should it not be the LGBT Scouts.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:07am
  - DJ Ward
    
    Can boys join too, or is that sexism and PC nonsense.
    
    3 1
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    July 24, 2018 10:55am
    - VicParking
      
      They can only join the Girl Guides
      
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      July 24, 2018 12:26pm
- dime
  
  that’s really sad.
  
  a program that takes inspiration from black lives matter?? so they are teaching hate?
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:23am
VicParking

Winston, The Sage of all Knowledge, says that putting the price of cigarettes up will not stop people smoking. Does that mean that adding a sugar tax will not stop the fat bastards getting fatter.
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July 24, 2018 8:36am
- DigNap15
  
  They just need to eat less and move more.
  And have some pride in their appearance!
  
  13 1
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  July 24, 2018 8:46am
- Steve (North Shore)
  
  Even though there will be no more new Taxes, any Tax or Levy is just a cash cow.
  Lie and steal, that is all they know
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:55am
- Left Right and Centre
  
  Idea:
  Govt gyms. Do some cardio – get a tax break.
  
  6 0
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  July 24, 2018 9:29am
- hullkiwi
  
  Is he going by personal experience? Just because he is a superannuant in an over paying job (He is a perfect example of a case were politicians should be paid subject to a performance pay scale), he can afford a packet of cigarettes at any price?
  
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  July 24, 2018 10:26am
MCos

Quote of the day

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he.”

Karl Kraus (1874–1936), Austrian journalist, critic, playwright, and poet
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July 24, 2018 8:36am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  I’m absolutely fine with the left proudly announcing that Trump only won because voters are stupid. Long may it continue.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:57am
  - stephieboy
    
    Nigel Kearney, but it is true if KB is anything to go by.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:01am
  - MCos
    
    I had in mind the likes of the Turkish chap, Mugabe, and others of that stripe. You can extend that to include Trump and his supporters if you want.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:24am
- DifferentPerspective
  
  Expert socialist Goebbels “Accuse your enemy of that which you are guilty of” Now what HASN’T the left accused Trump of?
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:18am
marcmywords

Some of you may find this long and semi irellevant article interesting: https://medium.com/@thisissethsblog/the-etiology-concept-and-prophylaxis-of-childbed-fever-a339377d9735
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July 24, 2018 8:37am
Manolo

A battle is brewing:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/23/trump-looking-into-revoking-security-clearances-for-brennan-other-top-obama-officials.html

President Trump is looking into revoking the security clearances of several top Obama-era intelligence and law enforcement officials, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday, accusing them of having “politicised” or “monetized” their public service.
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July 24, 2018 8:39am
- Fletch
  
  Fair enough. I don’t see why figures from past administrations, like Brennan et al, should still have security clearance. There’s nothing from stopping him accessing top level security files and leaking.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:41am
holysheet

After being told the EU had made a formal application to the UN for help in dealing with the African migrants in the Med, President Trump has offered to send a fleet of duck boats.
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July 24, 2018 8:39am
- stephieboy
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  holycrap,
  
  Donald Trump’s biggest fans are coming out to give their input on immigration, and we are now all dumber for listening to them. Sam Seder and the Majority Report crew discuss this.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_btqBbreo4
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:10am
  - softail 1450
    
    septicboy, I figured you’d be down the mall early now that school is back, perving on the “tight young girls” you seem so obsessed with.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:13am
Fletch

James Comey (yes, James Comey!) begs Democrats not to move too far “socialist Left”…

Democrats, please, please don’t lose your minds and rush to the socialist left. This president and his Republican Party are counting on you to do exactly that. America’s great middle wants sensible, balanced, ethical leadership.

https://twitter.com/Comey/status/1021132108381683712

Too late for that, I’m afraid…
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July 24, 2018 8:39am
peterwn

Why are the Sallies so upset at people allegedly using ovens to heat kitchens? They seem to be implying that they cannot afford heaters despite 2kw fan heaters being available from Bunnings or Warehouse for $20 or so. There are no real efficiency issues since one watt of electricity produces one watt of heat (unlike gas where one watt of gas produces far less than one watt of usable heat). I suspect some not so poor people use stoves and ovens to heat kitchens.
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July 24, 2018 8:43am
- niggly
  
  Why don’t the Sallies call out the Greens and Helen’s Labour Govt who implemented measures that saw some councils banning open wood fires (and even some wood burners) last decade?
  
  There goes a cheap source of heating the family house and as a result we now have increasing mold and health issues etc.
  
  Ultimately if the Greens had their way we wouldn’t have any type of fire (gas or wood burner) that produces emissions …. no doubt James Pee Shaw and his zealots are working on that and Jacinda will make an announcement on her return! 😉
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:50am
  - Harkman
    
    The Salvation Army a far left, Fabian Socialist entity. They only criticise National.
    
    28 2
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    July 24, 2018 9:31am
    - Paulus
      
      Sadly stopped financially supporting Salvos, after a lifetime of support, before the last election.
      They are now a branch of the Labour Party.
      Sad.
      
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      July 24, 2018 2:21pm
- DigNap15
  
  Sadly when you are poor, there are not many things you can cut back on.
  You have to pay the rent
  You have to buy food.
  You have to pay the car hp
  So its a toss up between, power, clothes and doctor that you cut back on.
  Or mobile phone or internet or drugs or booze or cigarettes.
  Or get a border who will actually help you pay the rent and some profit for you.
  Or should have got a better education, a good job and a decent husband.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:50am
  - waikatogirl
    
    You forgot the necessity for expensive DirtyDog sunglasses. ?
    
    23 2
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    July 24, 2018 9:11am
  - howitis
    
    These benes already have great husbands.
    The State.
    Marvellous!
    It won’t mind if you are fat; have a headache; bad breath; lousy cook; live at a boyfriend’s house in Mt Eden; or are a regular sperm bank around the local haunts.
    
    Thank you Mr and Mrs State for all your contributions that come in whatever the state of the economy.
    No redundancies in this world. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it: The Warehouse!
    No need to go on strike. Note this hard-working nurses and cruising MBIE clock punchers.
    National will give you pay rises when you don’t even vote for them. Yay!
    
    Thank you for allowing low IQ folks to breed with impunity and lower the average IQ of society.
    in pre-bene days these would not be able to outbreed the more organised and industrious.
    Not any more. No sir.
    Now, 5,6,7kids from various sperm donors.
    Thank you very much for your regular fortnightly pay cheque.
    Looked after by Mr and Mrs State taxpayer – who also have to provide for their own families.
    Ain’t welfare Gr8.
    Just peachy.
    
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    July 24, 2018 12:02pm
- hmmokrightitis
  
  I noticed years ago that if I use the oven to cook dinner, I didnt need to heat the kitchen / dining room / lounge. Does that mean Im also poor and in need of sympathy or taxpayer funding?
  
  Chompers is already about to pay for my kids uni education, if she wants to pay for that too Im good.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:43am
BananaLlama

So my partner linked me these two articles yesterday. We are expecting our second child and are interested in whether we qualify for tax credits or not.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12091904
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12092499

She told me that WFF is being used as a corporate subsidy and encourages a low wage economy. I thought what a load of hog wash and then I read the articles (haha) and it does indeed appear to be the case.
The question I have is it even possible to solve this issue or is the family subsidy such an important piece of legislation that any changes would bring serious pain to low wage earners? furthermore how do we encourage a high wage economy in New Zealand?
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July 24, 2018 8:45am
- DigNap15
  
  We already have high wages here in NZ.
  The problem is that many jobs are not 40 hours a week and are seasonal.
  And that we have high living costs, rent, housing, power, food etc
  Ask any person from overseas and they will tell you our prices are high!
  Why is that.
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:54am
  - starboard
    
    Prices in NZ are crippling, especially food and its getting worse. I live on 15k per year in Thailand and that’s living well, grog, food, hookers, transport and 2 trips back to NZ every year courtesy of Air Asia who are fantastically good value. I don’t go without.
    Those Kiwis who can, should look at Thailand for their retirement. They now do one year retirement visas if you are over 50, which you just renew each anniversary.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:11am
- KevOB
  
  Your family tax credits are by way of the income tested WFF. In this IT world we now have negative income tax too. This is what the prior Family Benefit and Family Rebates have morphed into. WFF is income tested the earlier family payments were not.
  Except for possible bad employers wage payments are independent of WFF.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:04am
- BananaLlama
  
  Shutting down our methanol exports, forbidding resource extraction, making forestry verboten and reducing our dairy output are all good ways of creating a low wage economy. So would the opposite would be true. Creating Added Value to our commodity exports and keeping you brainy cunts here instead of sending them to Australia would be a way of creating higher wages.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:23am
Manolo

There is a Russel Norman in every country:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/expert-makes-the-case-for-400-per-barrel-oil

Philip K. Verleger, senior adviser to the global consulting firm the Brattle Group and adviser to Congress on commodity prices, released a report from his independent firm PKVerleger LLC this week that included this bold claim. He predicted a 2020 economic collapse based on the oil commodity market and the lack of diesel fuel.

“Catastrophically high oil prices will cause the impending recession,” said Verleger. “The world oil market will see prices at least double.” And from there, the sky is the limit, according to his analysis.

From the $200 mark, the price of crude oil could surge to a price of $400, he said. Prices currently range from $65-$74 per barrel.
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July 24, 2018 8:45am
- DJ Ward
  
  That’s nuts. As prices rise, more supply becomes viable. The global economy would be severely damaged by the time it got to $150 a barrel. Look what happened last time it did that.
  
  Really the big issue is refining capacity.
  Probably not included in his calls is the rapidly rising percentage of EV but more importantly the expected rise of EV buses, and short haul EV trucks. This should help offset but not eliminate potential demand increases.
  
  Enevitably global supply (presently manipulated) will not match global demand. This is because oil is a finite resource competing with a ever growing car owning global population. Many high supply sources are running low but really a 20 year issue. This will force up prices, resulting in less demand, and resulting in EV being more viable.
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:18am
DigNap15

Yes many commentators are starting to say that WWF is just a way of paying lower wages and that the Accommodation supplement just helps landlords keep their rents high.
Hopefully some politician will have the balls to start cutting back on both of them.
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July 24, 2018 8:52am
- KevOB
  
  They would only have to be replaced with something similar.
  How are you going to explain to a minimum wage worker paying rent that he should be worse off than someone of lesser or similar income in social housing whose rent is fixed at 1/6 of income?
  
  It’s tough maintaining equities.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:09am
  - DigNap15
    
    Yes, I see what you mean.
    I seem to remember that when WFF came out it was to sort of reward people that were working.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:14am
    - KevOB
      
      There was the Family Benefit and a tax rebate for children back in the 1950’s. As income and population grew rates were adjusted periodically. In 1964 it was even possible to trade in the FB for a deposit on a State House.
      
      Tax support for families was not means tested and operated as a rebate in the assessment process. Because of increasing technology, IRD’s management of it and the greater participation of working women the tax system has been rationalised and PAYE simplified. A statutory set amount income limited is now paid out separately fortnightly via IRD for dependants. This makes the former rebates more timely in their application. The WFF are available to all with dependants subject to income. Benefits have been adapted too and beneficiaries get WFF via IRD on the same basis as everyone else.
      
      I don’t see how the system can be significantly improved. We will always have a few bad employers who attempt to pay too little. WFF is not intended as a subsidy for them.
      
      WFF itself is misnamed.
      
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      July 24, 2018 9:57am
  - waikatogirl
    
    It’s very tough for the single people and the double income with no kids, who pay tax and are not eligible for all these cosy WFF payments, etc. National’s tax cuts cancelled by the CoL. Lost out again… ?
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:19am
  - Left Right and Centre
    
    How do you explain to a minimum braincells worker that 4-6 kids is farkin mental ?
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:36am
  - Paulus
    
    Increase incomes by tax reductions and stop Governments wasting money.
    In simple terms.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:24pm
- Local Miller
  
  I can’t say I totally agree with the logic of Hooton’s argument. By his logic, adjusting the tax brackets as National proposed, which would then save about $1000 for each wage earner, would incentives employers to not give salary increases, as the tax change would be a de facto increase, again subsidised by the government.
  
  I think you would be hard pressed to find evidence that employers look at your potential to earn WfF to determine your salary.
  
  I agree that WfF should be reduced and eventually removed, but not because it encourages the so called “low wage economy”, but because it is just another form of welfare, which in the long term is always bad for society as a whole. WfF should be reduced/removed, and tax brackets adjusted to keep the net impact as close to neutral as reasonably possible.
  
  At a rough estimate and $4$, we have a similar “low wage economy” as the USA, and in some situations our wages are better (e.g. minimum wage). Our problem is we have much higher costs on a lot of basic things, like housing, cars, food, transport (petrol). Much of this higher cost is government and/or council driven with things like; over 50% of petrol going to tax, expensive resource consent processes, land restrictions forcing up land prices, etc.
  
  What drives me nuts is the total lack of understanding around what drives an economy. Economies are driven by disposable income. The larger % of their income those at the lower income level have for discretionary spending, the more they will “splash out”, and the less they are likely to invest in “safe investments” like 2nd houses. Money spent stimulates the economy, creating more wealth for all, including more income for government (GST, etc.) If you take from everyone via high taxes and state based service charges, to give to those “in need”, you first create the problem by over taxing/charging, then pretend to solve it with hand outs, and you lose money in the “money go round” as the bureaucracy absorbs too much for too few to justify the benefits.
  
  This article talks about whether tax cuts benefit the economy https://www.investopedia.com/articles/07/tax_cuts.asp
  and while they generally argue against tax cuts, there is a critical line: “In other words, economic growth is largely unaffected by how much tax the wealthy pay. Growth is more likely to spur if lower income earners get a tax cut.”
  This is actually a fairly obvious conclusion since the wealthy already have a high level of discretionary spending, they aren’t going to change much for a few hundred $ a month more, but those on a tight budget with $1000 a month more will tend to spend most of it.
  
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  July 24, 2018 10:22am
  - hullkiwi
    
    Local Miller, you are correct that we need our politicians to rid NZ of WFF, it was a duff form of welfare copied from the UK & the outcomes has been exactly the same.
    
    The starting problems are:
    1. It is welfare and making people dependent on the state for a living;
    2 . The flexible wage market which removes wage & salary conditions, while forcing wages down to the minimum wage floor;
    3. Because wages are on average lower than they should be productivity rates are lower than is suitable for the economy. This means are costs of production rise, because output lower than what is ideal;
    4. Both in the UK & NZ the WFF scheme have been found to support unscrupulous businessmen and supporting inefficient businesses that cannot be sustained without subsidising their workforce;
    5. Paying lower wages with a government subsidy means:
    a) a lower tax base for government; &
    b) government resources are being spent in the wrong place.
    6. There will be continual demands for a “living wage” or increases in the minimum wage, because it costs even the low paid to live & pay for living costs that are charged at the same cost irrespective of a person’s income.
    
    The way to solve it will require a phase out of WFF and the reintroduction of the tax rate platform of Douglas with a reasonable floor for tax free income. This would account for the past 15 years and give people a certain level of basic income.
    
    The aim would be to encourage people into work, rather than being dependent on benefits as income.
    
    Equally, it is imperative that beneficiaries are tested for whether they are qualified and the benefit is aimed at getting the beneficiary back to work or self sufficiency.
    
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    July 24, 2018 11:36am
Manolo

Pocahontas aspires to become Hillary:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/elizabeth-warren-fight-to-defeat-trump.html

Watching Warren this steamy summer as she works to move her party through the perilous wilderness of the Donald Trump administration, through the midterms and her own reelection to the Senate, and then perhaps toward a run for the presidency, she appears to have committed her whole body to the effort.
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July 24, 2018 8:55am
- RF
  
  Manolo.
  
  Pocahontas is a terrible fraud and I understand is intensely disliked by her supposed native Indian families.
  
  God save America.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:31am
- Rich Prick
  
  “Walking Bird” is evidence that albino Native Americans might actually exist.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:57am
  - Nermal
    
    aka ‘Dances From DNA tests’
    
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    July 24, 2018 12:56pm
stephieboy

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
How the “Cultural Marxist” theory began and its mad original advocate,

Unwrapping the Conspiracy Theory at the Heart of the Alt-Right

You might have heard the term ‘Cultural Marxism’ thrown around by figureheads of the new radical right. This is what they’re on about, and why they’re wrong.

“On the 22nd of July, 2011 in downtown Oslo, the right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik – who once gifted his mother a vibrator – detonated a bomb outside the prime minister’s office, killing eight. He then drove 25 miles to Utøya island, where the ruling Labour Party’s Youth Rally was being held, and began an hour-long shooting spree that ended with 69 more dead, most of them teenagers. That morning he had electronically distributed a 1,520-page tract, 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, decrying the “rise of cultural Marxism/multiculturalism in the West”. Later, he said the massacre had been a way of publicising his manifesto….”

The article continues,

“..The trope of “cultural Marxism” has been steadily gaining traction among the broad and diverse entity that is the radical right (although, hating diversity, they would baulk at you saying so), where it serves as an umbrella term variously responsible for such un-American and anti-Western ills as atheism, secularism, political correctness, gay rights, sexual liberation, feminism, affirmative action, liberalism, socialism, anarchism and, above all, multiculturalism. The ultimate goal of cultural Marxism, we’re led to believe, is to slowly and stealthily dilute and subvert white, Christian Western culture, thereby opening sovereign nations to rule by a one-world corporate government. Whether that’s by Jews, lizards or communists isn’t always clear…”

https://www.vice.com/en_nz/article/78mnny/unwrapping-the-conspiracy-theory-that-drives-the-alt-right
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July 24, 2018 8:57am
- VicParking
  
  Stephie arn’t You supposed to be wringing around to get people to vote against making the dole easier to get or is the goat doing it for you as she’s more articulate than you ??
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:15am
- Rich Prick
  
  Nah, you’re over-googling it. But I will let you in on the secret if you ask nicely.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:22am
- Simon
  
  Ok Soyboy
  
  9 2
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  July 24, 2018 9:30am
peterwn

So there is agitation for the National Party to be involved in Auckland Council politics (See the ‘other’ blog). Well, the ‘other’ blog did not like my comment so here it is:
“Why are right wing local government activists in Auckland so feckless that they cannot organise decent candidates and campaign? Seems they want to offload the problem on to the National Party instead of doing something about it themselves. Seems they cannot even organise a booze up in a brewery. I suspect infighting and squabbles is the main problem and Peter Goodfellow is damned if the Board is going to be dragged into local squabbles. Peter Goodfellow, MP’s and co are very wise with keeping the Party out of this. People like to talk about the National Party going back to its ‘Founding Principles’. Well, keeping out of local body politics is one of National’s ‘Founding Principles’, and changing this needs more thought and consideration than passing a remit at Conference.
So one would hope the other Party regions will tell Northern Region which orifice to stick that remit up.”
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July 24, 2018 9:11am
- VicParking
  
  You might upset Judith, no wonder you are banned.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:16am
  - peterwn
    
    I won’t know that until I try commenting again.
    Anyway while National does not get involved with local politics, National places no limitation on its members, office holders etc getting involved with local politics in their private capacity.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:23am
    - Keeping Stock
      
      Hosking tossed out a few rumours this morning:
      
      1) Phil Goff will not stand again as Mayor
      2) Helen Clark is considering standing for Mayor
      3) So is Judith Collins
      4) So is Steven Joyce
      
      Now of course these are only rumours, so the Police Commissioner will probably be along any minute to quash them. They are food for thought though.
      
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      July 24, 2018 10:08am
      - peterwn
        
        Judith is quite free to stand for Mayor, but not under the National Party banner, and does not need the blessing of the Party as such. However while a MP she would need to sort things out with the Leader (Simon Bridges) such as allowable time off for campaigning and the consequences of being elected (although National should readily win any ensuing byelection). Either Judith or Steven could be just the thing to unify the fractious right wing local government activists in Auckland.
        
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        July 24, 2018 10:53am
      - ex-golfer
        
        I think HC “considering” standing for Mayor is an under-statement. She is positioning herself very clearly for a tilt at the job.
        Obviously she is not enjoying being away from the deep trough filled with OPM.
        
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        July 24, 2018 3:41pm
- hullkiwi
  
  Peter while I’m in broad agreement with what you have written, the right wing in Auckland have been dysfunctional since the days of Robbie.
  
  We got rid of Robbie in Auckland City, but later amalgamation into 5 cities and then SuperCity caused more problems. As Citizen & Ratepayers have been asleep at the wheel & failed to reorganise themselves into a body for all Auckland.
  
  Then within C&R you get candidates coming through as local board or ward councillors. Not one of whom (including Desley Simpson, Peter Goodfellow’s wife) are worthy to be considered as candidates for mayor. This leaves the right looking shambolic & meaning Goofy (or whoever) can cake walk it yo mayor on 35% of the vote.
  
  So the issue is to organise the right & have a credible candidate.
  
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  July 24, 2018 12:37pm
Paulus Gnome

Looks like the baby pod concert at Eden Park will not go ahead.

Labour; looking after their personal interests since 1916
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July 24, 2018 9:19am
- RalphT
  
  But remember Helen is an OAP, and despite receiving the winter heating allowance she probably has to go to bed at 8.30 in order to save money. We can’t have her beauty sleep disturbed.
  
  19 1
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  July 24, 2018 9:56am
  - KevOB
    
    HC is also a citizen and if she is a ratepayer living in the vicinity of the Park she has every right to be concerned about noise. This would be precedent setting use of the Park.
    HC doesn’t appear to have done anything that other retired MP’s have not done in regards to neighbourhood affairs.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:06am
    - starboard
      
      Yeah but everyone hates clark, and rightly so.
      
      16 3
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      July 24, 2018 10:25am
      - KevOB
        
        That’s unreasonable. We grumble when the SJW’s ramp up their hatefulness. Citizen Clarke has the rights to enjoy the local stadium not being turned into an entertainment venue. It’s a neighbourhood issue. I once lived close to Western Springs and understand the impact on the surrounding area.
        Clarke was only participating as one of the likely affected. I think her call was correct that the changed use of the stadium required higher approval as it surely would set a precedent.
        
        We need to separate politics and rights.
        
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        July 24, 2018 11:56am
Prince

Winston Peters says the goal for NZ to be smoke-free by 2025 is ‘meaningless’.
At least the previous Government took positive actions to back up their goal.
Unlike the present Government goal for ‘zero suicides’ while scrapping the plan to assist Police in front line callouts, and ‘zero road toll’ while scrapping road improvements.

Could someone please explain why National continue to give this clown free air, when he has done nothing but criticise them for over two decades. If they seriously think Peters would backtrack and support them in 2020, they are naive and deserve all they will get in those post-election ‘negotiations’
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July 24, 2018 9:20am
- Simon
  
  The real goal is to be NZ First free asap.
  
  26 1
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  July 24, 2018 9:32am
  - Keeping Stock
    
    Amen, amen and amen 😀
    
    13 1
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    July 24, 2018 10:10am
- DigNap15
  
  And they had goals and target for
  Health
  Education
  Beneficiaries
  
  The COL have free money.
  
  13 2
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  July 24, 2018 9:33am
dime

The latest Iran tweets cracked me up.

I love the reaction from our trusted media.

Iran: we will fuck you up!
Trump: we will fuck you up worse.

Reaction – trump is bad! how could he say such things? ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Its like they learned nothing this year, remember when the rocketman tweets were going to end the world?
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July 24, 2018 9:25am
- DigNap15
  
  Most Iranian people one sees on tv look like nice people.
  Like most people in the world, they just want a good life, a home a job and food, and to live in peace.
  Its their crazy politicians and religion that stuffs it all up.
  
  27 2
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  July 24, 2018 9:35am
  - Left Right and Centre
    
    I also want to see hot women showing off their figures, being fun and flirty, internet porn, sex and violence on TV, possible sex with strangers or call girls, underwear adverts, enjoy freedom of beliefs, equal rights for men and women, gay or straight, any skin colour . . .
    
    9 3
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    July 24, 2018 9:47am
    - rockape
      
      Maybe look at Iran pre revolution.
      https://www.google.com/search?q=Images+Iran+pre+revolution&client=firefox-b-ab&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjD8923oLbcAhUUUt4KHcMlAX4QsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=1859&bih=936
      
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      July 24, 2018 10:21am
      - DJ Ward
        
        Yes sad isn’t it. All this occured due to some dodgy ripoff oil deals leaving a vacuum for the radicle religious nutters to take over.
        
        6 1
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        July 24, 2018 2:32pm
- Harkman
  
  You know what side the Herald is on in all of this? “Donald Trump issues shocking threat to Iranian leader”
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12093850
  
  Iran threatened the US first.
  
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  July 24, 2018 9:36am
  - KevOB
    
    See press.tv
    Shia Iran lives in a hostile Sunni world. They are a theocracy and fullsome threats are everyday events. The USA seems to have got a glancing blow in vigorous style. What do they expect trying to shut down Iran’s oil exports so they can promote the Saudis and their own exports? A bully is one who puts the boot in and doesn’t tolerate retaliation. USA?
    The quicker the Americans go home the better for peace.
    
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    July 24, 2018 10:20am
    - Inandout
      
      And the quicker those ‘migrants’ go home the better for our peace.
      
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      July 24, 2018 4:19pm
- Shaun the Sheep
  
  I’m still trying to figure out the logic behind claiming that Trump is Putin’s lapdog for not speaking harshly enough while simultaneously insisting that Trump is declaring war on Russia because of … something or other.
  FFS
  
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  July 24, 2018 8:42pm
secondcumming

Ever wondered why the Norwegian Navy have bar codes on the side of their ships?

So when they return to port they can be Scandinavian.
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July 24, 2018 9:33am
MCos

Here’s a wee song to gladden the hearts of all you President Trump supporters

https://twitter.com/maninthehoody/status/1021140774740619265?s=21
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July 24, 2018 9:50am
Stars And Stripes

Kiwi supermarket chain cuts cost of sanitary products in effort to tackle period poverty
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/105680280/kiwi-supermarket-chain-cuts-cost-of-sanitary-products-in-effort-to-tackle-period-poverty
“Countdown is cutting the prices of 15 in-house branded products, some by up to 48 per cent, to make them more affordable for women and girls across the country”.

Apart from anecdotes in the media and all the usual poverty people chiming in I have not seen any hard evidence to support the proposition that period poverty even actually exists so are far from convinced that this is anything more than PR to silence the mob really and will have minimal or no tangible effects in general society.
Anyway very soon I will expect to see shaving products for males reduced in cost but I won’t be holding my breath on that one as I’m sure Louisa Wall and Co won’t view this as a priority.
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July 24, 2018 9:59am
- Surely Knott
  
  Countdown is getting on my nerves with all their bandwagon virtue signalling. First with their plastic bag schtick. And now the period poverty. Give me a break. I’d be pleased if they moved to less packaging of their products but I don’t need a lecture about it. This is clearly a new marketing direction. Argh.
  
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  July 24, 2018 3:03pm
  - sooty
    
    S&S. I’m sure the big fat femanazis will join in on cheep shaving gear to keep their chins hair free.
    
    4 1
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    July 24, 2018 3:27pm
  - ex-golfer
    
    Which is one of the many reasons I do not shop at countdown.
    Worst supermarket chain in NZ.
    
    4 2
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    July 24, 2018 3:38pm
    - Inandout
      
      Pam’s edible products from New World are by and large made in China. Countdown are mainly sourced from Australia, often under the Woolworths or Select brand. I will tolerate the virtue signalling.
      
      1 1
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      July 24, 2018 4:23pm
simpleton1

Faisal Hussain a lone wolf or a known wolf. With a family statement

“had severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life.”……… The interventions of professionals were unsuccessful.
Medications and therapy were unable to treat him.
…“we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end.” https://twitter.com/CityNewsAmanda/status/1021509311992803335/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1021509311992803335&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheavy.com%2Fnews%2F2018%2F07%2Ffaisal-hussain-hussein%2F

Seemed to be well practiced with an illegal hand gun.
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July 24, 2018 10:26am
- simpleton1
  
  National Council of Canadian Muslims
  
  “The NCCM denounces this attack in the strongest possible terms. There can be no justification for such acts of brutal violence,” NCCM coordinator Leila Nasr said.
  
  So muslims knew Faisal Hussain as a muslim.
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:08am
  - simpleton1
    
    A lone wolf or Known Wolf?.
    So muslims knew of him, and the obvious mental problems and deficiencies.
    
    Did the police or “intelligence” know of this ‘lone wolf’?
    Had he come to their notice earlier?
    
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    July 24, 2018 11:20am
    - DigNap15
      
      He probably has mental issues, but everyone loved him and he was a good boy/man/father whatever.
      Just like our mental patients.
      They all belong in mental hospitals to keep us all safe!
      
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      July 24, 2018 3:52pm
      - Inandout
        
        Those mental issues often stem from inbreeding, and as the generations go along the problem gets worse. The mothers who are often wrapped in black rubbish bags suffer lack of vitamin D, and this can affect their mental stability. Inherent madness in general is untreatable. Mix this with a radical mosquey priest and the mad one becomes a weapon.
        
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        July 24, 2018 4:31pm
  - stephieboy
    
    simpleton1, no they knew him as a person who committed gun violence in a city that has witnessed much of that kind of thing.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:05pm
    - simpleton1
      
      National Council of Canadian Muslims NCCM only denounces, condemns terror attacks, or any violence, if it is done by a muslim! Google it. No other violent incidents are mentioned unless done by a muslim.
      
      Then it is spun as mental problem, misunderstood, extremist, poverty, deprived, stress, post traumatic stress disorder,, etc.
      
      Then things are pointed out that it is the wider community causing the problem, by xenophobia, Islamophobia, alt right wing, nazi, etc. sparking only a defensive victimization from muslim communities.
      
      That safe guards are needed for muslims, like not talking about anything islamic, koranic, etc or Mohammad etc. to prevent a major back lash, or threats, to the followers of the so called very peaceful minded, that claims victory by terror, Mohammad as espoused in the koran, hadith and sira. 🙂
      
      After all who can deny Mohammad’s sayings, actions and deeds, as truly the oldest and most prestigious Egyptian University Al-Azhar, to this very day still supports Mohammad’s teachings!
      
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      July 24, 2018 3:39pm
    - simpleton1
      
      Wrong stephieboy!
      The knew him as a known wolf, muslim, near “65 Mussallah Mosque”
      
      Files being reviewed by police include concern Hussain expressed “support” for a website that was seen as “pro-ISIL,” says a law enforcement source. ……
      ….police in Toronto and CSIS officials in Ottawa, as well as the RCMP, are looking into his past, which sources say include his residence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
      
      Hussain apparently had been spoken to by authorities about his online activities. Sources say Toronto Police, the OPP and the RCMP have all had an interest in the now-deceased shooter.
      
      What law enforcement is saying is that the attack was planned, and Hussain was “well known to Toronto Police” for investigations into past crimes “involving weapons and violence.” …..
      …… some friends said he was “not at all radical,” others said he was more interested in Islamic discussions “when there were more people around.” https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-was-danforth-attack-terror-or-terrorism?video_autoplay=true
      
      A known wolf!
      
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      July 25, 2018 1:00am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Member of a religion that encourages members to murder people in order to go to heaven, goes on a murder spree. But religion isn’t the problem /sarc.
  
  Religion (particularly islam) is a supercharger for misanthropic insanity.
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:17am
  - Rich Prick
    
    It certainly produces its share of mental illness.
    
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    July 24, 2018 11:20am
    - simpleton1
      
      His family community said they tried to get help for him to no effect.
      
      National Council of Canadian Muslims community recognize Faisal and his family as muslims.
      So did they attend mosque and refer to the imam about the life long problems with Faisal?
      
      Did the imam in giving community help to Faisal in following Mohammad, the most “perfect man” by considering the deeds, actions and sayings. Advising of abrogation as found in the holy koran aided by supporting hadith and sira to gain full understanding of Mohammad’s intent?
      
      There are wonderful words of ‘wisdom’ from Mohammad a most ‘perfect man’ in how to achieve “jannah” (of spiritual peace and bliss) and how to save yourself from going to “jahannam”, (a most fearsome crazy horrific place of plaguing psychotic nightmares), and give ‘peace’ to many. // 🙂
      
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      July 24, 2018 1:49pm
      - stephieboy
        
        simpleton1, blah, blah, blah …! from one who is a self-confessed Professor of gun violence and mental illness.
        
        No doubt wankers like Professors Southern and Molyneux will have much to say on this incident too.
        
        Be patient!
        
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        July 24, 2018 2:11pm
      - simpleton1
        
        You are right stephieboy.
        The illegal hand gun shooter was a patient !
        His own family’s statement said as above.
        
        He was a patient of “professionals” taking “medications” and “therapies”.
        
        I did not realize that stephieboy had done these studies to be;- from one who is a self-confessed Professor of gun violence and mental illness.
        
        I do point out that gun violence is not in the koran, but sword violence, camel violence and much violence and the art of terror is in the koran, hadith and sira, as portrayed by the most perfect man, Mohammad.
        So it is seems that Faisal was mixed up or very misguided.
        I am sure you hope that Mohammad was a major part in the life of Faisal? 🙂
        
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        July 24, 2018 2:37pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yep, looks like the guy who was stabbing folks in the bus last week has mental problems too.
      https://www.dw.com/en/alleged-l%C3%BCbeck-knife-attacker-faces-court/a-44772514
      
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      July 24, 2018 4:01pm
  - stephieboy
    
    UN, but no tthe same kind of thing can be said for the Parklands and Las Vegas assailants?
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:07pm
    - Inandout
      
      You can’t yet judge the Las Vegas nutter because the police are so slow at releasing evidence. This case smells to high heaven, but at least the victims’ lawyers are gathering background evidence.
      
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      July 24, 2018 4:34pm
- Jack5
  
  Meanwhile, in Britain, three Middle Easterners arrested for throwing acid in face of three-year-old boy.
  
  They may have been aiming at the mother.
  
  Are feminists still singing the praises of multiculturism?
  
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5984107/Worcester-acid-attack-boy-police-safe-house-police-say-motive-community-dispute.html
  
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  July 24, 2018 12:07pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I wonder if the family were aware that he had guns.
  
  How does a person with severe mental health problems get easy access to weapons?
  
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  July 24, 2018 1:11pm
  - stephieboy
    
    MW, this is something the Toronto police are also considering given the spate of gun violence in that city this year.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:13pm
Manolo

The Canadian lone wolf has been identified:

Yesterday, the SIU commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 29-year-old man in Toronto. A short time ago, after speaking with a member of the deceased’s immediate family and a family representative, the SIU was able to confirm the man’s identity.

Due to the exceptional circumstances of this tragic incident and the public interest in knowing the man’s identity, the SIU is identifying the man as Faisal Hussain of Toronto.
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July 24, 2018 10:31am
- Inandout
  
  The Boy Trudeau faces the reality of diversity. It is just possible this Faisal Hussian received some of the $10 million dollars this weird PM paid to a Canadian Muslim terrorist.
  
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  July 24, 2018 11:25am
  - stephieboy
    
    Inandout , no only silly conspiracy loons like you believe that kind of stuff.
    
    One thing is for sure nothing will change with hopeless dopey cases like you.
    
    2 18
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    July 24, 2018 2:16pm
    - Inandout
      
      Just a reminder stephie, Trump is great! Now waits for you to explode.
      
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      July 24, 2018 4:36pm
- DigNap15
  
  Couldn’t happen to a nicer country!
  Canada is a soft touch for islam immigrants so they get all they deserve.
  Their leaders want to encourage more to come!
  No more mulsims in the west, send them all back.
  
  11 1
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  July 24, 2018 12:23pm
  - stephieboy
    
    DidMan5 ,
    
    Oi, oi Oink, oink..!
    
    2 16
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    July 24, 2018 2:17pm
Monique Watson

Just ponied up $1500 for the 7th Grader. To head back to school in August. Love this country though. Takes quite a bit of energy loving two countries.
America Fuck Yeah:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M
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July 24, 2018 11:07am
Chuck Bird

I see the NZ Drug Foundation is lobbying for legalizing cannabis for recreation use. This is the same organization that tells school children how to use meth “safely”.

It appears they are government funded. Does anyone know if that is the case?
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July 24, 2018 11:19am
- Psycho Milt
  
  Legalising cannabis for recreational use is a no-brainer for any organisation that takes evidence-based and harm-minimisation approaches to drug policy. I’d expect an outfit called the NZ Drug Foundation to take those approaches, whether publicly-funded or not. Are you claiming they shouldn’t take those approaches?
  
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  July 24, 2018 12:23pm
  - Longknives
    
    Quite right Psycho Milt.
    Give the Kids drugs and teach them how to use them ‘safely’ right?
    I naturally assume you feel the same way about handguns??
    
    16 3
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    July 24, 2018 12:27pm
    - Psycho Milt
      
      If you have evidence of the NZ Drug Foundation giving P to schoolchildren (or anyone else), please do take it to the Police.
      
      Re your false analogy, yes – if there were a thriving black market for handguns in NZ, resulting in a lot of young people using handguns and injuring themselves via unsafe handling, I’d want firearms safety info freely available in places teenagers would be likely to find it.
      
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      July 24, 2018 1:35pm
Jack5

Interesting article at Whale on the halal certification certification rort that is financing Islamic centres around the country.

https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2018/07/what-the-halal-certification-fees-in-nz-are-funding/#more-397688
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July 24, 2018 11:51am
- DigNap15
  
  Ban Halal meat in NZ
  Ban all mosques
  Ban all islamic centers, foundations, societies, associations.
  Long Live Hungary, Myanmar and Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia and maybe Austria.
  Muslims belong in muslim countries.
  The west belongs to the west.
  
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  July 24, 2018 1:39pm
  - MCos
    
    FYI
    https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1KD1O3?__twitter_impression=true
    
    If you are not familiar with this ongoing Myanmar court case. Here are references to further articles on the whole sorry business
    
    https://mobile.reuters.com/subjects/myanmar-reporters
    
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    July 24, 2018 4:34pm
UrbanNeocolonialist

Jordan Peterson comment on who should get into politics, Absolutely spot on.
https://youtu.be/JF1oo9ho1wY?t=190

Not a single Labour or Green politician I can think of measures up.
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July 24, 2018 11:54am
- stephieboy
  
  UN , following his advice?
  
  LOL
  
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  July 24, 2018 2:18pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    chicken frottage wibble, lol, lol, muesli ocelot baaa fachang convolutionary emancipation cavern dugong pip toblerone?
    alt-right
    alt-right
    alt-right
    squark! halt-system, parroty error.
    
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    July 24, 2018 5:06pm
hullkiwi

The next tale from yesterday’s cabinet.

Parker & Peters are working on a solution for the Kermadec sanctuary. Peters claimed it will be resolved by the end of the year.

Davidson was surprised and not aware the government was working on it.

Does Peter Talley know This?
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July 24, 2018 1:04pm
4077th

Where is Shame Jones when you need him?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12094277

This is the perfect opportunity to do some good with the money, get people working and prop up his mate Twatford.. 3M and they could be up and running again with some HNZ orders.
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July 24, 2018 1:08pm
- DigNap15
  
  Sadly, it probably shows that NZ is just too small for mass produced housing.
  Annother good reason for a much bigger population of good people.
  
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  July 24, 2018 1:10pm
  - Jack5
    
    You’re wrong on both counts, DigNap15.
    
    Twyford reckons NZ needs 100,000 houses to meet the present deficit. A “stock take” he commissioned resulted in one of the economists involved reckoning 500,000 houses were needed.
    
    Prefab housing is big in countries of similar size and living standards to NZ, such as Finland, and there are other prefab-housing makers in NZ who seem to be trading well.
    
    As I understand it, one problem with prefab building is that banks won’t put money up until the prefab is completed and assembled, which means huge demand for working capital on the part of the prefab builders.
    
    Housing is one of the few industries that haven’t moved to factory construction. The house building industry is lagging the Industrial Revolution by 250 or so years.
    
    As for increasing the population: NZ’s population growth has outrun the economy already. The gap between exports and imports is growing, and GDP per capita is at a standstill, and may fall over the next year or so.
    
    The philosophy of bring the people and industry will magically arise is cargo cult thinking.
    
    Where are the new export industries from our latest influx of people? We are still overwhelmingly dependent on agricultural exports and tourism.
    
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    July 24, 2018 2:20pm
- rangitoto
  
  Or maybe their product wasn’t what anyone wanted.
  
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  July 24, 2018 3:35pm
DigNap15

The best way to help children is to subsidise mothers

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/supporting-beneficiary-mums-best-way-to-improve-lives-report/ar-BBL0OkE?ocid=spartandhp

How about the best way to hep children is for them to have a father and mother in the same house and to look after themselves, not everyone else’s ferals
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July 24, 2018 1:08pm
- dime
  
  “Invest in mothers “and they will do the rest””
  
  LMAO is this a tui ad?
  
  check the stats on outcomes for people raised in a single parent home.
  
  and it ain’t just money. turns out 2 parents are far superior to one parent!
  
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  July 24, 2018 1:14pm
  - stephieboy
    
    dime , we see what very mixed results your mumsy achieved .
    
    2 21
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    July 24, 2018 2:19pm
- Left Right and Centre
  
  More dramatic claims in that link . . .
  
  Mothers often chose to go without food as the cost of food was the most discretionary item in their budget.
  
  Really ? ‘Go without food’. They’re anorexic now ?
  I’d like to meet all of these women not eating.
  Can’t even afford the $1 bread – times are tough.
  
  Of course – no hard facts, just hard to swallow.
  
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  July 24, 2018 5:41pm
  - DigNap15
    
    Yes all I ever see when I go out is overweight whales with children behind them. Trolleys full of rubbish.
    
    6 1
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    July 24, 2018 5:55pm
ex-golfer

Shane Jones likes to treat question time in the House as his own version of a comedy club.
Unfortunately the policies of the Government that he is part of are far from funny.
I also doubt he would be successful in a career as a stand-up comedian (which appears to be his desire).
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July 24, 2018 2:46pm
- Piniwi
  
  But ex-golfer Davis might as every utterance gets a laugh like this one: The big drive to dumb down children even further has been announced by no other than Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis. True. Fair go all with the benefit of 12 “experts” talking hooey.
  
  “We want them to have the confidence and competence to be able to weave gibberish into their lessons, [and] to normalise gibberish in the classroom.”
  This initiative would be for all teachers but those in primary school in particular.
  The other initiative, will work to strengthen gibberish of young people who already had some proficiency.
  
  The two initiatives have been given $16 million over the next four years.
  
  This after gibberish has been on life support for over 20 years and Muddy children still struggle more than most with the primary language. So now it is time to dumb down the rest of the children to the LCD level by weaving gibberish into the curriculum. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” They have already finished dragging down ECE levels with gibberish now it is primary school levels turn. Compulsory gibberish by stealth to be woven into the curriculum by 2020 must be an aspirational target as $16 million is to be spent over 4 years. Could this be the true cost of Labour gaining all those Muddy seats?
  
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  July 24, 2018 3:34pm
rangitoto

I see Tesla are trying to strong arm their suppliers into paying back a big chunk of money they have already been paid and slashing their prices. Looks like they are getting desperate.
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July 24, 2018 3:45pm
- DigNap15
  
  Yes I think Tesla is like a house of cards.
  Musk is trying to do far too many things all at once, and none of them are really proven.
  
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  July 24, 2018 3:54pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  The wheels are coming off his scambo.
  https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/19/technology/business/tesla-downgrade/index.html
  
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  July 24, 2018 3:57pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  I think Tesla are screwed in medium term (2-3 years when big car companies move in to undercut them with cheaper production). But do not think they are in terminal trouble right now.
  
  Musk can easily find a few billion to get through the slower than anticipated production scale-up problems they are having. Eg he has >10billion equity in SpaceX. Earlier in the year markets expected him to raise more money to get through the year and he surprised them by saying he would not – making life harder for himself through self imposed fiscal discipline, so obviously thinks they can do what is needed – if there is a shortfall it is small. They are estimated to be making >10k per model 3 at the moment and have more than a year’s backlog of orders.
  
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  July 24, 2018 4:55pm
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    Tesla is fucked.
    When the Germans get full-on with their electric cars in the next couple of years Musk will be in the gutter licking his wounds.
    Then we’ll have to start worrying about what to do with end of life lithium batteries.
    In the meantime most of the world will still be driving petrol cars for the next 30 years.
    
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    July 24, 2018 9:13pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      End of life lithium batteries will be worth $1000’s for home energy storage or for their materials content to recycle. So not a problem. Don’t disagree about rest, except for timescales: No one had seen a smart phone 10 years ago, while from 1900 to 1913 in new york saw change from almost no cars to almost no horses. Change to majority EV’s and autonomous cars could happen in less than 20 years.
      
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      July 24, 2018 10:22pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Victorian Government bringing in anti-association laws to curb its Youth gang problems.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-24/changes-to-victorian-anti-association-laws-attacked/10028986
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July 24, 2018 4:10pm
- DigNap15
  
  Yes I just heard on the radio that gangs of Sudanese refugees are fighting and killing in Melbourne.
  
  Thank goodness we haven’t increased our refugee quota to “do our bit” to take these scum
  
  They belong in their own shithole countries. How are they ever going to contribute to western countries in a positive way.
  
  11 1
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  July 24, 2018 5:53pm
noskire

The Religion of Peace and Sharia Law at work Civilian’s Hand Cut Off by Al Qaeda in Syria NOT SAFE FOR WORK AND GRAPHIC
7 0
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July 24, 2018 4:10pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  no thanks, I know they’re monsters. Don’t need to see them in action to wish them eradicated.
  
  7 0
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  July 24, 2018 4:43pm
RF

Watching the house with various members speaking……

My god … Megan Wood has piled on the beef over the holiday break. She is very rotund and when speaking …. sounds short of breath.

That’s not good.

And here’s me thinking Peters could be first to pop his clogs. We might just have an outsider coming up the home straight.
15 0
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July 24, 2018 4:15pm
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  And Paula is looking slinkier than ever.
  Not to mention Judith, who worked away on Twitford until he was right up shit creek without an answer.
  
  5 0
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  July 24, 2018 9:16pm
Morrissey

GROPERS
No. 35: Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to allegations that he groped a female reporter 18 years ago, saying he doesn’t recall “any negative interactions that day at all.” Trudeau, who has long spoken out against sexual harassment, briefly addressed the matter when asked by a reporter on Sunday at an event in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The question concerns a charity fundraiser that Trudeau, then 28, attended in Creston, British Columbia, before he launched his political career. … Trudeau attended the fundraiser to support avalanche safety.

An unsigned editorial that appeared at the time in the Creston Valley Advance newspaper said he apologized for inappropriate “handling” of the woman. The editorial did not provide any details, but said Trudeau “blatantly disrespected” the reporter. The Prime Minister said Sunday: “I remember that day in Creston well … I had a good day that day; I don’t remember any negative interactions that day at all.”

Trudeau’s office on Monday reiterated his stance.
“As the Prime Minister has said before, he has always been very careful to treat everyone with respect. His first experiences with activism were on the issue of sexual assault at McGill (University), and he knows the importance of being thoughtful and respectful,” the office said. …

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/02/americas/justin-trudeau-groping-allegations/index.html

https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/07/justin-trudeau-groping-allegations-2000/

“GROPERS” is presented by GroperWatch®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.

1 George Herbert Walker Bush; 2 Bill O’Reilly; 3 Al Franken; 4 Robin Brooke; 5 Lester Beck; No. 6 Arnold Schwarzenegger; 7 Joe Biden; 8 Rolf Harris; 9 Harold Bloom; 10 Sir Jimmy Savile; 11 Dr Morgan Fahey; 12 Prince Harry; 13 Bill Clinton; 14 Judge Roy Moore; 15 Matt Lauer; 16 Richard Branson; 17 Warren Moon; 18 Donald John Trump; 19 Damian Green; 20 Gene Simmons; 21 Sylvester Stallone; 22 Louise’s husband Charlie; 23 Father O’Hagan (AKA “Father Gropius”); 24 David Lloyd George; 25 James Franco; 26 Joel Kramer; 27 Rene Naufahu; 28 Steve Wynn; 29 Vince McMahon; 30 Rob Porter; 31 The old buffers at Russell McVeagh; 32 Otago law students; 33 Tom Brokaw; 34 David Scott
3 15
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July 24, 2018 4:54pm
- Morrissey
  
  One supporter of that little weasel has registered with us. Go to hell, halfwit.
  
  2 15
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  July 24, 2018 4:59pm
  - Jack5
    
    Well done, Morrissey.
    
    3 0
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    July 24, 2018 7:00pm
- Inandout
  
  If only we had a name for the Labour camp man.
  
  13 0
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  July 24, 2018 5:15pm
  - Morrissey
    
    Darren? … Shane?
    
    3 5
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    July 24, 2018 5:23pm
MCos

..
1 3
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July 24, 2018 5:24pm
- Shaun the Sheep
  
  You’re repeating yourself, MCos
  
  5 0
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  July 24, 2018 8:51pm
Johnboy

Another “Stuff” outraged folk! 🙂
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/rodney-times/105624795/accident-caused-by-dangerous-access-to-orewa-beach-says-injured-woman
Here is a real walk!
https://tramper.nz/5433/steel-ladder-tararua-peaks-feb-2010/
🙂
2 1
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July 24, 2018 5:55pm
DigNap15

Muslims seem to have a lot of mental problems in the west.
The best cure for this is to send them all back to muslim countries in the desert where they will be happy with people of their own religion.
13 1
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July 24, 2018 5:58pm
- noskire
  
  This is what I don’t get. Mesopotamia, now roughly what we call Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization.”
  Really?
  A bunch of goat-fuckers, stuck in the Middle-Ages and living in huts made out of clay and their own shit.
  And we import them here why?
  
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  July 24, 2018 6:32pm
starboard

Herr Goff lol..

https://wp.me/p3Avhv-1sZ
2 1
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July 24, 2018 5:59pm
Johnboy

Sad news:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/105703548/aviation-industry-rallies-behind-wallis-family-after-lake-wanaka-tragedy
Note this: “The helicopter has hit the water from some height so it has suffered significant damage,” he said.”
Losing the main rotor from mast bump tends to lead to this sort of outcome.
Never fly in a Robinson R22, R44, or R66 if you value your life.
12 1
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July 24, 2018 6:03pm
- noskire
  
  Agree Johnboy – I shudder when I hear one overpass. Too many mast-bump crashes – I don’t understand why people would ever set foot in one. Sincere condolences to the Wallis family.
  
  11 1
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  July 24, 2018 6:43pm
  - Johnboy
    
    It’s far beyond time that they should be grounded noskire. One tends to suspect that our enforcement agencies are not what they seem to purport themselves to be. 🙂
    
    5 2
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    July 24, 2018 6:51pm
    - noskire
      
      They seem to be popular in outback Australia too – where it’s generally flat. Because of the design, and whilst they are comparatively “cheap”, these aircraft are just not suitable (and in fact lethal) for mountainous areas.
      
      5 1
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      July 24, 2018 7:06pm
      - Johnboy
        
        It seems to be sudden negative G that does for them noskire. I’ve flown around the mountains a fair bit and sudden downdrafts seem to be par for the course. The Robinson folk can say what they like about pilot inputs being the problem but if really experienced folk like Mr. Wallis can die from these things so easily there is something fundamentally wrong with the Robinson tilting rotor design.
        Bells have similar rotor systems but different to the Robinson design and none of the same crash statistics. Well past time we grounded them.
        
        9 2
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        July 24, 2018 7:27pm
      - noskire
        
        Most of my experience has been across variants of the MD500. You can land those puppies on a dime 500m out and clocking 270kph.
        
        6 1
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        July 24, 2018 7:54pm
      - Johnboy
        
        If you are going to fly around in the mountains the 500 is the steed of choice noskire. 🙂
        
        6 1
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        July 24, 2018 7:57pm
      - noskire
        
        Great machine overseas too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKzJ2Wnv9fA&t=137s
        
        2 0
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        July 24, 2018 8:02pm
  - Shaun the Sheep
    
    You’ve been in the thoughts of many of us noskire.
    Take care.
    
    3 0
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    July 24, 2018 9:01pm
    - noskire
      
      Thanks mate. I really appreciate all the kind words that have been expressed to me by many on KiwiBlog.
      
      0 0
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      July 24, 2018 9:54pm
- All_on_Red
  
  Piece of shit aircraft.
  Buy a Schweitzer 300
  It might be slower but it’s safer and nicer to fly
  The new Guimbal G2 Cabri looks good too
  
  1 0
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  July 24, 2018 6:55pm
Johnboy

Amazing! I see that “Minus 1” is obviously the NZ agent for Robinson helicopters and the chap what built the dodgy ladder. 🙂
9 1
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July 24, 2018 6:11pm
Nostradamus

Johnboy:

I’ve found the perfect retirement spot for Nasska: Luxury lodge – all yours for just $23,995,000

One of the nation’s most beautiful lodges is up for sale, featuring untapped coastal forestry, private beaches, and breathtaking views. The lodge offers stunning views of the surrounding northwestern South Island areas including the Whanganui Inlet, Westhaven Bay, and Kahurangi National Park.

Stigie lives down that way, supposedly, but this might be out of his league.

Or maybe not:

Located on the Westhaven Peninsula, the 2732 square metre lodge has five lodge rooms with two suites for guests, an owner’s wing, and manager’s apartment. There are also staff quarters and a separate holiday home which makes a total of 14 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms on the property.

I’m not sure whether Nasska would entrust Stigie with the keys to the manager’s apartment, but he could hang out in the staff quarters, surely!

And just for you:

It has a farm with two working cattle and sheep yards, holding and shearing facilities and a 345 square metre shed that can be used as a helicopter hangar. … The area is well known for hunting wild deer and boar as well as great fishing around the coast.

Everyone’s happy – a true home for Kiwibloggers!
9 0
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July 24, 2018 6:17pm
- Johnboy
  
  It made no comment on a manger for a chap to rear his sheep in Nostra so I shall forgo it and leave it for nasska and Stigie to haggle over! 🙂
  
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  July 24, 2018 6:22pm
  - Nostradamus
    
    I thought the 14 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, plus helicopter hangar, would be of interest to Starboard. He could fly in his Thai princesses and fly them out without having to go through airport queues and customs inspections like the rest of us!
    
    9 0
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    July 24, 2018 6:24pm
    - Johnboy
      
      I thought most Thai princesses had enough flys to do their own aviating Nostra! 🙂
      
      5 0
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      July 24, 2018 6:28pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      starboard has previously complained about the high cost of the bus fare from Christchurch to Nelson, so I doubt he will be going anywhere.
      
      6 5
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      July 24, 2018 6:31pm
      - starboard
        
        Pillock.
        
        5 2
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        July 24, 2018 6:33pm
      - Longknives
        
        ‘When in Rome’ Starboard…
        
        4 1
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        July 24, 2018 6:59pm
      - Longknives
        
        Yeah that comment won’t make any sense whatsoever- As I wanted it under Starboard’s post about Ladyboys.
        Nevermind! I’m not going to try to figure this newfangled ‘Internet’ thing out- Instead I’m pouring myself a nightcap…
        
        6 0
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        July 24, 2018 7:00pm
    - starboard
      
      Im in.
      
      3 0
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      July 24, 2018 6:32pm
      - Johnboy
        
        We all already know that. 🙂
        
        4 0
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        July 24, 2018 6:36pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Does his girlfriend?
        Just kidding SB
        
        3 1
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        July 24, 2018 6:51pm
      - starboard
        
        Heh good one. Might bring a ladyboy back for mm, I know he likes that sort of thing,the filthy individual.
        
        5 1
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        July 24, 2018 6:55pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        #Mikecantgetlaid
        
        6 1
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        July 24, 2018 6:58pm
  - Nostradamus
    
    Johnboy:
    
    a manger
    
    You’d be amazed how often I see “manager” misspelt as “manger” in a professional document!
    
    4 0
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    July 24, 2018 7:44pm
    - Johnboy
      
      Even baby Jesus had that trouble Nostra. He was supposedly created in a manger and got the Catholic church as his managers! Shit happens. 🙂
      
      2 0
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      July 24, 2018 7:50pm
- nasska
  
  What poor timing Nostra. The cook & I put in an offer on a hovel in the Far North today.
  
  At this point I reckon another $24 million in expenditure for July might be pushing the boat out a little too far. 🙂
  
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  July 24, 2018 7:00pm
  - Johnboy
    
    Give Shaney a call nasska. Tell the fat prick to get his hand off his cock for once and sort out a deal for you. He’s got money to burn mate! 🙂
    
    7 0
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    July 24, 2018 7:09pm
  - stigie
    
    I’ll tell them to hold off till August Nasska, with all that dosh coming in from the Eke farm, i reckon you could give your good mate Lewis Stanton a job by bringing all your goodies in to Westhaven by his horse and cart, hell i think he would like that..?
    
    5 0
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    July 24, 2018 7:18pm
    - nasska
      
      How’s my old mate Lewis getting on these days stigie? Have the Council settled up with compensation & given the poor bugger back his horse.
      
      Strewth! I’d hate to hit a rough patch when I was passing through Nelson. A man would be driving a horse & cart along SH6 & the council would have him down to his underwear by the time he hit Trafalgar Park! 🙂
      
      4 0
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      July 24, 2018 7:26pm
      - stigie
        
        He doesn’t feature much these days Nasska, but i did notice the other day they have these nice planter boxes outside Farmers display windows so no one can camp or scatter fucking hay bales around for their seating.
        Farmers wished they had done this years ago but had to keep very tight lipped over the Lewis Stanton fiasco in case of losing anymore customers because of the sympathy such as yourself and the wider community.
        
        3 0
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        July 24, 2018 7:39pm
      - nasska
        
        Slaughtering sacred cows has been a life long passion for me stigie. 🙂
        
        4 0
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        July 24, 2018 7:41pm
  - Nostradamus
    
    Nasska:
    
    Seeing as you’ve chosen to live in the Far North, is the cook a dab hand at cooking exotic pigeon?
    
    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/289509/sonny-tau-admits-hunting-kereru
    
    3 0
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    July 24, 2018 7:31pm
    - nasska
      
      Johnboy tells us that they cook up a treat Nostra. Use as an entrée to a baked Kiwi main & you’ll never go wrong. 🙂
      
      3 0
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      July 24, 2018 7:36pm
    - Johnboy
      
      Have you got a good recipe for them Nostra?
      The fat fuckers keep commiting high speed suicide into my windows. I’ve been tossing them into the river for the eels to scoff. Six already in the last two months! 🙂
      
      3 0
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      July 24, 2018 7:38pm
      - Nostradamus
        
        Johnboy:
        
        The fat fuckers keep commiting high speed suicide into my windows
        
        You’ve been playing too much Angry Birds on your mobile phone old chap! Have you tried replacing your window glass with a boiling pot of water, with spices on stand-by? If the birds are hell-bent on kamikaze Wainui-style, then the least you could do is offer them a ritual plate to sacrifice themselves on!
        
        5 0
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        July 24, 2018 7:52pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        They are just for special occasions, Johnboy.
        http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/turia-okays-serving-of-kereru-for-special-occasions/
        
        4 0
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        July 24, 2018 8:33pm
starboard

Where’s Simon? Is he having a baby? On holiday? Is he still leader of the National Party ?
3 3
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July 24, 2018 6:46pm
- Johnboy
  
  Only while Judith lets him! 🙂
  
  2 0
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  July 24, 2018 6:53pm
EAD_TWO

They were wanking on about “vulnerable” minorities tonight on One News.

Whites are less than 10% of the world population, yet in most White countries, the special status of “Minority” is given to non-white residents.

A Chinaman in Wales is a “Minority” yet there are 1.3B Chinese & 3M Welsh.

This has to be up there as one of the great deceptions & frauds of our time.
9 3
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July 24, 2018 6:56pm
- Johnboy
  
  However the “Waitangi Tribunal” has never ever been “one of the great deceptions & frauds of our time” :
  https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/about-waitangi-tribunal/members-of-the-waitangi-tribunal/
  Just because Matt Rata set it up doesn’t mean its dodgy mate!! 🙂 🙂
  
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  July 24, 2018 7:06pm
Longknives

The Media are twisting all sorts of directions to portray the Toronto Gunman as ‘Mentally Ill’ and a ‘Lone Wolf’ etc etc
Freaking amazing how many ‘Lone Wolves’ there are that worship at Hardcore Islamic Mosques..
11 0
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July 24, 2018 7:03pm
Jack5

On TV1 news tonight, a reporter laments that NZ banks don’t want to extend business loans to prostitutes.

Meanwhile, in the Telegraph today, a report is headlined: “Violence, drugs and sexual diseases: How managed zones for prostitution are failing women worldwide.”

It’s not as straightforward as reformers thought.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/violence-drugs-sexual-diseases-managed-zones-prostitution-failing/
8 0
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July 24, 2018 7:03pm
- All_on_Red
  
  If prostitutes paid Tax they’d be ok.
  Just call themselves ‘Client Services Contractors’!
  Taxi drivers who don’t pay tax have the same problem.
  
  3 0
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  July 24, 2018 7:06pm
nasska

Remember the half-arsed conservatives who this time last year were pushing the barrow for Winston knowing deep in their widdle hearts that he would give National some backbone?

Winston’s now come out as a supporter of legalising marijuana. Ref: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12094196

Geriatric fools who know how everyone else should live their lives according to a make-believe Skydaddy fucked up big time!
11 0
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July 24, 2018 7:12pm
- Johnboy
  
  Do you remember old Shadbolt nasska? He said “I don’t care where as long as I’m Mayor”.
  Some how Winston reminds me of him! 🙂
  
  9 0
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  July 24, 2018 7:17pm
  - nasska
    
    ‘Politician for hire or purchase’ would about cover it JB. Still, the humour of the current situation the authoritarians & Godaddled find themselves in doesn’t escape me. 🙂
    
    10 0
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    July 24, 2018 7:29pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Pinstripe for sale or rent, policy to let, fifty cents.
      Some bribes, some perks, fast jets, I’ll keep my cigarettes
      Ah, but, two hours to wash ‘n groom
      Buys a nice sleep in the cabinet room
      I’m a man of means by no means, king of the hive.
      
      10 1
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      July 24, 2018 8:13pm
      - nasska
        
        Very good! ?
        
        5 1
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        July 24, 2018 8:33pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        I heard the song the other day, and your ‘politician for hire or purchase’ triggered me!
        
        6 1
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        July 24, 2018 8:37pm
- Longknives
  
  Easy on those ‘Funny Cigarettes’ Nasska!
  They will scatter your brain Son…
  
  5 0
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  July 24, 2018 8:47pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Have another few drinks and watch your recordings of the rugby sevens world cup again. That might lighten your mood almost as much as a joint.
    
    4 3
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    July 24, 2018 8:52pm
  - nasska
    
    Too late Longknives….the bird has flown!
    
    But I’m not sure whether to put it down to sex, drugs or Rock n Roll. 🙂
    
    2 0
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    July 24, 2018 8:54pm

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