General Debate 5 April 2019

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secondcumming

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter”

– Pres. George Washigton
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April 5, 2019 8:02am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  It’s good that no one is taking away your freedom of speech then.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:01am
  - Berend de Boer
    
    I’m taking this as sarcasm, so uptick from me.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:15am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      Not sarcasm. No one has impinged on my freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights Act.
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:50am
      - gump
        
        To be fair, our freedom of speech is restricted by legislation that over-rides the BORA.
        
        As an example, you can’t talk about matters which have been suppressed by court orders (which is due to the Criminal Procedure Act 2011)
        
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        April 5, 2019 12:17pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Yes, of course, but you can’t expect people ranting on a blog about ‘free speech’ to think about things like that, or defamation.
        
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        April 5, 2019 1:14pm
      - Salacious Crumb
        
        Really Mikey? So if you wanted to read Brenton Tarrants Manifesto would the small matter of a potential 10 year prison sentence deter you? Do you think it a fair law suppressing the fragmented ramblings of a nihilistic loser?
        
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        April 5, 2019 1:17pm
      - Tall Man
        
        When you have an organisation “requesting” that people report examples of speech they think may be “hate” speech I think we have an impending problem.
        
        When you have legislation that provides for “others” to determine what is and what isn’t appropriate I think we have an impending problem.
        
        Sorry, the penny just dropped… you think you’ll be in the group that decides what is and what is not appropriate….you’re wrong.
        
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        April 5, 2019 1:50pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        So, do you want to abolish the law restricting the circulation of objectionable material, or do you simply wish to challenge the classification of one particular item that you personally do not find objectionable?
        I don’t know your answer, and don’t really care what it is, but that ‘manifesto’ makes an interesting test for material that is objectionable It thus illustrates the point that while our community endorses freedom of expression as a fundamental principle, very few people would take that principle to the extremem of permitting people to utter or publish anything, no matter how defamatory, objectionable, or deleterious to justice or national security, etc, etc.
        
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        April 5, 2019 1:57pm
Southern man

Gee 24 dead on the roads this week. Not good.
Someone should make a captains call and ban cars or reduce the speed limit to 25 k’s.
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April 5, 2019 8:02am
- geoff3012
  
  Where is JAG and her nil road toll hiding?
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:55am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  I wonder what is the linkage between: 1) a powerful car overloaded with un-buckled-in occupants crashing at high speed on a rural road and 2) a speed camera on Tamaki Drive set to issue to tickets to Eastern Auckland drivers for exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit by 5 km/h on a well-maintained dead-straight, well-lit stretch of road.
  More urban speed cameras to save lives! (I mean, who can argue against “safety of the public”?)
  
  //
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:00am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Its the equivalent of a trawl net taking one hoki and fifty Maui dolphins.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:47am
  - srylands
    
    I would like to see police target aggressive, stupid drivers. Yesterday I encountered a guy, and they are rarely female, tailgating, overtaking undafely, and then he roared off through a temporary 30 zone through roadworks at 80. He was either a drugged or mental. Either way he is a danger to everyone.
    
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    April 5, 2019 10:36am
    - Wangas Feral
      
      I see women driving like that all the time.
      
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      April 5, 2019 11:53am
      - waikatogirl
        
        ?
        
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        April 5, 2019 3:37pm
    - Nermal
      
      I’ve noticed an increase in this type of driving in the last few years. I put it down to the increase in methamphetamine use
      
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      April 5, 2019 5:52pm
  - hullkiwi
    
    Odaku-sen, the overloaded Falcoln wasn’t even speeding. They were just not using seat belts.
    
    The comparison is fishing in a pond with dynamite and watching the fish (wallets) float to the surface for the picking versus candidates (sadly) for the Dsrwin Awards or the fishing is not as lucrative.
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:44am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      hullkiwi,
      I assumed the car had crashed at speed because of the photo of it all smashed up.
      
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      April 5, 2019 1:11pm
      - hullkiwi
        
        The police claimed on the radio that speed wasn’t an issue in the crash, but the lack of belts were.
        
        As for the impact I understand the car bounced/hit 3 trees – which suggests speed.
        
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        April 5, 2019 2:23pm
- tf78
  
  Or give St John’s a vast amount of money.
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:51am
  - Tall Man
    
    So they can continue to pay their executives larges amounts of money?
    
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    April 5, 2019 2:00pm
    - tf78
      
      No – so they can carry on with the Police and Firemen cleaning up the accidents on the road.
      
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      April 5, 2019 4:15pm
      - Tall Man
        
        You need to have a quiet chat with a couple of “ambos”.
        
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        April 5, 2019 5:12pm
- The King
  
  It’s Russian Roulette out there, i’ve had to pull to side of road 3 times in last 2 months to avoid getting killed from muppets overtaking.
  
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  April 5, 2019 1:15pm
- Tall Man
  
  26…..
  
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  April 5, 2019 1:52pm
Maggie Pie

My partner was just having his breakfast and wondered who is paying for the 2 QC’s the ozzie scumbag has hired to defend him against the fifty charges of murder?
He reckons they could be on a nice little earn for years to come 🙁
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April 5, 2019 8:08am
- waikatogirl
  
  Send Tarrant’s legal bill to the Aussie government.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:34am
  - SGA
    
    And have them send us the legal bills for all NZ citizens convicted of crimes in Australia? I fear we might lose on the deal 🙂
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:29am
- Rachael Membery
  
  Immeasurable what Tarrant has cost us, he must really have hated us.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:36am
  - waikatogirl
    
    No, his actions were completely about him, not about Kiwis.
    
    I completely agree with the gun shop owner who says Tarrant set out to manipulate us and the government is falling for it.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:48am
    - Ruahine
      
      The Labour Government and the Labour Party along with the Greens and their fellow useful idiots totally failed to keep New Zealand safe. They did however with all their yelling and screaming managed to keep their friend Kim Dotcom safe.
      
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      April 5, 2019 4:48pm
  - Komata
    
    Rachael@0836
    
    No, he didn’t ‘Hate’ NZ as such; we (New Zealand) were merely the easiest and most accessable ones in the vicinity. When developing his ‘theory’ Mr Tarrant just happened to be living here and made the best of the opportunity that presented itself to him. What ocurred could just as easily have taken place anywhere else on the planet; Australia, Europe, possibly even the USA.
    
    ‘New Zealand’ was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:54am
    - Rachael Membery
      
      I don’t agree, he saw that we would react in all of the ways he predicted, perhaps as the attack had been so long in the planning that Labour Government policy was what made him have to act?
      
      No blame game, but I do not think that ‘we’ were just incidental, ‘we’ must have epitomised all of the things that Tarrant felt demonised by.
      
      He could have chosen anywhere in the world, he chose us. Nothing else seems to have been left to chance, why would that have been?
      
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      April 5, 2019 11:01am
    - The King
      
      People forget. There already was something like this in Sweden. Anton Lundin Peterson did the same thing, just not on a bigger scale but he used a sword and still managed to kill 3.
      
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      April 5, 2019 1:20pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    The man by many tests is a nut case. Treat hm as one and most problems would be resolved. Do we really want to give a platform to a megalomaniac?
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:57am
    - Steve Todd
      
      “The man by many tests is a nut case.”
      
      We don’t know that. At this stage, I’ve seen nothing to suggest he is anything other than just plain evil.
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:24am
      - KevO'Brien
        
        The Manifesto has been forbidden but it reveals a person off this planet. It’s not just about white hate.
        
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        April 5, 2019 11:42am
      - Steve Todd
        
        I doubt that “off this planet” equals “mad”, let alone clinical insanity.
        
        I don’t know what his psychiatric assessment will reveal, but, despite what his “manifesto” (which I have not seen and have no interest in seeing) says, I would be surprised if he is deemed to be criminally or legally insane, or whatever, to the extent that he could end up being found not guilty on all 89 charges by reason of insanity.
        
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        April 5, 2019 3:24pm
- alex Masterley
  
  The two lawyers who will be representing Tarrant are not QC’s.
  Rather they are barristers who specialise in criminal work. The retainer will be funded by legal aid, unless Tarrant has a pool of cash some-where.
  Leaving aside the horror of the crimes that Tarrant is alleged to have committed he does have a right to a fair trial and counsel. If we deny him that because of what he did, we cannot call ourselves a civilised society.
  I don’t envy Mr Tait and his colleague one iota as they will be a brutalised by the experience they are undertaking as the victims, first responders, etc.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:51am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Do the Police really believe that prosecuting 50+ charges is appropriate? The trial could cause more distress that the substance.
    Tarrant’s case is beyond normal and present procedures may be inadequate. Justice does not require the community to be further brutalised. A special Court may be useful to quickly deal with this matter. The quality of evidence is high and do we need perhaps months of argument about it? Change the law if needed. Rare events need rare solutions. The mental health provisions seem likely applicable too. Put Tarrant and NZ to rest.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:10am
    - Tony Stuart
      
      Absolutely it’s appropriate Kev. The least we can do for every victim is to ensure the alleged perp is convicted of every charge.
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:22am
      - calendar girl
        
        And – if convicted – sentenced in a way that reflects his multiple crimes.
        
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        April 5, 2019 5:43pm
    - SGA
      
      Change the law if needed.
      
      I believe that you can’t change the law to encompass crimes already committed. One of our legal eagles can correct me if that’s incorrect. I even have a suspicion that if you are convicted of a past crime, you need to be charged and sentenced under the laws as they were when the crime was commited? Is that right?
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:35am
      - septic skeptic
        
        I guess we could change that law as well. If we are going down that route, we might as well just have him shot while attempting to escape.
        
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        April 5, 2019 9:52am
    - The King
      
      Change the law huh. You want some Sharia law there mate?
      
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      April 5, 2019 1:22pm
  - gorse
    
    I would bet the judiciary are pleased he has legal representation. I understand that dealing with litigants in person is fraught with problems.
    
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    April 5, 2019 10:51am
  - slightlyrighty
    
    A robust and competent defence is an integral part of a successful and safe prosecution. Messrs Tait and Hudson will no doubt be subjected to a backlash from less informed people, much as Judith Abblett-Kerr was for representing Clayton Weatherston. However, we must recognize that in offering a capable and robust defence that protects the rights of their client, (and as much as we all despise him, Tarrant has rights) we leave far less options for a post trial appeal.
    
    I hope that the role these 2 men are undertaking is recognized for what it is.
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:09am
- cmm
  
  Hint: Your wallet just got lighter.
  
  Why does he need two lawyers? Paying for one, fine, but why two?
  
  And no doubt there are going to be appeals etc etc…
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:55am
  - BobbyS
    
    If I was a lawyer & I was allocated this task, I would hate to go down in history as the “Lawyer who defended a genocidal maniac”
    Some people can live with themselves (cough cough GG) but I couldn’t
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:03am
    - alloytoo
      
      There is no shame and considerable honour in providing a proper legal defense even to Tarrant.
      
      I would neither condemn nor disparage someone undertaking this horrible task….unless….
      
      they denied it (or tried to hide it) afterwards (GG)
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:57am
      - KevO'Brien
        
        89 Charges by the Police for one isolated extraordinary event could take months in Court. Each one has to be proven, dismissed or withdrawn. The latter will be seen as offensive to the victims.
        The massive trial must have a great impact on the bereaved community and also on us. Extend that by appeals and the very strife which Tarrant sought is being wrought. Global TV will have a feast.
        
        If this was the 19th c. the solution would be simple a trial in the morning and the business all finished by the end of the day. Our present law works with a handful of offenses but the charges proposed would have formerly been capital ones. For any accused there is only one opportunity for that–50+ is excessive. The enlarged trial is not about justice but a public event.
        
        I suggest a panel of senior legal people be setup to review the evidence and recommend a quick way of disposing of this matter. It may be a quasi Court Martial or whatever and require empowering legislation. Councils can get laws passed to fix anomalies, this should be treated as one too.
        
        The mental health Act provisions are still open for consideration. Two doctors, no trial, disappeared for life.
        
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        April 5, 2019 5:38pm
    - Ruahine
      
      I do not expect to see selfies on the web with the lawyers and Tarrant unlike someone else we know about.
      
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      April 5, 2019 4:51pm
  - dubya
    
    Two lawyers to handle 50 murder charges is still a huge workload. They both appear to be Manukau based criminal defence lawyers, and their fee will be determined by legal aid rules. Whilst they won’t be cheap, they’re not exactly expensive compared to a QC. Hell, they don’t even seem to have a professional website.
    
    Depending on how the trial is held and publicised, though, this could be the making of both lawyers’ careers.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:12am
    - alex Masterley
      
      I think these two fellows are in court most of the time and are probably, given that the Manukau Court is one of the busiest if not the busiest courts in the country, in no need of a website.
      Dealing with 50 murder charges and 39 (i think) attempted murder charges will mean a heinous work load so you will find that while these two are the “public face” of Tarrants legal representation there will be a number of people in the background dealing with all of the evidence and the paper and bytes that this case will generate. As well as the media.
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:38am
      - rangitoto
        
        Seems very inefficient. Since it was one actual event, why not one charge of fifty murders and one charge of 39 attempted murders.
        
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        April 5, 2019 9:53am
      - gorse
        
        I believe the actual trial has to be held in Christchurch. Call overs can be done by audio visual link.
        
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        April 5, 2019 10:54am
  - SGA
    
    Give him the best defense possible, we are more civilised than him.. As much as anything, it will make it harder for him to launch any appeals down the track (which have their own cost).
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:37am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    An extraordinary amount of work I would imagine just with the number of the charges. Who knows whether or not they will be required at trial Tarrant can dismiss them at any time and go on to represent himself, at the moment it is procedural, so good to get it right so it can move to trial.
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:06am
slightlyrighty

I saw a pro gun argument that got me thinking.

We are implored (correctly) to not judge all muslims by the actions of a few, yet all gun owners are impacted by the actions of one madman.

It’s hard to argue with that point. The question that should be asked at this point is what will happen when this sort of thinking is applied to speech.
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April 5, 2019 8:10am
- G152
  
  I look forward (rather sadly) to the erection of bollards on pedestrian ways to prevent the truck attacks that are coming…
  Taking the London Bridge attack as the next stage
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:42am
- alex Masterley
  
  SR, that sort of thinking is already being applied to speech.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:52am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    You have to look at the kinds of people who are “applying” these new changes to “make us safer.”
    I suspect that they are well-insulated employees who are risk-adverse, are on a government payroll with a nice pension as a reward for not rocking the boat, and that they have never had to run a business or work for a living.
    
    There is almost no possibility that they will ever be held accountable for their actions.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:20am
- kowtow
  
  I note that many commentators who are happy with MSSA’s , lawfully owned, to be taken off sporting /target etc shooters , but the same commentators are unhappy at proposed limits to free speech.
  
  if you’re happy for the govt to take something lawful off one group of people , how can you complain when the same govt come to take something off you?
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:58am
- BobbyS
  
  100% correct
  However that is merely a conveniently logical thought process which doesn’t mean it will be democratically considered in this process
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:05am
Thought Criminal

Regarding David’s post earlier this week about how labour is going backwards against their own child poverty measures according to treasury.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/04/child_poverty_measures_released.html

Why is this happening? Growth is still good. The global economy is still going well. Unemployment is still low.

Is it the burden of the extra taxes? Is it inflation? Property crisis? Genuinely interested in working out how they’re going backwards so quickly.
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April 5, 2019 8:10am
- Kiwiladdy
  
  Because “poverty” doesn’t mean absolute poverty (which most people imagines it does) i.e., how poor you are, but it in fact refers to relative poverty, i.e., income inequality.
  
  If you gave someone in poverty $1m, you’d have more people in “poverty” than before you started.
  
  As always for Labour, it’s not about improving circumstances for the poor, it’s about making the rich poorer.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:42am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    Creating more jobs in Auckland would lift the median household income levels of New Zealand as a whole, but would mean more families “below 50% of median income” in the rest of the country.
    
    Thus we can prevent this by not having people earning more money. Logically, this will mean “more equality.”
    
    //
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:03am
    - Thought Criminal
      
      So I understand why relative measures of poverty are a poor way to measure actual poverty and how they are a tool of the “equality at all costs brigade”.
      
      But why are they all heading in the wrong direction? Because Auckland is booming? Surely Auckland has been booming during the entire time those stats reference.
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:28am
      - Kiwiladdy
        
        Two people, one works in Auckland and one in Hamilton.
        
        Even though the one in Hamilton is becoming wealthier, but the one in Auckland is becoming more wealthier.
        
        Therefore relative poverty is increasing, even though the overall outcome of both people are increasing.
        
        Literally, the way poverty is currently defined means that a booming city will always be bad for poverty statistics.
        
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        April 5, 2019 9:58am
    - alloytoo
      
      The simple solution would be to take the children away from parents earning below the median and give them to people earning above the median.
      
      Voila, problem solved. /Sarcasm
      
      Measures based on medians are clearly insane, it is pleasant to beat Labour with their own stick.
      
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      April 5, 2019 10:01am
  - BobbyS
    
    So if I measured poverty in one hypothetical NZ city where everyone earned over $100k – would the measures still indicate I have poverty because there are people below the median wage? Is that how it works?
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:08am
    - Nigel Kearney
      
      Yes. You could double everyone’s real income and poverty would not change, on these measures. Or you could dump a bunch of people on a desert island with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and poverty would disappear altogether.
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:29am
      - septic skeptic
        
        Quite right. Under this definition there is no poverty in a famine as the vast majority are all in the same boat. Poverty is a measure of inequality.
        
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        April 5, 2019 10:03am
      - artemisia
        
        How about taking into account the huge black economy. Last I read, couple of years back, conservative estimate $20billion a year, untaxed. Add a proportion of that back to low income households and see what that does to the poverty numbers.
        
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        April 5, 2019 11:19am
  - tf78
    
    It’s not how much money you have, it’s how you spend that money – so many variable outcomes.
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:58am
  - Scientific American
    
    But the measures being used are not all just about relative poverty (ie. in relation to income medians for the population). They include measures of material hardship.
    
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    April 5, 2019 12:17pm
- Yvette
  
  And given “384,000 families are on average $65 a week better off” under Labour?
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:46am
- cmm
  
  Relative poverdee, as measures, can actually be actually a Good Thing.
  
  It is something like the number of people living below 60% of the median income.
  
  If everyone is living in real poverty then the median income is very low and few people are living below the median income. Nobody is in relative poverdee. The poverdee number looks excellent.
  
  For example, in places like Africa where 10% of the people are obscenely rich and the rest in dire poverty ($2 a day), the median income is $2 a day and the poverdee number is very low.
  
  But when people have upward mobility (a Good Thing) then the median income moves up as more people move up the ladder. Different people will respond differently to the new opportunities and incentives. The people at the bottom of the ladder are still way better off than those in absolute poverty, but they are now in “poverdee”.
  
  Using the poverdee number is pure activism. It has nothing to do with actual poverty.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:26am
  - Rich Prick
    
    I like your distinction between poverdee and poverty.
    
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    April 5, 2019 1:14pm
- artemisia
  
  Several of the poverty measures specifically take housing costs into account. Much of the time housing costs are by far the largest item of household spending.
  
  The government introduces more and more costs and compliances. Landlords exit / do not enter the sector due to increased costs (and hassles) and factors such as LVR and increasingly risk averse bank lending.
  
  Rents rise because of cost increases (including proposed and possible) and shortages biting.
  
  One way or another most of that is in the government’s responsibility, including immigration levels and restricting overseas buyers purchasing rentals. They could change that if they wanted to. Clearly they don’t want to.
  
  They seem to want to throw more money at households, gathered from somewhere or other. Like that will address the actual causes.
  
  .
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:04am
  - Thought Criminal
    
    This makes a lot of sense to me.
    
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    April 5, 2019 7:26pm
- MrLovebucket
  
  Make welfare easier to obtain is a surefire guaranteed way to increase child poverty.
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:46am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  I think it needs to be divided up between poverty and child neglect, as in carers selfishly prioritising their own desires in a way that leads the children being in poverty like choosing to spend on drink, cigarettes, drugs, flash phones, regular kfc trips, not wanting to work, diverting child support to support of mums latest shag, etc instead of things that lift their children’s material welfare.
  
  I think you would find it is almost all child neglect.
  
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  April 5, 2019 2:52pm
Gravelroad

Sam Neill – another aging, authoritarian white man telling us how to think and what to do.
Nice one – the cult of celebrity still alive and well.
How about making every religious faith build temples, mosques, synagogues, churches and other places of worship to suit all, then Sam?
Er, no – just be politically selective.
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April 5, 2019 8:13am
- slightlyrighty
  
  Just goes to highlight the selective thinking of the Greens, and JAG in particular. Stale, Pale and Male is fine if she agrees with you.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:58am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  There’s something authoritarian about the sincere belief that, “I know better than you.”
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:04am
  - sooty
    
    I’m from the government and I am here to help!
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:43am
- John Warren
  
  I take Sam Neill’s opinion on acting very seriously, but his opinion on the Cathedral has less relevance or weight than the lowliest Christchurch resident.
  
  As for his interfaith hub idea, it’s another example of the left-wing denigration of our own traditions, culture and history. Those who want an interfaith hub could have anywhere in the city. Leave the Cathedral alone – many people fought very hard to save it. It’s far more than just a biggish Anglican church, it was right at the very heart of the Christchurch community. Of which Sam Neill is not a member.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:00pm
  - ducklin71
    
    I used to like Sam. Used to. PC cornhole.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:44pm
- greybeard
  
  I wrote a comment for that article on Stuff but it did not pass the new Stuff criticism test.
  
  I suggested that if the March 15th tragedy had not occurred then Sam Neill would never have written his article or indeed even thought of expressing an opinion about the cathedral.
  I suggested that he, like a lot of others, was simply piggybacking on the tragedy to push their own views.
  
  OK, maybe I was a bit cynical but I am surely not the only one in NZ to think this way.
  
  I suppose in Stuff’s view, Sam Neill is just too famous to be criticised.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:33pm
Happychappy

The media and their Journalist’s need to get out to to the supermarket and see what happens daily in them instead of having orgasms over Jacinda paying for another ladies groceries. This happens just about every day in a supermarket and with people that can’t really afford to do it, but no you bunch of hypocrites would rather make a show piece of this than hold her to account on her poor policies and weak leadership in dealing with corrupt practice by some of the Government MP’s.
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April 5, 2019 8:16am
- Rachael Membery
  
  But then make a big deal of an internal National Party matter, is the young staffer getting the sack?
  Again Sion is expected to be all over detail unlike Jacinda.
  
  How come Teflon isn’t a product associated with Jacinda?
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:40am
  - waikatogirl
    
    Simon can’t comment on the employment dispute.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:51am
  - BobbyS
    
    Yes I saw that on Red News last night & they then had the audacity to interview Whiskey Winnie about it yet they conveniently left out the questions to him about his earlier attacks on Muslim Immigrants
    The myopic stance of the NZ MSM is tiresome
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:12am
- brett68
  
  It was a marketing stunt.
  The story was pushed by some UK marketing director.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:49am
  - brett68
    
    Also the original facebook post has “gone” and no one knows who the recipient of Ardern’s generosity actually is.
    
    All we have is the word of some UK person who’s in marketing.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:11am
    - G152
      
      You advertise it its not charity !
      
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      April 5, 2019 9:41am
- Komata
  
  HC@0816
  
  Divert attention, divert attention, divert attention and, when everything else fils and things are getting REALLY tough (and ‘awkward’ questions are being asked), divert attention.
  
  The CoL is pretty good at it aren’t they?
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:58am
  - Happychappy
    
    Komata : At least we have the Spinoff finally showing Jacinda a reason why Shane Jones should have had serious questions asked over his blatant disrespect for Cabinet rules.
    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-04-2019/a-long-list-of-every-shane-jones-snafu/
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:22am
- alloytoo
  
  Isn’t this story just a little smelly?
  
  Jacinda buying her own groceries, come on I doubt she’s done that since she hit the government teat.
  
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  April 5, 2019 10:06am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  Why do I suspect that the ‘paying for the groceries for someone else’ act of selfishness, was engineered?
  
  As the two old ducks sitting outside the Four Square said after fleecing the vulnerable white boy of his hard earned chocolate and bubbly, ‘how convenient ‘
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:31am
hullkiwi

Message to JAG, as of this morning the road toll this year is now worse than the same time last year.

So, what happened to your zero deaths policy?, given:
Your conferences haven’t worked,
Your diversion of funds from road build hasn’t worked;
The diversion of funds from regional transport roading budgets on to transport safety campaigns hasn’t worked.

It was you JAG, who politicised the sad rising road toll because of your own dogma. Things have got worse, not better. So, there is one course of action for you, which is:
Admit you don’t know what you are doing; and
RESIGN!
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April 5, 2019 8:17am
- kevn
  
  @Hull… JAG was a parking consultant. Busy with a baby now, too busy to offer any comment but not so busy to collect an un-earned salary.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:01am
  - hullkiwi
    
    I know exactly where JAG worked and her partner and her “friends” work. Despite the nature of the firm there are interesting links with a political party, the Transport Blog (& other lobby groups) and staff of central & local govt agencies.
    
    Hence NZ’s transport policy!
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:44am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  No!
  What we must do is double-down!
  
  (Standard authoritarian move when something doesn’t yield the results you expect.)
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:06am
- freethinker
  
  JAG can do something else, with 15 dead in road accidents last weekend JAG should be wanting to ban cars as the death toll reaches 50 and injuries 39.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:52pm
BeaB

I was ast0nished at Matthew Hooten’s suggestion in this mornings Herald that Jacinda call an early election to capitalise on her celebrity.
It seems a mad idea but this is what could happen.
She will bolt in with a landslide, thus wiping out NZ First and probably the Greens.
National would then have time to get its act together and fight the following election as a two-horse race.
Or else she will win again, the Queen will die and we will crown Queen Jacinda.
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April 5, 2019 8:19am
- Paulus
  
  What a clever idea that Cinderella should call a General Election now that she remains upbeat of Princess Di. The Greens would agree as they would expect to capitalise on her.
  Simple though:-
  Peters will not allow it !
  Schoolchildren do not vote – neither do the overseas media.
  She has not got the guts to do it – she only makes Captain’s Calls.
  She would get a shock once her favourite Neshub O’Brien gets involved as her cheer leader. That would be the kiss of death.
  Go for it Cindy. What a laugh !
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:53am
- Jules99
  
  You never know – Cameron had a referendum on Brexit to shut down debate and got a result he wasn’t expecting. Just because Jacinda is kind and nice, doesn’t mean people want her for PM.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:57am
- BobbyS
  
  I feel ill reading that
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:15am
- gorse
  
  Calling an early election might also blow up in her face. Been done before and the Government calling it usually gets a hiding. In this case it would be so obvious why it is being called that it would turn a lot of voters off, voting something other than the COL.
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:05am
- John Warren
  
  Assuming it could be done, calling a general election for no better reason than to capitalise on her present popularity would be the ultimate act of hubris and self-aggrandizement, at great cost to the taxpayer. Worse than anything Shane Jones has ever done.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:07pm
hullkiwi

Oh dear, 10,000 submissions, and 1 day of oral evidence. How is all that going to be distilled into something meaningful to pass a bill through all stages by the end of next week? And result in good legislation, that will not be challenged?
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April 5, 2019 8:20am
- G152
  
  But but but its all feelies.
  And the endless yearly revisions of the hastily written laws will be with us
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:45am
- Komata
  
  HK@0820
  
  Re: ‘How is all that going to be distilled into something meaningful to pass a bill through all stages by the end of next week’?
  
  It doesn’t have to be ‘distilled into something meaningful’ because it isn’t; it merely has to be seen to be done and enable the legislation to be opassed.
  
  Stuff the eelectorate, grab what you want while they (the electorate) are still in a state of confusion, then crow about how benevolent and ‘caring’ you are.
  
  Socialism by stealth, using the absolutely golden opportunity that the Christchurch murders presnted to advance their agenda. They couldn’t have gotten away with it otherwise.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:03am
  - hullkiwi
    
    Komata, you’re correct. But as history has shown us numerous times in the past:
    The bill will be passed;
    Shortly afterwards, someone will start discovering the flaws (if they are the CoL or a govt agency, they’ll stay quiet);
    If they are an external body, there will be calls for a judicial review, proving the flaws;
    The govt will be forced into a climb down and put forward amendments. But the amendments will be patch work and attempt to double down on the flaws, rather than fix and produce legislation that will have a semblance of fairness and workability.
    
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    April 5, 2019 10:55am
- freethinker
  
  If I understood Graham Edegelor’s post yesterday anything that can be construed as a part of a Gun would make anyone in possession guilty of a criminal act. So Plod may come and fumble through your shed looking at your collection of nuts bolt & springs to check there are no parts suitable for use in a Gun.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:57pm
Rachael Membery

Gumboot Friday? Does anyone have anything left to give after CHCH.

On AM they were talking about guns and rural suicide, I do not think that a semi automatic would be of much use in the circumstances. Would there be any stats?
I found it extraordinary that that should be part of the gun debate, perhaps if that was the only gun in the house, but nothing to do with it’s type.

Apparently the new gun laws are expected to reduce rural suicides.
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April 5, 2019 8:21am
- rightoverlabour
  
  Twats. The first bullet kills. Doesn’t matter whether its a blunderbuss or a Gatling gun. Morons.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:29am
DigNap15

The mods must still be asleep
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April 5, 2019 8:22am
Simon

That Lady Is Wonderful”: Dalai Lama On New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/dalai-lama-praises-new-zealand-pm-jacinda-ardern-says-she-is-wonderful-2017926

The lady PM Ardern is just wonderful. Bye bye Greens.

Chin up Sleepy Simon as bad as you are you aint got nothing on the NPC Greens.

The Natz swamp need to do is get as close to 40% as possible. Keep Oravida (final warning) Collins in her place.

Sleepy Simon better start releasing policy sooner rather than later.

Sleepy said he knew how to make NZ the safest country in the world. Lets see some policy. Wake up Sleepy time to do some work or the China Collins takes over.
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April 5, 2019 8:23am
- Yvette
  
  If the Dalai Lama makes a valid comment about Ardern, what is to be made of the Dalai Lama’s other remarks? –
  
  The Dalai Lama has sparked anger after declaring that “Europe belongs to the Europeans”.
  The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader also said that refugees should return to their native countries and assist with developing them.
  The 14th Dalai Lama was speaking at a conference in Malmo, Sweden which is home to a large immigrant population, according to the Business Times.
  “Receive them, help them, educate them … but ultimately they should develop their own country,” the 83-year-old said, when speaking about refugees.
  – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dalai-lama-europe-refugee-crisis-immigration-eu-racism-tibet-buddhist-a8537221.html
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:01am
Poppa

I am going to the TAB to back a horse in Australia tomorrow

Do you think our beloved PM would pay for the bet for me if I forget my wallet?
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April 5, 2019 8:24am
- hullkiwi
  
  Stage managed!
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:37am
- Tauhei Notts
  
  #4 in The Derby was named after Shane Jones.
  Put a fiver on it.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:38am
DigNap15

A friend of mine told me that he got a wage rise, and his super went up and next month he will get the power bill subsidy.
He said he might vote Labour next time!
I think he was joking, but…
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April 5, 2019 8:25am
- kowtow
  
  He loved Big Brother.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:06am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  My Super went up $2.06 per fortnight. I am so thankful for living under the COL.
  //
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:46am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    I thought the fortnightly NZ Super might have dropped as in the year ended 31st March 2020 there will be 27 fortnightly payments of superannuation.
    
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    April 5, 2019 10:19am
Scott

Is Donald Trump a racist? That is the wisdom that the Democrats have been pushing for the last four years. That he is a racist and that is the only reason why he is against undocumented workers, also known as “illegal aliens”.

But since his time in office the economy has boomed. Black unemployment is at its lowest level ever recorded. Hispanic unemployment is at its lowest level ever recorded. The Trump philosophy is a very simple one. Having a job confers dignity on the individual. They can feed their family, participate in the economy and work hard to better themselves.

Unfortunately Pres Trump, because of the bitterly hostile press and their Trump/Russia collusion fixation, has not got the credit for the booming economy that he should have. However there are signs that the booming economy is starting to translate into votes.

Although black people remain tribally Democrat, there is a movement of black conservatives who do support Pres Trump. Candice Owens is one that comes to mind.

Amongst Hispanics there has been a tremendous change in mood towards the president. A number of polls have found that Hispanics support Trump to the tune of 50%. This is because they have benefited from the booming economy and they suffer from illegal immigration because of competition from undocumented workers and violence and crime and drugs.

If Pres Trump can get 50% of the Hispanic vote and increase the share of the black vote then the Democrats are toast. The Democrats have not won the white vote in the presidential election since 1964.

Now that the cloud of the Meuller investigation has dissipated, Scott predicts that Trump will win handily in 2020. For those of us who prefer the freedom of the centre-right agenda, rather than the stifling government regulation and identity politics of the left, this is a good thing.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/04/polls-trumps-approval-rating-among-hispanics-approaches-50-percent.php
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April 5, 2019 8:25am
- G152
  
  I would like to see Trump haul the Russian collusion claimants into court and sue them for all that they have or ever will have..
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:48am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    That will be Trump’s fun after 2024. He has them in his sights now
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:33am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Meanwhile, Trump’s actual approval ratings remain at historic lows.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:04am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Bullshit Mike. Show us
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:31am
    - krazykiwi
      
      Trumps approval rating from Rep supporters is slightly higher now (90%) than when he took office (89%). His approval rating from Dem supporters was oddly high when he took office (13%), possibly because of disdain thinking people had for that crook Clinton. Dem approval is now lower(4%). All that aside, his approval rating compared to other presidents is low (35%) vs the 1938-2019 average (53%). Source.
      
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      April 5, 2019 10:33am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/
    Appears to be climbing since Mueller report came out. Higher than Reagan, closing in on Obama and Clinton.
    
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    April 5, 2019 10:43am
  - freethinker
    
    50% Doesn’t sound low to me on the other hand Micron’s popularity is even lower than Hollande who had many years to descend into almost single figures and Micron has done it in little over a year – Taxinda take note and follow.
    
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    April 5, 2019 1:04pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  A lot of black Americans are leaving the ‘plantation’ They have found that the Dems just don’t give a shit about them and never have – they just want the votes. Yes, Candace Owens is one of many who is leading the charge.
  Whenever someone says to me ‘Trump is racist’ I ask for an example. They can’t provide one
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:31am
  - Littletramp
    
    Another worthy of mention is Dinesh D’Souza. You can see why Obama threw his arse in jail for speaking the Truth.
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:58am
    - waikatogirl
      
      D’Souza talks sense. He was an advisor to Ronald Reagan.
      
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      April 5, 2019 4:05pm
waikatogirl

Judith Collins says Cindy and co cancelled the extra funding National put in place for with mental health nurses to work with police to be proactive as the first contact for mental health problem callouts.
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April 5, 2019 8:30am
- kevn
  
  @WG… Yes, another great but eradicated by CoL, Nats policy.
  Similar to the planned Nats on-on-one assistance with severe welfare abuse/high dependency families.
  That would have been a game changer for the up coming generations.
  Both… dumped by CoL.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:20am
- krazykiwi
  
  Jones’ $3b bribe money had to come from somewhere. Our caring Labour government takes money needed by the powerless, and buys themselves power with it.
  
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  April 5, 2019 10:26am
sooty

What a hoot! Hooten says all the way from London that if there was an election tomorrow that Cindy would win hands down!
Man, his tea cup is doing some strange readings.
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April 5, 2019 8:31am
- James Stephenson
  
  Given that it’s Hooten, the thought process is more likely to be “Let’s encourage her to call an early election, because the electorate’s hated of those, plus CGT might be the only way of overcoming the MSM sycophancy”.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:50pm
krazykiwi

Any word on the Labour Youth camp sexual predator, apparently the son of a high ranking Labour party member?

It must be taking longer than our rulers were expecting to encourage the victims and witnesses to ‘forget’ what happened.
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April 5, 2019 8:36am
- JB.49
  
  They are supposed to be our servants, not our rulers, but I guess nobody has told them that! Role on the next election.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:55am
- Nermal
  
  Good time to ask what happened to #MeTurei’s alleged benefit fraud as well
  
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  April 5, 2019 6:04pm
waikatogirl

Israel Dagg has announced his retirement from all rugby. Dagg is 30 years old. No reason given for his decision.
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April 5, 2019 8:38am
- Raphael
  
  he’s got a buggered knee, and has probably been told by doctors that he must stop playing.
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:49am
  - MCos
    
    That’s what I heard too, which goes to show that just because you didn’t hear about something it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:54am
  - waikatogirl
    
    Thanks Raphael, that is understandable. I enjoyed watching him play rugby. The good thing about NZ is there is always a talented replacement player.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:54am
- ldypen
  
  In our current super PC crap environment surely he should be made to change his “offensive” first name!?
  
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  April 5, 2019 8:55am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    God save all those called Christian too then.
    
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    April 5, 2019 12:18pm
  - Albert_Ross
    
    Apparently his middle names are Jamahl Ahukata, so he should be OK
    
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    April 5, 2019 5:24pm
Rachael Membery

Duncan Garner has just asked if children or others wearing Crusaders merchandise could be potential targets?

Who by, the ever peaceful Moslem? This is what we have been brought down to, we are expected to be craven, we as a people are not, what about ‘our’ culture.
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April 5, 2019 8:46am
- Jules99
  
  His comment suggests and underlying level of fear. Hmmm… as you say, from the ‘religion of peace’?
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:00am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    Not so underlying.
    
    From my perspective, I wasn’t too bothered about Muslims in NZ, they didn’t impact on my day to day at all, but they do now, Jacinda and Tarrant (sorry people) have politicised Islam in NZ and Muslim are now capitalising on the power conferred on them by the CHCH tragedy, it is understandable and why would you not when you have been invited to change the society that you were happy to come to, with its existing gun laws.
    
    Noone would argue that a CHCH incident should happen any where, any how, to any who, but it does of course world wide.
    
    The Dalai Lama says how wonderful, how peaceful, I say surrender monkey.
    
    Islam has found its voice in NZ and where I might have been ambivalent before, I am not so ambivalent now, and far from the ‘they are us’, it is becoming increasingly feeling like ‘we are soon becoming them’.
    
    I was the frog in the boiling water, today I am ‘woke’.
    
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    April 5, 2019 9:22am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Are we being set up too by the massive trial to come where every charge has to be proved. The case could take well over a month in Court. Each family involved will have to relive it each day and the TV will have a boiling cauldron of sympathy to influence the political climate. A time of great potential for manipulation.
      Why can’t a few representative charges suffice? 3-strikes? Tarrant’s livestream should be sufficient. The matter should be dealt with as quickly as possible. Denying Tarrant the platform and strife he sought should be a main consideration. Justice will be done when he is permanently officially put away.
      
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      April 5, 2019 12:10pm
      - Tony Stuart
        
        Kev – we consider ourselves a civilised country, and however guilty we regard Tarrant, he is entitled to be considered innocent until the Crown proves him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
        
        He allegedly killed 50 people and seriously wounded 39. He should be tried (and hopefully convicted) on EVERY charge; that is the least we can do to get closure and justice for the victims and their survivors. That will come at a cost, but it is a cost we have to be prepared to shoulder.
        
        Imagine this; if we don’t hold Tarrant to account for every victim, how can we fairly prosecute anyone else? It’s not up to Crown Law to pick winners and losers via representative charges. We should be throwing the book at this bloke, with full judicial force.
        
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        April 5, 2019 12:56pm
      - simpleton1
        
        Agreed with Tony Stuart.
        
        Can see also see KevO’Brien point as that for every charge that is proven guilty, that the judiciary have precedents in sentencing that could be argued that every sentence be served concurrently.
        
        Will life without parole really occur?
        
        In Norway they sentenced Brevik to 21 years in prison, in a form of preventive detention that required a minimum of 10 years incarceration and the possibility of one or more extensions for as long as he is deemed a danger to society.
        
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        April 5, 2019 1:19pm
    - Rachael Membery
      
      And from that point of view I thank Jacinda for being front and centre on this and not allowing anyone else any air.
      
      Any blow back will be in response to her actions, the only thing that could have been worse was for something to happen on ANZAC day.
      
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      April 5, 2019 1:06pm
    - ducklin71
      
      Jacinda and her band of socialist idiots are FAR more dangerous to this country than a handful of folks from the Middle East. They were simply going about their day to day lives when the shooter did his dirty deed. The Labour and Green parties could ruin NZ for years to come.
      
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      April 5, 2019 7:11pm
    - tranquil
      
      @Rachael Membery – “Islam has found its voice in NZ and where I might have been ambivalent before, I am not so ambivalent now, and far from the ‘they are us’, it is becoming increasingly feeling like ‘**we are soon becoming them**’.
      
      Agreed! I would give you a million upvotes if I could!
      
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      April 6, 2019 12:29pm
- Raphael
  
  I wonder if Batman will be banned in NZ as well, or if kids wearing Batman merchandise will be potential targets, afterall he is the Caped Crusader
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:06am
- alien
  
  Ita a very good concern, parents should be cautious of dressing their kids in crusader clothes because they will become a target of the media to harass and shame them
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:56am
- John Warren
  
  Please stop reading Robin Hood stories to your children. They feature King Richard I, a notorious Crusader. Muslims might be offended.
  
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  April 5, 2019 1:40pm
DigNap15

Genter is as stupid with her zero road deaths plan as the Traffic Cops who go on tv each holiday and say they want a zero road toll this Xmas, Easter etc.
Its just not possible and its beyond their control.
Tourists
Idiots
Drunkards
Druggies
Weather
Narrow roads
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April 5, 2019 8:55am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  Add to that trees and power poles on the sides of the roads that guarantee a fatal impact if you veer off the road at high speed.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:08am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    Not to mention cheese cutters or barriers confining the lanes, you can’t but hit something, before you had a chance of finding a gap.
    
    13 0
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    April 5, 2019 9:25am
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      Wire rope barriers are (surprisingly) still safer for motorcyclists than any of the alternatives.
      https://dogandlemon.com/media/calls-ban-wire-rope-median-barriers-are-misguided-says-safety-campaigner
      
      1 1
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      April 5, 2019 12:52pm
- DigNap15
  
  And I forgot to add idiots who run from the police.
  
  17 1
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  April 5, 2019 9:43am
- Gravelroad
  
  Dig – you left out untrained, unlicensed drivers…..
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:48am
Maggie Pie

My partner saw this on TradeMe – retro-fit Parking Sensor

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwdKbudWkAAj4_v.jpg
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April 5, 2019 8:58am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hi Maggie. Your ‘my partner’ thing is very good. Has anyone taken the bait yet and accused you of being dominanted by the patriarchy?
  
  13 13
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  April 5, 2019 9:05am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    HUH ???
    
    9 6
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    April 5, 2019 9:13am
    - Rachael Membery
      
      He is asking if you have opinions of your own or only your partners, trying to be a smart arse.
      
      I find you and your ‘partner’ very droll.
      
      18 5
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      April 5, 2019 9:32am
      - brett68
        
        I thought it’s the same person who posts as secondcumming?
        
        3 2
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        April 5, 2019 9:51am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Don’t feed the troll. He is in a nasty mood today, prob on the rag
      
      18 7
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      April 5, 2019 9:38am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Nah, I just find the ‘my partner says’ schtick mildy entertaining.
        
        1 11
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        April 5, 2019 9:54am
      - Rachael Membery
        
        Bloody hell, that’s offensive!!!
        
        11 1
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        April 5, 2019 11:20am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Some people, not all of them from the North Shore, really are quite offensive, Rachael. It’s very sad.
        
        1 8
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        April 5, 2019 12:46pm
      - Rachael Membery
        
        For anyone that missed it the ‘bloody hell’ referred to being on the rag.
        
        The offensive was that it is like a red rag to a bull and was in no way a defense of trolls.
        
        Obviously not as witty as I thought. Oh well.
        
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        April 5, 2019 3:57pm
krazykiwi

Sweden, that pacifist socialist country that makes our lefties all dewy-eyed in admiration has just jailed the first person for military service draft evasion.

Remember, this is the country where gun license-holders may own up to six hunting rifles, ten handguns, or a mix of eight rifles and handguns.
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April 5, 2019 9:14am
- mikenmildagain
  
  What makes you think the Swedes are pacifists?
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:22am
  - krazykiwi
    
    They had a policy of neutrality until 2009, so many people – particularly the dewy-eyed ones – still regard them as pacifist.
    
    16 2
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    April 5, 2019 9:31am
  - MrTips
    
    I don’t know, maybe it’s the way they have rolled over with their unthinking refugee and immigration policy, which has led to ghettos that even the refugees hate?
    
    18 3
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    April 5, 2019 9:34am
- SGA
  
  Sweden, that pacifist socialist country
  
  Pacifist? They manufacture their own fighter aircraft, for heavens sake. Have done for years. Neutrality isn’t the same as pacifist.
  
  26 0
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  April 5, 2019 9:46am
  - MCos
    
    “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
    ― Mark Twain
    
    6 1
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    April 5, 2019 10:15am
- John Warren
  
  Sweden is one of the world’s top 10 weapons exporters. Neutral maybe, pacificist not.
  
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  April 5, 2019 1:43pm
Albert_Ross

So yesterday, 4 April, at 4pm, DPF posts about the abhorrent new laws in Brunei and everybody piles in, several challenging as to why Jacinda hadn’t said anything.

But she had. This is timelined 2 April https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/jacinda-ardern-speaks-against-new-brunei-law-punishing-gay-sex-death-stoning?fbclid=IwAR1DJ8ERUome0pBCPuxrxDX3Km7heEX0bHngo8afuMyD64ZiLpC-CE7fJJQ

Now you could say that what she said was pretty anodyne and not backed up by any specific action, fair enough. But that wasn’t the accusation that was being made. It is demonstrably and clearly not true that she hadn’t said anything.

Come on KB. We’re supposed to be well-informed and fair-minded here.
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April 5, 2019 9:17am
- mikenmildagain
  
  We’re supposed to be well-informed and fair-minded here.
  
  LOL, that’s a good one.
  
  8 35
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  April 5, 2019 9:23am
- Rachael Membery
  
  Has Jacinda said enough and has she continued to say it, has she done something through diplomatic channels.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:36am
  - Albert_Ross
    
    Who has? Apart from George Clooney?
    
    7 1
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    April 5, 2019 11:30am
- alien
  
  I’ve come to realise that a large number of posters are just not aware of what the government and the ministers have done and just throw around accusations. It’s a shame because a few people here do exactly what they attacked left supporters of doing during the key government.
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:53am
Yvette

Am I just too jaded, mean-spirited and sceptical beyond my already considerable age, to read of the generosity of Prime Minister Ardern paying for the supermarket groceries of a woman with two “screaming” children at the checkout before her, but who has forgotten her wallet, and to wonder – for want of a little real perspective, and any point in mentioning this at all – just how much did Ardern pay?
$100, $50, or under $20?
Why does no report of this matter actually mention the most pertinent point in the incident?

Is it not a little like going all the way to China, with the world expecting you to raise the plight of one million mass detained Uighur Muslims, and saying you did, but not uttering the slightest word of what was said or any answer given. Or any evidence it ever happened.

Alas – I am getting too old to believe in fairies.
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April 5, 2019 9:20am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  The Prime Minister has a skill for appearing “kind and compassionate.” The Madonna-like images of her in the wake of Christchurch have made an impact. “Saint-like” is the feelz that this image generates.
  
  This will appeal to those who vote based on their “feelz.”
  
  What is the leader of the opposition to do?
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:59am
  - brett68
    
    Get themselves a vagina, it’s the only way National will win.
    2020 is a write off otherwise.
    
    8 6
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    April 5, 2019 12:14pm
  - Rachael Membery
    
    All I could see were hands.
    
    6 0
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    April 5, 2019 12:14pm
    - sooty
      
      Tiptoe naked thru the tulips?
      Be the only way to get cut thru!
      
      1 0
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      April 5, 2019 4:03pm
- alloytoo
  
  Is this woman related to that Roofus fellow Shearer used to go on about.
  
  8 0
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  April 5, 2019 10:27am
- Fletch
  
  Could have been a PR stunt…
  
  13 0
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  April 5, 2019 10:58am
  - hullkiwi
    
    …and was.
    
    The quote was the coup de gras
    
    “I’m a mother too”.
    
    I think the phrase is:
    
    It was stage managed.
    
    But why, is she starting to get negative feedback from core Labour that she has gone too Muslim as the mother of the nation?
    
    17 0
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    April 5, 2019 12:01pm
    - Rich Prick
      
      I hear that there are hordes hanging around her house waiting to follow her to the supermarket.
      
      14 0
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      April 5, 2019 1:28pm
      - alex Masterley
        
        The mail box will be chocker with people sending her their bills for her to pay them.
        
        10 0
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        April 5, 2019 1:31pm
lastmanstanding

Sensible citizens should remember that hate speech laws can be used against you by all political sides.

History and indeed today shows that Governments will use laws against their political opponents and those opponents supporters.

Using an extreme event as an excuse for enacting unconscionable laws has a long history.

When the citizens are in shock after an extreme event their tolerance to laws that will have an adverse outcome for them is very high.

Bad Governments use this raised tolerance to advance their agenda knowing that the emotion of the moment will ensure their support.

Citizens who value our current freedoms should be very wary of the motive of this Government.
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April 5, 2019 9:24am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  While the public is “in shock” is it not immoral for the politicians to take advantage of her?
  
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  April 5, 2019 9:50am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I wonder if Little & Co will be taking a close look at Singapore’s laws on “Hate-speech”… and proposed new law on anti-fake news.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_(Singapore)
  
  https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47782470
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:07am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    The Singapore law in essence makes it a criminal offence to make one segment of the population “feel ill will” towards another.
    
    Fair enough, to prevent trouble-makers causing unrest in a population of essentially incompatible groups.
    
    But if the truth causes “ill will to be felt” then do you suppress the truth?
    
    (I guess so in the UK…)
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:18am
    - sooty
      
      Can you see the treaty allowing them to get a wack on the bum for commiting a crime?
      
      2 0
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      April 5, 2019 4:00pm
- The King
  
  It’s not called bad government, it’s called Tyranny.
  
  A power system, secular or religious, which employs extensive calls to patriotism or requires verbosity and rhetoric for its preservation, is masking tyranny. (early elections eh fellow citizens)
  
  Tyrannies teach what to think; free men learn how to think.
  
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  April 5, 2019 2:31pm
Hugh Pavletich

AUSTRALIA: ‘We’ve never seen it as bad as it is’: Researchers warn of rising mortgage stress – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-05/researchers-warn-of-rising-mortgage-stress/10972682

The pre-election tax cuts promised by both major parties will be welcomed by tens of thousands of households caught up in what seems to be a worsening national housing crisis.
Researchers have said nationwide mortgage defaults are the highest they have been in almost two decades.

A spokesperson from peak housing and homelessness body National Shelter, an organisation at the front line of housing stress, said too many Australians have hit rock bottom. … read more via hyperlink above …
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April 5, 2019 9:58am
- Cobolt24
  
  https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-housing-crisis-in-japan-home-prices-stay-flat-11554210002
  
  extract….
  
  What Housing Crisis? In Japan, Home Prices Stay Flat
  Supply keeps up with demand in Tokyo thanks to few restrictions on development
  
  In the past two decades, home prices in some leading North American and European cities have skyrocketed. In Tokyo, however, they’ve flatlined.
  
  So why no affordable-housing crisis in Japan? A big factor, experts say, is the country’s relatively deregulated housing policies, which have allowed housing supply to keep up with demand in the 21st century.
  
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  April 5, 2019 3:12pm
Nigel Kearney

Questions for Kiwibloggers:

When the court allows “the media” to enter but not “the public” and they have someone at the door checking identification, what are they actually checking?

If I was to print up an official looking ID for a news outlet I invented myself, would I be breaking any laws if I tried to use that to get into a court hearing?
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April 5, 2019 10:16am
- Jules99
  
  I think there is an accreditation process. It’s worth seeing if certain bloggers can apply, like Infowars applied for accreditation as a White House media outlet. Not sure how that went. I would argue, why should the media be treated any differently from members of the public, many of whom would be vastly more experienced and trustworthy than the jumped up bimbos mainstream channels current recruit.
  
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  April 5, 2019 10:31am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    And some Blog owners and commenters probably have a greater audience than NZ’s MSM journalists.
    
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    April 5, 2019 11:45am
- Rachael Membery
  
  DPF could appoint people?
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:21am
- cmm
  
  You’d probably be found in contempt of court.
  
  There is no higher crime in the land, according to the judiciary anyway.
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:55am
  - Rachael Membery
    
    I thought Kiwiblog qualified as media? DPF belongs to media organisations, or so I thought, what qualifications do reporters really need other than having accreditation?
    
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    April 5, 2019 12:12pm
  - sooty
    
    Looking after their own patch?
    
    6 0
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    April 5, 2019 12:32pm
  - freethinker
    
    How about perjury – by a Lawyer -watch this space.
    
    2 0
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    April 5, 2019 1:55pm
    - sooty
      
      “What qualifications does a reporter need”
      None going by what we see in the shit that they produce in print. Can’t comment on the teleprompters as I have not seen them in years. Except the CC shooting, by friday night I was over them and it. Never went back.
      
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      April 5, 2019 3:57pm
- godruelf
  
  Especially when some parts of the Media ie TVNZ are not doing their job. After watching the lunchtime ‘news’ bulletin I had to go to Stuff to find out that
  Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, appeared in court in relation to 89 charges.
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:41pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

And now for something different. This is the future Democrats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8H4EL6T2qc
15 1
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April 5, 2019 10:20am
- Tall Man
  
  My god she is as dumb as “what’s in it for wynston”‘s pr girl.
  
  12 1
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  April 5, 2019 1:34pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    They came out of the same mould Tall Man
    
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    April 5, 2019 3:59pm
  - waikatogirl
    
    She was a bartender before politics.
    
    8 0
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    April 5, 2019 4:28pm
    - Tall Man
      
      Is that betterer or worserer than a dj?
      
      Is that better or worse than being the leader of the youth communist league and waffling about “comrades”….
      
      10 0
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      April 5, 2019 5:14pm
      - Rachael Membery
        
        Waffling? Seemed quite strident to me.
        
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        April 5, 2019 11:50pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      She got selected for candidacy by sending in an audition tape. No joke. She’s just a glove puppet for a few hard left Democratic operatives.
      
      1 0
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      April 5, 2019 8:26pm
- ducklin71
  
  Good God not her! My first question to anyone (American or not) who supports this abomination, is do you support the takeover of thousands of private utility companies and businesses to fulfill your sick, UN/EU inspired will to kill the Western standard of living? Do you really think Americans will just hand over the keys because of a ditzy Puerto Rican 29-year old loudmouth? Hugo Chavez did exactly that in very recent times. Before him Fidel Castro managed to take over every private business in Cuba in less than 3 years. Yay for the revolution. Try explaining this to the kids waving placards, and demanding the Govt “do something” LOL. Don’t bother. Relax and watch the sky-screamers entertain us for years to come! We ain’t changin’ a DAMN thing honey. Keep barking at the moon.
  
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  April 5, 2019 5:30pm
harvey wilson

Sroubek still being here is the fault of Clark’s government, awkward

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/immigration-new-zealand-let-karel-sroubek-in-country-after-overstaying

Remember how the standard said it was a brave and principled stand keeping him here?

https://www.google.co.nz/amp/s/thestandard.org.nz/the-dirty-politics-of-beating-up-on-karel-sroubek/amp/
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April 5, 2019 10:30am
- alien
  
  Doesn’t look like it had anything to do with the Clark government from that article. Looks like a failure of immigration no, again
  
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  April 5, 2019 11:43am
  - Tall Man
    
    So responsibility for your department only applies to National Party Ministers of the crown.
    
    Good to know.
    
    14 1
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    April 5, 2019 1:32pm
Sacha

The government itself was/is in shock.
It is too immature both individually and as a unit, to be able to make sensible decisions about anything, and certainly nothing requiring consideration, such as gun law.
The youth adjacent leader and her team live in a world of immediacy, and quickly move on to allow room for the next media clickbait. Their supporters have a similar mindset.
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April 5, 2019 10:39am
- kowtow
  
  “Gun law has not been a tribal political issue here. My Select Committee 17 years ago reached a cross party consensus. But it is a badging issue in the US. So our “progressives” start the same chants to ape their US betters. They want to stick it to gun owners to show who is in charge – to anger “deplorables”. Whether the changes have any connection to a problem or a solution is immaterial to them. It is not so much ‘virtue signalling’ as IFF – identifying friend from foe.”
  
  http://www.stephenfranks.co.nz/
  
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  April 5, 2019 12:08pm
  - Tall Man
    
    I liked this bit….
    
    “Wise politicians pick no unnecessary fights that focus people on differences instead of on values they share.”
    
    That seemed to be the labour election plan. They pitted landlords against tenants, residents against immigrants, homeowners against aspiring homeowners and haves against the “too lazy to get off their arses” lot.
    
    It was a divisive campaign that they continue to wage today.
    
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    April 5, 2019 1:31pm
    - sooty
      
      Same things will apply to the next one as well!
      Only worse!
      
      6 0
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      April 5, 2019 3:50pm
      - waikatogirl
        
        All sizzle no sausage! ?
        
        5 0
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        April 5, 2019 4:32pm
Fletch

OMG, the second series of Cobra Kai (the follow up to the Karate Kid movie) is coming out in 19 days. Looks like it is going to be SOOO good. Forget Game Of Thrones, this is where it’s at!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaXoQJx3jYs
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April 5, 2019 10:50am
- Tall Man
  
  I wonder if they have been given permission to use the sacred word……kai.
  
  6 1
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  April 5, 2019 1:23pm
  - sooty
    
    Thats funny, I saw that Archwrights shop had a kia ora cordial sign in it the other day. 1976 it came out, bit late to stop making that!
    
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    April 5, 2019 3:48pm
big bruv

Pancake mxture made, pancakes cooked, bacon done and now into the pantry to grab the Maple syrup………only to find out that it’s not Maple syrup at all but that Golden surup crap.
A good breakast ruined!
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April 5, 2019 10:52am
- James Stephenson
  
  Fry a couple of eggs and grab the Kaitaia Fire.
  
  6 1
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  April 5, 2019 12:48pm
dcrown

Joe Biden is screwed, not even someone deeply corrput and lacking compunction as Obama is willing to defend him. How long before he gets exposed for his visits to Epstein’s ‘lolita island?’
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April 5, 2019 11:17am
Fletch

A Canadian guy is fined $55,000 for calling a trans woman (ie, a man) a man…

https://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen3/18d/Whatcott-BC-Tribunal/images3/58_Oger_v_Whatcott_No_7_2019_BCHRT_58.pdf

Meanwhile, a children’s story book by a Kiwi author promoting transgenderism is celebrated on the news last night.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/hollywood-celebrity-george-takei-applauds-new-book-created-kiwis-lgbt-theme
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April 5, 2019 12:23pm
Poppa

Have spoken with a couple of clients this week who have both said they will be letting staff go as a result of the increase in wage rate. One has actually employed a fellow who will now struggle to get a job anywhere else due to his low IQ. They were doing him a favour.

Typical of Labour, hurt the very people they shout that they care about
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April 5, 2019 1:16pm
- ducklin71
  
  Jester’s Pies in Whangarei just closed for the same reason. I used to go there all the time. Owner decided it wasn’t worth it. I’m sure the 8 staff who worked there really appreciate Labour. The do-gooders on the left are little more than idiots who cannot understand the simple concepts of “every action has a reaction”, and “money doesn’t grow on trees.”
  
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  April 5, 2019 6:53pm
Maggie Pie

While me and my partner only ever fly Emirates, I’m sure those that prefer the cheaper fares to Aussie flying Jetstar, will find this wonderful story particularly heart warming –

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12219517
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April 5, 2019 2:17pm
Gulag1917

Psychologists have discovered a new form of technophia, gunphobia.
Gunphobia has the following symptoms,
* little if any understanding of guns,
* confusion about what little they do know,
* very emotional,
* inability to articulate a decent argument.
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April 5, 2019 2:17pm
- sooty
  
  Funny, that sounds like most journalist and MPs!
  Man they have it real bad! Especialy the PM.
  
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  April 5, 2019 3:41pm
- Odakyu-sen
  
  That’s a useful template!
  
  _____ phobia has the following symptoms:
  * little if any understanding of______s,
  * confusion about what little they do know,
  * very emotional,
  * inability to articulate a decent argument.
  
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  April 5, 2019 4:00pm
John Warren

I was playing chess at lunchtime with my old buddy, and I had a horrible moment. We’re going to have to get rid of those horse-headed pieces, or change their names, or something. Knights are irredeemably associated with the Crusades.
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April 5, 2019 2:26pm
- rangitoto
  
  What about bishops, Shouldn’t they be ayatollah’s?
  
  11 1
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  April 5, 2019 2:53pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Chess has many problems:
  Bishops imply only a hierarchical church can be part of the game, endangering freedom of conscience.
  A weak king is a corrosive exmaple for a society badly in need of good male role models.
  Pawns are calling out for enfranchisement.
  etc, etc
  
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  April 5, 2019 3:03pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Na, you’re ok… Chess has a good Muslim history…
  (How do you think it arrived in the West?)
  https://www.arabamerica.com/arab-contributions-game-chess/
  
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  April 5, 2019 3:12pm
  - Scientific American
    
    Yes indeed. And additionally, in terms of history rather then the game, there were in effect ‘knights’ (mounted warriors basically) on both sides. Whereas the term ‘crusaders’, derived from ‘crux’ or cross, would seem on its face rather one sided.
    
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    April 5, 2019 4:00pm
    - Scientific American
      
      On further reflection, the Canterbury Knights could be a goer for the new name (as not really saying anything about the Crusades). Though personally, as a Hurricanes supporter, I would like to recommend Canterbury Tails.
      
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      April 5, 2019 4:11pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Canterbury Daze……
        
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        April 5, 2019 5:19pm
- alien
  
  Sad post with a lot of stupid replies
  
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  April 5, 2019 3:17pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Scroll. Actually, close the page. Your sense of humour is showing.
    //
    
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    April 5, 2019 4:10pm
    - Tall Man
      
      Or lack thereof….
      
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      April 5, 2019 8:15pm
  - Tall Man
    
    You’re winning so far.
    
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    April 5, 2019 5:20pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Then of course there are the Queens. Should they not be Drag Queens?
  
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  April 5, 2019 4:06pm
rightoverlabour

What’s up with Judith Collins? I have read that she was very hostile to the pro Gun lobby in the select committee. If that’s the case, that’s last time I vote National.
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April 5, 2019 3:04pm
- barnacle bill
  
  Funny that, she has gone up in my estimation considerably.
  
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  April 5, 2019 4:16pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Let’s not spoil her day and tell her eh?
    
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    April 5, 2019 5:18pm
- ducklin71
  
  Already canned them over that very issue. I made sure to tell them loud and clear too. National voter since 1996. No more. They crossed a line I don’t compromise for any politician.
  
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  April 5, 2019 7:16pm
- Kevin Herlihy
  
  Judith is not the sort of woman or politician who is easily bullied or intimidated by lobby groups of any persuasion.
  
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  April 5, 2019 7:23pm
Rachael Membery

OMG terrorism tourism coming to NZ

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12219527
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April 5, 2019 3:49pm
- Tall Man
  
  You really couldn’t make that up, even if you were as clever as Ricky Gervais.
  
  “After Life” is a good show BTW.
  
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  April 5, 2019 5:18pm
- alien
  
  Bad taste, but kiwis did it with the earthquake tourists that would come to see the damage and those who would drive around the streets looking.
  
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  April 5, 2019 6:23pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Emigrating then…awesome…bye bye, make sure the door doesn’t smack you on the arse on your way out.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:24pm
- ducklin71
  
  And right when the Labour Govt (and National party) is trying to grab all the guns.
  
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  April 5, 2019 7:20pm
Fletch

I’d like to see them try and enforce it –

Australia’s parliament has passed new legislation to criminalize Internet platforms for failing to remove violent videos and audio, after an Australian gunman livestreamed himself shooting worshippers in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Under the new legislation, social media executives — among other online content or hosting providers — could be imprisoned for up to three years and companies could face penalties of up to 10 percent of their annual revenue if they do not remove violent content in an “expeditious” manner.

The bill passed on Thursday local time with cross-party support but faced criticism, including that it could cause increased censorship and that the process was rushed.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/04/709751602/australia-criminalizes-failure-to-remove-violent-content-from-internet-platforms
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April 5, 2019 4:31pm
- krazykiwi
  
  … but faced criticism, including that it could cause increased censorship and that the process was rushed
  
  Those Aussies… they’re quite like us aren’t they?
  
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  April 5, 2019 5:16pm
- nasska
  
  NZ’s Chief Censor has his Jockeys knotted over the existence of video games based on the Christchurch shootings & for once in my life I’m inclined to go along with him.
  
  …..”A shocking new computer game has been created which allows users re-enact the horrific mosque shootings in Christchurch.”…..
  
  https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/computer-game-re-enacts-christchurch-mosque-shootings
  
  Given that video games are the preserve of teenagers & ‘shut-ins’ who would struggle to recognise reality if it sat up & yodelled in in their pudding plate it may be time for the nannies to do something useful.
  
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  April 5, 2019 5:18pm
  - alien
    
    I remember reading about this game a week or two ago, it was released in feb, a month before the attack. Some people requested a new part based on Christchurch.
    
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    April 5, 2019 6:20pm
waikatogirl

A new report from the Lancet has found its way to NZ. The call for the latest food tax on TVNZ “news” is a salt tax. “Most people would agree.”

Due to its popularity salt has a history of being taxed.
“Taxation of salt has occurred in India since the earliest times. However, this tax was greatly increased when the British East India Company began to establish its rule over provinces in India. In 1835, special taxes were imposed on Indian salt to facilitate its import.”
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April 5, 2019 6:19pm
- Shaun the Sheep
  
  What does the Lancet suggest is the point of a salt tax? Health or revenue gathering?
  I buy salt by the kilo.
  I use it for cleaning the sink, scrubbing coffee stains off mugs, killing broadleaf weeds in the lawn, bathing in, …
  Taxing my salt purchase won’t make me healthier because I don’t eat the salt I buy.
  
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  April 5, 2019 10:29pm
Odakyu-sen

I’d prefer food tourism.
Like food in Tokyo.
(On a budget.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeZh6jz495M
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April 5, 2019 6:32pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Have you thought of moving back there? You obviously find life in NZ lacking in so many ways.
  
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  April 5, 2019 7:02pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Any chance of you heading back to Soviet UK…
    
    Asking for a friend…lots and lots of friends.
    
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    April 5, 2019 8:29pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Could make up a trip checking out salty delights…
  *mucky fat butties – Yorkshire
  *povi masima – south Auckland (or Samoa)
  *spekesild – Norway
  *salted egg – Phillipines
  etc….
  
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  April 5, 2019 7:18pm
  - nasska
    
    Given that you can buy ag salt (comes from exactly the same place/producer as the table variety) for $9.99/20kg bag a salt tax may not fly!
    
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    April 5, 2019 7:24pm
Happychappy

Wow what is Census up and what are they hiding ,are they going to give the select committee what they https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/111816324/chief-statistician-ordered-by-mps-to-produce-information-on-census-2018. want.
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April 5, 2019 7:59pm
Fletch

So this is the winning design for the monument marking the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster –

https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/t/u/y/7/3/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1420×800.1ukvon.png/1554448673300.jpg

Yup, like most modern “designs” by Kiwis, it’s as ugly AF. A “bridge to nowhere”.
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April 5, 2019 9:48pm
tranquil

“To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a freedom. The freedom to criticize ideas, any ideas – even if they are sincerely held beliefs – is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. A law which attempts to say you can criticize and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed.

It all points to the promotion of the idea that there should be a right not to be offended. But in my view the right to offend is far more important than any right not to be offended. The right to ridicule is far more important to society than any right not to be ridiculed because one in my view represents openness – and the other represents oppression”
― Rowan Atkinson

“Of what use is a philosopher who doesn’t hurt anybody’s feelings?”
― Diogenes of Sinope

“When someone offends me, I think it’s a gift from Allah (god). He (Allah) is teaching me humility.”
― Ibn Taymiyyah

“Those who are determined to be ‘offended’ will discover a provocation somewhere. We cannot possibly adjust enough to please the fanatics, and it is degrading to make the attempt.”
― Christopher Hitchens

“[T]he useful idiots, the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of the Soviet socialist or Communist or whatever system, when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. That’s why my KGB instructors specifically made the point: never bother with leftists. Forget about these political prostitutes. Aim higher. […] They serve a purpose only at the stage of destabilization of a nation. For example, your leftists in the United States: all these professors and all these beautiful civil rights defenders. They are instrumental in the process of the subversion only to destabilize a nation. When their job is completed, they are not needed any more. They know too much. Some of them, when they get disillusioned, when they see that Marxist-Leninists come to power—obviously they get offended—they think that they will come to power. That will never happen, of course. They will be lined up against the wall and shot.”
― Yuri Bezmenov
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April 6, 2019 12:39pm
paulops

Well the police state they cannot guarantee resources for anzac parades . Every public event now the organizies will consult with police to see if it is okay to stage such events. The police state the police state the police state
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April 6, 2019 6:35pm
BrownSnake

With ANZAC Day approaching when do you people expect the Next Hot War in the Pacific?
will be?

Any takers on a Kick off Time?

Myself I am expecting the decade of 2025-2035
already have another base outside of NZ
and am working on a Third for my families
safety?

Sort of view NZ and Aus as Failed States now.

Or was the Siege or Marawi last year the First Battle of the new Pacific War?
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April 20, 2019 7:18pm