General Debate 26 August 2019

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Yvette

After being asked about pathways for the Muslim community to be involved in leadership roles, Ms Ardern said she wanted to create what she called a “politics bootcamp”.

Where is any investigative journalist who’d ask the Muslim community, particularly women, why they would seek pathways to leadership roles – what do they aspire to and for what reasons?
Rather than Ardern’s response, at the moment, I would like to know more about the reason for the question.
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August 26, 2019 9:10am
- sooty
  
  Will their owners allow them?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:37am
- Scott
  
  Yvette – one can only wonder about the naïveté of our Prime Minister? Who thinks that giving Muslims more opportunity for political representation in New Zealand is a good thing?
  
  What will they do with that political representation? Well if they are good Muslims they will push for the implementation of sharia law. A good Muslim really believes in sharia law as the law of Allah. Therefore it makes perfect sense for them to push for Allah’s laws to be implemented in this country.
  
  The only problem is that sharia law is incompatible with Western law and Western civilisation. Our Western laws come from the moral foundations of Christianity and are also informed by classical scholarship particularly with regard to democracy. Our laws come from Athens and Jerusalem.
  
  Sharia law does not come from those cities but is part of a totally different tradition and mindset.
  
  Can anyone please inform our Prime Minister of this?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:55am
Martin Williams

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Cruel but fair criticism of New Zealand dairy industry practice in the New York Times.

The contamination of Canterbury’s freshwater easily ranks among the worst environmental disasters in New Zealand history.

Well done to Dr Mike Joy and David Larsen for speaking out!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/115243716/ecologist-takes-dairy-criticism-to-world-stage
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August 26, 2019 9:16am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  “The contamination of Canterbury’s freshwater easily ranks among the worst environmental disasters in New Zealand history.”
  
  Ōkuma, Fukushima: “Hold my beer.”
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:16am
- Tony Stuart
  
  You lost me at Dr Mike Joy…
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:16am
  - Blackbob
    
    Me as well, met the man and he definitely lives up to his name… . If you want overcooked hyperbole then he’s your go to.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:41am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  So, turning up in the NYT to economically sabotage NZ is a good thing in your book?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:29am
KevO'Brien

If you let your big corporates setup their business in another country so they can sell goods back to their former home haven’t you destroyed your own work force? Even worse if you don’t get their taxes either.

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/08/21/what-globalism-did-was-to-transfer-the-us-economy-to-china/
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August 26, 2019 9:17am
- MCos
  
  How can you stop big corporates setting up in another country?
  
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  August 26, 2019 11:00am
  - hullkiwi
    
    You could ask that & then ask how do you stop the corporate then being bought up by the Chinese e.g. Fisher & Paykel. Only high end R&D has remained in NZ.
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:16pm
    - MCos
      
      I went to went in Bangkok for an Australian steel detailing company (we produced structural steel drawings for fabricators).
      All our work was for the American market, until it fall on hard times.
      The American detailing companies couldn’t compete with the Asian rates and draughtsmen were laid off left right & centre.
      Once they got used to the antiquated units the Asian work top notch after a couple of years experience.
      Eventually our company was bought out by American fabticators.
      
      So the wheels go round & round and sometimes it pays to be on the bus instead of lying in front of it
      
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      August 26, 2019 2:26pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Morning report has run about 5 hits on the CEO of Ministry of Culture & Heritage this morning.
Now she was only appointed to the job late last year, coming over from MFAT, so I very much doubt she was in charge of putting out the contract for the Tuia250 website.

But strangely, there is no mention of the Company responsible for running the Tuia 250 website.

Surely every company undertaking Government work is aware of its obligations to safeguard personal information.
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August 26, 2019 9:19am
- mark15
  
  MW feelz rulez not rezultz
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:22am
- Tall Man
  
  If it “feelz” right then it’ll be fine.
  
  Looking around at the make up of the multitude of committees and “new” ceo’s it looks more like “gender balance” than experience is the key factor…. Not ignoring “jobs for the mates” factor as well.
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:34am
- Wired-one
  
  Who’s the minister in charge? Surely they will be held to account…
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:38am
  - Hacked-Off
    
    Oh wait, that would be the Hon PM Jacinda Adern as Minister for Culture and Heritage. You surely cannot be suggesting that we hold St Jacinda to account for the actions of her portfolio, can you? One but hopes.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:44am
- chaos
  
  Its a joke, after the screw up with the budget they should be triple checking everything.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:00am
  - greybeard
    
    Agreed.
    Why was there no oversight / monitoring / testing / signoff by the Dept of the independent contractor’s work ?
    
    “The website was created by a company commissioned by the ministry, but was not a ministry website, Cavanagh said.
    
    She declined to name the company, but said it had not been involved with any other Government agencies.”
    
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    August 26, 2019 11:17am
- geekatwork
  
  The domain name is registered to https://modicagroup.com/
  
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  August 26, 2019 12:13pm
KevO'Brien

The maps here show the Amazon fires are not where we think they are—
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/08/24/amazon-fires-are-in-the-amazon/
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August 26, 2019 9:21am
- sooty
  
  What fires, where?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:39am
  - softail 1450
    
    El jazeera are reporting over 17,000 reported fires as of 6am NZ time this morning ,W T F???????
    
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    August 26, 2019 11:24am
    - Batman
      
      Putting aside the climate hysteria, it is a pretty bad environmental disaster. That’s a shitload of air pollution and burnt habitat!
      
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      August 26, 2019 11:29am
      - Ed Snack
        
        The level is more or less average for this time of year and the fires are mostly burn off on cultivated land. The levels have dropped a lot from 20 odd years ago, about a decade or so ago they dropped by over 50% and have stayed at the same sort of level.
        
        I doubt it is particularly pleasant if you can’t tolerate smoke, but “environmental disaster” I think is hyperbolic as it has been going on for many decades mostly at higher levels. Thus any “disaster” should surely have manifested itself by now ?
        
        Worth noting that a lot of the clearance has probably been done for cropping biofuel crops. Brazil is #2 in the world in biofuels – mostly ethanol from Sugar cane waste but oils are gaining ground.
        
        This is just the “environmental scare story du jour” that the politicians and their lapdogs in journalism so love to scare the lumpem proletariats with. There’s lies, damn lies, and environmental scare stories these days.
        
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        August 26, 2019 1:36pm
- chaos
  
  Just to add newshubs article to this
  
  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/08/amazon-fires-most-blazes-are-in-farmland-not-the-rainforest-scientists.html
  
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  August 26, 2019 12:12pm
Happychappy

Did anyone watch Sunday on One last night, what a inspiration to youth this young kid and his Grandfather are. I know it is a cliche but young parent should grab a copy of this and sit them down to view it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12261407
I don’t watch to much TV apart from sport but my wife was on to me to watch it , this is also inspiring to the way he was bought up and the respect he has for his Grandfather and his family .
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August 26, 2019 9:22am
oldpark

Heard Mike Hosking on the radio this morning saying the Green Party were holding NZs to ransom with their ban on all new roading construction.
What he failed to say was a special mention and shout out to Winston Peters for enabling the Green Party to run roughshod over the rights of NZs motorists.
Thank you Winston Peters you are a special NZ,capping off you’re circa 40 years as a NZ Politician. Yeah Right. What an indictment.
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August 26, 2019 9:23am
- chaos
  
  I tend to think we should realise if not for Winston the greens And labour’s plans would be far worse. Winston has stopped a free run for labour greens to set no back to the Stone Age
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:14am
  - Jack5
    
    MMP’s the problem: minority political parties have disproportionate power.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:29am
    - igm
      
      Time to get rid of list seats in Parliament . . . they are rubbish, inhabited in the main by rubbish.
      
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      August 26, 2019 10:53am
  - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
    
    So the plague isn’t killing the host, just rendering it very ill. So lets be grateful?
    
    Peters chose this Prime Minister, he made an active decision to get into bed with the Crazy people, and you say we should be grateful that he is moderating the crazy?
    
    If he had gone with national, there would be no crazy people to moderate.
    
    He MADE that choice. If it wasn’t for Winston’s scumbaggery, NZ would be quite competently managed, taxes down, employment up, and new roads being built.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:32am
    - chaos
      
      Peters would never of gone with national, there was zero chance of him ever going with national in the last election, evident by the fact he had already planned lawsuits against a few mps.
      
      The only option last year was peters to go with labour as a partner, or to support labour from the cross bench.
      
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      August 26, 2019 10:45am
      - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
        
        No, he made that choice. His entire election campaign was dancing on the head of a pin to keep the Nats honest. Then he went with the Crazy people.
        
        Did NZ first voters think that was what they would get?
        
        Guess we will find out soon enough if there are enough of the confused wrinklies left.
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:01am
      - chaos
        
        Anyone Who voted for Winston first thinking they would go with national lead by Bill English didn’t do their homework. There was no chance he ever had any intention to go with national
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:44am
      - rockape
        
        Maybe NZ First needs to go without Winston.
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:52am
      - chaos
        
        Winston first won’t last without him
        
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        August 26, 2019 12:12pm
      - hullkiwi
        
        Yes, and it was Peters, who through skillful use of language inferred he would enter govt with the largest party after 2017. But there is the rub, he said he would talk to the largest party about forming a govt. However, what he didn’t say was that if the largest party was National, he would talk to them, but that he would make it impossible for National to form a govt with him.
        
        Proof, if ever we needed it, that he is a living, duplicitous, toxic, snake oil salesman of a politician, not to be trusted at any price.
        
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        August 26, 2019 12:28pm
  - Blackbob
    
    He put them there in the first place! cleaning up your own mess is not something to be congratulated for FFS.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:43am
    - chaos
      
      Would you of preferred a labour greens govt with peters on the cross bench?
      
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      August 26, 2019 10:51am
      - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
        
        Or a National governmetn with Peters on the Cross Bench? Entirely possible, except the evil dwarf needed his revenge tragedy to play out.
        
        Surely the Iago of NZ politics?
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:02am
      - skyblue
        
        Yep, would ensure a 1 term govt as long as we still had right to vote. Peters no knight, he chose the shithouse govt we have.
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:28am
      - chaos
        
        There was no chance that Winston would of gone with national last election, none at all. Not with bill English as leader.
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:43am
      - srylands
        
        Would you HAVE…..
        
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        August 26, 2019 1:28pm
  - notreadyet
    
    More Importantly He enabled the whole circus in the first place so is actually encumbent on him to controll wny nonsense
    
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    August 26, 2019 11:10am
  - herb1
    
    Chaos , thats like saying a headmaster should be congratulated for knowingly employing a paedophile teacher , and with monitoring keeping the abused down to only a dozen.
    the headmaster shouldn’t be praised for moderasting the paedos behaviour , he should be thrown in prison.
    
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    August 26, 2019 4:07pm
peterwn

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Following from Paula’s impish flowers gift, and Judith Collin’s proposed book there has been some speculation on a possible scenario for next year. Winston seems to hate Simon and Paula (among others such as John and Bill) but seems to get on OK with Judith. Many in Nat caucus allegedly distrust Judith which is why her apparent recent leadership bid failed. But if it is close to the next election and Nats numbers do not look good, perhaps some Nat candidates may be so desperate to throw their lot in with Judith to facilitate a possible Judith/ Winston government.
Discuss ……
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August 26, 2019 9:23am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  No
  
  Was there another question?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:14am
- Charmaine Hawke
  
  Not going to happen, Winston is toast.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:16am
  - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
    
    That evil old prick has to go. No deal with Winston, it is never ever worth it!
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:33am
    - Aliog
      
      And Judith is electoral poison, so National would lose/lose.
      
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      August 26, 2019 11:03am
      - peterwn
        
        Not in Papakura, her home seat where she got a 7000+ majority in 2007. She also got 800 odd votes from those who did not party vote National. So she is hardly electoral poison. Although there would be concerns with her being National’s leader, she is a very valuable member of the team (ranked 4th) and would be given significant portfolios is National wins in 2020.
        
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        August 26, 2019 12:34pm
- rockape
  
  Some isnt enough, it would have to be a majority and that isnt going to happen.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:16am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Unlikely Peter. Winston Peters is electoral poison, and any party going into a coalition with him will struggle to find an antidote.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:18am
  - freethinker
    
    Tony I have special bottle of Chateau Hemlock for Peters that would do the trick.
    
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    August 26, 2019 1:22pm
- Poppa
  
  Whilst I agree with the picture you paint here, I don’t want Peters anywhere near power next time. That may result in Lab\Green govt but within reason I can live with it as long as Peters is banished along with his ragtag bunch of big heads
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:21am
  - chaos
    
    If you think the govt is bad now, a greens/labour govt will be far worse with no one to stop them.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:36am
    - stephen2d
      
      Any power Winston should be close to is a power wheelchair. The scaremongering “but Labour and Greens alone would be even worse” is not the point and it is just apologetic to the senile crook.
      
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      August 26, 2019 11:36am
      - chaos
        
        Actually it is the point because without national having enough votes that is the government you would of got. Winston would of never gone with national, and he would of never gone with bill English as a leader. You had two options last year when National didn’t get enough votes. Nz first and labour. Labour and greens.
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:46am
      - Bobba Fret
        
        A vote for NZ First is effectively a vote for the Labour / Greens. I think National should rule out working with them.
        
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        August 26, 2019 12:02pm
      - stephen2d
        
        @chaos: FFS, learn some grammar mate. “Would have”, not “would of” – littered throughout the whole GD today!
        
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        August 26, 2019 1:32pm
    - Greg Ettridge
      
      The voting public of New Zealand couldn’t be that silly, surely.
      Winston hasn’t exactly got his foot on their throats at the moment.
      Greens appear to be doing as they please.
      But of course, it isn’t a true Coalition, Labour has two agreements, Greens and NZ first only one each with labour.
      Winston fires the bullets, but the greens can walk at anytime. Greens have some power, as their vote is pivotal to governments survival.
      
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      August 26, 2019 12:06pm
      - chaos
        
        Imagine if it was just labour greens. We’d have a water bottling tax which would up the price of milk, etc. We’d have their capital gains tax. More than likely we’d have a climate change policy that would set nz back decades, including taxes on petrol, getting rid of older cars and banning petrol import cars sooner. All things that no doubt we will see if greens and labour can form a government next time without Winston
        
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        August 26, 2019 2:22pm
      - peterwn
        
        Don’t you believe it. They will most probably return Phil Goff and Justin Lester (effectively Julie-Ann genter’s puppet) as Mayors despite them serving the Labour Party rather than residents and frittering away money on useless light rail projects instead of keeping their cities moving.
        People in Wellington’s eastern suburbs complain about how much longer it is taking to drive into the City but will still vote for Paul Eagle (Rongotai) and Labour/Green councillors. They are too thick to put 2 and 2 together.
        
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        August 26, 2019 2:24pm
  - peterwn
    
    I fully agree! Indeed if such a scenario came to pass I would probably give my party vote to Labour to enable Labour to dig a nice deep hole for itself in 2023.
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:37pm
- septic skeptic
  
  Include me out!
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:34am
- Biscuit
  
  Peterwyn, your piece is full of unverifiable ‘truths’.
  
  Count the number of qualifications you use: ‘proposed’, ‘speculation’, ‘possible’, ‘seems’, ‘allegedly’, ‘apparent’, ‘if’, ‘do not look’, ‘perhaps’, ‘may be’, another ‘possible’…
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:40am
- igm
  
  Winston’s distaste of Bridges arises from the fact that he thought he would walk back into Tauranga when Clarkson retired, but alas, the young man kicked his arse so hard out of Tauranga he has never forgiven him.
  He is a three-seat loser and a political has-been.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:56am
  - namron
    
    Just watching and listening to Winston at Question Time this year, I am sure his 74 years are beginning to show. I suspect that he could be some health problems not visible or audible to us.
    Perhaps continuing as a politician is only because he is aware that NZF’s survival depends on him.
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:48pm
    - stephen2d
      
      Cirrhosis? Withdrawal symptoms? All of it combined?
      
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      August 26, 2019 1:35pm
- Raphael
  
  Winston is a traitorous cur.
  I do not want National to seek an alliance with NZF and would prefer it if National clearly ruled out an alliance with them.
  
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  August 26, 2019 11:39am
  - peterwn
    
    Simon most probably will at the right time but leave Winston to stew in his own juices for the time being.
    And Paula will probably send him more flowers to drive the point home.
    I cannot quite remember where I found the Judith/ Winston scenario, but I thought it was worth raising to see what Kiwibloggers thought of it.
    
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    August 26, 2019 2:32pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  No. I wish National would just come out and say “we will not go in to coalition with NZ First”
  
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  August 26, 2019 11:59am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    That will come in 2020, well before the election. Trust me…
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:33pm
  - igm
    
    John Key told the vile little man he was not wanted.
    
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    August 26, 2019 1:17pm
secondcumming

A high ranking diplomat claims *Helen Clark* failed to act over an investigation into an alleged *Rwandan War Criminal*……is anyone really surprised?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115240334/helen-clark-wasnt-interested-in-un-rwanda-genocide-claims

The book will be interesting.
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August 26, 2019 9:23am
- Greg Ettridge
  
  I bet Golriz Ghahraman can’t wait to get her hands on it. I wonder if she has a comment.
  It well could be banned as offensive material.
  One is having selfies with the baddies, the other is accussed of “nothing to see here”.
  
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  August 26, 2019 11:54am
Tauhei Notts

I have become quite concerned about that release of young peoples’ personal information by that department organising the Cook 250 year celebrations.
Nowhere is it stated about how many people were sacked over that incredible display of incompetence.
I imagine that if one were to describe Spud’s daughter as a fat slob that would be a sackable offence as it might hinder her self esteem; but release all that personal information; “That is a coding error”, and is excusable. It was not merely a coding error; it was a display of inexcusable incompetence in that correct staff training, staff selection and adequate safeguards; none of them were put in place.
I think that if Bernadette Cavanagh had, as a twelve year old, put neck pieces and belly wool in the full fleece fadge her father would have demoted her to making the scones.
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August 26, 2019 9:25am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  C’mon she is new. Tuia itself is turning into a cluster fuck.
  
  All we need now is angry natives on the beach for the Cook re-enactments. Then we need some trade of women for nails and fish-hooks, and the summary execution of a couple of Nephs for pilfering, and this will be a very fine rembrance of the birth of our nation ™
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:36am
Yvette

Some here have asked “What of the trespass notice served to Pania Newton?”
A “TED Talk” style-presentation does show her ripping up such a notice.

The YouTube item was published on December 18, 2018
[ For YouTube search panel, type or paste in –
Ihumātao: Recognising indigenous heritage Pania Newton TEDxAuckland
The trespass notice is dealt with at 13 minutes 6 seconds in ]

Can one who has studied law, herself ignore law, but demand the Crown honour law, which may not actually be law?
This could take a little while.

And a question remains whether there has been a more recent eviction notice.
If so, has the second been treated the same as the first?
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August 26, 2019 9:26am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  If someone has been issued with a trespass notice are the police not required by law to enforce it when called upon?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:21am
  - sooty
    
    Who are the clever people behind Pania Newton?
    If Hone had been the face of it, would he have been getting the same results, or would there be some sore heads?
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:45am
- graham
  
  Yvette – “Can one who has studied law, herself ignore law, but demand the Crown honour law, which may not actually be law?”
  
  Why not? There’s plenty of examples and precedents which have been set by our MPs.
  
  It has always amazed me that so many of our MPs who are charged with making and applying law, show such scant regard for it when it suits them.
  
  Just a few that spring to mind:
  
  – Metiria Turei (who studied law and worked as a commercial lawyer at Simpson Grierson) has admitted to committing benefit fraud, and quite happily justified it.
  
  – Hone Harawira was asked to repay some travel costs after skipping a taxpayer-funded conference in Brussels to go sightseeing in Paris – he justified it with the words, “How many times in my lifetime am I going to get to Europe? So I thought, ‘F*** it, I’m off. I’m off to Paris’.” Harawira has also said that Phil Goff “should be lined up against a wall and shot” for passing the Foreshore and Seabed Act, and was arrested during a housing protest in Glen Innes.
  
  – Donna Awatere Huata was convicted on fraud charges involving a trust set up to help underprivileged Maori children.
  
  – Taito Philip Field spent two years in prison for corruption and bribery.
  
  – Mike Sabin resigned from parliament “due to personal issues that were best dealt with outside Parliament” – IE he was under investigation by police for assault.
  
  If MPs (who are charged with making and applying law, and are in a very real sense responsible for making sure it’s enforced) can’t be bothered to stick to the law, then they can hardly be surprised when the ordinary man or woman in the street chooses not to.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:44am
alloytoo

Moderation.

As stated before I am perfectly willing to provide proof of identity to DPF (and his mods) , however I prefer to publish comments under my handle: “Alloytoo”. My private details are true and correct and would suffice to identify me to any legitimate agency.

The reasons are twofold.

1. I’ve used the handle “Alloytoo” or variations of “Alloy” since the early 90’s. It is an established identity with a reputation which I guard and defend. It is not merely an “Anonymizer”.

2. I have been stalked online after posting a comment under my real name (on Facebook), the stalker posting information which was not publicly available on Facebook. I do not want my family harried by SJW.

I would respectfully request that my comments be excepted from moderation, on that basis that my comments have attracted very little (if any?) moderation since the new regime began and that my real identity is easily verifiable by DPF and the moderation crew.

Such an exception could of course be revoked at anytime should I go off the rails.
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August 26, 2019 9:28am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  Post up in under four hours shows that you are already getting preferential treatment.
  
  The process of moderating the most recent comment instead of the one longest in the queue, is just bizarre and, defies logic.
  
  The same sense as seen in a bus queue in Israel where everyone forms an orderly line that dissolves into a scrum of All Black proportions with the old lady with walking stick and shopping being spat out the back one the bus arrives and opens its doors.
  
  [Mod – I can’t speak for the others, but I always work the moderation queue from bottom to top, so the oldest posts get approved first.]
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:22am
  - calendar girl
    
    A moderator told us over the weekend of the opposite approach, which is (as PG has said) bizarre, defying logic. With that occurring, it is no wonder that comments are taking hours to clear.
    
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    August 26, 2019 11:13am
    - Batman
      
      Not when there’s only 15 in the queue and they can be approved at the same time ?
      
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      August 26, 2019 11:33am
  - Batman
    
    DPFs rule is the rule.
    
    Alternatively, you can do a bit of moderation with us and get that posting right! ?
    
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    August 26, 2019 11:32am
    - Greg Ettridge
      
      I post under my name, I am careful with my words, if I think something maybe to close for me to call, all I do is hit edit and change something, it then goes to a moderator, it is then their decision.
      DPF’s Blog is now in the situation Andrew Bolt was in several years ago without the court case, once Andrew was dragged through the courts, the moderators were introduced.
      DPF can and will be held to account for other peoples musings. This has to be respected.
      
      [Mod – Thanks for your sensible contribution Greg. One of the roles of the mods is to mitigate the risk of litigation involving DPF as a defendant.]
      
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      August 26, 2019 12:15pm
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    Batman stated this in a post response to me on the weekend, hence the reference to 4 hours plus and bizarre method of working through comments involved in moderation.
    
    Are you saying that there is a difference in the method of moderation between moderators?
    
    Sorry CG, posted before getting to end of comments in the event of 4 hours wait which pretty much kills the thread relevance, sort of like cold chips in the microwave, never quite the same
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:02pm
    - Batman
      
      I do frequent checks on the queue during work days. Usually there’s less than 20 comments to approve so I do them as a block, using the bulk approve (select all and then approve all) tool.
      
      Other mods may choose to start from the bottom and do each individually.
      
      There are also times when all of us are busy so nobody is approving. More mods would solve that ?.
      
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      August 26, 2019 12:06pm
- Raphael
  
  Do what I did ages ago, I emailed DPF details of what my Username is here, and who I really am. That’s all he asked for.
  There is no requirement to have your real name as your screen name.
  
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  August 26, 2019 11:42am
cmm

Am I the only one that thinks Fingergate Boy (FGB) is going to walk away with only a slap with a pureed bus ticket?

Labour were really the people that screwed up the most, so it all comes down to whether FGB decides to take one for the Labour Team or whether he wants to protect himself.

Recently we have seen many cases where “promising young men” have walked away from more serious offending, with less extenuating circumstances, with no convictions because the dud judges considered it unfair punishment to burden the offender with a criminal record. I am sure FGB is a “promising young man” and there are numerous extenuating circumstances. Therefore I really can’t see him ending up with a conviction.

If FGB has a halfway decent legal team, then he can turn himself into a victim of Labour’s poor handling of the event:
* Apologise profusely. Lawyer can make some statement that FGB wanted to plead guilty, but was told he is also a victim in this and should rather plead innocent.
* FGB is not normally a big drinker having a glass or two of wine at dinner or a beer watching the footy with dad, but the party was not managed and he was under enormous peer pressure to “party up”, especially because his is the son of (inaudible). There were also drinks he was not familiar with. Perhaps someone spiked his drink. etc etc.
* Speculation on my part, but the PM was there earlier in the day and probably made some comment to “have fun tonight”, further increasing pressure, again especially because he is the son of (inaudible). Call her as a witness.
* Got drunk, then misread the signals form the victims, apologise again, tears streaming down face.

Bottom line is that really Labour should be on trial for creating the conditions under which this was almost inevitable, then apparently trying to cover it up by interfering with the judicial process and witness tampering. Please insert “alleged” where required.

I actually feel some sympathy for FGB. Sure, be did the wrong thing putting his hands where they were not invited, but he is by far not the worst offender in this whole sad event.
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August 26, 2019 9:33am
- Tall Man
  
  I’m not sure what planet you are from but you are way off base here.
  
  He was not a kid, unlike those he assaulted, he was 20 ish so should have an understanding of his alcohol tolerance.
  
  He assaulted 4 kids that we know of and nobody pushed his hand down anyone’s pants.
  
  The not guilty plea is an indicator that he has little regard for his victims and intends to play the “blame game”.
  
  He is an arsehole, much like those in higher positions within the labour “sexual assault” party.
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:39am
  - chaos
    
    Yeah, which makes the people who defend him disgusting.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:17am
    - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
      
      [mod: deleted. Warning]
      
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      August 26, 2019 10:40am
  - cmm
    
    I don’t know him and defer to your judgement of his character.
    
    I am not saying he is innocent, just pointing out that:
    * Given the nature of the situation the event occurred in and recent judgements against youthful offenders he is unlikely to end up with a conviction.
    * The real story, and the real offending, in all this is really providing the booze and then trying to interfere with the consequences.
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:25am
- chaos
  
  maybe he will be sent to live with Darren Hughes
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:49am
  - Tall Man
    
    He may like that…..
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:21am
    - sooty
      
      Of course he is going to get let of with a slap on the dick with a wet bus ticket!
      This is the Labour party we are talking about here. They can not even do anything about the sex pervert/rapist in the PMs own office!
      He’s too important to Labour to have him twiddling his thumbs in a prison cell, so why would they look after four young people?
      So you have to ask the question how many othe females in Labour are fiddled with and is it expected?
      
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      August 26, 2019 10:55am
- Colville
  
  I would bet that he will have reports from various experts saying that he was under the influece on drink/drugs and he is truely sorry and now has undergone treatment for those problems and is not a danger to society.
  FGB will take full responsibility and not push blame onto anyone else (because he has been told that is the way it is to be) – he probably has been paid for his troubles or been promised things to aid his future
  I wouldnt be surprised if he gets/keeps name suppression. He has some real power on his side and the current government is happy to lean hard on people to achieve their ends.
  
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  August 26, 2019 1:34pm
John Warren

First of all I noticed this on the red radio website this morning:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/397463/kids-hoop-dreams-dashed-by-council-confiscation

Then further down, a link to the original item:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/366718/selwyn-district-council-removes-basketball-hoops-over-safety-concerns

So not only do we have clipboard fascists destroying everybody’s fun, but Selwyn district ratepayers have been made to fork out $15,000 for an engineer to report on the state of 16 basketball hoops in the area. I’m in the wrong business.
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August 26, 2019 9:38am
- chaos
  
  Ah we’ve been here before. But thankfully bullrush has made a come back. These hoops will make a come back
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:20am
- cmm
  
  At whitecliffs, Selwyn put up a $34k playground that is hardly ever used because kids prefer to play down at the river.
  
  People in the area would often put up rope swings (myself included). They were hugely popular, but the clipboard warriors would take them down.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:21am
  - sooty
    
    If you keep putting up rope swings, they will come and cut your tree down!
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:34pm
lastmanstanding

I see JT is planning a rates freeze if elected. Well done that man. I read a report recently by an HR company that said Council jobs were paid at 30% plus for the same skills as in the private sector.

In addition whilst being told the amalgamation would result in job savings there are 2500 more staff than the combined staff of the old Councils.

And I note the number of (cough) certain peoples on the staff way out of line with their numbers in the population.

No surprise that cases of fraud and corruption have increased significantly over the past few years.
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August 26, 2019 9:39am
- Martin Williams
  
  He’s also wanting to scrap the Grafton – K’road section of the City Rail Link.
  
  Methinks Tamihere doesn’t know what the word “link” means.
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:43am
- Jules99
  
  What annoys me is the large number of ‘consultants’ being used to do what the council’s own staff should be doing. I know someone going through a funding round right now and the spending on consultants and companies like KPMG is astounding.
  
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  August 26, 2019 9:43am
  - cmm
    
    Using consultants is an easy way to avoid accountability. If something goes wrong the engineer cops all the flack.
    
    And it’s only ratepayers’ money so you’d be a mug not to spend it…
    
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    August 26, 2019 10:27am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  And landlords to provide a rent freeze for three years in return for a rates freeze because rates are the only component in determining a rent cost!
  
  Is there going to be a box with an option of ‘none of these self serving bellends but thanks for asking’?
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:27am
- MCos
  
  Anyone that votes for any mayoral candidate anywhere now or in the future on the basis of a no rate increase promise is a fool.
  
  Did he say this was possible by running the council more efficiently?
  They all say that.
  
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  August 26, 2019 11:45am
alex Masterley

For various reasons I couldn’t sleep this morning. I decided to while away the hours by watching the box.
I wanted to see if the English had folded, as they did in their first innings, like a pack of cards in the ashes test so switched to that channel.
When I started watching Ben Stokes and the number 10 had 70 odd runs to get and the Aussies – 1 wicket.
What an enthralling watch it was.
A brilliant finish even for the neutral as Stokes powered along and the Aussies lost their way!
Great stuff.
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August 26, 2019 9:47am
- Tony Stuart
  
  I have it playing in the background at the moment Alex. There was a full house at Headingly, and the crowd’s support of England was magnificent. The Ashes series has certainly come alive.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:21am
- MCos
  
  I recently picked up an old Martin Crowe autobiography from an op shop.
  I read about a blatant lbw turned down that would have won us a test and squared a series against Oz in Melbourne.
  Shame about the lbw last night!
  
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  August 26, 2019 12:01pm
  - Tony Stuart
    
    I think you’re referring to this one MCos – https://youtu.be/-NtFlb_KOCU
    
    It most certainly cost New Zealand a rare test match win in Australia, and in the Boxing Day Test, no less. Dick French’s decision was an absolute Betty Crocker!
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:38pm
Fletch

Every day in the news it is like, “the government is giving x million dollars for…” I’m really not sure how they are going to afford the millions of dollars they are doling out left and right.
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August 26, 2019 9:52am
- Tall Man
  
  They have really deep pockets….. Yours 🙂
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:23am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Well said
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:16pm
- Local Miller
  
  not sure how they are going to afford the millions of dollars they are doling out left and left and left and….
  
  There, fixed it for you.
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:32am
- MCos
  
  The same way all those new motorways everyone wants would be paid for.
  
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  August 26, 2019 12:03pm
skyblue

Were the moderators watching the Ashes last night?
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August 26, 2019 10:03am
- Tall Man
  
  Now why on earth would you want a free flowing blog allowing instant real time replies and comments?
  
  Remember 15 March…… you might say nasty things about ardern or halal meat or ardern’s hijab…..
  
  Nobody wants a “hurty face” coming down the email……
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:26am
Jack5

The Hong Kong protesters are using art.

https://www.inkstonenews.com/politics/public-relations-arm-hong-kongs-protest-movement/article/3024089
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August 26, 2019 10:26am
Local Miller

Hate it when delete doesn’t work!
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August 26, 2019 10:30am
Scott

A good book for those interested in the Trump/Russia collusion story is Andrew McCarthy’s “Ball of Collusion”. McCarthy is a former Federal prosecutor who shows that the collusion story had two parts – first of all an investigation to clear Hillary Clinton of actual crimes regarding classified information illegally stored on her home server to evade legitimate government oversight. Secondly an investigation that was done by the Obama administration to hamstring Pres Trump and ensure that his time in office was both ineffective and short.

Regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election the Obama administration knew all about it in real-time. However they dismissed it as ineffective and hardly worthy of notice. It was only when Trump unexpectedly won the election that Russian interference was blown up as having a real effect on the legitimacy of the 2016 election.

The Obama administration, the CIA under John Brennan and the mainstream media including CNN and the Washington Post worked hand in glove to begin the Trump/Russia collusion story and raise it to national prominence.

However there was and still is no evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. The whole thing was a hoax. Let that sink in. For two whole years the world was told that Trump is a traitor to his country and a puppet of the Russian dictator. However it was never true and there was never any evidence for it.

One can only hope that in the interests of justice that people will be held account for perpetuating what amounts to a soft coup to thwart the will of the American people. To put it bluntly – some people really need to go to jail for justice to be done and for justice to be seen to be done.
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August 26, 2019 10:51am
- Batman
  
  Paul Manafort passed polling data to the Russian ambassador.
  
  A number of Trump campaign staff are now in prison or are administration appointees awaiting sentencing (Flynn).
  
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  August 26, 2019 10:58am
  - Brian Marshall
    
    Nothing to do with Russian collusion. It’s not like Trump was Secretary of State and authored the sale of US uranium production facilities to Russian businesses, and then had the Trump foundation get millions of dollars in donations from the Russians is it?
    
    I should add that Michael Flynn’s treatment by the FBI borders on criminal. There is something very rotten about the way he was treated.
    
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    August 26, 2019 11:33am
    - Batman
      
      Nothing to do with collusion? You mean aside from a political campaign assisting foreign interference efforts?
      
      Oh yes, sure.
      
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      August 26, 2019 11:39am
      - kloyd0306
        
        Why didn’t Meuller suggest that Trump be indicted then?
        There was indeed collusion – by the Clinton campaign via Christopher Steele and his fake Russian assisted dossier, something Meuller completely avoided.
        I predict you will be very, very quiet after Horowitz, Durham and Barr have made public their findings on how Obama used government power (DOJ/FBI) to overturn the election of President Trump.
        
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        August 26, 2019 11:55am
      - Batman
        
        DoJ guidelines state that you cannot indict a sitting President, that includes a recommendation in this case.
        
        When it comes to the President, it is not the role of law enforcement to indict a sitting President, that is the job of Congress via their impeachment power. That discussion is underway at the moment.
        
        As he stated at his testimony, the Steele dossier was outside of the scope of his investigation, so naturally he didn’t go near it.
        
        Well, I find it hard to believe the alternate theory, just as you find it hard to accept the facts around the concluded investigation. That’s the fun of politics right? ?
        
        I won’t be quiet, if some great crime has been committed then they should face consequences. I am not a US partisan other than wanting to see both sides obey the law and govern responsibly, given the importance of the US to the world economy.
        
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        August 26, 2019 12:03pm
      - kloyd0306
        
        Even though Meuller admitted to Barr that DoJ guidelines were not a factor, it didn’t stop him from innuendo. He was practically begging the Dems to impeach yet could find no proof of collusion, which isn’t even a crime.
        Things are going to get very ugly for the Obama DoJ and FBI.
        Meuller’s assignment was to find Russian meddling with the election. That he chose to ignore Clinton’s clear involvement, is more proof that he was only interested in investigating Trump, hence Barr’s re-opening the various cases. Severe injustices have been perpetrated by both the Obama Admin and the Clinton campaign and Barr is just the guy to blow it open. Obama was one nasty operator.
        
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        August 26, 2019 12:24pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        ‘As he stated at his testimony, the Steele dossier was outside of the scope of his investigation, so naturally he didn’t go near it.’
        
        He stated it but it certainly was within his letter of instruction. I’ve shown you a copy of that letter from Rosenstein too.
        And in his report the Steele Dossier was mentioned several times.
        Perhaps, instead of being so disengenuous with your reply,and continuing to lie, you ask the question why Mueller didn’t discuss it in his Testimony.
        Oh, as for Manafort. The vast majority of the Polling Data passed over was publically available. Iirc, it was subsequently proved to wrong too.
        That’s also been showed to you before but you keep repeating your lies.
        
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        August 26, 2019 1:26pm
  - Scott
    
    Batman – not one person on the trump campaign staff has been charged with anything involving Trump/Russia collusion. Because there was no collusion. No collusion. Write that down. It was all a hoax!
    
    Trump campaign staff have been harassed and victimised by the Meuller team. Paul Manafort is a particularly egregious example. He was held in solitary confinement for months, a cruel and unusual punishment. He was pressured by the Meuller team to say what they wanted him to say.
    
    But there was no trump/Russia collusion. It was a hoax. Try and let that sink in.
    
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    August 26, 2019 12:07pm
    - Batman
      
      Scott, they committed crimes involving Russia and the election.
      
      If you want to believe it’s a hoax, go ahead. Plenty of people sincerely believe in plenty of hoaxes so you’re not alone.
      
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      August 26, 2019 12:11pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        ‘Scott, they committed crimes involving Russia and the election.’
        
        Prove it. List all the crimes and prosecutions.
        
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        August 26, 2019 1:28pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    ‘Paul Manafort passed polling data to the Russian ambassador.’
    
    No he didn’t. You’re a liar.
    He passed it to an old associate he knew from Ukraine who had Russian associations.
    
    Here’s an article from Bloomberg about it.
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-24/manafort-kilimnik-polling
    ‘Prosecutors were unable to determine what became of the data or if Deripaska received it. Kilimnik, in an email exchange on Thursday with Bloomberg News, said he had no ties to Russian intelligence and didn’t pass along detailed polling data.
    
    “I never got any in-depth polling data,” Kilimnik said. “This is the main issue being misinterpreted. As someone who worked with Paul on political campaigns for over 10 years I was very much interested in the U.S. presidential race. The notion that I got detailed polling data on several key states is simply nonsense. I did not share it with anyone.”
    
    A Deripaska spokeswoman, in comments on April 26, told Bloomberg News he received no polling data from Kilimnik and no offers of such data.’
    
    Once again you demonstrate you don’t know anything.
    
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    August 26, 2019 1:36pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    No he didn’t, it was passed to a couple of Ukrainian oligarchic types who Manafort owed a favour to. Not Russians. Private polling data is hardly top secret though each campaign probable would like to think that it was.
    
    People prosecuted were either process crimes (Papadopoulous, 14 days for lying to the FBI), Flynn for supposedly lying about his contacts with Russians though no one has yet successfully defined what he was doing was illegal (incoming administrations always contact people such as foreign ambassadors as they are entitled to change policy when they take office); Manafort for tax evasion and FARA violations from 2012-2014 which is unrelated to the Trump campaign (all done BTW in concert with the Podesta brothers, who seem to have been untouched despite their involvement – maybe that big D after their name was the magic marker to leave them alone).
    
    Cohen – various illegalities mostly involving tax but again not campaign related. Stone, has been charged with various offences (witness tampering, false statements) but not yet convicted. He was wrongfully accused of coordinating with Wikileaks, but he has no known actual contacts with Assange or Wikileaks. Actually, he claimed he did but his contacts were with Jerome Corsi who he thought has contacts, but Mueller couldn’t show that either actually had any such.
    
    There’s a couple of others being prosecuted but for matters not strictly related to the campaign.
    
    The point about this is apart from Flynn who’s plea deal continues to fascinate (sentencing has been deferred multiple times and there are serious claims that exculpatory evidence exists that hasn’t been presented to the court), Manafort and Stone are old Washington hands and corruption is rife in DC. Given an investigation like Mueller’s you could quite certainly charge an equal or larger number of Democrat functionaries with similar crimes. The Podestas for example were in business with Manafort and had exactly the same FARA issues. The DNC conspired with the Ukrainian government to affect the election (provable as they’ve admitted it, unlike the Russian Collusion BS), and the laundry list of crimes like obstruction of Justice and perjury that surround the Clinton campaign and its top insiders is legion.
    
    So there were some poor selections for the campaign by Trump (Manafort & Stone primarily) but he was a political neophyte. Both were fired well before the actual election. PapaD – junior unpaid consultant and probably a serial confabulator who got carried away. Never met Trump, and never had any secret information.
    
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    August 26, 2019 2:11pm
Jack5

Indian students stranded in NZ will no doubt seek reimbursement of their wasted fees from NZ taxpayers. NZ is a sucker country, and our Leftist media will whine that we must pay.

Radio NZ says the institute has been deregistered.

It probably has, but the firm, Kiwi Institute of Training and Education Ltd, was put into liquidation last Tuesday with the liquidator Victoria Toon, of Corporate Reconstructing Ltd.

The owners of the Kiwi Institute of Training and Education are listed as Peng Wang, of Auckland, and Xiang Ming Huo, of Auckland.

When it was set up in 2009 the founding shareholders were: Tharkurjit Luthera, Inderjit Luthera, Rita Raniga, Ravinay Riga, and Govardan Giri Sai Santosh Yerni, of Auckland.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018709712/foreign-students-stranded-as-tertiary-provider-deregistered
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August 26, 2019 12:15pm
- MCos
  
  I don’t know how many on these educational institutes there are in NZ, but there’s a lot and I would say there’s nothing wrong with the vast majority.
  A niece of my wife came over from Thailand and went to one for awhile. She stayed with us for the duration. I’ve known other people who have hosts students. Sometimes for years.
  It’s a good money earner for NZ, but we’re only a small fish and there’s plenty of competition in other countries.
  If we get a bad name because because of too many sub-standard places such as the one in the article and the way the students are treated they’ll just take their money & go somewhere else.
  
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  August 26, 2019 1:15pm
Colville

Squire is available for the ABs !

Our chances just when up a couple of percent 🙂
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August 26, 2019 12:29pm
- Tall Man
  
  They were always excellent.
  
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  August 26, 2019 1:54pm
RW Capitalist

I see they are making a big deal about this AirNZ direct flight to Invercargill from Auckland.
Just a couple of points
1. The number of times they said the word MIGHT, when talking about the benefits.
2. The first flight was full, lets look in 6 months.
3. This morning they let slip, while Shane Jones was trying to take credit, that this had been 3yrs in the making. Who was the Govt. back then?
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August 26, 2019 12:36pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  I wonder who paid for Shane Jones’ wife’s ticket. I must make a mental note to look at his next Pecuniary Interest return…
  
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  August 26, 2019 12:42pm
Happychappy

A good read from Chris Trotter in Interest, I think he had enough of the Prime Minister and either doesn’t like her or thinks she is out of her depth.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/101361/chris-trotter-asks-whether-jacinda-ardern%E2%80%99s-government-critical-mass-talent-or
It’s bad when loyal Labour supporters stick the boot in.
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August 26, 2019 1:05pm
- alex Masterley
  
  I never regarded Stan Rodger as being a particularly capable individual. Time sever yes, gifted no.
  
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  August 26, 2019 1:26pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Really… Rate him against the current lot 😉
    
    3 1
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    August 26, 2019 5:04pm
stoptheboats

now that Cindy Steadfast Adern has the diversity/hijab thing down to a fine art she and [deleted – mod] should do a diversity dividend visit to Gloriavale.

Its not that far from the Pike River Re-entry Safe-As Photo Shoot Base and then they could wind up at Greymouth Town Hall to explain to the Coasters why her govt is Banning and Taxing Things for their Prosperity!
9 4
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August 26, 2019 1:30pm
- cmm
  
  I think it very disrespectful to give the PM a pornstar name like Cindy Steadfast.
  
  8 1
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  August 26, 2019 1:48pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Correct, pornstars are good at something.
    
    11 1
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    August 26, 2019 1:52pm
MCos

‘We’ll repeal 100 regulations in our first six months of office and eliminate two old regulations for every new one we introduce in our first term.’
Simon Bridges

What sort of silliness is this?
The inference here is that regulations are inherently bad, but then he says they will introduce new ones.
What new ones?
What old ones will they abolish?
Will my wife be able to cook & sell delicious pad Thai on the footpath outside the school down the road at lunchtime? The kids would love it if the teachers didn’t elbow them out of the way.
Would more regulations be scrapped so she could bring her sister over to cope with the demand?
Call the business
Thai Tucker for Kiwi Kids
2 16
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August 26, 2019 1:41pm
- Tall Man
  
  Narrow minded and selfish.
  
  Why not look at the big picture, not whether we need another takeaway.
  
  4 3
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  August 26, 2019 1:50pm
  - MCos
    
    Not in the slightest.
    We have no intention of selling food on the street.
    
    My point is, what are these unspecified ‘100 regulations’ Bridges doesn’t think are good for us?
    Just sounds like feel good populism.
    
    All parties indulge in this sort of mindless bullshit to some degree as if they think we’re all idiots.
    
    I suppose they rely on people not thinking too much
    
    2 7
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    August 26, 2019 2:43pm
    - Tall Man
      
      “Not thinking too much”…… Yep, you’re on to it.
      
      There are thousands of regulations that need to go and he is merely signalling that National will take action to do something about it.
      
      In our business and in many others it will be gratefully received.
      
      6 1
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      August 26, 2019 5:00pm
- Biscuit
  
  Mmm, Thai, MCos.
  
  To die for.
  
  You have just convinced me that tonight’s bring-home menu will be:
  
  Roti Chennai (Yeah, yeah, I know Chennai ain’t in Thailand!)
  
  Tom Yum Goong (x 2: one to be brought home for ‘later’)
  
  Gang Mussaman…
  
  4 0
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  August 26, 2019 3:06pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Tom Kha Gai for me thanks… I’ll bring the Leo 😉
    
    4 1
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    August 26, 2019 5:02pm
- srylands
  
  I would like to think that Simon will identify the stupid ones quickly. To be honest you could abolish several hundred. There are in the order of 50 alcohol regulations you could abolish. More than 100 electoral law regulations. All could be abolished.
  
  Here is an example of total rubbish.
  
  http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2013/0459/latest/DLM5736987.html
  
  However I do agree that it would have been helpful for Simon to give some examples.
  
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  August 26, 2019 3:38pm
  - Tall Man
    
    I think he thought his target audience would be as clever as you.
    
    2 1
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    August 26, 2019 5:01pm
cmm

Why the big worry over whether NZ or UK are “better”?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/115277868/new-zealand-or-the-united-kingdom-whos-got-it-better

People have choices and different priorities and there is surely no such thing as “better”.

If you want clubbing and long commutes in underground and want to be surrounded by 500+ year old buildings then NZ is probably not for you. If you want mountains and a bit of sunshine etc then UK will suck.

The absolute last thing we’d want is 60 million-odd people deciding NZ is better and coming to live here then bitching they don’t have what they want.

Life is about choices. Heck, there are even people living in South Africa that think it is better than anywhere else and choosing to live there!
8 0
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August 26, 2019 1:45pm
- GoVege
  
  I think the unfriendliness combined with the high accomodation costs might clinch it for Brits.
  But surely the first must mainly apply to Auckland…perhaps why our suicide rate is so much higher than the UK’s?
  
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  August 26, 2019 5:34pm
Wired-one

https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/115275808/national-would-still-raise-super-age-to-67-in-2037-if-elected-finance-spokesman-paul-goldsmith-says

Still smart, sensible policy. National have also announced they will pay all contractors and government vendors within 30days of being billed. Apparently that is not currently happening, for some nonsense reason.
12 1
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August 26, 2019 1:49pm
- chaos
  
  I know a chiropractor that has to fight acc to pay their bills. They’ve taken up to six months to pay her before
  
  10 1
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  August 26, 2019 2:24pm
- cmm
  
  Bloody good move.
  
  Some of the reason for state spending is to “boost the economy”. If government providers are put on 3 month pay cycles then that effect is lost.
  
  Many excellent contractors probably refuse work because they cannot afford long pay cycles like large name companies do.
  
  Guaranteed 30 day payment would possibly increase the availability of contractors, improving quality, improving competition and bringing down expenditure.
  
  8 0
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  August 26, 2019 2:26pm
- srylands
  
  Why on earth wait until 2037 to increase the superannuation age to 67? Surely it would be better to increase the eligibility age by (say) two calendar months each year for 12 years? So it phases in.
  
  7 1
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  August 26, 2019 3:41pm
  - Tall Man
    
    Give me strength.
    
    Read the bloody article not just the headline. This policy was announced some time ago under the previous National Government with a plan to phase it in from 2037 and this is merely advice from National that they will recommence this action.
    
    The delay was to allow time for people to make the “savings” adjustment required.
    
    10 1
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    August 26, 2019 4:56pm
  - srylands
    
    Announcing anything will apply in 2037 is nuts. A change of government and it is dead.
    
    0 1
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    August 27, 2019 3:07am
    - Tall Man
      
      So National are telling people that change will be coming and based on the coalition National will be back in office after a landslide in 2020. All National will have to do for the next 10 elections after that is say “ardern” and labour will be gone for good.
      
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      August 27, 2019 8:03am
chaos

Bizarre how people think it is ok to be abusive because someone was abused. Some of the comments I’ve seen, sad that these people fight racism with threats and abuse.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/08/james-hardie-hammered-with-abuse-after-racist-customer-story.html
12 1
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August 26, 2019 2:43pm
- Psycho Milt
  
  Funnily enough, lots of people hate racist obnoxious arseholes a lot more than they hate ordinary, standard-issue obnoxious arseholes, and that tends to come through in their comments. I can see why they would. If that particular arsehole is now afraid to publicly humiliate a waitress ever again, good result.
  
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  August 26, 2019 3:57pm
  - chaos
    
    Rubbish. Abusing a company because the partner worked for the company and was at a company dinner is not right, and when you use abuse to fight abuse you lose. The message those people also send out to their children show why we have a bullying problem in this country especially when people justify bullying just as you did.
    
    12 1
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    August 26, 2019 4:35pm
    - Psycho Milt
      
      Oh right, the creep taking racist pleasure in humiliating a 17-year-old waitress racist while his rich mates laugh at her isn’t the bully, no it’s the people who are angry at him who are doing the bullying. That’s an interesting world view you have there.
      
      0 11
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      August 26, 2019 8:43pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Still nothing?
        
        Too close for comfort is it?
        
        4 1
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        August 26, 2019 9:00pm
      - chaos
        
        Of course he is a bully, a drunk one, and anyone who works at places that serve alcohol know you deal with creeps like this all the time. But I guess you cannot comprehend that he did not work for James Hardie, the company currently facing abuse from people because of this. Actually not only does he not work for them he has nothing to do with them. His partner worked for them. They are as much a victim of his abuse as the girl he abused.
        
        Nice to see you can invent facts. Do tell us how on earth and where on earth it actually says the people at that table were rich.
        
        Again for the slow people. He is not being abused for the way he acted. The company that he has nothing to do with, the company that his partner worked for is the one having abuse and threats made to them. Not him
        
        4 2
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        August 26, 2019 9:15pm
  - Tall Man
    
    No comment about the abuser at Massey? A bit close to home maybe?
    
    Saw an awful lot of bullshit from you defending the serial abuser in Parliament…. Nothing on Massey’s little perv?
    
    12 1
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    August 26, 2019 4:51pm
- Tall Man
  
  From what I have seen there was only one person who witnessed this “abuse” and we have her version and opinion of the facts. Have the other “guests” at the table come forward? Has another diner in close proximity come forward?
  
  I’m not saying this did or didn’t occur but there are parts of the article that seem a little odd to me.
  
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  August 26, 2019 4:53pm
stoptheboats

is it any wonder Trump is cross with China with this sort of thing going on ?

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/08/25/25-tons-of-fentanyl-from-china-seized-in-mexico/
13 1
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August 26, 2019 2:44pm
- Odakyu-sen
  
  Since the lethal fentanyl dose is around 2 mg, a gram of the stuff would be sufficient to kill 500 people.
  
  A kilogram could kill 500,000. A couple of tons of the stuff could kill the entire population of China.
  
  5 0
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  August 26, 2019 7:26pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Global medical market for Fentanyl is 1600kg per year. That one bust is 16x the global required amount in one single shipment. Chinese leadership are fully aware and complicit in this murderous drug trade and should be treated accordingly.
  
  8 0
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  August 26, 2019 8:30pm
burt

The Jacinda effect strikes again;

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/115290090/suicide-rates-up-on-the-previous-year-latest-figures-show
17 1
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August 26, 2019 3:53pm
- mandk
  
  Chalk it up to the ‘Year of Delivery’
  
  12 0
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  August 26, 2019 4:01pm
  - skyblue
    
    Delivery of rope.
    
    5 0
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    August 26, 2019 5:53pm
Happychappy

Her pet project and she can’t even reach that target,for all the bluster and blame about National and mental health the effort has created more in the queue. Mike King swapped sidesbecause National never obtained what he wanted so let’s see if treats Labour with the same disdain.
8 0
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August 26, 2019 6:01pm
chaos

Looks like Gayford has as much problem telling the truth as Jacinda.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12261963

“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s fiance, Clarke Gayford, caused a debate this weekend by saying the Government had passed more legislation in the first seven months of this year than any other in the previous decade. Is this true?

The numbers?

Since Parliament resumed sitting in February, a total 44 pieces of law have been made or changed, according to the official list of bills that have been given “royal assent”, or final sign-off.

Comparing that to the number of laws signed-off by the same time in each year over the past decade, it’s far from the highest. In fact, it’s”
14 0
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August 26, 2019 6:56pm
- Tall Man
  
  He’s as full of it as ardern.
  
  Bullshitters to the core.
  
  4 1
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  August 26, 2019 9:06pm
Rodney Randall

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/06/more-than-1-million-people-join-global-campaign-to-demand-iranian-government-release-nasrin-sotoudeh/

“The cruel sentence handed down to Nasrin Sotoudeh for defending women’s rights and standing up against Iran’s discriminatory and degrading forced veiling laws has sent shock waves around the world. The injustice of her case has touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people who, in a moving display of solidarity, have raised their voices to demand her freedom,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.”

Has the NZ PM seen this?
6 1
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August 26, 2019 8:37pm
- Tall Man
  
  She’s only “them” when it suits her narrative.
  
  The hijab is merely a sign that’s she’s really really cool but she wouldn’t give a flying EFF” for this woman as it won’t get her votes here or brownie puts at the un.
  
  2 1
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  August 26, 2019 9:04pm
Hugh Pavletich

… CHINA …

Tide Goes Out for China’s Skinny-Dipping Banks … Bloomberg / The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/tide-goes-out-for-chinas-skinny-dipping-banks/2019/08/25/2cf36658-c78c-11e9-9615-8f1a32962e04_story.html

You only learn who’s been swimming naked when the tide goes out, as Warren Buffett observed in 2008. This earnings season, we’ll get to see who’s been skinny-dipping in China.

Banks and asset managers in the world’s second-largest economy are notoriously slow to acknowledge investments that have gone bad. But if they have a stock listing in Hong Kong, they’ll be forced to recognize losses earlier in the credit cycle under a change in accounting rules that took effect last year. …read more via hyperlink above
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August 26, 2019 9:28pm

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