General Debate 31 December 2019

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Sacha

Hello? Anyone home?
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December 31, 2019 8:09am
- Tall Man
  
  Not wanting to sound critical but…. you wasted the opportunity to set the conversation alight with a potentially erudite comment that would have galvanised others to leap into the conversation 😉
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:06am
  - Lee C
    
    That’s rich coming from you Tall Man,.
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:45pm
    - Tall Man
      
      Really, I’m quite sure many of my comments create a great deal of lively discussion, especially around the dinner tables of steffy and martin although some of you think of a “pen” when we talk of steffy.
      
      How about you work on finding your “humour button” over the holiday period so we can more easily trigger it 🙂
      
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      December 31, 2019 1:51pm
      - Lee C
        
        Well, to quote Edmund Blackadder “This was a little different, it was spontaneous and it’s called ‘wit’. ‘
        
        Sorry you didn’t see the funny side.
        
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        December 31, 2019 2:01pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Jeez Lee, maybe we both need to use the preface… “tongue firmly placed in cheek”…..
        
        And in the spirit of reconciliation, a wee tongue in cheek pic for you.
        
        https://pics.onsizzle.com/anyone-who-has-seen-ahippo-yawn-tongue-in-cheek-humor-5274147.png
        
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        December 31, 2019 2:38pm
  - Sacha
    
    No time for erudic-ity this morning. Paddocks to mow – and now I’ve missed my chance to shine! Oh well, there’s always next year.
    
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    December 31, 2019 1:46pm
    - Tall Man
      
      Did mine Sunday which is why I have so much time to be witty 😉
      
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      December 31, 2019 2:39pm
- Engelbert Humperdink
  
  No, no-one home. Just leave the parcel on the porch, thanks. Oh and beware of the dogs, the sentry guns and the overhead armed drone.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:56am
oldpark

After today the Twenty Tens decade will be no more, end of an era. New era decade starts January 1(2020) Twenty Twenties. Just saying .
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December 31, 2019 8:10am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  A common error. As the first year of this century was 2001, so the first year of the current decade was 2011. Just saying.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:22am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    True, but 2020 will be for most people, the start of the ’20s.
    Will it be the Roaring Twenties Ver. 2.0? We don’t know.
    But it will be the decade of the retiring and dying boomers.
    
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    December 31, 2019 9:18am
    - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
      
      It is the start of a glorious 10 years of power by her Majesty, Queen Jacinda of NZ.
      
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      December 31, 2019 11:59am
      - Tall Man
        
        Remember young man, many on the “power trip” just trip.
        
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        December 31, 2019 1:52pm
    - Positan
      
      The boomers, and particularly their parents, have contributed so much to virtually every aspect of this country’s development.
      
      The fact that so many of the values and moral standards they upheld, and the substance of the goals they sought, are being tossed so relentlessly and unthinkingly by our untested masses today is a most signal factor in our society’s very recognisable decline.
      
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      December 31, 2019 12:17pm
  - Wangas Feral
    
    Yeah – that grinds my gears. Stupid people.
    
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    December 31, 2019 9:31am
  - JackRabbit
    
    It it you that has made the common error. The first year of this century was in fact 2000. Counting starts from a resting point of zero, and not from the first milestone post.
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:29am
    - All_on_Red
      
      Correct-zero is a Whole or Counting number
      
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      December 31, 2019 10:48am
      - Jack5
        
        Zero is a whole number but not a counting number.
        
        https://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/counting-number.html
        
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        December 31, 2019 6:12pm
  - oldpark
    
    @MM 8.22 am
    Get your facts straight. Just saying.
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:02am
  - Than
    
    I’ve never agreed with that argument. Complaining that the year 2020 is not technically the start of a new decade is akin got complaining the word gay doesn’t technically mean homosexual. Usage trumps technicalities, and most people consider 2020 to be part of the 2020’s.
    
    Arguments for 2020 being considered part of the 2020’s;
    
    – The third digit. How that doesn’t settle the matter instantly is beyond me.
    – How the year is said out loud. Again, how can people claim with a straight face that “twenty-twenty” isn’t part of “the twenty-twenties”.
    – We don’t say a 20 year old is still a teenager.
    – And a minor practical consideration, related to the first point; if 2020 is deemed part of the 2020’s (and 2030 isn’t) is makes it slightly easier to sort or scan lists of dates to get only those from the 2020’s. If you’re scanning a list of dates you can just look for that two in the third position, you don’t need to mentally also check for 2030 and know to exclude 2020.
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:09am
- Sydney Alvarado
  
  Technically the new decade does not begin until 1 January 2021. So you can celebrate twice just to be sure ?
  
  https://www.timesnews.net/Community/2019/12/24/Tuesday-Trivia-When-Does-The-New-Decade-Really-Begin-2020-or-2021.html
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:02am
  - JackRabbit
    
    Actually this is incorrect, as the new decade starts tonight. It is very common for journalists to get it wrong.
    
    One decade finishes when ten years have elapsed. The new decade starts from there. Think about that from children’s age. At the time of birth your child is 0 years, 0 months, 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes and a few seconds old. They will be ten years old at their 10th birthday, and they enter their next 10 years on their tenth birthday, when they are 10, not their 11th birthday when they are 11 years old.
    
    From one second to midnight, tonight (in AD) time, elapsed time will be 2019 year, 11 months, 30 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. At midnight the elapsed time will be exactly 2020 years. 2020 marks exactly 2020 years. At one second past midnight we enter the next decade.
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:25am
    - Kiwi Dave
      
      Unless there was a year zero, at midnight the elapsed time will be 2019 years.
      
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      December 31, 2019 1:05pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        2020 AD, means 2020 years after the birth of Christ, which means 2020 years have ELAPSED since that time. It is a differential figure.
        
        The first elapsed year only came into being one second after 0 years, 11 months, 30 days, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. At which point the second year begins, although the date is year 1.
        Which is why dates are notated as 2019/12/31 23:59:59 – which is translated as 59 seconds + 59 minutes + 23 hours on the 31st day of the 12th month + 2019 years.
        
        You don’t start a 10 km race from the 100m mark. You start from the start which is zero metres. 10 x 100m = 1km. At that point you are on the second km.
        
        No different with money. You start at Zero. If you have 1,000,000.00 in the bank, that is a million. At 1,000,000.01 you have passed the million mark and on your way to the second million, or some figure between one and two million.
        
        If you have two pieces of toast and jam, and you eat one, and take a 10% bite out of the second, you are on your way to eating two pieces of toast, even through the count is still one piece and 1/10th.
        
        2020 years AD means 2020 whole years since the birth of Christ. 2020 years have elapsed. One second past midnight and we are into the start of the 2021 year. i.e. 2020 years + 0 months + 0 days + 0 hours + 0 minutes + 1 second.
        
        When it becomes 2021, 2021 years will have elapsed.
        
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        December 31, 2019 2:12pm
      - Kiwi Dave
        
        Thank you, JackRabbit, for that clear and patient explanation – I’ve learnt something.
        
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        December 31, 2019 5:41pm
    - Paulus
      
      Currently I have lived for 80 years (Feb 1940) but my 80th Birthday celebration is still 2 months away.
      
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      December 31, 2019 2:10pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        Congratulations Paulus
        
        You have a mind far more active and full of understanding than those half your age.
        
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        December 31, 2019 6:08pm
      - Jack5
        
        Paulus, you’ve lived 79 years and ten months.
        
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        December 31, 2019 6:16pm
- Yogibear
  
  I well remember the turn of the Millenium. Most of the world celebrated 1 Jan 2000. So the social norm is today is the end of the decade.
  
  The Swiss, as self-appointed guardians of timekeeping, however, steadfastly refused to participate (They have a history for that….) and instead threw a massive party on 1 Jan 2001 as the technically correct Millennium
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:46am
- Albert_Ross
  
  Now look what you’ve done – You have set off the boring, pedantic old farts.
  
  Yes, the two hundred and second decade since the start of the Christian era doesn’t start until 2021, but so what? Who counts in those terms? A decade can begin and end at any time. The first decade of me learning to play the piano ended in 1984. The first decade of my marriage ended in 2017. The decade of years whose numbers begin 202x starts tomorrow.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:05am
  - John Warren
    
    Snap! My first marriage of the decade ended in 2017.
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:45am
Yvette

An incident that should have caused Jacinda, Emmanuel Macron and her so-called “Christchurch Call’ supporters, to offer some explanation as to what they are attempting to do and their motives for that –

A gunman who opened fire in a Texas church, killing one person and leaving another in critical condition, died after [two] parishioners at the Sunday morning service shot him in response, authorities said.
The shooting was captured on video as the church service was apparently being streamed on YouTube, according to the New York Daily News, [1]

As the video is a legitimate religious broadcast, of which the shooter may have been unaware – and who can now ask him? – should the video be pulled under “Christchurch Call”?

Apparently, “No” – excerpts were screened on TV1 news yesterday just after 6pm.
If the algorithms identifying terrorist footage are based on Artificial Intelligence, I would like Ardern’s office to explain this issue, and the screening of the material on State television channel TVNZ One yesterday, within the family viewing time of early evening.

––––––––

And further – and grim or grizzly as it may seem – why is there no analysis of the Christchurch shooter’s self-broadcast video of his actions (by those allowed to view it and qualified to make comment) to estimate, if using the top capability firearm now left legal, what would his murder and injury totals perhaps now be?
At the assumed slower firing-rate and with the need to change magazines more frequently (although apparently taped to his body), it would appear the totals killed and wounded must be less. But as some victims were wounded nine times, how would that equate to wounded once with a slower weapon.

Terror attack survivor … was shot nine times [2]
Ms Ardern told the House. “When I visited the hospitals and the victims, none of them had just one gun shot wound. I struggled to recall any single gun shot wounds.”
She said most had “multiple debilitating injuries that deemed it impossible for them to recover in days, let alone weeks”. [3]

Still, there seems to be no simple analysis to attempt to understand just how much safer we supposedly now are.

And of course that assumes another like-minded mad man (or woman) won’t be sane enough to use a more destructive agency than firearms, to compensate for Ardern and the Government’s restriction of such weapons.

[1] https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/12/gunman-who-opened-fire-in-texas-church-shot-by-attendees.html
[2] https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/112147145/terror-attack-survivor-who-was-shot-nine-times-had-to-tell-victims-parents-of-death
[3] https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/ardern-recounts-visiting-terrorist-attack-survivors-all-had-multiple-gun-shot-wounds-during-final-law-reading
I apologise if you are still having breakfast.
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December 31, 2019 8:12am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Concerns noted.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:23am
- hookerphil
  
  Nice, 2016. 86 people killed and 458 injured yet I still see white trucks on the road.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:25am
- Stephieboy2
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Well I am so thank you for the apology.
  
  Other than that your point?
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:04am
- Jack5
  
  While the Christchurch mosque massacres have been touched on …
  
  Did anyone-else notice the death notice in the Christchurch Press a few weeks ago for the father of Philip Arps, the man who was jailed for 21 months over the mosque videos. He was accused of modifying the video material and forwarding it to 29 associates.
  
  Arps is in solitary confinement.
  
  As a result of letters Arps sent to Newshub from prison, and of letters sent from prison by Tarrant, the man charged with the mosque killings, the chief executive of Corrections, Christine Stevenson, centralised monitoring of all mail from prisoners regarded as extremists.
  
  Before the massacres, Arps was well known in Christchurch for his extreme racist views. Earlier, before the massacres, Arps was convicted for offensive behaviour for having left a pig’s head at the entry to a mosque.
  
  His 21-month sentence over video distribution was upheld by the High Court and the Court of Appeal. It was imposed in the Christchurch District Court by Judge Stephen O’Driscoll, who, in a separate case, initially imposed a non-custodial sentence on a young Muslim who planned a massacre in Christchurch by car and knives. The young man was encouraged to take up golf during his open sentence.
  
  Arps was a tradie, but his company, Beneficial Insulation Installs Guaranteed Ltd, which ran several vans (apparently carrying Nazi-type symbols), has been removed from the web site of Insulation Association of New Zealand. It seems to have disappeared from directory publications.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:05am
  - Liberty
    
    This chap may be a total arse and a racist bigot. But 21 months incarceration for his vile opinions is draconian.
    “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
    Voltaire
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:47am
  - tui47
    
    The Philip Arps in the death notice is not the same Philip Arps as the guy convicted and jailed. At least two men with the name Philip Arps reside in Christchurch. The family of the innocent Philip Arps would not be happy to be associated with the man convicted of white supremacist actions. The convicted Philip Arps is apparently adopted by his parents and grew up with a severely dysfunctional family And I am not sure there is even a known father. The only link between the two is the Christian name, and the fact that they may possibly share an ancestor. I am aware that the father who passed two weeks ago was very upset by the fact his innocent son was being linked with the notorious one.
    
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    December 31, 2019 2:27pm
    - Jack5
      
      Wow, my mistake. Apologies to the family of the innocent Philip Arps, and thank you Tui.
      
      Insulator Arps is not the person most citizens would want to to share a name with.
      
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      December 31, 2019 6:24pm
- Sydney Alvarado
  
  Humans perceive risk poorly. For example families that fear their kids will be abducted walking to school will put them in unsafe boats without life jackets.
  
  IMO the government should have done nothing in response to Christchurch. The chances of being shot at random by a maniac were minuscule before Christchurch. That has not changed. The government has simply wasted resources that could have done much more good in literally hundreds of better alternatives.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:11am
  - Engelbert Humperdink
    
    But Jacinda’s burnished her UN CV, and signaled her overweening virtue globally, and the NZ Police got to enforce their anti-LFAO agenda while getting better tooled-up, so there’s that.
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:32pm
  - cmm
    
    Certainly.
    
    Even if we just limit the scope to shootings, the chance of an Islamic attack on a Christian church was far higher after the Chch shootings than another attack on an Islamic centre/mosque.
    
    Yet where did the plods set up their sentries? Around the mosques and islamic centres – window dressing.
    
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    December 31, 2019 1:48pm
- MCos
  
  There are plenty of assassinations and attempted assassinations filmed by bystanders that have been shown on TV. The most famous example was probably Ronald Reagan.
  There’s also plenty of videos of US police shooting bad guys in car chases etc.
  On the other hand we never see the cold blooded killings by ISIS or Tarrant that the perpetrators want to be spread around as propaganda.
  Well we don’t see it.
  Some outlets insist on broadcasting the stuff because free speech trumps all, or in the case of Erdogan it may win some votes.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:18am
  - Ruahine
    
    I agree. I do not think I saw any ‘footage’ on any NZ TV channel of the people being beheaded or burned to death by Isis whilst establishing their Caliphate.
    The video of the Japanese journalist Kenji Goto having his throat cut and his head cut off was especially deliberately gruesome. Perhaps his murderers were upset that the Japanese Gov’t would not pay the exorbitant ransom for his release. However such images must be kept from the Western TV channels in case some people get upset.
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:12pm
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      The Japanese government knew that by caving into the terrorists’ demands they would be putting more Japanese lives in danger.
      Goto paid the price but ultimately made the lives of his fellow Japanese aid providers in the region a little safer.
      
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      December 31, 2019 8:03pm
- chaos
  
  if the Christchurch attack had of happened overseas nz media would of run parts of the footage in their stories. Our news have run far worse than that in stories with a warning beforehand.
  
  The Christchurch call was never anything more than a public relations scam to gain attention on her. She achieved nothing, social media companies already take these down as soon as they come to their attention.
  
  But what we learned from the latest video, don’t go into a church to shoot people when many in the church are carrying guns.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:23am
David Garrett

A sobering comment for this last day of 2019…earlier this month, one of the last surviving Battle of Britain pilots died, aged 101. The death of Flight Lt. Maurice Moundson leaves only three pilots left alive who fought that epic battle 80 years ago next August. All three survivors are at least 100, which means that in a year or two at most, all of those men will be gone, leaving only a very limited amount of film of the action, and memories in the minds of men like me.

544 Allied pilots and aircrew died in the three months prior to September 1940, when the Battle morphed into what became the blitz. It takes nothing away from ” the few”, but it is fair to note that those 544 killed were lost over a period of three months. The bomber war continued for 4 1/2 more years. Almost as many Bomber Command aircrew – 519 – were lost in one raid over Germany in 1943. American losses were even higher – 600 men on the first attack on the ball bearing factory at Schweinfurt.

The survivors of the BoB and the bomber war almost all put their survival down to pure luck. A frequently repeated comment was “I have been living on borrowed time since June 1943”. Flight Lt. Moundson was blessed with much more of that borrowed time than most.
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December 31, 2019 8:14am
- GazzaW
  
  Well said David. Bomber Command lost 50,000+ aircrew during WW2. My father was 20 years old when he flew his first mission over Germany as a rear gunner in 1943 and went on to complete 32 sorties before transferring to Canada to train as a pilot. The war ended before he had to re-enter the fray. He survived physically intact but PTSD was certainly evident in his later years. He too frequently used the phrase that he had been living on borrowed time since 1943.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:47am
  - GregM
    
    Men of character Gazz, and how I miss those who pitched in from my family who are no longer here to inspire us. We will remember them.
    
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    December 31, 2019 3:35pm
- chaos
  
  Thanks, I’m not big on history. I like this posts of yours, learn something each time.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:07am
- Stephieboy2
  
  DG, let you know I gave you an uptick for such a lovely tribute to one of the last surviving ” Few”
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8hbVDaHtpU
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:08am
  - Jack5
    
    Roster change at the Stephie syndicate.
    
    Now we’ve got a Biggles fan on duty. ?
    
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    December 31, 2019 9:22am
  - David Garrett
    
    Stephie: I appreciate that. Have a happy and safe New Year Sir…
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:04am
    - Stephieboy2
      
      DG, thank you and the same to you and your family!
      
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      December 31, 2019 11:00am
- Wangas Feral
  
  My interest in the Battle of Britain was jump-started by getting a Battle of Britain movie colouring-in book even before I saw the movie when it first showed in New Zealand. Interestingly enough that movie also jump-started my interest in seeing women in stockings. Susannah York has a lot to answer for.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:37am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    Wnagas Fegal, I’m sure as is the case now The WW2 WRENS did have some eye candy.
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:02am
    - Wangas Feral
      
      I rarely agree with anything you write but in this case..they sure did.
      
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      December 31, 2019 1:14pm
- fightingtemeraire
  
  Don’t forget the Merchant Navy which lost about 30% of its members during WW 2. Many Indian and Chinese crew.
  Read “A merchant fleet at war” by Capt SW Roskill the Admiralty historian. He tells the story of Blue Funnel, Alfred Holt of Liverpool as a representative story of the MN at War.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:03am
  - David Garrett
    
    fightingM: Yes, quite so…the Merchant Seamen were probably the least recognized of the brave men who participated in the War…Apparently there were seamen who survived two or even three sinkings…I always wonder if I could have done anything the men of that era did routinely…I’m pretty bloody sure that if I was pulled out the Arctic Sea just once, I would have thought I had done my bit… Who knows.
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:45am
    - chuk
      
      My neighbour when I lived in the UK was a merchant seaman in WW2. He was on a ship that was torpedoed in the Atlantic. He was picked up by another ship and survived that one also being torpedoed. The second ship to pick him up was on its way to South Africa. All told it took him over a year to get home. He was a quietly spoken gent.
      
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      December 31, 2019 5:17pm
  - Wangas Feral
    
    I had a relative killed on the SS Gloucester Castle when it was sunk off West Africa in 1942. He was a Royal Navy gunner assigned to the ship.
    
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    December 31, 2019 1:17pm
- Andrei
  
  The reality is David that the world marches on. The last veterans of Austerlitz, Waterloo, Crimea, Bull Run and Gettysberg died long ago.
  
  I don’t think any WW1 veterns remain – they were marching in Anzac day parades in living memory
  
  Now the seminal battles of WW2 are passing into ancient history…
  
  That’s the way of it…
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:43am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    Nevertheless “Lest we forget” still resonates and rings true even if those brave battles are elided by time and history!
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:04am
CJames

When will the MSM publicise the fact that the main reason why the Australian fires are so bad is the fuel load is so high? That is a direct result of the Greens and Labour policies stopping regular controlled burns. People not even being allowed to clear the trees near their properties. It is a man-made disaster but one caused by the Greens, not climate change.
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December 31, 2019 8:19am
- Ford Prefect
  
  But thats the point.
  
  The Global Warming worriers cant make more extreme weather happen but they can light fires and blame it on Global Warming and hence capitalism. The last 6 months has had blanket coverage of fires around the world, all started by a humans. How else could the greenies control the chicken little story.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:26am
- G152
  
  And the failure to clear trees away from buildings to a suitable distance.
  Every photo of fire destroyed houses show the burnt trees surrounding.
  Haven’t the Aussies worked out that fire dependent trees are not the best neighbours?
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:44am
- JibberJabber
  
  The Australian Bureau of Meteorology caught lying…
  https://twitter.com/AndyOz2/status/1210570091290456064
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:24am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    The Australian Bureau of Meteorology have never claimed the hottest on record. Waht has been claimed the mean average temperatures nationawide have been the highest on record!
    
    Not a particular locality!
    
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50817963
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:12am
  - Stamper
    
    Here in NZ Salinger was messing with the historic data to suit his disaster stories.
    
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    January 1, 2020 12:51am
- Greg Ettridge
  
  And bastards deliberately lighting fires.
  This can be over 50% cause of fires.
  You cannot fathom what makes a person commit arson in the prevailing conditions, ie hot early summer.
  Maybe life without parole would make them think twice. This is heinous crime that the left play down and it gets little reporting and the perps are hit with bail and then a wet bus ticket.
  Someone with more expertise maybe able to advice, I am told over 4 tonnes on forest floor is the limit much of Eastern states through green action is 40 tonnes. Fire was controlled for hundreds of years, white settlement turned its back on these practises.
  WA takes it seriously the rest of the states just live in constant danger due to poor governance of fire hazards.
  WA has and still will have bad fires, but at least they are having a crack at controlling the monster it is.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:30am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    Delibrately lit ???
    
    Whew there must be some busy arsonists and busy police investigations !
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:17am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      You should keep yourself better informed:
      
      https://www.smh.com.au/national/arson-mischief-and-recklessness-87-per-cent-of-fires-are-man-made-20191117-p53bcl.html
      
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/117767305/australian-volunteer-firefighter-charged-with-lighting-seven-fires-deliberately
      
      https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/understanding-an-arsonists-motives-may-help-stop-future-fires/news-story/0eebd6a2ea1a726126df38ca2ce8fb56
      
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      December 31, 2019 3:15pm
    - coge
      
      Everyone knows the stress of the dangerous climate changes encourages arsonists to react the only way they know how.
      
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      December 31, 2019 3:48pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yep, the police have been busy:
      Australian police have spoken to at least 18 people about deliberately lighting fires on the already devastated east coast.
      
      The nearby state of New South Wales has been suffering from massive wildfires for over two weeks, with large blazes also tearing through parts of Queensland.
      
      Since a state of emergency was declared, police have taken action against 18 people – 10 of whom are reportedly children – for deliberately lighting fires, the ABC reported.
      
      On Friday, a 13 year-old-girl was arrested for allegedly lighting fires in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, 7 News reported.
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/117638934/australian-police-catch-firelighting-children-as-queensland-bushfires-rage-on
      
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      December 31, 2019 4:23pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Someone with more expertise maybe able to advice, I am told over 4 tonnes on forest floor is the limit much of Eastern states through green action is 40 tonnes.
    
    It’s not that simple. Depending on the age & composition of the forest stand, 4 tonne of litter/ha could represent just part of the annual litter fall.. (which typically is seasonal)
    
    Many Eucalypt stands will drop up to 8- 10 tonne of leaf and bark litter/year.
    
    The moisture content, size of litter fragments and composition(bark, leaf, twigs) are also important factors.
    
    But essentially, a heavier fuel load on the forest floor ensures a longer and more intense fire.
    
    (and as odd as it may be that a little old lady knows anything about forest fires, forest floors, fuel loads, litter dynamics, and C cycling, that was the focus of my PhD thesis… and back in the 1970s much of the active research on forest fires and forest regeneration was coming out of Ozzie, and I was following their methodologies and reading up all I could).
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:56am
- yossarian
  
  I read ‘Four Fires’ by Bryce Courtney years ago. Quite an epic saga of Australian post war vets in rural Australia. Bryce obviously did some research as he wrote that the aboriginal tribes knew that fire was required for forest regeneration and that well cleared bush was a sign of good forest guardianship.
  
  Forgotten lessons, that need to be re-learned.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:35am
  - Ruahine
    
    I have read that reasonably frequent fire is beneficial and quite necessary for Eucalypts that grow in the fire zone. Over millions of years the natural burning of the forest developed trees that became quite resistant to fire and the fire was akin to pruning as we know it. Also for some trees the seeds need to be burnt for the pods to open. The article stated that in recent times the prevention of any back burning in many instances is allowing the fuel to build up to such levels that the trees are now being destroyed due to the increased fire intensity. Australia, as an entity and a representative of Gaia does not care about humans. Australians who live ‘artificially’ it is a wonderful place to live. For those who live ‘traditionally’ it is a relentless struggle. I often visit Australia. I wish them well.
    
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    December 31, 2019 1:20pm
- bruceavon
  
  No. You can’t just blame the Greens. Successive governments have underfunded this area. Listen to the fire chiefs talking. It’s been happening for years. and the big problem is Aussie is running out of water. The problem is not just the hot fire season but all those months in the rest of the year without enough rain. Not just drinking water but water to wet the environment. Each fire season the ground is drier than the last. whether all of this is climate change who knows? But one thing is certain, buying into carbon credits or whatever is going to do nothing about the crisis anytime soon.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:44am
- Scott
  
  CJames – thanks for those comments. I believe the same is true in California where in the past they used to cull dead trees and thin out the forests but don’t anymore because of greenies.
  
  California is in terminal decline because of Democrat governance. But surely Australia under stalwart conservative and Christian Scott Morrison can do something sensible to minimise these terrible fires getting out of control?
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:47am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Is he going to pray for rain?
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:14pm
- Stephieboy2
  
  ” It is a man-made disaster…”
  
  ???
  
  “Action now’: the farmers standing up against ‘wilful ignorance’ on climate change
  
  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/02/action-now-the-farmers-standing-up-against-wilful-ignorance-on-climate
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:07am
- All_on_Red
  
  ‘It’s a man made disaster’
  ‘More than 85 per cent of the blazes burning across the nation are being caused by humans – and within that figure, over half are deliberately lit or suspicious, data from the (Australian) Productivity Commission shows.
  
  Arson is a disturbingly common crime: In NSW alone, 54 people have been charged with bushfire-related offences since August.(to November 2019)
  
  On particularly high-risk days, such as Thursday, police across the country ramp up their monitoring of known arsonists.
  
  Dr Paul Read, co-director of the National Centre for Research in Bushfire and Arson, said police monitoring included GPS surveillance and house visits for high-risk individuals.
  
  “They’re all monitored,” Dr Read said.(on November 21,2019)
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:37am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    Dog paddling way above your depth again,
    
    Bushfires are a regular feature in the Australian calendar, but the blazes in New South Wales and Queensland have not previously occurred on such a scale and so early in the fire season, officials say.
    
    This has led many Australians to ask how closely the fires can be linked to climate change.
    
    The science around climate change is complex – it’s not the cause of bushfires but scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to Australia’s fires becoming more frequent and more intense.
    
    But the nation’s political leaders are facing a backlash for batting away questions on the subject….’
    
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50341210
    
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    December 31, 2019 1:51pm
    - CJames
      
      That is the pot calling the kettle black isn’t it Stephie accusing him of being out of his depth. How about using actual fire records rather than BBC which has a known slant.
      If you go for actual facts, you will see eastern Australia has had bigger fires and earlier in the season than now. Just 100 or even 40 years ago, not many people lived there.
      
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      December 31, 2019 2:48pm
David Garrett

What a sad human being the sole (thus far) routine downticker of every must be…How awfully empty his or her life must be, if its focus fairly early on the last day of the year is routine downticking comments on Kiwiblog…I hope you find some better mission in life next year mate… And do have a shower and change your undies sometime today!
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December 31, 2019 8:25am
- slightlyrighty
  
  Sadly, David, there are those whose only contribution to the debate is to loudly exclaim that the other party is wrong, without stating the argument in opposition.
  
  We have to also acknowledge that this sort of conduct is evident on the political left as well as the right.
  
  Earlier this year, I decided that no matter the content, I would never downvote a comment. I have largely stuck to that pledge, and rather than tick a box, I would rather articulate a full response. I believe in the power of a healthy debate. A downvote simply means you cannot defend your belief.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:35am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Well, at least the down-ticker does KB commenters a service by illustrating that we are not posting into a reverberation room.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:40am
  - Tall Man
    
    However Maggy, there will be a bunch of replies sitting in moderation so while not a “reverberation room”, there is still quite and echo………
    
    [Mod: We’re doing our best TM, given that everyone else is on holiday]
    
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    December 31, 2019 8:48am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yep, the moderation on this blog has sure put a brake on lively debate, but it allows me a few hours time to put up a post unhindered by slimy comments …
      
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      December 31, 2019 9:28am
    - Tall Man
      
      No criticism meant or intended young mod, merely an observation… much like my frequent ardernistic observations.
      
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      December 31, 2019 1:57pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Good point Maggy! And now a second one has dragged his scraggy arse out of his no doubt foetid nest…
    
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    December 31, 2019 8:54am
    - Jack5
      
      I enjoy your posts on the RAF, David, but suspect they are the long-term outcome of overdosing on Biggles books or war comics when you were a boy.
      
      I hope you are enjoying all the air-war analysis and history on YoutTube. Everything you could want to know down to advantages the ME109 gained from its “inverted V” engine, and how the P38 Lightnings killed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
      
      Enjoy:
      
      https://youtu.be/fKvJgFldgGA
      
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      December 31, 2019 9:15am
    - G152
      
      Congrats David.
      You scored three downtickers.
      Winner !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      
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      December 31, 2019 9:45am
- Tall Man
  
  Based on the fact that there are at 36% of the voters out there with serious head issues plus the 6% of green idiots, the ratio of downticks could be expected to be higher…. But, as I have said, I think you will find that it will be reducing as a small group of previous labour/green voters realise that they have been “had”.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:50am
  - chaos
    
    Don’t be silly, they will never grow the brain cell to comprehend that they have been had.
    
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    December 31, 2019 9:24am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    One could assume that if 50% of all people are of below-average intelligence then 50% of voters would fall into that sub-par-smarts category.
    However, it takes effort and determination to register and then get off the couch and vote, so it is possible that Tall Man’s figure of 36% of the voters out there having serious head issues (or sub-par intelligence) could be more accurate.
    
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    December 31, 2019 9:24am
    - Tall Man
      
      Good work but I really think you need to have a really special kind of stupid to still back what is clearly a government “for the benefit of the very few over the needs of the many”.
      
      Even a window licking retard should be able to see that these guys are not the “real deal”, they aren’t even a poor deal.
      
      Apologies to those offended by the word “retard”
      
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      December 31, 2019 11:46am
  - SGA
    
    Based on the fact that there are at 36% of the voters out there with serious head issues plus the 6% of green idiots, the ratio of downticks could be expected to be higher….
    
    I doubt most ardent Labour/Green supporters would even bother coming to Kiwiblog regularly. 🙂
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:33am
    - Tall Man
      
      Of course they do, just to get outraged by my calling ardern out for her dishonesty then they can pop over to the standard and pat each other on the back about how they’re “making a difference” 😉
      
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      December 31, 2019 11:43am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Hey, don’t shatter the illusion that Kiwiblog is relevant and influential.
      
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      December 31, 2019 11:55am
  - cmm
    
    Look at the huge uptick when Little handed over to PriNZess: 20-something to 30-something.
    
    I reckon a lot of the reason she “won” was all the hype and sadness after Clinton lost to the Mean Orange Man. And then Auntie Helen lost her UN bid too.
    
    All that frustrated “time for a woman” energy fell in behind PriNZess.
    
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    December 31, 2019 5:24pm
- cmm
  
  But DG you must surely acknowledge that dedication to duty. Rain or shine click, click, click.
  
  Imagine that energy and dedication directed in a constructive direction.
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:54am
- Albert_Ross
  
  Well I wasn’t one of your down tickers but I thought you hit a seriously bum note here
  
  leaving only a very limited amount of film of the action, and memories in the minds of men like me
  
  You make it sound as though this is a fragile fragment of history, existing only in a few fading memories and doomed to imminent obscurity. On the contrary, the pilots are remembered through one of the best known quotes in the English language, their sacrifice and achievement is regularly referred to by British politicians, there are quite literally hundreds of books about the event, including several written by participants and some published within the last ten years (James Holland’s is particularly good), several films and even some video games have been made and there’s a mass of original source material.
  
  And anyway why would you exclude women from the ranks of those who retain contemporary memories of the event?
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:21am
- Wangas Feral
  
  Those are the people who dismiss everything you say about anything because they disagree with you on one thing. In other words, a fairly typical de-platforming loving leftie.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:35am
Maggie Pie

Bit of a grey old morning here as i start preparing for tonites 2020 welcome-in. I’ve got a few friends coming over for a beach barbie so lets hope the weather improves.
My partner said, “he hopes it pisses down” [He HATES having people over.]
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December 31, 2019 8:27am
mikenmildagain

The Battle of Britain will always be accorded more significance in England that the Bomber Conmand attacks due to the pivotal nature of the former.
If one were to rank the British WWII campaigns by number of deaths, where would either be?
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December 31, 2019 8:29am
- Ed Snack
  
  Mikey, I guess it depends on how one judges a campaign. The bloodiest fight fight by daily casualties I’m pretty sure was Normandy up until the breakout (operation Cobra starting 1 August), and for both sides. Casualty rates in British Infantry units exceeded (by a small %) the casualty rates in WW1 campaigns (though not Somme day 1). It is less typically remarked upon because the period was relatively short (8 or so weeks) so although the rates were very high the absolute casualty toll wasn’t at WW1 levels.
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:29pm
dave_c_

I see the following being foisted upon us all :
‘Reduce your emissions this summer, leave the car at home’, ‘do this’, ‘do that’
We are now being constantly bombarded with aggressive suggestions (translation : demands) from all quarters.
These orchestrated attempts to change thinking and behaviour is becoming wearisome. I’m tired already.
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December 31, 2019 8:34am
- curry4me
  
  I’ll do the opposite.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:40am
- Greg Ettridge
  
  Did Jacinda leave NZ7571 and Nz 7572 parked in the hangar, flight radar is showing no flights by either.
  Maybe her 2020 commitment is to half her world record holding carbon footprint.
  Great to think she maybe, just maybe going to set an example in 2020. The year of convincing the voters she is a true leader.
  But maybe it is her and the COL number 1 theme song.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n03g8nsaBro
  It is so uncanny, a brilliant band can sing such true words that fit this rabble to a tee.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:44am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    Pathetic and feeble coming from you IMO!
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:20am
  - Tall Man
    
    I lay a bet she doesn’t do “economy” like Boris did.
    
    Pretty sure she’s not gone yet.
    
    She’s waiting for the fires to abate so she can get a bit of “front page” coverage.
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:39am
  - sooty
    
    Is she allowed to take the planes for personal holiday. I would have thought she should be on her own dollar like the rest of us!
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:28pm
    - Tall Man
      
      She’s never on her own dollar sunshine 😉
      
      No half decent trougher ever is.
      
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      December 31, 2019 2:27pm
Steve James

Today it is a year since I watched any TVNZ or TV3 news or current affairs programmes. I have to say my stress levels are much lower and I am annoyed hardly ever now.
It’s easy to look up FACTUAL news and avoid the left wing brainwashing if you wish.
I recommend trying this.
Best part: No more Duncan Garner. He writes well but is an ill-informed twat on air.
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December 31, 2019 8:41am
- backster
  
  Try One American News channel. They had an excellent 2hr Doco on Rudy Juliano’s enquiries in Ukraine and another on the disgustingly corrupt Clinton Foundation last weekend made me sick that NZ contributed to it.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:06am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    One American News ???
    
    Pure and unashamed slavish and servile Pro-Trump Propaganda
    
    Makes Fox look like a bastion of soundness and balance ( which of course it’s not)
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:24am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    I like the FB posts by Liz Wheeler – Final Point. Constantly calls out fake news liars
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:47am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Seems so unfair that Trump’s foundation was judged to be criminal , but at least you can still imagine that the Clintons too will one day be exposed as crooks.
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:59am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Really? I mean Really Mike?
      Another opinion from you mate.
      Happy New Year
      
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      December 31, 2019 4:52pm
- John Warren
  
  I still flick between the 6pm broadcasts (and still wonder why I bother), but this time last year I forever gave up on Stuff and the Horrid, et al, bar following the very occasional link to a story when somebody posts it. Haven’t missed them for a second. I felt a great clearing of my mind when they were finally purged.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:52am
- Stephieboy2
  
  “It’s easy to look up FACTUAL news ” ?
  
  Whats your choice?
  
  Breitbart, Infowars, Fox , The Mirror, American Thinker…etc?
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:22am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  This is the reason that you and I are not in mental institutions
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:48am
- Wangas Feral
  
  About six years for me not watching any broadcast TV in New Zealand. We don’t even have a telly in lounge any more – got rid of it. Was at a relative’s place for dinner a few weeks back and their TV was droning away – I could not believe the absolute mind-numbing garbage that was on. Then there was the news.
  
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  December 31, 2019 4:10pm
  - curry4me
    
    I see it 3-4 times a year at a cousin’s place. I don’t have a TV. I only follow links to MSM sites. The exception is Fox.
    
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    December 31, 2019 8:37pm
Maggie Pie

Just checked my twitter-feed – its really FUNNY when the Left say it, eh?

https://twitter.com/guywilliamsguy/status/168161964789481473
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December 31, 2019 8:45am
- chaos
  
  Unemployed, got to get attention somehow
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:16am
  - sooty
    
    Does he carry the handbag for his girlfriend, just like ClarkE. Both sitting outside meetings together!
    
    18 1
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    December 31, 2019 10:10am
- kevn
  
  @Maggie…. and (not funny ever) williams keeps such great company.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:30am
- Lizziep
  
  Maggie Pie, I believe Guy Williams is an absolutely horrid person. Funny? I think NOT. Nothing about this slimy person is funny. Look whom he lives with!!! A matching pair
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:47am
  - Tall Man
    
    He may not be funny but together….
    
    they are a joke 😉
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:37am
- MrTips
  
  You do realise the origin tweet is nearly 8 yrs old?
  But Guy is certainly a talent free zone.
  
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  December 31, 2019 10:26am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    It is ‘TRENDING’ this morning – check out the comments 😀
    [i take it you’re not on twitter Mr Tips? ]
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:13am
    - MrTips
      
      Fuck no. Cess pit for illiterates that place.
      
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      December 31, 2019 4:44pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  My father died of prostate cancer Maggie, and it’s fair to say his last days were not pleasant.
  
  It’s a disease I wouldn’t wish on anyone, even Guy Williams. Although that comment was made seven years ago, others he has made since suggest he still holds those views, and I guess when you live with someone like Ms Ghahraman, that’s hardly a surprise.
  
  Oddly, I don’t have much time for Mr Williams and his particular brand of “comedy”.
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:10am
  - Tall Man
    
    “Oddly, I don’t have much time for Mr Williams and his particular brand of “comedy”.”
    
    That’s because it isn’t comedy young man 🙂
    
    This is more like it.
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9zEsVkLC30
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:35am
    - Tony Stuart
      
      “Young man”? Bloody hell, I’m old enough to be Guy Williams’ father, which, thank the Lord, I’m not!
      
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      December 31, 2019 1:54pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Well aware of your advanced years Tony….. just a turn of phrase 😉
        
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        December 31, 2019 2:26pm
- graham
  
  Doesn’t matter who says it, joking about someone dying, or laying bets on it, or being in any way cavalier about someone’s death is bad taste, to put it mildly.
  
  But Guy Williams has form, so this really doesn’t surprise me, or anyone on KB I guess. Remember when he “joked” about Brooke Fraser winning a Grammy?
  
  https://twitter.com/guywilliamsguy/status/957750772388605952?lang=en
  
  He supposedly apologised multiple times for that one, but the first of the so-called apologies were mostly “I’m sorry if YOU were offended”; IE it’s really your problem for being a sensitive wee soul, not Guy’s.
  
  It was a joke. I’m sorry if you were offended. It’s great Brooke won a Grammy.
  
  It was a joke. Bashing religion is kinda funny. But your right it was a cheap throwaway tweet and I’m sorry for being a prat.
  
  Classy … not.
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:53pm
  - Tall Man
    
    “t was a joke. Bashing religion is kinda funny. But your right it was a cheap throwaway tweet and I’m sorry for being a prat.”
    
    Another of his replies…… and he can’t spell well either… you’re not your!
    
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    December 31, 2019 2:24pm
Tall Man

https://www.un.org/en/ga/contributions/honourroll.shtml

I posted this yesterday. Have a look at some of the levels of “donations” here. Countries with vastly less population paying much less than NZ.

If our rate was applied to China, they would be paying approx 7 times what they are paying now.

All I can say is WTF?
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December 31, 2019 8:46am
- Tall Man
  
  Umm..
  
  Vastly more paying vastly less I think. 🙂
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:08am
- chaos
  
  USA hasn’t paid, imteresting
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:15am
  - Greg Ettridge
    
    Trump knows not to give scammers money, the rest of the world are happy to be scammed.
    
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    December 31, 2019 10:53am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    chaos , it has according to here ,
    
    https://www.washingtonpost.com
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:31am
Paulus

Having read through the New Years Honour’s List it is noticeably prominent that many awards have been given for Services to Maori in many differing forms.
What has gone wrong that we appear to be no further ahead than many years ago eg Child abuse and Maori poverty specifically ?
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December 31, 2019 8:47am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  To solve a “social problem” such as “child poverty” or “Maori abuse” (or was it the other way around… No matter) one first has to go right the way back to Square One.
  – What is the agenda of the group who is talking the most about this “social problem” (whatever the social problem is)?
  – What are the narratives surrounding the “social problem”?
  – Are these narratives true?
  – What is the relationship between the narratives and the agenda of the group who is talking the most about this “social problem”?
  
  You have to identify all these factors first. To summarize: who is talking about problems? what is their agenda? how is the problem related to their agenda? how could they exploit the problem to further their agenda?
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:33am
- Engelbert Humperdink
  
  …and why are they culturally appropriating – and indeed asking (if not pleading) for – the status attached to a purely Anglo-Saxon colonial tradition?
  
  Hypocrites gotta hypocrit.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:54am
  - Stephieboy2
    
    Where do those who are of non Anglo Saxon like Scots or Irish ancestory stand?
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:41am
  - Engelbert Humperdink
    
    Phew! I gots me at least (so far) two down-ticks. I was worried for a while there…
    
    “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
    – Oscar Wilde
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:36pm
JibberJabber

Veganism , a mental illness?
The evidence is fairly clear…
https://www.lbcnews.co.uk/uk-news/ethical-vegan-asks-courts-to-treat-veganism-faith/

An ‘ethical vegan’ who refuses to catch buses in case they hit insects, is demanding a court recognise veganism as a protected category similar to religion.

” who shuns buses and figs, ” WTF, Figs? ??
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December 31, 2019 8:50am
- JibberJabber
  
  Of course if he had a clue, he`d know that it`s already covered.
  
  Jainism
  
  a non-theistic religion founded in India in the 6th century BC by the Jina Vardhamana Mahavira as a reaction against the teachings of orthodox Brahmanism, and still practised there. The Jain religion teaches salvation by perfection through successive lives, and non-injury to living creatures, and is noted for its ascetics.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:05am
- Gravelroad
  
  Won’t wear leather, silk or wool but happy, presumably, to wear garments made from chemicals and plastic and ignore the resulting emissions from industrial manufacturing in the low paid sweatshops of Asia.
  That’s pretty ethical, eh.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:39am
- Hollyfield
  
  Figs might be to do with the bees – apparently vegans can’t eat avocados due to the “unnatural use of bees”, and figs might be the same.
  
  https://www.thoughtco.com/vegans-and-honey-127536
  Keeping bees for commercial or hobby purposes violates the bees’ rights to be free of human exploitation. As with companion animals or other farmed animals, breeding, buying, and selling animals violates the animals’ rights to live free of human use and exploitation, and bees are commercially bred, bought and sold.
  In addition to keeping bees, taking their honey is also exploitative. While beekeepers will say that they leave plenty of honey for the bees, the honey belongs to the bees.
  
  BTW I am not vegan, or even vegetarian, just mentioning a possible explanation for the otherwise incomprehensible figs.
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:39am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Bees don’t touch figs, each fig species is pollinated by its own particular fig wasp. They vary a lot in size but are typically fairly small. Figs are technically the flower, not a the fruit, of the fig tree.
    
    Presumably eating a fig means probably consuming the fig wasp lodged inside.
    
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    December 31, 2019 1:34pm
Happychappy

Can anyone remember this when Jacinda was in the opposition and was prepared to show the numbers of those in Child Poverty. Well how times have changed and her bill that was never pulled from the when the number was 150,000 in child poverty and she was bleeting how she would fix this given the chance.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/early-edition/opinion/rachel-smalley-arderns-child-poverty-bill-deserves-to-be-drawn/
So why have we now a Government that won’t publish the figures on Child Poverty with Salvation Army and others measuring the the figures being nearly 350,000 children in poverty and the news media not prepared to hold Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of NZ to account over continuous lies on the problem Rachel Smalley led the public to believe that Jacinda would fix.
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December 31, 2019 8:54am
- JibberJabber
  
  Jacinda Arderns political strategy is to politics what pornography is to sex: A fantasy that stokes unrealistic expectations and ultimately leads to real-world disappointment.
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:22am
  - Greg Ettridge
    
    Sorry jibberjabber, downticked you my mistake had my finger in the wrong place,have another uptick.
    The mind boggles as to how the jacinda strategy finishes, with a Big Bang, or just a weak fizzle.
    My prediction, second ankle biter, wedding, very well publicised honeymoon, she and her minders will throw the cupboard sink at it.
    
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    December 31, 2019 11:02am
    - Tall Man
      
      I wish they would through the cupboard sink at it as it is probably more capable than her or any of the numb skulls around her.
      
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      December 31, 2019 11:20am
- Tall Man
  
  I have to take credit here for ardern stopping figures being published as she knows she’ll have to lie about them and I’ll get stuck into her 😉
  
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  December 31, 2019 9:23am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  BTW – What happened to Rachel Smelly??
  
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  December 31, 2019 12:05pm
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Bro – Give her some time. She needs another term to finish the unfinished business. Winston is ready. Shaw is ready.
  
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  December 31, 2019 12:06pm
  - Tall Man
    
    And so are we…. the silent, well maybe not that silent in my case, majority 😉
    
    MAGA 2020
    
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    December 31, 2019 2:21pm
chaos

Sigh,

* Rob Campbell has gone from “comrade to companion”, getting one of the top New Year honours, and he’s not letting business off the hook.

The former union leader who became a professional director has a blunt message for his colleagues in the business community.

“I think that business is a major cause of most of the evils in society,” he said.*

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12297215
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December 31, 2019 9:11am
Maggie Pie

“But wont it look obvious if THREE people die?” 🙁

https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/1211607433887531014
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December 31, 2019 9:19am
Albert_Ross

Isn’t this interesting.

stuff.co.nz/national/politics/118296365/2019-did-our-political-reporters-guess-what-might-happen-this-year-not-quite

By my calculation about a quarter of the points Stuff reporters missed out on are directly down to their underestimating and misreading of the National party.
17 1
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December 31, 2019 9:24am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Only one prediction by me – Second term Labour gummit backed by Greens. NZ First out of parliament.
  
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  December 31, 2019 12:11pm
- bruceavon
  
  Yes I read this too. Their biggest blunder underestimating Simon Bridges. but things did not look good this time last year. Also I don’t think Judith will ever take over unless things really tank. no sign of that currently.
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:51pm
  - Paulus
    
    Judith does not have the numbers in Caucus.
    Remember it is Caucus who decide on their Leader unlike the Labour Party and the Unions mainly.
    There is considerable talent in National currently, albeit much is fairly new to Politics, but with enough talent from having had real jobs for some years, to learn fast.
    Both sexes too.
    
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    December 31, 2019 2:27pm
Fletch

After Greta’s parents sent her into a depression by telling her the planet was dying because of the climate (way to treat an autistic little girl), her folks claim that she was saved from that depression by her crusade…

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12297349

Yeh, well don’t take it out on us. We are not your collective therapy doll. Go and get some real help. And stop listening to your folks!
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December 31, 2019 9:26am
- Paulus
  
  And an estimate of $40 million so far from their ranting daughter.
  
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  December 31, 2019 2:27pm
  - JackRabbit
    
    $40 million may have helped to cure Greta’s depression, even if it was induced into said child by parental indoctrination in the first place.
    The depression has been replaced by a megalomaniac sense of superiority over others.
    
    Most responsible parents would try and manage the Autism and many parents have helped their children beat Autism.
    
    I guess $40 million is too much to pass up, even if it means permanently screwing up their child. I guess selling the soul of your child does have a price.
    
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    December 31, 2019 4:02pm
KevO'Brien

3D building printing has arrived. See this office building:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/dubai-largest-3d-printed-building-apis-cor-photos-2019-12?r=US&IR=T
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December 31, 2019 9:59am
- JackRabbit
  
  Nice link, and 3D printing has come a long way but still has a long way to go. The technology is still years away from being able to say 3D print the CTV building to stand up in an earthquake.
  
  Materials that need specific heat or chemical treatment to guarantee tensile strength are still a long way away.
  
  The building and the technology you mention took a lot more than three workers. Many, many, more inputs and people were required, to get the operation to a final demo point where it could be seen to be completed by three workers.
  
  It is rather like saying that your Big MAC took only 3 people to make – the guy/chick on the grill, the person who wrapped it, and the guy/chick at the drive through counter. Dozens if not hundreds more are involved.
  
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  December 31, 2019 4:28pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    The images do show steel and concrete being added in later.
    Cottage structural construction?
    
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    December 31, 2019 7:40pm
Maggie Pie

My partners mum txts:

If a Jew received a Knighthood – would he be Sir Cumcised?

LOL!!!
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December 31, 2019 10:01am
- All_on_Red
  
  Careful Maggie
  Your latent bigotry is being exposed
  
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  December 31, 2019 12:18pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    The real problem with you All on Ginga – it that your latent misogyny has been evident since you’ve been here 😀
    
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    December 31, 2019 12:59pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Waaaycist.
      
      7 0
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      December 31, 2019 1:07pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        You remind me of one of the girls from my dorm at boarding school.
        She could never understand why we kept hiding her sanitary pads. LOL!!!!!
        
        4 2
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        December 31, 2019 1:24pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        She was from up Gisborne way.
        Couldn’t say her “R’s” either.
        
        4 2
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        December 31, 2019 1:44pm
- Ruahine
  
  I believe it was Harry Secombe of The Goons fame on hearing of his knighthood pondered to the media if he would henceforth be known as Circumference.
  P.S. He was also a very accomplished singer.
  
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  December 31, 2019 12:35pm
- Lee C
  
  How dare you!
  
  8 0
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  December 31, 2019 12:53pm
burt

Public safety announcement.

Remember it’s new years eve tonight and many people wilk be out drinking. If you suddenly feel the urge to thrust your hand down somebody else’s pants just drink more and join the Labour Party on new years day. You will get name suppression and discharged without conviction.

The full weight of the #MeToo movement will protect you if you are a Labour Party member.
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December 31, 2019 10:08am
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TD_qfZnJBs
Eva Vlaardingerbroek’s controversial speech about the dangers of modern feminism, English subtitles
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December 31, 2019 10:31am
curry4me

The twilight of the Fourth Reich’s elites.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/29/delingpole-the-2010s-were-the-twilight-of-the-elites/
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December 31, 2019 10:32am
MCos

Thailand has one of the highest road tolls per capital in the world.
To help get on top of the situation road signs have been put up.
‘Drive Slowly if Drunk’
https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1140985-drive-slowly-if-drunk-new-year-thai-road-sign%C2%A0stuns-the-japanese/?utm_source=newsletter-20191230-1222&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news
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December 31, 2019 10:58am
- Tall Man
  
  We sat in a cafe by a notorious accident spot in Khon Kaen just to watch the frequency of “accidents”.
  
  Not one of the ones that we witnessed could have been termed an “accident”. All required considerable effort from the participants.
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:18am
Justitia

Is #turnardern therapeutic ?

Puzzled by aspects of Ardern’s behaviour including her apparent extreme fondness for photo-shoots, her high-handed and haughty manner (eg let’s ban gas exploration on a whim) , her documented need to hug random people, and her self-confessed fragility under stress, I sought a medical view.
Here are the symptoms of Narcissism according to the Mayo Clinic:

“Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and the severity of symptoms vary. People with the disorder can:

Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
Exaggerate achievements and talents
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
Take advantage of others to get what they want
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
Be envious of others and believe others envy them
Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office
At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they perceive as criticism, and they can:

Become impatient or angry when they don’t receive special treatment
Have significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted
React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior
Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change
Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection
Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and humiliation.”

Sound familiar?
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December 31, 2019 11:08am
- Tall Man
  
  There are a few in the coalition that fit that bill and probably many more in politics throughout the world.
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:16am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  Justitia,
  
  I wonder how strong the trait of narcissistic personality disorder is within the culture of modern mainland Chinese? Or would it be more a CCP thing? Or is a characteristic of all “power/mana-is-everything” cultures anywhere in the world?
  
  Japan in the late 80s and early 90s was thought by some pundits to be poised to lead the world, but have since had over 30 years of humbling at the hands of reality. The mainland Chinese have yet to be bitch-slapped by the Invisible Hand, but they have it coming.
  
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  December 31, 2019 11:37am
- Yvette
  
  Justitia – “her high-handed and haughty manner (eg let’s ban gas exploration on a whim)”
  No, I would contend it was not a whim as appears at all …
  
  Supposedly a Greenpeace petition.
  But in the presentation of the petition, Greenpeace featured only in spoken name as far as I could tell.
  Otherwise it was enormous photo placards, reminiscent visually of a Nazi rally so much did Labours red, white and black dominate. No Greenpeace banner for graphics. Google the photos – there are plenty of them.
  Who paid for the placards?
  Who authorised the total Labour imagery and wording used?
  And as it appeared to be a Labour presentation was that why it was so essential the Ardern front it, even to the extent of delaying an international leader’s lunch.
  And it appears postcards inviting people to sign the petition were also Labour imagery, with Ardern portrait photo on them and Labour colours.
  Not exclusively a Greenpeace petition at all.
  In its execution it was a complete Labour deal, still unexplained by media, and in respect particularly to New Zealand First.
  
  But at the same time, Justitia, you are right – Ardern is a self-confessed (read the NEXT interviews, both before and after Ardern becoming just Labour Leader ) nut-case who is impetuous and throws her toys out of the cot – no Capital Gains Tax now in her term, won’t mention Tarrant’s name ever.
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:01pm
  - Justitia
    
    Very good points Yvette, I particularly remember those Labour placards. Their message seemed to be that by banning oil and gas exploration Ardern would achieve instant immortality among the pantheon of Labour demigods. This was her “nuclear free moment”. Which makes the diagnosis of acute narcissism even more secure, and alarming.
    
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    December 31, 2019 2:35pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Normal for politicians but without an understanding of leadership, governance, economics, duty and service useless in a PM.
  ☑️☑️Rout2020☑️☑️
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:07pm
  - Wired-one
    
    I dont like the colour of those ticks. That colour looks like NZFirst to me. You think we should vote for them to keep National honest…?
    
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    December 31, 2019 6:56pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Until I find bluer ones they will have to do.
      
      Keep NZF out of Parliament completely.
      
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      December 31, 2019 7:42pm
Happychappy

Why would you be in a relationship with some and leave yourself open to this.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7833581/US-businesswoman-Jennifer-Arcuri-kept-diaries-relationship-Boris-Johnson.html
It looks and sounds like Boris might have bitten off more than he could chew.
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December 31, 2019 11:11am
- chaos
  
  Kept written notes of conversations with him. Now how do we know that is genuine and not being written up now out of spite
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:04pm
- Tall Man
  
  So the media, of the left, is seeking to destroy another populist leader. Surprise…….
  
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  December 31, 2019 2:17pm
  - fernglas
    
    “According to a December 2004 survey, 53% of Daily Mail readers voted for the Conservative Party, compared to 21% for Labour and 17% for the Liberal Democrats. The main concern of Viscount Rothermere, the current chairman and main shareholder, is that the circulation be maintained.”
    Or so says Wikipedia. Not exactly media of the left, is it?
    
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    December 31, 2019 4:01pm
    - Tall Man
      
      There’s owners and there’s editors and there’s opinion writers.
      
      New we all know that Wiki is the font of all accuracy and no rich bastard would ever support labour…. would they?
      
      https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/18/viscount-rothermere-my-media-baron-of-the-year-hands-off-owner
      
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      December 31, 2019 8:02pm
- JackRabbit
  
  It does not sound like a “close” or trusted relationship if you keep notes of all conversations.
  
  Either (a) she is a mentally deranged bunny boiler out for revenge; (b) out to make money by selling a book based on juicy stories she has written post affair; or (c) someone wanting to destroy him was playing the long game and Jennifer Arcur is involved in sexpionage.
  
  Or a combination of all three. On face test alone she looks like a bunny boiler, and recording all private conversations to be used later is motive for something more sinister. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
  
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  December 31, 2019 2:38pm
- MrTips
  
  She should be careful. He might write about her and it would be much funnier and devastating.
  
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  December 31, 2019 4:47pm
Michael

Is this likely to be true.?
Whilst i can understand why the Chinese (han) are doing this with it’s concentration camps.

I don’t agree with it at all.
They shouldn’t have a vote at the UN or any other international forum until they come right.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/12/coming_backfire_chinas_family_separations_in_xinjiang_a_recipe_for_islamic_radicalism.html
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December 31, 2019 11:36am
JibberJabber

Demented Democretin “I probably should`nt say that in public” says it in public….
https://twitter.com/ROHLL5/status/1210679166170890240
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December 31, 2019 12:20pm
alloytoo

Here’s wishing all Kiwibloggers, DPF and his team of moderators a Happy and peaceful new year.
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December 31, 2019 1:02pm
- Tall Man
  
  Yep..
  
  MAGA 2020
  
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  December 31, 2019 2:12pm
Lee C

Sadly…https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50948921?ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=facebook&ocid=socialflow_facebook&fbclid=IwAR0hGjio6vfGYaG9NmOFfXfjOBW-ZtKOuyBuMpNwUQNSqHtR_KWxBalaWAg
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December 31, 2019 1:15pm
- Stephieboy2
  
  A great music satirist,
  
  Neil Innes – How Sweet to be an Idiot
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ9EWcaS7II
  
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  December 31, 2019 1:40pm
Stephieboy2

A terrific way to welcome the New Year,

Dave Dobbyn – Nau Mai Rā (Welcome Home) ft. Maimoa (Live Performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa73ujK8m2w

An anthem to who we are and in all our rich diversity and homage to the slain on 15 March 2019

Welcome Home

Dave Dobbyn

Tonight I am feeling for you
Under the state of a strange land
You have sacrificed much to be here
There but for grace as I offer my hand
Welcome home, I bid you welcome, I bid you welcome
Welcome home from the bottom of my heart
Out here on the edge
The empire is fading by the day
And the world is so weary in war
Maybe we’ll find that new way
So welcome home, see I made a space for you now
Welcome home from the bottom of our heart
Welcome home from the bottom of our hearts
Keep it coming now keep it coming now
You’ll find most of us here with our hearts wide open
Keep it coming now keep on coming now
Keep it coming now keep on coming now
There’s a woman with her hands trembling
And she sings with a mountain’s memory
There’s a cloud the full length of…

Nau Mai Rā
nā Te Haumihiata Mason

kei te aroha au ki a koe
e tānoatia nei e tauwhenua
rawa kore mai koe ki konei
ka toro te ringa ki tō kaha

nau mai rā, ki te papa, papa tipu
nau mai rā, te karanga a te ngākau

tū ana i te pari
horo kau iho te ao
kua ruha i te pakanga
rapua he ara hou

nau mai rā, tēnei rā tō kāinga
nau mai rā, te karanga a te ngākau
nau mai rā, te karanga a te ngākau

haere tonu mai, haere tonu mai
ko te ngākau tuwhera ka tū atu nei

haere tonu mai, haere tonu mai
haere tonu mai, nau mai haere mai

kua pōhiri te reo karanga, haere mai
kua pōhiri ngā maunga, haere mai

ko te ao tea roa o konei
te hoa tauwhai o te rā

mā te pango, te mā, me te pai
ka iwi kotahi te ao

Why a future National Anthem to replace God Defend New Zealand ?

Happy New Year to all including our host and moderators etc.
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December 31, 2019 2:11pm
- Rich Prick
  
  Too drunk to f%#k by Nouvelle Vague should be the Labour Party’s anthem.
  
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  December 31, 2019 4:02pm
- MrTips
  
  My cousin went to primary school with Dobbyn. They used to kick the rugby ball high and pummell him when he caught it.
  
  They should have used a brick. I am sick of that bloody dirge.
  
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  December 31, 2019 4:50pm
- WaveyDavey
  
  It’s a f*cking dirge.
  
  If you want a more nuanced definition of that song:
  
  It’s a f*cking mournful dirge by a tedious miserabalist that should be put out of its misery and replaced by a more uplifting song.
  
  Something by Prince should do nicely.
  
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  December 31, 2019 5:29pm
Sydney Alvarado

What a bunch of f***ers

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/10/14/Climate-study-Airline-frequent-flyer-programs-are-high-polluting-luxuries/1011571065409/

“British environmental experts say in a new climate change study the frequent flyer mileage programs offered by virtually all carriers worldwide should be banned because they encourage greater carbon emissions.“
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December 31, 2019 2:13pm
- chaos
  
  But but but our climate change minister is a high flyer
  
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  December 31, 2019 2:39pm
- Rich Prick
  
  Of FFS, note to climate panicky fuckwits, the planes will take off whether they are carrying Airpoints members or not. That’s how airlines make money, by flying planes where people want to go.
  
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  December 31, 2019 3:57pm
Wired-one

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/12/donald-trump-voted-the-united-states-most-admired-man.html

? this warms my Trump loving heart.
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December 31, 2019 2:21pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/118532563/england-support-plans-to-scrap-fiveday-test-cricket

This something I wholeheartedly support.
Except when NZ plays, in which case tests should only be 3 days long.
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December 31, 2019 2:39pm
chaos

Awful, must be scary as hell

* Around 4000 people are trapped on Mallacoota Beach in East Gippsland, Victoria as out-of-control bushfires ravage the area.

A number of towns in East Gippsland have been hit by the raging wildfires, with many properties expected to be lost.

Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp told local media there was no evacuation order for the small town of Mallacoota, despite other Gippsland localities being evacuated on Sunday and*

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/12/australia-bushfires-thousands-trapped-by-bushfires-on-mallacoota-beach-in-victoria.html
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December 31, 2019 2:43pm
Classic Liberal

Merkel wants your passwords if you might be guilty of wrongthink: Styx explains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru9IAhtZAH4

Even the far left party (Die Linke) won’t back up this authoritarianism.

Germany is falling down the same rabbit hole, this time while pretending that it is doing the exact opposite.

Merkel, of course, stems from the GDR, so concepts like Stasi and imprisonment for wrongthink are second nature to her.

I post this not just for people interested in Europe but also because our current government licks Germany’s bum re fake environmentalism, public transport, apartment-block housing and: hate speech laws. Can you see the Internationale-singing Taxinda wanting your passwords?
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December 31, 2019 4:43pm
- Odakyu-sen
  
  The tighter the German State fist squeezes, the more people will slip through its fingers.
  
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  December 31, 2019 5:27pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    I find your lack of attribution disturbing
    
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    March 8, 2020 3:45pm
- Tall Man
  
  Mine’s a goodun…..
  
  Can you guess?
  
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  December 31, 2019 8:04pm
WaveyDavey

If anyone fancies spending a few minutes pointing and laughing at the idiot children might I suggest:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/31/the-millennials-at-31-welcome-to-the-age-of-misery

“Misery, misery, all is misery…”
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December 31, 2019 4:52pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/118542004/invercargill-cbd-block-demolition-halted

This chap Gaire Thompson seems to be the only person in Invercargill who is giving some thought to this proposed development.

The developer wants to now vary the conditions of the already-approved council resource consents, and the bloody council has agreed to do this but not notify the ratepayers !

“ Thompson has applied to judicially review decisions by the Invercargill City Council not to notify an application by HWCP to vary the conditions of resource consents for the demolition, alteration and development of a block, and to grant that application.
He was concerned regarding the change in the finance clause and the likely affect that it was likely to have on ratepayers, and the council’s decision to agree to it and not doing sufficient due diligence as to the terms and conditions and how they propose to meet the short fall, he said.
One of the varied changes is that HWCP no longer has to provide the council with written confirmation from a registered bank that funding for stages 1-3 of the development had been obtained before proceeding.”

One could be forgiven for thinking that the developer has somehow reached some sort of financial settlement with one or more of the councillors so as to proceed with this watered-down consent.
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December 31, 2019 5:01pm
chaos

My predictions for 2020, anyone got any?

A couple of large solar flares in the first few months.
We will finally realise we are not alone.
What will seem to people as miraculous recoveries from illnesses.
Huge data drops of information disclosing government secrets.
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December 31, 2019 5:29pm
- Wired-one
  
  Ardern will get a free ride from the media.
  Winston will campaign on being an anchor on the far lefts nonsense. 4% will be conned by him.
  National will rule Winston out.
  Phil Twyford will continue to be as incompetent as ever, but will not be sacked because Ardern is weak.
  This government will continue to be as incompetent, inept and embarassing as ever.
  The “Wedding of the decade” will be “accidentally” announced part way through the election campaign. And will take place mere weeks after the election.
  The All Blacks will not lose a test.
  The left will come up with another word to demonize the average person in this great country.
  Trump will be re-elected.
  It will no longer be “climate change”, itll be climate catastrophe or some other over dramatic slogan.
  NZCricket will regret going with Spark.
  William and Kate will be pregnant again.
  Harry and Meagain will continue to divide public opinion.
  Prince Philip will pass.
  Ruth Bader Ginsburg will pass.
  The COL will try to buy votes with the money us workers and a diligent National government have left them, it may very well succeed.
  
  And lastly I will win lotto and promptly shout you all an ice cream ?
  
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  December 31, 2019 7:06pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Every non Wuflu issue will dwindle to insignificance. We’re a month from calamity, that will go for up to a year and majority are acting obliviously.
  
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  March 8, 2020 3:49pm
chaos

I guess we can expect a rise in some crime next year. Increased poverty as low income people who can’t beat this addiction have to pay more for it

* The cost of a single cigarette is about to reach nearly $2 as New Zealand’s smokefree deadline looms.

The latest rise in a series of annual tax-based price increases on cigarettes comes into effect on New Year’s Day meaning a pack of 25 cigarettes will cost more than $40. Throughout 2018, the price of a pack has hovered around $38, according to Statistics NZ.*

https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/118528539/up-in-smoke-a-single-cigarette-going-up-to-nearly-2
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December 31, 2019 6:16pm
- nasska
  
  There are some slow learners out there. I used to go through two packets of 50g Pocket Edition a week which would have cost $99 each at THIS years prices.
  
  I’m not exactly poor but I reckon I’d notice $10000/yr disappearing for fuck all. I’d therefore suggest that nicotine is a far more habit inducing drug than even the nannies reckon it is.
  
  Decision time. Ban it completely in good NZ handwringing tradition or accept that it’s impossible to regulate & let people kill themselves if they wish.
  
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  December 31, 2019 7:20pm
  - WaveyDavey
    
    God no, don’t ban the fags.
    
    Given that it’s disproportionately the poor that smoke it’s one way that those of us who are actually net contributors to the country get some of the money taken from us back into the system.
    
    I like smokers, they keep my taxes down, they die early so they won’t take as much in later-years benefits and dying early opens up job opportunities at the bottom end of the job market.
    
    Double thumbs-up from me, same as the fuel taxes at least the beneficiaries get to feel some of the pain of their life choices.
    
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    December 31, 2019 7:57pm
  - Tall Man
    
    “When a person quits smoking, withdrawal symptoms peak within the first few days of the last cigarette smoked and usually subside within a few weeks.”
    
    So there is hope
    
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    December 31, 2019 8:10pm
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    When I drove along the country roads in the Nelson/Motueka region a couple of summers ago, I was amazed at the number of vegetable gardens that appeared to be growing a meter-high plant with broad, oval, flat leaves, some 30 cm in length.
    
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    December 31, 2019 8:17pm
    - Tall Man
      
      Sunflowers?
      
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      December 31, 2019 10:14pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Most likely Tobacco.
      
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      December 31, 2019 10:58pm
Jack5

Immigration is a hot issue for New Zealand, with the rate among the highest in the developed world.

A big issue for NZ is the effect on visa-free entry to Australia for New Zealand citizens.

Meanwhile, the Australian border is under huge pressure with 77 people a day claiming asylum at Australian airports in November.

Australian Labor’s “home affairs” spokeswoman, Kristina Keneally, has warned some asylum seekers are being lured to Australia to work in conditions “akin to slavery” until their applications are assessed.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/more-asylum-seekers-arrive-on-planes-amid-trafficking-fears-20191230-p53nlt.html

[The Age site is a good place also to follow the drama of the thousands trapped by fires in Gippsland.]
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December 31, 2019 9:28pm
- Ian Boag
  
  A big issue for NZ is the effect on visa-free entry to Australia for New Zealand citizens.
  
  and permanent residents ….
  
  Visa-free? – sort of. You can get off the plane, get a job, pay taxes, get Medicare and that’s it. You are actually the holder of a unique thing called a “Special Conditions Visa”. Pay the same tax as everybody else and get no social services. Kids not eligible for student loans. No pension. There’s more ….
  
  Give yourself a few years and a few thousand dollars and you might be able to get permanent residence. Or you might not. Once you get PR it’s not a big step to citizenship. But none of it is easy …..
  
  In Europe they called them “guest workers”.
  
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  March 8, 2020 4:19pm
Cobolt24

Welcome to the 2020s! Happy new year to you all.

I see Drudge has an article linked of how NZ “rings” in the new year.
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January 1, 2020 12:45am

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