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January 8, 2021 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 08 January 2021

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Tony Stuart

Just in case anyone was wondering, there’s 50 weeks and one day until Christmas 😀
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January 8, 2021 8:05am
- fernglas
  
  So for most on this blog, that’s 702 sleeps?
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:08am
  - artemisia
    
    Or 100 sleeps for the meth addicts.
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:43am
- mikenmildagain
  
  But are Easter buns on sale yet?
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:11am
  - doggone7
    
    I saw them in Countdown yesterday, true!
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:25am
    - Captain Pugwash
      
      I saw them in countdown on Boxing Day, just a little bit early…
      
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      January 8, 2021 2:01pm
- pdm
  
  Inv – thanks but I need to know how many shopping days please.
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:12am
  - GazzaW
    
    In this day and age it means 351 shopping days 24/7.
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:47am
    - alwyn
      
      No, No.
      You lose half a day between now and next Christmas for Anzac day. It just isn’t fair!
      
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      January 8, 2021 5:41pm
- Suze Wainwright
  
  It is so
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:12am
  - Blackbob
    
    Don’t you mean “Awomen”?
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:31am
    - JibberJabber
      
      It is so not so.
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:13am
- Biscuit
  
  More importantly, Tony, it’s only 69 days till the celebrations of my birthday for 2021.
  
  I calculate that if each of you put away just a measly tenner each day you will all have a nice little nest egg for the day in question so as to surprise me with a decent, and SO well-deserved, prezzy!
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:15am
  - pdm
    
    Mmmm Biscuit – thought you would just be happy with a Liverpool win on your birthday.
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:39am
    - Biscuit
      
      True, pdm, but what I’m really hoping for is an open border with Sydney so I can do my usual sojourn over there to catch the two Saturdays in April of The Championships at Randwick…
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:22am
      - pdm
        
        At this stage you can go as I understand it.
        
        Getting home may be a problem but 2 weeks isolation will enable you to keep the Super Rugby sweep up to date.
        
        To get the ball rolling I have 10cents towards your isolation cost of $3,000 approx if you have `Give A Little ‘ funding. As you can see I am staunch on the little part of that.
        
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        January 8, 2021 11:49am
- Andrei
  
  But Hot Cross Buns are already on sale in my local supermarket
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:18am
  - fightingtemeraire
    
    Bella Pane in Putaruru sells Spice Buns all year round and just adds the crosses at Easter
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:05am
    - Swifty
      
      fightingtemeraire – does ‘Conway ‘Captain’ mean anything to you?
      
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      January 8, 2021 9:52am
  - Liberty
    
    Putting a cross on a bun before Easter
    is crass.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:56am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Crisscross crassness.
      
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      January 8, 2021 1:13pm
- hmmokrightitis
  
  My kids said the same this morning, whilst taking down the Christmas Tree – why not just leave it up Dad, saves the hassle 😛
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:19am
  - Biscuit
    
    hmmo, I was watching QI one night and one of the guests, a comedian called Sarah (forget her surname), said that it was ‘almost Christmas at her house’ as after each feative season she wrapped her (fake) tree in plastic and just put it in her spare room ready for next year.
    
    Sounds a good plan, heh.
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:05am
    - hmmokrightitis
      
      Sarah Milliken (sp?) I believe.
      
      We have to – sadly – use fake, too many of us have bloody allergies in this household. So, we have the most tacky fake trees possible – including one (we use 3) with its own built in lights.
      
      Id put a light display up outside but (a) we don’t live near the road (500M long driveway) and (b) The Blond tells me its naff, even for me 😀
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:19am
- MCos
  
  Forty two years to the day since the overthrow of Pol Pot & his murderous regime by Vietnam.
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:22am
  - MCos
    
    Unbelievably some countries, including UK, continued to recognize the Khmer Rouge as the legitimate government because of their disdain for Vietnam, despite the known brutality, & they retain the seat in the UN as Cambodian reps.
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:01am
    - Jack5
      
      North Vietnam also supported the Khmer Rouge while North Vietnam was still at war with the Republic of South Vietnam and the United States.
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:41am
    - Liberty
      
      Nothing new in the 1930s The British labour government. Sucked up to Stalin.
      Imported timber cut down by slave labour.
      
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      January 8, 2021 11:04am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Not quite the same as the UK and US providing military assistance to Pol Pot.
        
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        January 8, 2021 12:08pm
      - Jack5
        
        Ah, Milky … Michael Haas, the left-wing political “scientist”, has accused the United States of supplying arms to Pol Pot, and the United States has denied this.
        
        But … when America and its Asian-Pacific allies (troops sent in total: South Korea, 300,000; Australia, 60,000; Thailand, 40,000; New Zealand, 3000; the Philippines, 2,000) were at war with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, it was a case of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”.
        
        If they did provide help before 1969, seems a rational thing to do during a war.
        
        However, from the time of the American bombing of Cambodia in 1969-1970, North Vietnam supplied Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge with arms and other help.
        
        The Khmer Rouge had been supported by China and Mao for years before that.
        
        To blame the West for the rise of Pol Pot is typical Milky-rot.
        
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        January 8, 2021 1:50pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Are you having comprehension difficulties, Jack? I did not write that ‘the West’ was to blame for the rise of Pol Pot – that was probably always likely even if the US didn’t bomb Cambodia so destructively.
        After the Vietnamese invasion and overthrow o0f Pol Pot in 1979, the US decided that the Khmer Rouge were the good guys after all, so armed and supported them for 10 years or so.
        
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        January 8, 2021 2:31pm
  - MCos
    
    Amusing tweet
    https://twitter.com/qasimrashid/status/1347277146348204033?s=21
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:24am
- Jimmy White
  
  I must plant my wilding pine.
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:26am
  - mstewart
    
    Sorry but this is tautologically impossible…
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:42am
  - Jack5
    
    Perhaps Maggie W. can remind us what sort of pine the wildings are.
    
    On economic grounds, if they are Douglas fir, perhaps we should let them take over the South Island hills, as Oregon timber as we call it in NZ is miles better than radiata pine.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:43am
    - CrazyIvan
      
      Pinus contorta is one of the more vigorously spreading wilding pines. Often plated for erosion control rather than economic benefit
      
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      January 8, 2021 11:43am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  Great news!
  
  How many of them are shopping days?
  
  I know I know!
  
  All but one!
  
  How fing exciting is that!
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:34am
- DRHILL
  
  Only 12 till Easter (that’s a more scary thought!)
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:43am
- hullkiwi
  
  As long as there is something else to look forward too.
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:52am
JibberJabber

So, now that Donnies gone, who’s the next Boogie Man gonna be?
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January 8, 2021 8:07am
- MCos
  
  Jacinda.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:03am
  - JibberJabber
    
    Jeez MC, Jacindy is the medias darling, she could **** ###### *** %$#@! on the steps of Parliament and for an extra $75 mil they’d tell you she’s doing it for the good of the country and ‘aint she Amazeballs?
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:47am
- Im Right
  
  Ahhh jibberjabber…was talking to a work mate the other day about how is CNN NYT and WapPo going to survive when Biden is president. Their wall to wall anti-Trump headlines over 4 years will have to be replaced….our thoughts were that it will not stop and now its the joint effort of criminal conviction(s) that will keep the anti-Trump watchers/readers sated till a new bogeyman appears for Replublicans.
  Nothing will change.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:04am
  - IC5000
    
    > Their wall to wall anti-Trump headlines over 4 years will have to be replaced
    
    Trump will have ongoing criminal and civil court trials for his illegal business practices and sexual offending so there will be headlines aplenty. He was not lying when he said he was the persecuted president in history.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:38am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      He will be the least persecuted, but the most prosecuted.
      
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      January 8, 2021 12:09pm
    - Paulus
      
      I am much amused in listening to our media ladies today on RNZ following the jabbering of the US so called Washington and NY media wonders.
      They are all wetting them selves in trying to continue to emulate their counterparts, in the US, like TVNZ Blonde Bimbo in Washington where after the few weeks se has been there she is the expert on the exploding?? situation. To report she has to stay up far too late in to the very early morning there. She looks like it too !
      She like the others cannot wait to see Trump marched off to Jail as they have desperately wanted ever since Trump was elected.
      I think the media here will continue to do all they can to ensure that our wonderful Cindy gets our country in a state of Control that she envisages.
      After all it will only cost the New Zealand Taxpayers another $50,000,000 plusto influence all the dumbos here.
      
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      January 8, 2021 1:09pm
  - MCos
    
    Nobody’s indispensable.
    For long periods media has been dominated by Covid-19 and in a month or so it will be business as usual unless Someone gives Trump a platform for his bluster.
    
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    January 8, 2021 12:43pm
  - redeye
    
    Stuff had 3 Trump headlines on the main page this morning.
    The first 2 were about forcibly removing him from office, and the third was about Trump calling for an orderly transition of power.
    I kid you not.
    
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    January 8, 2021 12:45pm
- cmm
  
  Of course it’s Boris Johnson.
  
  Anyone that looks like they are preserving the Anglo world (basically just USA, UK, Australia and NZ) will cop flack.
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:48am
  - cmm
    
    The its is being changed to it’s, so please do not have heart attacks.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:49am
artemisia

Gab will get a shot in the arm for sure, following recent decisions by Facebook and Twitter.
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January 8, 2021 8:15am
- Inandout
  
  art, try putting in a pro Trump comment on Twitter, it just gets binned before appearing. Such fun to see a huge percentgage of their members go elsewhere and leave the basement dwellers to themselves.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:42am
Luke Piewalker

The decision to delete the MSM out of my life 10+ years ago seems to be a good choice. I have the odd glance and all I can say is what a shit pile of crap.

Why would anyone willingly allow the media into their life.
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January 8, 2021 8:18am
- fernglas
  
  Isn’t this blog media?
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:04am
  - Jack5
    
    With Facebook, Twitter, even Youtube getting into censorship, where do we find counter-culture opinions and news these days? Don’t mind using VPN.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:46am
- curry4me
  
  Luke Piewalker: Yes, I only follow links to their stuff.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:32am
rererangihirihiri

Was a pretty good first 6 days.
Cheers to 2022!
Tagut.
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January 8, 2021 8:25am
gravedodger

That is assuming it is not cancelled, lots in Christmas to exercise the woke brigade
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January 8, 2021 8:28am
- sooty
  
  Providing we are not in lockdown till then!
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:03am
G152

So republicans got elected and the democrats protested, rioted, broke windows and set buildings on fire.
Now the democrats are elected to power and the republicans are lining up to return the favour
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January 8, 2021 8:29am
- IC5000
  
  > the republicans are lining up to return the favour
  
  So they were Republicans breaking the law, engaging in sedition, insurrection and attempting to subvert democracy. Thanks for confirming.
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:41am
UrbanNeocolonialist

Tucker Carlson on the hypocrisy of American left and DNC-fluffer media bemoaning washington protests:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K_ry_35tv0&feature=emb_logo
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January 8, 2021 8:32am
- oldfella
  
  Urban: Spiked! also puts the hypocrisy in perspective.
  https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/01/07/dont-exaggerate-the-threat-of-the-capitol-rioters/
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:19am
JibberJabber

https://twitter.com/markadayofdays/status/1347102132546252800
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January 8, 2021 8:40am
Scott

Was the protest in Washington yesterday particularly violent? The crowd broke through police lines and got into the buildings. One woman was shot and killed, by the police. Three other people died but it sounds like they had medical events? Maybe that was heart attacks?

In 2020 Black Lives Matter and Antifa engaged in countless violent demonstrations including taking over the city centre of Portland, the death of over 20 people, many of those killed by violent mobs and the burning down of buildings. Black Lives Matter tried to burn down police stations and barricade police officers in the stations trying to burn them to death. Now that’s violence! As a reward BLM is lauded throughout the world, even our New Zealand cricket team bow down and honour them at the start of each international cricket match.

But of course when the conservatives and the right do it, it’s obviously different standards apply. Suddenly it’s not a protest, its insurrection. Suddenly it’s not a mainly peaceful protest, it’s a violent act of sedition.

One of the enduring images of 2020 was that of a reporter talking about the mainly peaceful protests while standing in front of the building that was literally on fire. And one must always remember the BBC headline – “27 police officers injured in mainly peaceful protests”.

I can understand the frustration of people who believe that the election was stolen from them. I think the election was stolen from them. Unfortunately the hundreds of affidavits have not been able to be assessed in a courtroom. And it seems that the Democrats have got away with it. They got away with a slow rolling coup right from the day of Trump’s inauguration in 2016. No one has been held accountable for that. And they are getting away with stealing an election. It’s a shame that the United States will have to endure total Democrat governance for the next few years. They can do whatever they want in the Senate and the House and the presidency. What a shame.
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January 8, 2021 8:45am
- SGA
  
  The shows over, Scott. Elvis has left the building.
  
  You’ll have to find some other demagogue to which to hitch your wagon.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:20am
- WaynelSexton
  
  Stop despairing, Trump still has 13 days.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:22am
- doggone7
  
  You thought the election was stolen from them?
  
  Which makes it reasonable to say that Judith Collins had the election stolen from her too I suppose if that’s the way the system works now.
  
  Remember when Filbert Bayi beat John Walker to win a gold medal?
  Was it stolen from Walker? Is that how the world works?
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:35am
  - gravedodger
    
    @ doggone, have a wee read of Prebble’s take on the Rona response inquiry then get back. The Covid election might have ended very different had that report been released back in September, not sat on until it was buried under the Christmas cheer.
    Not a great deal of support for the total cock up that occurred from day 28 when she was ultimately forced to accept the tea towel over her head was not gunna happen!
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:30am
- JibberJabber
  
  I’m sure the Capitol Building is insured, I mean that’s what the Dems were saying to the thousands of small business owners who lost their livelihoods after Democrat rioters destroyed businesses across the Midwest and Pacific Northwest?
  But yeah, it’s completely different and ok when the Left go feral eh?
  Donny made them do it.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:38am
  - peterwn
    
    Capitol Building along with other federal property is ‘self insured’ meaning the Federal Government has to take the hit for any damage suffered by the properties. It it were insured with a normal insurance company, there may be good reason for the company to decline a claim for yesterday’s events, especially as the President allegedly egged on those who caused the damage.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:14am
    - Ehlana
      
      By “self-insured” peterwn, you of course mean “taxpayer insured”. I’m sure their taxpayers are as thrilled about that as ours would be!
      
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      January 8, 2021 5:09pm
- Justitia
  
  I see Biden has called the protestors “domestic terrorists”. Um, so what exactly were the Marxist thugs who burned businesses and murdered passers-by and to whom he so egregiously took the knee? Biden is a disaster and the Far Left Harris who will likely displace him in a few months even worse. Unless the metro elite reflect on the fact that the election of Trump was a symptom, not the cause, of division in the US and make an effort to bind those wounds there will be more trouble ahead.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:39am
  - IC5000
    
    > Biden is a disaster
    
    3,900 Americans died of covid yesterday.
    
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    January 8, 2021 1:23pm
    - hookerphil
      
      USA Death rate: 867.8 deaths per 100,000 population.
      Number of deaths: 2,839,205 per annum.
      7779 per day.
      
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      January 8, 2021 6:24pm
- Wayne Mapp
  
  The obvious difference is yesterday the rioters, encouraged by Trump, tried to intimidate the Congress. It would be like our Parliament being invaded and the Debating Chamber being closed due the threat of the rioters. Which has never happened.
  It is very different to a riot in some Auckland suburb or some random US city.
  I am rather surprised that you can’t see that distinction.
  For the next 2 weeks Trump is in office but not in power. His authority is shot. Officials and Congress will be dealing directly with the VP, not with Trump.
  What will Chris Liddell do? He needs to be seen as actively and urgently assisting the transition to have any respect.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:14am
  - Nukuleka
    
    Out of interest,Wayne, are you pleased to see a Democrat President, Senate and Congress in charge in the USA? Do you think this will bring harmony to the nation?
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:32am
  - Lance
    
    You are wasting your time Wayne.
    The Trump supporters think everything he says and does is perfect.
    They further think violent overthrow of the democratic process is a legitimate action because of lies Trump and his minions spouted forth about a rigged election, which the courts rejected as fact free nonsense but now somehow all the courts are corrupt and the Republican judges are evil lefties.
    Mindless is as mindless does.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:14am
  - thirteenstars
    
    Your analysis–and your memory–is very selective, Wayne.
    
    Last year police precincts were burned, parts of major cities were declared autonomous zones, Federal and local courthouses were attacked, and the White House itself was the target of a violent mob that attacked and brutalised police and Secret Service.
    
    What the hell do you think those things constitute but a direct assault on the government, as well as the functions of law and order and justice? Yet few called it insurrection or sedition. They called it peaceful protest with some violent actors involved.
    
    Again, useful idiocy and advocacy for the Left. But that’s National’s raison d’etre these days and for these many years, so not too surprising. How’s that small caucus holding up?
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:25am
- Fletch
  
  Yep, the protest was mostly peaceful. Only a small group (which will most likely turn out to be Antifa and others on the Left) broke into the Capitol and created mayhem. Most came out to just be there in a show of support but the media labelled them all as “a violent mob”. Trump wanted them all there as a show of the support he has, but a small violent group tainted them all and the media went along with it.
  
  Many people seem to think, well Trump has gone (which is what we wanted) so the GOP will just have to regroup and choose a new candidate for next time and that there will be elections to win the future. The thing is – that is very doubtful. The Democrats have stacked the deck, and will continue to stack it further to make themselves the permanent party in power. A one state nation. To begin with, they have changed election law so that part of the Constitution is now irrelevant. They have usurped the rightful power of the state legislatures. In doing so they have removed all protections around mail-in voting and made it the norm where (even they admitted years ago) fraud is more easy to accomplish.
  
  Now they will likely stack the Supreme Court, ditch the Electoral College, ditch the filibuster, encourage immigration (illegal and otherwise), add DC as a state (and perhaps Puerto Rico). It is looking like the Republican Party may never win another election.
  
  The Democrat Party have always been evil. Lincoln should have banned and broken up the party after the Dems lost the Civil War (which was started by them because they wouldn’t give up slavery). Now the Democrat party has just won another civil war and this time they have done it via massive fraud and right in front of everyone’s eyes.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:18am
  - SGA
    
    It’s over, Fletch.
    
    You have basically been posting versions of the some old thing over and over and over again, for weeks now. But let’s face it, people’s points of view are well established – no one is changing their mind at this stage. You are entitled to your opinion (as deluded as it seems to me) but this looks increasingly like some sort of personal therapy session rather than a political discussion. Get it off your chest once and for all and let it go.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:15am
  - Lance
    
    Soooo…… Antifa go around carrying Confederate flags, right?
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:17am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      That’s how Fletch knew they were Democratic infiltrators. Duh!
      
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      January 8, 2021 12:11pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Soros paid for them, and not the first time. The left use every dirty trick in the book
        
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        January 8, 2021 12:56pm
      - MCos
        
        I’m still waiting for my cheque for the teachers’ march I went on last year.
        
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        January 8, 2021 2:02pm
      - Jack5
        
        Steve, I can’t reconcile accusations that Soros is some sort of evil genius plotter with the fact that Soros formed and backs the Open Society Foundation, which promoted and promotes the ideas of Karl Popper in Eastern Europe.
        
        Popper, the philosopher who was at Canterbury University during World War 2, had ideas about freedom and society that seem pretty laudable to me. The ideas seem to be opposed to Leftist (or Rightist) authoritarianism.
        
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        January 8, 2021 2:08pm
      - RichardX
        
        Jack5
        Steve, I can’t reconcile accusations that Soros is some sort of evil genius plotter with the fact that Soros formed and backs the Open Society Foundation, which promoted and promotes the ideas of Karl Popper in Eastern Europe.
        …
        JANUARY 8, 2021 2:08PM
        
        J5, you are expressing a nuanced view and I have seen no evidence that Steve is able to hold such a view.
        
        It appears that he believes anything his favoured sites tell him without needing verification on any of it.
        
        I note that Fox no longer provides Steve with the confirmation bias he seeks so it is no longer used and he has moved to other news sources.
        
        I found the following article a good counterpoint to accusations about Soros without supporting evidence as typified by Steve earlier.
        
        https://www.jta.org/2020/09/08/united-states/what-you-need-to-know-about-george-soros-the-jewish-philanthropist-still-at-the-center-of-right-wing-conspiracy-theories
        
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        January 8, 2021 3:34pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Yep. And Communists set fire to the Reichstag …
      
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      January 8, 2021 1:11pm
- Jack5
  
  The Trump mob seems just to react to Trump. With him gone it will likely melt away.
  
  Antifa, BLM, and their associated underground anarchist and Marxist groups are international, have a (flaky) ideology, and are continuations of international Leftist agitator groups that have flared up over a couple of centuries. They’ll still be around.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:51am
  - CrazyIvan
    
    Not sure they will melt away. They had grievances dating back to the old Tea Party movement, which could return as a Democratic president takes over.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:47am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Imaginary grievances.
      
      5 16
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      January 8, 2021 12:12pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Nah. their ‘economic anxieties’ have not gone away.
    
    5 11
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    January 8, 2021 12:12pm
- oldfella
  
  Sorry, Scott, Trump supporters are obviously stupid. //
  ++
  WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ignorant Republicans rioted yesterday but didn’t even snag any free big-screen TVs out of the deal, sources at the Capitol Building reported.
  The short-sighted protesters stormed the Capitol without stealing a bunch of stuff, prompting many to question whether they really understand the purpose of a peaceful protest at all.
  “Look at these morons, rioting at the Capitol when there’s a perfectly good Target just down the street,” said one CNN reporter. “If they’d looted a bunch of local businesses in the name of social justice or whatever, we’d be covering this protest a heck of a lot differently, I’ll tell you that.”
  https://babylonbee.com/news/ignorant-republicans-riot-and-dont-even-get-a-free-big-screen-tv-out-of-it
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:28am
- Paulus
  
  Like Labour can do whatever they like here over the next three years, and there is nothing we can do about it.
  Nothing will actually be achieved only the adoration of our Leader.
  
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  January 8, 2021 1:14pm
- IC5000
  
  Looks like a police office has died of injuries sustained at the hands of this Trumpists mob. RIP Defender of the republic.
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:07pm
info@cruzpro.com

“Concrete company ordered to pay former employee $30,000 for unjustified dismissal”.

An senior employee was let go after “his personal circumstances changed” and “his health beginning to suffer and impacting on his work”.

Basically this person was no longer able (and willing) to do the job he was hired to do. Due to his senior level there was no other job at the companies premises closer to home that justified his salary so he was let go after a poor performance review.

I feel bad for the employee but also feel for the company that had to put up with an employee that was no longer able to perform satisfactorily.

If the company had engaged the services of a lawyer they could likely have avoided the penalty by handling the situation in a “justifiable” manner.
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January 8, 2021 8:48am
- JibberJabber
  
  A $30k fine( for want of a better word) is probably the cheapest option.
  A win/win for the company, got rid of a deadbeat probably even tax deductible?
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:30am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Nah, lot better to follow the right steps – instead of generating an excuse, make offers and settle.
    
    3 13
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    January 8, 2021 12:06pm
    - DeepBlue
      
      It’s not hard to follow the correct procedure, it just takes a while and the correct advice.
      
      3 0
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      January 8, 2021 1:17pm
    - 453mm
      
      It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission…
      
      4 0
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      January 8, 2021 2:05pm
  - IC5000
    
    So someone who has been a decent employee for 5 years who suffers from health and psychological problems is a ‘dead beat’?
    
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    January 8, 2021 1:35pm
- Inandout
  
  info, ‘no longer able to perform satisfactorily’. We will have to wait another 3 years to dismiss Jacinda.
  
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  January 8, 2021 4:40pm
Maggie Pie

It’s the same here in Auckland….there’s never a Cop when you need one 😀

https://twitter.com/BrettEverest/status/1346599793313935361
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January 8, 2021 9:04am
SB2

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Now the monumental task for the GOP to begin the process of reconstruction as a credible and responsible centre-right party and purge the Trumpist rump of Qanon and associated conspiracy crazies.

But with continuing attention to PC wokeness and stemming unrestricted immigration at the Southern border.

But a 1900mile border wall is folly and totally unrealistic.
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January 8, 2021 9:13am
- thirteenstars
  
  “…the GOP to begin the process of reconstruction as a credible and responsible centre-right party…”
  
  Gee, I heard that from National surrogates after the hammering they took in 2002. Only to repeat that pitiful showing 18 years later. In that time they transitioned to a fully centre-left party, hot on the tails of Labour.
  
  They never learned.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:51am
  - curry4me
    
    thirteenstars: The GOP is no longer fit for purpose.
    
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    January 8, 2021 6:15pm
- Colville
  
  But a 1900mile border wall is folly and totally unrealistic.
  
  LOL
  
  You might want to mention that to the Chinese so they can take down the other 10,000 miles of their wall because , evidently, its folly!
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:14am
New Zealander

Who is this blog going to make the Big Bad Wolf now that Trump has offered a peaceful transition?

Maybe start looking closer to home at our Foreign Minister, who continually refers to New Zealand as Aotearoa.

Or our Corrections Minister, who was absent for six days and allowed a mere 16 prisoners to riot and burn a prison wing down.

And that’s just while the Prime Minister has been holidaying for the past three weeks.
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January 8, 2021 9:15am
- doggone7
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Saying the Minister of Corrections was absent is patent nonsense. Unless you expect him to physically be present at every prison all the time. Or wanted my taxpayer money to be wasted ferrying him to Waikeria to talk and look at smoke and distract the people doing the real work.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:41am
  - New Zealander
    
    He’s been absent the entire time he has been Minister. He thinks reducing prison numbers is all that matters, without addressing the causes of offending. All good for Corrections to hold kapa haka competitions and have virtue signalling Maori words plastered all over everything, but rising gang numbers, shootings and domestic violence suggest his strategy is the justice version of Kiwibuild – a total failure. He is one of the dumbest people to ever be a Minister in this country.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:00am
    - Nickc2
      
      I have him in a 3way with Twyford and Clark. Unfortunately, the TAB won’t take the bet.
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:17am
    - doggone7
      
      What does ‘being absent’ mean? Not being it the headlines? Not communicating with his officials?
      
      To me it seems the phrase is a pro forma, blind slogan chucked out just because it sounds good.
      
      The same with ‘He is one of the dumbest people to ever be a Minister in this country.’ You have some objective measure to cast over the hundreds of ministers over the time? Or is it your feeling and observation because they’re in the wrong party?
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:42am
    - Jack5
      
      National should have kept former Crown prosecutor Bridges as leader. He was ideal for a law ‘n order campaign.
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:53am
  - JibberJabber
    
    Seriously, that’s your take?
    All people expect is for the halfwit to do the job we the TAXPAYER are paying him to do.
    Tho’ to be fair, this IS the laziest, incompetent and lowest IQ Government this country has ever seen and I doubt we’ve seen the worst of it yet.
    If we’ve learnt anything, there is no bar that a Labour Govt can’t lower.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:27am
- pdm
  
  David Seymour appears to be the only Politician at work in New Zealand at the moment.
  
  No surprise there.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:45am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Hmm – well run organisations insist that staff take at least one sustained period of leave each year, to have a mental break. Which is not to excuse Kelvin, let alone whoever the Minisiter-in-Charge is. But it would be nice to think that Jacinda might be doing some thinking, rather than just reacting.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:30am
  - doggone7
    
    If it appears like that to you I suggest you get out more.
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:43am
  - Jimmy White
    
    Kelvin was last seen Packing Toilet Paper and folding Sheets and towels.
    
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    January 8, 2021 12:23pm
- Nickc2
  
  Yes, the US situation was a timely diversion for our MSM and thus avoid any criticism of our Govt. for their appalling handling of the prison takeover, riot and willful destruction.
  It must be remembered that the PM, Minister of Corrections and minister in Charge during the current Parliamentary Recession were all missing in action during this debacle.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:47am
  - Paulus
    
    Its Holiday time so nobody cares anyway !
    
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    January 8, 2021 4:02pm
- SB2
  
  “..now that Trump has “offered” a peaceful transition?”
  
  ???
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:04am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    It was on CNN, check it out
    
    15 3
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    January 8, 2021 10:57am
- Paulus
  
  Heard that our Radio and TV media are from now no longer allowed to call “a Family” but must be “Whanau”.
  
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  January 8, 2021 1:21pm
  - calendar girl
    
    Well, I’m part of what I would call a traditional New Zealand ‘family’ – father, mother and their direct offspring, and nothing to do with race. Nobody is going to tell me that I cannot call that group my ‘family’. And nobody can require me to use the term ‘whanau’, which is part of a language that (apart from a few Maori words and / or phases) is foreign to me and not available to me as a means of practical communication.
    
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    January 8, 2021 4:52pm
- tf78
  
  Three years more like.
  
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  January 8, 2021 6:40pm
- Chuck Bird
  
  The Dems do not want to make peace. They want to prosecute Trump. They do that and his supporters will respond with AK47s. Let us see Biden ban firearms.
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:26pm
Gravelroad

I just hope that with Trump going/gone the people who have been obsessed with hatred for him for nearly four years will now be able to find peace.
We have had experience of this with a family member here.
Their all consuming feelings about Trump were not to do with domestic or foreign policy.
It was about him being a business focussed upstart rather then a political or academic “leader”.
It was about what he looked like and how he spoke.
It was because he was a “womaniser”.
And they believed every word the left wing msm and late night talk show hosts in the US said about him.
I’m sure Biden will be much more acceptable…….
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January 8, 2021 9:41am
- lifesgood
  
  LOL…womaniser – tick, corrupt – tick, senile – tick. Feel free to add your own but never forget everything is OK when the left do it.
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:55am
  - lifesgood
    
    I’m referring to Biden BTW
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:06am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Yes, a necessary clarification. So easy to confuse the two.
      
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      January 8, 2021 10:31am
- JibberJabber
  
  LoL, there’s more than a few here that should have been charging him rent.
  It won’t go away that easily, as evidenced by the way the Left here in NZ are still terrified by the spectre of Muldoon and even the Milquetoast John Key sends them into paroxysms of dread just thinking about him.?
  
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  January 8, 2021 9:56am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Tell JC that John Key was a Milquetoast or others that politically ran foul of him. He let the reins go on a successful Government that was inclusive of the MP. and Bill English’s vision of a fairer society, but that is not a Milquetoast either.
    
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    January 8, 2021 12:23pm
- Inandout
  
  Gravel, we will now see the final demise of very many ‘news’ outlets who fed on Trump for 4 years. In the days when newspapers were king the bogey man would just shift, but now they are fighting for their very existence. Fox is on shaky ground but the likes of Newsmax may have sensed the winds of change and tapped into the huge right wing market. To see how wokeness has destroyed something just look at the ‘Dr Who’ 13th series, an absolute disaster with worst viewership ever recorded. Then take Hollywood, well they are losing billions.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:11am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    To paraphrase – “they won’t have Donnie to kick around anymore”
    
    9 1
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    January 8, 2021 10:32am
  - MCos
    
    As it happens that’s deceptive because in the early days back in the sixties they started off as ‘Seasons’ of which there were 26 with far more episodes than the latter Series. Making a total of 862 episodes.
    Maybe folks are finding it a bit tiresome.
    Coro has 10,212.
    Shortland St 7,120
    
    Interestingly Fawlty Towers had a total of 12 episodes,
    
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    January 8, 2021 12:19pm
Kevin Herlihy

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
A “peaceful transition?”, after yesterdays riot, facilitated by Trump, you simply cannot trust Trump to keep his word.
Today both Republican and Democrat Senators are investigating the possibility of impeaching Trump, to ensure that he never assumes public office ever again.
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January 8, 2021 9:48am
- Surely Knott
  
  Impeach him, and remove his Facebook and Twitter permanently and you will further fuel the fans of his supporters who feel they don’t have a voice in the media or online , that it is controlled by the elites and that democracy is stolen. The president has declared there will be a peaceful transition on jan 20. To impeach him before that date will be an act of injustice that will fuel further rebellion and entrench conservative concerns.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:00am
- Andrei
  
  And the people who are adept at managing colour revolutions are back in charge.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:02am
- Fletch
  
  Trump did not facilitate a riot. He facilitated a peaceful protest (which is what it mainly was) but a handful of bad actors who will most likely turn out to be Antifa ruined the whole thing, tainting the whole group by association. I bet they are all laughing about it today. And the media went along, painting the whole people as a “mob”. Then you have Twitter who blocked Trump’s video telling people to be peaceful and to go home – preventing it from being liked or shared. Facebook did the same. Now both platforms have banned Trump until the end of his presidency.
  
  I knew the Left were low, but these people really are evil
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:31am
Maggie Pie

Twitter trending……

‘VP Mike Pence has indicated he will attend Beijing Biden’s presidential inauguration later this month’

JUDAS!!
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January 8, 2021 9:49am
- SB2
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  I wonder if Melania has enough gumption to file divorce procceedings against her crazy other half.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:02am
  - Inandout
    
    SB2, Jill Biden will almost certainly have made arrangements for Joe’s ‘sudden health scare’ and his quiet stepping down from office; say May this year?
    As for Trump, why would Melania leave now that her husband can remove the knives from his back?
    
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    January 8, 2021 10:16am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    If she does, you could be in there with a chance SB 😛
    
    24 5
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    January 8, 2021 10:19am
    - MCos
      
      So could you
      
      4 11
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      January 8, 2021 10:26am
      - Maggie Pie
        
        Bet you’d pay to watch 😛
        
        11 5
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        January 8, 2021 11:19am
      - JibberJabber
        
        What’s ur OnlyFans handle Mags?
        My VISA is fizzing at the thought…..?
        
        4 3
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        January 8, 2021 12:23pm
      - MCos
        
        Pay to watch you & Mr Trump?
        
        Sorry, I need to put the money towards a cup of coffee.
        
        1 6
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        January 8, 2021 2:29pm
    - pentwig
      
      No Maggie
      Melania is way too old for SB2
      
      12 5
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      January 8, 2021 10:44am
  - IC5000
    
    > I wonder if Melania has enough gumption to file divorce procceedings against her crazy other half.
    
    Trump is flush with the skim from his fake legal challenge and re-election slush fund so it makes sense for her to do it soon.
    
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    January 8, 2021 1:40pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      And it’s not likely that he’s going to use any of that cash to start paying his huge debts, is it?
      
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      January 8, 2021 2:25pm
      - IC5000
        
        > And it’s not likely that he’s going to use any of that cash to start paying his huge debts, is it?
        
        Incorrect. The Trump campaign will generate backdated invoices for false and inflated services provided by cutout corporations which are ultimately owned by Trump and his insiders to create fictitious debts. This will allow him to move funds directly into his own pocket. Same playbook as the NY mob perfectedback in the 60s and 70s. Rudy is probably point man on the structuring given his experience as a prosecutor.
        
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        January 8, 2021 3:22pm
- bruceavon
  
  Or he’s just acting like a grown up. Most presidents attend inaugurations and offer support for incoming presidents. See Bush Seniors letter to Clinton. They don’t leave in full tantrum mode.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:52am
  - rouppe
    
    I wonder what will be in the letter from Trump to Biden…
    
    I doubt it would be very informative…
    
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    January 8, 2021 4:58pm
- Brian McDonald
  
  Your troll began to show last night MP, and its back today.
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:27pm
- Ehlana
  
  Isn’t it normal for the predecessors to attend their successors inaugurations?
  
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  January 8, 2021 5:25pm
rockape

I. Wonder who will be the first to test the metal of the New Democrat Government. Will it be Iran with their nuclear progression or maybe an attack in Israel? Or will it be in the Far East? Both Hong Kong and Taiwan are targets. Just what will the USA do in either of those areas.
At 74 I am too old to rejoin the military or learn Chinese so I guess the next generation and the one after that will have to pick up the cudgel.
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January 8, 2021 9:57am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Mettle.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:37am
Maggie Pie

My partner was saying his Broker just told him…. Elon Musk (Tesla / SpaceX) is now officially the richest man on the planet.

ONYA ELON!!
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January 8, 2021 10:03am
- Inandout
  
  Maggie, I presume those kiddies are still mining the minerals for the Musk batteries.
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:18am
  - sooty
    
    Why, wouldn’t they?
    Have to eat you know!
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:11am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Well you don’t get to be personally worth $200b paying your staff $17 an hour.
    
    14 4
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    January 8, 2021 11:18am
    - IC5000
      
      Correct, you get 200 billion by selling a fairy tale to suckers. Works for politicians as well.
      
      1 2
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      January 8, 2021 8:12pm
- Odakyu-sen
  
  TSLA stock P/E ratio of around 1,600!
  Worth more (on paper) than most of the other major automakers combined!
  Sells around 0.85% of vehicles but has an 18%-share of the EV market.
  
  Does the “T” in “Telsa” stand for “tulip”?
  
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  January 8, 2021 10:39am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Tesla have been steadily relegated to 4th biggest EV seller in Europe. Big auto companies will soon leave them in the dust with their lower manufacturing costs. The big stock price gamble is on if Tesla’s self-driving works – if it does it will extremely difficult for anyone to catch up and they will own a valuable monopoly for some time.
    
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    January 8, 2021 3:05pm
    - tf78
      
      I think Musk is all about the batteries nothing else really.
      
      1 1
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      January 8, 2021 6:45pm
- Jack5
  
  Musk’s latest wealth surge is on the rise in the market price of shares in Tesla.
  
  He’s just $US1.5 billion ahead of Bezos. Amazon with its huge AWS data centres and its online retailing v. Tesla’s electric cars?
  
  Here’s one prominent US financial and share trading company’s views, in the Daily Mail’s report:
  
  “Tesla’s performance in 2020 was impressive, but not as impressive as the increase in its shares, which we continue to believe are overvalued,” said a note earlier this week from JPMorgan Chase, which has an ‘underweight’ on the equity.
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:03am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    They reckon when Bezos heard the news, he said one word – “Motherfucker!”
    
    LOL
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:42am
    - Jack5
      
      Musk divorced three times to Bezos’s once and still ahead!
      
      Bezos paid out $US38 billion in his divorce, and he’s still second richest person in world.
      
      3 1
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      January 8, 2021 3:13pm
    - curry4me
      
      Maggie Pie: Then he texted his
      COO to ask if the move from California was complete yet.
      
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      January 8, 2021 6:22pm
JFK69

The state of journalism today:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/123896635/sombre-mood-over-waih-beach-as-community-processes-shark-attack

“The beach seemed to mourn with the rest of the community on Friday as raindrops slowly pelted the black sand, the grey sombre sky reflecting the mood felt by all on the beach.”

How the hell does a beach mourn?
How do they know the rest of the community was mourning?
A sky cannot be sombre – it has no mood
How do they know the mood “felt by all on the beach” was sombre?

The world in which we live in is filled with much emotion – much of it opinionated and misguided
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January 8, 2021 10:33am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Written by a kid with a future in our leftist media
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:31am
  - Sacha
    
    We used to call it ‘purple prose’ – much loved by True Romance authors, and encouraged.
    by English teachers who loved essays filled with adjectives.
    
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    January 8, 2021 7:59pm
- Nickc2
  
  By Kirsty Lawrence, a Massey University graduate. Who would have guessed?
  I was once informed that Journalists get paid by the length of the column (number of words). I’m guessing Kirsty is merely padding out the length of the column for financial gain. The words used don’t add to the context of the report. They are just superfluous crap.
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:32am
  - tf78
    
    Probably mostly plagiarized from someone else.
    
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    January 8, 2021 6:47pm
    - Nickc2
      
      Yea, sounds a bit like an extract from a Harry Potter book, doesn’t it?
      
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      January 8, 2021 9:46pm
- Don Beckett
  
  And the sand isn’t black – its the usual white sand. Whichever ‘churnalist’ wrote this is an incompetent fool
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:43am
  - greybeard
    
    Taken from Waihi Beach’s tourism website:
    “At the northern tip of the Coastal Bay of Plenty lies Waihī Beach, a bustling beachside village which is home to cute boutique shops, eateries and 9-kilometres of white sand beach.”
    
    https://www.bayofplentynz.com/places/waihi-beach/
    
    11 3
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    January 8, 2021 12:04pm
    - Jack5
      
      BSM! BSM! BSM!
      
      Black Sand Matters!
      
      Most of those chanting BLM, BLM were white, too.
      
      10 2
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      January 8, 2021 2:43pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Metaphors are hard for some to understand.
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:05pm
  - Kiwi Dave
    
    It’s not a matter of hard-to-understand metaphors but a matter of style – does an emotive paragraph of pathetic fallacy belong in this news report? It stands out as anomalous and superfluous.
    
    It’s also a matter of factual accuracy – black sand misled me; I too bridled at ‘rest of the community’ – how many people did the reporter check?
    
    Rain drops “slowly pelted…” Really?
    
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    January 8, 2021 4:08pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Being over-literary in a news report is not a very serious journalistic crime.
      
      3 3
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      January 8, 2021 4:50pm
- Jimmy White
  
  Waihi Beach does not have Black Sand
  
  13 2
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  January 8, 2021 12:18pm
  - rouppe
    
    Unless it’s the Waihi Beach off Hawera
    
    1 1
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    January 8, 2021 4:53pm
  - tf78
    
    I think we are all driving the really black sand we used to have on our beaches.
    
    1 2
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    January 8, 2021 6:49pm
- surfing
  
  Anthropomorphism
  
  the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to non-human entities
  
  Fairly common writing technique. I like it.
  
  5 6
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  January 8, 2021 12:34pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    ˄˄˄˄ Gets it
    
    2 9
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    January 8, 2021 1:20pm
  - tf78
    
    Good for a novel but not for NEWS.
    
    5 1
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    January 8, 2021 6:49pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Maybe the white sand just ‘feels’ that it is black??
  
  15 2
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  January 8, 2021 2:09pm
Mrs_Right

Someone shared this on Facebook the other day, this guy is bang on.

“Here is why people like Trump and why they are swarming the capital in protest.

For decades American politicians on both sides of the aisle have mysteriously been becoming millionaires living in mansions and living lifestyles that far outstrip their government salaries.

While this was happening America made many odd policy decisions that made no sense. They agreed to pay enough to organisations like the WHO and the UN to subsidise other nations who paid almost nothing in comparison. They used their military almost like it was owned by the whole globe to fight wars they didn’t belong in, interfere in conflicts that had nothing to do with them, and subsidise other countries military expenses by stationing their forces all around the globe as some kind of world defence force while receiving no compensation. And they paid for all of this while racking up the most famous government debt in the world. Why? Well they didn’t do it because it was in the interests of American’s, did they?

At the same time they put up no fight and introduced no laws to prevent China from taking the bulk of their manufacturing jobs off shore leaving millions of American’s unemployed. They said nothing while Alibaba ripped off all of America’s IP and sold their products to the globe for pennies on the dollar. More recently they savagely cut their military budget and began downsizing while China did the opposite.

And recently Joe Biden’s son left his laptop in a repair store and the information on it was leaked, hundreds of emails and texts corroborated by third parties as authentic and also including video footage of Hunter engaging in sex acts while smoking crack. The media told everyone this was Russian disinformation. The deep state runs so deep they even had 20 former intelligence officers sign a letter to say it was so. Then, after the election they all began reporting on it accurately as the FBI had by then started a formal investigation. Think about how deep the rot is when 20 intelligence officers go on the record and lie to protect Biden. But the main thing that was on the laptop was hard evidence that Hunter Biden travels the world selling his fathers influence to the highest bidder, and that explains why America has been bending over for the rest of the world, and why all these politicians live so high above their means.

So Trump was the big middle finger to all of that. They wanted to get rid of him by any means they could. They tried everything and in the end they rigged the election so they could get the stone out of their shoe and get back to selling their influence at the expense of everyday American’s.

The people know it was rigged because it was the most blatant election steal in world history, you probably aren’t aware because the media just regurgitate the mainstream narrative that claims of fraud are baseless. They are not, you just need to stop accepting everything you hear at face value and try to understand that people who don’t have your best interests at heart are pulling the strings. The world is not a fairy tale where all the people in power are amazing humans, they aren’t. Positions of power attract the worst people, and on occasion some of the good ones. It’s just that the ones who lie cheat and steal end up on the top usually.”
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January 8, 2021 10:33am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  The ‘Establishment’ has been protecting ‘itself’ for 5 decades. Trump mis judged the size of the SWAMP
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:28am
  - Mrs_Right
    
    Precisely.
    
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    January 8, 2021 11:32am
  - WaynelSexton
    
    Trump knows the size of the swamp. Yesterday you watched the Republican swamp reveal themselves.
    Just be patient, there’s only 13 days to go.
    
    3 17
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    January 8, 2021 12:37pm
    - Batman
      
      Trump and his lickspittles like you are the swamp. Sad little men and women who would rather usurp democracy than accept their time is up and move on.
      
      Seditionists and authoritarians, all of you.
      
      9 22
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      January 8, 2021 1:01pm
      - IC5000
        
        That comments a bit harsh. I was moderated when I said that Trumpists would love to have their partners pleasured (if that’s the appropriate word) by their god while they watched and I got a rude comment back from the mod.
        
        5 1
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        January 8, 2021 8:18pm
      - ISeeRed
        
        Useful idiot.
        
        0 1
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        January 8, 2021 10:32pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      I watched Antifa reveal themselves. Check the vids for tattoos – usually on the back of the hand or forearm. Media would have removed most, Youtube have
      
      9 8
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      January 8, 2021 2:12pm
      - IC5000
        
        I’ve seen numerous Trump supporters with tattoos. A lot are working class so it’s no surprise.
        
        1 0
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        January 8, 2021 9:41pm
- surfing
  
  You are spreading misinformation.
  
  You have no facts or evidence apart from conspiracy stories you have chosen to take as fact.
  
  If you are correct that the Democrats control election outcomes, the the republicans will never win another election.
  
  Time will prove you wrong.
  
  8 7
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  January 8, 2021 12:38pm
  - Batman
    
    It is disinformation. They know it’s bullshit but don’t care if it can work to their advantage.
    
    4 13
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    January 8, 2021 12:59pm
  - Paulus
    
    Like the next three years will show that no other Party will ever get elected in New Zealand, by the machinations of the skillful Labour Party.
    
    3 2
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    January 8, 2021 1:27pm
- Brian McDonald
  
  The “swarm” that disappeared like mist.
  So version 2 if Biden is smart might be the same without all the crap and telling voters he “loves” them or roundly abusing all comers and employing crooks that he needs to pardon.
  You also slipped up on writing what people “know.” Only God knows what people think and there is a progressive debate going on about the truth of that.
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:39pm
Fletch

Damage control. Biden admits in an interview that BLM would have been treated very different than the protesters yesterday.

The president-elect, in particular, told the audience that when news of the rioting first broke his granddaughter sent him a photo taken last year of “military people … lining the steps of the Lincoln Memorial because of a protest by Black Lives Matter.”

“She said, ‘Pop, this isn’t fair. No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter, protesting yesterday, they would have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the capitol,’” Biden said.

“We all know that’s true and it is unacceptable, totally unacceptable,” the president-elect added. “The American people saw it in plain view and I hope it sensitized them to what we have to do.”

Biden proceeded to argue that his administration would seek to restore the focus of the Justice Department back to its “original spirit,” which was to “enforce the civil rights amendments that grew out of the Civil War … to stand up to racism, to take on domestic terrorism.”

At the same press conference, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also rebuked the alleged response disparity from law enforcement when given a chance to speak.

“We witnessed two systems of justice when we saw one that let extremists storm the United States Capitol and another that released tear gas on peaceful protesters last summer,” Harris said invoking the BLM protests that broke out after George Floyd’s death in police custody.

“We know this is unacceptable,” she added. “We know that we should be better than this.”

https://www.breitbart.com/2020-election/2021/01/07/biden-claims-us-capitol-rioters-treated-differently-black-lives-matter-protesters/

How noble of him. Well it’s a bit late for that now.
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January 8, 2021 10:35am
- rouppe
  
  See? The BLM protests that resulted in riots, looting and arson were “peaceful”.
  
  Unbelievable.
  
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  January 8, 2021 4:44pm
thirteenstars

Now Democrat Senator Gillibrand is saying that if blacks had stormed the US Capitol they’d have been gunned down wholesale by the police.

Racist bullshit.

The reason the Capitol Police were supposedly so unprepared is because like all police forces they would have profiled the threat and based their threat assessments on past behaviour. If it *had* been a BLM/Antifa-infested group they would have prepared differently because BLM/Antifa protests are mostly violent, involve looting, arson and attacks on government buildings.
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January 8, 2021 10:58am
fernglas

“The Ministry of Health expects vaccines to be delivered to these frontline workers in the second quarter of the year.

Vaccinations for the public will begin in the second half of the year.”

So New Zealand will remain physically and economically isolated for 6 months longer than the rest of the world, and will finally vaccinate most of us once flu season is over?
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January 8, 2021 11:11am
- sooty
  
  Only those that want to get dosed!
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:25pm
- thirteenstars
  
  And think on this: what if Operation Warp Speed (hiss, hiss, Trump) had not enabled the development of vaccines in record time? What then of NZ?
  
  While the rest of the world, engaged in the futility of lockdowns, took the hit, toughed it out and developed herd immunity, we’d have twiddled our thumbs, adding tens of billions of dollars of debt that will lower our living standards for many years to come, with no way to exit save bankruptcy, all the while locked behind vast oceans, a population still fully vulnerable to the virus.
  
  As it is the debt is huge, and the ongoing cost to civil liberties frightening, but the outside world–specifically the United States and its evil drug companies–has saved our collective arses.
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:48pm
  - Batman
    
    You mean except for the foreign vaccines which have taken the same amount of time?
    
    Yeah sure.
    
    6 8
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    January 8, 2021 12:57pm
- Master Mariner
  
  And by that time the vaccine will no longer probably be of any use due to Mutation?
  What is the exact plan for vaccination in NZ?
  Seems all smoke and Mirrors to me, Much the same as PPE when it first arrived on our shores.
  
  10 1
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  January 8, 2021 1:12pm
  - rouppe
    
    I don’t expect to actually get vaccinated until 2022. They said: end of first quarter; then second quarter; then end of second quarter; then essential workers and old people first…
    
    You can bet your boots or will be Maori and Pacifika after that. Middle ages white folk? Forgeddaboudit
    
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    January 8, 2021 4:34pm
    - Sacha
      
      Take your 4000units of Vit D every day, and zinc and magnesium supplements. Go to be early so that you get the ‘good’ sleep which enables interferons to grow and protect you .
      You won’t need to get vaccinated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN30emwcNS4
      
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      January 8, 2021 8:12pm
Fletch

Some more thoughts before I head off on an errand.

Trump did not “facilitate” a riot. Or sedition. Or anything. He called for a rally. And he had no reason to believe it would be any different from the dozens of other rallies he held before and during his presidency. A show of solidarity, if you will.

But a group of bad actors used the rally to create a heinous act and break into the Capitol. Early reports already suggest it was likely Antifa. A report in the Washington Times (which has now mysteriously disappeared from the internet) says a facial recognition firm identified members of Antifa.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210107114435/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jan/6/xrvision-firm-claims-antifa-infiltrated-protesters/

As for Trump, I can’t see that he did anything wrong yesterday. He made a video message telling everyone to calm down and go home and it was blocked by Twitter so it couldn’t be shared or liked. Same on Facebook. I wonder why, huh?

If holding a rally makes Trump guilty, that is one thing. But he has held many over his term and no reason to think this would be any different.
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January 8, 2021 11:11am
- Monique Watson
  
  I could say a donkey dick divining rod could point to it being members of Antifa and the tiny handbag smuggling society and it doesn’t make it so. It’s more likely I might have been smoking whatever they were smoking in Mitch’s office during the break in.
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:41am
- bruceavon
  
  Once again zero evidence it’s antifa. All of the people identified so far have solid history as Trump supporters. The woman who died and all those picked out in photos so far. It’s going to be very easy to verify if they are left wing plants because there’s endless footage the FBI etc are going through. My guess is that this claim will be bogus.
  
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  January 8, 2021 11:46am
- surfing
  
  Yet when things got nasty trump did little to dissuade the mob.
  
  When the president asserts the election was stolen and a crowd turn up on the day of the handover, expect violence.
  
  Trump now has blood on his hands.
  
  Even when he told them to go home he called them special and reasserted that the election was stolen and the facts support that. Talk about throwing more fuel on the fire.
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:26pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Twitter blocked him from posting. Other media did not report it -why not? Because they wanted a juicy story
    
    12 9
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    January 8, 2021 1:30pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Also, Antifa would not be following Trump on Twitter
    
    3 7
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    January 8, 2021 1:31pm
- MCos
  
  It’s always someone’s else’s fault.
  
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  January 8, 2021 1:37pm
Monique Watson

They didn’t steal the election and it wasn’t Antifa. It was doctored photos doing the rounds on Facebook. And you’re not even summoning half the rage that my Republican friends are lol. Not even Scott and Fletch. I’ve got a handful when I’m all outta problems in my life, I check and see how they are doing. They’re not doing so well. They gotta pace themselves. There’s a lot more to come outta D.C.
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January 8, 2021 11:11am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  You must be able to buy stick on fake Antifa tattoos now
  
  6 8
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  January 8, 2021 1:28pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Antifa were not there, it’s all in your mind. This was on the Dan Bongino show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEkBMHjrj6I
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January 8, 2021 11:20am
Jack5

Christianity is in decline in West, but on the rise in China and Russia

Young Russian Christians belting out an old Western Protestant song:

https://youtu.be/DhXpK1d8Usg
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January 8, 2021 11:31am
NoFax

I have not seen such pearl clutching and self-righteousness in my entire life. The hypocrisy is painful to bear.
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January 8, 2021 11:53am
Don Beckett

Trump’s concession tweet:

https://the-american-catholic.com/2021/01/07/thought-for-the-day-268/
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January 8, 2021 11:55am
Maggie Pie

I’ll tell you what we do find very concerning, the Western Bay of Plenty district Mayor has decided against closing Waihi Beach 🙁

https://youtu.be/BX3bN5YeiQs
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January 8, 2021 12:27pm
- surfing
  
  Sounds just like “jaws”…
  
  [Perhaps all you posters who think it’s all a bit of a joke might reflect on the fact that someone has died here, and her friends and family are grieving. Mod.]
  
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  January 8, 2021 12:40pm
  - surfing
    
    I think u misunderstand… I think they should close the beach. It is like the movie jaws where the officials did not close the beach… they need to ensure safety of others
    
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    January 8, 2021 4:30pm
  - Tall Man
    
    For those that seem to be unaware of “Jaws” … in the movie the mayor refused to close the beach after an attack which led to further deaths.
    
    I see no humour being displayed in either of these posts but then I may see things differently to others.
    
    [I’m sure the friends & family of the dead woman will be comforted by your references to a fictional novel & film. Mod.]
    
    4 2
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    January 8, 2021 6:25pm
- Paulus
  
  The Mayor doesn’t decide in the Western BOP – the elders at the local Marae do !
  
  7 1
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  January 8, 2021 4:07pm
Spam

You know, once “hate-speech” is criminalised, it’s a much shorter jump for criminalising any “unsafe” opinion, such as “climate change denial”.
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January 8, 2021 12:37pm
- thirteenstars
  
  Yes, it’s exactly the same thing in principle.
  
  The hate speech laws will contain categories. Those categories will be added to over time. No new laws needed, just simple amendments. And the modern way to write such law is to provide a general power and leave it to the bureaucracy to provide the policies that have the force of law. This is known as the administrative state and is now the dominant form. When a state agency tells you you’ve violated some rule, they can’t point to that rule in law, they only point to the power bestowed on them to make such rules. Unfortunately, the citizenry is so poorly informed, that they regard bureaucrats being given the powers of elected members to be just the way things are done. This is the very essence of the admonition against the rule of man, and not of law.
  
  And so the hate speech laws will contain broad powers for the police and special agencies to take complaints (read: dobbing-in), investigate, warn (read: intimidate), and prosecute. When a cop turns up at your door to “warn” you about “inappropriate” speech, they are not there to help, they are there to intimidate, and you are alone. Divide and conquer.
  
  The idea is to send a chill through society, sowing doubt about what it is “permitted” to say, and what it is “forbidden” to say, causing people to err on the side of silence.
  
  NZ has always been ripe for this kind of law, and we’re about to get it good and hard.
  
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  January 8, 2021 1:04pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    South Venezuela here we come, we already have the President
    
    16 3
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    January 8, 2021 2:21pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    That reminds me of some of the moderators on this site – getting those who are pro Trump.
    Next it’ll be those who are anti Jacinda.
    
    9 3
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    January 8, 2021 5:19pm
- oldfella
  
  Spam, the best definition of hate speech is: ‘Speech someone else hates.’
  
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  January 8, 2021 3:34pm
JibberJabber

Welcome to the Future…
https://twitter.com/BigBrotherWatch/status/1347264640552759296

PoliceScotland stormed into a family home yesterday – on suspicion they had guests around…
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January 8, 2021 12:53pm
- rouppe
  
  You know that Jacinda passed a law allowing that here, right?
  
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  January 8, 2021 4:22pm
Maggie Pie

BREAKING…..

President Trump to release video message very soon (CBS)
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January 8, 2021 1:07pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  It won’t be on Twitter, so you can bet the media will fuck with it
  
  9 8
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  January 8, 2021 1:26pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    https://rumble.com/vcj3a3-president-trump-addresses-the-nation-on-capitol-hill-siege.html?
    
    5 5
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    January 8, 2021 1:35pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  Have just watched it. Semi concession speech but Trumpy still did not mention Biden.
  I guess it ain’t over till the fat lady
  
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  January 8, 2021 1:35pm
  - WaynelSexton
    
    Look at his neck from between 1:30 and 1:40. Does that look real to you?
    
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iFADopBnb_U&feature=emb_title
    
    1 12
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    January 8, 2021 2:13pm
    - Batman
      
      Hahaha so now it’s a fake video put out by the deep state?
      
      You losers are friggin hilarious.
      
      8 15
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      January 8, 2021 2:17pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Does it enhance your self esteem to call people on this blog losers?
        
        Isn’t that against the posting rules?
        
        7 3
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        January 8, 2021 6:21pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    Hi did concede Maggie. He said he will be working toward a smooth transition. It was a good speech.
    It’s not the end of Donald J. Trump – far from it.
    He will be making headlines for the next 4 years, and probably after. 🙂
    
    12 10
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    January 8, 2021 2:17pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Looking forward to his gracious congratulations to Biden and Harris. But baby steps first, huh?
      
      7 11
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      January 8, 2021 2:22pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        Nup. Invalid election, illegitimate president.
        
        11 7
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        January 8, 2021 5:32pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Maybe in the next 4 years there will be quite a few getting their arses sued
      
      8 5
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      January 8, 2021 2:25pm
MCos

Here’s an interesting survey. Almost half Republicans supported storming of the Capitol.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/01/07/nearly-half-of-republicans-support-yesterdays-invasion-of-the-us-capitol?fsrc=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-economist-today&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=2021-01-07&utm_content=article-image-3&etear=nl_today_3
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January 8, 2021 1:16pm
- MCos
  
  President Donald J. Trump caves.
  https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1347334804052844550?s=21
  
  5 11
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  January 8, 2021 1:24pm
- curry4me
  
  MCos: They’re wrong. It was a really dumb move. It burned a lot of political capital. I wonder if the perps will ejnoy Club Fed? There won’t be any ‘celebrities’ lining up to post their bail.
  
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  January 8, 2021 6:33pm
Nickc2

Weren’t we to start a 5 flights a week service to Brisbane today?
https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2021/01/mega-lockdown-for-brisbane.html
Might have to delay that until Monday at the earliest.
Oh, F the Herald’s beat me to it!
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January 8, 2021 1:42pm
Maggie Pie

It’s obvious Chynaa is now flat out training Beijing Biden and conditioning him to obey….

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1347343381312253953
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January 8, 2021 2:02pm
- oldfella
  
  Maggie, ‘Don’t trust China. China is asshole!’
  
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  January 8, 2021 3:37pm
niggly

Hooten seems to have an uncanny ability to attract derision!

https://twitter.com/democracymum/status/1347297651406999554
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January 8, 2021 2:13pm
- Batman
  
  It’s democracy mum, she’s a fruity cake, that’s for sure.
  
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  January 8, 2021 2:16pm
- curry4me
  
  niggly: Anyone seeking knowledge of NZ politics should read
  his stuff, and assume the opposite. Just like anyone who wants economic advice should read Krugman, and assume the opposite.
  
  3 2
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  January 8, 2021 6:39pm
Don Beckett

The thoughts from a friend in West Virginia from yesterday:
“I’ve spent most of the afternoon on social media, looking over reports about the protest that turned into a break-in at the US Capitol. Government officials had to be evacuated. One young woman was shot in the neck, and appeared to be in very bad condition.
There is an enormous amount of speculation going on about who is responsible, what should be done, whether or not the infiltrators are leftists disguised as conservatives, etc. None of this is accomplishing much of anything, other than this: the Right in this country continues to fragment and eat itself while the Left unites against it.

We argue, in large part, because we’re powerless and we know it. We want something we can control, but beating each other up, even if it’s only with words, isn’t going to help.
Conservatives should not expect any electoral victories in the near future, unless something very unexpected changes.
This is a historic moment, and not in the good sense. We have lost faith in our institutions, our leaders, our electoral process, and each other. Suspicion, distrust, animosity, and despair are on the rise. Truth is increasingly hidden beneath overwhelming amounts of mis and disinformation — and both sides of the political spectrum are responsible for this.
This is a dangerous time. We’re being torn apart, and the future is bleak. Please pray for each other, and pray for this country.”

Many good Americans are very concerned with the state of political affairs in their country.
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January 8, 2021 2:36pm
- fightingtemeraire
  
  I can see the US splitting into two groups.
  
  The Blue states which are the Democratic Paradises of California and NY and the like. These states where people and companies are leaving in droves owing to high taxes, poor services etc. And the Red States like Texas with low taxes better SoL.
  
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  January 8, 2021 4:31pm
  - Nickc2
    
    Yes, it could be likened to the exodus of free-thinking freedom-loving people of Aotea_what_ever escaping internal tyranny and fleeing to Australia.
    
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    January 8, 2021 9:54pm
- tf78
  
  Don, that is the saddest summation of the world we are leaving our children and their children to cope with.
  God please help us all.
  
  2 3
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  January 8, 2021 7:41pm
cmm

According to the Herald a new model by experts shows Maori and Pasifika have a higher risk of hospitalisation from CV19.

And of course it is down to “Structural inequities and systemic racism in the healthcare system mean that Māori and Pacific communities face a much greater health burden from COVID-19.”

So nothing to do with personal choices in what you stuff in your face then?

And: “Older people and those with pre-existing health conditions are also at greater risk.”

Well putting that after the “Maori and PI are at risk” statement suggests that these are of lower risk than being Maori ofr PI. That is complete and utter bullshit.

Models show NOTHING. Models can suggest, they can predict, but they can’t show ANYTHING. Only data analysis can actually SHOW anything.

After the 80,000-of-us-gonna-die you’re think there would be some skeptisism of models and some care when writing articles on these reports (which we seem to keep funding).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-new-model-shows-maori-pasifika-at-higher-risk-of-hospitalisation/VFFA5KFZ42KGQY2D7RJPKWSNPM/
21 5
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January 8, 2021 2:42pm
- Jack5
  
  Ah, Te Punaha Matatini (in Maori, the complex system?) … mmm.
  
  Shaun Hendy, director, and Siouxsie Wiles, co-deputy director.
  
  Its self-description:
  
  A New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence developing methods and approaches for transforming complex data about the environment, economy, and society into knowledge, tools, and insights for making better decisions.
  
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  January 8, 2021 3:05pm
- hilaryt
  
  Yeah nah…cos what matters is groupthink and toeing the line, not healthy scepticism or learning from our mistakes or adjusting measures according to the data.
  
  4 2
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  January 8, 2021 4:23pm
- Inandout
  
  cmm, strangely there would be 50% of the NZ population with some Maori blood in their heritage, and that doesn’t include ‘unknown parentage’ children. So just show a DNA printout or Genealogy chart and you will be sweet with the jab.
  
  4 2
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  January 8, 2021 5:14pm
- Doc Holliday
  
  Data suggest there is likely a genetic basis, BAME (Black, Asian, minority ethnic) are more likely to die.
  
  Science has identified one gene with a defect that is correlated with greater susceptibility to infection; another with greater chance of dying.
  
  Science means building models. As for your comment about 80,000 dying – those sorts of numbers are worse case based on no intervention of any sort.
  
  This pandemic is far from over.
  
  4 3
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  January 8, 2021 5:24pm
- sooty
  
  But, but they are safe behind their roadblocks!
  
  3 1
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  January 8, 2021 5:50pm
- JackRabbit
  
  Possums are at greater risk of being run over by a car on the open road, than Blue Cod. Perhaps we should model why possums are being discriminated against.
  
  4 1
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  January 8, 2021 6:18pm
- tf78
  
  Co-morb-idity, it wins every time.
  
  4 1
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  January 8, 2021 7:43pm
SB2

Antfa provocatuers invoved in the riots at Capitol Hill?

Highly unlikely as key organisers of the riots and protests left their intensions known on social media. One of these is Jake Angeli self styled Qanon Shaman,

Longtime Arizona QAnon supporter in horned helmet joins storming of U.S. Capitol

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/01/06/arizona-qanon-supporter-jake-angeli-joins-storming-u-s-capitol/6568513002/

Oath Keepers , three presenters etc all present,

‘Hashtags come to life’: How online extremists fueled Wednesday’s Capitol Hill insurrection

Far-right groups are using this week’s violence to peddle falsehoods and push their agenda.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/07/right-wing-extremism-capitol-hill-insurrection-456184
6 22
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January 8, 2021 2:46pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Utter BS SB2.
  There are videos of Antifa member arriving in 4 vans. They were there, infiltrating the crowd, and probably the instigators of all the violent & destructive actions.
  
  19 7
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  January 8, 2021 5:23pm
  - SB2
    
    Don Beckett, just produce the evidence. Meanwhile one of the rioters tells all and a most useful criminal prosecution case,
    
    ?? Knife Bomb ??
    @TheeKnifeBomb
    ·
    2h
    My new favorite American.
    
    She really thinks she did a great, funny thing and all her Facebook friends are gonna love it.
    
    Oops.
    
    https://twitter.com/TheeKnifeBomb/status/1347359547321589761
    
    2 6
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    January 8, 2021 5:35pm
  - Inandout
    
    DB, the crazy left want Trump to be impeached or similar just to keep the MSM feeding on the man’s name. They are shit scared their media is going to run out of Orange Man material and turn the spotlight on them merely to stay afloat.
    
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    January 8, 2021 5:56pm
  - tf78
    
    Don, don’t forget they were actually escorted by the police, like they were two days earlier elsewhere. Special treatment Soros’s people get.
    
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    January 8, 2021 7:45pm
Maggie Pie

Chynaa obviously found the mayhem in Washington DC funny…..they even put it to music

https://twitter.com/thespandrel/status/1347062977988415488
6 4
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January 8, 2021 3:13pm
- SB2
  
  Obviously the mayhem by Trump followers have turned MAGA into the laughing stock and pariah of the world .
  
  3 10
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  January 8, 2021 5:43pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    In your head.
    
    4 2
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    January 8, 2021 10:15pm
JibberJabber

Exclusive pic of Trump handing the Whitehouse over to Biden…
https://twitter.com/_evelynrae/status/1347365890594013184/photo/1

Peace in our time…
2 1
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January 8, 2021 3:20pm
MCos

An interesting article about some of the people who bust into the Capitol from Tennessee
Spoiler: No mention of false flags
https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/01/07/tennesseans-play-role-in-mob-scene-at-u-s-capitol/
2 4
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January 8, 2021 5:06pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Good on them – American Patriots.
  
  1 3
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  January 8, 2021 10:12pm
jonno69

Has no politician got the guts to state the obvious regarding so called poverty among … [all NZ’s. Mod. Lose the race attitude if you want to keep posting.] If you breed like flies and aren’t on a high income how can you expect to be well off. These big families are just a burden on the tax payer and the jail system.
7 4
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January 8, 2021 5:08pm
- tf78
  
  jonno69 – the TRUTH hurts and is never allowed you should know that by now. Candy floss is disguised sugar – (supposedly poisonous but only in large doses).
  
  5 2
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  January 8, 2021 7:55pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300201070/boy-14-charged-with-murder-after-fatal-stabbing-in-paihia-bay-of-islands
So they will release the name of the victim in the next few days.
How about releasing the name of the little shit who [ALLEGEDLY] killed him ?

[Got your lynch mob ready yet gb? Mod.]
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January 8, 2021 6:26pm
- Mike
  
  I’m pretty sure youth offenders have automatic name suppression.
  
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  January 8, 2021 6:41pm
- oob
  
  [Deleted – find another blog for your juvenile outbursts. Mod.]
  
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  January 8, 2021 8:57pm
Inandout

Please don’t fob Mark Levin off as ‘deluded’ and find his discussion on those so called ‘battle ground States’. It was on YouTube where he broke down how the electoral laws were simply flouted or changed by state officials. This is one American Jew who I regard as an expert on Constitutional law and a brave believer in free speech.
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January 8, 2021 6:52pm
greybeard

Because of the number of crashes on River Road, Upper Hutt, Wellington an Upper Hutt councillor, Angela McLeod has called for a reduction in speed limits on this section of SH2.
… [Deleted. No need for personal abuse gb, attack the policy, not the person’s appearance. Mod.]
This would provide a certain amount of credibility when they ask the paying public to accept reductions in service, increases in rates and other apparently necessary sacrifices.
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January 8, 2021 6:52pm
doggone7

At the end of the day I don’t understand why the clear headed contributors here aren’t on a campaign to have our elected PM given the position which was taken from her.

Judith Collins won in a landslide yet fraudulent officials and a compliant media have committed the biggest fraud here ever.

The evidence is there if you look for it and there is as much of it as there is for Donald Trump’s claim.
He said yesterday he won in a landslide. I can’t understand why those here who know that do not seek justice for Ms Collins.
1 2
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January 8, 2021 10:01pm

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