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April 17, 2024 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 17 April 2024

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General Debate

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Steve Otto(North Shore)

Prosecutor says Trial is not a popularity contest.

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/trump-prosecutor-tell-jurors-trial-is-not-a-popularity-contest/ss-BB1lJbkz#image=1
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April 17, 2024 8:03am
- imalwaysright
  
  Because he knows he would lose!
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:06am
- cmm
  
  … and it is definitely nothing to do with politics either…. just the judicial process blindly cranking the handle.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:27am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Apparently one guy excused because he said he had read Trump’s book.
    How can anyone be really unbiased? The whole World has an opinion on this.
    
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    April 17, 2024 8:41am
    - Libertarians are right
      
      Because New York is such a biased place for the trial that the Prosecutor can afford to blow their excuses on anyone who might at some point possibly have had positive thoughts towards Trump.
      
      The Defense on the other hand have to decide whether to excuse the person that donated Bragg’s campaign $100,000, the guy that firebombed Trump’s hotels or the guy that has a restraining order against them from the entire Trump family (this isn’t literal by the way).
      
      It’s very much set up for Trump to lose.
      
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      April 17, 2024 8:48am
    - MCōs
      
      That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but as far as many Americans as concerned, particularly the poorly educated, they are the whole world
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:07am
      - MCōs
        
        I once was part of a Phoenix, AZ telephone meeting at 2am in Bangkok, of steel fabricators
        When I told them what time it was someone over there asked me if we were in a different time zone
        Those people were great with their I-sections and steel grades, but their general knowledge was a bit thin
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:25pm
- rouppe
  
  I don’t understand why someone paying hush money to someone else is a federal matter.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:39am
  - Rich Prick
    
    It isn’t. It is about a diversity hire wanting to beat other diversity hires to be the first to “get Trump”. So, allegedly falsifying records over the alleged payment is the “crime” this clown is chasing. Meanwhile you can steal, assault and kill in NYC and prosecutors barely take an interest.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:13am
  - Matt Long
    
    As I recall, the prosecution is based on Trump’s lawyers allegedly hiding the money in company accounts.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:20am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      The Lawyers should be prosecuted then, especially if Trump did not know.
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:29am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Paying hush money is fine, and legal, unless you are running against the dirty Democrats for POTUS.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:28am
    - leoj
      
      Hush money: Term used when Trump is involved.
      
      Settling out of court: Term used when a Democrat is involved.
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:59am
      - Bevan
        
        Nailed it.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:27am
      - jkt
        
        I thought it was all about using money that was donated for electioneering to pay off Stormy so that she would not make a scene at a time that she could damage Trump’s image with voters.
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:01am
      - Rich Prick
        
        Nope. It is about a State attempting to prosecute an alleged offence under Federal law. That simply just won’t work. If I were Trump, I’d let them knock themselves out, once convicted (they jury will be all Democrats, it’s Manhattan) get elected as President, unleash the full force of Presidential power on the judge, the jury and the prosecution. I wouldn’t want to be a juror on this show trial. Or on any of the others Democrats are pushing with their lawfare. Fighting up only works while the vegetable is in office.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:24pm
  - virtualmark
    
    “I don’t understand why someone paying hush money to someone else is a federal matter.”
    
    Because the hush money was to stop a damaging news story from appearing during a Presidential election. The charges are on two counts. Firstly, that it was a campaign finance offence, which is in itself just a misdemeanour. Secondly, that it was to conceal information that would have had an influence on voters decisions (duh, that’s exactly why Trump wanted it hushed up). The combination of 1 and 2 make it a felony.
    
    If you want to pay hush money to stop your wife finding out something pertinent and damaging about you then that’s between you and your wife.
    
    If you want to pay hush money to stop the public finding out something pertinent and damaging about you then that’s between you and the public, via the public’s representative … the DA.
    
    Note that Michael Cohen has already been found guilty of the direct Federal equivalent of these State charges, and served prison time. This is a serious charge that could carry serious consequences.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:14am
    - gravedodger
      
      Meanwhile in a Democrat world The department of Justice in collusion with their police force the FBI, deny existence of a laptop, suppress evidence by implicating their Media mates and lo and behold another old guy well past his use by Date becomes President.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:34am
      - virtualmark
        
        Meanwhile in a Democrat world Hunter Biden’s trial is due to start in June.
        
        And meanwhile in bizarro world gravedigger has succumbed to conspiracies.
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:16pm
    - kowtow
      
      ‘This is a serious charge that could carry serious consequences.’
      
      And yet in the great scheme of election shenanigans it’s not serious at all .
      
      Politicians of all stripes and through history bribe voters with their own money , literally , in a contest of who can sway the most with the most .
      
      And talking of doing illegal stuff . How many “great” Presidents in the past, even relatively recent past have literally used the war machine and blown the shit out of hundreds of thousands of other people in other countries , especially and literally to convince their voters that he’s the right guy for the job.
      
      Trump has, to his credit never done that . There aren’t many American Presidents in modern history who haven’t and yet who’s on trial .
      
      Smart voters will recognise this for what it is .
      A political show trial.
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:05am
      - virtualmark
        
        The Stormy Daniels allegations were going to hit the news about a week after the Access Hollywood video broke.
        
        At that point Trump was already on the ropes from “grab them by the pussy”. Having a quick follow-up story break that Trump had slept with a pornstar just a few months after Melania gave birth to Barron could quite likely have moved enough votes to make the difference (given how close the 2016 election really proved to be). So suppressing the story was very relevant to Trump.
        
        As for the “political show trial” … these charges were laid by a grand jury, Trump will be judged by a jury, based on evidence from inner members of Trump’s circle, in the state of New York not Federal court. You know at some point a crook might just be a crook.
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:21pm
    - Stellaboxer
      
      Virtualmark So What is using the federal agencies and influence in the media and social media companies to bury a factual story such as the Hunter Biden lap top scandal ? Does that not come under the definition of “hush”? Or is it different because the Democrats were saving democracy where as Trump’s motives were to subvert it.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:10pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Butt hunter. Butt-her-e-males. If you think there’s some real evidence there then bring it to court. But everything I’ve seen so far says there’s no there there. That’s also the view of the DoJ, via their special prosecutor.
        
        What is there is just smoke, mirrors, and a bunch of people who will readily believe conspiracies and lies.
        
        If you are interested in the Hunter Biden laptop story then I recommend you watch Lev Parnas’ testimony to Congress. You can view it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7rOGenueYw. Lev was Rudy Guiliani’s bagman in Ukraine, so Lev knows.
        
        Oh, and Hunter is due to be in Federal court in June. So if Biden’s directing the DoJ (and there is no evidence he is) then he’s doing a poor job of it.
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:23pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  On top of this Trump gets gag orders. That is a breach of the 1st Amendment.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:26am
  - Rich Prick
    
    The diversity hire (D) and lover boy (D) in Georgia may well end up doing time themselves over their fun and games with State and Federal money. It’s beginning to look as though Trump is the only innocent person in the “judicial” process.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:44am
  - virtualmark
    
    Steve,
    
    Get yourself charged with a crime, and then start publicly bad-mouthing the judge, their family, witnesses and eventually the jury. Then see what happens to you. FAFO.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:16am
    - Stellaboxer
      
      Virtualmark so you recognise that the US judiciary are acting on how Trump behaves rather than his being guilty or not.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:25pm
    - Omni Consumer Products
      
      VM, are you talking about the Judges daughter who worked for Kamala Harris and Adam Schiff, who has business and financial interests in the outcome of the case?
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:46pm
    - virtualmark
      
      The judiciary are treating Trump like they would any other criminal defendant. Nay, *more gently* than they would any other criminal defendant.
      
      Let me repeat … if you were to be charged with a criminal offence, and then publicly and loudly bad-mouth the judge, their family, witnesses and the jury … then at minimum I would expect to see your bail withdrawn and you would be held in jail for the duration of the trial. Really. Go ahead and try it.
      
      Riddle me this … what do you think would happen if a poor black man did the same thing that Trump is doing? Would they still be free to go home to their penthouse apartment, play golf, travel etc? Nope.
      
      Trump is right that there are two standards of justice … but he is the beneficiary of that, not the victim. But then Trump never misses an opportunity to whine about how mean everyone is to him. For a strongman authoritarian wannabe he really is a whiner. And he wears more makeup than a drag queen. That you guys think he’s an Uber-male is just weird.
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:03pm
      - Stellaboxer
        
        Irtualmark “ poor black man” yawn. Oh and by the way you have no idea what I think of Trump only what I think of your arguments.
        
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        April 17, 2024 2:00pm
- Vory v zakone
  
  Keep your powder dry Steve. We are watching an epic scripted movie where Donald Trump is using himself as bait in the biggest sting operation in political history. 😉
  
  #thebestisyettocome
  
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  April 17, 2024 2:13pm
G152

more like a political shut down the opposition. Got to be the most blatant display of lawfare
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April 17, 2024 8:09am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Blatant is what the Dems do. The swamp is corrupt.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:33am
  - jkt
    
    A man went to prison for trying to help protect Trump’s good name at his direction.
    
    Cohen could have protected himself by sharing what he knew but decided that loyalty would serve him best. He did not expect to end up serving time.
    
    Seeking revenge is a human failure but pretty rational behaviour.
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:08am
Paulus

Thought for the day !
I wonder how New Zealand would have faired if Winston Peters and Shane Jones had behaved as they are doing today and not give the Country Ardern ?
Sad really !
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April 17, 2024 8:11am
- kowtow
  
  Yer Jonsey doing what Jonsey does blowing hard .
  
  Where was he and his organ grinder during the Captain’s Call to destroy our oil and gas exploration sector.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:24am
  - Grunter
    
    Exactly!
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:42am
  - pdm
    
    I am no fan of Peters or Jones but, I think they may have been blindsided.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:47am
    - Colville
      
      Jones was blindly wallowing in the $3bil slush fund (PGF) he was bribed with.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:53am
    - kowtow
      
      Blind sided or not , there was not a squeak or more correctly for those pork barrellers , squeal , and yet now as I said Jonesy blowing for all he’s worth.
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:09am
    - Nigel Kearney
      
      They have been very consistent throughout. They have always said whatever would get them votes, and they have always done whatever benefits them the most personally.
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:45am
- Damocles11
  
  Sir Bill English would have been truly magnificent in the role. 2017 was a terrible tragedy in New Zealand’s history. It was a turning point in many way. We went down a dark path that lead into the woke abyss, the media was bought off by the unscrupulous Left, Robertson destroyed the country’s finances, racial division was foisted upon us all, and the country has been left scarred and divided and in pain.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:41am
  - PurplePen
    
    Agree. I had the impression that English had a bunch of well thought-out policies, but Key wouldn’t let him implement them. NZ would have been in a far better place had Winston selected him instead of St J.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:58am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    And the left blame everything on Covid. Would have been interesting if National/Act/NZF had been in power during covid. I believe the country now would be in a far better place with far less division.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:03am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      If NZF had gone with Nats, ACT were not going to be part of it, I clearly remember Seymour smarting about being in opposition
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:20am
  - david
    
    And yet, if indeed we had not been inflicted with Adern and her merry band of wastrel incompetents, we would have no idea of just how big a bullet we would have dodged. A comfortable population and a growing economy would have been an open invitation for a major swing to the left, opening up of the welfare stream, ,more waste, tax, borrowing, splashing cash, centralisation, promotion of racial agendas leading to widespread social division ….. oh wait.”……………….
    We just effectively cut 6 years out of the political cycle and went straight to the bullseye.
    Sigh
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:07pm
    - ISeeRed
      
      That’s an interesting point. But eventually, inevitably, when the country seems prosperous enough again, the electorate will lurch to the left again. This is why I think democracy, at least the welfare state universal suffrage model, is overrated and ultimately doomed.
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:02pm
      - Debsta
        
        I agree. Democracy is fucked in the modern perception-managed world.
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:47pm
    - Damocles11
      
      The flaw in that line of thinking is COVID. Ardern being in power when COVID hit meant she could grandstand as the great crisis manager. Heading for 2020 Labour had a record of non-delivery: KiwiBuild had been an epic failure and nothing else had come to fruition, there was a focus on their wasteful spending on working groups. COVID saved her bacon, and handed her (and the Maori caucus) the whole pig. The 2020 election was basically a referendum on her handling of COVID, and out of it Labour got an absolute majority enabling them to roll out co-governance.
      
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      April 17, 2024 4:18pm
- Bevan
  
  That is why Winston should never be trusted, you never know what direction he will go or the level of gaslighting he will stoop for his excuses.
  
  Don’t get me wrong, happy he went with National this time – but got to remember that he started the 6 year cluster f*&k by selecting Saint Cindy in ’17.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:31am
  - Ghost
    
    Sure you do. Winston blamed English for his removal from national. Winston also blammed Paula for leaking his pension. There was no way in 2017 he would form a government either of those two.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:34am
    - gravedodger
      
      Very strong statesmanship right there, aye.
      
      Working for all New Zealand not so much
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:37am
      - jkt
        
        The man matured….. Like an old wine?
        A good wine matures but a bad wine stays awful.
        
        He seems to be Jonny on the spot at the moment and maybe he was Jonny on the spot during Jacinda’s first term. Who can tell where we would have ended up if he was not there at that time.
        
        I think an English government may well have responded in a similar way to Jacinda’s lot … but the media would have kept their feet to the fire!!
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:27am
bjools

I see why the AM show is being shut down.
Yet another hit job from the male presenter (not interested in his name).
“There are 7 social media staff in Luxon’s office. Some are paid for by the tax payer.”
So….some are aid for by Luxon himself?
How many?
Weren’t there over 500 comms staff in the Labour govt. (since gone)?
200 in the PM’s office alone?
ALL paid for by the tax payer?
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April 17, 2024 8:23am
- Flossie
  
  That guy is really awful in so many ways, including being so anti Luxon. I did watch AM when Ryan was on but quickly figured the new presenter was a good reason to no longer bother. As the other channel’s offering is equally dreadful I haven’t watched any NZ morning TV since.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:32am
- Loddenthinks
  
  The Princess had 26 social media staff. Luxon shares 7 across 49 MPs and they also do marketing and events.
  
  Discuss: the MSM never once queried Jacinda Ardern’s massive increase in social media staff, let alone the bloating of the Public Service, yet they triumphantly blare their “gotcha” moments of Luxon without a trace of irony.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:37am
  - Damocles11
    
    The media is deeply sick and corrupt, but the meek and mild people of the right will just let them carry on until eventually Boucher and Stuffed get a taxpayer bailout in return for her $1 purchase. Odds on this will happen. The MSM will kick up the mother of all hue & cries and Lee and Luxon will meekly submit. How many people of the right have contacted their MP’s or government ministers and demanded that there be no taxpayer bailout money for failed MSM entities? I bet virtually nobody. The left are energised and vocal, the right are meek and submissive.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:46am
    - KiwiSapper
      
      You lost your bet as I have , to Lee as have many others.
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:55am
      - pdm
        
        Me too.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:51am
    - Flossie
      
      Well I have!!
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:04am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Media s as me the government have already said cash bailouts are not the answer, backed up by the face for radio last week before he said get stuffed
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:28am
    - jkt
      
      Stuff will create news content for TV3 after Newshub closes down and Warner Brothers will produce the news programme. The brand Newshub may well survive.
      
      Government may well reduce licensing fees for all broadcasters that provide local news content. That way WB will get an indirect handout, but it will be even handed and not come with strings attached, other than creating news content for the local market.
      
      I am not sure I will become a fan as long as Stuff retain their current editorial (ideological) direction.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:32pm
      - Paulus
        
        In recent years I have not gone near Stuff and will not do so in any way.
        Understand Tova will get lead top 6pm with Andrea Vance along side to follow later.
        Where is the money coming from ?
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:32pm
  - KiwiSapper
    
    Nothing to discuss…….the current media are corrupt.
    They can gnash teeth, tear hair and beat their bosoms as much as they care to but their six years of hypocrisy have created the problems they now face and I am most satisfied with what I see.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:53am
  - SoloView
    
    @ Loddenthinks
    I’ve searched all the wrong places.
    Can you direct me to the info re “The Princess had 26 social media staff”?
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:55am
  - Ghost
    
    Do they need 7 social media staff? Cannot see why the mp or their staff can’t do their own posts.
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:03am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      You think that MPs should, literally, write their own press releases and manage all media inquiries?
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:06pm
      - Ghost
        
        Actually I think my can and many do manage their own social media. They also have staff in their office who can do it, the same staff who also do their press releases.
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:16pm
- SoloView
  
  @ bjools
  “Weren’t there over 500 comms staff in the Labour govt. (since gone)?
  200 in the PM’s office alone?”
  
  Could you help with a link to something that verifies this comment?
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:53am
- Benedict Yu
  
  IIRC the AM show is not one of the shows being shut down.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:04pm
  - Omni Consumer Products
    
    well that’s a damn shame…
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:50pm
  - Piticus
    
    I’m pretty sure it is !
    
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    April 17, 2024 3:46pm
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Well you would be mistaken.
      
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      April 17, 2024 7:05pm
  - Ghost
    
    Has that changed since they first made the announcement?
    
    The decision would mean the end of Newshub at 6pm, the AM Show, late news, Paddy Gower has Issues and the proposed new 7pm current affairs show hosted by Ryan Bridge.
    
    https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/02/28/newshub-to-close-down-newsroom-in-june/
    
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    April 17, 2024 7:18pm
Maggie Pie

Can’t see Chris wanting to get involved in this little schmozzle 🙁

Why would he anyway?

https://www.1News.co.nz/2024/04/17/luxon-wont-bring-up-jailed-kiwi-brothers-with-thai-pm/
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April 17, 2024 8:26am
- cmm
  
  Because the dude looks like a bogan.
  If it was a wimminz, preferably of colour, he’s be playing the bleeding heart cards.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:29am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Lots of tweets asking how Cindy would have handled it?
    
    Funniest response so far…
    “dressed up as a ladyboy and gave the Thai PM a big hug”
    
    LOL!!
    
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    April 17, 2024 8:36am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  They broke the law, they acted like thugs in a foreign country, what is he supposed to say?
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:38am
- Grumpy Silver Top
  
  What were they thinking? Oh, sorry, not up here for thinking. Stupid, stupid. You attack a public official you take the consequences. Thai police are never aggressive.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:49am
  - kowtow
    
    ‘Thai police are never aggressive.’
    
    No , just acquisitive.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:26am
- Tomtoddy
  
  Word around the Hamilton traps is that the truth is quite a lot different to the news stories. That is pretty typical in Thailand. the facts wont matter much as the Thais are having a bit a crack down on tourist behaviour – some beach activity has got rather tawdry.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:03am
  - MCōs
    
    What is the word around the Hamilton traps?
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:10am
    - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
      
      MCos – The word is Labour is gaining momentum big time.
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:15am
      - Stephen Russell
        
        They have almost reached terminal velocity. Impact crater will be quite large.
        
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        April 17, 2024 9:47am
      - I remember when
        
        SCS:
        Like an Italian tank in WW2?
        
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        April 17, 2024 9:47am
      - Bevan
        
        People down ticking without realising SCS’s wit. Stephen seems to get it.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:34am
      - kowtow
        
        I remember when
        
        Whatever about their land forces elements of their navy were among the most innovative and they can be counted among the bravest of warriors .
        
        The Italian frogmen who attacked the RN in Alexandria harbour in Dec 1941 being a case in point.
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:50pm
      - Jack5
        
        Kowtow on Italian frogmen …
        
        Not to forget that it was an Italian minefield that sank HMS Neptune in 1941, killing 150 New Zealand sailors among total losses of more than 700. It was the biggest disaster of the Royal NZ Navy.
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:48pm
Matt Long

Why do artists feel compelled to dip their fingers into ratepayer’s and taxpayer’s pockets with such a heavy sense of entitlement?
Why don’t they concentrate on becoming good enough artists or marketers to actually make a living or get wealthy?
https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-southland-times/20240416/281479281456097
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April 17, 2024 8:30am
- cmm
  
  Exactly the same reason as why billionaires do it…
  
  If it is there and earmarked for your use then you’d be stupid not to.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:46am
  - Grumpy Silver Top
    
    Cynic.
    
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    April 17, 2024 8:50am
    - Keith White
      
      A cynic is an optimist who grew up.
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:53am
      - Aquarius
        
        Or a sceptic who gave up hope…..
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:29pm
      - jkt
        
        Opportunist?
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:36pm
    - jkt
      
      Realist.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:36pm
  - Matt Long
    
    Or Maori, it’s natural they should take what the white saviour class should offer. And it’s natural that the white saviour class should give as much as they can to assuage their white guilt, because they give other people’s money, and it proves how noble they are.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:00am
    - gravedodger
      
      What’s yours is mine and what’s Mine’s me own,aye.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:42am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  The Council could fix the roads, pipes, and drains and the bludger Benson could get a job. Being an artist is not an eight hours a day job.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:53am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Laziness is a 24hr a day job. They don’t have time to work.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:09am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Just like being retired? I don’t know how I found time to go to work.
      
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      April 17, 2024 9:39am
  - Damocles11
    
    Ratepayers just bend over and take it. Law-abiding righties are conditioned to just cop it sweet, never an organised protest against Council overreach and the eye-watering rate rises. Just a bunch of frogs sitting blinking on a pot as the water gets hotter. Never, in the course of human history, have so many been held in such meek submission by so few.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:49am
  - Local Miller
    
    I take it you aren’t an artist or don’t know any artists.
    My wife’s an artist, and if she’s working, she can go from 8 ’til late without a break, even for meals.
    It’s a lot harder to make a living as an artist than most people realise, even for excellent artists. And that’s part of the problem. A lot of artists think they should be able to live of their work, but their work isn’t in demand (even if it’s good work) and there’s not the sort of disposable income in NZ for people to buy a lot of art. I support my wife’s art so she’s not dependent on sales, but we are a special case as we can live on my single income. A lot of artists can’t live off their (combined) income and a lot of artists believe their art “deserves” to be supported because it “adds so much value to society”. It’s a load of cr@p. If you can’t live off your art without handouts then get another job.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:24am
    - Jack5
      
      From the cultural group’s protest to the Invercargill City Council, these words spoken by artist Lisa Benson:
      
      “Creativity is the backbone of what it is to help us engage and be.”
      
      Mmm …
      
      In the report of the meeting, the Southland Museum is referred to as Te Unua Museum of Southland.
      
      On the web site it’s called Southland Museum & Art Gallery, followed by “Niho o te Taniwha”.
      
      I hope they keep the museum’s statue of Minerva, the Romans’ version of Athena. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and also the goddess of trade, the arts, and strategy in war. Her domains also included medicine, poetry, and handicrafts.
      
      A nod to Western culture is welcome.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:51am
    - imalwaysright
      
      L. M
      How do you define an “excellent” artist?
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:56am
      - Local Miller
        
        Subjective I know, but if the art is widely appreciated by those who see it you find out very quickly if it’s excellent. “Valuable” and “expensive” don’t equate to excellent since people often pay crazy amounts for art that is to most people just activist garbage. Something that became very common though the modern and post modern art periods.
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:27am
      - imalwaysright
        
        L.M
        
        Good answer, but would “popular” be more accurate?
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:58am
      - Paulus
        
        How much money some idiot will pay for it !
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:36pm
- Omni Consumer Products
  
  A different question might be, why do artists feel they should have a standard of living comparable to the productive, when historically, their product is worth significantly less while their productive window is still open?
  
  In other words, Art has only ever rarely paid the rent, let alone the mortgage… conduct your affairs accordingly.
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:57am
cas

An interesting comment by Mark Jennings at the bottom of a story about Stuff and Newshub on newsroom.co.nz this morning.

“It is understood the higher ranks at WBD feel Newshub has been too left-leaning in its approach to news and want to see it “straightened up.”

Perhaps it might end up being worth watching after all.
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April 17, 2024 8:31am
- Matt Long
  
  Newshub too left leaning, so they decide to work with Stuff?
  Sounds like Jennings interviewing his keyboard again.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:17am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    He was quite negative on the whole thing with Hosking this morning
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:36am
    - jkt
      
      Sour grapes.
      Stuff right leaning – 🤩 only WBD can come up with that. I guess left is right of far left .. I thought the category on the far left is Woke.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:42pm
  - thirteenstars
    
    Here’s the article:
    
    https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/04/17/stuff-takes-a-big-risk-on-newshub/
    
    As I read it the “too left leaning” thing was why WB killed Newshub. When your boss thinks the reason you’re losing $30m a year is because of your ideological bent, you have no future. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it think so they’d have had to fire the whole management and reporting staff and start again. Too much trouble. Kill it.
    
    The Stuff deal is a different kettle of fish. WB gets to keep the ad revenue and pays Stuff a fee to provide the news show. Even the production equipment would need to be hired back by Stuff. WB has completely distanced itself from the problem effectively turning the news into just another product it buys for broadcast.
    
    Since Stuff is obligated to provide that product for a fixed price, WB’s risk is very low, and you can bet there will be exit clauses in the contract should viewership and ad revenue not meet targets. If that revenue doesn’t pay for Stuff’s product, it’ll be axed.
    
    WB had already killed off the news show. It had no reason to expose itself under a different guise. Fact is, the TV3 operation in the US would rank as a local TV station in a large urban market. I’m surprised the losses were tolerated for so long.
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:48am
    - Tom Hunter
      
      Fact is, the TV3 operation in the US would rank as a local TV station in a large urban market.
      
      When I got back from the US at the turn of the Millennium one of the first things I noticed about OneNews and ThreeNews was that they didn’t match the 6pm news shows of the big three broadcasters, or NPR or even cable outfits like Fox News and CNN, which then focused on having a single “anchor” (usually male) cutting back and forth to reporters: (which, funnily enough did remind me of the days of Dougal Stevenson and Phillip Sherry).
      
      But 1 and 3 News did resemble all the local TV networks in the US:
      – Two presenters, always male and female
      – A chirpy sports reporter
      – An even more chirpy weather person.
      
      I just laughed when I saw it. Obviously their marketing/management connections had advised that the more sober ABCCBSNBCNPR model be rejected and that this news show design would be best suited for little NZ.
      
      It worked for a couple of decades.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:11pm
      - thirteenstars
        
        Indeed.
        
        That said, the great thing about the US market is the dominance of local TV, something NZ has never really had, only now being corrected through online sources.
        
        It certainly enhances localism which is a salient feature of US culture and politics.
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:55pm
      - ISeeRed
        
        You could have an AI-driven CG-rendered human avatar reading the news now. Think of the savings in getting rid of four talking heads alone.
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:10pm
- Damocles11
  
  Karl Marx would have considered ‘Stuffed’ too far to the Left to be a regular reader of its content.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:51am
- Bobba Fret
  
  LOL…so they they team up with Stuff which is more left leaning than Newshub even.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:09am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  How do you think stuff will straighten up leftardness?
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:34am
- Paulus
  
  Does not Jennings consider, in his well paid retirement, that he might have had some responsibility for the media fiasco ?
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:38pm
Close Hen Counters

Jenna lynch comes across as a very vile and bitter woman on Newshub – she is lucky enough to be part of the media contingent travelling with Mr Luxon through Asia and last night, the only snippy comments she could make about his trip was how much his ?6 social media staff are funded by the taxpayer – I’d rather fund them than you Jenna … grow the fuck up and good luck getting a new job come June
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April 17, 2024 8:37am
- kowtow
  
  Did she ever question the huge growth of “comms” staff across the public service under the Ardernista regime.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:30am
- Damocles11
  
  It’s a contest between Lynch and Amelia Wade as to who comes across as the most embittered. Both look like they spend their spare time sucking lemons. The winner is Wade for my money, cannot even imagine her smiling, I think her face would crack.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:53am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Remember when they did a story on opening of a new road, and all they could go on about was the cost of the Hi-Vis jackets (approx $330?) that they purchased for Luxon and his MP’s without the old Maori branding on them.
  Labour spent $51 million!!!! on consultants just to say a bike bridge over the harbour bridge was a no go. No worries about that spend!
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:16am
  - Damocles11
    
    That was the story that summed up the atrocious bias in the media to a tee. An enormous Amelia Wade beat-up over $300 bucks worth of hi-vis jackets. The PM even questioned at his press conference over such appalling waste.
    (‘Chippy’ blew $500 million on the polytech mega-merger which delivered no tangible benefits.)
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:39am
- RoboRob
  
  I saw her this morning. I know that ‘journalists’ often get ‘free’ travel with the PM on overseas trips. Who funds all their other expenses; transport, accomodation, food etc? Do we pay that too?
  
  I was just thinking what an awesome ‘job’ she has. Flown around nice parts of the world with the ‘work’ being a 30 second interview from Thailand where she discussees something that happened in Singapore and reported in the wider media from the day before.
  
  Like the travelling weather people (morning tv), I often wonder how much these ‘cash strapped’ organisations could save by having the weather man not fly around the country and Lynch report from NewsHubb fancy news room instead of Thailand.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:24am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    I believe the News organisations pay the Govt for the travel of their reporters.
    
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    April 17, 2024 6:48pm
- Paulus
  
  Lynch has to skive along packing her Duty frees as much as possible, before July when she is on the dole I expect.
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:39pm
nathie

Last week Warner Bros/Discovery called a meeting to tell the Newshub staff that there wasn’t a deal to save them and that they would all be losing their jobs.

But this week (yesterday) Warner Bros/Discovery called a meeting to tell the same staff – ahem – that Stuff will now be producing a scaled-back 6pm news bulletin, meaning some jobs may be saved.

Isn’t this rather callous or devious of WBD in the way thy treat their own staff? They knew all along that they were still in negotiations with the likes of Stuff and that the plan was to still have a 6pm news bulletin.

With staff morale probably at rock bottom at Newshub last week, the staff now face the fact that a handful of jobs will be saved, causing further anxiety!

The point I’m trying to make is, with trust in the media at an all time low, WBD are making things worse – how could anyone trust them?

Anyway if Newshub were “centre-left” (think “Labour”), Stuff (and the likes of TVNZ) are “far-left” (think a hybrid between the Greens and the Maori Party, pushing green/maori sovereignty agendas).

So no thanks to the new Stuffed TV news show in July, I won’t be watching, and certainly won’t be watching far-left woke TVNZ. So that’s the end of broadcast news for me …. and suspect many others, meaning a further drop in viewership and therefore advertising.

Go Stuff-like woke, go completely fk’d-like broke!

And that could be the end of TV3 as Stuffed news fails to cement viewers (and advertisers) to remain watching … expect WBD to sell up!
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April 17, 2024 8:39am
- Damocles11
  
  In order for these vile Leftist MSM outfits to go broke, advertisers need to quit them. Unfortunately there are too many woke / amoral corporates and real estate companies perfectly happy to keep filling their coffers.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:55am
- Skippytony
  
  It wasnt that long ago that the idea of a print/newspaper company providing news on television was an anathema.
  Coincidence, surely, that one of the most left leaning media companies gets the gig……
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:09am
- RoboRob
  
  I will watch at least one episode of it, which will be the first 6pm news I have watched in years. I want to see just how biased and pathetic the Tova presented news is.
  
  However I will give Stuff some credit here. They have secured revenue from WBD to produce a show that will cost them little more then film crew costs to present. They already have the news and they already have the presenter (assumingly on a salary). This might be a good temporary life line for them. Well played and very capitalist of you Stuff.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:28am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Yeah, nah. There are limits to what WBD could have said prior to the deal closing. Apart from anything else, raising false hope among staff would have been cruel. Employers do have a duty of care to their staff.
  
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  April 17, 2024 6:53pm
Cassandra

Every few days I read some person’s pontification that “ the proof is always in the pudding”. It is not. A little learning is a dangerous thing. The proof of the pudding is in the eating ie it is results which count. You can have the flashest looking pudding in the world but if tastes awful it’s not a good pudding.
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April 17, 2024 8:43am
Matt Long

Isn’t rail just wonderful, can’t wait until it replaces all road freight.
Just got to tweak the regulations to nudge people into environmentally responsible transport. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kiwirail-investigating-lubrication-strategy-amid-loud-noises-keeping-remuera-residents-awake/CUHYILFT5RBALB4T5Y267QQ2JA/
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April 17, 2024 8:47am
- Matt Long
  
  The thing I especially like about rail is how resilient it is during earthquakes and floods.
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/514179/all-trains-over-rangitata-rail-bridge-suspended-after-damage-from-flood-waters
  
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  April 17, 2024 8:52am
  - kowtow
    
    Flood ?
    
    The river was not really in flood either , a bit up ,but not flood.
    More lame excuses.
    
    You’d wonder at who’s keeping an eye on their ( our) vital infrastructure .
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:33am
  - MCōs
    
    There’s been problems along that section of the trunk line when a section was washed out in Dec 2019
    Two weeks later it was open again and the bridge is likely to open again by the end of the month.
    Meanwhile just up the road at Ashburton the 90yo road bridge is on borrowed time and needs to be replaced.
    They all think National is marvelous down there. Let’s see if the love is reciprocated, but I see the expressway to Chch is off the radar
    https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/14/two-weeks-until-damaged-rangitata-rail-bridge-will-be-operational/
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:02am
    - RoboRob
      
      Who knows if National will hava the cash to fix that critical infrastructure. As usual Labour left them with a pile of Bills and this time threw in inflation.
      
      However National will at least give it serious consideration as opposed to labour / Greens who flatly refused to consider it as their focus was on ‘rail only’.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:32am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Not sure what you are suggesting here, but the Rangitata river is not the Ashburton river where Nats stated that as part of their roads of significance they will replace the ashburton bridge
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:41am
      - MCōs
        
        A previous National administration had earmarked the road to Chch upgrade as significant too
        The hapless Todd Muller went to Ashburton and repeated the promise prior to the 2020 Election. Unfortunately he also boosted the even more hapless Andrew Falloon
        https://issuu.com/ashguardian/docs/ag-11_july__2020
        According to this report a second Ashburton bridge has been in the works for a while now
        https://www.ashburtondc.govt.nz/ashburton-district/projects/ashburton-second-urban-bridge
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:28am
- I remember when
  
  Matt Long:
  
  Kiwi Rail advise that the good news is that noise will lessen ‘within a few months.’
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:01am
cmm

Reason #2365 why governments should keep to their knitting.

Councils, and parliament, are filled with people with zero, or very little, business acumen but an endless supply of other people’s money. This is a recipe for disaster.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350246711/council-wants-25-million-building-sold-dollar
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April 17, 2024 8:49am
- Damocles11
  
  There was a massive hagiographic write-up of Tauranga’s dictator Anne Tolley in the Bay of Plenty Times, encompassing the front page and then the first two inside pages of the paper. Quite extraordinary, clearly NZME are delighted that Tauranga has been left as an utter mess by the unelected Commissioners.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:59am
- Paulus
  
  Tauranga still has all the experts in terms of Commissioners appointed by Mahuta , but finish in July.
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:42pm
nathie

Karl du Fresne comes out of “retirement” briefly to critique the MSM landscape.

Again he clearly lays out how the MSM are their own worse enemy in terms of declining “media trust” and that their continued obsession with their own “opinions” and lack of balanced coverage of all sides of an argument (as they would rather “cancel” any opposing views) is an important factor that they continue to ignore as they blame everyone else for their demise.

And as per yesterday’s Warner Bros Discovery/Stuff partnership shows …. they ain’t listening and nor do they care.

https://karldufresne.blogspot.com/2024/04/howling-at-moon.html
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April 17, 2024 8:50am
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  …”the proposition that the government should prop up news media that are openly hostile to it makes about as much sense as Israel providing arms and ammunition to Hamas..”
  
  Ha!
  
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  April 17, 2024 11:27am
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  …”To use a different analogy, the current relationship between the media and the public is like an unhappy marriage that has irretrievably broken down and one spouse has walked away, leaving the other wondering what went wrong and trying to convince anyone who will listen that the fault was not theirs, when clearly it was. “…
  
  Heh.
  
  The full article needs to be read aloud to the grieving journalists. Not just for a few zingers like above: a great summation of the actual issues for the willfully blind.
  
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  April 17, 2024 11:32am
Grunter

Don Brash making absolute sense again.
Of course, all the warmongers that want to provoke our our largest trading partner will disagree and downtick me…..

Don’s conclusion sums it up perfectly.
“To me, Singapore’s foreign policy provides a model worthy of study. Singapore appears to have a cordial relationship with both the US and China. In April 2022, Singapore’s Prime Minister formally stated that Singapore is not an ally of the US, would not conduct military operations on behalf of the US, and would not seek direct military support from the US. Why wouldn’t that work for New Zealand?”
https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/don-brash-why-not-aukus
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April 17, 2024 8:50am
- Matt Long
  
  It’s unlikely a Chinese run state would seek an alliance with English cultural America.
  Singapore will also reckon that China has to go through Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, and Vietnam at a minimum to get to them, with America being drawn into war by at least one of those conflicts.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:11am
  - Loddenthinks
    
    They have planes and missiles you know, why on earth would they have to “go through” any of those countries to get to Singapore, if they really wanted to?
    
    This isn’t WWII, Dr Ropata.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:02am
    - Matt Long
      
      China may well be capable of sending all kinds of armaments, airborne to space delivered to Singapore, but can you provide a rational or irrational reason why they would unless Singapore joined a regional war against the CCP and provided a viable threat?
      I’ve yet to see China militarising the Straits of Malacca
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:32am
    - Fuzzysnuggleduck
      
      In the end, there always has to be boots on the ground to either take ownership of resources, extend territory or to remove a hostile regime – unless they are sending in nuclear weapons instead.
      
      Chinese wouldn’t maintain such a massive flesh & blood military in unform if it expects to only send in cruise missiles in a territorial conflict.
      
      It seems you have missed both the invasion of the Ukraine and the invasion of Gaza in recent times. If it not rockets or artillery alone that achieves military aims.
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:40am
- Scott
  
  Grunter – couldn’t disagree with you more and here’s why.
  China is a communist country. China locked down all its citizens for months and months, to the point in some cases of sealing them in their apartments. Only huge protests against the government’s barbarity caused them to relent.
  
  China has millions of cameras that track their citizens and allocate them a social credit score. If you go to the liquor store – points taken away. If you go to church – points taken away. Lose too many points and you can’t travel, can’t take a train.
  China is actively threatening Taiwan.
  China is building bases in the South Pacific for military use.
  China is not our friend.
  America on the other hand saved our arse in World War 2. Without them we’d all be speaking Japanese.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:11am
  - julesnzuk
    
    Scott, accidentally down ticked – apologies (this platform is clunky). Couldn’t agree more – this China loving is bizarre and I fear it speaks volumes regarding our worryingly increasing disconnect with our European heritage. There’s other people to trade with FFS. Happy to be proven wrong on any of this.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:50am
    - thirteenstars
      
      Brash has close personal and business ties with China. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
      
      I say that as a fan of Brash but nobody is immune to self-interest even if they convince themselves otherwise.
      
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      April 17, 2024 12:09pm
      - julesnzuk
        
        Yes he does – and we should call him out on it. He’s 100% right about the ToW crap and he was a highly regarded central banker, but he’s certainly not right on everything.
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:01pm
  - Grunter
    
    Scott – how China behaves domestically is irrelevant. If we only picked sovereign ‘friends’ based on their own culture and behavior then we wouldn’t have many ‘global freinds’. I hate the CCP (I hate most if not all governments BTW – apart from Milei….!!)
    
    My only point, the same point Brash makes, is that we do not have to choose between China & the USA. We can be neutral. We trade with both. So why would we pick a side to fight the other? Makes no sense. If we were in a fight with China then that’s our economy buggered overnight (supply & demand).
    
    And, in modern warfare, what could we ever contribute that is meaningful other than sending boots on the ground into a pointless meat grinder? This is not 1940 anymore. It is a very different world.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:59am
    - Scott
      
      Being a communist country and how you treat your own citizens is not irrelevant. If they treat their own citizens so terribly how do you think they’d treat the people of other countries if given the opportunity?
      
      Communism is a dominating ideology. China is exporting communism using roads and belts strategy to gain influence and military bases around the world including the South Pacific.
      
      We must not be naive or fall prey to nihilism and apathy. It does matter who our friends are. China is not our friend.
      
      We can be neutral in the event of war? I don’t think so!
      As the communist leader Trotsky said, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:22am
      - Grunter
        
        Scott – so how do you view say Saudi Arabia then? I’ve been there and they are a lot more repressive than China (by a long shot). So do we call them our enemy and stop buying their oil?
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:36am
    - nathie
      
      “My only point, the same point Brash makes, is that we do not have to choose between China & the USA. We can be neutral. We trade with both. So why would we pick a side to fight the other? Makes no sense. If we were in a fight with China then that’s our economy buggered overnight (supply & demand).’
      
      Hi Grunter, look I get where you are coming from (and there is a logic to it), but the thing is even if NZ is neutral and if there is conflict between China and the US, then NZ will be impacted anyway (eg no maritime and air trade to/from SE Asia, impacting vital imports and exports).
      
      This Australian article discuses the impacts on them (no doubt it will be the same for us, if not worse due to NZ’s greater dependence on Asia for trade including energy eg oil, and the lack of oil refining and storage in NZ as NZ prefers to “buy in” to schemes to store “our” oil in storage tanks in … Asia (plus some other places).
      https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/war-risks-to-australian-maritime-trade/
      
      So the answer is, neutrality won’t protect us anyway (NZ will come to a crashing halt eg farm production and getting those goods to supermarket shelves), so would it not be better for NZ to both be more resilient plus support the likes of the US (along with our allies) to deter China from starting conflicts with their neighbours?
      
      So everyone can continue trading and living?
      
      Sure war sucks (who wants it), so let’s do our best to prevent it. By standing strong with like minded countries.
      
      (Even China respects “strength”)!
      
      Now isn’t it strange how Brash can’t see this nowadays and seems to favor appeasement??
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:10am
      - Grunter
        
        nathie – we probably agree on a lot, most of what you say above I agree with.
        
        My view, for what it is worth, is that China are not a direct military threat to NZ nor the USA (of course they have capability but it is not in China’s interest to create a war).
        
        However, China does want to directly control Taiwan, which I don’t want to see happen, but apart from a massive war it is unavoidable. Taiwan is officially part of ‘one China’ already remember, so it’s not an invasion of another country as such.
        
        I’m not a CCP fan at all. Equally, I do not trust the USA one bit. They are on a pathway that provokes war. They have deteriorated dramatically since WWII. Their leaders are very bad at diplomacy which is vital when it comes to avoiding wars.
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:52am
  - cmm
    
    “America on the other hand saved our arse in World War 2”
    
    That was then. This is now – 80 years later. So what?
    
    You seem to forget that China was also fighting the Japanese during WW2 with millions of casualties.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:20am
    - Scott
      
      So what? Well if push comes to shove America would still come to our aid.
      The world hasn’t changed that much. Human nature is still the same.
      There are still wars and invasions. We need allies. We need America as our ally.
      China is not our ally and given the communist govt, never will be.
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:18am
      - cmm
        
        “Well if push comes to shove America would still come to our aid.”
        
        Maybe, but why rely on that?
        
        I grew up in South Africa. In the 1970s the Americans dragged South Africa into a war in Angola, promising support and partnership.
        
        Then Foxtrot Oscar, leaving South Africa knee deep in a conflict that lasted 15 years.
        
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        April 17, 2024 7:31pm
      - Ghost
        
        There is no guarantee the USA will help us in a major conflict. Their military is a shadow of what it used to be. The only country we would likely be able to rely on is Australia.
        
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        April 17, 2024 7:38pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    Just a small offset.
    
    China is also using MONEY to exert influence. Not threats.
    In Cambodia they have built major highways and 2 International airports as well as other major infrastructure.
    
    What did the US do?
    
    Demand by Trump for repayment of a $450 million dollar loan given to Cambodia to rebuild from the destruction caused by the US dropping 500,00 tonnes of bombs and killing hundreds of thousands of Cambodian civilians.
    
    So I suggest commenters broaden their outlook on international politics and stop being captured by the US/West/MSM propaganda machine.
    
    For those interested in seeing how the west propaganda machine sprang in to action on October 7th. I recommend an Aljazeera investigation.
    
    A short version
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mxfnya3ZRc
    
    Also
    https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3w4w7/israeli-intelligence-health-ministry-death-toll
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:46pm
- nathie
  
  Well for a start Singapore spends significantly more on defence (relatively) to NZ.
  
  Which means Singapore has rather lethal capabilities (land, air, sea, underwater eg they have 34 navy vessels and 4 subs – NZ has 9 vessels and 0 subs. And some of the most advanced air-combat forces in the world – F15/F16/F35 … NZ has 0). Meaning that if anyone messes with them Singapore will hit them back hard, very bloody hard.
  
  Plus they are smart, they base some of their combat capabilities in other countries meaning that if Singapore is attacked their other combat forces are not only safe, they will come back to fight from different directions therefore splitting any attackers efforts to defend themselves.
  
  NZ could learn a lot from Singapore, if there was a political will to invest smartly and to invest well in our defence forces. We have a large area to cover and protect – from the Pacific and south to Antarctica, north to Singapore.
  
  As for Brash, also cuddling up to his one-time “arch enemy” (H1 – who smeared Brash so he lost the 2005 election) seems rather bizarre.
  
  I did read Brash’s previous article on BBH on a similar topic and the commentators are well worth reading as they pointed out the folly in his ways and views. So will be “enjoying” reading this article later and especially the commentators responses!
  
  Anyway is Brash’s connections to China clouding his views (as well as other former PM’s)? Certainly seems to be different to the Brash of the 2000’s that was then pro-US!
  
  Oh edit to say, Singapore is one of the US’s biggest supporters in SE Asia. They allow the USN special access to their facilities.
  
  As I said earlier, Singapore is smart. They of course don’t want war (who does – apart from your BFF Putin) and Singapore will want smooth relations with China and the USA. But if the sh*t hits the fan, they are prepared (again NZ could learn from them) and they know what side they are on. Hint the same as us.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:35am
  - Keith White
    
    Plus, they (Singapore) have a nuclear capability.
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:54am
    - Colville
      
      and money. lots of money. and we do not!
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:11am
      - cmm
        
        We potentially have lots of money, except we revere incompetence and squanendering.
        
        That money pissed up a pole during Covid could have easily equipped a military for a couple of decades.
        
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        April 17, 2024 7:33pm
  - Grunter
    
    nathies – I agree, Singapore is smart. And yes NZ should invest in a cost-effective (that’s all we can afford) defense system that makes us an unattractive target (maybe drones are part of the answer??). Sucking up to the US and joining AUKUS just makes us an obvious target to the nut jobs controlling the missiles in North Korea and China.
    
    PS: “…apart from your BFF Putin…”
    Nah – I think he is one of the worst central planners, I’m no fan of his, and never have been. You’ve misinterpreted my hate for the evil Zelensky as automatically meaning I support Putin. Most KBers have made the same mistake. 🙂
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:08am
  - MCōs
    
    Singapore is vulnerable to attack
    NZ isn’t, well not militarily
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:10am
    - cmm
      
      Everywhere is vulnerable to attack.
      
      The question is what would motivate attacking NZ? NZ is of little strategic value, except, possibly, as a springboard for attacking Australia.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:15am
      - NothingLeft
        
        China can’t feed itself. It has to rely upon food imports, and is also highly reliant upon imported fertilisers to maintain even that level of production.
        
        Australia and NZ would make nice little gardens for them.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:27am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        Singapore is a centralised position in the e we told, they could be extremely vulnerable too attack
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:54am
      - MCōs
        
        Which is why they are a valuable export market for NZ
        Apart from that I would have thought it would be far more efficient for them to rely on the existing setup than to invade and compel a hostile population to cooperate
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:01am
      - Colville
        
        …cut the internet cables and see how Singapore’s economy goes!
        
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        April 17, 2024 11:12am
      - R
        
        NZ is very vulnerable, and has great strategic value. China already has a base in the Pacific north of NZ; a base in NZ with its many suitable estuaries for harbors, already constructed airfields, makes NZ the ideal southern anchor poi nt for a military barrier isolating
        Australia from American forces.
        
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        April 17, 2024 2:48pm
      - cmm
        
        Nothing:
        
        You say CHina can’t feed itself, presumably meaning they need NZ to feed it.
        
        Do you realise we’re a tiny food producer on an international scale?
        
        Just take sheep for instance. We have lots of those right?
        Well maybe not. China has approx 200million sheep (and growing) while NZ has approx 25 million (and shrinking).
        
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        April 17, 2024 7:36pm
  - In Vino Veritas
    
    Though Singapore is a good deal more authoritarian than NZ nathie. When their Government wants something done, there’s no messing around with stuff like RMA, peoples feelings about compulsory property buy backs etc. They just get on and do it. If someone doesn’t like it, Government will say, “here is the money, take it and move on, or we will just sequestrate the property. Choose. And thank you.” That style of Government wouldn’t go down that well with many NZ’rs.
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:14am
  - kiwikidsnz
    
    You forgot to mention that Singapore also has conscription for National Service for all males 18+ (2 years). So, trained & available at short notice.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service_in_Singapore
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:25pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    Of course Singapore’s location and strategic value makes them in a totally different situation (re military forces) than a remote couple of islands in the South Pacific with NO strategic value.
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:49pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      No strategic value? Just wait until the world wakes up to the riches of an uninhabited continent – Antartica.
      
      Compared to Chile, Argentina, Aus & SA, we look the easiest of the bunch to pick off.
      
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      April 17, 2024 7:05pm
- julesnzuk
  
  Grunter – so in seeking to emulate the Singaporean model Don is now advocating a massive increase in defence spending? Glad to hear it. His previous comments on NZ defence have been dismissive to the point of being downright puerile. I’d personally double our defence budget, if Don agrees that’s tremendous.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:53am
  - Cassandra
    
    Brash does not agree, jules, he still thinks NZ’s armed forces should become an EEZ only fisheries service.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:25am
    - julesnzuk
      
      I know, Cassandra – I was being sarcastic. He seems to think we should be like Singapore (who have a large – for their size – defence budget) but doesn’t want to spend any money. It boils my piss.
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:05pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Let’s join NZ to Singapore. Job done!
        
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        April 17, 2024 7:05pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    Jules.
    on what basis would you double the defence spending in NZ.
    What would you spend it on?
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:51pm
    - julesnzuk
      
      Bigger navy for a start, Ra – maritime surveillance. RNZAF planes that work. Taking ourselves seriously as members of the international community instead behaving like simpering millksops in the South Pacific. Ultimately Defence needs to be seen as an attractive, prestigious career in order for it to be sustainable – at the moment it isn’t and that’s a problem for our long term capability. Defence is an unavoidable overhead – expensive yes, but brings plenty of societal benefits too. But it needs to be done properly (within means) or it’s reduced to a joke. Spending should at least be 2% of GDP.
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:08pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Thanks Julez for your thoughts.
        I am glad I did 12 years(RNZAF) in an attractive, prestigious career. 1964-1976
        Including time flying P3 Orion Maritime surveillance.
        
        NZ has a huge Maritime economic zone. More boats will do nothing to protect that.
        
        Maritime aircraft are really good for verification but not general surveillance on such a large area.
        The best use was illegal fishing confirmation and close tracking of smuggling vessels.
        
        Satellites do the rest
        
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        April 17, 2024 2:56pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Here you go Ra … if we were to double Vote Defence (an idea I heartily agree with) can I suggest:
      
      * Put 25% of the increase into improving pay and conditions.
      * Put 25% of the increase into the Army – adding a third battalion, modernising their equipment.
      * Put 30% of the increase into the Navy – we should have 3 air-defence capable ships, 3 anti-sub ships and 3-4 patrol boats. Big capex spend but over a 10-year timeframe. Dream idea = 3 submarines … best way to deter invaders but heinously expensive.
      * Put 20% of the increase into the Air Force – a few more P-8s, and some larger jet transport aircraft (problem, seeing no one is making them at the moment).
      
      Realistically, even if you boosted Vote Defence in this year’s Budget it would take 10 years at that level of spend to build up to a sensible force level.
      
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      April 17, 2024 3:52pm
- Cassandra
  
  Downtickers not necessarily warmongers, Grunter, its just that some us think that you and Brash are wrong. If we need to choose at some time in the future it won’t be to support China. But best if war doesn’t come. In the meantime we need to be able to play our part; we do not need to wave a big stick at China (and we won’t).
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:23am
- RoboRob
  
  Totally different situation to NZ
  
  Singapore is an Asian country on the litteral doorstep of Muslim countries and much closer geograpically to China then the US. Their population is essentially 1/4 Chinese, 1/4 Malay, 1/4 Singaporian and 1/4 Indian. There population identify much more with China then America.
  
  Their role as an international transport hub also provides them a degree of security from military action.
  
  I’m off to Singapore in July so I will ask around for you 🙂
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:47am
  - kowtow
    
    If you’re talking racial ethnicity I wonder what a “singaporian” is.
    
    Singapore is 3/4 Chinese.
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:21am
  - Ra Henare
    
    As you will find on your visit to Singapore Rob,
    Population is NOT split as you describe.
    In fact no where near an even split.
    
    I think you confuse Singapore having 4 official languages.
    
    https://www.statista.com/statistics/622748/singapore-resident-population-by-ethnic-group/
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:55pm
    - RoboRob
      
      I’ve been to Singapore plenty of times. But yes I am probably confusing the languages. My point stands though, the racial mix is heavily Chinese so it makes sense the government does not actively stand against China.
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:54pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350247847/reserve-bank-considers-digital-dollar-nzs-money-must-innovate-stay-relevant
The hackers must be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of this .
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April 17, 2024 8:55am
- RichardF
  
  Don’t we already have a ‘digital currency’ with internet banking?
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:22am
  - ISeeRed
    
    But the government can’t currently control how we spend our money. With programmable digital dollars, it will be able to “nudge” us into better spending habits. Like preventing us from buying “too much” red meat.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:05am
    - kowtow
      
      Or carbon.
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:00pm
- rjay
  
  Leighton Smith’s podcast last week is with a person who applied for the job to introduce a central bank digital currency in to New Zealand.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:51am
- mawm
  
  Greybeard – The thread above is why we cannot have a cordial relationship with communist (Maoist?) China like we (allegedly) have with the US while we rush to emulate China with a digital currency to enable our government to have similar control over us.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:46am
Matt Long

Labour lite voters must be ecstatic as the government announces rental owners will be forced to accommodate pets if renters put in a nominal deposit.
Reminds me of the neighbours who lost $150 at the tenancy tribunal for removing a chicken from their house they’d rented out while working on super yachts.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/15/how-law-will-put-onus-on-landlords-to-explain-why-pets-are-denied/
“National, We Do Socialism Better. “
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April 17, 2024 9:06am
- Benedict Yu
  
  In practice, property owners are not going to be forced to do anything. This is an excellent idea.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:20am
  - Matt Long
    
    Landlords must provide reasonable grounds for refusing pets and these grounds will be decided by precedent by the tenancy tribunal.
    Other famous statements, ” Only a small proportion of the foreshore and seabed will be affected by claims by Iwi. “Full and final settlement.”
    
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    April 17, 2024 9:25am
    - artemisia
      
      Tenancy Tribunal decisions are not precedent. In theory. Nor in practice unless adjudicators decide otherwise.
      
      Applicants for a rental where landlord doesn’t want pets will just be declined with no reason given. Could be different if existing tenants want to introduce a pet to the property.
      
      90 day no cause required tenancy terminations are back soon. Just saying. And as (another) aside, current termination rules are stupidly complex and it will be interesting to see how many of those 90 day notices are issued when they can be.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:10am
      - Matt Long
        
        I agree, however a government that respected property rights would have said that a Landlord and tenant may at mutually acceptable terms agree to the tenant providing a mutually accepted pet bond to allow a tenant to keep pets in the landlord’s house.
        Both tenants who have irrational attachment to pets and landlords looking for reliable tenants should be happy with those provisions.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:27am
      - Flossie
        
        If I was a landlord I’d sell up rather than allow a tenant to house a dog in my property. I once looked to buy a car….perfect in every respect but chose not to go ahead due to the revolting stench of dog in the vehicle. The salesman acknowledged the previous owner did have one but was puzzled as it had been “thoroughly valeted”.
        I admit I’m not a dog person.
        
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        April 17, 2024 10:44am
      - Paulus
        
        There is no compulsion for a Landlord to accept any pets, despite the possible changes just created.
        How many will change, I doubt.
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:48pm
    - artemisia
      
      Yep 100% agree with your comment about property rights and agreement between the parties. And I plan to include exactly that in my Select Commission submission on the Bill. Hope you also submit!
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:16am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  Pretty sure the pet bond was Seymour’s policy before the election, Bishop was involved because he is housing minister
  
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  April 17, 2024 11:04am
nathie

Did anyone have the misfortune to catch Newshub’s Jenna Lynch yesterday and her grand efforts to further erode “media trust” as she obsessively and childishly focuses on Luxon’s social media and that he has a team of 3-7 staffers (i.e. including those that undertake SM work for the rest of the National Party)?

Didn’t Jenna’s BFF Cindy have a team in the dozens, which warranted no criticism from her?

Anyway I figured out what was making Jenna throw a hissy-fit on national TV for all to see was the fact that politicians, in this case Luxon (but could equally apply to Seymour, Shame Jones etc) is that they are using SM to “talk over the heads of the MSM” and Jenna doesn’t like that!

Well unless of course if it is Labour/Greens/TPM (which they do) then Jenna stays silent!

And … considering Jenna Lynch is on a NZ Govt sponsored trip to South East Asia to drum up business for NZ (and therefore exports, jobs, businesses doing well = more money available for advertising, that could be spent in the MSM, saving MSM jobs for example) …. one would think she would be reporting on that and be INFORMING the viewers on these important Govt-to-Govt interactions.

And business relations – apparently the RNZAF 757 is also carrying business/education delegations – although who would know as Newshub scrapes the barrel and sends the village idiot over with them to do their reporting.

Presumably TVNZ is just as bad … if so, there goes that “media trust”, again, and self-inflicted by the TV broadcasters. Fools!
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April 17, 2024 9:09am
- BeaB
  
  That was a particularly nasty attack. Of course we all remember Newhub’s Big Bertha running similar attacks on Ardern. Don’t we? Remember Ardern’s trip to the UN with a taxpayer-funded photographer following the dear little family everywhere they went?
  Lynch seems to have a special dislike of Luxon – a problem when the public has such little trust in the media. Mind you, their news is being taken over by Stuff in whom the public has even less trust.
  And then the guy from the Spinoff was asked to comment and his outfit has even less trust again.
  The media seems to have no self-awareness at all and the public can clearly see the blatant bias and personal attacks.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:23am
  - nathie
    
    Heh, yeah that guy from the Spinoff is “funny” (as in ironic). Didn’t his publication cream in $$millions in taxpayer funding … for online written content?
    
    Why on earth does an online written publication need $$millions? I can see TV (and radio) video/audio digital media publications needing $$millions due to the need for expensive technology and visual/audio content creation specialists …. but the Spinoff with its written articles and (stock?) photographs???
    
    Labour “saves” the Spinoff but didn’t think to invest in other (expensive) broadcast media. It’s almost as if (surprise, surprise), Labour didn’t know what they were doing!
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:28am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  I notice that Luxon when doing media questions leaves her till last, she tried to jump in but he ignores her and asks others first, she is so loud and rude
  
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  April 17, 2024 11:07am
- Paulus
  
  Poor Jenna has demob fever !
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:49pm
- wilderbeast
  
  To me Lynch just screams of one of those ugly girls that has an axe to grind against men and the world cos no one ever paid her any attention.
  
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  April 17, 2024 5:10pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Stop Co-Governance. Julian Batchelor.

“They want to cut out all the red tape and bureaucracy which has plagued projects in the past and slowed things down.”
“It requires iwi to be involved.”
So the Govt is still heading for Co-Governance with Maori. Undemocratic race based legislation. What about the other 160 Cultures in NZ?

https://stopcogovernance.kiwi/blog/governments-fast-track-bill-is-another-example-of-their-commitment-to-co-governance/
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April 17, 2024 9:19am
cas

Yet another reason not to watch TV1. On Anzac Day they are screening the highlights of the Kiwibank NZer of the year awards!!!!!! And it’s a repeat. For goodness sake show some respect. I will actually be at the local Anzac Day service at the time.

As usual Maori Tv has a lot of content to celebrate Anzac Day and none disrespectful.
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April 17, 2024 9:23am
imalwaysright

I get the impression that the legacy media want to become a publically funded government department.

Unlimited funds and no responsibility

They certainly have the right mentality .
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April 17, 2024 9:29am
- thirteenstars
  
  That’s exactly what they want and this government is likely to give them something akin to that.
  
  We know Melissa Lee is hot for taxing social media companies and handing that over to legacy media, and Nicola Willis opined recently that restructuring around existing funding pools, such as NZ On Air, could provide additional help.
  
  I suspect this will take the form of the funding be earmarked for news and current affairs which will mean that what is rightly failing before our very eyes will be injected with new life, and worse, freed from the commercial consequences of their vicious ideological bent.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:39am
  - Fuzzysnuggleduck
    
    Let the MSM die.
    They deserve it for their disservice, partisan views, woke-activism and even contempt for the public who don’t share such ideology.
    
    They were on-board with the ‘rivers of filth’ label, and seem to not be able to understand, for instance, how some think they were tainted by the PIJF’s Treaty/Maori clauses, and why some people think rainbow crossings and drag story-time isn’t fantastic.
    
    The fact they seem to be blind and not able to even see other perspectives, or acknowledge other opinions {i.e. dats waaacist, it’s a conspiracy theory, red-necks etc.}, is why trust is so low.
    
    The Paddy Gower ‘get stuffed’ was actually quite revealing.
    And right back at ya, Paddy!
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:25pm
imalwaysright

Stuffs plan sounds like it will be someone reading out what is already on the internet .

I’m surprised tv3 couldn’t sack most of their staff and do the same themselves, that is essentially what has happened.
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April 17, 2024 9:39am
- Ghost
  
  Which is what the tv news is anyway, reading out news that has been on the internet most of the day if not longer.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:40am
  - MCōs
    
    Stuff has a wider network or regional reporters than Newshub, from my observation. They can give them all a microphone and camera. They don’t have to helicopter them in from a main centre.
    They won’t be able to compete on production so they’ll have to make up for it on coverage.
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:05pm
- rouppe
  
  The interesting part for me was that Warner Brothers will pay Stuff for the content, but WB gets the ad revenue.
  
  So if it bombs, there’s no real loss to Stuff as they keep getting paid.
  
  But WB keeps paying Stuff no matter whether it’s a success or not, and whether the ad revenue keeps flowing or not.
  
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  April 17, 2024 9:58am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    People are saying Sinead Boucher is actually quite a smart kookie.
    
    Yet I’ve heard others counter that….. saying if that was really the case, why would she have got tangled up with Tova O’Brian.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:22am
    - Jack5
      
      Sinead Boucher’s stretched one dollar beyond belief.
      
      She’s either got a carbon-steel gambling will, or she doesn’t see risk at all.
      
      If everything collapses, Sinead Boucher will at least have an interesting book to write.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:47am
    - RoboRob
      
      Tova will end up hosting the show and probably for no extra money. Tova already has extensive TV experiance and a face for TV. Sinead has done well on this one.
      
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      April 17, 2024 10:52am
      - Jack5
        
        Tova as a host ….probably for no extra money.
        
        Will there be extra money for anyone?
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:56pm
  - Damocles11
    
    Surely the ad revenue is where the money is though. I can’t see WB shelling out big bucks to Stuffed for this content. ‘All you need is a camera and a presenter”’ If they do that it’s going to look like an appallingly amateur product compared to the TV1 offering. Boucher probably has a similar mentality that it’ll be a breeze but I wonder if it will turn out to be a bit more than she bargained for when it comes down to delivering a daily news show.
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:14am
kowtow

I see the chap described in te media as a king has “blessed” some garment that will be worn by the NZ Olympics team flag bearer .

Is this ‘king’ a minister of religion ?

And are any other items being worn or carried to be blessed by any other NZ ministers of religion or indeed by anyone else .

Perhaps the Chief Person at the NZ Skeptics Institution could have a few words too ……

and why not .
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April 17, 2024 9:47am
- cmm
  
  Was a reciprocal “blessing” with gifts required?
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:11am
- Jethrod
  
  Is it possible for you to decode what you are trying to say?
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:18am
- MCōs
  
  Did I see Mr Luxon describe himself as king on TikTok, too?
  He looked like a white version of Don King without the hair.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:19am
  - BeaB
    
    It was a joke. Most of us can understand humour.
    
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    April 17, 2024 10:27am
    - MCōs
      
      You reckon!
      
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      April 17, 2024 11:48am
      - graham
        
        As BeaB said:
        
        “Most” of us can understand humour.
        
        Obviously, some can’t …
        
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        April 17, 2024 12:26pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    He was laughing his asss off when he said it
    
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    April 17, 2024 11:10am
- imalwaysright
  
  If the “king” is a religious position then all of the maori ceremonies that public departments are addicted to are non secular and contrary to regulations .
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:20am
Loddenthinks

Another victim of colonialism has improved the gene pool by exiting it. John Rawiri Piripi Pitihira fled from Police after being sprung burgling a building site in Omanu. His co-offenders were arrested – one for burglary and assaulting Police, the other for burglary and driving while disqualified.

Oh dear, how sad. Never mind.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/16/name-released-of-man-who-died-running-into-sea-at-mt-maunganui/
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April 17, 2024 9:58am
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  Already tributes to the ‘loving father’
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/police-name-name-who-died-in-mount-maunganui-after-running-into-the-sea/TPTKZLL7ZRF7HCWRXNYSLYF3TE/
  
  I hope there are better role-models in the extended whanau.
  
  Why does the media think there are stories of national interest based on Facebook posts when some criminal or thug dies?
  “Farewell, my bro” and such.
  And he was always such a good boy, trying to turn his life around for his children.
  
  People who are genuinely innocent and blameless succumb to the likes of cancer every day.
  I care not a jot to mourn the likes of a Darwin award contender who fled police after burglarising an industrial site.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:39pm
Loddenthinks

You really could not make this up – 1Mews thinks that Bishop Emmanuel brought his vicious knife attack on himself with his wrongthink:

“Stabbed Sydney church leader’s views may have drawn his attack”

That’ll learn him for criticising Islam, lockdowns, vaccines and mandates. Speak out and expect to be knifed by defenders of the Religion of Peace.

https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/04/16/stabbed-sydney-church-leaders-views-may-have-drawn-his-attack/
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April 17, 2024 10:10am
- mandk
  
  Islam is unique in that it seems to condone its followers who commit atrocities in the belief that it will please their god.
  
  Virtually every day, somewhere in the world adherents of other faiths, or no faith, are slaughtered by moslems crying allahu akbar.
  
  But it is often moslems slaughtering other moslems. I clearly remember the case of a moslem shop keeper who was killed by a fellow moslem who had driven 325 km from Bradford to Glasgow for the purpose.
  
  The shop keepers “crime”?
  
  He had wished his Christian customers a Happy Easter.
  
  It’s a disgusting religion that needs to be resisted.
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:39am
- graham
  
  The generally accepted term for what 1 News has just done is “victim blaming”. As in, “Well she was asking for it, the way she dressed” …
  
  How on earth can they be so blind as to not understand this?
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:42am
  - Fuzzysnuggleduck
    
    They should be clearly condemned for acting in such a way, rather than it seemingly acting as a justification or explanation.
    Islamists will murder you over hurty-feelings.
    They should be called out as the worst sort of fragile homicidal fanatics, and the linkage to their religion reiterated in all cases.
    No Western nation needs Islam, and actual opposition to political Islam and extreme wariness in importing followers of Islam is the only way that our freedoms and even safety might be preserved.
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:43pm
  - Dave
    
    Where’s the victim-blaming? I can’t see it.
    
    The linked news report plausibly speculates that the bishop might have been attacked for expressing his views, but does not imply that he should be silent about them, or even that his views are indefensible, merely that there are those who disagree.
    
    There is commentary from someone clearly sympathetic to his religious community; from someone who implies that some off-kilter people might be upset by his views but does not in any way endorse the attack; and a brief comment from a Lebanese Muslim association condemning attacks.
    
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    April 17, 2024 2:00pm
    - Loddenthinks
      
      The clue is in the headline – they state that his actions “may have drawn the attack”.
      
      That’s the dictionary definition of victim-blaming. Nobody should be attacked for what they say, not even Shaneel Lal, Willie Jackson or Ian Paisley. Don’t know why I chose those three, perhaps just that I disagree with everything they stand for.
      
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      April 17, 2024 6:52pm
      - Dave
        
        I agree about not physically attacking someone for their statements. Reasonable people don’t do that.
        
        The headline does not imply that the attack was justified, merely that his statements have attracted some people’s attention (which seems to be a factually true statement) and in this case, I assume, the attention of an unreasonable Muslim.
        
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        April 18, 2024 8:38am
- kowtow
  
  I note too that today’s Whoreald under “agencies” has done the very same thing.
  The headline calls the good bishop ‘controversial anti Lgbtq preacher ‘
  
  he’s a “fire and brimestone preacher known for his anti lgbtq views +scepticism over Covid vaccines” and ‘ultra conservative’.
  
  Oh well , I await NZME examining and publishing the religious and other opinions of other innocent victims of crime and terror.
  
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  April 17, 2024 11:36am
- Benedict Yu
  
  “A prominent religious leader stabbed while delivering a sermon at a Sydney Assyrian church could have been targeted because of his critical and outspoken views on Islam.”
  
  To repeat what I have said a couple of times. Its adherents claim that Islam is a religion of peace. Where are the loud calls this morning from the Muslim community condemning the attack?
  
  Reverse the situation – an imam is stabbed by someone who takes issues with what the imam has been saying. You would hear the screams of outrage all over the world.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:27pm
- Ghost
  
  Just a side note this isn’t one news, they are just running the story from AAP
  
  https://www.aap.com.au/news/stabbed-church-leader-critical-of-islam-other-faiths/
  
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  April 17, 2024 6:58pm
I remember when

Did Three African Runners Let a Chinese Runner Win a Race in Beijing? NY Times.
The results of the half-marathon are now under investigation by the race’s organisers, after footage of the finish circulated online and led many to question whether the three African runners had deliberately slowed down.

The attached Reuters photo of the finish, showing a straining Chinese runner ahead of three relaxed looking Africans may have been one clue.
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April 17, 2024 10:14am
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  $$ Ka-ching! $$
  The African chaps are probably already thinking of their shopping as they approach the line.
  
  Cheating in China is taken for granted, just like rice with dinner.
  
  能骗就骗 = “If you can cheat, then cheat”.
  
  I think Westerners are often very niave in doing business, setting up factories or purchasing goods manufactured in China.
  The fake-food stuff scares me, despite having many trips to China, I don’t think I will ever have a spicy hot pot in China or eat any street food which is fried again after seeing footage of collection on gutter oil and spit oil.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:49pm
Maggie Pie

It’s incredible just how much damage Labor inflicted on the social fabric of this country in the last 6 years. Paticularly once they found themselves in a position to govern alone after the 2020 election.

We often find people asking…..”when has there ever been another time in New Zealand, where a Government gave such a priority to criminals, beneficiaries, and every other imported free-loader, over and above honest, law abiding, hard working taxpayers?”

Thank God for this Coalition.
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April 17, 2024 10:15am
- BeaB
  
  They wrecked so much that held us together. They sowed distrust, suspicion, contempt and fear.
  Probably the worst government we have ever had in NZ and now we have decades ahead of us suffering the damage done to society and the economy while trying to fix it.
  Let’s hope Luxon’s optimism and belief in us carry us through.
  
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  April 17, 2024 11:03am
artemisia

Shane Jones on the Waitangi Tribunal, Herald today.

“… some kind of wannabe American star chamber pulp fiction gig…”

and

“What gives the Waitangi Tribunal the belief that their power is greater than the voting democratic will of Kiwis?”
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April 17, 2024 10:25am
- julesnzuk
  
  Well, it is better than the voting power of birds, to be fair. I agree with everything Jones says about the stupid tribunal but calling us what we actually are – New Zealanders – might lend a bit more mana to his argument.
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:17pm
  - MCōs
    
    Picky
    
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    April 17, 2024 1:53pm
    - Loddenthinks
      
      And pointing that out isn’t?
      
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      April 17, 2024 7:01pm
  - Ghost
    
    Aren’t you in the uk? I’m a kiwi, and have been all my life, if you don’t like it then you call yourself what ever you want, but it gets boring when people who do not even live here keep moaning about what is going on here
    
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    April 17, 2024 7:03pm
    - Pineapple Lumps
      
      NZ citizens overseas have a right to comment on NZ. It’s great to hear their views from outside the fishbowl.
      
      One of the greatest acts of shame was mandating them out of the country. I hope they forgive us for that.
      
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      April 17, 2024 8:26pm
      - Ghost
        
        Nope. The view of someone who doesn’t even live here is not relevant. Some kiwi living in the uk bitching about what people back here are called, can get over thinking that she has any right to demand that everyone follow her demands. You want to come back, work here, pay tax, help fix and rebuild this country then go for it. You want to sit overseas where your only contribution to this country is bitching about what is going on in this country, then you are not relevant, important or needed
        
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        April 17, 2024 8:48pm
I remember when

US Limits Deadly Mining Dust as Black Lung Resurges: NY Times.
Mining companies will have to limit concentrations of airborne silica, a mineral commonly found in rock that can be lethal when ground up and inhaled.

Will this influence local decision on stone grinding dangers?
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April 17, 2024 10:26am
BeaB

Hilarious to hear Hipkins in full student leader mode this morning lambasting the government for everything under the sun including the matter of coal when he and Ardern were responsible for a huge spike in the imports of the dirty coal from Indonesia needed for Huntly.
As always with the Left it’s ok when they do it but the height of infamy when anyone else does.
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April 17, 2024 10:26am
- cmm
  
  In the case of coal, they did it and caused what is happening yet blame others for the consequences.
  
  “Mum, why haven’t you cleaned up my room yet?”
  
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  April 17, 2024 10:34am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  The reporters there would have immediately asked him for clarification over his double standards I presume ?
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:23pm
Paul

How did they ever make it for a week, when this happens…
“A group of 16 people were rescued from Whenuakura Island, one kilometre east of Whangamatā, after they got into trouble in three waka on Tuesday.

Coastguard Whangamatā volunteers responded to a call for help after three waka ama crews were stranded on the island at about 10.20am.

With the Whangamatā Surf Life Saving Club, Coastguard Whangamatā’s GJ Gardener Rescue retrieved the 16 from the island and returned them safe, “albeit cold and wet”, to shore about 11.40am, Coastguard Tautiaki Moana senior communications adviser Ben Parsons said in a statement.

They were able to retrieve one of the waka but not the others.”
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April 17, 2024 11:23am
- Keith White
  
  Gotta be fake news. The Magic Ethnic Navigators can waka-go to the Antarctic and back – someone is making this up to make them look bad. A white naval supremacist, no doubt.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:41pm
- Paulus
  
  How did they get from Hawaiki (or wherever the myth says) to New Zealand then, if they could not get far out of a safe harbour ?
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:55pm
Maggie Pie

I haven’t been back to Dubai since spending 3 days there in 2015.
Went for a Camel Ride one morning and got caught in a sandstorm.
Things have changed a lot since then. They’ve planted over a million trees and started cloud-seeding.
Although it looks like they didn’t upgrade the drainage infrastructure….

https://mol.im/a/13314921
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April 17, 2024 11:31am
- Keith White
  
  I worked there on a short assignment a little while back. I have felt less uneasy in downtown Ouagadougou… Dubai (like Doha) always strikes me as a place where if the power goes off and stays off for any length of time, the choices on shuffling off this mortal coil are limited to dying of thirst; dying of heatstroke; dying in a foreign worker riot as they also see those as their only two choices; or a combo of the above.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:16pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Never worried us….The Armani has back up generators
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:30pm
    - Keith White
      
      “Sic transit gloria mundi’ is coming our way, ready or not…
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:26pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        sooo troo
        
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        April 17, 2024 1:52pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  You don’t strike me as a camel kind of girl.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:22pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    When in Rome…. 😎
    
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    April 17, 2024 12:27pm
    - Jethrod
      
      Umm….where?//
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:54pm
Stellaboxer

Bad mouthing the judge his family, witnesses or the jury shouldn’t be what finds you guilty or not.
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April 17, 2024 12:01pm
- MCōs
  
  Guilty of what?
  There’s probably a few things there that are not strictly legal, but anything to put a spanner in the works
  I expect Mr Trump is hoping to drag the whole wretched business beyond the election which he is expecting to win. Then he’ll claim immunity or pardon himself or some other banana republic tactic to wipe the slate, not clean so much as smudged
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:40pm
  - Libertarians are right
    
    Banana Republic like miring your political opponent in a never ending stream of legal cases using novel interpretations of the law?
    
    Classic Leftism, do something extremely dodgy and then claim the Right are being dodgy by reverting things to how they should be.
    
    5 3
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    April 17, 2024 12:47pm
    - Paulus
      
      Are you calling the great USA as a Banana Republic – I would be sued if that is what I said ?
      
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      April 17, 2024 1:57pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        I like bananas
        
        Just saying
        
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        April 17, 2024 7:19pm
Benedict Yu

Yesterday I passed a convoy of NZ Army trucks on the way to somewhere.

Just out of curiosity I looked up what kind of trucks they use. They are mostly “Unimogs” made in the 1980s. The NZDF is currently calling for tenders to replace them. I was surprised to see that they are looking to replace them with electric and plug in hybrid electric trucks.

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/10/12/new-zealand-support-vehicle-fleet/

I am hardly a truck expert but two issues come to mind:

1. The reason the current trucks lasted 40 years is that they have diesel engines made by Mercedes, which can just run forever. What are the chances of an electric or plug in hybrid powertrain lasting 40 years?

2. These trucks need to be deployed in crisis situations such as natural disasters where there is uncertain electricity supply, or none at all. 🙁

Yet another issue inherited from the last government that the current government might want to revisit.
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April 17, 2024 12:20pm
- virtualmark
  
  Benedict,
  
  Militaries are increasingly looking to buy hybrid vehicles – right up to hybrid tanks – because of their ability to move silently under electrical power. Admittedly that will be for short distances, but there are times when the ability to go 5km silently will be worth it.
  
  Bigger issue for the NZDF, particularly the Army, is having the dollars and resources to adapt to the lessons from Ukraine. Our Army would only last a few days in a battle like the Ukraine war. And I say that sadly, coming from a fairly military family, with family members who could be pushed into a setting like that with nothing like the equipment they’d need.
  
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  April 17, 2024 12:34pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    Hybrids are a tremendously stupid idea for the military. They exist only to appease uninformed green idiot voters and the politicians that exploit them.
    
    Noise doesn’t make any useful difference in the era of ubiquitous surveillance drones. But costs, system complexity, safety, reliability, repairability and logistical supply requirements matter a whole lot all of which say stay the hell away from hybrids, particularly those with highly flammable and temperature sensitive lithium batteries.
    
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    April 17, 2024 4:40pm
    - virtualmark
      
      https://www.twz.com/next-generation-abramsx-tank-will-have-hybrid-powerplant
      
      But hey, I’m sure you’ll put the US Army right shortly.
      
      Silence is important. Ability to power big electrical loads (sensors etc) is important. Not burning $10 a litre JP8 for hours at idle is important. Two motive options is important (if one dies you can still manoeuvre even if just for a short distance).
      
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      April 17, 2024 5:43pm
      - NothingLeft
        
        Legacy liability. The gas turbine in the Abrahms is a 1970’sera decision for a thirsty and expensive logistics headache. Modern turbodiesels are lighter, cheaper and more efficient with very long service life and much better efficiency through wide range of powers, (turbines are only efficient through relatively small range of powers).
        
        Don’t mistake US defense procurement processes and decisions in high value programs as being evidence of technical sense. Much or even most of their decision process hinges on who pays off what politicians.
        
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        April 17, 2024 8:30pm
      - Jack5
        
        Benedict on hybrid trucks for the Army….
        
        Is silent running a priority when the sky above the battlefield will be patrolled by drones?
        
        But the traditional army trucks Benedict is talking about are probably like this M35 from soon after World War 2 (and later) and the big GMC’s that used to crawl around the backblocks of NZ (anyone heard of M325’s in NZ?)
        
        https://youtu.be/UNaxPEyi5OA?si=_TBeFyfkzEU7Cut9
        
        And looked at here car-review style:
        
        https://youtu.be/oi0a51ZqjOQ?si=3jPUVMKtgNHK-9co
        
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        April 17, 2024 9:29pm
- kowtow
  
  Western militaries , like politicians, have become unmitigatedly woke .
  
  It is utter madness and servicemen and women will suffer and die in greater numbers than necessary and our democracies imperilled .
  
  This is yet another massive scandal of our times.
  
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  April 17, 2024 1:09pm
  - virtualmark
    
    “Western militaries , like politicians, have become unmitigatedly woke .”
    
    And yet … Western militaries can/do beat several shades of snot out of non-Western militaries.
    
    Can I suggest you take yourself off to Waiouru and run the “Western militaries have become unmitigatedly woke” line in the training grounds? I suspect they’ll quickly put you right.
    
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    April 17, 2024 3:42pm
    - kowtow
      
      Wow , Sgt Major Virtue , “they’ll put me right”
      
      Yew ‘orrible little man , we’ll wipe that opinion off your face , won’t we ……..drop and give me twenty .
      
      Me thinks you watch too many corny old Hollywood war movies.
      
      I don’t know but I’ve been told , virtualmark is mighty bold !
      
      Sound off !
      
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      April 17, 2024 4:31pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Sigh.
        
        Going back a few years it was fashionable to say the Russian military wasn’t woke, because they had videos showing lots of he-man strength stuff.
        
        And meanwhile the Western militaries were woke because … well, it’s not all that clear.
        
        So imagine my (non-) surprise when Russia attacks Ukraine and … they’re a f&#king shambles. Shit plan, shit equipment, shit discipline. The only thing they’re good at is butchering civilians and looting home appliances. But hey, they’re not woke though are they …
        
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        April 17, 2024 5:37pm
    - wilderbeast
      
      I get what you’re saying VM but there are some worrying and well founded rumours about the state of our military right now, including that the SAS isn’t operational / able to deploy.
      
      1 1
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      April 17, 2024 5:13pm
    - kowtow
      
      vm
      
      Sigh
      
      I said nothing about the Ivans .
      
      But when military chiefs in the west ,and across the west, go on about diversity and equity etc
      
      instead of wanting to be/ being the leanest , meanest killing machine then ‘we’ kimosabi, have a huge problem and yes ‘decarbonising’ their fleet for the sake of the planet comes very much into the same picture .
      
      3 0
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      April 17, 2024 6:26pm
- Paulus
  
  And do not they fit in to a C130 aircraft ?
  
  3 0
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  April 17, 2024 1:58pm
Keith White

A co-worker sent this to me overnight

(The link is to a ‘street fact-quiz’ in the US – and the opening quote from a Terminator movie is spot on…)

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2024/04/16/were-not-gonna-make-it-are-we/
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April 17, 2024 12:38pm
Benedict Yu

I have to wonder why a popular agricultural show, that has been attracting up to 100,000 people every year in Christchurch since 1863, is suddenly broke?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350247899/new-zealand-agricultural-show-scrapped-2024

I went last year. It was packed out. The article says they need to review their “business model”.
14 0
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April 17, 2024 1:04pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  So much we held deer appears to be collapsing around us.
  My biggest fear is that the Coalition have come into power 3 years too late 🙁
  
  8 2
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  April 17, 2024 1:41pm
  - R
    
    6 years too late
    
    5 0
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    April 17, 2024 3:08pm
- Keith White
  
  The cost of koha.
  
  2 1
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  April 17, 2024 1:57pm
  - kevn
    
    Keith… and the cost of Utu.
    
    3 0
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    April 17, 2024 6:24pm
- NothingLeft
  
  What’s the bet it’s due to high compliance costs to keep Safety Elves and all other manner of clip-board wielding shiny bums appeased?
  
  5 0
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  April 17, 2024 4:33pm
Maggie Pie

Home alone again this weekend while my partner heads back to the maimai with another yuge bucket of Oats.
Think I might head into the city on Saturday afternoon. Bishop Brian is throwing a street-party and eveyones invited.
Not that I’m interested in the Bikes and Ballons… but the Bubbles could be a bit of me 😛

https://twitter.com/BrianTamakiNZ/status/1780379139901632845
8 4
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April 17, 2024 1:12pm
- Jethrod
  
  Take your paint roller.
  
  6 1
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  April 17, 2024 1:59pm
- MCōs
  
  Mr Tamaki is promoting removal of sex education
  Wot!
  And look like Gloriavale
  https://youtu.be/Pvfx6KCeXMM?si=t9DL-NR6ZQb815JV
  
  3 2
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  April 17, 2024 5:46pm
  - Pineapple Lumps
    
    Removal of grooming of children more like!
    
    I’ve seen the RSE program first hand and Brian is right, it needs to go.
    
    0 0
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    April 17, 2024 10:47pm
Jack5

How long before Auckland’s fawning Beijing-lovers advocate donkey breeding and donkey exports to China from agricultural NZ?

Chinese are hungry for a traditional health product called e-jiao, made from collagen the Chinese are getting from about 6 million donkey skins a year.China is importing donkeys from as far away as Africa, robbing many of the peasantry there of traditional animal “tractors”. Demand has reduced China’s own donkey numbers to just under 2 million from 11 million in 1992.

Reuters says the price of e-jiao has leapt 30-fold in the past decade to about $NZ700 for 500 grams. Once the food of emperors and aristocrats, communism has made it available to more “ordinary” Chinese.

In Nigeria alone, tens of thousands of donkeys are slaughtered annually due to the demand for hides, reports Reuters.

While Nigeria’s government banned export of donkeys in 2019, slaughtering is still allowed. Donkeys from neighbouring Niger – across the northern border – are being driven in trucks to southern Nigeria, where they are slaughtered and the skin exported to China.

What is e-jiao supposed to do for you? Its appeal to Asians is along the lines of that of deer velvet, and you can bet some sellers will promise it’ll do for your yin what girl friend Yan no longer can. You can buy it as a gel and dissolve it, but it goes into health and beauty products. Sellers reckon also it is generally “good for your blood”.

In Western tradition, Jesus chose a donkey to ride into Jerusalem. If Jesus survived eternally as Christians believe, has he got an eye on China?

Reuters on China’s great world donkey kill:

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AFRICA-CHINA/DONKEYS/xmpjrdgbxpr/

Vast Chinese donkey farm – harvesting milk for human infants and meat as well as skins (from some of the humans’ faces this farm is probably in a Uighur region):

https://youtu.be/DJUxHQN0nAo?si=1kHeZC7Z8e6Xi8BF

As a sideline, videos are streaming onto Youtube showing trimming of bizarre neglected hoofs of donkeys – an example:

https://youtu.be/AOEj0kk8bME?si=XD7CI1arSFyT_heO
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April 17, 2024 1:24pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  You can get it direct from the importer here in Auckland you know Jack?
  
  4 2
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  April 17, 2024 1:55pm
  - Jack5
    
    Does it work, Maggie?
    
    3 0
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    April 17, 2024 2:01pm
- Paul
  
  What is your issue? Shops in Auckland are full of New Zealand sourced Ewe Colostrum, Shark Cartilage and Placenta Extracts. All Countries do this, Import, Export. Even Human body parts are flogged off around the world.
  
  4 1
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  April 17, 2024 2:28pm
  - Jack5
    
    What do you mean “issue”?
    
    China is buying up Africa’s donkeys, sometimes involving illegal or semi-legal cross-border trade.
    
    NZ in recent years has shipped dairy cows and thoroughbred and standardbred race horses to China.
    
    Someone will likely suggest we breed donkeys for Communist China, or farm them for hides to export to China.
    
    This will set off opposition and protests, with the Beijing-friendly, Auckland-centric National Party damaged in crossfire. Without a strong National Party, Left government is inevitable.
    
    Yes, body parts are “flogged off” around the world. I’m sure that in one big country, they’ll even take a part out of a convict for a price. Doesn’t make it right, or unworthy of noting.
    
    6 0
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    April 17, 2024 3:58pm
    - Jack5
      
      Edit: Without a strong National Party, ~~non~~-Left government is inevitable.
      
      Sorry!
      
      [Mod – fixed]
      
      1 0
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      April 17, 2024 4:10pm
- virtualmark
  
  I thought the little blue pills had crashed the demand for things like deer velvet?
  
  4 0
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  April 17, 2024 3:44pm
  - Jack5
    
    NZ velvet exports over 2023 – $124 million.
    
    https://deernz.org/home/our-stories/nz-deer-velvet-exports-to-china-increased-by-20-million-in-december/
    
    3 0
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    April 17, 2024 4:03pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Could select some of the Jury from here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMLJfoa0N78
2 2
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April 17, 2024 2:02pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

“This newspaper is half the size it used to be.”

“Of course, they used to print both sides of the story.”
12 3
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April 17, 2024 2:09pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Oh lookie, a downtick. Must be someone who only likes one side of the story!
  
  3 2
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  April 17, 2024 2:41pm
- Jethrod
  
  My tablet only prints on one side
  
  0 0
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  April 17, 2024 4:32pm
Ghost

Sean Plunket talks to Jonathan Ayling on Their Legal Case Against the Attorney-General

Free Speech Union files suit against Attorney-General for unlawful arrest of peaceful protestor

The Free Speech Union has filed a suit against the Attorney-General in the Wellington High Court on behalf of Lucy Rogers, a Union member who was wrongfully arrested last year while peacefully protesting, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union.

Article
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April 17, 2024 2:17pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Yes, to the Free Speech Union.
  The Police need to learn that they Police, not just decide that group is correct and those minority person with a sign they don’t like should be arrested.
  Expect much more input from Lucy Rogers.
  
  3 1
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  April 17, 2024 2:30pm
Maggie Pie

Not sure whether to believe her or not…. but a bestie reckons Labor relaxed the requirement for Immigrants to be able to speak English!
Consequently, we may have tens-of thousands of foreingers in the country unable to communicate or find work.

Anyone able to confirm that?
4 2
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April 17, 2024 2:32pm
- kevn
  
  Worst ever…
  https://www.downtoearth.kiwi/post/it-s-official-the-worst-finance-minister-ever-grant-robertson-turned-nz-into-one-of-the-world-s-w?
  
  5 0
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  April 17, 2024 3:56pm
- Albie
  
  Can’t confirm that MP, but rest assured, there will only be two words they need to obtain a visa – Vote Labour.
  
  5 0
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  April 17, 2024 5:15pm
- MCōs
  
  How do you think I felt living in Thailand
  Most of the locals made no effort to speak English
  
  2 1
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  April 17, 2024 5:37pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Dose you missus speak english Cos?
    
    2 1
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    April 17, 2024 5:50pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

The United Spot.
And the Award goes to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaCluxgRqa4
1 1
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April 17, 2024 3:44pm
Benedict Yu

This is an example of the confusing nonsense that we are now seeing around “Maori ways of knowing” and Maori Science.

The Christchurch public transport folk are advertising a job to answer phone inquiries about bus routes. You phone up and ask how do I get a bus from Fendalton to Hornby. This is what you get.

“We’re on a journey to become a treaty partner of excellence, including incorporating te ao Māori into our work. We offer supportive opportunities to develop capability in this area and encourage our people to use kaupapa Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te reo Māori in our daily work. We welcome you with an open heart & mind, wherever you are on your personal te ao Māori journey.”

https://www.seek.co.nz/job/75146064?ref=search-standalone&type=standout#sol=b19a4e1de7771a836315ee625088ac3ea3d3eab5

I understand the Maori language bit but incorporating mātauranga Māori into bus timetable information?

The message here is simple. If you are not on a “personal te ao Māori journey” you are not going to get the job. That irritates. There will be many folk who could do this job well, but they are not on a Maori way of knowing journey so are excluded. It is insane.

It reminds me of the Electoral Commission that refused to employ polling booth workers on election day who could not demonstrate an understanding of the Treaty.
16 0
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April 17, 2024 4:08pm
- Inandout
  
  BY, it will take drastic action by the Coalition to get this stuff scrapped, but maybe withdrawing govt money may help.
  
  9 0
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  April 17, 2024 4:44pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    It has gone beyond a joke. You might be a great candidate for a job but you cannot demonstrate a “personal Te ao maori journey” so you are out. TBH I think that this should be illegal.
    
    I am seeing jobs for data analysts in the public sector that specify an understanding of “Mātauranga Māori approaches to data analysis”.
    
    Honestly the new government has not made a dent in this nonsense.
    
    18 0
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    April 17, 2024 6:04pm
- Dougal10
  
  This just re-enforces the fact that anyone who works for councils and govt departments that go down this rabbit hole are numptys. I have no desire to engage with anyone who puts up with this stuff at work .
  
  6 0
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  April 17, 2024 7:16pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Why wouldn’t the Council just deploy an FAQ Bot?
  
  AI is the go!
  
  2 0
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  April 17, 2024 7:27pm
- Jack5
  
  The Christchurch City Council, too, needs a clean-out of the Woke.
  
  The latest Mayor was going to be a new broom, but seems to have quickly become a captive of the council staff.
  
  2 0
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  April 17, 2024 7:50pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

John Kennedy.
“The senator then went on to make a comparison, calling Iran the “pimp” and Hamas, Hezbollah, and Yemen their “prostitutes.” He emphasized that it is essential to stand with Israel and not give in to Iran’s tactics.”
Turn the cheek and get it in the neck-yes.

https://feedsnorth.com/kennedy-destroys-biden-with-brutal-spine-less-spat-epic-video/
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April 17, 2024 4:38pm
Maggie Pie

FOX just showed a photo of the Dudge in Trumpy’s ‘hush-money’ trial.

What I’d like to know… what sort of Judge wears eyeliner and plucks his eyebrows?

SHEEESH!!
5 2
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April 17, 2024 5:09pm
- MCōs
  
  Judge Jeanine
  https://www.thedailybeast.com/drunk-fox-news-host-jeanine-pirro-chugs-bleach-on-snl
  
  2 0
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  April 17, 2024 5:30pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  I pluck my eyebrows.
  
  4 0
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  April 17, 2024 6:05pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    You realise that Chinese believe…. the bushier the eyebrows, the more affinity you’ll have with making friends?
    The owner of our local Chinese Takeaway, has eyebrows nearly 4 inches long and gels them into place with Luvloob.
    
    Just saying.
    
    6 1
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    April 17, 2024 6:41pm
    - Benedict Yu
      
      I’m not from China.
      
      1 0
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      April 17, 2024 7:08pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        President Xi would beg to differ 😀
        
        6 1
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        April 17, 2024 7:22pm
MCōs

PM Christopher Luxon arrived at Bangkok last evening where he was met by Mr. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Social Development and Human Security. His father Banharn aka Mr ATM, was Thai PM for a year or so in the mid nineties and was so useless and corrupt he precipitated the Asian crash of 1997. He also clamped down on the press when they tried to expose his corruption
He was also extremely short and the local press photographers had a field day when he had to stand alongside the first George Bush, a particularly tall chap, at one of those regional summits where they all wear funny shirts.
He resigned as PM and his party was banned for five years. However the family remains very popular in Suphan Buri where all sorts of government money has been splashed around
The old local boss is dead now and Mr L got to meet the new boss . . . .
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/944729/banharn-silpa-archa-dies-at-83
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April 17, 2024 5:24pm
- kowtow
  
  ‘was so useless and corrupt he precipitated the Asian crash of 1997. ‘
  
  What’s that we’re always reminded of , corelation is not causation.
  
  innit.
  
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  April 17, 2024 6:18pm

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