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October 25, 2024 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 25 October 2024

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General Debate

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Yvette

[The Maori Queen] is about to make her first major appearance since her father’s death as thousands make their way south to attend tomorrow’s final hui ā-motu.
As per tikanga, she is not expected to speak at the event following so soon after the death of her father, Simmonds said.
… “In keeping with our tikanga, with our customs and traditions, for the first 12 months following the death of the king, the queen will keep silence.”

Date requested for introduction of the Bill 12 November 2024
Date of report back from select committee 19 May 2025

the Maori Queen will not apparently break her silence until 31 August 2025
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October 25, 2024 8:01am
- rjay
  
  Pretty dodgy tikanga in a traditional society. If your chief gets picked off in a battle, it’s a worry that your new leader has to stay silent for a year. Great time to be an invader, I would have thought.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:41am
  - Yvette
    
    And, Rjay, even in the modern context, it seems Royalty could refrain from continuing a father’s movement of unity – presumably that being to confront a Government (as he saw it) in introducing legislation that results in consultation opportunities that will end a couple of months before your silence officially does?
    I guess comment then falls to that of Royalty’s minions
    
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    October 25, 2024 10:32am
  - John Loveridge
    
    “Chief! The enemy is already burning the palisade! What do we do?”
    
    Chief [checks calendar]: “…”
    
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    October 25, 2024 4:26pm
- Flossie
  
  Pretty hypocritical that such Maori traditions cannot be broken, whereas it’s fine to disrespect “colonial” traditions and protocols. Wearing hats in parliament for instance.
  
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  October 25, 2024 12:46pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Caribbean countries are keen for reparations from the UK for slavery – GBP 18T is one figure being bandied about.
One would think that being given one’s own country would have to be factored in. I mean, I’m sure China or Russia would pay a handsome sum to buy an island in the Western Hemisphere (with the current residents being returned to continent of origin).

The three candidates for the Commonwealth Secretary General role all support reparations; all are from African countries and two are from West Africa. Methinks they should be careful what they wish for, since West African countries will likewise be in the gun for their role in the slave trade.

http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn01ljdl07xo
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October 25, 2024 8:01am
- Handyman
  
  Will Australians be eligible for reparations for wrongful imprisonment and transport to Botany Bay? It seems the reparations are based on the law of today rather than the law at the time.
  
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  October 25, 2024 10:31am
- kowtow
  
  Britain should counter with a bill to them for the suppression of the slave trade .
  
  Descendants of sailors who were press ganged into the RN should also mount a claim against the Crown.
  
  Europeans could also mount claims against north African countries for the white slave trade
  
  Etc
  
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  October 25, 2024 1:07pm
  - sherp
    
    I’m of Irish heritage…. if anyone deserves reparations from the English it’s us.
    
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    October 25, 2024 5:30pm
    - kowtow
      
      Why ?
      
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      October 25, 2024 6:48pm
Yvette

From the final Hui ā-motu.
“Rangatiratanga is more than owning lots of business and having a big bank account,” said Justin Tipa, kaiwhakahaere of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. “It’s how do we implement the institutions and those structures that will allow us to effectively and efficiently run our lands seek consenting conditions, potentially collect tax in a way that is currently not enabled under local government.”

It’s something First Nation groups in Canada have already achieved over reservation land and it’s a model many would like to see replicated here.

With a Māori parliament seemingly now set aside, the hui ā-motu has more directly focused iwi on a unified way forward — something Kīngi Tuheitia would, no doubt, be pleased to see his daughter progress.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/10/24/economic-independence-a-focus-at-final-hui-a-motu/

– “potentially collect tax in a way that is currently not enabled under local government?
Did any ‘journalist’ ask what this all is?
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October 25, 2024 8:02am
- rouppe
  
  They currently don’t pay any tax. Isn’t that already collecting – as in still having what others don’t – tax?
  
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  October 25, 2024 10:31am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Trump is like Hitler.

https://babylonbee.com/news/9-ways-trump-is-exactly-like-hitler?
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October 25, 2024 8:02am
- imalwaysright
  
  Hitler would never have survived Trumps negative press ratings numbers!!!
  
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  October 25, 2024 3:56pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Trump was going to be Hitler in his first term, buy he forgot.
Too busy making red hats.

https://babylonbee.com/news/democrats-explain-trump-was-going-to-be-hitler-during-his-first-term-but-he-forgot?
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October 25, 2024 8:04am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

10 ways to survive a Kamala Presidency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dlP4vITCu4
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October 25, 2024 8:06am
- NZer In Exile
  
  Nice. I get “sign in to confirm you’re not a bot”. GF google.
  
  Watched it on Rumble instead.
  
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  October 26, 2024 7:43pm
peterwn

“The PM needs evidence-based [scientific] advice more than ever” proclaims a Businessdesk (paywalled) article. There is concern that the PM’s chief scientific adviser role has been sitting vacant for months. However given current circumstances I think there is good reason for the PM not to make an appointment. While it is claimed that the PM needs scientific evidence based advise, I think in many cases that research is too narrowly researched. Although scientists claim that the ‘science is settled’ in some areas like climate change, I have never heard Albert Einstein claim that the ‘science is settled’ with respect to his discoveries.
The focus of attack is on Casey Costello and her wanting to ease back tobacco taxes. OK, scientific evidence is higher tobacco taxes reduce smoking and therefore related issues. However that is as far as the studies go, they do not look at the wider picture such as illegal activities and criminal profiteering which are fallouts from trying to screw down tobacco use. The scientists opposed to Casey’s approach would say that the fallouts are ‘not our problem’. However that approach in itself shows a lack of scientific rigour.
Even if the PM is concerned with Casey’s approach, he is stuck with it as part of the coalition agreement, the PM would need to decide whether it is worth while risking scuttling the coalition on this point. In the circumstances the last thing he needs is narrow minded scientific advice which will then be used to hit him over the head.
By the way I support Casey’s approach to the tobacco problem over the brute force approach advocated by her political enemies. I do not smoke, never have.
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October 25, 2024 8:07am
- Cassandra
  
  If the PM needs scientific advice then he needs more than one scientist. The days of the polymath are long gone. If the PM wants advice on a particular issue then he can get it readily from dozens of qualified NZ academics, all of whom will be happy to oblige for a modest fee. The research outfit I worked for needed specialist advice; a UoA prof gave it to me and then gave us half his $2,000 fee back as a donation!
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:22am
  - cmm
    
    Certainly, the age of the polymath are long gone. Everything has become far more complex.
    
    ” If the PM wants advice on a particular issue then he can get it readily from dozens of qualified NZ academics, ”
    
    NZ academics will say whatever keeps them in clover.
    
    That is why almost every research paper tries to link itself to climate change (or these days Maori something or other).
    
    Remember that scientists are people too. They have kids who want Play Stations and houses with mortgages and egos that like to be rubbed. Don’t put scientists up on a pedestal by confusing science with scientists.
    
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    October 25, 2024 8:55am
- cmm
  
  There are really two parts to this:
  
  1) Science is far too complex for one person to be the science advisor. Generally anyone appointed to that role is a career academic and plays the political game rather than robustly following the data. If you have a single science advisor then they are likely to push their agenda and opinions rather than use science properly.
  
  2) As you say, there are more factors to decision making than just “following the science”. There are also social/societal factors and how far you can push people before they leave.
  
  That is the job of leaders to take all these competing factors and make the best compromises.
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:24am
  - bennerg
    
    Well put. “He who pays the piper calls the tune“, and the position of “Science Advisor” would appear to be simply a political tool, as who in that role would dare say anything their paymaster would find objectionable.
    
    Science is a method of gaining knowledge, and no science is “settled” (that’s a political term) and sadly today organisations such as “Big Pharma” are rolled as representatives of science, whereas in fact they are purely business.
    
    The days of independent scientific endeavour are long gone. All scientific research is directed by their funders, and sadly that is now completely biased, along with the media promoting them.
    
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    October 25, 2024 8:48am
    - ChristopherW2
      
      I agree with you, except for the implied wickedness of ‘Big Pharma’. I don’t blame them for the excesses of Covid policy – the worst aspects of that were entirely the responsibility of the political classes.
      
      As someone who has had a severe health problem effectively treated by the miracle of modern medicine, I have a very positive view of the pharmaceutical industry.
      
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      October 25, 2024 10:45am
      - bennerg
        
        Christopher, nothing is back and white, and I too have been the beneficiary of modern medical wizardry. So thankful, but also wary with what I now know (having worked in the medical industry).
        
        The pharmaceutical business is just that, a business first. So just understand where their priorities lie.
        
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        October 25, 2024 5:54pm
- I remember when
  
  peterwn:
  The associated consequences of both cannabis and vaping actions to date have been largely overlooked.
  In both cases there is also the fact that the long term health outcomes are still unknown.
  Also overlooked with the heated tobacco products arguments, is that the years of, so far, largely successful action has not budged the small but hardcore, long term smokers numbers.
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:28am
- Ehlana
  
  Any good idea pushed to extremes becomes a bad idea. A “sin tax” needs to be high enough to cover the negative externalities (e.g., cancer care) and fund related activities, such as Stop Smoking campaigns, or research into better alternatives. Beyond that, it is punitive and will only encourage illegal supply.
  
  Although, given recent comments by TPM, it is possible that is the aim of the higher tax advocates – another income stream for the gangs.
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:28am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Does anyone recall who the Chief Scientific Advisor was during the last few years?
  
  (ok… that’s rhetorical)…
  
  but I don’t recall Prof Dame Juliet having much of a say on matters to do with NZ Freshwaters/ Energy needs/ CO2 budgets/ Disaster resilience/ Science vs Matauranga in the Science curriculum/ Biothreats/ Genetic engineering, etc, etc.
  
  I agree that the days of a single voice for Science Advice are gone…. but heaven forbid that NZ relies on the “advice” emanating from the current Royal Society of NZ.
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:51am
  - Clyde
    
    The Royal Society of NZ needs to be abolished as it has become nothing other than a committee of DEI woke nonsense providers. I’m amazed that the “parent body” in the UK hasn’t done more to ensure that the good name of their society isn’t further besmirched by the activities of the NZ committee of idiots.
    
    But where does the Government go for good sound scientific advice? Look at the last Government and their determination to proceed with Lake Onslow as an example. It had been captured entirely by this hydrologist academic from Waikato, Earl Bardsley who spent years bending the ear of that scientific giant (cough, cough) Megan Woods convincing her that this was the answer to NZ’s current power crisis.
    
    The fact that it was at the wrong end of the country meaning billions of dollars of upgrading of the transpower network, the fact that the costs were hugely underestimated (went from $4b to $16B before a spade was in the ground), and it was grossly inefficient, were all ignored or not even consulted on with those people with actual knowledge.
    
    So, having a single person is maybe a good idea if you can find a current, respected scientist who believes that he or she isn’t the font of all knowledge, but knows where to go to get it. A tall order I’d suggest.
    
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    October 25, 2024 9:06am
- cmm
  
  One of the problems with the smoking research is that what the science says and how that is presented to the population are quite different.
  
  For example, there is very strong evidence (ie. science grade evidence) that if people smoke in their youth and quite by the time they turn 35 then their long term mortality is the same as a non-smoker.
  
  But this message gets simplified to “all smoking is bad” because it is thought that the real science is too complicated for people to understand.
  
  This is driving a lot of the uptake of vaping in younger people too.
  
  Now I am not suggesting people smoke. I think smoking is disgusting. However it is clear that people are not getting the science.
  
  Science gets cherrypicked to support the political message.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:09am
rouppe

Lead story in the Herald about a nasty piece of work demanding white only hospital care.

And fair enough, that is nasty behaviour.

But I can’t understand why no one applies any comparison to the Maori Health Authority, where health care was supposed to be ring fenced for Maori, and delivered only by Maori. Isn’t that exactly the same situation?
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October 25, 2024 8:09am
- Keith White
  
  It is exactly the same situation and that is why no-one dares make the comparison in public.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:22am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Funny thing is that you never hear of Chinese folk demanding Chinese doctors. They tend to focus on expertise. They also have a healthy scepticism of their own people. They understand that there are just as many bad Chinese doctors as those of other ethnicities. 😂
  
  When I had heart surgery, I actually had a choice of surgeons. The guy I went to see was an old white guy. Grumpy with zero bedside manner. I conveyed this to my cardiologist. He replied “Trust me. He is the best in the country.” Good enough for me. 😃
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:46am
  - ChristopherW2
    
    I had a buddy in Australia who, when looking for a doctor, would seek out a Jewish doctor. All else being equal (or unknown), it was probably a decent strategy.
    
    I might do the same for a Chinese doctor. If I had a choice but no other information, I’d probably assume a Chinese doctor was the best.
    
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    October 25, 2024 10:50am
  - pdm
    
    BY – was it Peter Raudkivi (sp).
    
    I had him in 2002 for Aortic Valve replacement and in 2016 an Irishman Sean whose surname escapes me for valve replacement.
    
    Raudkivi was of Estonian descent and his father designed the main round a bout in Havelock North.
    
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    October 25, 2024 11:31am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      I also had an aortic valve replacement.
      
      No he was at the Wakefield Heart Centre in Wellington. I’m not go going to name him, given my comment. 😅
      
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      October 25, 2024 11:36am
  - cmm
    
    Well, lets face it, you pretty much never hear of white people demanding white doctors either. Sure there might be a very small number that demand whites, but they would be in the extreme minority.
    
    Even as a white racist South African, I was perfectly happy with the two African nurses I had in Christchurch (one from Kenya, another from elsewhere).
    
    I think though that if Maori, and others, are given preferential access to medical school and getting a leg up in their careers, it is fair for people to start questioning whether they have a “real” medical degree or a “Maori medical degree”.
    
    If you get a white or Asian doctor then you don’t have to ask that question.
    
    Now I am not at all suggesting white doctors are better. The worst GP I have seen in the last 5 years was white – bloody terrible.
    
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    October 25, 2024 1:03pm
    - MCōs
      
      Once admitted to med school students still have to do the business
      Btw
      There is also a Regional Rural Admission Scheme
      
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      October 25, 2024 5:04pm
      - rouppe
        
        But you have passed over someone with superior entry grades in order to allow someone with lesser entry grades to study.
        
        That academic performance will likely translate through, such that you have a med school graduate who achieves lesser grades than someone not allowed to study because of their race.
        
        Have they still passed? Yes. But have the most qualified cohort of med students gone through the system? No.
        
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        October 25, 2024 6:00pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      Now if someone could point me at research that showed high school/first year grades correlate with who is a “good” doctor I might have a bit more certainty about all this.
      
      Maybe any sort of research that suggests some medical graduates are “bad” doctors ….
      
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      October 25, 2024 7:03pm
  - Jinky
    
    Think I might have had the same heart surgeon. Zero bedside manner but excellent result for me.
    
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    October 25, 2024 2:53pm
Grunter

I recently re-watched the movie “The Big Short” which explains in layman’s terms the lead up to the GFC. It’s worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.

Today we have the same situation, a financial house of cards, except much larger and many times more dangerous. Global sovereign debt is exploding everywhere and there are complicated derivatives built off this creating massive debt leverage. No one even knows the total ‘value’ of these contrived derivatives.

It’s a house of cards built on a house of cards….. One day it collapses. I don’t think anyone knows what then happens.
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October 25, 2024 8:09am
- Tauhei Notts
  
  I found the “The Big Short” very difficult to follow as I needed a Glossary to explain what all the acronyms meant.
  Having been treasurer of the local Fellowship to Understand Christian Knowledge I want to know what the FUCK each acronym means.
  But others have argued that as I brought up our daughters in the 1990’s I was merely a Caring Understanding Nineties Type. Then somebody used the acronym and I got angry.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:46am
- rouppe
  
  Who holds all this debt?
  
  USA has huge debt. Russia can’t access money. China has huge debt. We have large debt.
  
  Who is it all owed to? The Saudi’s?
  
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  October 25, 2024 10:37am
  - Grunter
    
    Everyone and No one….
    
    IMO it is such a convoluted mess, multi-layered and tangled. Who own’s what and who is a secured creditor and who is not…..?
    
    I guess we will all find out when it implodes.
    
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    October 25, 2024 12:01pm
  - cmm
    
    As I understand it, most of the US federal debt is owned by the US citizens though retirement funds etc.
    
    A lot is also owned by other countries because USD is seen as a stable currency.
    
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    October 25, 2024 1:07pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

The NZ women’s cricket team is really not very good. Anyone who thinks losing 10 games in a row is inspired preparation for a major tournament has rocks in their head. Sure, they won the games they needed to (and well done for that); and you can only beat the teams you play against, but they got very lucky with other teams knocking out England and Australia.

Normal service is resumed.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360462594/white-ferns-captain-sophie-devine-run-out-inexcusable-fashion-loss-india
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October 25, 2024 8:14am
- Prince
  
  We won, they lost, eat that.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:59am
- MCōs
  
  As you say they won the games they needed to . . . . .
  
  Everyone remembers Peter Snell for his gold medals at Rome and Tokyo, not for his string of defeats after Tokyo
  
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  October 25, 2024 10:03am
Simon

Murdered on the bus and they panic. Murdered on the street and it would have been meh.

They are hyper sensitive about public transport. They want all the plebs on public transport. For every murder on the bus how many assaults. 30 to 1? Not reported of course.

And this:

Luxon added he wanted to acknowledge the victim and the pain their loved ones are going through.

“That shouldn’t happen in New Zealand. We need to think again about what more we could be doing.”

Lol – what fucking garbage. People are now routinely killed in Auckland. Often the killers get manslaughter, on Home D for a year. Routine.

Auckland is unsafe. Going through the motions National. Fucking clowns.
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October 25, 2024 8:15am
- Benedict Yu
  
  People are killed in Christchurch just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/130313689/hell-of-a-nice-guy-allegedly-assaulted-in-christchurch-cbd-dies
  
  I don’t recall him saying anything.
  
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  October 25, 2024 11:42am
Anthony Melchett

Take society back to the good old days where it was rude to even ask someone who they voted for, the colour of your skin was not your defining characteristic and women could not have a penis.
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October 25, 2024 8:15am
Cassandra

This isn’t an endorsement of Harris. When ex Chairman JCS Milley, Gen Mattis, Gen Kelly and LTG McMaster, all of whom worked closely with Trump, express serious concerns about hm then surely you’ve got ask yourself questions. I think he’s a great campaigner and a seriously flawed human being. I’m thankful I do not have a vote because Harris is clearly inferior. The US faces a dilemma. Why can’t it get good candidates for the presidency nominated?
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October 25, 2024 8:16am
- cmm
  
  The Generals also have a vested interest.
  The Generals personal power come from their ability to use the military as a political organisation. They like their huge budgets and NATO etc.
  
  Trump has spoken out against USA’s over-funding of NATO (ie. other countries should pay their fair share). That clearly flies in the face of the Generals’ powers.
  
  Recently a General referred to Trump as facist. In modern terms that seems to really mean “nationalist” – ie someone who focuses on their own country’s needs rather than globalism.
  
  That is a very odd thing for a General to say. You’d think that a General should be a nationalist – putting their country’s needs ahead of everything else. Isn’t that what they are supposed to do? They swear allegiance to their country – not to NATO and globalism.
  
  Generals should not be voicing political opinions. They should be serving the state of the day.
  
  Apart from everything else, playing in the political space also reduces trust within the military. Soldiers tend not to like being used as political ammunition.
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:36am
  - bennerg
    
    Well put cmm. And also to add that it seems that all parts of the American public service are partisan, and it seems that the military are no different these days.
    
    Any what is fascism, and what part of it is “bad”? Google tells me:
    
    Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition.
    
    Well Trump already had four years as president, did we see any of that? No.
    
    Certainly efforts to create a strong army, but no warfaring seen with other Presidents. Re “centralized autocracy” Trump helped devolve the abortion topic to the States, hardly a centralising move. As to “forcible suppression of opposition”, is that not what we have seen in the last four years under Biden, with the attempts to stump Trump using “lawfare”.
    
    As to “ultranationalist political ideology”, from the perspective of a far-left advocate, anything right of centre is of course “far right”. However based on past performance, I see nothing in Trump’s plans as worrying. Well not for the average American, but perhaps for:
    
    1. The corrupt public service (drain the swamp)
    2. The over-staffed public service (Yay go Elon)
    3. Big Pharma (Go Bobby)
    4. The Woke (reality will dawn)
    5. Illegal Aliens (go home José)
    6. NATO (who will have to pay more for themselves)
    7. The (social & MSM) Media (eat humble pie)
    8. The UN (who will also have to pay their way)
    9. etc
    
    Anyway, time to grab the popcorn, it is going to be one of the most interesting elections of all time.
    
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    October 25, 2024 9:12am
  - Graeme Hall
    
    Look up Article 88. These retired Generals should be aware of it or think it wont be applied to them.
    
    Hitler, Stalin or Mussolini would have had their heads, Trump will probably ignore them, though I suspect someone appointed to the Cabinet for Defence might have something in mind for General Millie.
    
    “Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
    
    Also, the big money for high ranking retired officers is getting a job with manufacturers of military equipment as a lobbyist to the Pentagon. Such jobs are the real pay-off for a career in the US military and pay millions. Trump is likely to institute a stand-down period after these people leave the military to stop them lobbying their mates for contracts.
    
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    October 25, 2024 11:49am
  - NothingLeft
    
    US Generals and senior military get rich off working for defense contractors and multinationals with their fingers in shitholes after retirement. Without enormous budgets for offshore power projection their empires and opportunities shrink.
    
    They also see strong virtue in being world police. I agree, but can see the cost it imposes on USA, spending $3000/yr per citizen on military, when so many are struggling to get by, also, the soft power it creates is not what it once was.
    
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    October 25, 2024 12:26pm
- JimBobJoe
  
  I have serious concerns about Trump as well – primarily he eats to many cheeseburgers and may keel over as a result, as well as being a little all over the place on trade matters.
  
  But I comfort myself in knowing that he has JD Vance, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy etc standing ready to serve as VP and senior members of his government.
  
  Compare that Harris and you get the disaster you have now, PLUS you get the unmitigated disaster of Tim ‘I love China’ Waltz.
  
  As for your question about better candidates:
  
  1/ The main parties generally want a controllable figure – Trump is an outlier
  2/ The USA Media gives almost zero coverage to third party candidates (Perot was the last to be given equal treatment from memory)
  3/ The Main party primaries encourage deselection of moderate and capable people. That process encourages radicals to sway the final choice and the process is a full on muck racking so why would a normal person want to engage in it…
  4/ The real power in the US are the donors – and they like weak Presidents so they can drive there own agendas
  
  Frankly on balance, of the two options, Trump is the best available….
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:53am
  - bennerg
    
    “primarily he eats to many cheeseburgers and may keel over as a result”
    
    Actually given his age and obvious energy, I’d suggest he has a better diet than you think.
    
    If I had his money, I’d have the best GP, cardiologist etc that money could buy.
    
    7 3
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    October 25, 2024 10:40am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Given that he is obese, I’d say he has a terrible diet.
      
      4 2
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      October 25, 2024 11:44am
      - cmm
        
        Obese? Marginally so. He certainly isn’t morbidly obese (BMI 40+).
        
        The last analysis I saw put him at BMI 30.15 (110kg, 191cm).
        
        Considering he is tall, and BMI tends to be higher in tall people (due to the way it is calculated) being marginally obese is not a huge deal.
        
        Being very tall, I am acutely aware of this issue. For me to be “normal weight” I’d have to slim down to the body of a scrawny marathon runner (96kg at 196 cm).
        
        Using the “new BMI” which is more accurate for taller people, he only has a “new BMI” of 28.36 = overweight.
        
        https://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi_calc.html
        
        6 3
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        October 25, 2024 12:53pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Trump is not 191 cm. That is 6 feet three inches.
        
        https://www.quora.com/How-tall-is-Donald-Trump
        
        You just need to look at a photo next to men whose height we do know.
        
        The consensus is that he is somewhere between 183 cm and 185 cm.
        
        His tailored suits hide his obesity. But look at him in his golfing attire. It is not pretty 🙂
        
        No he is not morbidly obese but he is hardly a picture of health.
        
        4 3
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        October 25, 2024 1:27pm
      - bennerg
        
        https://web.archive.org/web/20160916021234/https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/DJT_Medical_Records_.pdf
        
        So in 2016 the doctor measured at 6′ 3″ an 236 pounds (107 kg). By the BMI calculator (27.24) “overweight”, not obese.
        
        I’m 6’3″ and a few Kgs lighter. Defintely not in the obese realm.
        
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        October 25, 2024 6:02pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    I think Trump croaking after election would be a net good. His VP and cabinet are excellent and I think genuinely want what’s best for the little people in USA.
    
    1 6
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    October 25, 2024 12:29pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  Trump is flawed. I agree.
  
  However, in response, the Democrats have put up someone who is vacuous, and who looks either terrified or confused. All the time. She understands nothing about anything.
  
  I just can’t get past that.
  
  I don’t understand why these two candidates are the best that the United States can produce. However these two are what are on offer. That is why Trump will likely win.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:00am
  - peterwn
    
    Problem is Superman is not available as a candidate. Never mind that the Secret Service would never allow him to use a telephone booth as a changing room.
    
    11 1
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    October 25, 2024 9:28am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      I don’t think that I was demanding superman as an alternative to either candidate
      
      10 1
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      October 25, 2024 9:30am
      - Cassandra
        
        The US will have to endure Harris or Trump this time. There’ll be better candidates next time.
        
        4 1
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        October 25, 2024 10:00am
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Cassandra,
        JD Vance is being groomed for 2028.
        The Democrats have multiple choices from their corrupt mob.
        
        3 4
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        October 25, 2024 10:43am
      - rouppe
        
        Cassandra:
        
        The Democrats have been begging for people like George Clooney and Dwayne Johnson to run. Not sure that constitutes “better”.
        
        Those people get whatever they want because they’re rich and make a good tv sound bite. They (no longer) have any concept of what it’s like to have to make a difficult decision.
        
        George in particular should have been roasted for his “there’ll never be a president Trump, that’s not going to happen” sneer 8 years ago.
        
        5 1
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        October 25, 2024 10:49am
      - NothingLeft
        
        Republicans have a deep bench. De Santis should be in their cabinet too given how well he has run Florida – don’t think he has the charisma for presidency. Vance and Ramaswamy are rock stars as well.
        
        1 3
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        October 25, 2024 12:32pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      I’d prefer Judge Dredd.
      
      0 0
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      October 26, 2024 7:48pm
- Grunter
  
  Simple conclusion (I agree with you BTW)….
  
  The USA is buggered (in so many ways).
  
  And by association, ‘The West’ is also buggered. I see no realistic solution to the current state of affairs. At some stage, we will cycle into a new state of affairs. It’s the change period that history shows to be the dangerous period.
  
  8 4
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  October 25, 2024 9:14am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Yes you are correct. Let’s face it. We elected our own version of Kamala in New Zealand.
    
    EDIT The latest demand from the Harris campaign is “Vote for Kamala or you are sexist.”
    
    We saw that here. When jacinda resigned, Helen Clark gave despairing wails about her being a victim of sexist fuelled hatred. Really pissed me off. 👹
    
    32 0
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    October 25, 2024 9:32am
    - rouppe
      
      Not to mention during her term, Grant Robertson describing criticism of a decision Jacinda Arden made (can’t actually remember what that was now) as stemming from misogyny. Just to redirect away from it being a crap decision
      
      11 0
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      October 25, 2024 10:52am
      - rouppe
        
        I think it was this.
        
        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/grant-robertson-suggests-bridges-pm-criticism-has-sexist-overtone/KGL26JGGDSMDYY7MV2OWIRRHH4/
        
        1 0
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        October 25, 2024 12:15pm
    - rockape
      
      I voted for Maggie Thatcher three times, that’s my get out of jail card on the sexist theme.
      
      4 1
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      October 25, 2024 1:18pm
    - leoj
      
      You seem to forget that Winston “elected” Jacinda.
      
      The country did not.
      
      Not that it means anything, because the party determines their leader, Bill English was more popular than her at election time.
      
      All Winston had to do was go with the parties that generated the most support. He didn’t. He failed us, hugely.
      
      8 1
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      October 25, 2024 1:34pm
I remember when

If Ayesha Verrall’s partner sleeps on the other side of the bed – are they a ‘distant’ relative?
21 2
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October 25, 2024 8:19am
- Scooter
  
  And then does Ayesha Verrall’s brother spills the beans after some pillow talk by the sister-in-law,,,? What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”?
  
  11 1
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  October 25, 2024 9:37am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Ayesha Verrall doesn’t have a brother.
    
    7 0
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    October 25, 2024 9:47am
    - Scooter
      
      Ohhh sister from another sister??? The plot thickens.
      
      5 1
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      October 25, 2024 9:57am
    - Taieri
      
      How can she have a sister in law then? Am I missing something?
      
      6 0
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      October 25, 2024 10:03am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Ayesha Verrall’s partner is Alice Revell.
        
        The MOH public servant named by Winston is the sister of Alice.
        
        11 0
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        October 25, 2024 10:08am
      - Flossie
        
        Her wife has a sister?
        
        5 0
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        October 25, 2024 10:10am
      - Taieri
        
        Ayesha Verrall’s partner is Alice Revell.
        
        The MOH public servant named by Winston is the sister of Alice
        ———–
        
        Too complicated for me…
        
        3 1
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        October 25, 2024 11:31am
      - pdm
        
        Flossie – or her husband has a sister.
        
        3 0
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        October 25, 2024 11:42am
      - Flossie
        
        pdm – just like not having a brother neither does she have a husband.
        
        4 0
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        October 25, 2024 12:49pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        @Taieri
        
        Too complicated for me…
        
        That’s ok…
        
        Chippy is confused, too.
        
        1 0
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        October 25, 2024 4:28pm
      - Jethrod
        
        That is not difficult
        
        1 0
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        October 25, 2024 6:51pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  A distaff relative?
  
  5 0
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  October 25, 2024 10:26am
  - pdm
    
    I always thought distaff only applied to horses Bollocks.
    
    At 78 I live and learn.
    
    3 0
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    October 25, 2024 11:44am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Twenty years of climate scare stories.
People need to wake up to the scamming.

https://centrist.co.nz/twenty-years-of-climate-scare-stories-how-data-debunks-alarmism/?

https://financialpost.com/opinion/20-years-scare-stories-name-climate-alarmism
24 2
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October 25, 2024 8:24am
- peterwn
  
  But the science is settled!
  
  16 1
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  October 25, 2024 8:31am
  - G152
    
    Until it isn’t.
    Science is never ‘settled’
    What was ‘known’ a hundred years ago as science is no longer viable because new evidence and better equipment
    
    9 0
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    October 25, 2024 9:02am
    - peterwn
      
      Albert Einstein never claimed his science was ‘settled’. Indeed he fully expected that someone would knock holes in his discoveries in due course.
      
      13 0
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      October 25, 2024 9:24am
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Co2 being the control knob for the world’s average temp is an untested and unproven hypothesis (not to mention it’s shot to pieces by multiple lines of proxy data). The hypothesis largely ignores numerous other significant influences on the climate. Modelling an unproven, untested and flawed hypothesis and declaring we are all going to die based on that modeling is not science.
      
      0 0
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      October 26, 2024 7:55pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    As someone else pointed out, “the science is settled” was never heard from Albert Einstein.
    
    6 1
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    October 25, 2024 10:47am
    - NZer In Exile
      
      He actually stated it would only take one person to demonstrate with proof that a hypothesis was flawed. IE science isn’t about a “consensus” of believers.
      
      0 0
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      October 26, 2024 8:01pm
  - cmm
    
    If the science is settled then we can stop wasting more money on climate change research right?
    
    6 0
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    October 25, 2024 1:11pm
- surfing
  
  Most people have moderate views when it comes to global warming. Eg, demand for beachside property is insatiable.
  
  Scare stories about islands disappearing etc are used by radical global warming deniers for their straw man arguments.
  
  Radicals on both sides are as bad as each other.
  
  8 4
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  October 25, 2024 8:40am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    I am waiting for the Doomsday (Thwaites) Glacier to break away and sea levels to rise three meters.
    
    5 1
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    October 25, 2024 10:50am
    - Chris Nisbet
      
      Experts say it could be as soon as next year!…
      
      https://www.joboneforhumanity.org/the_thwaites_doomsday_glacier
      
      2 0
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      October 25, 2024 5:55pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      If it does (highly unlikely by all serious accounts), it will be due to the 100 or so volcanoes under that section of Antarctica. It’s called nature. The vast remainder of Antarctica is steadfastly refusing to warm.
      
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      October 26, 2024 8:04pm
- Local Miller
  
  Yes, but just think how much better the polar bears and Great Barrier Reef would have done if it hadn’t been for all that global warming //
  
  6 2
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  October 25, 2024 9:49am
  - Don Beckett
    
    If the polar bears had done better, the northern countries would be overrun by them. Their populations have flourished over the past 4 decades.
    
    5 1
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    October 25, 2024 11:24am
- Blog-aholic
  
  20 more like 40+
  
  5 0
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  October 25, 2024 9:49am
rouppe

How does Darlene Tana’s husband open another bike hire company while still under investigation for migrant exploitation and while owing money to employees and IRD?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/darleen-tanas-ex-husband-christian-hoff-nielsen-registers-new-bike-business/AKPO4DQLVNG4TDY26RAZADAKHA/
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October 25, 2024 8:34am
- peterwn
  
  Nothing to stop him unless he is declared bankrupt or the authorities seeks an order that he is not to be in a management or governance role for x years. Employees and IRD just have to whistle for their money. Even if he is banned, Darleen (say) could set up a new company with hubby as a nominal ‘rank and file’ employee. I am not saying that this is what is happening, I am giving it merely as an example.
  
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  October 25, 2024 9:20am
  - rouppe
    
    Yes I understand the mechanics of him being able to do it.
    
    I think our company law is too weak in this area. It’s also how many many builders escaped liability for building leaky homes.
    
    11 0
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    October 25, 2024 10:54am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  A large helping of entitlement?
  
  Makes you wonder whether he has a bank loan & if so, what the bank was thinking.
  
  Let’s hope he was not counting another two years of taxpayer gratitude when he did his business case.
  
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  October 25, 2024 12:48pm
Grunter

Brilliantly written by Rob MacCulloch this morning. I wonder what the real answer is as to why the Nats continue to agree with what the ACT Treaty Bill says, but at the same time continue to say they will vote it down?

[Mod – debate without the personal jabs]

https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/rob-macculloch-the-pm-justice-minister-and-attorney-general-now-say-they-agree-with-all-three-of-a?
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October 25, 2024 8:38am
- Prince
  
  If the Greens can get away with voting for the Waka-Jumping bill, then convincing the Media that they ‘vehemently opposed’ it, why shouldn’t National vote down a bill they agree with ?
  
  9 0
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  October 25, 2024 10:04am
Maggy Wassilieff

Should you put your staff out of their misery before or after a long weekend?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360464120/tvnz-restructure-decisions-be-broken-staff-tuesday

I’d prefer to know before…
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October 25, 2024 8:58am
Southern Raider

When will the judiciary be held to account. There seems to be no liability on them for the decisions they make.

The Onehunga bus stabbing tragedy was easily avoided in all the various judges had of provided adequate sentencing and also not allowed the murderer out on bail for breaching release conditions.

Society (and especially the left) needs to accept that some humans are animals and just should be removed permanently.
27 1
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October 25, 2024 9:01am
- Blog-aholic
  
  Maybe they have been applying the Una Jagose system for sentencing?
  
  8 0
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  October 25, 2024 9:50am
Scooter

So I wonder when we will know the identity/race of the person who was killed on the bus? Leah Panapa also asked Mark Mitchell on The Platform if it was police policy not to mention the ethnicity of the killer, all he could say was “not that he was aware of”. Well it’s pretty bloody obvious ethnicity is never mentioned in descriptions and for obvious reasons.
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October 25, 2024 9:02am
- Ghost
  
  Perhaps instead of wanting to know details on the victim can you can have sympathy for what the family of the victim is going through.
  
  8 14
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  October 25, 2024 9:20am
  - ISeeRed
    
    Who are you to judge what others should care about? Maybe you should have more concern about a possible racist attack and for ethnic groups that may be future victims?
    
    13 3
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    October 25, 2024 9:50am
    - Ghost
      
      Has the man been arrested, yes. He’s no threat to anyone else. Think about the victims family,what they are going through.
      
      5 8
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      October 25, 2024 10:03am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        There’s nothing in Scooter’s post to suggest he doesn’t have sympathy/concern for the victim’s family.
        
        But it will be a real concern if this is yet another example of an Asian/new immigrant being targeted.
        
        14 2
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        October 25, 2024 10:50am
      - Ghost
        
        What matters right now is there is a family going through an awful situation, not her race. Relevant information will come out in time. Now is the time to consider her loved ones
        
        3 6
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        October 25, 2024 11:01am
      - ISeeRed
        
        Sure Ghost, you are the only one who cares about. What. Really. Matters.
        
        [Mod – deleted]
        
        6 2
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        October 25, 2024 1:20pm
- MCōs
  
  “So I wonder when we will know the identity/race of the person who was killed on the bus?”
  Says the person using a non de plume
  
  6 9
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  October 25, 2024 10:41am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Its ‘nom de plume’.
    
    4 2
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    October 25, 2024 12:19pm
    - MCōs
      
      34 for French in School Cert
      
      6 0
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      October 25, 2024 12:24pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Must have been tough being 25 in the fifth Form
        
        1 2
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        October 25, 2024 4:58pm
- MCōs
  
  Here you go
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360464288/beautiful-mum-died-auckland-bus-stabbing
  
  6 0
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  October 25, 2024 11:24am
  - NothingLeft
    
    Always repulses me seeing comments, headlines and stories in media on deaths of women and girls (and boys and occasionally young men) how they call them ‘beautiful’ – like underneath it all that’s their primary value, their most important attribute.
    
    6 1
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    October 25, 2024 12:39pm
- SoloView
  
  @ Scooter
  A Stuff article at 1135 hrs describing the murdered person
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360464288/beautiful-mum-stabbed-death-stranger-auckland-bus
  
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  October 25, 2024 11:51am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Trump will fire Jack Smith within seconds of taking office.

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/trump-says-he-would-fire-mean-special-counsel-jack-smith-within-seconds-of-taking-office/ar-AA1sRgYf?
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October 25, 2024 9:04am
Maggy Wassilieff

What sort of staff work for Oranga Tamariki?

I can’t get my head around why OT staff would ignore complaints & evidence of violent assaults on young children, would lie to the family court and would fail to undertake physical checks on the violent household.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/531776/series-of-failures-watchdog-slams-oranga-tamariki-again

Are these staff just incompetent, or are they too scared to confront abusive adults, or are they driven by some warped philosophy that the children will always be better off with their mother than with their father or another care-giver?
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October 25, 2024 9:14am
- Keith White
  
  “All of the above.”
  
  17 0
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  October 25, 2024 9:25am
- ISeeRed
  
  “By Maori for Maori.”
  
  11 0
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  October 25, 2024 9:55am
- Local Miller
  
  Interesting that so many of these abuse cases occur where the mother has custody of the children, then her new partner starts abusing them. Maybe the courts should be rethinking the whole “mother is best” idea.
  I have friend with 2 kids, one went with mom and the other refused to even see his mom, to the point of contemplating suicide if he was forced to spend time with her.
  The son that stayed with dad is doing excellently, the one than went with mom has become a serious piece of work, thanks to mom and her partner(s).
  
  12 3
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  October 25, 2024 10:05am
  - ISeeRed
    
    But it’s based on “evidence based research” and “international best practice”. Stop believing what’s happening before your very eyes.
    
    7 0
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    October 25, 2024 10:10am
  - Flossie
    
    When did we start referring to our mothers as “mom”? Kids I know refer to their mothers as “mum”.
    
    13 0
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    October 25, 2024 10:13am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    The new partners sees SOCKs (Cam Slater.)
    
    7 1
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    October 25, 2024 11:03am
  - pdm
    
    Bugger accidental downtick Lm.
    
    2 0
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    October 25, 2024 11:49am
- artemisia
  
  Avoiding being called racist?
  
  3 0
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  October 25, 2024 10:22am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Perhaps it is time for Chappie to step down. Perhaps he was another DEI hire?
  
  5 0
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  October 25, 2024 1:11pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

The children are writing the news again.
Bear killed by 28 year old car.

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/celebrated-yellowstone-grizzly-bear-is-killed-by-car-aged-28/ar-AA1sOmCZ?
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October 25, 2024 9:18am
- Local Miller
  
  Good thing the car is old enough to be held to account for it’s crimes. //
  
  8 1
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  October 25, 2024 10:05am
- NoFax
  
  Odd that the age of the car was relevant and why do these inanimate objects kill bears?
  
  6 1
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  October 25, 2024 12:48pm
  - sirknz
    
    Climate change usually…
    
    3 0
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    October 25, 2024 4:05pm
Scooter

What’s with the weird pronunciation of Onehunga, it seems to have morphed into Onehoonga. At least the detective didn’t get the message re the new long vowel.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/onehunga-bus-attack-man-arrested-after-fatal-stabbing/EPR3Q3VAEZFPBF34LKV7PBG3VA/
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October 25, 2024 9:19am
- ISeeRed
  
  Same as hearing about “Mouldy”. Never used to be pronounced like that.
  
  6 3
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  October 25, 2024 9:58am
  - lifesgood
    
    My grandkids were telling me about Cody trees. Took me a while to figure that one out.
    
    2 0
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    October 25, 2024 5:22pm
Keith White

It wasn’t my 1996 XR8, honest.
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October 25, 2024 9:26am
Jack5

The Oracle abroad …

Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr is discussing world economic problems on a visit to America.

Orr’s worried about world share prices and (without mentioning him by name) effects on NZ of a Trump win.

And he’s been worried about world share markets for some time!

Good reporting as usual by Jenée Tibshraeny. Do any of the ex-African folk on Kiwiblog know if her surname indicates an an ethnic-South African background?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/reserve-bank-governor-adrian-orr-worries-equity-prices-too-high-given-wars-around-the-world/OEZMELI3WBDPDBNLCWVA5BZP2I/
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October 25, 2024 10:20am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Kamala can give Orr advice on how to kill inflation!//
  
  5 2
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  October 25, 2024 11:08am
- sirknz
  
  “Do any of the ex-African folk on Kiwiblog know if her surname indicates an an ethnic-South African background?”
  
  Let me Google that for you…
  
  https://www.google.com/search?q=Jen%C3%A9e+Tibshraeny&rlz=1C1GCFZ_enNZ1120NZ1120&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
  
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  October 25, 2024 4:07pm
  - Jack5
    
    Thank you for that. Wish I’d heard of this “Google” thing before. 🙄
    
    I was curious about the origins of the Tibshraeny name. I’ve read and appreciated plenty of her reports.
    
    Hadn’t struck the name elsewhere and wondered whether if was from Poland, whose language is rich in various “sh” pronunciations.
    
    I should, of course, have gone to a genealogy site. This one says the Tibshareny name is most likely found in America, South Africa, and Lebanon. So unlikely to be Polish.
    
    https://www.familysearch.org/en/surname?surname=Tibshraeny
    
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    October 25, 2024 8:20pm
MCōs

At the art gallery
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-7XPqTNGrQ/?igsh=MTRuMmZieXR1NDZ1aQ==
2 1
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October 25, 2024 10:33am
Jack5

Will New Zealand collect money from Elon Musk for telecommunications from the sky?

Mmmm … it will need to ask nicely.

Musk’s Starlink satellite communications business is now doing $74 million a year of “qualified revenue” in New Zealand, according to the Telecommunications Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson.

That brings Starlink above the threshold where it would join other telecommunications companies in contributing to “commercially non-viable telecommunications infrastructure and services.”

Juha Saarinen reports at the Interest.co.nz web site that Musk’s SpaceX NZ Group has more than 37,000 NZ customers.

Saarinen also lists shares of the $NZ4.8 billion yearly revenue of NZ telco’s.

https://www.interest.co.nz/technology/130414/elon-musks-spacex-starlink-satellite-broadband-provider-deemed-liable-telco
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October 25, 2024 10:44am
- PurplePen
  
  Shouldn’t Musk be paying a lease fee to Maori for use of the sky above Maori land?
  
  12 0
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  October 25, 2024 11:01am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Waitangi Tribunal are working on it right now.
    
    8 0
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    October 25, 2024 11:14am
    - Blog-aholic
      
      If only that was satire………
      
      4 0
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      October 25, 2024 11:26am
- Handyman
  
  I wonder how much the government department is willing to spend on legal fees to collect the $180,000. Probably millions because it is a good cv to have “taken Musk (formerly hero of the revolution for EV production; now enemy of the people for liking Trump) to court”.
  
  If I was Musk I would argue that SpaceX is actually doing the job of what the tax was intended for. That is, the telcos and the government have not delivered services to rural areas and SpaceX is now delivering that service.
  Therefore SpaceX should claim to be subsidized by the very tax under consideration.
  
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  October 25, 2024 11:21am
- Matt Long
  
  With the advent of Starlink the relevant legislation needs updating.
  Musk is providing for “commercially non-viable telecommunications infrastructure and services” customers, at no cost to taxpayers, or users of other service providers.
  
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  October 25, 2024 12:54pm
Chuck Bird

I would like to suggest that Jews and Friends of Israel support, vote and join Act as it is the only party that believes that Israel has the right to defend itself. It also opposes our taxes funding UNRWA, a group that had members take part in the 7 October atrocities.
10 1
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October 25, 2024 11:03am
Swifty

When will we get it through our thick heads that just because the Left can stack public bodies with favoured mates doesn’t mean the Right can do it too!

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/531867/unbelievable-labour-s-willie-jackson-furious-over-prebble-s-waitangi-tribunal-role

It’s so unfair and wrong! I’m completely with Willie Jackson on this one.

Filling public bodies with fellow travellers and perverting civic institutions for political advantage must remain the sole preserve of the Left. It’s what they do and what they’re best at.

The sheer effrontery of National and ACT muscling in on Labour’s territory like this.

Willie’s right. The Coalition should stay the hell out!

//
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October 25, 2024 11:06am
- pdm
  
  Prebble is exactly the man for the Waitangi Tribunal job.
  
  Swifty I couldn’t work out if you were taking the piss or not.
  
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  October 25, 2024 11:54am
  - Swifty
    
    It was my poor attempt at mocking Jackson’s feigned horror at the Prebble appointment.
    
    Even with his history this is a new low for Jackson. He must think we are absolutely stupid if he thinks we’ll fall for that one – and so soon after all the recent talk about Labour’s stacking of civic bodies like the Disinformation Project and the Kidman outfit.
    
    Like I say, it’s like he thinks the stacking of public bodies with people who think similarly to you should be the sole preserve of the Left.
    
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    October 25, 2024 12:02pm
    - Ghost
      
      I was waiting for your next post. “Why the hell is a doctor in charge of health and not a union leader”…..
      
      7 0
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      October 25, 2024 1:40pm
      - Swifty
        
        Heh
        
        3 0
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        October 25, 2024 3:34pm
  - Matt Long
    
    I’m pretty sure someone in the coalition is taking the piss appointing Prebble to the tribunal. Well done that person.
    
    6 1
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    October 25, 2024 12:56pm
- PurplePen
  
  Isn’t Prebble part-maori and, not that it’s relevant, married to a Pacific Islander?
  
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  October 25, 2024 1:22pm
  - sirknz
    
    I believe it is his grandkids who are ‘100%’ Maori.
    
    2 1
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    October 25, 2024 4:12pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Richard Prebble was born in England to “pakeha” parents.
    
    He was married to a P.Islander.
    
    4 0
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    October 25, 2024 4:24pm
    - lifesgood
      
      A couple of them I think. Third wife is/was Maori.
      
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      October 25, 2024 5:25pm
Chuck Bird

Which party will listen to Mike

Mike’s Minute: Should NZ no longer be nuclear free?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1mDdZh8cEU
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October 25, 2024 11:13am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  No Party will listen to Mike. It might cost votes of the immature.
  Just mention the “N” word and they all start rolling around in the floor, making stupid noises and having anxiety attacks.
  3 Mile Island. No 2 reactor melted down and is still being de-commissioned I think.
  Microsoft want the No 1 reactor up and running for their AI stuff. There is nothing wrong with that reactor.
  New Zealand will never go Nuclear in my lifetime – I plan to clock out in about 20 years. Let’s face it, NZ is backwards.
  In Australia a young guy Will Shackel is trying to educate with his “Nuclear for Australia” website. It is worth a look. Will is switched on.
  
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  October 25, 2024 11:26am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    https://www.nuclearforaustralia.com/?
    
    4 2
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    October 25, 2024 11:31am
  - NothingLeft
    
    It think the globe is turning the corner on anti-nuke bullshit. It’s trendy now to support it.
    
    If only we could pull the teeth of nimbys. It would undergo remarkable global growth.
    
    5 2
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    October 25, 2024 12:42pm
- MCōs
  
  I’ve got no issues in principle with NZ investigating nuclear energy or more precisely allowing whoever is responsible for power generation to put forward a proposal for a nuclear power station.
  Current anti nuclear legislation would need to be amended, but that’s the easy part.
  In the olden days mega power projects would have been built by the government. From what I understand nuclear is expensive. Easier to keep Huntly burning coal now and then to smooth out the peaks.
  
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  October 25, 2024 12:51pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    Doesnt the Act just cover weapons and not energy?
    https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0086/latest/DLM115116.html#DLM115179
    
    3 0
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    October 25, 2024 2:47pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Thing is you have to get the children to understand that.
      The hear the “N” word and go off the deep end.
      
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      October 26, 2024 7:52am
Swifty

Winston is going after Verrall.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ULcfyRxFJvY

I did find it odd that Hipkins would describe a sister-in-law as a ‘distant’ relationship – like he has been misinformed as to the relationship’s true nature.
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October 25, 2024 12:39pm
- Swifty
  
  Hipkins attempts to explain himself but not very convincingly.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360465303/chris-hipkins-says-he-chose-wrong-form-words-describe-ayesha-verralls-relative
  
  Sounds like he tried to minimise but was then caught out.
  
  All rather misleading from him.
  
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  October 25, 2024 5:34pm
Swifty

Douglas Murray enters house where Sinwar died:

https://nypost.com/2024/10/20/opinion/inside-the-utter-devastation-where-hamas-despot-yahya-sinwar-met-his-demise-in-gaza/
2 0
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October 25, 2024 12:53pm
sirknz

Just pay your ticket lady!

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/former-wellington-mayor-dame-kerry-prendergast-challenges-40-parking-ticket/HOH37TSS2BEAVGJ36T2XI6XOJU/

Anywhere that the road and the footpath are at the same level is considered a pedestrian area.

The amount of expense and time that has gone into this is just ridiculous. I hope she gets stung with costs on top of the original $40 when she is found to be in the wrong.
2 3
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October 25, 2024 1:42pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  That area used to be a slip road with marked parking lanes, parking meters etc.
  
  Council in their wisdom decided to pedestrianise the area, cue architectural images of locals dining al fresco, walking dogs & general flanneuring around the place (not today, Tory!). However, driving is permitted as it’s the only access to that rarest of Wellington beasts, a parking building.
  
  As Kerry’s witness commented, it’s a dead zone, neither one thing nor another.
  
  Therefore, she definitely has a case.
  
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  October 25, 2024 3:57pm
Jack5

Millions in damages after Singapore ship’s loss-of-power crash. Are any fuel aspects relevant to the Samoa wreck?

Two Singaporean firms that respectively owned and operated the container ship Dali, which hit a bridge in Baltimore, have settled a claim with the American Justice Department for $US102 million. There’s more to come.

The $US102m is to cover US Federal Government costs in responding to the crash, which killed six construction workers.

The state of Maryland is separately seeking damages, including cost of replacing the bridge.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Maryland Attorney-General said the Dali twice lost power in the hours before it left port bound for Sri Lanka. The power failures weren’t reported to the Coast Guard or to two local pilots who boarded the ship to guide it out of port.

NZ officials in the inquiry into the HMNZS Manawanui wreck in Samoa will no doubt look into whether there’s any link between any Manawanui power stoppages and Singapore-origin fuel.

Seafarer posters on Kiwiblog have raised the possibility of Singapore fuel blending causing any loss of power on the Manawanui, and compared ship fuel standards from now-closed Marsden Point with standards of the big refineries and depots in Singapore.

Fuel aspects of Baltimore harbour bridge crash (including that more than 120 power or propulsion losses at sea were attributed to fuel issues in 2023):

https://maritime-executive.com/article/investigators-check-dali-s-fuel-with-speculation-of-possible-contamination
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October 25, 2024 1:56pm
- Taieri
  
  Dali preliminary investigation report:
  
  https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA24MM031_PreliminaryReport%203.pdf
  
  No fuel quality concerns identified.
  
  Power loss alongside was attributed in this report to the crew shutting exhaust damper of the running generator.
  
  Fuel problems in Singapore were not due to the quality of refining but to poor practices on their bunkering vessels.
  
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  October 25, 2024 5:08pm
- kevn
  
  Jack… Also several cases of Avgas failing tests and being returned.
  
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  October 25, 2024 5:11pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

The Dems are really starting to get worries now.
“Former President Donald Trump will allow a cadre of “nihilists, destructionists and even criminals” to take over every level of the federal government if he is allowed back into power.”

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/plundering-and-degrading-ny-times-columnist-sounds-bleakest-warning-about-trump-allies/ar-AA1sRWUP?
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October 25, 2024 2:00pm
Blog-aholic

If the Dems are looking for some nihilists they just need to drop into any Ivy League university……
1 2
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October 25, 2024 2:31pm
kevn

The ‘not an’ economist…
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/10/24/rachel-reeves-was-never-an-economist-at-the-bank-of-scotland-investigation-reveals/

and…

https://dailysceptic.org/2024/10/24/doctors-threaten-to-quit-on-unprecedented-scale-over-labour-pensions-raid/
2 1
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October 25, 2024 3:56pm
Hugh Pavletich

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350321622/todays-news-chat-do-you-think-richard-prebble-should-be-waitangi-tribunal

Finally some balance. Why do $1uffed mention him as being a former ACT MP an issue and not mention his even longer time as an MP in Labour?

There’s a poll in that article too.
5 2
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October 25, 2024 4:26pm
kevn

SteveO… Trump being ‘interviewed’ or chatting with Tucker Carlson on the 31st October.
I’m guessing that will be most followed programme ever.
1 2
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October 25, 2024 5:13pm
- All_on_Red
  
  I suspect his interview with Joe Rogan will be higher
  
  2 1
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  October 25, 2024 7:04pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Watch the Dems turn it into a Halloween fiasco!
  They have nothing else to attack Trump with. Bottom of the barrel and all that.
  
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  October 26, 2024 7:54am
BeaB

Emily Revell reported her conflict of interest when Ayesha Verrall became Minister. 2021? You would think when the new minister in the new government came in it would have been even more significant to reveal her relationship to Verrall.
They work closely together so surely it would have been a simple matter to say who she was. That she didn’t speaks volumes. Are we entitled to wonder how Verrall was able to target her questions?
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October 25, 2024 5:15pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Oh dear, oh dear…
  
  Ms Revell has been left in a very invidious position by the MOH.
  
  I wonder if the MSM will spend at least 6 days making capital out of the MOH’s apology to Casey Costello.
  
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  October 25, 2024 7:41pm
Ghost

Good, hopefully they’ve found what they need to charge those responsible

Police investigating the murder of Baby Ru have completed a targeted search in a semi-rural area north of Wellington.

Police located items of property highly relevant to the homicide investigation, a police spokesperson said.

Article
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October 25, 2024 5:52pm
Scooter

I wonder if NZ has a higher number (per capita) of lesbians in government and the public service than anywhere else? They also seem to be at forefront of news alot of the time.
6 1
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October 25, 2024 7:27pm
Maggy Wassilieff

FOR FUCK”S SAKE!!!!!!

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/531933/oranga-tamariki-social-worker-struck-off-for-fathering-child-with-client

What is FUCKING wrong with Oranga Tamariki?
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October 25, 2024 8:00pm
- Ghost
  
  Oranga Tamariki are weekly visitors to our hoarder neighbour. I’ve stopped being surprised at how incompetent they are. The property is a mess, the house is a health hazard, a fire hazard. I could go on and on. But do you think they do anything. No. I feel sorry for his kid.
  
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  October 25, 2024 8:36pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    With the huge array of human dysfunctionality they have to deal with, could it be they are under resourced?
    
    0 0
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    October 26, 2024 8:07pm
Swifty

Willie Jackson doesn’t believe in democracy.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eP_q6cJ-Ycw

At least it’s out in the clear.
2 0
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October 25, 2024 8:02pm
Ghost

Some place in New Zealand that has a name too hard to pronounce is limiting hugs to 3 minutes,

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/travel-news/newsreaders-mispronounce-dunedin-after-airport-hug-rule-goes-viral/GBXCNVKQBVBCBJLZ7XXL7VMKHI/
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October 25, 2024 9:54pm

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