General Debate 15 October 2014

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duggledog

Far North Maori trust turns one million dollars into $15! Genius!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11342473

Never mind, heaps of money left, just top it up. You’ll find the funds in my back pocket!
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October 15, 2014 8:02am
iMP

Really simply EBOLA graphic. It’s about bats, apparently. http://conzervative.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/1-ebola-in-a-nutshell-bats/
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October 15, 2014 8:15am
EAD

While our political elite try and rush through laws that will end up severely curtailing our ancient liberties in order to “protect” us against people that they themselves brought into this country, why doesn’t said political elite say out loud what the real problem is?

Instead of of these draconian laws, wouldn’t it be much simpler if we took control of our borders and stop letting the buggers in in the first place? Then we should begin deporting all those who pose such a serious threat to the peoples of the New Zealand immediately. Many potential bombers and fanatics are known by the police already – yet further erosion of everyone’s freedoms and civil liberties to accommodate for a few hundred fanatics who should not be here anyway is waving a white flag.

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in an atmosphere where we need have no fear that this proposed regulation would be misused as a tool of control over EVERYBODY but the truth is we no longer live in that pleasant place.
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October 15, 2014 8:15am
Drone

Duggledog so early in the day for such negativity, and so soon after the SCF oiks blew far more than $15 mill of the peoples money and were found mainly innocent. Oh and Ross Asset Management but I suppose he is doing time at your expense…….
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October 15, 2014 8:16am
stephieboy

I wonder how Penny Bright gets her rubbish taken away and whether she can still use a Library Card.?

Penny do let us know when the Bailiffs call.I live reasonbly closely to you and would like to come and see the pyrotechnics.!

P.S Do you pay your water bills.?
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October 15, 2014 8:18am
big bruv

I was once Judith Collins biggest fan, I liked her steel and the fact that she had a bit of Maggie Thatcher about her.

So, even allowing for that, it is time for Key to cut her throat and toss her out the back door. The Nat’s must guard against the sort of “born to rule” arrogance that Collins demonstrates. Collins clearly has not grasped is that the public do not like her close association with Cameron Slater, she is beginning to become a huge negative for the voting public.

I am really sorry to say it but Collins really has to go.
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October 15, 2014 8:19am
oldpark

Was reading that Materialistic Turei once was a Magillycuddy serious joker ,now joint leader with the commie import Russel Norman, from the so called “green party’.Her joke this time .in the John Key four week wash, up to talk about the security of NZ and its citizens.The threat of ISIS, and the potential that some of their supporters,and domiciled in NZ, could travel to Iraq,Syria to murder and behead, ethnic groups who don’t agree with their Psychopathic murderous actions.Joker Turei,wants the NZ Muslims to be in on the four week security talks.Last I heard or read,wasnt it certain sects of Muslims that were ISIS.Surely Materialistic Turei cant be serious,in wanting to invite potential ISIS terrorists ,and inform them,and give them the blueprint on how NZ will protect its borders, inside and outside NZ.Seems when “greens” took a mauling at the 2014 election, when one of their many punitive manifesto policies, was to disband the GCSB,and SIS.we certainly dodged a lot of bullets,not forgetting the open border stance into NZ, that Norman,and Turei,were planning.
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October 15, 2014 8:20am
Harriet

Irresponsible ‘Education’.

“….Living just one year in the Middle East would be an education in reality that could obliterate years of indoctrination in grievances that passes for education in too many of our schools, colleges and universities. You could go on to get a postgraduate education in reality in some place like North Korea.

If you prefer to get your education in the comfort of a library, rather than in person amid the horrors, you might study the history of the sadistic massacres of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire or the heart-wrenching story of Stalin’s man-made 1930s famine in the Soviet Union that killed as many millions of people as Hitler’s Holocaust did in the 1940s.

Mao’s man-made famine in China killed more people than the Soviet famine and the Nazi Holocaust combined. And we should not deny their rightful place in history’s chamber of horrors to the 1970s Cambodian dehumanization and slaughters that killed off at least a quarter of the entire population of that country.

What about slavery? Slavery certainly has its place among the horrors of humanity.

More whites were brought as slaves to North Africa than blacks brought as slaves to the United States or to the 13 colonies from which it was formed. White slaves were still being bought and sold in the Ottoman Empire, decades after blacks were freed in the United States.

What does all this mean?

In addition to the chilling picture that it paints of human nature, it means that Americans today — all Americans — are among the luckiest people who have ever inhabited this planet. Most Americans living in officially defined poverty today have such things as central air-conditioning, cable television, a microwave oven and a motor vehicle.
A scholar who spent years studying Latin America said that what is defined as poverty in the United States today is upper middle class in Mexico.
Do we still need to do better? Yes! Human beings all over the world are not even close to running out of room for improvement.

There is so much knowledge and skills that need to be transmitted to the young that turning schools and colleges into indoctrination centers is a major and reckless disservice to them and to American society, which is vulnerable as all human societies have always been, especially those that are decent…..”

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2014/10/14/draft-n1904942

Placing the burdons of the past onto future generations of children is nothing more than child abuse.
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October 15, 2014 8:23am
Lance

@iMP
I saw a program that indeed concluded that the Black Death was not Bubonic Plague but a Hemorrhagic Fever out of Africa.
It studied accounts and witness statements from that time that made it clear.

The conclusion was that it came, it mysteriously burnt itself out, so why can’t it come again?
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October 15, 2014 8:29am
waikatogirl

Heard this morning that Judith Collins is no longer an Honourable. She is devastated that JK didn’t inform her and found out through the media. Judith will just have to hope the inquiry finds her innocent, let’s hope so.

Maybe her Prime Minister was trying to send her a message. Hopefully Judith will have her Honourable reinstated but she needs to come across a little less arrogant. Bring back Crusher, just think before you react Judith 😉
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October 15, 2014 8:32am
duggledog

Drone. You’re British and perhaps new to NZ so I’ll spell it out for you

The difference is the far North tribe blew taxpayers’ money which was effectively taken out of the public purse without a by your leave, and continues to thrown at these people to keep them quiet. Key doesn’t want a hikoi. Imagine, another hikoi! The prospect is terrifying.

SCF and others blew investors’ money that they CHOSE to invest or should I say risk. Their funds were not taken from them by law, unlike the monies given to Maori TM year on year on year in this country. The government guarantee was done by Labour

Sorry about the negativity and if it upset you so early in the morning. You want me to post photos of kittens and lambs instead?
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October 15, 2014 8:33am
oldpark

Once were Maori Warriors.We need another Maori Leader.Winston Peters, NZ First leader.Green party ,Materialistic Turei .Maori Party, Flavel .To complete the foursome, Nanaia Mahuta,for Labour Party.That would be the icing on the cake,complementing the 22 Maoris ,represented in all parties in Parliament.
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October 15, 2014 8:34am
doggone7

There is a special quality to the spectacle of one of the ruling classes being so dishonourable as to complain, wail and bitch about not being called “Honourable.” The honourable thing surely would have been to just accept it.
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October 15, 2014 8:35am
IGM

duggledog: Suppose Mahuta would organise a top up, plus interest for inconvenience and embarrassment. When are we going to stop bleeding taxpayers to appease this most over-privileged race on the planet?
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October 15, 2014 8:36am
Nookin

Is it me or is there a certain inconsistency in the principles applied by the prosecution and the Steenkamp family over the so-called “blood money”. Pistorius is condemned for offering “blood money”. It turns out that the family has been accepting money for quite some time (the family initiated the request). Now, having sold their story and are financially comfortable (blood money?), they intend to return Pistorius’s money and slate him for offering more. Having said that, he should go to jail.
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October 15, 2014 8:40am
G152

John Key might have to reconsider his minority government to be a little more of a minority.
His treatment of Judith Collins is going to have an effect, maybe he was sending a message but that’s one unhappy woman.
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October 15, 2014 8:44am
Tarquin North

Is anyone else sick of the Herald droning on about house prices in Auckland? If it wasn’t for the puzzle i wouldn’t buy it at all.
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October 15, 2014 8:46am
waikatogirl

Doggone
The ex Hon. Judith Yes, accepting quietly would be the Honourable thing to do. This is what I meant about JK sending Judith a message..She needs to learn some humility. Maybe some time down the track she can come back, but a present she is toxic.
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October 15, 2014 8:51am
Inthisdress

Yes Waikatogirl, I understand she was ‘crushed’ by the news.
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October 15, 2014 8:53am
waikatogirl

Haha, lol 🙂
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October 15, 2014 8:55am
Keeping Stock

I agree Nookin; it will be a huge injustice if Pistorius evades prison. That said, it has been a case full of complexities and contradictions.

I’ve just read a book written by the mother of Pistorius’ girlfriend before Reeva, and if even half of what is alleged is true, the Blade Runner is a most unpleasant and unsociable individual, fixated on blondes, fast cars, a party lifestyle, and guns. One allegation in the book is that he and the girlfriend bought a puppy together, which was later killed by Pistorius’ two other, larger dogs. If that is the case, one wonders how an intruder made it past the dogs to get into Oscar’s dunny.
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October 15, 2014 8:58am
Rowan

Oh poor Judith, in reality though there is absolutely nothing honourable about her and she deserves to be snubbed
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October 15, 2014 9:01am
OneTrack

“She is devastated that JK didn’t inform her and found out through the media. ”

Apparently the wanna-be News Of The World jornolists accosted her just as she was leaving a funeral. Classy lefties, real classy.

Don’t worry, the call will be coming through from London shortly.
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October 15, 2014 9:01am
peterwn

G152 – Judith’s options are rather limited unless she chooses to turn Kamikaze on her party. I wonder whether the ‘honourable’ incident was an oversight or deliberate, if the latter it would almost be on a par when Uncle Scrim (then broadcasting chief) arrived at work and found his key would not turn in his office door. Also if the latter, seems John is completely brassed off with her. Be interested to see what seat she is allocated when the house resumes. There are attributes expected of a Minister which do not really figure on employee review assessments, one would be ‘image’, and there would be a few others where words escape me – but compare her with Tony Ryall and one would get the drift.
Possibly the message here is she should look for a new career direction.
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October 15, 2014 9:05am
chris

Ridiculous article in today’s NZ Herald that NZ authorities should have somehow known a .is domain being used for terrorist purposes was registered to a New Zealand address. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11342460

a) It’s not an NZ domain in the first place

b) Just because a domain is registered doesn’t mean it belongs to a terrorist

c) Was the domain even hosted in NZ?

So what, NZ authorities need to check every domain in the world to see if they’re registered to an NZ address, and then check all those websites (plus all the .nz ones) to make sure they aren’t promoting terrorism?

This part is particularly stupid:

Who oversees website domain names here?

The Domain Name Commission authorises registrars, administers a dispute resolution service, and handles complaints about registrars not abiding by “.nz” policies, including incorrect domain name registration.

It’s correct, but they forgot to mention the DNC authorises etc for .nz domains. They have no authority or interest in other top level domains.
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October 15, 2014 9:06am
Manolo

Lardy Hill is very good at it: http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/hillary-hypocrisy-talks-about-student-debt-hits-unlv-foundation-225k-speaking-fee
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October 15, 2014 9:06am
Jack5

Bob Jones is unlikely to pop up posting on Kiwiblog. He doesn’t type. Writes everything by hand and when needed has someone type his words.

I wonder whether he prints or writes in script. He says that writing this way gives him time to think, and says barristers do the same (I thought it was because they couldn’t type in court, and most of them are technically illiterate any way).

The question of the day: does Jonesy scratch away with a fountain pen or an old school type pen and nib and ink well, use a traditional or mechanical pencil, or glide down the page with an expensive ballpoint pen?

We might adapt for Sir Bob the the famous quote about Gibbon, reputedly said by the Duke of Gloucester:

Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh! Mr Jones?

Then the question arises does Sir Bob browse the internet? If so does he have to use some Samsung-type tablet with a pen-like stylus and capable of reading script?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/economy/news/article.cfm?c_id=34&objectid=11341758
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October 15, 2014 9:07am
Scott Chris

Re Judith Collins; maybe it’s all part of an elaborate scheme which culminates in Collins either joining the Conservatives or founding her own party.

But on the face of it I’d suggest John Key was a little remiss in not informing Collins personally, while she was rather foolish in the way she reacted.
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October 15, 2014 9:09am
tvb

Judith Collibs not getting an Hon yet and her public spat about it does her no favours at all. That title should only remain if you are Rt Hon. Collibs did herself no favours and should be thinking about life after politics.
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October 15, 2014 9:10am
flipper

G152 @ 8.44….

But with Judith Collins it is all about ego. Her inflated ego.

No matter what her apologists say, the matter under inquiry is at the heart of her then Ministerial responsibilities. There is no comparison with the minor indiscretions of any other Minister (set aside Douglas Graham – his actions were in no way connected to his former responsibilities). Then there is the prospect of the Government being further embarrassed by a possible judicial review of Collins’ actions in deliberately subverting natural justice, and a Cabinet approved process. Moreover, outside of her band of followers, mainly in Auckland, but smaller in number than is frequently suggested, there is still quietly seething anger among National Party members. Her resignation was compared to the lancing of a boil.

So….
I suspect that the inquiry by the retired Judge will come to nothing, and there may, at worst, be some tut tuts. So she will get the silly, egotistic title back.
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October 15, 2014 9:12am
Maggy Wassilieff

Buenos dias

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/62432267/parrot-missing-four-years-returns-speaking-spanish
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October 15, 2014 9:13am
Griff

NASA: Earth Just Experienced the Warmest Six-Month Stretch Ever Recorded

Our planet is on a hot streak.

Over the weekend, NASA announced that last month was the warmest September since global records have been kept. What’s more, the last six months were collectively the warmest middle half of the year in NASA’s records—dating back to 1880.

The record-breaking burst of warmth was kicked off by an exceptionally warm April—the first month in at least 800,000 years that atmospheric carbon dioxide reached 400 parts per million.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, which keeps a separate record of global temperatures, this April ranked as the warmest April on record. Followed by the warmest May on record. Followed by warmest June on record. (July wasn’t quite as hot—just the fourth-warmest July on record.) But August—again, you guessed it—was the warmest August on record. The NCDC will release its numbers for September later this month.
output_V3asFS

As I wrote last November, a trend toward El Niño may be helping to spark a massive heat release from the tropical Pacific Ocean, boosting 2014 into front-runner position for the hottest year ever measured—a phenomenon that may stretch into 2015 as well.

Recent research shows the current warm stretch is probably the planet’s warmest in at least 4,000 years. That means global temperatures may have already passed a level that human civilization has never experienced. The sheer size and depth of the world’s oceans means that most of global warming’s extra heat has been stored there. For the last decade or so, atmospheric warming has been playing catch up.

Update, Oct. 14, 10:15 a.m.: On Tuesday, Japan’s Meteorological Agency confirmed that last month was indeed the warmest September ever measure
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/10/13/nasa_earth_just_experienced_the_warmest_six_month_stretch_ever.html
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October 15, 2014 9:14am
CrazyIvan

duggledog, from the herald article it doesn’t appear that the money the trustees blew was taxpayer fuss. Rather it was proceeds from the harvesting of trees on the Maori land block, private land. The money would have been held by the Maori Trustee while the trust was set upto represent the multiple owners of the land.

This looks more like poor management or fraud, but no taxpayer money seems to be involved. The trustees failed in their duty to the owners. Not excusing any of what happened but I don’t think u can blame the govt or Treaty settlements for it.
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October 15, 2014 9:19am
Jack5

Re Maggy W’s 9.13 post on the bilingual parrot.

Perhaps we could adapt the old joke:

The parrot was returned and was now bilingual. The British owner told the reporter that if you pulled its left leg it spoke English with a British accent. If you pulled its right leg it spoke in Spanish.

The reporter asked: “What happens if you pull both at once?”

The parrot interjected:”I’ll fall off the perch, ya dummy!”
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October 15, 2014 9:21am
peterwn

chris – the issue here is ‘addresses’, and more exactly to what extent should the NZ or any other government regulate the use of PO Boxes or similar (eg Suite 1234 at a physical address), whether these are operated by NZ Post, Mail Boxes Etc (MBE), or any other outfit. Interestingly the outfit in question by arrangement will open your mail, scan it and forward it onwards, which is a useful service for a Kiwi living or travelling overseas but needs to be alerted to any incoming mail concerning their affairs (I am providing a similar service for a friend who is overseas and who could be facing action for a disputed debt).

So the dilemma here is providing a legitimate and useful service for Kiwis, but not having it used as a service for ‘dark forces’.
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October 15, 2014 9:22am
Nookin

KS
I dislike celebrity trials. Notions of natural justice, indeed any sort of justice tend to succumb to the rabid and salacious whims of the news media and its frenzied audience. Everything tends to become somewhat staged managed and artificial. I was surprised that the judge accepted the “intruder” explanation. Having said that, it is possible that the Judge was singularly unimpressed with the rotweiller approach of the prosecution which went for the jugular at every opportunity. This may have been her way of pushing back (subliminally – given that she appears to have acted with dignity and integrity throughout)

It will be a relief for all concerned when this is over. In the meantime, the defence team might well learn some lessons about representations based solely on the interests of the defendant from the trial and sentencing of one Mr Turner (of Emily Longley fame). There is more to sentencing than looking after Mr Pistorius. Equally, there is more to sentencing than the prosecution’s insatiable demand for vengeance.
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October 15, 2014 9:22am
Maggy Wassilieff

Can anyone make sense of what has happened with the SCF judgement?
I don’t do money, so have never been able to figure out who are the goodies and who are the baddies here.
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October 15, 2014 9:26am
chris

Some good points there peterwn.

However, I still fail to understand why the article seems to think the NZ authorities should effectively know the postal addresses of all the domains in the world. There’s no possible way of doing this at present. .nz domains, yes; rest of the world, no.
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October 15, 2014 9:28am
G152

I’ll hazard a guess that by now John Key and Judith Collins have been in contact over the ‘omission’.
For the MSM to approach some-one after a funeral with such news indicates the level to which they have descended.
The 25%ers seem to have kept quiet or are they to busy lining up to be leader for the week ?
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October 15, 2014 9:33am
wikiriwhis business

Americans for Prosperity sends out hundreds of thousands of mailers with fake voter registration information in North Carolina

North Carolina’s ABC affiliate reports on hundreds of thousands of mailers with false information about voter registration sent by Americans for Prosperity, the right-wing advocacy group backed by the Koch brothers. The official-looking mailers gave the wrong deadline for voter registration and told people to sign up with the wrong state agency. The mailers also gave the wrong office for questions regarding voter registration, the wrong zip code for turning in a voter registration form, and inaccurate information about how people would be notified of their precinct. The Raleigh News-Observer has more.

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2014/09/30/americans-for-prosperity-sends-out-hundreds-of-thousands-of-mailers-with-fake-voter-registration-information-in-north-carolina

So now we know. US politics is fully rigged.
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October 15, 2014 9:40am
wf

“iMP (2,378 comments) says:
October 15th, 2014 at 8:15 am
Really simply EBOLA graphic. It’s about bats, apparently. http://conzervative.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/1-ebola-in-a-nutshell-bats/“

We have a real danger from across the Tasman. The Hendra virus is distributed by bats as they move along their flightpaths. The virus is picked up by horses, which usually require euthanising , and the property is isolated and all stock contained.

It is possible for this virus to transfer to humans (via the horses) and is almost invariably fatal. Given the horse traffic across the Tasman, the authorities are doing a good job keeping it at bay.

There is now an equine vaccine, but it is claimed that a) it is ineffective, and b) it makes the animal ill.

Bats are protected in Australia.
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October 15, 2014 9:40am
Lucia Maria

From The Moscow Times:

Russia Eyes Shrinking Cash Reserves as Fight for Ruble Escalates

The ruble sank to record lows against both the euro and the dollar Tuesday amid growing concerns over the Central Bank’s policy of drawing down its foreign reserves to defend the country’s beleaguered currency.

The Russian currency fell to 40.9 against the dollar in early evening trading, its lowest level since a traumatic 1998 restructuring, and dropped to 51.7 against the euro, a second historic low in two consecutive days.

…
“There is nothing good ahead for the ruble,” said analyst Kozlovsky. “While oil is falling and the conflict continues in Ukraine the ruble will continue to decline.”

wikiriwhis business comment from yesterday about the Russian currency deal with China put into perspective.

Then there’s this doozy ….

Is Alaska Next on Russia’s List?

This Saturday marks 147 years since the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia. If the man in charge of Russia’s defense industries gets his way, Sarah Palin will not only be able to see Russia from her front porch, but her front porch will be in Russia.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote a foreword to a book published earlier this year, “Alaska Betrayed and Sold: The History of a Palace Conspiracy,” which argues that Russia has a right to get back “Russian America.”

… Rogozin is not on the fringes of Russian politics — he has consistently been promoted and, as deputy prime minister, now oversees the Russian defense industry. The fact that such a prominent figure could make such statements about Russia’s claim to Alaska is significant.

After the annexation of Crimea in March, which was only part of Ukraine because of a “historical mistake,” according to Russia, could Alaska be next on Russia’s list?

All those who think Russia is being provoked into war with the West should take note.
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October 15, 2014 9:44am
James Stephenson

Can anyone make sense of what has happened with the SCF judgement?

It looks like the SFO couldn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused were bad rather than incompetent.
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October 15, 2014 9:45am
dime

Bruv – agree. Her time is up. Its a fucking tragedy too.
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October 15, 2014 9:45am
Griff

Can anyone make sense of what has happened with the SCF judgement?

No
Money go rounds are almost imposable to trace and document sufficiently to get a conviction.

That’s the reason why the inept shysters have avoided convictions .
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October 15, 2014 9:45am
Manolo

@Maggie Wassilieff: Buenos días, Maggy.
Cómo estás hoy? Espero que bien y disfrutando de perfecta salud para escribir en Kiwiblog como siempre.
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October 15, 2014 9:48am
wikiriwhis business

Vagrancy, begging down to lack of social housing

Some scathing submissions are being prepared by community organisations in response to a Hamilton City Council plan to outlaw begging and homelessness.

The ideas are contained in the proposed Safety in Public Places bylaw, which is aimed at reducing what is seen as anti-social and offensive practices by ‘reasonable people’ – including begging and homeless people living rough in the central city.

Hamilton social service providers, some of whom will make submissions on the draft bylaw, have described it as unrealistic, draconian and not addressing the fundamental problem – a lack of affordable and social housing.

Anglican Action social justice worker Robert Moore, who is preparing a submission, said proposed punitive measures in the bylaw were hugely disproportionate and would not address the causes. “These people need wrap-around social services and access to social housing. There are more than 2000 people on the Ministry of Social Development’s highest priority list for housing in the Waikato.”

Poverty researcher Anna Cox said the Safety in Public Places bylaw was a draconian response to a social situation that required greater collective investment in the wellbeing of the most vulnerable.

“The best measure of society is how it treats its most vulnerable. Imposing fines on already vulnerable populations is not only lacking in compassion, it will exacerbate their already desperate situation. There is simply not enough social and affordable housing in our city.

“Rather than investing in the administration of a by-law, the council should be committing to the basic human right to shelter.”

Methodist City Action director Catherine Hodges said: “It’s good to have a code and let people know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

“But you can’t just outlaw behaviours like this as there is a much bigger picture behind them. There is not enough affordable and appropriate social housing in Hamilton.”

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10617095/Vagrancy-begging-down-to-lack-of-social-housing?cid=edm%3Astuff%3Adailyheadlines
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October 15, 2014 9:51am
cricko

“The price at the pump usually follows the price of oil after a few days.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/business/energy-environment/oil-prices-fall-as-opec-members-fight-for-market-share.html?_r=0

Of course this is bullshit if you live in New Zealand.

The price at the pump here only follows the price of oil when that price goes up.

When the price of oil goes down, forgeddaboutit.
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October 15, 2014 9:55am
Manolo

@cricko: Indeed! http://www.cnbc.com/id/102084062

Crude settles down 4.6%, lowest since June 2012
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October 15, 2014 9:57am
Keeping Stock

@ James Stephenson – you’re dead right. And still the good folk of Timaru won’t hear a bad word said about “their” Mr Hubbard, despite it being abundantly clear that his methods of running his business had failed to move with the times.

I doubt there was ever any intent on Hubbard’s part to deceive, but he had simply failed to keep up with modern business practice, especially given the large sums SCF was supposedly “managing” on behalf of its loyal clients.
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October 15, 2014 9:59am
Maggy Wassilieff

@ Manola,
Estoy bien, gracias.

Love that Google translate!
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October 15, 2014 10:01am
waikatogirl

The sky is falling! Shaun Plunket’s RadioLive program has gone rabid this morning. The NZ Chief of Defence is attending a briefing on ISIS in Washington! Oh NO!!! Apparently this means John Key is Taking us to war.

It’s a briefing people! Our military are being informed. It doesn’t mean we will be sending troops or whatever… Don’t lose it yet.

I’m going outside to plant some lettuce in the peace and quiet 😉
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October 15, 2014 10:01am
BlairM

I suspect the Collins story may have an innocent explanation, ie. Key fully intended to reinstate her and therefore saw little need to grant her the title in the interim.

Whether he still feels that way after her whining is another matter…
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October 15, 2014 10:01am
Tauhei Notts

Griff at 9.45 about South Canterbury Finance.
For many years now I have chatted with friends from South Canterbury, all of whom have been laudatory in their comments about the late Allan Hubbard.
I spent nearly three hours yesterday going through the judgment number 2501, that is, the lengthy one.
It is a history of devious daring deceptive accounting. The directors who were with Hubbard should have stood down when the old man would not change his weird ways. No way would I stay on a Board like that with the sort of deception he was practising. The judgment was a surprise to me. The Hubbard I read about in the judgment was a far different person to that portrayed in the hagliography published a few years ago.
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October 15, 2014 10:03am
Manolo

@Maggy: Ditch that Google Translate and learn it the hard way.
El castellano es una hermosa lengua que bien vale la pena aprender. Créeme.
Te recomiendo duolingo.com para estudiar las reglas elementales de la gramática. El resto es práctica.
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October 15, 2014 10:13am
wikiriwhis business

“I suspect the Collins story may have an innocent explanation, ”

Pffffff…there is nothing innocent about Collins…….she is absolute proof conspiracies exist. From the top down.
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October 15, 2014 10:15am
wikiriwhis business

“Govt advised against poverty spending” No surprise they would suck up to national
“The job of a government department is to offer free and frank advice to the Government” but they gave advice that was against the interests of the people in a move to keep in favour with National

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/256912/govt-advised-against-poverty-spending
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October 15, 2014 10:16am
IGM

Will Campbell become Slobcrim and Lecher Len’s PR manager when Mediaworks arse him out . . . and rightfully so!
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October 15, 2014 10:16am
Griff

I deliberately did not make a accusation of fraud just of ineptitude.
Criminal negligence is still a crime.
That so often prosecutions fail due to the accounting complexity is an indictment of a failure to insure satisfactory accounting regimes are mandatory within the finance sector . This makes it imposable to assign accurate risk for the returns available
I dont and haven’t place monies into finance company’s due to this falling
I would much rather invest in share markets or banks as the over site is far more robust and the accounting usually more transparent.
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October 15, 2014 10:18am
wikiriwhis business

They’ll bail out the corporates in a drop. Tax payers are expected to pay for the power cut in Auckland to protect the company but National will not control landlords and toxic rents.
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October 15, 2014 10:23am
dime

“National will not control landlords and toxic rents.” – lol

yeah, the rent i charge is TOXIC! i only have to top the thing up $200 a week.

This TOXIC ahole is subsidising housing for a FAMILY.
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October 15, 2014 10:27am
wreck1080

“A scholar who spent years studying Latin America said that what is defined as poverty in the United States today is upper middle class in Mexico.”

The same would apply in NZ of course.
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October 15, 2014 10:32am
virtualmark

James Stephenson,

It looks like the SFO couldn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused were bad rather than incompetent.

Added to which the SFO managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they too were incompetent.
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October 15, 2014 10:44am
peterwn

Re Judith Collins – the best explanation I can think of is John Key accidentally handed her a political coil of rope and she chose to make use of it. Seems to be a serendipitous outcome for John.
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October 15, 2014 10:46am
Milburn35

Judith Collins received 14,001 votes from the Papakura electorate on 20 September, which was a 4,851 more than the Labour candidate. This would be honourable in itself and not a blight on her character you would think. To have the title “Honourable” dropped from her name however reflects the arrogance she displayed over the so called leaked information and the potential damage to the National Party image. Titles have to be earned , unless you are royalty, and Judith should realise this and start earning the honourable title once again.
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October 15, 2014 10:50am
wikiriwhis business

Twitter deactivated the link to the power transition model which is 90-95% accurate in its predictions: http://philosophyofmetrics.com/2014/02/18/sdrs-and-the-new-bretton-woods-part-six/comment-page-1/#comment-584
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October 15, 2014 10:52am
wikiriwhis business

Lucia Maria……great post at 9.44
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October 15, 2014 10:55am
James Stephenson

Judith Collins received 14,001 votes from the Papakura electorate on 20 September, which was a 4,851 more than the Labour candidate.

She also saw her share of the vote fall from near 60% in 2011 to 46% in 2014.
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October 15, 2014 10:56am
Albert_Ross

Cricko, I noticed just last night that the price of petrol had gone down by 2 cents.
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October 15, 2014 10:59am
virtualmark

I’m no fan of Judith Collins – I think she’s the poster child for an arrogant and ugly (predominantly Auckland-based) faction of the National Party – but she is due a little vindication.

She was stood down largely because of the “Dirty Politics” revelations that she would like to have moved Adam Feeley on from his role as head of the SFO. Apparently for a Minister to be less than impressed with the calibre of the public servants working for her is a sacking offence …

Several people I know and trust in the commercial world had dealings with Adam Feeley. None were impressed. None were scandalised either. But there was a general ho-hum view. We already had the shenanigans with the Bridgecorp champagne. Then the SFO’s treatment of Mark Hotchins was hard to understand given Hotchins has not been charged with any crime – it looked more like a witch-hunt than an investigation. And now there’s a clearly shoddy SFO investigation of South Canterbury Finance. All. on. Adam. Feeley’s. watch.

Maybe Judith’s wish to move Adam Feeley on is very understandable???
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October 15, 2014 11:00am
backster

For the life of me, from drinking a glass of milk to talking to the Whale I can’t see what Judith Collins has done wrong. She has been a major part of the success of the Key Government and with respect to Amy Adams I can’t see her holding the powerful Legal and Correction Lobbies in check. Yes I am an admirer of Judith, but if she is no longer honourable how on earth can Winston be still classed Right Honourable.? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
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October 15, 2014 11:18am
doggone7

backster

Yeah, let’s leave judging to the Honourable John Banks!
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October 15, 2014 11:22am
James Stephenson

@backster – it’s Judith’s bad luck to have been in the role of Justice Minster that Dotcom most needed to discredit as part of his trip-to-America avoidance. She had a hell of a lot of mud slung at her and some of it has undoubtably stuck, she needs to accept that the only way that mud gets removed is going through the wash cycle properly, a quick wipe down with a flannel won’t cut it.

Key has to be seen to be doing the right thing, and the “Hon” thing is symbolic of that.
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October 15, 2014 11:35am
peterwn

backster – Judith’s mistake here is she handled a political situation ineptly. Consensus is the manner of release was a muck-up on the part of John’s office, and if Judith was the real smooth operator she is supposed to be, she would have de-fused the grenade, not pull the pin and throw it in the air. I think her response has done herself far more harm, than the original incident has to John, and may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for John.
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October 15, 2014 11:36am
waikatosinger

Most enjoyable book review. Highly recommend reading it.

http://www.geocurrents.info/physical-geography/eco-authoritarian-catastrophism-dismal-deluded-vision-naomi-oreskes-erik-m-conway
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October 15, 2014 11:40am
Maggy Wassilieff

@ Manolo…. sorry but my little brain can’t cope with learning more than 1 foreign language at a time.
As much as I support Spanish (along with Mandarin) being taught to all NZ pupils, I won’t be learning it myself.
Last month when I was in the US, I heard more Spanish than English on most days.
but the years of being forced to learn French and Latin have turned me off Romance languages.
I’ll struggle on with my Korean lessons.
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October 15, 2014 11:52am
Jack5

Re Maggy W at 11.52 on the Manolo post in Spanish.

When I read the Manolo post on your parrot post I thought NOW we have a real story. The bloody parrot’s posting on Kiwiblog.
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October 15, 2014 12:08pm
stephieboy

wikiriwhis business (3,994 comments) says:
October 15th, 2014 at 9:40 am

Wiki, no the US elections are not rigged but your report about the Koch Brothers and Republican dirty tricks shows there at it are at yet again.

They’ve always fought to try and stymie voter turn out by attempting to make enrollment and registration as difficult and complicated as possible.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-on-voting-20110830

The first thing they would do here is to try to challenge and overturn our simplified and uncomplicated voter registration rules .

The whole tawdry history of Republican dirty tricks including trying to suppress voter turn out.,

http://gopdirtytricks.blogspot.co.nz/

Note the attempt to try and suppress voter turn out at the 2004 mid term congressional in New England by trying to jam Democrat phone boards to prevent older voter turnout.

»
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October 15, 2014 12:31pm
Kea

Lance (2,645 comments) says:
October 15th, 2014 at 8:29 am

@iMP
I saw a program that indeed concluded that the Black Death was not Bubonic Plague but a Hemorrhagic Fever out of Africa.
It studied accounts and witness statements from that time that made it clear.

The conclusion was that it came, it mysteriously burnt itself out, so why can’t it come again?

It never left and still kills people to this day.

During the month of December, the island nation of Madagascar reported cases of both bubonic and pneumonic plague. Mandritsara, a remote village in northeast Madagascar, reported 20 deaths in a single week in early December. Since September 84 cases and 42 deaths have been reported in 4 of Madagascar’s 112 districts, of which 60 cases were suspected to be pneumonic plague. The affected locations include Mandritsara, Soanierana Ivongo, Ikongo, and Tsiroanomandidy. – See more at: http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/madagascars-plague-outbreak-1314#sthash.TO0wfnBL.dpuf

AND: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/8409/20140805/plague-still-kicking-killing.htm
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October 15, 2014 12:35pm
peterwn

James – I think the potential extradition decision had little bearing on what Judith had to ‘endure’. Perhaps Kim now has his wish that Judith will not be handling it, but Amy Adams will not be any soft touch on this. What would be more interesting is the Bain compensation issue – whether or not Judith was being unduly pig-headed on this one. Amy can either concede this now (but there is no real political gain for National with this approach) or just wait for the Judicial Review hearing and outcome.
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October 15, 2014 12:39pm
Odakyu-sen

Teaching a second language to native English speakers doesn’t make any sense if the brightest and most able graduates have no hesitation in taking the higher wages offered by an Asian/South American/European bank and hiving off offshore to make their nest egg.

I thought the idea was to bring wealth to the nation rather than to the individual. Where is the national loyalty of the individual to his nation?

On the other hand, where is the loyalty of the State to the People when the population is being flushed through with immigrants to the extent that native-born NZers are pretty much unable to raise a family on a single income? (I am conveniently ignoring the legal constraints on housing and urban development.)

How can the People exert their power to lower housing prices by leaving NZ or having fewer children if the State thwarts their efforts with a deluge of capable replacements from overseas? (Mind you, the People seem happy to vote for parties which have promoted mass-immigration policies for the last couple of decades, so I guess they’re cool with it.)

If my daughter ever says to me: “Dad, there are too many people in this country,” or “My husband and I can’t afford to have more than one child,” then I’ll say to her, “That’s okay dear, the government has plenty of people waiting offshore to come in and replace you.”

I swear that in some of my more cynical moments I wonder who the livestock that earn income for their masters in this country really are. Maybe it isn’t the cows and the sheep.
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October 15, 2014 12:43pm
waikatosinger

With regard to Collins and the silly title ‘Honourable’, Key is just being pragmatic. It is entirely predictable that the first time she was called Honourable in the House, the opposition would object and try to drag all those old issues into the new parliament. Better to remove the potential trigger and deny them the opportunity.

Political rehabilitation is a process of keeping quiet until your supposed misdemeanors become ancient history that nobody cares about. So far Collins isn’t doing all that well. Keeping qI suspect silence isn’t something she is very good at.
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October 15, 2014 12:47pm
Kea

Odakyu-sen, the fact is NZ is a country founded on mass immigration. As for the dreaded – Yellow Peril – we hear so much about, the Chinese have been here since the 1800’s. They came for the gold rush, along with many other people from around the world. The idea we are a – White European English nation – fails when it comes into contact with reality.
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October 15, 2014 12:55pm
Shawn Herles

I used to like Collins, but she damn near derailed the election for National, and it’s not the first time her lack of judgment has caused problems. She has passed her use by date.
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October 15, 2014 12:57pm
Shawn Herles

For once I agree with Kea. That alone is proof of Divine miracles! 😉

The whole anti-immigration ideology is founded on the myth of a supposedly mono-cultural past which never existed, and on a supposed threat to the NZ way of life which is unwarranted.
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October 15, 2014 1:03pm
KevinH

Judith got to close to her attack dogs and suffered from the predictable reaction following her successes; overconfidence. She had to be reigned in before she did some serious damage to the leadership which has happened. If the inquiry does not go well for her she would of been stripped of her honorarium anyway, so by not having the title means she will suffer one less indignity and her fall from grace won’t be so bumpy. She will be back but somewhat chastised.
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October 15, 2014 1:10pm
Odakyu-sen

Mass immigration founded this nation many years ago.

But this nation is now already founded; therefore, we don’t need mass immigration anymore.
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October 15, 2014 1:11pm
kowtow

waikatogirl

Washington military meeting.

RNZ midday news led with that and went to great lengths to contradict the PM’s assertion that it was a routine meeting.

Why taxpayers have to fund that crap is beyond me.
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October 15, 2014 1:11pm
doggone7

I love this!

“Political rehabilitation is a process of keeping quiet until your supposed misdemeanors become ancient history that nobody cares about…”

The reality of that is that you lie, you keep lying while all the time saying “I can’t remember, I don’t recall, etc., etc…) hoping that the same peculiarity of memory will see you excused and forgiven not as some deliberate act but with the good fortune of others having the same affliction!
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October 15, 2014 1:12pm
Fletch

I wonder how many of our politicians are actually worthy of the title ‘Honourable’.
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October 15, 2014 1:16pm
stephieboy

Plague genome: The Black Death decoded :

From Nature and it is thought to originate in Western Asia.The only reason we are not revisited (on the same scale as in the Middle Ages ) by this most deadly of all plagues are due to a number factors including the building up of human natural immunity and since the 19th century ,most especially , improved sanitation and hygiene .

It does still persist in some areas today again where there is poor sanitation and hygiene .

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111025/full/478444a.html
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October 15, 2014 1:21pm
Shawn Herles

We don’t have mass immigration, and NZ does need skilled immigrants. We do not have enough people of working age to cover the bills with a growing elderly population.

What we need is a balanced immigration policy which avoids the extremes of either mass immigration or closing the boarders. And thankfully that is what we have.
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October 15, 2014 1:29pm
Kea

Mass immigration founded this nation many years ago.

But this nation is now already founded; therefore, we don’t need mass immigration anymore.

Odakyu-sen, No doubt you are referring to the English who make up the biggest group of foreign immigrants. They share little in common with the local population and do not fit in well. A fact revealed by their constant complaining and arrogant disregard of our customs and social norms 😉
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October 15, 2014 1:32pm
Kea

I stumbled across this:

“Super Diverse” 🙂

New Zealand has more ethnicities than there are countries in the world, the 2013 census has revealed.

In total, 213 ethnic groups were identified in the census, whereas there are 196 countries recognised by Statistics New Zealand.

The five largest ethnic groups in New Zealand are New Zealand European, Maori, Chinese, Samoan, and Indian, and ethnic diversity has been increasing.

New Zealand, and Auckland in particular, were now classified as “super diverse”,

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11170288
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October 15, 2014 1:37pm
Redbaiter

We don’t need immigration eroding our traditional culture we need generational NZers to have more children. Stop sucking up Marxist/ feminist propaganda and breed..!!
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October 15, 2014 1:38pm
Shawn Herles

Oddly enough, far from eroding our traditional culture, immigration may save it. The average Chinese immigrant is far more likely to be Christian than your average white Kiwi. In my current local church Asian immigrants make up over a third of the congregation.
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October 15, 2014 1:44pm
Kea

We don’t need immigration eroding our traditional culture

This:

http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1384914905/314/9422314.jpg

Or this:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2013/01/26/Businessman-for-Chengyu-Happy-to-Hear-Criticism-PhotosCom-160323136-590×442.jpg

Red has made his choice. But what do others think ? 😆
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October 15, 2014 1:45pm
thedavincimode

Stop sucking up Marxist/ feminist propaganda and breed..!!

They are. And you’re paying for it.
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October 15, 2014 1:45pm
big bruv

“we need generational NZers to have more children”

Wow!…That sounds like something straight from the Nazi playbook.
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October 15, 2014 1:46pm
stephieboy

More of Putin’s dirty tricks . This time in the Baltic Republics,

Russia’s most shocking statements on Latvia, Ukraine, and Europe today.

A prelude to a Crimea style takeover.?

http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/09/16/russias-most-shocking-statements-on-latvia-ukraine-and-europe-today/

Andrei and Kea would it be fair to describe Russia Today as the Kremlin’s answer to You Tube.?

Just curious.
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October 15, 2014 1:48pm

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