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November 19, 2020 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 19 November 2020

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General Debate

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Captain Mainwaring

So Wellington ratepayers are upset that they’re about to be hit with the biggest rates increase in 25 years.
Why should anyone have any sympathy for them? When they’re stupid enough to vote for incompetent lefty/green councils for the last decade or more they deserve what they get.
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November 19, 2020 8:00am
- peterwn
  
  Trouble is there are lots of non ratepaying residents who have the vote and they could not care less what the rates are since landlords such as Housing NZ, the Council (which owns lots of rental housing) together with all the greedy capitalist private landlords pay the rates for where they live. Indeed for the two named landlords the rents are subsidised so tenants effectively do not indirectly pay rates via rents.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:31am
  - Liberty
    
    Councils are being financially crippled by vanity projects. Often not the responsibility of the council. Just some pet project of lefty academics. Who believe it is their God divine right to spend other people’s money.
    Local body election should be restricted to rate payer only voting.
    Or the introduction of a Poll Tax.
    
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    November 19, 2020 12:51pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Or the introduction of a Poll Tax.
      
      Ahh, but would rents be reduced accordingly? I suspect not.
      
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      November 19, 2020 1:40pm
      - Liberty
        
        Only if the full rates are included in the rental agreement.
        In a lot of cases the renter is being subsidized. Which is why a Poll tax is needed.
        
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        November 19, 2020 1:55pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  They will enjoy light rail from the Railway Station to the Airport. I suggest they put it underground through Lambton Quay.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:38am
  - igm
    
    They may as well have it above ground as most retailers will have been driven out to more commercially acceptable areas . . . WCC only care about weirdos, socialists, and losers.
    
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    November 19, 2020 8:49am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      That’s hardly fair having to dodge the city rail in that crowed city throughway. Another problem is the road covers the beach and sea–a tunnel may be needed.
      
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      November 19, 2020 3:03pm
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Wellingtonians can enjoy a cycle lane right in the middle of motorways. Climate change initiatives like these save lives.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:40am
- CrazyIvan
  
  Agree – except us ratepayers that didn’t vote that way (and instead wanted some form of financially competent management) got lumbered with the same outcome as those that did!
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:10am
- Sacha
  
  If ratepayers were the only voters the Wellington City Council might look quite different.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:26am
  - Charmaine Hawke
    
    Yes it would. Also our mayor needs to remember he is just the most popular not Justin Lester candidate and start acting accordingly less he is removed from the gravy train he has occupied for the last 30+ years.
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:39am
  - igm
    
    You hit the nail on the head . . . many renters resent and are envious of property owners, their vote being an act of vengeance than commonsense.
    Simple answer: No rates demand, no vote.
    
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    November 19, 2020 4:27pm
Simon

The police in Adelaide are just following orders.
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November 19, 2020 8:04am
G152

They voted for the council they wanted.
Now its pay up time…
Gotta pay for those cycle lanes
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November 19, 2020 8:04am
- RW Capitalist
  
  Most councils in NZ.
  The voters could be reminded of the old saying.
  Act in haste..repent at leisure.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:28pm
mikenmildagain

Happy World Toilet Day!
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November 19, 2020 8:04am
- pdm
  
  Should be a good day for you Mike.
  
  You are always pushing it up hill with a rake.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:43am
  - C J Southern
    
    IMO comments like that reveal far more about you than you do about the target of your attack.
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:00am
    - David George
      
      Lighten up CJ, I’m sure Mike will let us know if he has any hurty fe – fees over a joke comment.
      
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      November 19, 2020 10:36am
      - C J Southern
        
        Jokes are supposed to be funny; comments like that are just nasty.
        
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        November 19, 2020 12:20pm
      - WaveyDavey
        
        Awww petal. Hurty feelz?
        
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        November 19, 2020 6:33pm
- muppeth8r
  
  Its thursday mikey 🙂
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:46am
- JackRabbit
  
  Maybe in this case:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-Y2LKtt-Zg
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:48am
- alloytoo
  
  Lets not get bogged down with this.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:42am
- RW Capitalist
  
  Is this day zero of cindy’s economic revolution?
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:26pm
igm

Captain: Bet there were not many “Principal Ratepayers” who voted for these troughing snouting fiscally dyslexic socialists.
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November 19, 2020 8:05am
Maggie Pie

Results of TVNZ’z Online Poll are in! The people have spoken.

HILLARY BARRY voted “Personality of the Year’

John Campbell suspects ‘vote rigging’. Believes thousands of dead people must have voted. Requests hand-job from scrutineers.
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November 19, 2020 8:05am
- Catgurl13
  
  Hmmm TVNZ has an awards ceremony for it’s own presenters who they decide are the best lol.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:05am
- pdm
  
  They do not come much drippier than Hilary Barry – unless you count Jeremy Wells.
  
  They are just awful lightweights.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:21am
artemisia

We may never know how many harvest workers head off to Australia with support from their government.

Meanwhile, back here, Minister Faafoi says growers here have to pay more and offer better conditions.
But not to worry because there’s a working group – “Work to establish whether Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers could be brought into New Zealand in limited numbers was ongoing, Faafoi said”. Plus New Zealand will ping those returning after the Australian harvest with MIQ fees, So Take That.

With NZ “incentives” like that our workers would have to be considering continued working over the ditch. Maybe coming home when vaccines lift restrictions. Or maybe not.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/123429713/australian-govt-offers-kiwi-seasonal-workers-2000-bonus-to-pick-fruit
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November 19, 2020 8:06am
- Catgurl13
  
  Maybe those orchard workers aren’t planning to come back here?
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:38am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  50%. Move on.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:41am
- WaveyDavey
  
  Why wouldn’t you?
  
  You go to Aus, they pay towards your airfare and your accommodation. You have to do 6 weeks of 20hrs (earning remember) and then you get $2k and you can stay in Aus as long as you like – presumably picking up other seasonal work.
  
  And our idiot government’s response? “If you come back within 90 days you’ll be billed for quarantine” – yeah, right.
  
  1. Almost nobody is getting a bill
  2. 6 weeks is halfway to the 90 days – just stay and have an OE
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:28am
- Harriet
  
  I’d be very cautious leaving NZ to go harvesting in aussie[harvester drivers excluded].
  
  A hire company during covid got 1600 people to register with them for regional fruit picking and processing etc. they then rang companies/farms that were listed as needing workers only to be told that we don’t want them. Instead they only wanted workers on visas, and one admitted that it was because they didn’t want to pay aussies the ‘current supply and demand rate’ but the usual low rates for immigrant visa workers.
  The recruitment company could not place 1 single worker in a job!!!
  I’ve read often before about European backpackers being promised reasonable rates only to find they get offered shit rates or no job once they get there.
  And now regional producers are wondering why the unions are setting up a horticultural workers union. Go figure.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:42am
- WaynelSexton
  
  Could it be that bankrupt farms are easier to collectivize. Communism 2.0
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:22am
- Nickc2
  
  Faafoi – another Labour lightweight promoted out of difficulty. His only asset is that he can read scripts and consume media time using many words to say exactly nothing.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:04pm
Simon

NZ’s failing economy built on debt & immigration. For the tards in Wellington Costco opening in NZ is the same as discovering a massive oil reserve.
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November 19, 2020 8:06am
- KevO'Brien
  
  How can be BIG discounter be allowed to ruin our small domestic market. They may be able to take lower margins but that depends on trade volume. They must deny many other subsisting businesses continuing existence.
  The Warehouse, one of our home grown, has enough problems.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:44am
  - WaveyDavey
    
    If by ruin you mean offer cheaper prices…
    
    And you don’t think the Warehouse did exactly the same thing to its competition?
    
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    November 19, 2020 9:32am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      There are limits to how many sellers we can accommodate. There is a limited amount of total sales volume to fund all retailing in NZ. Another big entrant will have to cut prices further to take from existing retailers. The reported woes of the warehouse are a flag that business is marginal and massive dislocation could occur. That means closed businesses, lost capital and people onto the dole. Who gains?
      
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      November 19, 2020 2:59pm
      - WaveyDavey
        
        *Shrug* so a new entrant should be penalised for competing with existing businesses?
        
        Pretty sure we’d have heard the same bleating from the usual suspects when the Warehouse set up shop, K Mart, Briscoes… the list goes on
        
        It’s really simple, if your business model’s not working you need a new model – like the Red Shed is doing in reducing head count and changing trading paractices
        
        As for who wins: the consumer. Look we’re hearing that petrol and groceries are apparently too expensive because of a lack of competition – well blocking competition won’t make anything cheaper
        
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        November 19, 2020 5:15pm
  - alloytoo
    
    Costco has an interesting business model, membership based on subscription.
    
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    November 19, 2020 9:44am
    - Catgurl13
      
      I won’t be paying any membership to shop there to get a discount.
      
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      November 19, 2020 10:10am
      - Albert_Ross
        
        That is your right. Aren’t free markets wonderful!
        
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        November 19, 2020 1:57pm
    - WaveyDavey
      
      Yep. I remember using them in the UK for a full set of tyres.
      
      iirc the joining fee was about 20 quid but the tyres saved me about 200 and they did on-the-spot fitting
      
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      November 19, 2020 10:28am
  - Flossie
    
    Having shopped in Costco in three countries can I say they’re not massively cheaper at all, and the quantities you have to buy are so big. The best part of being a member in Australia was the huge fuel saving, which was great for us as our commute went right past the premises every day. That alone was worth the $60 annual fee.
    
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    November 19, 2020 9:44am
Don Beckett

This is quite funny – all the dead people who voted for Biden… 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mis7vXs0SpA&feature=emb_title
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November 19, 2020 8:07am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  ‘My uncle voted Republican all his life. Until he died. Then he voted Democrat’
  
  So funny!
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:16am
  - Vory v zakone
    
    When the Presidency is taken away from Joe Biden his voters will be rolling over in their graves 😉
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:01am
    - Batman
      
      Well we do know that you’re definitely joking
      
      https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/no-dead-people-didn-t-vote-philadelphia-elections-boss-says-n1247435
      
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      November 19, 2020 10:18am
Scott

Sen Josh Hawley was questioning Mark Zuckerberg yesterday about Facebook, Google and Twitter all coordinating together as to who to ban and what hashtags to ban. It appears they are working together to censor free speech. Mark Zuckerberg was incredibly uncomfortable about this questioning and like Jack Dorsey of Twitter appears to know very little about the company that he heads up. Jack Dorsey comes across as a below average intelligence homeless person which can’t be true?

They have all decided to censor Pres Trump and his posts on all platforms come with a warning.

Here is the question. Who elected Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey and the Google guy to be the censors of the world? They have incredible power to shape public opinion and interfere in elections. They are deciding what the president of the United States can say. They have been compared to the 19th-century robber barons who got together to decide the price of oil and other commodities and basically make a killing at the expense of the American people.

I am hoping that Congress will act to remove their extensive protections so that aggrieved people can sue them. Unfortunately the Democrats showed no such trend. They want social media to censor Pres Trump, and other voices they don’t like, more!

Unfortunately mass media and social media are placing more and more power into the hands of tech giants. As I posted yesterday I think the solution will have to involve breaking up the big tech companies. They have too much power and they have shown in the latest election that they are willing to use it to swing the election to their desired outcomes. The censorship of the President of the United States, the New York Post and the scandals involving Hunter Biden are just a few examples. Governments need to act decisively otherwise this manipulation of public opinion by tech giants will continue in the foreseeable future.
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November 19, 2020 8:11am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Right on.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:47am
- mark15
  
  The trouble is all of the world is talking through a very tightly controlled chokepoint that is the internet.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:57am
- JackRabbit
  
  “They have all decided to censor Pres Trump and his posts on all platforms come with a warning.”
  
  Seen them – the warnings are worded effectively saying those posts and tweets are bogus.
  
  “Governments need to act decisively otherwise this manipulation of public opinion by tech giants will continue in the foreseeable future.”
  
  Agree, but which governments? The current USA Government under Trump is trying, but fighting a very hard battle.
  
  The NZ Government is out because Comrade Ardern helped put this censorship in place.
  
  We are officially in World War 3. World War 3 is not being fought on the battlefield, but inside our businesses, our homes, and indeed our heads, through indoctrination and the battle of ideas. All that requires evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.
  
  The public need to act decisively otherwise this manipulation of public opinion by tech giants will continue in the foreseeable future. Resist, resist, resist.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:05am
- Inandout
  
  I saw that video as well and as you say Zucker was uncomfortable; my God that guy is a strange looking dude. As for big tech losing their law suit priviliges, well with a Republican Senate this may indeed happen. The tech companies referred to appear to be stacked with leftist employees which is maybe why the likes of Newsmax are taking off as an antidote.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:07am
  - The Proper Ghandi
    
    It is easy to see who gets banned from social media and for what alleged reason when it is kept in mind that they are all run by and staffed with progressive leftists. With very, very few exceptions, their censorship decisions have zero to do with anything that could fairly be classed as hate speech etc., and everything to do with people challenging Big Tech’s uniform world view. They don’t like that, so it is banned. They had a clear out of dissident right users prior to the US election. No Antifa or other radical left content is banned, because it aligns with their politics. Because they engage in political censorship based on editorial decisions, they should have no protection from the legal consequences of what they actually do allow.
    
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    November 19, 2020 3:58pm
- lastmanstanding
  
  I note the Techs didnt censor the lies around The Donald and Russia and that went on for years. Now suddenly they are out there censoring anything they dont agree with.
  
  As I have said many times. The Lefts definition of Hate Speech is anything a conservative like me says and thinks.
  
  The Left are the Enemy of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Thought.
  
  We must continue to fight and push back.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:30am
- Harriet
  
  “……Governments need to act decisively otherwise this manipulation of public opinion by tech giants will continue in the foreseeable future…..”
  
  And piss ant media outlets like $1uff. 😎
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:50am
- Batman
  
  Facebook as it currently exists is the biggest promoter and spreader of Trump news and ideas for the MAGA movement.
  
  7 of the top 10 posts each day are usually Dan Bongino posts, at least within the US.
  
  Be careful what you wish for! The freedom of users to post idiotic shit is what gives the MAGA base the freedom to grow.
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:31am
  - Inandout
    
    Batman, not being a capitalist you may not realise but FB and YouTube rely on advertising to survive which is why they display videos that attract an audience. Hunter Biden was the exception, and expensive one no doubt.
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:35am
- Isobar
  
  Is this a post to advocate regulation of private business, on Kiwiblog! Wow. Next you’ll be promoting voting for the greens! (Who ironically probably have called the strongest for regulation in this area)
  
  Sorry guys, but as much as i hate the power that these private organiations have in our society right now. They are private, just like this blog they have the right to define policies for content submitted on it. If someone breaches the contract they have agreed to with a private business, they have the right to action.
  
  If we dont like it, simply we can choose to close down our accounts and go elsewhere.
  
  It’s our choice. We have to follow their rules, but no one is forcing us to stay.
  
  Also – if you are wanting them to remove the protections so people can sue them, this will likely encourage them to limit even further the ability for people to post on there so they can limit their liability for content posted to the site.
  
  I do think it is correct to look at this through an Antitrust lens, to promote competition and restrict market power. However these investigations do take a very long time and the Trump Administration has really done nothing about it over the last four years.
  
  Comparing them to the rubber barons is cute, but we pay nothing to use the platform. We can simply close down our accounts and move on with our lives. Personal responsibility starts here.
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:23am
- RW Capitalist
  
  I try not to swim in their pool (facebook and twitter)
  Because I know they are all pissing in it.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:15pm
Catgurl13

HNZ again defends feral tenants. They say they can’t discriminate against gang members,well why not??.They dam well should be. The poor neighbours of these cretins.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/123428630/when-the-gang-moved-in-serenity-to-crime-land-in-suburbia-wellington
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November 19, 2020 8:14am
- igm
  
  The area would be strong Labour as they are State houses . . . reap what you sow renters!
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:37am
- oob
  
  Absolutely, Catgurl13.
  
  Check out Lindsay Mitchell’s piece which demonstrates how welfare is the lifeblood of gangs.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:43am
- Yabster
  
  yep gang member scum have rights too…!! HNZ is a disgrace- just pass the buck to the Police and hide behind bs policy.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:43am
- Inandout
  
  Cat, one presumes the expensive leafy Wellington suburbs are not yet subjected to these vermin?
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:10am
- Harriet
  
  Victims of gang crime in NZ should take a class action against the civilian arm of government.
  
  And if it’s the MMM – take one out against a couple of Maori tribes.
  
  Putting some sunlight on what could only be described as lawlessness will do no harm.
  
  You could even suggest the government is aiding and abetting in delinquency of NZ youth.
  
  ACT might even repeat what I’ve said — under privilege. 😎
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:03am
  - Yabster
    
    great idea class action against iwi and the Mongrel Mob- would love to see it!
    
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    November 19, 2020 11:52am
I remember when

The covid pandemic has already resulted in low mileage, low year vechicles not needed by rental firms on the second hand market.
Stuff reported in late April that many rental firms derived 75-80% of their business from overseas visitors.
Then news of a contract to house orchard workers in vehicles being in danger because of low overseas workers.
Now Stuart Nash is working on flooding the suv/van market with more ex-tourist vehicles.
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November 19, 2020 8:15am
lazza

I’m with Hehir yesterday on say Te Waipounamu. South Island… really?
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November 19, 2020 8:20am
- Jack5
  
  Your mob lost the Hehir debate yesterday.
  Accept defeat graciously and move on.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:21pm
I remember when

As Porirua has discovered it’s not cheap settling legal business.
Six refills of the mayoral vehicle were considered illegal by the Chief Executive.
Cost to Council $20,987 for external review and $54,806 in legal bills.
The review didn’t draw any conclusions from their findings, leaving the CE to evaluate the ‘reasonableness’ of the petrol refills.
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November 19, 2020 8:22am
- Catgurl13
  
  Yet certain people can get tv jobs for their own family members while in power here and even show them classified information and that’s ok.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:42am
- Paulus
  
  We must assume that these fills were only for the Mayoral Car and not for any other vehicle, perhaps the Mayor’s family member.
  Not the first time for such !
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:03am
Ruahine

I am just thinking of all those stupid Aucklanders that use public transport. Hope you have all got your masks on because it is Thursday and apparently according to Ardern and Bloomfield the virus only starts to infect people starting on a Thursday but not yesterday. It just shows how lucky we are to have such clever people in charge that know such stuff.
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November 19, 2020 8:22am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  And isn’t it great that we have lots of little sewing circles where folks can make face masks for themselves and friends who can’t afford the ones on sale?
  https://tpplus.co.nz/community/cook-island-mamas-sew-5000-face-masks-to-help-the-pacific-community-fight-against-covid-19/
  
  So different from that “authoritarian” Taiwan, that managed to ramp up production of millions of face masks for sale (NZ 25cents) by late February 2020.
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12962-020-00239-3
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:48am
  - JackRabbit
    
    I’m amazed that Cook Island Mamas have the technology to produce masks that can filter down to 0.1 micron.
    
    “When asked about the CDC recommendations for people the general public to wear masks or other improvised devices, Bourouiba offered a qualified response:
    
    “The efficacy of those homemade solutions need to be quantified. Exhalations or violent exhalations such as coughs or sneezes would be deflected to the sides of these masks — as they are not perfectly sealed….
    
    “It is important, therefore, to understand that such masks are not necessarily protective for the wearer in terms of preventing inhalation of the residual droplets in the air, which enter from the sides unfiltered, but they can provide a way to reduce the range of contamination from the droplets-laden cloud.”
    
    https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/04/03/coronavirus-protection-how-masks-might-stop-spread-through-coughs/5086553002/
    
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    November 19, 2020 9:14am
    - cmm
      
      It’s all really just cargo cult mentality – do thinks that look similar and expect to get good results.
      
      Some fabric masks are even worse than nothing. Some fabrics can actually break up large drops (relatively benign) into smaller drops (which are much worse).
      
      And yet, they all think that it is so awesome to see the people making a fist of it.
      
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      November 19, 2020 10:11am
      - backster
        
        The point of compulsory mask wearing despite no community transmission is to maintain the fear.
        
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        November 19, 2020 1:38pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        “Some fabric masks are even worse than nothing”
        
        Yes, the masks can become a repository and breeding ground. Very similar to when as a child you continually kept blowing your runny nose into you hanky until said hanky was saturated.
        
        The homemade masks are nothing much more than a fashion statement. Given that viruses can exist on surfaces for days, unless every surface is wiped down between customers, you stand a high chance of infection simply standing close. And since that is not happening despite the high risk, the NZ variants/versions clearly do not pose a high risk.
        
        And this is based on the common narrative of how mobile the virus is. And we note that despite its high mobility, our leader(s) took very little precautions consistent with the narrative.
        
        A fancy rainbow home made coloured mask that offers little protection may look good as a fashion statement but useless as protection. Otherwise the medical profession would have been buying masks off local dressmakers and knitting groups for decades.
        
        There is a reason why you don’t see TV docos of contamination experts investigating contagions wearing face masks made out of material from Spotlight or old recycled T-Shirts.
        
        Due Diligence Test for a mask:
        Feed your partner up on garlic, onions, stinky cheese and beer. Put on a face mask and get them to belch and fart 1 metre directly in front of your face. If you can smell it, your face mask is doing diddly squat. Get yourself a real mask. One that covers your eyes as well. Virus droplets spread through the eyes as well.
        
        https://www.med.umich.edu/kec/pdf/coronavirus-and-your-eyes-aao.pdf
        
        https://www.israel21c.org/new-ventilator-mask-protects-entire-face-from-coronavirus/
        
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        November 19, 2020 1:58pm
  - cmm
    
    What is worrying about these sewing circles is that they have given rise to a bunch of “experts” who have no understanding of virology, filtering etc and all they understand is some stuff about sewing.
    
    Not a scientist in sight.
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:07am
- Hard Cheese
  
  I’ve decided to stop taking the ferry into the CBD and go back to driving. If travelling on public transport is apparently risky enough to require a mask, why should I subject myself to said risk?
  
  The Government of unintended consequences — all for a bit of showboating about masks.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:00am
  - Phronesis
    
    I suspect that is precisely why they have been reticent about requiring masks on public transport. If this pandemic has taught us anything it is that sticking people into a confined space with a bunch of strangers everyday is a really bad idea. Much better if you travel separately in your own space and keep your germs to yourself and that small number of known people that you interact with every day.
    
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    November 19, 2020 11:02am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Totally correct. Quite some time ago when I lived in Wellington I commuted to the city on train and then when moved on buses. All crowded. I used to get at least two, sometimes three bad colds every year.
      
      Since leaving Wellington I never use public transport. Have not had a cold in over two years.
      
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      November 19, 2020 12:19pm
    - cmm
      
      There’s a good reason why CV19 has run through all the cities with high public transport usage (NYC, Milan, …).
      
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      November 19, 2020 2:45pm
- Ehlana
  
  Ruahine, I’d rather stupid people let someone else drive them. I just wish stupid people would also let someone else run the country.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:22am
  - Ruahine
    
    The Covid hysteria rolls on.
    
    20 1
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    November 19, 2020 9:55am
    - Ruahine
      
      I just wish people would realise how they are being manipulated.
      
      18 1
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      November 19, 2020 10:01am
      - Inandout
        
        Ruahine, the Covid Queen knows just how to massage the population of 5 million. Sooner or later though massaging gets a tad uncomfortable.
        
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        November 19, 2020 12:24pm
Ehlana

Good morning Kiwibloggers. Today is International Men’s Day – yes, there is one. So take a moment to be thankful for the men in your life.

And if you need some celebratory ideas, today is also Beaujolais Nouveau Day, Play Monopoly Day and Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day.
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November 19, 2020 8:27am
- Nostradamus
  
  Today is International Men’s Day
  
  What with Don Beckett yesterday, and Ehlana today, Mikenmild has serious competition for “today is…” announcements!
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:29am
  - oob
    
    Milky is a Kiwiblog trend-setter, Nostradamus.
    
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    November 19, 2020 8:48am
  - Tarquin North
    
    David Cunliffe is probably hiding in his panic room.
    
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    November 19, 2020 9:20am
- muppeth8r
  
  its thursday 🙂
  
  4 1
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  November 19, 2020 8:42am
- oob
  
  Beaujolais Nouveau Day
  
  It is indeed. And unfortunately for Auckland Kiwibloggers, the Street Party in Vulcan Lane this evening is sold out.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:46am
I remember when

‘Can Ardern handle housing crisis’. Newsroom.
Will she even try!
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November 19, 2020 8:28am
- peterwn
  
  Handling the housing crisis is making it easier and cheaper to build new houses. All the other suggested quack remedies such as capital gains and wealth taxes are just like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:36am
- Raphael
  
  She will use “Frowny Faced Concern” as it has been so effective in the past.
  And may have to break out a hug or two.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:42am
- C J Southern
  
  She’s “very trying” …
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:02am
- plc
  
  I suspect she has the Ad agency working on a slogan
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:42am
- Isobar
  
  Its not another one, its the same one that no political party has been bothered to deal with for 20 years.
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:25am
  - artemisia
    
    That housing crisis. What exactly is it? How many are living under bridges? Even the 20,000 on the social housing waiting list are living somewhere, and could be applying for one of the 10,000 private rentals currently advertised, and that is just Trademe. And 20,000 is a teeny tiny % of the housing stock in New Zealand.
    
    Of course there are households no sensible private landlord will go anywhere near. But is that a crisis, apart perhaps for the unwanted households?
    
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    November 19, 2020 12:50pm
muppeth8r

well the greens arent letting up on housing/wealth taxes are they, throw in a few more sob stories in the media and cindys guna have a mandate of hugs an feels to tax those evil homeowners.

I know she said shes ruled it out but shes broken so many promises I dont believe a word she says, id 90% confident in betting that something will be underway for a housing tax by end of next year and 80% she will allow weed to be decriminalized aswell. and if cindys polling crashes out by next election then 100% both of those will happen.
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November 19, 2020 8:32am
muppeth8r

so the amount of vaccines on order mean enough for nearly everyone in nz… wait for cindy to make it mandatory when its discovered uptake of it is abismal.
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November 19, 2020 8:33am
- sooty
  
  How many more shiny bums and clipboard warriors will be needed to enforce that?
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:03pm
- RW Capitalist
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/428161/covid-19-new-zealand-to-buy-1-point-5-million-doses-of-potential-vaccine
  so the rest of us can just die, I suppose?
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:09pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    I’m quite happy for our elites to step up and have first dibs at the vaccine.
    
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    November 19, 2020 12:51pm
    - RW Capitalist
      
      god I hope that’s sarcasm.
      
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      November 19, 2020 1:07pm
Raphael

SO back in may Trump was roundly mocked, ridiculed and condemned for saying that there was promising work on a vaccine and that there could be one before the end of the year. How dare he be so irresponsible.

Now we have two companies with vaccines looking to be ready by the end of the year.

NOTE: I am concerned that there has not be adequate testing of these, so I want plenty of evidence that there isn’t an unexpected side effect of people who take it turning into brain dead Labour voters
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November 19, 2020 8:41am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Even without the vaccine we have 50% of them.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:43am
- Biscuit
  
  Raphael, I saw a good meme the other day:
  
  Lisa Simpson is frowning:
  
  ‘My face when Pfizer says their vaccine is 90% effective
  …
  when I know they hold the record high for healthcare frauds payouts ($2.3 billion) for making illegal marketing claims.’
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:59am
- Happy1
  
  Trump said that the virus would disappear on the 3rd of November.
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:20am
- Isobar
  
  Trump did nothing for the vaccines, they were developed by Private companies with no government funding.
  
  So Trump cannot take credit for anything, other than being the first one-term president in a while.
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:27am
- Alan Wilkinson
  
  I note that “health authorities” are never explicit about how many volunteers must die taking placebos before a vaccine is officially certified as effective.
  
  Nor how many must die taking the vaccine before it is officially determined to be unsafe?
  
  These are ethical questions that should not be decided by bureaucracies or experts who should only be tasked with informing the public who must be the ultimate arbiters.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:12pm
C J Southern

US Election Reality Check

Suits filed: 38
Proceedings concluded: 30
States gained due to legal action: 0
Votes gained due to legal action: 0
Cases of election fraud proven: 0

Transition to Biden countdown: 62D 21H 16M

Status: The countdown is proceeding normally. All lights are green. All systems are go
#ReportEnds
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November 19, 2020 8:43am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Meanwhile the MOAB was loaded with evidence to obliterate the deep swamp to a depth of 500m. The bombing run is expected shortly–we’ill only know after the event.
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:54am
- Maggie Pie
  
  The thing is CJ, it sounds like you’re on the side that opposes legal observers and ballot verification yet believe they have the moral high ground.
  
  #ReplyEnds
  
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  November 19, 2020 8:55am
  - JackRabbit
    
    This is one of many examples why it has to be investigated.
    
    https://twitter.com/justin_hart/status/1329154617716789249/photo/1
    
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    November 19, 2020 9:33am
    - C J Southern
      
      No – that’s yet another example that’s ALREADY been investigated – and reported – many many times.
      
      And it’s yet ANOTHER example of you continuing to post misleading crap.
      
      https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-fact-check-biden-vote-spikes-mi-wi-idUSKBN27L2RL
      
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      November 19, 2020 3:08pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        Reuters, as part of MSM, are no longer 100% trustworthy. They have been caught skewing or mis- reporting the truth and/or passing on fake news.
        
        Unless YOU have proof that this chart is incorrect, its not crap.
        
        And by proof, the actual chart and source.
        
        Simply regurgitating what you have read without inspection, referencing logic and patterns, is not research.
        
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        November 19, 2020 4:41pm
      - Batman
        
        Internet research warriors abound.
        
        dO YoUr OwN ReSeArCh
        
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        November 19, 2020 8:18pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        @Mod
        Bump
        
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        November 19, 2020 6:48pm
  - C J Southern
    
    Not sure how posting hard data puts me on any “side”.
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:06am
    - Batman
      
      They’re still in the tantrum phase, C J.
      
      As yet none of their theories have stood up in court. And Rudy made a fool of himself yesterday in front of a bemused judge.
      
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      November 19, 2020 12:06pm
      - C J Southern
        
        Lol – so right. Rudy should be downright embarrassed. Looks like there’s a price on money vs credibility; apparantly for him it’s $20,000 a day.
        
        What will inevitably happen is – as predicted the court cases will go nowhere and Biden will be inaugerated on time; the only question is (a) “will the conspiracy theorists here apologise for all the crap they’ve posted and finally wake up and take a good long look at where they get their conspiracy material from (and ask themselves how they got so detached from reality)” or (b) “will they continue trying to deny reality by adding the courts to their already long list of people they’re accusing of having no integrity”?
        
        I think it’ll be (b).
        
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        November 19, 2020 12:29pm
    - JackRabbit
      
      You have been hoodwinked into believing that quantity is more important than quality in proving there has been no crime. You believe that if (a) 1000 MSM outlets say Trump is in denial, (and he may well be), and (b) very only a few outlets say the election was rigged, that (a) is the truth.
      
      Investigative truth is not arrived at by quantity or consensus.
      Inductive analytics and investigation, at the heart of the modern scientific method, go even further away from quantity and for that matter quality. It is about embracing ALL data, not just what you find comfortable and validation of your ideas.
      
      Here’s an example:
      Supposing someone’s daughter, we give her a generic name, Jane, drops out of Uni, a few months after getting involved with a bad egg boyfriend, lets call him called John. Her flatmate says Jane didn’t come home after a night out with John, and when flatmate returned home from lectures she found a note from Jane saying that she and John broke up, and she is taking time out, and off to Hawaii for a to recover and recharge.
      
      Dad tries calling her mobile but Jane doesn’t answer. Instead Dad receives a txt to say she’s gone to Hawaii and not to worry, she just needs time to herself to get over the breakup. Dad even receives emails from her, along with photos of the sun and surf on a beach. Even one or two of her with a hat and sunglasses on the beach.
      
      Jane evens emails Dad, asking for her credit card to be topped up, and Dad who has access to the credit card under J Smith, sees charges in Hawaii, so tops up the account and thinks nothing of it.
      
      So there is an overwhelming amount of data that Jane is OK. Until a child playing in the forest 5km from the Uni discovers a unique ring. It is handed in to police and through the jeweller’s engraving inside the ring finds it’s way back to Dad. It’s Jane’s ring. Which makes him very concerned.
      
      So if we play your consensus game, Dad should let his fears over the ring go, and focus on the wealth of data he is getting from his daughter. Thinking there is foul play because of an indicator, according to you, is just denial of the truth.
      
      The police comb the area and find nothing. The lead cop, Burt, tells Dad not to worry, to ignore the ring, and to let it go.
      
      But Dad does not let it go. He hire investigators and they go to Hawaii. They find the ex-boyfriend where they expected to find Jane. He has her phone, and her laptop, and her credit card. He is arrested.
      
      They go back home and start a search, auditing all the places around where the ring was found and eventually find her murdered buried body.
      
      Truth, is not about quantity, or for that matter quality. The dozens of txts and emails and photos were quantity, and the photos were of good resolution and quality. Except they were not taken by her. Just like the ballots posted in by dead people. And ballots that are delivered in bulk for Biden. And like the Photoshop software doctored photos of Jane, we have the software algorithm doctored votes.
      
      The ring was the sole single anomaly that did not fit the jigsaw puzzle. The ring. One piece of data in a sea of opposing data.
      
      There is an overwhelming amount of anomalies to do with this election. According to you, everyone should ignore those anomalies. Yeah Right! Another TUI billboard right there.
      
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      November 19, 2020 5:23pm
mark15

I hope the democrats’ ‘win’ is worth the price everyone else is paying CJ.
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November 19, 2020 9:00am
KevO'Brien

Low interest rates cause problems in NZ too. A sound commentary on their affects.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/dear-fed-stop-lying-low-rates-benefit-poor-people
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November 19, 2020 9:01am
Maggy Wassilieff

However, in my opinion, it’s becoming more and more probable that the Prime Minister and her Labour leaders have never truly cared about achieving transformative change, and that the goal has really always been to acquire and maintain power.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/the-cruel-violence-of-kindness-and-unity

Looks like our PM’s empathetic smile isn’t working its charm on Dylan Asafo.
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November 19, 2020 9:04am
- Libertarians are right
  
  Well duh. That has been the case with every other Socialist party ever. Why do people keep thinking that any group of Socialists will ever be any different. Power and Control are literally the goals of Socialism (state ownership/control of the means of production).
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:08am
  - oob
    
    (state ownership/control of the means of production)
    
    That definition is archaic. The modern version also includes state control of the means of distribution and the means of exchange.
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:34am
    - Bob
      
      and manipulating the minds.
      
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      November 19, 2020 11:59am
- JackRabbit
  
  John Preston has woken up. He probably skipped his indoctrination for a day or two. There is hope. 🙂
  
  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:23am
- Albert_Ross
  
  Why do we keep enthusiastically reporting and endorsing articles that are critical of the PM for not being left-wing enough in her policies?
  
  Are we actually in agreement with Mr Asafo that the Government should do as Auckland Action Against Poverty demands and provide for a substantial increase in benefit levels before Christmas? That New Zealand’s interests are so divided that she must take sides, and that the side she should take should be to favour the unproductive side of our society at the expense of the wealth creators?
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:23am
  - fightingtemeraire
    
    Ia AAAP a refuge for overseas stirrers?? Ricardo the Tex Mex was there and now this Asafo bloke???
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:34am
  - Paulus
    
    If she goes too left wing she will alienate her new voters who won her the election, the White Middle Class and Age women – she has got to keep them sweet to retain power.
    Remember they deserted National and are currently only for the wonderful Cindy.
    She cannot alienate them.
    
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    November 19, 2020 11:09am
    - sooty
      
      When she departs for the un, will her votes go too?
      
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      November 19, 2020 12:06pm
- cmm
  
  There’s a deal going on here.
  
  Cindy never wanted to be PM according to what she said. Her sights have always been set on more lofty goals.
  
  But Labour were heading for a complete roasting under Little with 12 years out of power, so it seems a deal was made:
  * Cindy front’s Labour and gives them the appeal they need.
  * They make all the deals they need to get in power (what every you want Winston).
  
  In exchange Cindy gets all the promotion she needs for her actual career goals.
  
  #CinD4UN!
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:42am
- Benedict Yu
  
  How bizarre. This guy thinks increasing welfare benefits is “transformative change”. What. a. Dick.
  
  In the last 50 years, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea have had actual transformative change.
  
  There are other countries that are going through transformative change and which will overtake New Zealand’s GDP per capita in the next 5 years – Slovenia, Lithuania, and Estonia. All have adopted policies promoting liberal markets and low tax rates.
  
  So unless New Zealand changes in 20 years countries like Estonia will be considerably more wealthy than New Zealand. Even five years ago that would have seemed impossible.
  
  It is like the whole country is mesmerised.
  
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  November 19, 2020 2:48pm
cmm

Fuck the PriNZess’ “Be Kind” mask. I’m getting sick of it.

Sure, if it’s a photo op (mosque shootings, crying Poms, etc) then she’s kind, but the rest of us – bah!

I’m getting hounded by IRD with threatening letters for being a day late paying GST and am being hounded for a few tens of $ which amounts to something like 800% interest.

PriNZess and her mob made a big deal about supporting and being flexible to business, yet this is just another lie (like saying everyone can get CV19 tests or vaccines when there was actually a shortage).

Why does the government make a mission about shutting down loan sharks when they themselves gouge at over 800%?
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November 19, 2020 9:06am
- RJ
  
  Pay your tax the money is needed for the royal princess of New Zealand wedding.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:12am
- KevO'Brien
  
  I have to doubt the legality of the penalties and interest being charged too. Is an algorithm an exercise of the Commissioner’s discretion?
  Is the Dept putting efficiency above its duty of service?
  The correspondence suggests more like they are broke.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:40am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Charges and penalties are a % of what’s “owed” then an interest charge is added to the total at roughly bank interest rates.
    Gangster loan sharking to the extreme.
    By the IRD
    
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    November 19, 2020 11:59am
- Sigmund Freud
  
  Judith? Judith? [crickets]
  
  Seymour? Seymour? [crickets]
  
  I guess the politicians need to get paid too.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:53am
- MCos
  
  So it’s the PMs fault you can’t pay your bills on time?
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:46am
  - RJ
    
    For a lot of people yes because they had to shut their businesses down because some stupid government couldn’t run the boarders and isolation properly.
    
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    November 19, 2020 1:16pm
  - cmm
    
    No, that is not her fault, but she’s telling us how full of kindness they are and how they’re bending over to support small biz – that they are not doing.
    
    Nor is it acceptable to charge 800% interest.
    
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    November 19, 2020 2:33pm
- Ian Boag
  
  I assume it is a computer generated letter. There are a few of those floating round where arrears are wrongly asked for and the like. System still bedding down – FWIW I think it was commissioned and started on by the last government.
  
  Your beef is with the head of IRD. I can understand how it is more fun slagging off the PM though.
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:54am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    The govt of the day takes responsibility for how their tax collector interfaces with the public. One long past Commissioner got replaced over that.
    
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    November 19, 2020 6:07pm
Maggie Pie

Random Impertinent Question…

How long will the Auckland Council be allowed to roll their Rate Hedging positions, before the unrealised losses, (now in excess of $2.7 billion!!) will need to be crystalized?

Asking for a close friend
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November 19, 2020 9:08am
lazza

Maggie Pie.

In answer to your question relating to the Auckland Council $2.7 Bn or is it … $1.4Bn? unrealized debt interest rate hedging losses.

As it stands now, NZ accounting standards do not specify a time limit … by which in such time … for these unrealized losses to be booked.

DOHH!

Note that US standards though require them annually to be booked.

The greater mischief though is that while this situation is allowed to rollover (ad infinitem) with continuing low interest rates, Auckland ratepayers are incurring annual added interest costs of (it is reported) … over $500 M pa.

To unwind the arrangement though would trigger the crystallization (the booking) of the circa $2Bn losses to date.

Talk about hoisted on … a horrendously expensive petard?

Now I personally know the architects of this dopey disastrous ratepayer funded debacle. They are incompetent fools who could be locked up or at least in private enterprise sent packing

But Hey this is NZ loc guvv!
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November 19, 2020 9:34am
- Maggie Pie
  
  For the record lazz – reported $2.74 Billion as at yesterday.
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:36am
  - sooty
    
    When are the ratepayers going to call for Goffs head [Mod: too far.]?
    
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    November 19, 2020 12:10pm
Yvette

Pike River –
The father of a builder killed in the Pike River explosion in 2010 says he’s got evidence about what went wrong in the mine when it exploded twice within a matter of days.
Bernie Monk, who lost his son Michael 10 years ago, this morning told TVNZ1’s Breakfast families haven’t gone public with the information as they didn’t want to interfere with the police investigation into the disaster.

… “It’s taken us one year to get it, of which it’s taken the police, it’s taken the Department of Labour and all those sort of people 10 years to get and we’ve got it in one year.
“We haven’t come public on this because we do not want to interfere with the police investigation and that’s why we haven’t gone public on this, and I hope they realise that because we’re honest Coasters but I don’t think we’re getting treated that way.” [1]

What is the legal position of this claim? Is it with-holding information in a police investigation?
If there is such knowledge does it effect the examination of the material at present set aside in “Rock Bottom”

It also question to what extent the current investigation is for the families benefit or the country’s information and whether with-held knowledge effects the costs and effectiveness of the “recovery” investigation.

As Bernie Monk has made this statement now on TVNZ1’s Breakfast, what is the position of Andrew Little. Where is comment from him as they spend $50 million of taxpayer funding on this project, to which Monk claims to already have the answer?

[1] https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/father-pike-river-mine-victim-says-hes-got-evidence-into-caused-tragedy
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November 19, 2020 9:38am
- C J Southern
  
  We live in a world where anybody can say anything – but that doesn’t mean that what they say has any credibility.
  
  Judging by the crap I read every day, 99%+ of what people say generally falls somewhere between “clueless ignorance” and “deliberate lies”.
  
  Hope that answers your question.
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:12am
  - oldfella
    
    Hey, CJ, I think you’re being a bit tough on we KB commenters. Surely it’s more like 95% clueless ignorance, or deliberate lies on this blog.
    Or are you just talking about your own stuff? 😉
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:42am
    - C J Southern
      
      Very droll.
      
      Why would you assume that I was talking exclusively about KB commenters?
      
      What I said: “Judging by the crap I read every day, 99%+ of what people say generally falls somewhere between “clueless ignorance” and “deliberate lies”.”
      
      What I DIDN’T say “Judging by the crap I read every day here, 99%+ of what people say generally falls somewhere between “clueless ignorance” and “deliberate lies”.”
      
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      November 19, 2020 12:34pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        >>>Judging by the crap I read every day, 99%+ of what people say generally falls somewhere between “clueless ignorance” and “deliberate lies”.”
        
        And yet you continue to keep reading it.
        
        AND you have a superiority complex by insisting that 99% falls between “clueless ignorance” and “deliberate lies”.
        
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        November 19, 2020 1:07pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        So you arrogantly doubt 99% of what you read, but when it comes to the US Democrats you doubt 0% of what they say.
        
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        November 19, 2020 1:14pm
      - RichardX
        
        So Jackrabbit, tell us more about the “latest scientific theory” that “part of the Earth’s population may be long term descendants of colonists from Mars.”
        Don’t forget about how “the subsequent Atlantis colony destroyed itself”
        
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        November 19, 2020 2:29pm
- Paulus
  
  Sounds like usual Monk publicity crap.
  Go to Police or shut up !
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:14am
hmmokrightitis

So…heading out for my long run this morning, and seeing that Endomondo is shutting down, performed the switch to MapMyRun. Was looking through the functionality as I walked and then jogged into my warmup. Was looking for the “trail running” function and how to pair the app with my heart rate monitor.

And as I was scrolling through the various exercise options, I came across (oops) “Intimacy” as an option.

The lady out walking her dog at 530AM must have thought I was the local nutjob as I start running in gales of laughter 😀
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November 19, 2020 9:40am
Captain Mainwaring

So the unions and Angry Andy are looking for someone to blame Pike River on.
I suggest they get a big mirror and look into it.
Angry was the one who told his members that the mine was safe after Helen and the Greens insisted it be designed as an uphill methane trap with inadequate ventilation.
How that twat Angry now wants to pass judgement defies belief.
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November 19, 2020 9:41am
- Sigmund Freud
  
  “How that twat Angry now wants to pass judgement defies belief.”
  
  No.
  
  What defies belief is that the foreign owned ‘main stream’ media completely ignores this in favour of click bait, and the New Zealand public don’t toss these media robber barons into the Tasman Sea.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:51am
- cmm
  
  It was perfectly safe when Labour signed off.
  
  However gravity changed under the 9 years of neglect under National causing the density of methane to change and the mine to become unsafe.
  
  Aside: It is exactly the same density issue with methane that means methane is way overstated as a greenhouse gas.
  
  While CO2 is denser than air (and thus tends to stay lower), methane is way less dense than air and thus rises.
  
  Methane has almost the same density as water vapour. As everyone will have noticed, water vapour rises up quickly to considerable distances to make clouds (eg. noctilucent clouds which are over 80km high – right on the edge of space). Methane does not condense (form clouds) so it continues to rise to these altitudes.
  
  At these altitudes two things happen to the methane:
  1) It is under massive attack by both UV and Ozone (O3).
  2) It rapidly breaks down into CO2 and water vapour.
  
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  November 19, 2020 9:57am
  - cmm
    
    Damn, I hit send too soon.
    
    NZ’s GHG levels are as high as they are primarily from counting methane as a much worse GHG than CO2 (something around 40 times or so).
    
    Those 40x increases apply if you isolate methane in the lab. In reality this multiplier does not apply ands a multiplier of 2x or so would be far more realistic.
    
    If NZ’s GHG budget was recalculated like that then our GHG emissions “sin” would reduce by approx 50% or so.
    
    Our farming would then be pretty much carbon neutral and indeed even carbon capturing. We need the methane myth to keep the idea going that dairy, beef etc are carbon sins.
    
    But no, we need to be controlled, colonialism is bad, etc etc….
    
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    November 19, 2020 10:21am
    - Phronesis
      
      It’s only logical that farming is carbon neutral. The grass locks up the carbon from the air, the cows convert the carbon to meat and milk, the meat and milk are consumed and the carbon is released back into the air. Where is the extra carbon supposed to come from? How can there be more carbon coming out than is going in?
      
      (Yes I understand your point about methane, also given it’s half life I don’t think any multiplier should be applied.)
      
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      November 19, 2020 11:10am
      - cmm
        
        “Where is the extra carbon supposed to come from?”
        
        Perhaps on some farms they feed the calves on diesel and the mummy cows on coal. I have not seen that myself, but we all know that dairy is a filthy business so I’m sure it must be happening somewhere.
        
        Back in reality land:
        Since some of the CO2 that was harvested leaves the farm in the form of milk and meat mainly exported overseas, that is a carbon sink
        
        If we accounted properly, our herds would be carbon negative and not be contributing over 50% of our GHG footprint.
        
        I don’t think methane should have any multiplier over CO2, but in saying 2x or 4x I was being quite generous.
        
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        November 19, 2020 2:42pm
jacob

Chris Trotter writes poem for Cindy

https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/11/19/the-hollow-persons-with-apologies-to-t-s-eliot/
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November 19, 2020 9:47am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  It is very good…
  
  He needs to submit it to The Listener
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:48am
- Surely Knott
  
  Good poem. Except for his line – “For this is the Empire of Neo-liberalism” Yeah no it’s really not. We have the ex- head of the young socialists as prime minister and a full labour govt. It should read “For this is the Empire of Socialism.” This is their results to own. They are in charge.
  
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  November 19, 2020 10:53am
- artemisia
  
  Clever. I like the last lines – ‘This is the way Jacinda ends Not with a pang but a simper’.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:12pm
Jack5

Bob Jones fires a salvo against cellphone use:

https://nopunchespulled.com/2020/11/18/commercial-success-the-secret/#more-1995
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November 19, 2020 10:18am
SB2

Whilst “Truth Decay “ has entered the lexicon and discourse in serious discussion and analysis another one , “ malignant narcissism “ is worthy of the same as it applies to Trump and many of his followers.

It is highlighted with his inept handling of Covid and continues with his unreasoned of the same his exit from the White house.

Covid-19 Highlights Trump’s Malignant Narcissism — and Proves Americans Will Survive Despite Him

The president’s first response to every crisis is to insist on complete authority, while at the same time abandoning all responsibility.

ONE PIECE OF wisdom from ancient Rome has guided astute public health officials dealing with epidemics for 2,000 years: “Cito, longe, tarde.”
That’s Latin for “Leave quickly. Go far away. Come back slowly.”

Faced with a highly contagious, lethal disease for which there is no known cure, President Donald Trump has ignored that timeless advice.

Instead, like a medieval demagogue, Trump is spouting quackery and hatred straight out of the 14th century, when panicked Europeans confronting the Black Death strapped live chickens to their bodies, drank potions tinged with mercury and arsenic, and blamed the Mongols and the Jews when none of it worked.

Major catastrophes lay bare the truth about our leaders. Trump’s criminally negligent, chaotic handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed, once and for all, that he is a corrupt, narcissistic psychopath.

His babbling and incoherent press conferences, in which he lashes out in every direction, continue to show that he is in urgent need of psychiatric treatment. He exhibits the self-centered tendencies of a small child…”

https://theintercept.com/2020/04/22/trump-coronavirus-governors/
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November 19, 2020 10:21am
- RW Capitalist
  
  “Major catastrophes lay bare the truth about our leaders. Trump’s criminally negligent, chaotic handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed, once and for all, that he is a corrupt, narcissistic psychopath.”
  A few truths for ya
  1. It is the Governors and state legislatures responsibility to deal with matters of health in THEIR communities…NOT the President’s…read the US constitution.
  2. Trump built a massive tent hospital in Central park, that CUOMO…did not use.
  3. Trump sent two large hospital ships to NY and San Francisco…that weren’t used in NY and barely used in San Fransisco
  4. It was TRUMP who initiated “warp speed” for the discovery of a vaccine, that the supposed experts said would take a MINIMUM of 5yrs to produce…yet here we are.
  5. The death rate in the USA is SLOWING even though the infection rate is rising, TRUMP mobilized the economy to produce the PPE required, ventilators required and encouraged treatment options.
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:35am
- RW Capitalist
  
  “ONE PIECE OF wisdom from ancient Rome has guided astute public health officials dealing with epidemics for 2,000 years: “Cito, longe, tarde.”
  That’s Latin for “Leave quickly. Go far away. Come back slowly.”
  So why did Cindy put MIQ in 5star hotels, in the centre of our largest cities and allow staff/guards to come and go at will?
  Successfully distributing the virus out into the community.
  Why didn’t Cindy take the advice of the “Influenza pandemic response plan c2017”?
  Who’s FIRST action said should be to “Keep it out”, considering we live on an Island chain in the middle of the Pacific.
  She instead, CHOSE to wait until the first cases were already here. Then chose to attack the economy, instead of the disease.
  My thoughts
  She didn’t close the boarder till too late.
  Because
  November, December and January (when she should have done it) are the Summer Holidays and that would have cost here considerable political capital.
  She was losing ground, politically, anyway a shutting of the boarders around Xmas and New Year would have been a political disaster.
  Instead she CHOSE to wait and with the help of a compliant media, paint the whole thing as some kind of triumph on her part.
  When they actually lurched from one scandal to another (health ministers breaking their own laws).
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:48am
- alloytoo
  
  Another Zero content contribution.
  
  Talk about “Truth Decay.”
  
  Trump initiated travel restrictions while Cindy was still planning her Christchurch Love-in.
  
  Provided Federal assistance to New York State which was never used while the governor waged biological warfare against his own aged population.
  
  Promised a Vaccine and gosh we have two.
  
  Trump may be a bombastic prick, but the mainstream media through there demonization of Hydroxychloroquine for their own agenda are just evil.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:05pm
  - Batman
    
    Trump ‘banned’ travel from China then let in 40,000 travellers anyway.
    
    Meanwhile, the virus came from Europe and spread from there, undetected because the guy at the resolute desk was playing it down.
    
    250,000 are now dead.
    
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    November 19, 2020 12:14pm
    - alloytoo
      
      Mostly in New York where a hospital ship sat unused.
      
      Exclude Democrat Governors playing hardball with the president and the US stats are about the same as anywhere.
      
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      November 19, 2020 12:52pm
    - krazykiwi
      
      Yawn. 2,847,000 people died in the US in 2017 (latest CDC data). Of the 250,000 you say “are now dead” [due to Covid] more than 92% of them would have died of some other natural cause within 4 months.
      
      You can legitimately lay the blame for all sorts of things at Trumps feet, as you could have Obama and the rest prior. But attempting to Trump for Covid deaths is desperate and pathetic.
      
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      November 19, 2020 12:54pm
      - SB2
        
        krazykiwi , careful analysis and reflection in regard to the US Presidential results suggest the US voting public have given their verdict on Trump’s abysmal handling of the Covid Pandemic.
        
        Furhtermore they think differntly in regard to Trump’s and your denialism and crank theories about the virus
        
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        November 19, 2020 2:37pm
      - Nostradamus
        
        SB2:
        
        your denialism and crank theories about the virus
        
        What about your denialism and obnoxious comments, directed at Maggy and others, back in March?
        
        Example:
        
        David Garrett: Thanks to all those who responded to my question…I have a much better understanding now…somehow I thought the mortality rates of Spanish Flu – about which I have recently read the authoratative account called “The Great Influenza” – was way higher than 5%. Shit…time to get a little worried…especially when one has a son with a “weak chest” who is prone to chest infections every winter.
        
        SB2: DG , I think part of the problem is that you tend to be vunerable to paranoia and hysteria. I think that all you can do is ensure your family undertake dilkigent infection control and hygiene procedures at home and all will be well ( including your boy with the weak chest .Asthma?)
        
        I don’t think you’re in a position to accuse others of “denialism” now.
        
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        November 19, 2020 5:43pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Yes,
        
        Stephieboy seems to have had a “Road to Damascus” experience after his spell on the Time-out chair.
        
        After mocking people who were discussing the seriousness of the virus in Feb-March, he became a true believer when he realised Trump could be blamed for everything.
        
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        November 19, 2020 6:49pm
      - RJ
        
        You have zero credibility with any conversation about the virus. Fear mongering, scaring people, etc etc, all the comments you made about anyone who actually commented on the virus which you said was nothing. Now here you are goat boy attacking trump for doing far more than you ever thought should be done.
        
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        November 19, 2020 6:52pm
    - backster
      
      250000 dead includes 7000 from suicide, how many extra dead for the timeframe is that. For the year 47000 died from pancreactic cancer alone in the US. It is the total of all deaths above the expected average that seems more relevant to me.
      
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      November 19, 2020 2:02pm
      - Batman
        
        Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
        
        This is little more than playing games to avoid the obvious.
        
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        November 19, 2020 3:12pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Tuberculosis killed more people in 2019 (1.4 million) than those who have died with Covid 19 in 2020 (circa 1.3 million), and keeping in mind that only an autopsy could definitively establish deaths from Covid. These numbers for TB are similar every year. Both are spread in a similar fashion, so it is reasonable to say that similar precautions “should” apply. Yet they never have been applied.
        
        https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis
        
        https://www.dw.com/en/who-tuberculosis-is-the-worlds-deadliest-infectious-disease/a-52895167
        
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        November 19, 2020 3:40pm
I remember when

“Speed limits in Hastings district to decrease as feedback weighed.
Review of speed limits om about 77 roads across Hastings district completed with HDC adopting many proposals to reduce speed for safety.
Just over 2400 submissions containing 19,128 responses to individual roads and speed limit proposals.
Of these 11,707 opposed and 7421 were supportive of changes.
In general, people submitting in favour of a proposed speed limit would submit only on the proposal that affected them. Those who were opposed tended to submit against all proposals.”
The last sentence suggests the HDC were trying to justify what was basically an across the board 20 kph reduction of area speed limits. Where submitters approved changes, they obviously believed they were necessary.
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November 19, 2020 10:39am
- alloytoo
  
  Well that’s democracy in action.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:07pm
Maggie Pie

Just out getting the Whitebait for tonites dinner and saw the Glen Inness Bus heading along Remuera Rd.

Pleased to report all passengers appeared to be wearing muzzles.
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November 19, 2020 10:45am
- alloytoo
  
  There were actually passengers? I haven’t seen that rare species in ages.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:08pm
I remember when

Northern Farming Lifestyles: October 2020.
Dr Myles Allen, has adjusted the calculation of methane harm from 28 to a mere 7 times more potent than CO2.
The respected doctor is head of the Climate Dynamics group at the University of Oxford’s Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics Department.
He is insisting that the EU drop the ’28 times more potent than CO2′ and accept the figures he backs.
Robin Grieve, of Kiwi agriculture science advocacy group, Facts About Ruminant Methane (FARM) says, “This is critical information for NZ.”
“The potential cost to farmers was going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Adopting Allen’s proposed system of accounting for methane will slash 26,000 tonnes off NZ’s emissions – approx 32% reduction.”
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November 19, 2020 10:52am
- cmm
  
  That 28x number gets janked with a lot and I’ve seen much higher numbers being used too.
  
  I think a number way lower than the good doctors (say 2x to 4x) would be much more fair.
  
  Most calculations also fail to account for the CO2 that has been harvested and leaves the farm in for form of meat, dairy and milk. According for those too, farming could even be carbon negative.
  
  Regardless, NZ’s GHG emissions are overstated by at least 50%, but more likely over 100%.
  
  No way though that a city-centric government is going to take the blame when they can instead blame everything on the “filthy farmers”.
  
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  November 19, 2020 3:08pm
Maggy Wassilieff

You don’t get to be Fabulous-looking at 60 by smearing Marg or Coconut oil on your Toast.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/123441897/nigella-lawson-reckons-theres-a-right-way-to-butter-toast
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November 19, 2020 10:56am
- MCos
  
  Not eating toast continues to work for me.
  
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  November 19, 2020 11:43am
Maggy Wassilieff

In April 2018 the Min of Police celebrated the iwi-justice programme that was credited with turning around crime-figures for young offenders

https://www.police.govt.nz/news/ten-one-magazine/te-pae-oranga-toward-positive-outcomes

But a couple of years later we find that folks can’t be bothered completing the programme….and those running the programme aren’t impressed with it.

But only 18 percent of Māori going through the panels in Counties Manukau were showing up completed the work.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/430833/te-pae-oranga-should-have-te-ao-maori-approach-put-tangata-whenua-first-advocates-say

What’s changed in those 2 years?
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November 19, 2020 11:17am
- artemisia
  
  Our young and newly minted tradie did a foundation course. Started with more than 20. Ended with 4. Most of the dropouts were required to go by WINZ or face some sanction.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:28pm
- artemisia
  
  Look they just need more resource and more time AKA money.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:33pm
WaynelSexton

Diversity isn’t cheap.
https://voxday.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-cost-of-black-america.html?m=1
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November 19, 2020 11:23am
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh Dear…
Local Bank branches disappearing..
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300162532/bnz-to-close-38-bank-branches
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November 19, 2020 11:37am
- RW Capitalist
  
  I hope nobody believes the current govt unemployment figures.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:00pm
- Mike
  
  Should be good news. With lowered costs from branch closures, banks can lower fees or offer better deposit rates.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:21pm
- artemisia
  
  Covid has a whole lot to answer for. Best excuse ever.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:34pm
Fletch

Iran looking to get back to their uranium enrichment if Biden gets back in. I bet they are….

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-nuclear-deal-joe-biden-donald-trump-sanctions-iaea-uranium-enrichment-centrifuges/
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November 19, 2020 11:41am
- Batman
  
  Lol Fletch you must be really high to miss the uranium stockpile they’ve been enriching under the Trump regime!
  
  Trump let them off the leash and you all applauded it because ‘owning the libs’ is the goal these days.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:11pm
  - burt
    
    So just checking, it was bad when Trump did it but it’s OK when Biden does it because Trump did it too?
    
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    November 19, 2020 12:12pm
    - alloytoo
      
      No, it bad because trump didn’t actively help them like Obama and Biden
      
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      November 19, 2020 1:33pm
    - Batman
      
      What? No.
      
      The deal kept Iran in the clubhouse and put rules on them.
      
      Trump, as usual, blew it up and now, like North Korea, Iran is doing its own thing again as it has no incentive to abide by the rules anymore.
      
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      November 19, 2020 2:55pm
- C J Southern
  
  “if Biden gets back in”
  
  WHEN Biden gets back in.
  
  There – I fixed it for you. You’re welcome.
  
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  November 19, 2020 2:56pm
MCos

Last night I finished watching the latest series of The Crown.
Obviously it’s a fictionalized version of recent history, but the general atmosphere appears to ring true.
The royal family treated PM Thatcher with complete distain because, for all her education & cultured accent she was lower middle class.
One can only imagine the treatment doled out to Megan Markle, an outsider if ever there was one.
I read that Charles & the family are not terribly enamored of their depiction in the drama.
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November 19, 2020 11:41am
- surfing
  
  I wouldn’t even begin to consider this to be a documentary.
  
  I was unaware that the royal family did not approve of Thatcher. I’d have to fact check that one, somehow.
  
  I was too young at the time to have taken an interest anyway.
  
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  November 19, 2020 1:07pm
Fletch

I’m not sure whether it’s a govt enforced thing or not, but a buddy of mine says it is now impossible to buy plain old iodine at a chemist. You can get mixtures with some iodine in it, but not the regular old stuff we used to know.

I’m sure it’s for our own good, of course.
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November 19, 2020 11:42am
- burt
  
  Comrade, it’s for your own safety.
  
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  November 19, 2020 12:12pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I presume you are not referring to pure Iodine … which would only be stocked by manufacturing chemists and not dispensing pharmacies.
  
  However, if you are looking for iodine solution (used as an antiseptic, disinfectant) then try looking for Lugol’s solution.
  
  Nowadays antimicrobial preparations of iodine are delivered in a form that releases free iodine slowly.
  (iodophor solutions)
  https://www.woundsinternational.com/uploads/resources/03983a959705d34a896ec163f7fc34d9.pdf
  
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  November 19, 2020 1:16pm
  - Fletch
    
    Thanks. Yeh the only stuff he could find was this Betadine stuff which seems like it is not the stuff we used to get for putting on cuts etc.
    
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    November 19, 2020 3:11pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Thanks for the ref Maggy.
    It looks like a competitor to my Rubiton Skin Care. That skins open wounds and deals with microbio intruders including those hiding under biofilms. Works for acne, nappy rash, ulcers, fungi as well as being anti-inflammatory too.
    
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    November 19, 2020 3:30pm
oldfella

Wow, hold the front page! Cindy is awesomeballs, according to Harvard Uni who have given her a big deal award.
I’m going all wobbly at the knees just thinking about it.
We are soooo lucky to have her leading little old Ayoteeearower.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300162406/jacinda-ardern-wins-210k-harvard-university-award
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November 19, 2020 12:19pm
Alan Wilkinson

I’m finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate the biases of NZ MSM journalists which seem now to be not only given free rein but encouraged.

In consequence I find myself actively avoiding their media and publications. Presumably this simply reinforces their ideological bubbles and prejudices with depressing prospects for the future even if it generates some polarised counter activity.
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November 19, 2020 12:29pm
oldfella

So, a woman lies about a cop who allegedly blackmailed her. His career is ruined. She gets a slap on the wrist and a few months home detention. Yeah, sounds about right.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/woman-lied-about-being-blackmailed-by-cop-ruined-his-career/YP7X7YRP7ATKSII22NHBMHKN2I/
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November 19, 2020 12:31pm
- mandk
  
  I think the Old Testament standard ought to be applied in cases like these: if you are guilty of falsely accusing someone of a crime, you should receive the same punishment that they would have received, had they done what you claimed.
  
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  November 19, 2020 1:25pm
C J Southern

Breaking:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300162406/jacinda-ardern-wins-210k-harvard-university-award

Just shoot me now.
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November 19, 2020 12:47pm
- Inandout
  
  But, but, the homeless..
  
  10 1
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  November 19, 2020 12:53pm
- RJ
  
  Can’t see how she has improved the life in the United States. She hasn’t even improved it in New Zealand.
  
  20 0
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  November 19, 2020 1:07pm
- Sigmund Freud
  
  I would but Jacinda took my firearms.
  
  10 2
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  November 19, 2020 1:10pm
- cmm
  
  Fucking wokeness.
  
  6 1
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  November 19, 2020 2:58pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  The money should be paid into the Public Account.
  
  5 1
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  November 19, 2020 3:16pm
  - sooty
    
    Will she introduce the top tax rate before she brings it home?
    With the pecuniary interests, she can’t leave it sitting in a bank over there till she goes to the un!
    
    1 0
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    November 19, 2020 4:52pm
Inandout

Saw a video of how they built those Roman chariots, and I believe the best driver at the time in his 10 year stint earned about US$15 billion in today’s money. We must remember this was BC and those Romans were so advanced that the almost one km long Circus Maximus arena held up to 140,00 spectators; twice as many as Wembley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrjtkv5QpPQ
6 3
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November 19, 2020 12:51pm
- rangitoto
  
  The fans were passionate too. In the Nika riots over the chariot racing between team Blue and team Green, around 30,000 people were killed. Beat that football hooligans.
  
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  November 19, 2020 2:48pm
I remember when

Ex Facebook (English Teacher in Hong Kong):
Twelve months ago TODAY I started getting items on my Facebook page about a new contagion in China.
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November 19, 2020 1:25pm
Maggie Pie

Finally, something i actually agree about with Jacinda….

https://twitter.com/jacindaardern/status/773001793995321344
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November 19, 2020 1:29pm
Deagle

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300162406/jacinda-ardern-wins-210k-harvard-university-award

“She has wielded a steady and swift hand, an open mind, and a keen reflection of her entire community in meeting challenges of terror, earthquakes and now Covid-19,” Sherman said.

It’s incredible that Ardern was providing effective leadership during the earthquakes… before she was even elected!
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November 19, 2020 1:45pm
Yabster

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta issued her own statement on Hong Kong a week ago, saying: “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply concerned at the latest developments that have eroded the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong”.

“Freedom of expression and the right to elect representation essential to the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong.”

I agree with what she is saying but as a representative of our country can she use the actual name-pisses me off.
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November 19, 2020 2:00pm
- barnacle bill
  
  Why do you get so upset at Mahuta using the words
  Aotearoa New Zealand ?
  
  Apart from your mental state I cannot see how that it affects you one little bit.
  
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  November 19, 2020 3:57pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Each day in the UK 53M used disposable face masks are being dumped ….or blowing down the street…. or floating in a creek….or lying on a beach.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/18/coronavirus-face-masks-could-be-polluting-the-sea
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November 19, 2020 2:28pm
- RJ
  
  It is alright, Greenpeace want to get rid of plastic drink bottles in New Zealand, we will save the uk…..
  
  3 0
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  November 19, 2020 2:48pm
- cmm
  
  I find it funny how they say “could be”.
  
  Of course they are polluting.
  
  Most masks are made from polypropylene which floats (eg. floating poly rope).
  
  The turtle-huggers get upset because plastics in the ocean look like jellyfish (aka turtle food), but most plastics sink and get snagged on rocks and pose reduced threat.
  
  Polypropylene will stay on the surface or near the surface where turtles tend to stay so they can breath once in a while. It’s hard to think of something that looks more like a jellyfish than a face mask with its dangly ties looking like tentacles.
  
  I’m going to take a guess that many turtles have snacked on masks and have died in a WHO/CDC-approved manner.
  
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  November 19, 2020 2:56pm
Maggie Pie

POT – KETTLE –

This from the same guy who allegedly shoved his hand inside the Waiters shorts, then swiped his fingers under the unfortunate mans nose…….

https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1329209021098844161
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November 19, 2020 2:40pm
SB2

Dear VP Pence, your leader may have initiated Operation Warp speed but the good news has arrived too late to have any effect.

Maybe during the election campaign but not post-election

https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/status/1329055837873188864

Besides the Pfizer vaccines was not part of the warp speed programme, Nor the Jenner ( Dutch vaccine )

https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/status/1329055837873188864
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November 19, 2020 2:48pm
Batman

1-28 people, so much winning 😁😉🍿

“🚨BREAKING: Plaintiffs have DISMISSED their lawsuit filed by seeking to stop the final certification of election results in Michigan.

Trump and his allies are now 1-28 in court.”
https://t.co/lLJZ4jIJ4x
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November 19, 2020 2:56pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  USA lower State Courts are frequently political and can even be depended on for it.
  Law prevails more at higher levels.
  There’s still about 3 weeks to go for the Electoral College and the SCOTUS may be involved by then.
  Those of us who have not intensely studied the USA legal system are best to keep quiet about the operation of their Courts.
  
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  November 19, 2020 3:13pm
  - Inandout
    
    KO, yes a little knowledge as they say can be dangerous. This fraud thing is bigger than ever imagined and I will put my neck on the line here and say, ‘Biden will never be President’.
    
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    November 19, 2020 5:47pm
kiwikidsnz

Australia’s Afghanistan war crime charges: this has been a few years in the inquiry.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/430991/australia-s-afghanistan-war-crimes-report-39-alleged-unlawful-killings

From the SMH’s more lengthy reporting: “The Brereton report also found evidence that junior soldiers were required by their patrol commanders to shoot a prisoner to achieve their first kill, in a practice known as “blooding”.
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November 19, 2020 3:36pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/opinion/300162734/play-it-again-sam-canes-criticism-of-all-blacks-fans-a-mistake-he-should-learn-from

I think that Cane is a McCaw clone: a balls-out, lead-from-the-front player who is great in his position but who is not a natural captain or team leader.
No ability to change strategy as required. No deep reading of the game as it unfolds. No willingness to control the activities of players to achieve a result.
These are qualities present in leaders in a many fields: in business, in sports, in politics, at school, the military, etc.
I think that NZ Rugby not only appointed the wrong All Blacks coach, but they installed the wrong AB’s captain.
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November 19, 2020 3:47pm
lifesgood

You’ve got to hand it to the morons at Auckland Transport. Just when you think they can’t be any worse they go and rename QUEEN ELIZABETH SQUARE Te Komititanga. As a city ratepayer of long standing I don’t recall being asked my opinion on this. Who they hell will ever call it that anyway.?
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November 19, 2020 3:49pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  Certainly no one we would ever associate with,
  
  6 3
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  November 19, 2020 5:00pm
- graham
  
  Of course they do.
  
  Because Te Komititanga is so much easier to pronounce than Queen Elizabeth Square (or Lower Queen Street) – especially for visitors to our country.
  
  Woke morons.
  
  2 0
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  November 19, 2020 5:53pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Ah, the problem of using an 18th c. language with few relevant root words. They got the definite singular article and the noun ending right, but the middle, puketifinau.
  
  2 2
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  November 19, 2020 6:11pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Is it over? I don’t think so Tim. Trump ad (old)
https://fb.watch/1RJ43ZoA37/
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November 19, 2020 5:58pm
RJ

Bullied, threatened, sad the way democrats act. Even threatening the ladies children by making sure people knew what school they went to.

And a big well done to the democrats who were at monitoring the counts that are coming forward now with their statements of the irregularities and fraud they saw.

BREAKING: In dramatic reversal, Wayne County election board Republicans rescind votes certifying results. In affidavits, 2 canvass board members claim they were bullied and say too many irregularities in Detroit vote to justify accepting election results.

https://twitter.com/carriesheffield/status/1329277975985070080
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November 19, 2020 7:02pm

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