General Debate 18 February 2021

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yossarian

Ops

https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/124252045/prime-minister-jacinda-arderns-kiwisaver-profited-from-saudi-military-deals
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February 18, 2021 8:04am
- pdm
  
  mrspdm and I use KiwiSaver as our `at call’ accumulation fund being over 65 and it is working very well. I just hope our company had some of those profitable Saudi investments.
  
  PIe tax rates and low fees make KiwiSaver a good option and we will never be `so called’ ethical investors – we are there for the tax paid returns.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:16am
  - rouppe
    
    Low fees? I’m paying $170 a month and it has been going up about $10 every month
    
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    February 18, 2021 8:44am
    - pdm
      
      Sop around – if returns are good – say 8% plus after tax – then fees are largely irrelevant anyway.
      
      You usually get what you pay for.
      
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      February 18, 2021 8:49am
    - RoboRob
      
      Yup, I’m all for fees being capped after a certain point. A % of your balance as a fee is fine for smaller balances but it costs no more to manage 200k than 100k, so the fees become extortionate. I think as more people hit large balances the market will be forced to change. I think at the moment the avg balance is something like 20k (although thats probably low becuase of kids with 1k accounts).
      
      I cose my KS (Juno) becuase their fees were capped after you hit 100k. However they have just changed that, sadly.
      
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      February 18, 2021 9:18am
      - fernglas
        
        Juno Growth did 30% last year. So anyone with $100k is now worth $130k. But I take your point about it requiring no more effort to manage 100k than a million. Same goes for Real Estate Agents.
        
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        February 18, 2021 12:26pm
      - RoboRob
        
        @Fernglas
        
        I am extremely happy with Junos results but that wasn’t why I went with them, it was the low fees. Not quite so low anymore.
        
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        February 18, 2021 4:22pm
    - fernglas
      
      Isn’t that a good thing? It must mean your portfolio is increasing by $1000 per month.
      
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      February 18, 2021 9:20am
      - RoboRob
        
        Yes it’s a good thing but is there an extra cost for your providor to manage that extra $1000. Not really, large amounts can actually cost less proportionally to manage, so why (after a certain point) should you contiue to pay more? Lower fees make a massive difference over time. Studies show you are often better off with lower performance and lower fees, than slightly higher performance and fees.
        
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        February 18, 2021 9:56am
- Ruawai
  
  Not sure this will pass the Jacinda Ardern ‘Sniff Test’ !!!!
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:31am
  - Biscuit
    
    Ruawai, Jacinda is a Selective Sniffer.
    
    Just a few feet away from her in Parliament sits, on that wool-lined throne of his, a despicable human being whose gaseous emissions clearly cause her no discomfort.
    
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    February 18, 2021 8:54am
    - nathie
      
      Let’s not forget the “despicable ducks” other smear when he claimed he heard (from his deaf ear side) the National opposition making a misogynous comment about the PM (at the start of the Ardern govt), the supposed comment that no microphone picked up!
      
      That would have driven the early resentment towards National/Simon Bridges by the Ardern enthralled and sympathetic MSM.
      
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      February 18, 2021 10:03am
    - pdm
      
      `gaseous emissions’ biscuit.
      
      Oh the connotations but well said and pleased you included my despicable when referring to Mallard. Don’t be shy about using his name – he deserves all the vitriole he gets.
      
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      February 18, 2021 10:08am
      - Biscuit
        
        Ha, pdm. Soz for the ‘steal’, however unintentional.
        
        You should be studying Super Rugby form – my Sweepstake/Picking Competition closes off tomorrow night ahead of the first of two Australian games…
        
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        February 18, 2021 10:54am
Tony Stuart

Where’s Golriz Ghahraman when you need her? Her silence is deafening…

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124252045/prime-minister-jacinda-arderns-kiwisaver-profited-from-saudi-military-deals?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Better still, her colleague Chloe Swarbrick is in the same Kiwisaver plan. That’s a bit of an own goal!
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February 18, 2021 8:10am
- Frank the tank
  
  Nobody does hypocrisy like our Persian Princess and the rest of the Greens gang
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:18am
  - tf78
    
    Frank, that should be Gang Green.
    
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    February 18, 2021 8:42am
- herb1
  
  She can slink off into the background as she has done her job.
  Helping to knobble a country fighting her home Governments terrorists , is aiding and abetting their foreign policy.
  The fact that her intervention increases the likelihood of our National carriers demise is as irrelevant to her as is the fact it was the Government she was a part of that approved the works contract.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:33am
- Master Mariner
  
  I mentioned that a week or so ago.
  
  Biggest concern is NZ reputation . The NZ government is the Majority shareholder and in breach by its own admission. The Greens where in Power and no oversight so an Own goal.
  
  I’m picking long term perpercussions from this.
  When you think about such a scenario, Why is Myanmar making refugees out of Rohingyas ?
  They can turn around on International stage and say the same , Why are you supporting supporting Saudi in human Rights abuses against Yemenis.
  Ie No Moral high ground.
  There is also Anti bribery, Anti coruption, Anti money laundering, etc.
  I’m picking there is a lot more to this yet, unless sept under the carpet.
  Just ask yourself, Why is a NZ Company repairing turbines for a Foreign military in first place?
  Does not add up?
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:42pm
  - Jack5
    
    Why is a NZ Company repairing turbines for a Foreign military in first place?
    
    Why not? We’re a tiny trading nation. We’re not involved in either side of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
    
    We sell to China without condoning persecution of Uighurs. We sell to Ukraine and Russia who are at daggers drawn. We sell equipment to troubled Ethiopia and buy tea, coffee, and spices from it.
    
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    February 18, 2021 4:22pm
    - Master Mariner
      
      I fully agree with your points, And Firmly believe our best Foreign affairs policy is to keep quiet and carry on.
      This has served us well .
      
      But think you are missing mine. NZ Government can no longer hold the moral high ground when dealing with WTO, FTA etc. Hell even anti corruption index and Best countries to do business with for that matter.
      
      This will “May” spread out to general legitimate business when dealing overseas.
      The very point that Air NZ is Majority government owned does not give NZ inc any defense. The chickens are coming home to roost.
      
      Like I’ve posted previously, ” ethical funds” whether in NZ or Outside
      NZ, such as super annuation funds will have a large chunk invested in Air NZ due to ethical investing,
      They may pull out of investing in NZ all together due to backlash at home as not “percieved” to be ethical.
      
      There are 2 issues currently,
      1. What was Air NZ ( Maintenace workers) on Gas Turbines working on
      ships ( Probably high speed frigites) as a Gas turbine engine aint the same as a Bloody aeroplane running on Av gas.?
      2. Why was’nt the manufacturer working on Gas turbines, ie General Electric or Rolls Royce Marine. In most purchase agreements there is a contract for maintenance.
      
      Another thing was the piss poor review by MP’s to Board and CEO Air NZ. If you believe they were unaware of the contract and trying to deflect.
      Like I say, read Air NZ ” Code of conduct”, Which includes third party contractors ( All have to now, due to International requirements).
      
      Some thing seriously does not add up.
      
      Why was NZ companies involved selling Military grade Binoculars, Simulators and Radios equipment. We sure as hell dont manufacture here?
      NZ companies (including Air NZ) being used as a proxy for back door deals / Tariffs entry for other Governments. I think so.
      
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      February 18, 2021 5:25pm
      - marcw
        
        Just one correction MM, yes we do manufacture radio products here, including those with military grade encryption facilities. Tait Electronics has the American licence approval to manufacture and export these. I will not list countries they go to, as that in itself would be a breach of their licence conditions.
        
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        February 18, 2021 5:52pm
      - Batman
        
        Well I will say that Air NZ has a thriving engineering division, I believe they do some work on the RNZN frigate turbines, for instance.
        
        And we do have a below radar but thriving high tech sector, ranging from Gallagher to Tait and beyond.
        
        You’d be surprised what we do actually manufacture in NZ that would have military uses.
        
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        February 18, 2021 5:56pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        The gas turbines in naval vessels are in fact essentially the same units as in passenger aircraft.
        
        Avgas BTW is used by those few remaining piston engined aircraft out there – light and microlight and a few veteran and vintage display aircraft. Plus a few DC-3’s still doing sterling duty somewhere. Avgas is a very high octane (and still uses lead for that I believe) so high compression rations can be used with supercharging at high altitudes without pre-detonation. In WW2 one specific advantage the allies had over the Germans in this field was that they could make and use 150 Octane fuels enabling significantly greater output from piston engines. The German’s could not afford to use the extra feedstock it takes to make such fuel and they typically used quite low grade fuels – around 88 Octane I think. So they used typically larger capacity engines with lower supercharger pressures.
        
        AirNZ has a well regarded (or used to !) engineering division that carried out a lot of contracts for maintenance on turbines. It is more economical for Singapore to come to NZ say than to go to the UK.
        
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        February 18, 2021 10:14pm
Happychappy

Well many on here are always criticizing National for not doing or saying enough but how do you get air when most on MSM are penning stories like this.
Exclusive Poll : Support for Covid – 19 Poll response remains sky high.
With 78% of respondents positive and 58% well over half the total gave the Government top mark, Excellent in a nationally representative survey of Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/18-02-2021/exclusive-poll-nz-support-for-covid-19-response-remains-sky-high/
Amazing Balls can do no wrong and even those in Auckland who have suffered the most through lock downs have given her the largest part of the vote.
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February 18, 2021 8:13am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Let them get what they want. I won’t be surprised if Cindy wins 2023 with 75% of the popular vote.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:32am
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    She is a disaster porn queen.
    
    Wellington will have to be reduced to rubble by a catastrophic earthquake for her to achieve that sort of electoral return.
    
    Pity Wellington because our economy will be in a similar pile of rubble state and the money printing press will be flattened meaning Wellington will remain a pile of rubble forever . . .
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:49am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    I will very surprised if Ardern’s incompetent govt will survive this year. The global economic storm clouds have gathered and they have no idea that their function is Executive Management. Talk, yes. ~~Manage, unable~~.
    How can we create a constitutional logical guillotine so appropriate sanctions can be taken against those who obtained high office but were mere shells of sound bites? MMP is allowing a fraud o n the people.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:02pm
    - Master Mariner
      
      Simple Kev’O.
      Pychometric test each and every one.
      if no qualms posting on social media then why not let voters no the personality traits they are voting for.
      We have to for work
      Job done
      
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      February 18, 2021 9:48pm
  - Frank the tank
    
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/jacinda-ardern-wants-to-help-find-owners-of-toy-bunny-left-at-hamilton-airport/36JXIALR3TUEJVORLBKMODSXI4/
    
    One for you big boy
    
    I know how you appreciate positive stories about your princess.
    
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    February 18, 2021 3:30pm
    - Hollyfield
      
      I guess she has nothing more important to do.
      
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      February 18, 2021 6:24pm
- NoFax
  
  I know I am clearly in the minority on the Covid response – although I think over time people will come around.
  However, if parties only follow the polls then there isn’t much reason to have parties at all. Perhaps National should propose an alternative and discuss it – like what oppositions do.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:48am
  - BAM
    
    I really don’t think they have that ability.
    When you look at NZ political history all the major change has been instigated by Labour, not National.
    
    National just comes in after Labour and rounds off the edges and gives everything a polish.
    
    As a political party, they’re hopeless, as managers they’re quite good.
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:09am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Call the fact checkers.
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:04pm
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Absolute twaddle
      CER….National
      Most of the dams…….National
      Wind farms…………….National
      Renewable electricity……National
      MMP……………..National
      Waitangi settlements………………National
      Economic growth………………National
      Currency change (pound to dollar)….National
      Metric system…National
      
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      February 18, 2021 4:20pm
  - The Proper Ghandi
    
    One wonders what goes through National’s collective mind when they see Brexit and Trump. I suspect the sound of the breeze blowing through a sea shell. Apparently the opinions of Tova O’Brien and Twitter shape their policy positions.
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:31am
  - tf78
    
    I think National should go all out “Trump” and get their voters back – they’d be amazed by the results.
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:35am
    - Brian McDonald
      
      They are betwixt and between which is really no man’s land.
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:35pm
- amospicton
  
  This is a quote from a University of Otago epidemiologist on Newshub: “New Zealand now has a superb testing and contact tracing system, with people working around the clock and great uptake from the school community. We also have a Prime Minister whose understanding of the principles of outbreak control is extremely impressive and on [Wednesday’s] evidence, well up to postgraduate level.”
  It proves two things:
  1. The media are the government’s propaganda arm.
  2. Epidemiology ain’t rocket science.
  
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  February 18, 2021 4:11pm
cmm

If there is any doubt that the experts don’t agree then take a look here.

Prof Gorman is ripping them a spare hole for “theatre” and doing things for show – not science.

Consensus is a fashion show – it is not science.

Only people with a very naive view of science think that there is scientific consensus behind lockdowns, mask wearing etc etc.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-auckland-out-of-lockdown-jacinda-ardern-sounds-warning-professor-des-gorman-criticises-alert-level-response/KFA6K7SS55MHX4BONF33FUVBSM/
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February 18, 2021 8:16am
- Frank the tank
  
  Gorman has finally had enough of the shit show on offer – good for him.
  
  Watch for him to be swiftly removed from media slots to be replaced by Baker, Hendry and the pink lady.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:20am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Des Gorman is a national treasure. He has impressive academic credentials, but he also speaks in the voice of the common man, with no bullshit and bluster.
    
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    February 18, 2021 8:39am
    - Tricati
      
      His interviews with Peter Williams and Sean Plunket on Magic Talk have been very interesting and provide much needed balance to the Covid debate.
      I suspect the attempt to de-platform Williams, and successfully Plunket, has a lot to do with their interviews with the likes of Professor Gorman and its a little uncomfortable for the PM’s scare tactic narrative.
      
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      February 18, 2021 8:58am
    - Master Mariner
      
      What ever happened to Sir David Skeggs,
      Be interesting to hear his point.
      
      Has he been black listed?
      
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      February 18, 2021 8:10pm
  - RoboRob
    
    The pink lady on TV the other day, seemed very reluctant to give vaccines any credit for the large drops in covid cases world wide. Seems to me she, like others, has other motives and is using covid for other policy / lifestyle changes.
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:21am
    - fernglas
      
      She’s probably right. It’s far too early to know what effect the vaccines have had. Seasonality, herd immunity, possibly the lockdowns are all more likely causes for the drop. Or perhaps the virus has just done its dash?
      
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      February 18, 2021 9:48am
      - Ed Snack
        
        Interestingly enough, the place that has done the most to vaccinate its population is Israel. Yet according to the latest figures their infection rate has not dropped nearly as much as expected, and less than some others.
        
        No idea why, and reporting seems contradictory.
        
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        February 18, 2021 11:39am
      - Master Mariner
        
        Interesting Stats out of India,
        Not sure what to believe any more.
        https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56037565
        
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        February 18, 2021 8:13pm
    - tf78
      
      RoboRob – could it be an Ivermectin/Hydroxychloroquine uptake by any chance.
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:37am
  - Suze Wainwright
    
    Apparently Siouxie was shocked that Auckland wasn’t kept in lockdown longer. Is she starting to go contrarian?
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:10am
    - Frank the tank
      
      Her hives will be braking out again Suze.
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:06am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Na,
      she’s probably no longer in the inner circle..
      so has to second guess what the PM & Hipkins will do.
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:25am
      - KevO'Brien
        
        It’s the hair that’s done ‘er in.
        
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        February 18, 2021 1:06pm
- Ruawai
  
  Thought it was a classic line when Des Gorman said on ZB this morning that when he sees a patient he gives them the good/bad news first then they discuss what to do about it next rather than how Jacinda and Ashley waffle for 10 minutes to keep you listening before they give the actual information everyone is there for. Politicisation of the facts.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:34am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    But he isn’t a master in political communications :frowny face: :tilty head:
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:00am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    I don’t know if it is politicizing but it is reaching the extent of being overdrawn without reason. Even hit songs lose their lustre and a lot of folks are busy.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:40pm
- graham
  
  Professor of Medicine Des Gorman has “blasted the Government’s alert-level responses of the past week, saying people were confused over an inconsistent approach – and distressed at the “political theatre” of the Beehive announcements.”
  
  “I’d say that over the last week it’s been impossible to follow the response of the Government in terms of determining what the level of risk is that they’re living with.
  
  “For example, the Ministry of Health on Saturday night decided not to tell the Government for 12 hours – for 12 hours, according to the Prime Minister – that there was an outbreak, which meant that any opportunity she had to shut down the Big Gay Out and America’s Cup [on Sunday] had gone.
  
  “You have to say that in that context, we’re prepared to live with a lot of risk. And then we went to level 3, which means we’re not prepared to live with any risk at all. And now we’ve gone to level 2, which means we’re prepared to live with a modest level of risk.
  
  “I think we’re all over the place in terms of our risk acceptance.
  
  And to really put the boot in, Gorman states quite plainly that he believed the responses were being driven “by optics, not science.”
  
  “Certainly, if you take Sunday, for example, if we need to be in level 3 – and you and I would say that was a reasonable response to the unknown at the time – then how on Earth did they let the Big Gay Out and the America’s Cup go ahead?
  
  “Those public meetings are the very antithesis of managing risk. So it’s that inconsistency that makes it very hard for me to look at it to say I can’t see what the scientific pattern is.
  
  But I thought we were being told to “follow the science”!
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:36am
  - nathie
    
    Some other Labour Party dodginess that is noticible and related to Des Gorman’s observations … in news reports it is said that “Ashley Bloomfield recommended to the government that they reduce the alert levels”.
    
    I say that is utter BS – the change of alert levels is politically driven.
    
    (I say that Labour have dropped levels because of the likes of for example (but not exclusively) the America’s Cup. Imagine if Labour/Ardern caused that event to fold – it’s an international sporting event with the world’s eyes focused on NZ/AC – imagine the negative international news articles if the govt had continued with Auckland at level 3 affecting the AC racing! Labour/Ardern, although not “attacked” directly, would be associated with failure).
    
    So that’s why I don’t believe Ashley Bloomfield has recommended a change in alert levels that the government has accepted. I would say that Bloomfield made various recommendations and the government chose the one they wanted.
    
    Dodgy Labour/Ardern/Hipkins/Robertson! They will blame Bloomfield if the virus spreads in the community over the next few days (when it was their collective decision to accept the greater risk)!
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:41am
    - GJM
      
      I hope Bloomfield realises he is expendable and will be sacrificed to protect the Prinzess at any time it suits. I hope he is making good notes where the bodies are buried for his own protection.
      
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      February 18, 2021 6:35pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  The “evidence” could never satisfy a Court. There are far too many diverse opinions from “experts”.
  
  To say that science is settled is to deny the nature of science, applied scepticism in the advance of knowledge. Political theory and action are independent.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:49am
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Thank you for bringing Professor Gorman’s views to our attention.
  For some time the guff put out on the Wuhan Flu has put my bullshit detectors on alert. Gorman is able to succinctly articulate what my muddled thinking has been trying, ever so hard, to tell me.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:30am
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  “Gorman believed the responses were being driven by optics, not science.”
  
  It was pretty obvious to me, that with a lowering of levels on the same day as NEW cases announced in the cluster, that the rules change according to what the public wants or is willing to accept – rather than a clear mapping of Alert levels to actual scenarios.
  Even the review being made only after 3 days, and original source not even known, it seems we are treating this differently to the last Papatoetoe family – despite many parallels.
  Does Cindy think the peoples patience is limited with lockdowns? Or is it that the earlier sledgehammer approach for community outbreak was not the correct one?
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:34pm
Maggie Pie

Found this to be a bit of disturbing development!

Victorian Premier, ‘Chairman Dan’ Andrews, has had an accredited journalist forcibly removed from his Press Conference – because he doesn’t like him!

Watch the overbearing attitude and heavy handiness of the Victorian Police as they carry out ‘Chairman Dan’s’ instructions.

https://twitter.com/OzraeliAvi/status/1361922363491643394

How long before we see the same thing happening here…. with say someone like Barry Soper? 🙁
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February 18, 2021 8:20am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Think 1970’s and 80’s Maggie, when Rob Muldoon banned Tom Scott from his pressers. Barry Soper was probably there!
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:29am
- agent
  
  How long before they make an example of Barry & HDA for stopping the cheering, crying “The Emperor has no clothes”.
  
  I see some “purges” or “de-platforming” coming, also pick some of the woke media be put to attack anyone not on correct song sheet.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:31am
- Nickc2
  
  As they say in the classics – “it’s only a matter of time . . . . . ”
  I’m sure our woke Police Commissioner has taken note.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:38am
- Greg Ettridge
  
  Twitter has complied this tweet is no longer available to me in Australia
  Don’t dare question Dim Sim Dan
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:18pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    How WEIRD is that? I’m in Auckland.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:05pm
emmess

Joe Biden’s unity in America is the same as Xi Jinping’s unity in China

https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1361875816112652288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361875816112652288%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.breitbart.com%2Fpolitics%2F2021%2F02%2F17%2Fjoe-bidens-7-cringeworthy-moments-at-wisconsin-town-hall%2F

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/17/joe-bidens-7-cringeworthy-moments-at-wisconsin-town-hall/
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February 18, 2021 8:25am
- Inandout
  
  [Mod: such inferences are a step too far, deleted. Please don’t do it again.]
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:54am
  - Nigel Kearney
    
    I don’t know what that comment was but I think it would be good if moderators would name the section of the comments policy that has been violated. Drawing an inference the moderator considers unsound is not one of them.
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:27am
  - Inandout
    
    Mod: It was from a CNN townhall debate and you can read what you want into it I guess. If Trump had said that the MSM would be alive and screaming. Oh well….
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:14am
- Fletch
  
  Yeh, Biden TOTALLY lied in the town hall to say there weren’t any vaccines when he came in. And the media pundits are twisting themselves into knots to try and let him off the hook and explain it away.
  
  https://www.dailywire.com/news/media-fact-checkers-twist-themselves-in-knots-defending-bidens-town-hall-disaster
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:25am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Does make you wonder what they injected Joe with on 24 December though doesn’t it ?
    
    As for his racist remarks about POC’s being to stupid to connect to the internet, well, using up the credit on his Democrat “get out of jail free” card pretty quickly. At some point someone will notice that ol’ racist Joe hasn’t changed at all.
    
    And good to see that he followed his benefactor and patron Uncle Xi’s instructions about the Uighur’s in China.
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:44am
  - alloytoo
    
    Didn’t Biden himself get a Vaccine prior to taking office?
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:44am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Yeah, but there’s no cure for stupid.
      
      3 1
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      February 18, 2021 5:43pm
- SB2
  
  emmess, sort of a mild form of Trump’s America First aka MAGA
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:49am
  - emmess
    
    Bidens policy is China First, Second & Third
    
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    February 18, 2021 5:11pm
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  “Biden explained he’s “not going to speak out against … what he’s [President Xi Jinping] is doing with the Uyghurs.” He then reiterated by saying, “He [Xi] gets it,” posing that “culturally there are different norms” about how humans should be treated.”
  
  Wow…his longer rambling statements about Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and Xinjiang and it is ‘a different cultural norm’ is scary stuff.
  There is no such thing as cultural relativity. Slavery is bad. FGM is bad. Stand up for what you believe in – “Truths with are self evident?”
  What a dope.
  And aside from the implications of rape and such with the Uighurs – the signaled abandoning of Hong Kong and Taiwan is shameful.
  So the USA is showing its yellow belly for whatever reason.
  Even less resolute about China, and seeming to rule out supporting the little guys even less than our own PM and Foreign minister.
  BTW -Speaking with Hong Kongers on the weekend, and they really appreciate the support of BoJo in comparison. I bet the Taiwanese will be comparing Biden to Trump unfavourably too.
  (No fan of Trump, me, but call those statements as I hear them!).
  Oh Lordie.
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:48pm
Andrei

So I go to McDonalds to buy my breakfast
At the drive through and a girl attired more approprately
for an operating theatre than a fast food restaurant gesticulates at me wildly through a closed window at the servery because my car window isn’t closed and she cannot open her window to place my food on the tray while it remains open.

Meanwhile

Auckland mayor comfortable Big Gay Out continued after community Covid-19 cases announced

Confused?

I am
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February 18, 2021 8:26am
- Maggie Pie
  
  Phil likes to make a fist of it 😛
  
  32 3
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  February 18, 2021 9:15am
- Ruawai
  
  And you couldn’t’t drive out of Auckland under level 3 but you could fly out of Auckland to go to university. By this logic university students must pose less risk than other Aucklanders driving out of the city.
  
  23 1
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  February 18, 2021 11:10am
- Greg Ettridge
  
  Iam really confused, this appears to be an incredibly vindictive virus, it is only declared a super hyper infectious insidious virus to certain parts of the community.
  Totally resistant it looks like Yachtsmen and the gay community can go about life as normal.
  Even more incredible, it can be highly infectious to country tennis players at Swan Hill that hasn’t had an infection in months, country tennis gets cancelled, but Tennis open everyone is kissing and cuddling and throwing trantrums as normal.
  What a very smart virus it is.
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:30pm
  - RightFirstTime
    
    And don’t forget it is “tricky” too!
    
    6 0
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    February 18, 2021 1:08pm
  - BassilFawlty
    
    I think the word you’re looking for is “tricky”.
    
    3 0
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    February 18, 2021 1:10pm
  - Brian McDonald
    
    What about the rowing?
    
    2 3
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    February 18, 2021 1:46pm
Paulus

Why am I tired of seeing, listening, to Ardern, every day and much of the media time !
She is getting a bore blaming everybody else for her own failings. Blomfield must feel tired as being accused of everything she decides.
Has been a very patient person.

I see that the Resource Management Act is being scrapped – is, or has, or will be.
Why then are we to wait three years for the three replacement acts – surely the Treaty will be one already in place now !
Doesn’t everything else flow from that automatically ?
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February 18, 2021 8:28am
- Philview
  
  An article at Politik recently alluded to the need to get the Maori councils wards in place first. I have read that can’t happen until 2022 elections. Jacinda has said she is about putting plans in place that can’t be easily undone by a future National Government. It appears the councils wards and RMA are part of Jacinda’s idea of the Left retaining control during periods of National Government.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:46am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Only three years? The intellectual ability, skill and executive competency is close to 25 out of a 100. A lifetimes training would still not enable them to perform.
  
  This govt needs to resign and pass the burden over to more capable people. The economic tsunami is already gathering.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:55am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  53% of sheeple can’t get enough of her. So movin on…
  
  8 6
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  February 18, 2021 10:25am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    She be movin on too… later this year, I expect.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:25pm
Frank the tank

Some random observations for this Thursday morning:

1). My traverse from Red Beach to Penrose was marred by seeing 3 mobile speed camera vehicles (all in dead straight locations) in action. Good to see WokePlod focusing on the things that matter.

2). My kids compete in surf club – the nationals being held in the Mt. So basically unless we are at level 1 we can’t compete. Yet again Auckland kids get fucked over by the Blairite. 6 months training down the fucking toilet yet the ‘big gay out’ can go ahead no worries at all.
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February 18, 2021 8:32am
- cas
  
  Surely you can travel from Level 2 to level 1 now. It would be such a shame for the kids not to be able to compete. Very hard to swim and breathe on someone else I would have thought. Just do it.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:04am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Add to that, the actual risk of contagion at outdoors events is absolutely minimal anyway.
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:00pm
  - Frank the tank
    
    I think you’ll find the Ministry of “Trust” (health) will be advising the various sporting bodies on this. You should see the “rules” for golf under L3.
    
    Got to love officialdom in (little) Aotearoa
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:53pm
Tomtoddy

Ardern and her minions rail against inequality and proclaim it to be something they will change.

The ETS – a carbon tax – is highly regressive. See “The distributional effects of a carbon tax: The role of income inequality”, Andersson et al.

They are simply incapable of dealing to inequality – now it is set to get horrbly worse. Look out if you are poor, low income earner – it is going to hurt.
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February 18, 2021 8:34am
Frank the tank

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/02/three-original-community-cases-of-covid-19-in-auckland-weren-t-scanning-with-app.html

Here we fucking go – let’s make something else ‘compulsory’ in our little dictatorship.

Fuck this dump of a country…..
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February 18, 2021 8:39am
- Inandout
  
  Frank. the thought police would first have to prove every mobile pointed at the spaghetti sign was turned on to wifi.
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:56am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Are we all to be compelled to have cellphones?
  
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  February 18, 2021 8:58am
  - Paulus
    
    I have an older flip phone which works as a phone and text messager.
    And it does what I want well.
    I will paper in where necessary but will not buy a new phone, which I do not want or will use.
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:36pm
- Happy1
  
  Frank, KB can be a bit of an echo chamber and can become detrimental to one’s mental well-being. While Ardern’s manner grates with some the fact is she got more votes than everyone else combined and would do so again tomorrow if an election were held. Sure it’s a bit frustrating when no one takes the slightest bit of attention to your opinions but that’s their choice. ( And they may be right). We are blessed with politicians of all persuasions who are uncorrupt, reasonably intelligent, generally moderate in their views and who go to work each day with the intention of contributing to a better life for New Zealanders. Life is good. As Sir Frederick Dagg said you don’t know how lucky you are.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:24am
  - Frank the tank
    
    Your point? My mental health is fine.
    
    Oh you’re dead right I am in a minority doesn’t mean I accept your piss pot shit show of a country and government without a fight.
    
    Keep being happy in your delusional (little) Aotearoa using shitty little (horse has already bolted) apps, listening attentively to the podium of sole truth (sic) and otherwise believing in (little) Aotearoan bubble fantasies.
    
    More than happy sniping from the sides with logic, reason and irony especially if it pisses people like you off. Probably got 2 years before your ilk makes this post illegal. Enjoy me while it lasts – you’ll miss me when i’m gone.
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:53am
    - The Proper Ghandi
      
      Happy1 is clearly morally superior to us all, coz he/she follows all the rules. What, don’t YOU follow all the rules, Frank? Following the rules trumps thinking.
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:42am
      - Frank the tank
        
        There is a real push to remove free thought/critique in Western societies right now. I’d argue we appear the most compliant – probably goes hand-in-hand with a decaying education system.
        
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        February 18, 2021 12:56pm
  - Tall Man
    
    “who are uncorrupt”
    
    I see a Tui add in the making.
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:12am
    - SB2
      
      Instances of corrupt practices that rival the former president Donald Trump?
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:52am
      - Fuzzysnuggleduck
        
        “whataboutism”
        =fail
        (and using yesterdays man, no less).
        
        6 0
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        February 18, 2021 12:52pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        And Trump is merely accused by his detractors of “corruption” without evidence.
        
        Whereas with Biden we actually have verified evidence of his involvement with bribes from China and the Ukraine; with Hunter acting as his bagman. But those must be ignored as he has that valuable checkmark that invalidates such evidence – he’s a Democrat.
        
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        February 18, 2021 10:19pm
lastmanstanding

Regarding Chris Trotters post on Wokeness. History has shown that these movements reach a tipping point usually something small in the greater scheme that causes the citizens to revolt against the Woke Blokes and Blokesses.

The result in the Woke scurry away with their tails between their legs.

But like rust they never sleep. They put their twisted minds to dreaming up some new neferious scheme the piss off the citizens.

Rinse and repeat.
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February 18, 2021 8:45am
- nathie
  
  Excellent points but what’s different this time, is the legacy MSM appears to be 99% behind this wokeness, and they actively participate in taking people with contrary views down.
  
  We now have a MSM that are acting as the propaganda arm of, not only this Labour/Green government, but also are the propaganda arm of the “woke” movement.
  
  That could mean any “revolt” (or pendulum swinging back the other way) could take a longer time to eventuate, but when it (if it ever) does the kickback could be alot harsher than it needs to be.
  
  Because those “conservative voices” will be joined by some of the “thinking left” (and when the “thinking left” get active, the MSM might be forced to rethink their part in all this).
  
  But who knows, might be “wishful thinking” on my part! However it’s either society/MSM/left accepts the pendulum must swing back or else it is an authoritarian/totalitarian future where dissent is crushed by leftie jackboots and an overly divided society. Let’s hope common sense (something that has been missing/ignored of late) prevails!
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:16am
  - Dougal10
    
    Can we still call them main stream media when they are almost 100% government funded nowdays.
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:58am
- Brian McDonald
  
  “Woke” is just another stupid word for people sitting on their butts being luvlies. As is the word “revolt,” all piss and wind.
  
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  February 18, 2021 1:55pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Can you spit properly?

The PM has been getting a lambasting over the reluctance to bring in saliva testing for the Covid-19.

It is really hard to understand why this procedure is not being used widely by the MoHealth.

But it appears NZers can’t spit properly.

At one point, the Government told us the problem is New Zealanders can’t spit well enough. I had to double-check that one; I thought it was being made up. But no, it’s true.

Chris Bishop: The spit’s different, apparently.

DAVID SEYMOUR: Well, they thought that the spit was different. And then they said you have to go half an hour without smoking, eating, or chewing gum. Well, I hope that people are capable of doing that.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20210217_20210217_08
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February 18, 2021 8:50am
- Maggie Pie
  
  Have you heard any more about ‘Anal Swabbing’?
  
  I posted Chinese Instruction Video here on GD a couple of weeks back. It all seemed fairly straight forward – but nothing seen since.
  
  Just saying.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:11am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    MoH not considering it…
    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/01/ministry-of-health-not-considering-using-invasive-anal-covid-19-test.html
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:31am
    - Maggie Pie
      
      That’s a shame.
      
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      February 18, 2021 9:37am
      - Suze Wainwright
        
        Oh Maggie…
        
        8 1
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        February 18, 2021 10:07am
      - Maggie Pie
        
        Don’t know about you Suze – but I’ve always had a fear of anything being shoved up my nose.
        
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        February 18, 2021 1:40pm
  - oldfella
    
    [Mod: deleted for homophobic and offensive comments. Only good luck that you’re not being suspended.]
    
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    February 18, 2021 9:31am
    - oldfella
      
      [Mod: Wrong mod I’m afraid, and remember the rule about carping at us! Thanks.]
      
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      February 18, 2021 10:03am
    - The Proper Ghandi
      
      How does, presumably, mocking a gay person amount to an irrational fear of gay people?
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:46am
      - fernglas
        
        Most people who mock or abuse gay people for their sexuality are doing because deep down inside they are afraid that they, too, are gay. I suppose that if indeed you are gay then the fear is not irrational. In that case it less homophobia and more self-abuse.
        
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        February 18, 2021 1:31pm
      - oldfella
        
        Ghandi, I just looked up homophobia on Wiki and it tells me it is ‘… often related to religious beliefs’.
        Not sure I know anyone who mocks gays because of their religious beliefs? They can belong to any religion they like as far as I’m concerned.
        
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        February 18, 2021 2:11pm
- Nickc2
  
  Having a beer isn’t mentioned. That’s good!
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:13am
- SB2
  
  MW, you arr wrong there . The facts are there is not near enough accuracy as compared to Nasopharyngeal swab resting,
  
  Experts question claimed accuracy of Covid-19 saliva tests
  
  “Saliva tests for Covid-19, which are being introduced for NHS workers as part of the government’s mass testing programme, pick up only 13% of people with low levels of the virus and not 91%, as the official assessment has claimed, according to experts….’
  
  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/04/experts-question-claimed-accuracy-of-covid-19-saliva-tests
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:59am
  - Fuzzysnuggleduck
    
    International Talk Like A Pirate Day is in September.
    Take it elsewhere.
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:56pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Why don’t you look at the swab multiplication?–that’s a darn sight more critical and secret. Even Fauci has said they’re useless over 35X while the WHO mandated 40! Great for faking an epidemic by advisers having shares in the outcomes.
    Roll on the Greta Reset. Karl Schwab wants you for a Transhuman. Gates and others want you removed so they can have a better world.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:34pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Well you go and tell that to Professor Janet Pitman who only 3 days ago told us that the saliva test was as accurate as the nasal swab.
    
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018783679/saliva-test-good-as-nasal-swab-covid-19-testing-expert
    
    I know you have spent the last year trying to make out that I am WRONG… but how about keeping up to date with the play before you post your out- of-date shit on this blog.
    
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    February 18, 2021 4:59pm
Yvette

Why does Jacinda Ardern not inquire of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, considering his inclination of send home New Zealanders who have committed crimes, and even stripping them of Australian citizenship if they have it, what would be his attitude our returning Brenton Tarrant to his care – pointing out, as Morrison knows, that he killed 51 people and injured 40 in two mosque attacks
and has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

All trial records are presumably available as well as the Royal Commission findings, so could Australia detail what they would do with Tarrant, if returned. Would they honour the same sentence, or require their own trial, and deal with him as they would have with the New Zealander now in Syria, had they not revoked her Australian citizenship.

Tarrant has already cost New Zealand millions of dollars, which could have better been used tackling child poverty, and Australia under Morrison’s established ethics, should bear some responsibility for their own citizen’s actions.

At least Ardern should introduce the subject of Australia contributing to costs if we keep Tarrant here.

“He is not one of us” – Ardern
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February 18, 2021 9:03am
- edhunter
  
  Pretty sure ScoMo would welcome having Tarrant locked up in a Australian prison. One prisoner in exchange for the hundreds he’s sent back is a small price to pay.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:52am
- alwyn
  
  I gather there is nothing in Australian law that allows them to enforce a sentence passed in New Zealand.
  If Tarrant was deported to Australia he could simply walk out of the Airport and go free.
  Auckland University Law Professor Bill Hodge commented on this at the time of the trial
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300233040/covid19-contact-tracing-ferrari-will-be-enough-to-contain-future-outbreaks
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:55am
  - alwyn
    
    Sorry. I posted the wrong link. It should have been
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/424677/no-guarantee-mass-killer-would-serve-full-jail-term-in-australia
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:42am
- oldfella
  
  Cindy loves to remind us that NZ citizens have the right to come home. The ISIS woman is a NZ citizen. So why all the fuss?
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:07am
- cmm
  
  Some points to consider:
  
  1)This is not Scott Morrison deciding to be a meanie or not. It is just Australian law, as determined by their parliamentary procedures, being enacted.
  2) We don’t have the laws to kick out gang members etc that Australia do. We could have them in our parliament was to make such laws but they haven’t (and likely never will). Even Cindy is somewhat bound by the law and can’t kick them out.
  3) Australia has a legal framework for repatriating Australian citizens who are in prisons overseas. to serve their sentences in Australia. This depends on many factors including:
  a) There has to be an agreement in place with the other country (there is no agreement with NZ).
  b) The prisoner has to want to go.
  
  If NZ kicked Tarrant out, then it would just be a matter of deporting him and letting him go free. He would not serve a prison sentence in Australia because there would be no legal basis to hold him.
  
  Of course the Aussies and NZ parliaments could enact new laws, but that is unlikely to happen and until then there is no way to achieve what you want.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:25am
Simon

Tax the rich. Its fine. Its just the neolib clown show, fronted by Cullen, wanted to tax the middle class.
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February 18, 2021 9:03am
- Batman
  
  Proving forevermore that you don’t know what neo-liberalism actually us, outside of internet buzzwords and insults.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:35am
  - Tall Man
    
    Play the man not the ball eh Batman?
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:10am
    - Batman
      
      Well that is quite literally not neo-liberalism. So it is accurate to say that he doesn’t know.
      
      He sounds like Jane Kelsey or anyone from The Stranded when they moan about the poltergeist of neolibs.
      
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      February 18, 2021 10:28am
      - Tall Man
        
        And at the times that I have called people “idiots” I was also technically correct, however …………
        
        It’s just not fair is it 😉
        
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        February 18, 2021 11:54am
  - Frank the tank
    
    Neo-liberalism is an oft-bandied word. I’d liken to a catch-all when people are looking the blame the system and not themselves.
    
    Like all ideologies the actual application of neo-liberalism was(is) anything but.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:00pm
- Paulus Gnome
  
  Take a $1.00 of every rich person will not raise as much as taking $0.10 of every middle class person.
  
  Rich and middle class need to be defined.
  
  You know that right?
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:04am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Are there any middle class left?
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:36pm
    - Master Mariner
      
      In another 10 years it will be who can afford to run a car that will be the new middle class.
      
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      February 18, 2021 8:21pm
nathie

So it turns out that the Prime Minister has known about a number of “ex-NZ/residing in Australia” women that departed from Australia a few years ago to travel to Turkey then onto Syria to become “jihadi war-bribes” with Isis war criminals.

(HDPA on ZB yesterday reckoned there are around 11 or so such women … so this first women in the news this week could be the first to re-emerge ).

It has been reported that the Prime Minister has been in contact with Australian PM Scott Morrison over the last few years over this issue.

So why did Jacinda Ardern have that extraordinary tantrum the other day when she has known that it is Australian Government policy to strip such people of their Oz citizenship (apparently the policy has been in place for the last few years)?

Could it be that, the tantrum was actually frustration that yet again, the Jacinda Ardern led Labour government has FAILED TO DELIVER!

Yes, after knowing about the Australian policy, have Ardern and Labour sat back, doing sweet FA about this (knowing full well these Jihadi bribes would be stripped of their Oz citizenship) and now she has been caught out when Turkey announced the capture and ScoMo subsequently disowned them?

Make sense doesn’t it … Labour, yet again failed to deliver, and so deflect and blame someone else.

After all it’s been the story of the last 4 years of the Jacinda Ardern Labour led government, so why should this particular situation be any different?
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February 18, 2021 9:04am
- nathie
  
  And the give away from Labour and Ardern is their “xenophobic” attack on Australia!
  
  Yes when caught out, Labour play their usual card game trick of whipping up “anti-Australian sentiment” to appeal to “Kiwi’s love of bashing the Ozzies”.
  
  Note how the MSM always “get in behind” such Labour Party/Ardern wolf-whistling.
  
  Both our TV channels and radio (news journos and readers) failed to mention the fact that Australian policy has been to automatically strip citizenship for those associated with international terrorism. Only the print/online media have eg Stuff and NZ Herald (I find myself saying well done to them – holy moley)!
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:26am
  - MCos
    
    Have they stripped Tarrant of his citizenship yet, or is that still going through the process?
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:08am
    - Jack5
      
      The Aussies won’t be bothered. Tarrant’s never coming back.
      
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      February 18, 2021 12:49pm
    - GJM
      
      They can only strip citizenship if they have dual nationality, like the ISIS terrorist woman who is oz + nz.
      He Who Shall Not Be Named is only an ocker as far as I know.
      
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      February 18, 2021 7:04pm
- alex Masterley
  
  One comment on this matter.
  The relevant act in Australia – the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 – automatically removes citizenship from persons (holdng dual citizenship) if they act inconsistently with their allegance to Australia if they engage in various forms of terrorist activity.
  There is no input from the relevant ministry or any Minister. Removal of citizenship happens automaticaly in the relevant circumstances.
  There is very little that can be done to prevent the statute from opperating short of not being a terrorist.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:20am
  - cmm
    
    Quite. It is just the law rolling along doing its thing. Same basic deal as a drug smuggler getting prosecuted and jailed.
    
    But the way it is portrayed is Morrison is being a dick and going on a personal attack on this woman.
    
    Of course that helps portray the “be kind” Cindy in a favourable/charitable light.
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:29am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Stupid more like. As PM she has a duty to be aware what she is talking about. Challenging the Aus PM about his actions and being unaware he was powerless as the law operated automatically speaks of her unfitness for office
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:50pm
  - Nickc2
    
    Exactly. When a person is Gumleafed (given citizenship) in Aust, they swear to obey and honour the laws of Aust. Any deviation from that results in being deported back to their country of origin.
    That’s fair, I was Gumleafed.
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:43am
lifesgood

Marcus Lush elected to Invercargill City Council. LOl, LOL, LOL. Well it is at the arse end of the country, I guess. Hopefully, though, that will mean the moron is no longer on ZB pleading for someone, anyone, to call him.
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February 18, 2021 9:10am
- nathie
  
  Great, so he will take his “laziness” and one-eyed biased thinking onto council! What were the good people of Invercargill thinking? Was he really the “best” on offer? 😉
  
  And for crying out loud Lush, have a shave you scruff, you are no longer a hipster hanging out in Ponsonby cafe’s!
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:48am
- graham
  
  The very few occasions I’ve listened to him on Newstalk ZB, it’s pretty obvious that Marcus Lush can’t be bothered to do any sort of homework, research, or preparation for his show.
  
  I’m astounded at how often there’s been a big news story developing during the day, and then in the evening Marcus Lush has had no idea about it.
  
  I only hope for Invercargill’s sake that he can be bothered to at least put SOME effort into preparing for council meetings, and that he treats this job with a little more respect than he treats his job as a talkback host.
  
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  February 18, 2021 9:53am
- MCos
  
  Invercargill City Councillors receive $38,583 so, depending on other factors, it’s probably a part time job.
  Lush doesn’t seem to be terribly popular on this forum, which doesn’t count for a bag of beans with the wider population so I expect he’ll keep his job.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:02am
  - Nigel Kearney
    
    They voted for the name they know. Once he is in the job they will vote according to whether he is actually and good at it:
    
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Distinguished_Gentleman
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:30am
    - Paulus
      
      We voted for Cindy as a name we know – and will do so again.
      ps.
      I did not.
      
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      February 18, 2021 11:15am
  - SB2
    
    Mcos , you make a valid point remarking that this KB forum has negligible influence with the wider and voting public.
    
    I guess though it has psychological value allowing posters to vent serious frustrations with a sesne of powerlessness.
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:11pm
    - Fuzzysnuggleduck
      
      And what psychology brings you here?
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:00pm
- Paulus Gnome
  
  I have the misfortune to hear Lush on occasion.
  
  I thought Tim from Invercargill was one of his frequent callers hence why Lush got the gig . . .
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:07am
- Jack5
  
  Lush bolted in. With old Tim Shadbolt coming to the end of his run, Lush could end up Mayor of Invercargill.
  
  Lush says he’s going to make the Invercargill City Council less unpopular:
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124269783/marcus-lush-surprised-by-publics-dislike-for-invercargill-city-council
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:14am
  - MCos
    
    From my observation the most unpopular candidates always win local body elections.
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:26pm
- Frank the tank
  
  Was assimilated by the wokeborg some time ago.
  
  Will probably promotion rainbow crossings, bike paths and train services to nowhere.
  
  Nothing new.
  
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  February 18, 2021 1:03pm
oldfella

Wow, had no idea this would happen. I bet Cindy didn’t, either, or she’d never have voted for it.
++
Teens living in states in which marijuana has been legalized for adults are more likely to use the drug than their peers in states in which it remains illegal, a report published Monday by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found.
After California legalized adult recreational marijuana use in 2016, marijuana use among teens in the state increased by 23%, the data showed.
The percentage of teens who said they had used the drug during their lifetimes also increased by 18% following adult legalization.
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/02/15/Teen-pot-use-increases-with-adult-recreational-legalization-study-finds/2251613421785/
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February 18, 2021 9:18am
- TWEEDSE
  
  An interesting report. A couple of questions come to mind. First the report authors have created many reports with all reporting on alcohol and drug use harm. It would therefore be interesting to know who funds them.
  
  The second question is what allowance was made for people reporting more truthfully on their substance use once it is no longer illegal.
  
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  February 18, 2021 1:44pm
oldfella

Fortunately, Cindy will rescue us if Ayoteearower is hit by a stock market crash. Chill, bro. She’s amazeballs.
++
‘Very, very concerning’ echoes of the 90s dot-com bubble are being heard loud and clear by nervous market experts.
A 12-year-old bull market; SPAC mania; IPOs that more than double on the first trading day; an army of amateur traders and GameStop mania. It certainly feels like irrational exuberance–and it triggers alarms for those who remember the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. “The parallels we have today are historically very, very concerning,” notes Jim Stack, president of Whitefish, Montana’s InvesTech Research and Stack Financial Management. “The current froth is the icing on the cake, and when you look through it, you see a lot of other underlying issues.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2021/02/12/is-the-stock-market-about-to-crash/?sh=6e16d14371de
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February 18, 2021 9:22am
Okahu

I suppose we can be grateful that with all the challenges the nation is facing that her majesty’s opposition is magnificently lead, on point and striking heavy blow after blow against this intellectually and ethically bereft government. Thank dog our taxes are well spent sending this formidable band of youthful, eager talent to hold the mob to account.
#nats-worth every cent! #Collins-the future everyone wants!
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February 18, 2021 9:23am
- oldfella
  
  Okahu, going by the media coverage, I thought Ayoteearower was now a one-party state with a beloved “PTPM For Life”.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:13am
  - Nickc2
    
    Just wait until we become a Republic. Then, we will have Helen Clark as President for Life and Cindy as PM for life.
    
    It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they did a swap of roles after at least two terms in each. Poor Lil-Olde-Peoples-Republic-of-Aotearoa.
    We’re stuffed!
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:57am
- JerJer
  
  Your not generally supposed to disturb your opponent whilst they are stuffing things up all by themselves, and pushing their woke barrow around the place and annoying all the normal people.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:28am
  - Okahu
    
    You’re onto something there JJ. Perhaps it could be the Nats epitaph. We didn’t want to disturb anyone!
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:13pm
Maggie Pie

If there had still been any question as to whether China owns Biden, this video removes all doubt.

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1361890213669310464
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February 18, 2021 9:43am
MCos

This article about Aung Sung Suu Kyi & the coup in Myanmar might be a couple of weeks old, but it’s very informative.
https://www.thaienquirer.com/23687/suu-kyi-is-not-blameless-in-mondays-military-takeover-of-myanmar/

Migrant labourers,both legal & illegal work in Thailand in big numbers. Ever though the renumeration is often pitiful it’s way better than back home, or was.
When the military was previously was previously running the country I was told that if you wanted to start a business over there it had to be in partnership with a local company, which was owned by some military figures. You provided the capital and they provided the (slave) labour.
Since the latest coup there’s been plenty of condemnation from Western countries, but none from China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia.
Huge quantities of yaba are manufactured in Myanmar. I wonder who may be involved?
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February 18, 2021 9:50am
- Master Mariner
  
  Just departed Yangon Last night.
  Biggest CDM protest yet. Millions in street.
  departed 1800 hrs , just on dark. Talking to Pilots ( ex Millitary) and things going come to a crunch soon.
  I sent a post yesterday.
  Millitary have always had control of Mining, oil & Gas, of which its well known for.
  Now here the thing to watch out for.
  https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1173868.shtml
  
  China has a strangle hold on these and threatening not to sell.
  
  Rare earths are used for everything, cell phones, computers and Bloody EV.
  
  Well known fact China sent high profile delegation into Myanmar a week before coup.
  The Masters gave there approval, and coup proceeded.
  
  Incidently the quietest on the International stage is Singapore, largest investor in Myanmar, Followed by China.
  
  Myanmar is part Belt Road with a large Port being built in North. Gas Pipelines directly into chinas Border.
  Really a Geographically hot spot.
  The rare earths are what too watch out for as US Millitary need them for equipment. Hence big US response so far
  
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  February 18, 2021 1:09pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    The so called “rare parts” are not, in fact, actually rare. What they are is very difficult to separate without a lengthy and significantly polluting lot of chemical processing. So most of the extraction takes place in China as the environmental rules are much. much laxer there.
    
    There are significant reserves elsewhere, the US has several large deposits and used to host processing, and could do so again quite quickly. And would if China tried to cut off supply. Or would as long as Biden wasn’t bribed again to cave in to the Chinese demands.
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:24pm
Maggie Pie

And while I’m on it – a reminder for the group.

LENT
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February 18, 2021 9:52am
- Andrei
  
  Nah Maggie – Lent doesn’t begin until Monday, 15 March if you make the Sign of the Cross right to left
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:03am
  - Biscuit
    
    Andrei, there’s only ONE important date in March.
    
    The 18th.
    
    The latest anniversary of my arrival on this planet.
    
    Presents are encouraged.
    
    I trust the mods to on-forward any cash gifts you might send c/- them but be wary of sumbitting food gifts. Last year’s Easter Eggs ALL, I swear, had mod-sized mouthfuls bitten out of them.
    
    Grrrr, eh?
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:28pm
    - Biscuit
      
      I can so spell ‘s-u-b-m-i-t-t-i-n-g’…
      
      I just, provably, can’t TYPE it.
      
      O darn, eh?
      
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      February 18, 2021 12:46pm
- alwyn
  
  I follow the advice given in Hamlet Maggie.
  Shakespeare knew what he was talking about when he wrote.
  “Neither a borrower nor a Lenter be”
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:04am
  - Nickc2
    
    Hey alwyn, what’s a Lenter? I did a dictionary search and the closest I could get was another name for a ‘slab’. Do you mean lender? I’m not a fan of Shakespeare by the way.
    Oh, now I get it, you are on about some religious BS?
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:04am
  - Paulus
    
    Sorry, no more Shakespeare to be taught in Aotearoa Schools so comment irrelevant.
    Treaty is the new Classic in place.
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:18am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Yuk.
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:56pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Easy for him to say alwyn – he probably never lived in Remuera.
    
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    February 18, 2021 11:44am
- Tall Man
  
  Slowly?
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:07am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Do you look good in purple?
  https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/liturgical-colors.php
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:18am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    My wife has a variety of stoles to match those ancient church seasons.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:58pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Until I read about Church colours today, I had no idea of such a thing.
      
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      February 18, 2021 5:29pm
Rusty

Hasn’t our PM consistently told us Kiwis to be kind to one another during this covid crisis?

Yet she didn’t show this kindness to Scott Morrison who had every right to strip this terrorist scumbag of her Aussie citizenship.

btw- what was this dress garb Cindy was wearing on tv yesterday?

Was she trying to look like a gypsy or middle eastern woman?
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February 18, 2021 9:58am
- Bill Felt
  
  The dress was special because Ardern was bringing NZ down a level after saving us all. The announcement would be beamed all around the world so Ardern went out of her way to dress in indigenous gear and had special makeup to make her look like – well a cover girl!
  
  No one does annoucements like Ardern!
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:40am
  - Ruawai
    
    Yes and she always wears black when moving into lockdown.
    
    6 2
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    February 18, 2021 11:19am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Is Ardern really that much of a flibbertigibbet? I thought she was restricted to Vogue covers. If this was the UK I expect she would be in the Horse Parade with H1 holding the reins.
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:02pm
- Nickc2
  
  I think her ‘get-up’ was from somewhere in Christchurch. That would say it all.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:09am
- lifesgood
  
  She wanted to be down and dirty with the street people….or is she hiding something?
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:11am
  - Biscuit
    
    lifesgood, I tend to be a bit bemused at the folk who criticise Hilary Barry for the garb she sometimes appears on Seven Sharp in and wouldn’t dream of following down that path.
    
    But me and the lass I share a cot with watched Jacinda’s latest Chat to the Nation and missed the first 123,456,789 words as we tried to fathom just what item of designer clothing it was she had draped about her sainted person.
    
    Poor Ashley, I note, just went with ‘first suit in the closet’ as always…
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:33pm
oldfella

Came across this comment online re cold weather and electric vehicles.
++
“Iowa has been particularly savaged by howling winds and temperatures worthy of a deep freezer. People with Teslas and other electric cars (e.g. Volt) have discovered much to their chagrin that electric batteries do not like the cold. Severe, low temps rapidly drain the batteries of their charge, and the next thing you know you are stranded next to a corn field in a lonely stretch of road. You just have to hope that you kept your cell phone charged to call for help. This discovery is leading many formerly happy owners of the electric cars to dump them as fast as they can get themselves into a gas-fueled pick up truck or SUV capable of plowing through a snowdrift.”
++
At least we don’t get that kind of weather in Ayoteearower, so mass migration to electric vehicles will be just fine. And that threat of a possible global cooling period on the way?
Na, bro. Follow the science, and the scientists, as long as they agree with Cindy.
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February 18, 2021 9:59am
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  In cold weather both electric cars and petrol cars lose range. Electric cars lose about 20%. Not really a horrible situation that can cause great concern.
  
  Petrol cars have their problems as well. Oil gets sluggish, radiators freeze, etc.
  
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  February 18, 2021 7:43pm
I remember when

Is there a real danger that all the attention being shown for Maori priority in the covid vaccine queue will have consequences elsewhere?
Heard conversation on Q&A that worked through the Maori die ten years earlier argument.
While talking the covid vaccine queue it then went so 65 equals 55, 55 equals 45….
Isn’t there a danger that this leads to recruiters of staff expecting Maori to have increased health liabilities. That of course means more sick leave, unplanned absences and poorer general well-being.
Result poor paid jobs and more unemployment!
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February 18, 2021 10:02am
I remember when

Alright Maggie Pie I give up.
What have you LENT.
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February 18, 2021 10:03am
Jack5

State-subsidised news outlet Stuff surely must have reined in Joel Maxwell today from calling for priority vaccination of Maori.

Stuff hasn’t quite got the nerve to champion priority for vaccinating Maori before Whites, who make up most of Stuff’s readership.

Maxwell, who is part-Maori, made a news career from first-person accounts of his breathtaking adventure learning Maori language as an adult.

Today, on Covid-19 vaccination, Maxwell goes only as far saying:”I as hope our specific plan for Maori is specific enough, and Maori enough.”

That is surely code for Maori priority in vaccination.

A hint is Maxwell’s paragraph:

“Like the bogeyman of council Maori wards, which is being eased by urgent legislation under this Government, there are times when specific action for Maori is needed.”

Bogeyman? Hmmm. Hendrik Verwoerd might have found the term useful when he was trying to defend apartheid to Western countries.
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February 18, 2021 10:08am
kloyd0306

Having lived a third of my life in USA, I discovered Rush Limbaugh in 1989, not long after his nation-wide show launched on AM radio there.

He was a great teacher and through him I discovered why I am a conservative yet never knew why previously.

He brilliantly explained what conservatism really is. I will miss him greatly as he helped shape my understanding of politics, life and the world.

He had a great mind and never shied away from his true beliefs and was able to articulate those beliefs like no one else.

Today is a sad day. Radio and the conservative movement have lost a genius way before his time.
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February 18, 2021 10:11am
- Batman
  
  He used to run a segment called “AIDS updates” where he would read out the names of people who had died from it and put on bell and horn noises to celebrate their deaths.
  
  Condolences to his family.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:26am
  - kloyd0306
    
    I’ll bet that when Bill Clinton passes, you will be the first to highlight his blow-job in the oval office.
    
    But then pigs will fly………..
    
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    February 18, 2021 10:44am
  - Fuzzysnuggleduck
    
    Depends if you can never redeem yourself, no matter any change of heart or through the passage of time – for offensive or poor taste behaviour.
    
    “It’s the single most regretful thing I’ve ever done,” {Rush} says, “because it ended up making fun of people who were dying long, painful and excruciating deaths, when they were not the target. It was a totally irresponsible thing to do.”
    
    Bringing up something from 30 years back might be part of reflecting on someone’s life. As a public personality he showed some poor judgement then, but I am sure I have done that in my private life too.
    At least, unlike some of the deranged comments from people in public positions now, he made some sort of statement of regret.
    
    My small amount of knowledge of him included the fact he starred in Family Guy, in an episode around Brian being converted from liberal to conservative (briefly). A bit of mocking of both camps in that episode.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excellence_in_Broadcasting#:~:text=On The Rush Limbaugh Show,’re all professionals here.”
    
    Brian: I think you’re a bone-headed, fascist, corporate-shelling blow-hard.
    Rush: Look, you little smart-ass. I think you are a God-less, socialist, pot-smoking, maggot-infested member of the “Blame America First” crowd. And I think you want the terrorists to win.
    
    {later}
    
    Brian: Does this mean I’ll never see you again?
    Rush Limbaugh: Oh I’ll be around. Wherever there’s a rich white guy in need of another tax break, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a brain-dead woman in need of expensive life support her husband doesn’t want, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a country that needs to be invaded for reasons that don’t exactly pan out, I’ll be there too. Oh yes, I will be around.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:57pm
- Swifty
  
  In the 90s I found myself on the East Coast of the States driving around rurally; New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia etc.
  
  Other than a couple of brief trips to Oz it was my first real big trip overseas.
  
  An abiding memory was listening to Rush Limbaugh on the car radio, hearing him go off on all manner of topics and interspersed with ads like you’ve never heard before.
  
  It was like another planet. For a relatively young fella it just seemed all so ‘sophisticated’ – considering I had grown up with Lindsay Yeo, Buzz O’Bumble and ads for L.V. Martin and Son.
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:59am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    I’m not sure ‘sophisticated’ is a term that I would use to describe American talk radio. I listened to a little bit a while ago (Coast to Coast?) – it’s next-level craziness: UFOs, chemtrails, Pizzagate, etc, etc.
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:04pm
    - Swifty
      
      Sounds loony – must have evolved since I was there.
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:01pm
    - MCos
      
      I suppose if you’re glued to the radio listening to Lindsay Yeo, Buzz O’Bumble and ads for L.V. Martin and Son everything is sophisticated in a manner of speaking.
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:56pm
      - Swifty
        
        Where did I say glued MCos?
        
        Are you slow?
        
        Why don’t you tell us about relevant experiences your wife had had in Thailand – as though no other KBers have ever been there or have Thai connections?
        
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        February 18, 2021 5:34pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      For chemtrails see Bill Gates, he wants to blot out the sun to defeat global warming. (Is there any business he’s not in?)
      
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      February 18, 2021 2:05pm
  - Biscuit
    
    Swifty, I used to cringe as my littly sang the ‘Buzz O’Bumble, Buzz O’Bumble, Buzz O’Bumble Bee’ jingle each and every bloody morning before he got kicked out of the house to school.
    Almost as bad was Lindsay Yeo then trying to have the Hurricanes home crowd – and they were still at Athletic Park then – do that ‘Hurricanes, HurriCANES, HurriCANES, Hurricanes’ dirge that thankfully has died a death.
    
    Haven’t heard fromn/of him for yonks. He had a media training business. Still at that?
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:39pm
    - Swifty
      
      Cheers Biscuit.
      
      Last thing I heard, if I remember rightly, was that he was up the Kapiti Coast doing something food related?
      
      Not sure.
      
      Will try to look him up.
      
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      February 18, 2021 5:41pm
- curry4me
  
  kloyd0306: RIP Rush.
  
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  February 18, 2021 3:09pm
- Martin Williams
  
  I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.
  
  – Clarence Darrow
  
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  February 18, 2021 10:41pm
oldfella

The left is, as always, is showing suitable restraint in commenting on the death overnight of the conservative US talk-show legend, Rush Limbaugh.
https://www.mrctv.org/blog/rest-sht-left-wing-twitter-erupts-glee-over-rush-limbaughs-death
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February 18, 2021 10:24am
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  There’s good people on both sides, oldfella.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:53am
  - oldfella
    
    That’s a very fair and decent comment, Ghandi. Once upon a time I might have said, ‘very white of you, old boy’, but not sure that’s okay these days.
    And with a name like Ghandi… 😉
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:37pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Coz good ol’ Rush was so respectful of others…
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:06pm
- SB2
  
  Rush Limbaugh. a legend??
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:30pm
  - oldfella
    
    Legend: ‘A very famous person’.
    So, yep, Rush was a legend.
    
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    February 18, 2021 4:36pm
- virtualmark
  
  To borrow a line from Mark Twain …
  
  I wouldn’t wish death on anyone, but I do read some people’s obituaries enthusiastically.
  
  Limbaugh was a racist, homophobic thug who, in concert with Gingrich, created the conditions that Trump stepped into, and created the conditions that are destroying the Republican Party as an effective political force.
  
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  February 18, 2021 4:29pm
Fletch

Looks like two strains of the virus have combined to produce another one *sigh*. To be honest, it’s going to be like the ‘flu isn’t it? With different strains every year.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2268014-exclusive-two-variants-have-merged-into-heavily-mutated-coronavirus/
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February 18, 2021 10:29am
Fletch

Next time you find some whale shit on the beach… apparently it’s expensive and perfume manufacturers use it….

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/08/17/ambergris-whale-found-falmouth-cape-cod-beach/
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February 18, 2021 10:33am
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  Whale vomit, rather.
  
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  February 18, 2021 3:11pm
john1234

They were never going to find bodies as only the drift was accessible.

This was known all along – the robots had been up there. And two miners walked out of the drift after the first explosion – they knew there were no others in the drift.

We knew the end of the drift was blocked by a rockfall. We knew the explosion and the miners was in the mine workings past the drift. Despite this, Labour spent 10 sick years milking this tragedy for every cent of political capital they could squeeze out of it.

Over the years they have softened the story and attempted to justify the project by claiming that they are searching for forensic evidence. This is a load of bollocks. The explosions were in the mine workings, known to be inaccessible. Therefore there was always zero chance of finding any forensic evidence regarding the explosions.

In over 3 years they spent $51m making it 2.2km. That’s $23k per metre, to explore a dangerous tunnel where you already know there will be no bodies and no useful evidence.

The compliant media won’t go into this however. They’ll simply fawn over the courageous attempt.
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February 18, 2021 10:34am
Kiwi_in_Paris

New video emerges of Mark Zuckerberg cautioning his employees about the Covid jab.

“I Share Some Caution on this [Vaccine] Because We Just Don’t Know the Long-Term Side Effects of Basically Modifying People’s DNA and RNA”

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1361829312324902920
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February 18, 2021 10:37am
- cmm
  
  I wonder how long before the NZ Social Media squad ban anyone from using FB.
  
  Zuckerberg is a dropout who is good at one thing, and one thing only. Conning people into giving up their personal information so that he can sell it.
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:14pm
Fletch

Facebook banning the sharing of news content on its site in Australia.

Facebook will ban Australian news sites from its platform in an unprecedented move to avoid paying for local content.

In a direct response to the government’s proposed media bargaining code, the social media giant announced it will restrict publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing both Australian and international news on the platform.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/02/facebook-bans-australian-news-content-in-response-to-new-media-bargaining-law.html
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February 18, 2021 10:40am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  We used to get by OK before Facebook existed.
  I still do because I’ve never used it.
  If it disappeared it would be a bloody good thing.
  
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  February 18, 2021 3:25pm
I remember when

The figures suggest that for various reasons a quarter to a third of NZ’s are withholding covid vaccination.
Why do people get vaccinated? The two main reasons are probably health and freedom of movement.
If the reason is health we already have managed quarantine and contact tracing.
So the question is how does the safety this gives us compared with the coverage the vaccine offers.
The second reason is freedom of movement which is now restricted to NZ.
There is nothing definite in the way of details about changes to the present overseas travel requirements.
It has been suggested that there will be no external travel until the end of the year.
How long does the immunity the vaccine gives you last? Will you need another injection before you can travel anyway?
All this before you even consider the possible side effects arguments and anti-vax contingent.
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February 18, 2021 10:41am
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  Welcome to the New Medical Tyranny. Roll up your sleeve, slave.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:55am
- cmm
  
  Spanish Flu, which was far more infectious and deadly, went away of its own accord after 2 years. No vaccines back then.
  
  We’ve been given the number of 75% vaccination levels to get international herd immunity. Given that more that 25% of people are under 16 that is never going to happen.
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:20pm
  - SB2
    
    cmm, the facts are Covid 19 is deadly that left unchecked would lead to similar if not far worse consequences thant the Spanish Flu epidemic.
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:28pm
    - Fuzzysnuggleduck
      
      How did you work that out?
      Please share your thinking.
      
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      February 18, 2021 3:15pm
  - MCos
    
    Swine flu may have been Spanish flu.
    
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    February 18, 2021 4:58pm
Maggie Pie

Remember yesterday I posted MagicTalk’s Peter Williams reckoned “….. that the next National Prime Minister isn’t even in parliament yet.”

Then ‘oldfella’ threw out the challenge to name someone outside of the current crop who would make a good Nat PM.

Thought about that a lot last night. Couldn’t come with anyone I actually knew. However did think somebody that looks like Canada’s Justin Trudeau would be good – but with a brain.
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February 18, 2021 10:46am
- Philview
  
  New Zealand will not be waiting around for someone to decide they are going into politics. If John Key was in power and making the same decisions as Jacinda, the media would be telling people to get on the streets and protest. I have never forgotten the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes with left wing activists on the ground fast trying to whip up trouble. The police said it was too dangerous for Key to go into some areas because they didn’t have the manpower to protect him from protestors. The media of course called John Key a coward for staying away from those areas. The Left and their media associates are now in control of NZ and will take some shifting.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:22am
- Nickc2
  
  How about Rachel Hunter? Teach her a couple of Maori words (not too complicated) and she would be quids in.
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:24am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    I can hear all the blonde jokes from hair 🙁
    
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    February 18, 2021 12:55pm
    - Nickc2
      
      Ok, these are the Maori words we will teach her (kaore au i te tino kakaho) . Loosely translated, it means I’m not really blonde.
      There ya go Maggie, solved it for ya.
      
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      February 18, 2021 1:20pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        Do you think she likes having those black roots?
        
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        February 18, 2021 3:19pm
      - Nickc2
        
        Maggie @ 3:19PM
        Depends on who’s fertilizing them and who’s paying the bills. However, I’m prepared to contribute. Are you?
        
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        February 18, 2021 8:21pm
  - oldfella
    
    ‘You can’t beat a trumpet, but it will happen.’
    There you go, Rachel’s campaign slogan.
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:16pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    Keep telling my self its a “Rachael Hunter”.
    
    it wont happen overnight but will happen.
    
    This in regards to obtaining an impossible MIQ voucher.
    Incidently she posted from quarantine during her stay.
    I guess being another “Essential Key worker” she got through hoops and hurdles.
    
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    February 18, 2021 3:56pm
    - oldfella
      
      MM, if you really need to get a voucher in a hurry, and without having to queue, there’s a Mexican in the Green Party who knows all the buttons to push.
      He’s so good he pushed all the buttons twice and got two people in at the same time.
      
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      February 18, 2021 5:20pm
- oldfella
  
  Maggie, FWIW, I sent Karl du Fresne’s excellent article to some family in Canada.
  https://www.spectator.com.au/2021/02/new-zealand-is-being-transformed-but-not-in-a-good-way/
  They found interesting parallels with Trudeau’s response to Canada’s First Nations issues. So we’re not the only country heading for a racial ‘hell in a handbasket.
  
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  February 18, 2021 2:23pm
curry4me

ASTERISK PRESIDENCY: Episode 5.
Direct from Harveywood, here is this weeks episode of Asterisk Presidency. Brought to you by the CCP, Huawei, Wall Street and Burisma. Breaking News! BLM and ANTIFA will not sponsor any episodes in the near future! Negotiations broke down last week.
Will the Mavericks ‘fail often’ after ditching the national anthem? Will their ratings fail? Will the Beijing Biden administration fail as often? Will there be an ‘impeachment 3.0’? Can the Keystone pipeline be built if Hunter Biden joins the board?
100 billion CCP vaccine doses for 300 Americans. Will the doctors find enough veins? Can ‘Dr Jill assist?
Will Camel be calling more world leaders in future? Will crying Chuck answer questions about Governor Cuomos nursing home scandal? Will the NYSE move to Florida? Will governor Cuomo, and Assemblyman Kim exchange ‘holiday cards’ this year? Will Fredo grill him about all the dead grannies? Will schools be open the other four days? Will Camel also dismiss the Uighur genocide myth once she invokes the 25th amendment?
Will things be peachy after ‘impeachment 2.0’, the sequel is over?
Stay tuned folks!
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February 18, 2021 11:00am
Loddenthinks

Wowzers! And wowsers – the cancel culture is absolutely surging ahead. In what can only be described as the most curmudgeonly nit-picking, a viewer has succeeded in getting an ad for milk banned, because it showed a girl riding on the footpath for all of 3 metres.

I always thought the ad was both stupid and woke – trendy mixed-race parents, the best-looking Indian dairy owner you’ve ever seen, the tidiest dairy in the history of dairies and so on – but banning it for showing a kid riding on the footpath is a joke.

The BSA actually turned the complaint down, but in “a lengthy email” the complainant rejected one of the reasons (that the law was under review and may soon be changed) and succeeded in having the complaint upheld, and the advert binned.

“That the law might possibly change does not help and makes no sense – is it OK now to smoke marijuana?” the complainant wrote, referring to the recent cannabis referendum.

“The answer is no, so would an advertisement showing a person returning home after a walk to the dairy to buy chocolate and then smoking marijuana be acceptable?”

While technically correct, this is a stupid argument. Everyone knows you go to the dairy to buy chocolate after you blaze up.
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February 18, 2021 11:03am
- Saks
  
  Wait, are you not allowed to ride bikes on the footpath?
  
  My 8 year old does all the time (with me on mine following). We always give way to pedestrians who usually smile and say hello, or that’s a cool bike (small town nz).
  
  No way I’m riding on the road with the muppet speeding drivers we have in nz!
  
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  February 18, 2021 11:40am
- rockape
  
  Cant wait till ads for the new Topgun movie get banned as it shows people shooting down others with a fighter jet. Surely that’s illegal?
  
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  February 18, 2021 1:36pm
wilderbeast

Although I’ve completely bugged out of MSM all this woke nonsense still keeps finding its way to me. Seems impossible to avoid and the irony confounds me. People fortunate to live in a society and era with unprecedented levels of prosperity, democracy and freedom, and they use it as a platform to pull down the platform….can they really be so stupid?
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February 18, 2021 11:13am
MCos

Interesting article from a year ago regarding our cunning friend across the Tasman.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/119419731/tourism-wars-1m-payouts-and-an-arrogant-future-australian-pm-at-the-centre-of-a-very-kiwi-scandal
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February 18, 2021 11:45am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Yes, a very murky chapter. No one involved came out looking very good at all – Morrison, McCully, Shipley, or Roberts.
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:48pm
0A

What was with Tova O’Brien’s incessant hand waving during the lead up to the PM’s announcement on TV3 yesterday afternoon? I don’t watch TV generally so not sure if it’s her “thing”.

Laid it on quite thick, as if she was conducting an orchestra.
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February 18, 2021 11:55am
- Dougal10
  
  She does it when making shit up on the fly.
  
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  February 18, 2021 1:28pm
- Master Mariner
  
  Must of been “The dance of the bumblebees” be my guess.
  Quite popular by all accounts to the right crowd.
  
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  February 18, 2021 3:58pm
- oldfella
  
  I suspect that when Tova waves her arms about she is simulcasting by also providing sign language for the deaf.
  Her spoken words are only for the mentally challenged.
  
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  February 18, 2021 4:45pm
doublehappy

Peter Williams program this morning shows he is not afraid of his bosses. He has discussed Covid-19 drugs, describing and quoting good results from them. Not what you hear in the MSM, and he has even stated the possibility of the drug companies dismissing them so that they can make a profit from the vaccines. Then he had the audacity to suggest that climate change has been overstated and that we should not ruin our lifestyle by rushing into green energy. He then talked Big State, Cancel Culture, and our Marxist governments ramming wokeness down our throats. Well done Peter, I will continue to tune in to Magic Radio from 9 to 12 at least.
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February 18, 2021 12:18pm
- Kevin Herlihy
  
  Peter Williams does not have a medical degree, therefore any information he imparts must be treated with caution or dismissed. He is an entertainer, his opinions are not qualified and are intended to amuse.Some people are easily amused.
  
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  February 18, 2021 12:38pm
  - doublehappy
    
    Actually, everything Peter said was a quote from respected medical people or journals. Fact checked correctly, not the MSM type of fact-checking. He also suggested that instead of cancelling people we could try discussing things. My; what a forward-thinking idea.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:13pm
  - fernglas
    
    As with most of those people, he will say what he is paid to say. Look at Barry Soper, from grovelling sycophant to attack dog, all because of a change in paymaster.
    
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    February 18, 2021 1:36pm
  - Tall Man
    
    And some people are easily fooled.
    
    That seems to be ardern’s mantra but I can assure you, even an idiot wakes up eventually ……
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:11pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    So? What are your quals to advise on such discrimination? Some
    of the best minds have dropped out of uni.
    
    Applying the woke “jump on it, squash it”, in preference to reason is deprecated in polite society.
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:16pm
  - theoldbloke
    
    What an arrogant and stupid comment “Peter Williams does not have a medical degree….”
    
    Blah ferking blah.
    He has the the right to report on things and make comments.
    
    Having a medical degree is not so great either Many charlatans have medical degrees.
    Milan Brych ring any bells for example
    
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    February 18, 2021 5:06pm
SB2

Yesterday much was made of the inadequacy of wind and solar power to beat the current bout of severe weather events affecting states like Texas . Even despite that the former only contributes a small amount to the local grid traditional fossil fuel production were also severely affected with water supplies freezing ,

“Many power companies have been unable to generate power, whether it’s from coal, natural gas, or wind power,”

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/texas-winter-storm-power-supply-7190558/
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February 18, 2021 12:24pm
- oldfella
  
  From the WSJ: (Their full version behind a paywall, but found this excerpt elsewhere.)
  ++
  The problem is Texas’s overreliance on wind power that has left the grid more vulnerable to bad weather. Half of wind turbines froze last week, causing wind’s share of electricity to plunge to 8% from 42%. Power prices in the wholesale market spiked, and grid regulators on Friday warned of rolling blackouts. Natural gas and coal generators ramped up to cover the supply gap but couldn’t meet the surging demand for electricity—which half of households rely on for heating—even as many families powered up their gas furnaces. Then some gas wells and pipelines froze.
  In short, there wasn’t sufficient baseload power from coal and nuclear to support the grid. Baseload power is needed to stabilize grid frequency amid changes in demand and supply. When there’s not enough baseload power, the grid gets unbalanced and power sources can fail. The more the grid relies on intermittent renewables like wind and solar, the more baseload power is needed to back them up.
  But politicians don’t care about grid reliability until the power goes out. And for three decades politicians from both parties have pushed subsidies for renewables that have made the grid less stable.
  Wind producers persuaded former Gov. Rick Perry to back a $5 billion network of transmission lines to connect turbines in western Texas to cities. This enabled them to build more turbines—and collect more tax credits. Because the Texas grid is often oversupplied, wind producers sometimes pay to off-load their power, though they still turn a profit with the tax credits.
  Coal and nuclear are more strictly regulated and can’t compete, and many coal plants have shut down in Texas and elsewhere. Over the last decade about 100 gigawatts of coal power nationwide has been retired—enough to power 60 million homes. Many nuclear plants are scheduled to shut down, including large reactors in New York and Illinois this year.
  
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  February 18, 2021 2:45pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    From an article about Texas in today’s Economist on line.
    
    natural gas, which accounts for around half of the state’s electricity generation, was the primary source of the shortfall. Plants broke down, as did the gas supply chain and pipelines. The cold also caused a reactor at one of the state’s two nuclear plants to go offline.
    
    and
    
    Texas it is the only state with its own stand-alone electricity grid. This means that when power generators fail, the state cannot import electricity from outside its borders.
    
    and
    
    yes some wind turbines froze up …..
    
    I suspect (don’t know) that the coal generation being shut down is being replaced by gas. Cleaner and easier. Fracking has made it cheap and plentiful.
    
    Go figure – make of this what you will ….
    
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    December 18, 2020 3:19pm
    - Ed Snack
      
      That’s wrong though, which you should expect as it is the Economist who now place more emphasis on being woke than on being right.
      
      Wind power is way down, gas and coal are actually delivering more. Oddly enough, nuclear is down a bit as well.
      
      Worth noting that solar ain’t doing much to help either.
      
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      February 18, 2021 10:31pm
  - virtualmark
    
    oldfella, do you know how we generate electricity at Scott Base?
    
    Wind turbines.
    
    If they can work in Antartica then they can work in Texas, even in a winter storm.
    
    The real problem is that Texas, understandably, isn’t prepared for snow and freezing temperatures. As a result a lot of the instrumentation on their natural gas pipelines froze and shut down.
    
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    February 18, 2021 4:33pm
    - sooty
      
      Maybe they have electrc blankets on theirs?
      
      2 1
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      February 18, 2021 4:54pm
    - oldfella
      
      I guess the wind at Scott blows all the time meaning power is always on tap.
      Only place I can think of like that locally is Wellington.
      I’m quite happy if Cindy wants to turn my old home town into a dedicated wind farm (insert Beehive/ politician jokes) to keep the rest of us powered up.
      
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      February 18, 2021 4:55pm
Jack5

Just caught up with Red Radio’s Tuesday morning media piece and it mentioned the Vodafone NZ black list of those it won’t advertise with.

The interviewee, AUT journalism lecturer Atakohu Middleton, used the term “black list”, and noted that Vodafone NZ says it will now monitor the media. This will be to ensure they don’t infringe its new policy for potential advertising.

This follows the Banks incident on the Magic Talk radio station.

State newspaper arm Stuff has reported on this:

The policy states that Vodafone does not condone racism, bigotry or sexism and won’t have its brand associated with any content or activity that is indecent, vulgar, profane, offensive or “hateful or violent advocating against any individual, group, race, or organisation”.

Racism? Where will it stand on any comments in favour of discriminating against non-Maori in vaccination.

Indecent, vulgar? Where will it stand on State-subsidised newspapers call by Marama Davidson on the C— word?

Hateful? Where will it stand on these newspapers’ coverage of the US Presidential election?

Middleton mentioned that Vodafone NZ spent $45 million on advertising and described Vodafone’s policy as a “really big stick”.

I wonder what international Vodafone thinks of the Big Brother actions of the licensee (as it were) of its brand name.

Too bad one of other two players in the market, Spark, also is trying to play censor.

Still there’s 2Degrees.
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February 18, 2021 12:36pm
- MCos
  
  Vodafone, Spark or anybody else can decide for themselves where they put their advertising dollar.
  In that regards if they don’t like the cut of the gib of some potential platform they are under no obligation to advertise with them.
  On the other hand that’s a piece of the market they miss out on.
  So what’s your gripe?
  You also are free to spend your money wherever you like.
  Nobody says to you you have to buy Purex dunny paper if you don’t want to, and you don’t need to give a reason.
  
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  February 18, 2021 5:21pm
  - Jack5
    
    MCos: The difference between you stocking up on toilet paper and Vodafone NZ and Spark executives lining up a radio station is that you spend your own money.
    
    The executives act only on behalf of shareholders and their allotted role is to make money not be Woke stars.
    
    Spark is listed on the Stock Exchange, and so is Infratil, the main New Zealand partner in Vodafone NZ.
    
    I doubt that Spark and Infratil shareholders want their senior employees exercising political power rather than maximising profit. And no, exercising Woke-wave power is not an accepted way to make money.
    
    I doubt that those executives can justify Woke grandstanding as part of their employment objectives.
    
    Kiwibank, another to put muscle on the radio station owner, is State owned and should keep its nose out of political matters.
    
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    February 18, 2021 8:03pm
Maggie Pie

TRENDING….(Skippy & Bloomers should take note)

Indonesia has come up with its own innovative solution to avoid having to provide costly MIQ Facilities.

https://twitter.com/CanAditude/status/1362168446058921984
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February 18, 2021 12:51pm
- Tall Man
  
  Mmmmm, you smell nice ….. Now.
  
  Remember being sprayed when you arrived back in NZ in the old days?
  
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  February 18, 2021 2:02pm
- oldfella
  
  Skippy says Labour will run that idea through their ‘abundance of caution’ calculator and get back to us.
  
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  February 18, 2021 2:30pm
Loddenthinks

Another one for Golriz to weigh in on, which I’m 100% sure, totally absolutely certain she will do immediately.

The husband of Iran’s skiing coach has decided she isn’t allowed to leave the country, so the Iranian skiing team will travel to the World Championships without a coach.

Just as Golriz has fearlessly climbed into tikanga Maori for refusing to let women speak at the paepae, and making them sit at the back of the room and STFU, I expect her to lambast the Iranian patriarchy for being so petty and controlling.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/300233156/husband-of-irans-ski-coach-bars-her-from-leaving-country-for-world-champs

Yep, any minute now. Waiting…..waiting. Twitter, can you hear me?
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February 18, 2021 12:52pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Another nasty story that needs greater exposure is Queen Elizabeth’s friendship/relationship with the largest stable-owner in the UK.
  
  https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/uk-news/queen-elizabeth-to-distance-herself-from-dubais-ruler-after-uk-court.html
  
  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56085369
  
  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56093100
  
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  February 18, 2021 2:14pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Yes Maggs, I have been following this very sad and upsetting story since Shiekha was first kidnapped off a yacht by the Indian Navy, which came at the request of her dad, after she had tried to escape his abusive clutches.
    
    For those who haven’t seen this most harrowing vid, which she made just prior to her kidnapping and return to Dubai, I would suggest it is well worth a watch for a behind the scenes look at what really goes on in that most vile kingdom.
    
    https://youtu.be/6hy1LBtHtK8
    
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    February 18, 2021 2:40pm
    - The Housekeeper
      
      Massive fail by Mary Robinson. What the arrogant will swallow for a private jet ride and trinkets.
      
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      February 18, 2021 4:33pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Indeed.
        Caught by her own hubris.
        
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        February 18, 2021 5:36pm
    - Biscuit
      
      Maggie and Maggie, I agree with your condemnation of the vile deeds perped by, or at the behest of, Sheikh Mohammed .
      
      But I suspect that, as always, money will talk.
      
      He may find himself kept at arm’s length from Her Madge, but Sheikh Mohammed’s racing operations, were they to be curtailed in any manner, would have a devastating impact on (particularly) English and Irish racing.
      
      These figures are from Godophin’s establishment in 1992:
      
      Godolphin’s first runner and winner was Cutwater (GB) at Nad Al Sheba, Dubai on December 24, 1992 while Godolphin’s international operation commenced in 1994.
      
      Godolphin’s operations are based in Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE and in Newmarket, United Kingdom, at Godolphin Stables (former Stanley House Stables, built in 1903 by Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby) and the historic Moulton Paddocks. Godolphin also has three stables in Australia, two in Sydney and one in Melbourne.
      
      To date, Godolphin has won a total of 288 Group One races around the globe. Godolphin registered its 100th Group One win with Sulamani in the 2003 Arlington Million. Hunter’s Light, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, recorded Godolphin’s 200th Group One success with an impressive victory in the Al Maktoum Challenge R3 Sponsored By Emirates Airline at Meydan, Dubai, on Saturday, March 9, 2013.
      
      Godolphin has won the Group One Dubai World Cup on ten occasions, thanks to Almutawakel (1999), Dubai Millennium (2000), Street Cry (2002), Moon Ballad (2003), Electrocutionist (2006), Monterosso (2012), African Story (2014), Prince Bishop (2015) and Thunder Snow (2018 and 2019).
      
      Numerous major North American wins include six at the Breeders’ Cup meeting, highlighted by the victories of Daylami (1999) and Fantastic Light (2001) in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Outstrip (2013) in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Wuheida in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (2017) and Talismanic in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (2017).
      
      In keeping with its pioneering international outlook, Godolphin has gained four wins at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races and Heart Lake scored an early Japanese Group One win in the 1995 Yasuda Kinen.
      
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      February 18, 2021 8:40pm
lifesgood

Some low life has been jailed for attacking 5 women as they were out walking. All at different times and in different places. The paper reports he “cannot be legally named”. What does that mean? Is that the same as has name suppression and is it because he has further charges pending?
9 2
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February 18, 2021 1:43pm
Jack5

From a rare read of the actual print version of the Christchurch Press, the one that’s ink on paper …

The Christchurch Press in an editorial today backs Jacindarella to the hilt in her stand-off with the Australian Prime Minister over an apparent terrorist being deported from Turkey.

“The Australian Prime Minister has understandably enraged his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern,” says the Christchurch Press.

It quotes an Otago academic as saying “the Australians” had shown “hypocrisy and a lack of strategic realism in dealing with the problem.”

The Press editorial borrows a quote from fellow State-supported media, Radio NZ. It’s the words of a member of the Islamic Women’s Council.

The editorial then refers to the Australian Prime Minister as “Scotty from marketing.”

This Stuff-owned newspaper taking a Woke stand against Australia would normally be its own business.

However, now that Stuff is on a multi-million dollar drip feed from the taxpayer, we can logically and fairly choose to regard an editorial like this as payback for the Government’s help.
8 1
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February 18, 2021 2:06pm
- theoldbloke
  
  Why oh why dont these reporters and academics do some Ferking research before they rush off to make shit up!
  
  Its nothing to do with a SCOMO decision. Its OZ law as passed after due process in the OZ parliament.
  
  I really am trying to work out what bad news Cindy was trying to deflect from with her stupid outburst on the subject.
  
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  February 18, 2021 5:13pm
  - MCos
    
    My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that the two PMs discussed this woman prior to her being caught with a view to jointly working something out.
    Next minute, as soon as Ardern’s back was turned, Australia cancelled her citizenship.
    He could have cut the crap & told her to her face.
    From my reading of the situation she could be here with her kids next week.
    
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    February 18, 2021 6:02pm
curry4me

https://trendingpolitics.com/trump-drops-the-hammer-on-mcconnell-issues-huge-threat-mitch-wont-soon-forget-knab/

Trump Drops the Hammer on McConnell.
Donald J. Trump has issued a statement blasting now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his behavior during the Senate impeachment trial that saw the former president acquitted.
After voting to acquit Trump, McConnell insinuated there was more that could be done to punish the ex-president for the charges the Senate could not prove to a two-thirds majority. Trump has now issued the following blistering response to McConnell.
5 3
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February 18, 2021 2:22pm
- fernglas
  
  Donald who?
  
  3 4
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  February 18, 2021 4:29pm
  - oldfella
    
    fernglass, you need to get out more.
    Don’s another legend. Like Rush.
    
    4 2
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    February 18, 2021 4:59pm
    - Mike
      
      Eric Rush?
      
      1 1
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      February 18, 2021 6:42pm
- virtualmark
  
  There is a civil war going on within the GOP right now. Shots are being fired by all sides.
  
  5 0
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  February 18, 2021 4:34pm
  - theoldbloke
    
    Normal behaviour in a political party after a major election loss.
    
    3 1
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    February 18, 2021 5:14pm
    - MCos
      
      I don’t know about you, old boy, but I’ve never seen such a vitriolic public attack on another politician in NZ, let alone one from the same party.
      
      Russia has a more subtle way of getting the message across.#novichok
      
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      February 18, 2021 6:11pm
curry4me

https://www.ntd.com/election-related-probes-and-firings-in-georgia_568026.html

Fulton County Elections Director Fired.

Fulton County’s elections director has been fired after heavy controversy during the primary and presidential elections last year. A number of alleged voter fraud cases have moved forward in Georgia. [But…but..but CNN, and One Woke News told me the 2020 election was the least corrupt ever. /sarc]
6 3
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February 18, 2021 2:30pm
- virtualmark
  
  Wake me up when that “voter fraud” reaches a Court.
  
  Until then … this is just a GOP purity trial. Just like many of the Senators who voted against Trump in the impeachment have been censured by their own state GOP parties.
  
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  February 18, 2021 4:36pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  No, it was Homeland Security that called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history”.
  
  2 4
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  February 18, 2021 4:50pm
oldfella

President Xiden is up and … looking shaky.
++
Someone needs to tell Joe Biden he is the President of the United States. Yesterday he made his first real appearance before the country at a CNN town hall in Wisconsin. Even with pitched softballs from the host Anderson Cooper and a friendly, carefully chosen audience, Biden looked unfocused, unsure of statements from his own administration and off-balance on the two most important issues facing the country: reopening schools and foreign relations with China.
https://spectator.us/topic/joe-biden-auditioning-president-china-schools/
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February 18, 2021 2:54pm
- Master Mariner
  
  Why do you think they made a move on Myanmar?
  
  Trumps gone. I’m not political but believe in timeing.
  
  You would have to be pretty guilable not to think China was behind the Coup.
  
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  February 18, 2021 4:05pm
  - oldfella
    
    MM, think it was you who explained yesterday how this gives China the chance to grab a big chunk of the essential metals we need for our electronics.
    
    4 1
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    February 18, 2021 5:04pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Well done NZ Government for providing free Period Products to NZ Schools.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2102/S00096/free-period-products-to-be-available-in-all-schools-and-kura.htm

Congratulations to the writer for managing not to use sexist or gendered terms in the press-release for this announcement.
3 3
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February 18, 2021 2:54pm
- Jack5
  
  Scotland last February extended free sanitary products (the description of the New York Times) to women of all ages.
  
  It previously supplied period products free to school girls.
  
  The population of Scotland is about 5.46 million compared with about 5.1 million in New Zealand.
  
  The Scots estimated the cost of supplying free period products to Scotswomen as about $NZ60 million.
  
  Tougher for Scotland: New Zealand’s money trees just won’t grow in Scotland.
  
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  February 18, 2021 4:40pm
- sooty
  
  Next thing will be that all government depts join in! Then the media will want employers to provide!
  
  4 0
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  February 18, 2021 4:49pm
- oldfella
  
  Yes, must be respectful towards ‘people who bleed’.
  Remember when we called them women or girls, but that’s so … yesterday.
  
  5 1
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  February 18, 2021 5:10pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  All the transistors need their mouth jammed with pads and held in with duct tape. That should shut them up
  
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  February 18, 2021 5:59pm
- lifesgood
  
  I’m sorry but I don’t go along with this. I resent, as a tax payer, having to pay for someone’s hygiene products. Women have coped with periods for thousands of years. What on earth is wrong with people nowadays? Women used to use washable fabric. Are they too lazy to do that now?Next men will have to be given shaving products although maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give some people deodorant and a lesson about washing.
  
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  February 18, 2021 6:29pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Eric Crampton on Saliva testing and the MoH…

My working hypothesis has been that MoH is just a wall of “Computer Says No” because the whole system’s held together with bailer wire and they know they can’t trust themselves to try to adjust anything.

https://sciblogs.co.nz/the-dismal-science/2021/02/18/test-test-test/
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February 18, 2021 3:14pm
graham

After months of people cheering at Twitter’s decision to ban Donald Trump from posting, and saying “Of COURSE they have the right, they’re a private company, they can ban ANYBODY THEY WANT TO” …

… I do find it a little amusing at the sheer amount of outrage and fury when Facebook decides to ban Australian local news.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/facebook-v-australia-anger-erupts-over-tech-giants-news-ban/OMOXHM45ABWFCD565GVVLFE5PU/

With various people describing it as a “stunning” and “shock decision” by the “tech juggernaut”, and a “bullying tactic”, there are calls for a boycott as people around the world voice their fury.

David Farrier (not our host) has described it as “terrifying”; other people have cried that “Facebook needs to be held to account for their actions”.

Perhaps the funniest reaction (to me personally) is that a bunch of people are expressing their outrage with the shrill cry that “we are in the era of censorship and restricted information”, and I’ve seen some people horrified at – wait for it – Facebook daring to DEPLATFORM people.

Oh no! Getting deplatformed! That’s like the worst thing EVER.

Guess they must have missed the memo that, just like Twitter banning Donald Trump, Facebook are ALSO a private company, and no they DON’T have a responsibility to keep stuff up just because you can’t be bothered visiting the actual news site, or because the Australian Council of Trade Unions is worried that, “Australian workers can not now find out about their rights at work via @Facebook.” (What, there is literally no other way of getting hold of you guys?)
13 1
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February 18, 2021 3:23pm
Maggie Pie

BREAKING!! NZ STUFFED reports….

Covid-19 concerns, and the crisis facing SME’s, have been put on the ‘back-burner’ as Prime Minister Ardern joins hunt for lost bunny.

https://twitter.com/NZStuff/status/1362231625904398341
10 2
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February 18, 2021 4:16pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Far more important than running a Country
  
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  February 18, 2021 5:23pm
- tf78
  
  Hi Maggie, a friend of mine who lives in Rockhampton just emailed me that – couldn’t believe it. Jacindah is soooooooooo buuuuussssyyyyyy.
  
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  February 18, 2021 6:59pm
Jack5

The Government, no doubt spurred on by the Melon Greens, not only plans to hamstring our agricultural-export industries, it’s also out to bugger tourism.

A departure tax, caps on tourist numbers at busy attractions, and controls on tourist operators are some of the plans:
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February 18, 2021 5:01pm
- Jack5
  
  Whoops! Left off the link – sorry!
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/436673/changes-needed-to-ensure-tourism-less-harmful-to-environment-upton
  
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  February 18, 2021 5:32pm
mikenmildagain

This is adapted from Facebook.

Love working with multidisciplinary experts:
Virologist – “This is how it spreads”
Modeller – “Zero is better”
Geneticist – “Lineage shows it came from travel”
Psychologist – This is how people react”
Epidemiologist – “This is who will be affected most”
Public health physician – “This is how we deal with it”
Armchair critic – “You’re all wrong”
5 2
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February 18, 2021 5:05pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Last is you Mike – of course, as usual
  
  6 2
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  February 18, 2021 6:01pm
oldfella

I figured Cindy already knew where her bunnies lived. Very careless if she’s lost one of her Maori caucus.
9 1
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February 18, 2021 5:14pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  She knows where they live; so to get votes she promises ‘free stuff’
  One day she will learn that it does not work. Jaspinda will be at the United Nations promising free stuff
  
  3 2
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  February 18, 2021 6:05pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Andrew Pollack (Father of Meadow Pollack, murdered at Parklands) attacks Joe Biden’s gun control. A different view from what the leftist media spews out. This man is suffering along with many others. The incompetence surrounding this shooting is astounding.
Notice what is on the shelf behind him.
https://rightwingnewshour.com/parkland-victims-father-warns-americans-about-bidens-sick-agenda/?
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February 18, 2021 5:22pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

AOC explained. Be afraid.
https://www.thebeltwayreport.com/2021/02/hahahah-aoc-makes-a-complete-total-ass-of-herself-again/?
5 2
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February 18, 2021 5:36pm
Maggie Pie

Missing Shorn yet?
4 2
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February 18, 2021 5:39pm
dave_c_

“Prime-minister”, will you take the vaccine ?
If so, I reserve the right to give it to you – none of the slight of hand other leaders are using to virtue signal how convinced they are of its’ efficacy.
And I will source a dose that you cannot pre-rig.
So, what’s your answer?
8 2
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February 18, 2021 5:54pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  PTPM likes saline – to rub into other people’s wounds ….
  
  4 2
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  February 18, 2021 6:08pm
Fletch

SO, the govt is going to fund period products in schools from June (I think?) and it will cost $25 million over three years. My opinion is that this is utterly ridiculous and actually quite sexist. The govt will be supplying everything for kids, next.
9 2
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February 18, 2021 6:09pm
dave_c_

Why is it that we do not see any reporting of “Government ministers and their fawning supporters” (Like those telling everyone to “stop the criticism”) lining up to take the jab.?
3 1
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February 18, 2021 6:13pm
dave_c_

If government decides ( in their false wisdom) that the vaccine should become mandatory, they should come clean and let everyone know that they will be at the head of the queue. I won’t hold my breath waiting.
2 1
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February 18, 2021 6:15pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

TV ratings in the US. Children, go to the basement.
https://www.conservativenewsdaily.net/breaking-news/775000-watch-trump-parade-on-presidents-day-38000-watch-dementia-joe-bidens-speech-on-presidents-day/?
6 2
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February 18, 2021 6:28pm
- Inandout
  
  SO, video has been deplatformed on my server.
  
  4 1
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  February 18, 2021 7:42pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Censorship is working in NZ
    
    1 0
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    February 19, 2021 8:08am
Fletch

The Governor of Oklahoma has passed an executive order to nullify Biden’s executive order which would have destroyed the state’s oil and gas industry. All governors need to do the same.

https://www.koamnewsnow.com/gov-signs-executive-order-to-protect-oklahoma-energy-from-federal-overreach/
9 1
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February 18, 2021 6:47pm
- curry4me
  
  Fletch: Good for them. I hope a lot more governors give the presitators man in Washington the finger.
  
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  February 19, 2021 11:06am
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124290881/prime-minister-joins-the-hunt-to-find-lost-bunnys-family

Bugs Ardern
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February 18, 2021 6:53pm
- 70andstilllearning
  
  Wow – real important things on her plate these days. Must be some other things going wrong somewhere so gotta ramp up the kindness, huggy, feelie fluffs big time….with stuffed’s help.
  
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  February 18, 2021 7:51pm
rjay

Simon Wilson really is a joke.
On Heather DPA show this afternoon just after 5.45, they were talking about period products in schools. HDPA pointed out that the quoted numbers implied one in two girls were truanting due to lack of period products and called it out as BS. Wilson says “just because the numbers are wrong doesn’t make the issue wrong”. Then he says the evidence is “lots of stories”. HDPA points out that this is also spurious evidence so Wilson says “well I would have thought it is obvious that it is real ” which is an odd statement from a “journalist” who has just heard two journalists dispute whether it is real. Mind you later he says despite him having cancer he never heard his doctors use the cancer word. He might not be a good listener.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-demand/week-on-demand/
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February 18, 2021 7:09pm

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