General Debate 23 February 2021

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Captain Mainwaring

Great batting by Devon Conway but does Guptill need to shuffle off and spend more time with his family or will he be given yet another chance?
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February 23, 2021 8:03am
- amospicton
  
  Must be tempting to have Conway open in the test team with Latham.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:10am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Test battling lineup is quite settled atm. Who would you drop from Latham, Blundell, Williamson, Taylor, and Watling? Only Blundell and Watling from that group have averages below 40. Bit harsh to drop either of them, or Will Young, who has only played two tests and has been next in line
    Conway is not an opener in FC cricket, either. He will get his chances. No doubt will be in the tour squad to England.
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:52am
    - Nigel Kearney
      
      He could replace either Young or Blundell. We are too slow to bring talented players in. I don’t agree with the mindset that a player always keeps their place until they have a series of failures. If someone better comes along, too bad.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:14am
    - amospicton
      
      It is harsh mm but I think it’s very hard to argue Blundell is better than Conway. Although not an opener I fancy his technique on early summer English pitches than Blundell’s. We’re fortunate to have these ‘who do we leave out’ issues.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:28am
- mikenmildagain
  
  T201 average is 31 with SR 134. Last two years average is 19 with SR 142. Probably his last series unless that run turns around. I’d suggest he needs a good half century or two 30s or 40s in the next week to stay in. There’s a lot a T20 batting talent queuing up for a start.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:17am
  - pdm
    
    T20 is worthless as far as a uide to test cricket is concerned. Hit and giggle for those with short attention spans is not a guide for test cricket where concentration and perservence are critical.
    
    Conway has to get into the ODI team and continue his form there beforehe becomes a test option.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:35am
    - DaleK
      
      He’s been the leading NZ first class run scorer for the last two seasons (with daylight second). I would have him in the test team asap.
      
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      February 23, 2021 2:45pm
- Scott
  
  Can’t disagree captain. I like Guppy and I want him to do well. However his form has been poor all season. I think he’s done. Sometimes hard decisions have to be made by the selectors.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:25am
  - Frank the tank
    
    Go woke, get dropped. When he ‘black panthered’ I lost all respect for him.
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:00pm
- GazzaW
  
  “yet another chance”.
  “shuffle off and spend more time with his family”
  
  Somewhat patronising suggestions for one of NZ’s outstanding limited overs batsmen and a top class fielder. Every top cricketer has down cycles during their career and they just have to play through them. Witness Kane Williamson, Taylor and McCallum as recent examples. God forbid that we had suggested to any one of them that they “shuffle off and spend more time with his family”.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:33am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Guptill no doubt has his eyes on the T2o world cup. I think he will at least be in the squad till then, but might not have too many chances left atm.
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:53am
    - GazzaW
      
      He’s just as likely to score a magnificent ton in Dunedin and regain his aura with the maverick media and the TV audience. He’ll come right – he’s class with the bat and in and off the field. A good team man and that’s what the Black Caps are all about.
      
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      February 23, 2021 2:06pm
- Loddenthinks
  
  Guptill scored 20 last night, which isn’t too bad. Not with the bat, but with the runs he saved fielding in the deep. He looked like a man who knows he’s on borrowed time, but I expect the selectors will keep faith for at least the next 2 T20s.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:27am
  - Saks
    
    The problem with that is the young kid allen is no mug in the field and in far better form with the bat.
    
    You dont make the team on fielding alone.
    
    There is no place in the team for an opener who leaves the first two balls in the most anticipated match in a year and then meekly hits the next one to point.
    
    I’ve been a huge fan of guptill over the years but age and young kids catches the best of them
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:46am
    - James Stephenson
      
      You don’t make the team on fielding alone.
      
      Unless your name is Jonty Rhodes…not that he was shabby with the bat, but.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:18am
krazykiwi

A plaque for the PM’s wall

“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to enquire. We know that the wages of secrecy are corruption. We know that in secrecy error, undetected, will flourish and subvert.” ― J. Robert Oppenheimer
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February 23, 2021 8:04am
- amospicton
  
  Thank goodness we have the most open and transparent govt ever kk!
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:11am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Pity she’s not part of ‘a group of men’, huh?
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:18am
  - Suze Wainwright
    
    Absolutely! I think we need more historical revisions, aye.
    
    How’s your reset going?
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:01am
  - Than
    
    Yes, let’s nitpick about an outdated use of language, rather than actually acknowledge the substance of the post.
    
    Weak sauce attempt at deflection mikenmildagain.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:58am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Perhaps you think that our government does not get scrutinised or criticised.
      
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      February 23, 2021 12:03pm
      - Frank the tank
        
        Correct they don’t. The feckless media are too busy sitting on their collective fist
        
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        February 23, 2021 9:01pm
  - redflagged
    
    I’d agree, with that, she’s surrounded by mice, not men.
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:33pm
  - alphabeatrium
    
    When you read “mankind” do you only think of males? Probably not; and that’s also how normal people interpret this use of the word “men”. Think of it like Tolkien’s “Men”. Easier now?
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:48pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  But krazykiwi, have you not read our Dear PM’s latest burble?
  
  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her Government is open to being criticised.
  
  “I have absolutely no issue with critique and criticism,” she said on Monday.
  
  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/02/ministry-of-health-accused-of-trying-to-gag-mental-health-foundation-for-criticising-government.html
  
  (How a critique differs from criticism escapes me, but, of course, I lack a degree in obfuscation studies)
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:23am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    http://abacus.bates.edu/~rrichar2/learn/ui/critique.html
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:36am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Oh, txs.
      
      I really love some of these:
      
      Criticism is negative/Critique is positive (even about what isn’t working)
      
      Critique’s voice is kind, honest, and objective
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:14am
      - Loddenthinks
        
        Put “constructive” in front of criticism and it’s the exact same thing as critique.
        
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        February 23, 2021 1:00pm
  - Sacha
    
    Merriam-Webster on-line: Synonyms of critique
    an essay evaluating or analyzing something
    in a critique of the retrospective, the reviewer faulted it for not including more of the painter’s mature works
    Synonyms for critique
    criticism, examen, notice, review
    Words Related to critique
    column, commentary, editorial, punditry
    appraisal, assessment, evaluation
    analysis, examination, opinion, outline, study, survey
    Synonyms of criticism
    an essay evaluating or analyzing something
    every criticism of the movie has noted that there are major holes in its plot
    Synonyms for criticism
    critique, examen, notice, review
    Words Related to criticism
    column, commentary, editorial, punditry
    appraisal, assessment, evaluation
    analysis, examination, opinion, outline, study, survey
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:23pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      I’m well aware that the 2 words convey the same meaning to those of us of a certain age and education.
      
      Just checking that some on KB had swallowed their Constructivist pills.
      
      From the 1970s onward, under the influence of neo-Marxism, critical theory and Michel Foucault, it became fashionable in the English-speaking academic social sciences and humanities to use the French word “critique”, instead of the ordinary “criticism”.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism
      
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      February 23, 2021 2:14pm
      - Mike
        
        Ain’t English grand.
        But, on reflection, it’s more a point of rhetoric, isn’t it? Use of similar words, even repetition of the same word, within a sentence is for effect or emphasis.
        
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        February 23, 2021 2:47pm
  - Bluegrass
    
    To ‘critique’ is not ‘criticism’ per se (i.e. an act of finding fault) but is the act of evaluating/analyzing something.
    
    Edit// Oops – I see I came a bit late to the party from now reading similar comments….
    
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    February 24, 2021 8:38am
Kiwi_in_Paris

News out of Berlin, Germany, that elderly people in care homes have been forcibly given the Covid vaccine:

https://humansarefree.com/2021/02/whistleblower-8-of-31-residents-in-german-nursing-home-dead-after-being-forcibly-injected-with-pfizer-experimental-mrna-shots-against-their-will.html
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February 23, 2021 8:06am
- MCos
  
  I don’t know how true that story is, but I once read the life expectancy of care-home residents was six months.
  That was before covid-19 & the attendant rumour mongers came along.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:51am
  - sooty
    
    Just aswell Prince Philip is in a hospital then!
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:04am
  - Sacha
    
    I think that was a report from the US.
    SOME care homes there are simply death’s waiting rooms: I have been told that the nursing care is minimal, and there is no particular effort made to preserve life. They can be grim places, by our standards, so I have been told by someone who had a relative pass through.
    Once a person can no longer fend for themselves in an old peoples’ establishment, and if they cannot afford to pay for service, that is the only option – a modern version of the Poor Houses of old.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:13am
    - kowtow
      
      Same in Sweden . Their old folk homes are generally for the least able to stay at home /in the community . Given that , it is no surprise the Grim Reaper took such a toll.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:28am
    - Pharmachick
      
      There’s three types (generally speaking):
      
      Hospice – palliative and end-of-life
      
      Nursing home care with health care professionals
      embedded ($$, but good)
      
      Nursing home care with staff (everything Sacha said).
      
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      February 23, 2021 12:20pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    about 2 years average arrival=>death in rest homes, so about 1 year average life expectancy for residents.
    
    Against all these reports of people dying after vaccination you have to factor in that about 0.01% of adults naturally die per day and about 0.3% of resthome residents die per day. With 200million vaccinations administered preferentially to geriatrics you would expect probably above 100,000 to have died the next day.
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:52pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Murder.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:27am
- oldfella
  
  Talking of vaccines, how come it took Pfizer so long to figure this out?
  ++
  The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine no longer needs to be kept at ultra-freezing temperatures and can be safely stored inside normal medical freezers — making distribution easier, the firm said in a report Friday.
  The makers of the shots, including the German biotechnology firm BioNTech, have discovered the doses can remain at between 5 and -13 degrees Fahrenheit without spoiling — instead of -94 degrees like previously thought, according to the Financial Times.
  https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/pfizer-says-its-covid-vaccine-doesnt-need-to-be-stored-at-ultra-freezing-temps-anymore
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:27am
  - Pharmachick
    
    Freeze-thaw cycles and stability studies (incl. forced stability studies) are tedious, exacting and time consuming.
    
    I’ve heard enough people say that there hasn’t been sufficient testing and everything has been too rushed, so Pfizer took its time to get this right, before telling everybody. Cannot have it both ways.
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:23pm
    - Sacha
      
      But maybe they found that the vaccine was ‘going off’ and had to get rid of it before it was worthless (moneywise), lol.
      Can’t believe what anyone says these days!
      
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      February 23, 2021 12:29pm
      - Pharmachick
        
        The vaccine does not go off at -80, at least not in the time-frames of the countries clamouring for more doses than the companies can provide.
        
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        February 23, 2021 1:12pm
  - Shaun the Sheep
    
    How many special fridges has Chippy ordered?
    
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    February 23, 2021 5:20pm
    - Pharmachick
      
      Six
      
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      February 24, 2021 7:52am
- hullkiwi
  
  It’s TRUE.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:50pm
Jade Warrior

More shameless government cheerleading by Stuff this morning – apparently the Labour government’s economic policies are now beyond reproach:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124325306/sp-global-ratings-upgrade-a-massive-boost-to-grant-robertson-and-labours-economic-management-credentials

Interesting though that this opinion piece should appear on the same day the latest child poverty statistics are due to be released. Is this opinion piece designed to be a distraction from some very unwelcome news? That $55 million was well spent.
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February 23, 2021 8:08am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  You believe the ratings upgrade was issued some time ago but deliberately not reported by the media?
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:15am
- KevO'Brien
  
  That’s a hoot. Massive borrowing by an untrained Minister of Finance–standby for the boat to Venezuela.
  SP’s probably rated Bitcoin a best buy too.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:31am
- Maxx
  
  The policies that have seen house prices increase by 20% in a year and are forecast to increase another 17% this year?
  
  Well, I guess small business is financed by mortgages so a paper gain probably helps…
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:53am
- Tall Man
  
  I would say S&P’s credibility is well and truly gone.
  
  https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/sp-settles-landmark-lawsuit-in-australia-over-its-role-in-the-gfc-20180810-p4zwrp.html
  
  https://www.smh.com.au/business/us-slaps-us5b-lawsuit-on-s-and-p-over-gfc-20130206-2dx5p.html
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:17am
  - Nickc2
    
    $55m buys a lot of favorable headlines. More to follow!
    As they say in the real world, “the hand that wanks the captain rules the ship.”
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:53pm
- Ruawai
  
  And in Newshub Jacinda has solved child poverty!
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:52am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    she smiled it into submission.
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:53pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Does that mean we don’t have to pay for it anymore?
    
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    February 23, 2021 4:24pm
The Proper Ghandi

So, the six month waiting period for paid sick leave looks set to go. I know from experience and for a fact that probably half, if not more, of sick days are taken on the basis of hangovers, better shit to do, and I can’t be bothered coming in. Receiving very generous mandated sick leave entitlements after six months was already pretty damn good for the employee. Now it will be from day one, potentially. Yet another cost pressure added to many already tenuous particularly smaller businesses, due in large part to that other eye-wateringly costly government policy we have seen forced on all of us in the last year.

https://www.odt.co.nz/business/holidays-act-changes-bring-earlier-sick-leave-entitlement
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February 23, 2021 8:08am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  There’s no free lunch. If we produce less as a country, we have to accept a lower standard of living.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:20am
- WaynelSexton
  
  Looks like Maori will be at work even less
  “Staff will also be allowed to access bereavement leave under more circumstances, such as the deaths of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and those in cultural family groups, such as whāngai relationships.”
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:26am
- KevO'Brien
  
  And from the April 1 the minimum wage to rise to $20/hr. These new wage costs are enough to put me off hiring anyone.
  Small businesses provide opportunities if only others will let them.
  Regulation by the incompetent is folly.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:34am
- MCos
  
  You know from experience do you?
  Time to buck your ideas up.
  
  From my observation far more time is wasted by people gawking at their phones, taking too long over smoko or wandering off at lunchtime.
  I worked in several countries. NZ was the only one where everyone in the office congregated together for smoko breaks that dragged on.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:12am
  - The Proper Ghandi
    
    I know from the experience of receiving phone calls from people who are clearly taking the piss. I know when I’m being lied to. Texts seem to have become acceptable in some workplaces nowadays too. And no, I’m not claiming that I have always been a saint in this regard, but even though it is just as easy for me to do the same, I have developed a little thing called integrity.
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:24pm
  - Frank the tank
    
    The office environment is one of many. Don’t equate your experience with other environments. Our staff use it as a target – expect them to take as many as they have.
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:07pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  I don’t like the idea of putting the amount of sick leave owing on pay slips. We currently only put the number of days annual leave owing / accrued. Too many of our staff are sick only on Mondays and Fridays (about 90% of sick leave).
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:39am
Happychappy

Taxpayers foot $12,000 bill for Winston Peters farewell bash that he had asked not to have.
It’s a event that according to Foreign Minister Nanaia Muhuta Peter did not even want.
This after hundreds of thousands dollars of taxpayers money was spent to enact UTU Welfare bosses and former Government MPs of the National Party over Pension over payments were leaked to the media prior to 2017 General Election.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/taxpayers-foot-12000-bill-for-winston-peters-farewell-bash-an-event-he-didnt-even-want/WWERGU5OQT4U337VPA5VMKWBHQ/
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February 23, 2021 8:09am
- Ruahine
  
  Did he attend?
  This story is pure propaganda.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:58am
Yvette

The Prime Minister spoke to her Instagram followers in a Live video from the floor of her home on Sunday night about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout …

While taking viewers questions, Ardern noted one asking: “What percentage of people will blow up and turn purple like Violet from Willy Wonka?” …

“Great question,” Ardern replied. “I haven’t seen any particular research written about the percentage of people who will blow up and turn purple like Violet from Willy Wonka so I can only assume that that is not a documented side-effect – which is good news for all of us.”
She said she assumed it was a joke question but: “I appreciated it anyway”.

Now, concerning Ardern’s Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Magic Talk Peter Williams’ question about the Great Reset, and Robertson’s level of intelligence, tolerance, and lack of humour, and withdrawal from appearing on Magic Talk again … if he hasn’t blown up and turned purple or Violet …
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February 23, 2021 8:10am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  I’ll give Jacinda a pass on this one
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:50am
Maxx

All cannot be well in the marriage between Finance Minister and RBNZ Gov. Jabs back and forth, along with a healthy mix of half truths. Robbo claiming he’s talking to Orr, Orr doing whatever he wants (and to be fair I’m in favour of RBNZ independence) as long as it matches his ideologies.

So if the latest that despite the young kids at Treasury giving advice on how the Funding for Lending Program should be targeted or risk further fuelling house prices, and Orr declaring no one knows better than he, is Orr’s position as RBNZ Gov still tenable? Or is it half truths from Robbo and he’s out of his depth? I feel it’s a little of column A and some of B.

Wherever the truth lays, I believe it is the housing “crisis” (or is it an emergency) with it’s runaway pricing that has pulled the economy kicking and screaming away from the precipice that the Labour Gov pushed us towards with the extreme lockdown and it’s follow-ups. Small business relies on lending secured by mortgages on their homes to grow. Maybe I’m being unkind and it is some 6D level of chess that Robbo and Orr are treating us to?

https://www.interest.co.nz/banking/109140/document-reveals-treasury-national-%C2%A0wanted-rbnz-put-conditions-its-funding-lending
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February 23, 2021 8:14am
I remember when

Holidays Act overhaul planned, including earlier entitlements…
The Government that never stops giving!
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February 23, 2021 8:14am
- amospicton
  
  Yes but it’s all focussed on redistribution of the existing pie. Adding new holidays even reduces the size of the pie. To get out of the mess we’re in – govt debt just thru $100b – we need to grow the pie. Does this mob running the show have any idea how to go about that when it has turned off the tap for our largest source of foreign exchange, tourism?
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:59am
  - kowtow
    
    ‘Yes but it’s all focussed on redistribution of the existing pie.’
    
    That’s what the Great Reset is all about.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:31am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Wrong. The Great Reset is about the takeover of the elite as barons or gods and turning you into their serfs. Fear brings obedience, microchips modify your behaviour. Who needs to own anything when the new owners will provide for the useful? The non-useful may well fall victim to COVID. The planet will benefit as the population is reduced to orders.
      This is not a conspiracy theory, the planning has been announced by the Head of the WEF himself.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:46am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Another killer to tourism is commandeering the motels for temporary housing and the hotels for COVID isolation.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:40am
- hullkiwi
  
  ….and will it cause as much grief for organisation to administer as the last Holiday Act makeover. The last Holiday Act overhaul caused confusion and resulted in many organisations suffering retrospective grief to recalculate holiday entitlements.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:09am
- sooty
  
  Along with business paying for it all!
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:19am
- calendar girl
  
  No, we taxpayers always do the giving. And the Government does the taking of money from us without our having any choice or option in that process.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:32am
RW Capitalist

Masks on Public transport.
Q: Since this thing has been around for over a year, how many people have caught it riding on a bus?
ANYWHERE, in the world?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-little-evidence-that-mass-transit-poses-a-risk-of-coronavirus-outbreaks/
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February 23, 2021 8:15am
- hullkiwi
  
  We had 1 in Auckland last year. This is in spite of deep cleaning on buses.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:05am
  - alex Masterley
    
    That was because the bus in question got caught for an hour on New North Road by trafiic queuing for Covid testing.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:32am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    AAAHH trap laid and bait taken.
    Q; Only one?
    Surely if masks are to prevent transmission, this person would surely have transmitted to another, or caught it from another on the bus?
    BUT NO….there was only O N E.
    The only answer to this is
    He/She got on the bus with covid and got of the bus with covid WITHOUT giving to anyone else
    ie NO transmission on the bus.
    IE NO need for masks.
    
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    February 23, 2021 2:07pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Logic fail.
      
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      February 23, 2021 5:42pm
      - RW Capitalist
        
        Your failure of logic, is not my concern.
        
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        February 24, 2021 7:57am
- cmm
  
  Quite possibly public transport has played a factor in places like NYC where trains and buses are jammed full.
  
  But typical NZ buses have two or three passengers – a bit different.
  
  Masks are really only going to help if someone is actively sneezing/coughing – in which case they should be staying at home.
  
  But the main thing is that it is all theatre – being seen to be doing something.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:26am
  - NoCash
    
    But typical NZ buses have two or three passengers – a bit different.
    
    I guess you have never taken the bus during peak hours in Wellington.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:22am
    - cmm
      
      Peak hours in Wellington is far from typical.
      
      Do you understand what that word means?
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:46am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        I use busses fairly often in Wellington and the Hutt, on-peak and off-peak. It is very seldom that there would be only one or two passengers.
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:05pm
      - Batman
        
        With the greatest respect to cmm, I don’t think they are from Wellington. Given the one or two people comment, I’d suggest a provincial centre if not a rural area.
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:08pm
  - NoFax
    
    Peak buses are full so I am unsure where you get that idea from. But I agree there is little to no evidence to support the general use of masks and there is a lot of evidence to show masks don’t work.
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:16pm
Tony Stuart

How many IPL coaches will be kicking themselves for passing up Devon Conway at a bargain basement price?

He’s an outstanding talent, and it won’t be long before he’s selected in the test team, but it’s hard to change a team that’s won its last six matches, and is ranked #1 in the world.
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February 23, 2021 8:16am
- mikenmildagain
  
  He’ll be in the test squad for England, for sure, and the T20 WC is looking good.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:19am
- mikenmildagain
  
  More good cricket today, Tony. NZ vs England. England ranked higher and have had the wood over NZ in recent years.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:30am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Indeed mikenmild. I will most certainly be following the women’s ODI
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:50am
- Saks
  
  Conway comes in for Blundell (who I am a fan of but he is a make shift opener).
  
  Blundell to bat at 6 instead of Mitchell and drops out if we need the 5th bowler. Ready made replacement for BJ Watling who will likely retire in 1-2 years.
  
  Conway simply to good to leave out.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:42am
  - amospicton
    
    Pretty much agree Saks except I think we need that 5th bowler. I think Blundell sits out until Watling retires. The issue then becomes who is the 5th bowler. Santner, Mitchell of de Grandhomme. Suspect for the WTC final in early summer in England we’ll omit the spinner.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:02am
- MCos
  
  Taylor’s spot is coming up. I wouldn’t be suprised if he doesn’t retire after the England trip. Otherwise Tom Blundell is on shaky ground.
  Another failure by Martin Guptill might be it for him. He’s 34 and had a tremendous white ball career, but he’s had a very poor season. Shame to go out with people calling for you to be dropped, but such is top level sport.
  It’s not as if he’s an obnoxious win at all costs type when the other side is better.
  
  I was watching the other day India batting against England when Kohli was bowled, but refused to walk until the umpire checked the replay.
  What did he think? A magpie had dived into the stumps at that precise moment.
  You’re out, confirmed the umpire.
  Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle
  The magpie said
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:47am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    I think Taylor has said he warns to play the next ODI World Cup – 2023 in India. Could be a stretch, although his form is still pretty good.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:31am
- pdm
  
  Inv – hard to see a test spot for him until Taylor retires and even then Young seems to be ahead of Conway in the pecking order.
  
  He should go straight in to the ODI team though if he is not there already.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:15am
JibberJabber

https://off-guardian.org/2021/02/11/unseen-enemy-coronavirus-as-an-archetype-of-perception/

History is full of examples of societies that have behaved in a way that suggests that they had collectively activated some primal archetype that fills them with fear and disgust of an ‘unseen enemy’. Crucial to the concept, is that the enemy can be (or be in) any member of the group at any one time, making any member of the group potentially a suspect.
This makes the ‘unseen enemy’ archetype tremendously powerful and I conjecture that propagandists and governments are well aware of its potential as a tool for directing human behaviour.

Regardless of whether the unseen enemy in its various forms exists or has existed, I find it hard to imagine an enemy so dangerous that it permits a relinquishing of basic civil liberties and totalitarian control, not even a hidden totalitarian government itself.

When something unprovable (in this case, being secretly racist and, in the Middle Ages, being ‘inspired by the devil’) becomes illegal or
extremely taboo, denial is no longer a defence because it is meaningless. A denial is ‘exactly what the unseen enemy [a racist or the devil] would do’, both because being one of the unseen enemy is taboo and because by its nature the enemy tries to remain undetected.

Paradoxically, then, denial becomes proof of guilt or at least not nearly enough to prove innocence.

The criteria for what can be considered proof can then be extended to the point of absurdity and to where, more importantly, all members of the public can be suspected of being a part of the ‘unseen enemy’, unless they ‘prove’ their innocence.

This proof usually takes the form of ridiculous or pointless displays of total obedience and conformity to whatever demands some authority is making in order to manipulate the public at the time.
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February 23, 2021 8:17am
redeye

I’m wondering how much quicker and better the Christchurch rebuild would have been if John Key had of spent the first 30 minutes of a each daily update presser telling us all what a wonderful job they were doing.
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February 23, 2021 8:19am
- Bob
  
  Christchurch would have been fully restored by the end of the last National govt.
  Look how successful such a practice has been for Adern, child poverdy, housing by the 1000’s, low crim rates, no guns on the streets, high educational results relative to the world.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:02am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Couldn’t have made it any slower…
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:17am
  - cmm
    
    What really, really made things slower was the way Dalziel et al handled everything.
    
    Decisions that should have been made quickly got made into huge public processes that asked people to make ridiculous submissions, major talk-fests, then they ended up doing what they wanted anyway.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:30am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Christchurch is proceeding as fast as is reasonable. The people fled and many have not returned. Money cannot fix everything.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:52am
    - cmm
      
      I think in many ways what is stalling rebuilding in Chch is lack of demand.
      
      There are a lot of vacant lots around Moorhouse Ave that are now just open car parks. Not surprising really.
      
      In the last 10 years there are more and more retail places outside the centre of town. Who would want to go to Moorehouse when you can go to an out-of-town mall?
      
      Why go to town and get stuck in 30kph traffic?
      
      On top of that there’s more and more online retail etc. any the nice courier man takes all the hassle out of it.
      
      I’ve only been to central Christchurch once in the last 2 years – no need to go there.
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:51am
  - Tall Man
    
    A thoughtful commentary
    
    https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/fukushima-10-years-on-remembering-the-loss-of-a-young-journalist-and-the-life-he-saved/ar-BB1dlmdH
    
    Some interesting points learned from Kobe.
    
    I wonder if we as a country have learned anything other than how to grandstand for votes.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:10am
    - Bob
      
      ‘I wonder if we as a country have learned anything other than how to grandstand for votes.’
      
      HIGHLY UNLIKELY!!
      Learning requires cognitive lateral thinking skills, not been promoted in our schools for about 40 years now.
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:50am
hullkiwi

Latest misuse of statistics in the fear porn show to get us all to signup to taking the China flu jab.

This morning on RNZ Moaning Report, there was a piece with a “breathless” BBC reporter telling us of preliminary results of the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Astra Zenica vaccines in cutting hospital admissions in Scotland. The breathless reporter told listeners that the study was from 1 December until early Feb,with one vaccine being 87% effective and the other 94% effective. The basis for the claims was the number presenting at hospital with Covid and of those what percentage had taken the vaccines. There was no mention of how many had actually been administered the vaccines or the fact that Scotland like England has been in lockdown for most of the last 2 months (so, infection rates are already lower). This is an example of a poor study, presented badly.

Then on Sunday night,there was a news item on both TV One and 3 telling us about the UK’s plan to have every UK citizen vaccinated by June. In the clips there are people administering the vaccine, the patients and BoJo standing on watching. All are wearing masks. Now given BoJo and the health workers have all had the jabs, why does anyone in the news clip need to be pictured wearing masks if the vaccines are so effective?

Message, to the spreaders of Covid Fear porn, if you don’t want people like me questioning your messages to the sheeple, at least attempt to make your messages credible.
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February 23, 2021 8:22am
- rangitoto
  
  BoJo has also had the virus.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:35am
Yvette

Token phrases of Maori now regularly sprinkle TVNZs ONE NEWS – some spoken so fast as to be almost incomprehensible, and others sounding as if syllables end in consonants, which is understood to not be valid syntax – but so far this New Zealand official language, equal to English and sign language, does not feature in New Zealand’s official Cover-19 announcements.

Does this mean, that in such official announcements, the use of Maori with likely many covid loanwords, coined words or neologism, may not be clearly understood by elders and so fail precise communication in what (without being too dramatic) may actually be a life or death matter for them?
In the sense that Treaty Principles supposedly extend a protection to Maori, does meeting this obligation actually mean that for precision and legal understanding it would be unwise to use Te Reo Maori?

Miharo noa – Just wondering
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February 23, 2021 8:25am
- Justitia
  
  English is not an “official language”. NZ First had a bill to make it so but it never went anywhere. It would be ruled out as “colonialist” in today’s Parliament.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:02am
- Jack5
  
  Those pushing Maori language down our throats: State TV, State Radio, and surviving newspapers on State (i.e. taxpayer) drip feed; Leftist school teachers; our international socialist leader, Jacindarella.
  
  If there were a God he/she/they would send us a Right-wing news enterprise. That’s where the market gap is, so it’s not asking much.
  
  For all the Leftist-Woke push, it’s highly unlikely Maori language will ever be more than a tiny, remote, regional curiosity.
  
  More likely is that the Soviet-style media bloc that’s emerged in NZ will create a New Zealand Pidgin – English laced with a hundred or two Maori nouns.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:25am
- KevO'Brien
  
  A variety of pidgin is occurring. The grammar is ignored and Maori doesn’t need any more loan words.
  Pronunciation is a free for all.
  Te Reo is being disrespected and will lead to a complete munting of the language which was barely fit for regular use beyond 1840.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:58am
  - Tall Man
    
    It can’t have been a very “friendly” language considering it got them fighting pretty quick ……
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:03am
I remember when

‘Bloomfield: Fossil fuel pollution kills 8.7 million a year.
New research has shown that deadly consequences from pollution are killing larger numbers than assumed.
A team of UK and US scientists published in Environmental Research. Double the previous high-end estimate.
Even at lower concentrations fossil fuels pollution is deadlier than previously understood.’
Well I guess all the earlier researchers will be giving back any money they received for their research.
To be wrong is bad enough but less than half what their research should have shown.
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February 23, 2021 8:28am
- amospicton
  
  You’d think given covid and fossil fuel pollution our species would be heading to extinction, but no. Our life expectancy and population numbers continue to grow. And yet we are so easily frightened – our capacity to gauge the magnitude of the risks we face in our daily lives is defintely regressing. It’s all quite pathetic really. Get a grip people!
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:09am
- mikenmildagain
  
  You are opposed to research results that shed more light n a problem?
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:19am
  - cmm
    
    research or activism?
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:31am
  - Tall Man
    
    Is it actually a “problem”.
    
    5 4
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    February 23, 2021 11:01am
I remember when

As we went out to play against the West Indies in March 1956 – who even thought there was a possibility that one day we would be #1.
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February 23, 2021 8:32am
- oldfella
  
  IRW, the first test we ever won, and which the great Bert Sutcliffe missed because he was ill. He never did play in a winning test team.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:54am
Maggie Pie

So, drinks giant Coca Cola has instructed it’s employees….. “to be less white”

They’ve even set up an ‘Online Training Course’ for staff to participate in.

https://www.rebelnews.com/coca_cola_faces_backlash_after_online_training_instructing_employees_to_be_less_white

You can imagine Beijing and Moscow must be laughing their asses off watching
The Decline & Fall of another Roman Empire from within….. –
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February 23, 2021 8:35am
- James Stephenson
  
  I could be less white, but I’d need to paint my face and I thought that wasn’t allowed unless your name was Trudeau?
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:22am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    I’ve got know idea how to be less white…..
    but I know how to buy less Coke 😀
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:37am
    - James Stephenson
      
      I’m not sure you can get it here, but I have a hankering for some lemonade https://www.rwhites.co.uk/
      
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      February 23, 2021 4:13pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        Doesn’t that stuff sound fab!
        I’ll put a few feelers out and see what i can find 😀
        
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        February 23, 2021 7:00pm
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  “The National Museum of African American History & Culture wants to make you aware of certain signs of whiteness: Individualism, hard work, objectivity, the nuclear family, progress, respect for authority, delayed gratification, more,”
  
  African Americans are freely admitting here that all of these “signs of whiteness” are just that: fundamentally attributes common only to non-POCs. It follows that, when white Americans are no longer a majority (presently having fallen to 60-odd% and projected to be less than 50% by the 2060s), then these values will fall and disappear concomitantly. Most of us naturally assume that these values – values that facilitate the development and sustenance of a successful and prosperous nation – are universal, or nearly so. From the horses mouth, they clearly are not. Rather than being “American values” these are “white values.”
  
  https://nypost.com/2020/07/16/african-american-history-museums-whiteness-exhibit-raising-eyebrows/
  
  https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/1283372233730203651/photo/1
  
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  February 23, 2021 3:41pm
- I remember when
  
  ‘So, drinks giant Coca Cola has instructed its employees…..”to be less white.”
  I worry about the future for Lemonade and Lemon and Barley Water.
  
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  February 23, 2021 3:52pm
Captain Mainwaring

Good Morning phantom downticker.
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February 23, 2021 8:42am
- Tall Man
  
  And friend ……. 😉
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:51am
- RoboRob
  
  I believe one of them is ‘mikenmildagain’. Apparently xi downvotes posts to mark them as read! Not sure why they don’t upvote them to mark them as read but you know, each to their own.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:57am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Upvotes, downvotes, either does the job for me.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:21am
    - RoboRob
      
      If either does the job, I would suggest up voting. Downvoting implies you don’t like the post.
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:22am
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        It’s difficult when someone is so evidently full of spite, with a chronic gordian knot of internal conflict. This tends to manifest in instinctive down-ticking. While we all understand the psychology of our resident malcontents, I note that, perhaps once a month, mike makes a comment that could almost be attributed to a well-adjusted poster. However, I suspect that these rare insights result simply from one of his cats running across his keyboard, when he has stepped outside for a moment to weep uncontrollably.
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:34pm
- krazykiwi
  
  Would you look at that. A polite ‘Good Morning’ has aforementioned downticker logging in to 7+ aliases to make his/her/its lack of gratitude known.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:32am
  - Batman
    
    Or ten people are justifiably stirring the pot ?
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:13pm
Nickc2

I was very pleased to see the Black Caps have given up on this Take-a-Knee crap. Sports and politics Ahhhhh!
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February 23, 2021 8:47am
- amospicton
  
  It would have been in particularly bad taste on the 10th anniversary of the Chch quake.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:11am
- mikenmildagain
  
  The times lined up in front of a banner opposing racism.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:22am
  - Tall Man
    
    Well they’d hardly line up in front of one promoting it would they?
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:00am
- Tony Stuart
  
  The only time the Blackcaps have “taken the knee” was when they played the West Indies, who are at the forefront of the BLM campaign, in the sporting world.
  
  I noticed during the Big Bash in Australia that whenever a West Indian was playing, the knee was “taken”. That seemed a little extreme for a domestic compatition.
  
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  February 23, 2021 4:27pm
Ruahine

I wonder if the Gov’ts inability to have been able to secure C-19 doses earlier and in greater quantities has anything to do with fact that the then Minister of Health David Clark tried to blame Pfizer for him not ensuring that Pharmac had enough doses of the meningococcal vaccine for all under twenties.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/pharmaceutical-giant-pfizer-confirms-health-ministry-didn-t-take-up-extra-vaccines-offer-for-northland.html
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February 23, 2021 8:50am
- Pharmachick
  
  Errr, I’m gonna go with “No” on that one.
  
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  February 23, 2021 12:32pm
lazza

Is Australia Cricket simultaneously disrespecting both the baggie green and New Zealand Cricket by selecting a T20 team that leaves many of its star players back home?
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February 23, 2021 8:51am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Australia had selected a test team to go to South Africa and a T20 team to come here. When the SA tour was cancelled, the elected not to change their T20 squad. Probably a good decision – lets them look at a few more players ahead of the world cup later in the year, to see who can step up from the Big Bash.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:24am
- James Stephenson
  
  It’s only hit-and-giggle, cricket-for-people-that-don’t-like-cricket…
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:24am
mikenmildagain

So0me interesting comments here about the present state of Trans-Tasman relations:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300236680/what-is-driving-the-frostiness-between-australia-and-new-zealand
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February 23, 2021 8:56am
- Justitia
  
  Yep, student politician amateur hour. New Zealand is demeaned by these people daily.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:06am
  - Antoine
    
    In supporting China over Australia, they are traitors to New Zealand and Western civilisation
    
    A.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:43am
- Harriet
  
  Sure are Milky:
  
  “……Senior officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were then told there wouldn’t be a repeat of O’Connor and Mahuta’s comments; the rookie ministers had apparently been reined in. In her first major speech as foreign minister last week, Mahuta called Australia “our only formal ally and an indispensable partner across the breadth of o international interests”.
  
  China can’t hit NZ for what the rookies said as they were constructive points of ‘mediation’ between Australia and China…..but it now tells China who’s side we are on…..and the flow on effects of the Chinese sanctions against Australia flow on to NZ, and along with five eyes and all NZ’s other interests – hence “…..indispensable partner across the breadth of our international interests….”
  
  NZ should just quietly start seeking markets outside of China like every other ‘like minded nation’ is doing. 5 million people don’t need to live off 95 million communist party member orders – NZ incorporated is not delivering Chinese takeaways! :cool:.
  
  It’s all in the name of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of private ownership. [ the original presidential words ] 😎
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:12am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Ardern R. I.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:01am
WaynelSexton

The real price of housing in New Zealand increased by 171% from 2000 to 2019, compared with just 11% in Germany.

The projections show that our housing problems are set to worsen
https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/the-need-to-build/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XMzfCMuPg0g
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February 23, 2021 9:07am
- Tall Man
  
  Wayne one of the problems is that we are seriously underpriced on the “world” market.
  
  Covid has resulted in a large number of “Kiwis” wanting to either come home or set up a permanent base here and they are bringing in well valued overseas currency.
  
  Owning a property in many countries is a multi million dollar exercise and they see most of our stock as a tidy bargain.
  
  We saw a seaside property sell for a very good price, plans drawn to renovate then ultimately torn down with a complete rebuild. The owner has houses in the US, Japan and elsewhere in Asia and stated that this “section” was the cheapest beachfront property he had seen anywhere.
  
  We also saw a million dollar plus home bought by an overseas buyer as a 2 week per year holiday home as it cheaper for him than anywhere else he had looked.
  
  So, don’t expect any changes ant time soon.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:57am
lastmanstanding

Its always amused me how the Left want to ban anything that dont like. the latest is this so called “conversion therapy”.

They really are an all embracing tolerant live and let live lot arent they. NOT.

An so amusing is they cant see their own intolerance.

Cindy is a classic example. Telling everyone to love and be tolerant on the one hand and banning this conversion therapy on the other hand.

The Left are a really mixed up confused bunch of useless idiots.
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February 23, 2021 9:08am
- Loddenthinks
  
  What is this “conversion therapy” of which you speak? Who is delivering it, and how much of it is going on?
  
  I’m generally in the live-and-let-live camp (no pun intended) when it comes to these sorts of things, so forcing someone to undergo some form of therapy to “correct” some perceived glitch in the their personal matrix is not something I’d ever do.
  
  But is it an actual problem, or just an opportunity to virtue signal by stamping out a non-existent threat?
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:31am
  - kowtow
    
    Here’s a guy who could do with a bit of “counselling” , oh well each to their own.
    
    “My father took me to a Christian church every Sunday. I always knew I was different, especially when the priest would talk about a man with horns who was wanting to take over the world. As a 5-year-old, I decided I wanted horns.”
    
    https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/west-coast/drak-happy-be-your-everyday-vampire
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:41am
  - Batman
    
    Here’s someone who grew up in the Pentecostal church who tells his story about conversion attempts.
    
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/124284012/gay-conversion-therapy-is-harmful-hateful-and-doesnt-work
    
    The hard truth is that it doesn’t work, and ends up pushing people into depressed and suicidal thoughts.
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:23pm
    - Fletch
      
      I don’t believe in it either, but it’s the old story of the media finding someone for whom it doesn’t work and showcasing their story. It has actually worked for others I believe, but their stories will be ignored.
      
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      February 23, 2021 1:03pm
    - Srikaya
      
      We discussed Edd Coomber’s article in thea comments on the “When will it stop?” post yesterday.
      
      The clash between the LGBT and Christian worldviews is a classic religious conflict – a clash between moral systems. This kind of clash is totally common and normal in a multicultural, free thinking society in which multiple religious groups are all vying for prominence. (The level of angst is also very normal for teens, which is the setting of Coomber’s article.) There is plenty of undocumented fluidity between religious groups – gay to Christian, Hindu to Buddhist, secular to Muslim, etc. How do we maintain balance in a free thinking society? Prevent violence while allowing the free flow of ideas.
      
      The media would have you believe that the conversion is only one way, from an oppressive Christian camp to the accepting LGBT lobby, but actually the reverse is also common. Christopher Yuan, Rosaria Butterfield, Beckett Cook, Jackie Hill Perry, Rachel Gilson, Vaughan Roberts and Walt Heyer have all written books challenging the dominant LGBTQ narrative about Christianity. There are probably many more average people who struggle with unwanted same sex attraction and have followed Christ – I met one on a random MP’s Facebook thread the other day.
      
      You will see from Coomber’s article that he wishes to ban the any speech the opposing religious camp that criticises his beliefs. Hey, I was public schooled, taught evolution, and told my Christian beliefs were unscientific, immoral and oppressive, but I just sucked it up. I respect other people’s right to believe and I don’t blame them for my self concept. I would never ban the LGBTQ lobby belief like Coomber and the Greens are seeking to do.
      
      I’ve heard it said that the insecure tend to lash out more. You know what? Christians have a long history of persecution that is ongoing in many third world countries today (Boko Haram, oppression from the CCP and North Korean government) yet they overwhelmingly show great resilience and mental health rather than suicide. So, bullying doesn’t always equal suicide. Christians enjoy wonderful mental health in fact, we have a God who brings purpose out of our suffering because Christ suffered to establish our acceptance with God despite our sinfulness. When you have a welcoming love like that, one that uses even painful things in your life for good, with whom you are truly wwelcomed and accepted, it’s the best medicine for mental health.
      
      Christians are pretty regularly hated on in universities and the media, but this is normal for Christians. We are called to love our enemies, and pray and bless our enemies like Christ loved us, while we were still his enemy. We don’t need to fear death – Jesus lives and we will live with him again, even if we die.
      
      And I’m sure this prospective suffering on the horizon in NZ, of being probably criminalized for my faith, if it leads to one other person finding the love of Christ, will be worth it.
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:00pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Moral panics using imagined near-non-existant boogie men like Nazis, white supremacists, Raycists and gay conversion therapists are all the rage these days given the annoying lack of witches and baby-eating Jews. Need a manufactured foe to smooth the accumulation of power and control into the hands of the witchfinders and other clerical organisations.
    
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    February 23, 2021 2:04pm
- cmm
  
  It is another “period poverdee”-like non issue to do something about.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:37am
- Bloody Dago
  
  They are in charge….hasn’t that sunk in yet? Stupid morphs into mass stupidity at every level with Marxists control borgs
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:43am
krazykiwi

Vacuous SB2 claim on 19th Feb: “Renewables contribute only a small amount to the Texas grid.”

Truth: Wind power generation overtook coal-fired generation in 2020 for the first time ever, with wind power now accounting for 25 percent of the Texas electricity generation.
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February 23, 2021 9:08am
- cmm
  
  I wonder whether actual wind generation overtook coal or whether it was just installed (name plate) wind generation capacity overtook coal.
  
  Big difference.
  
  Due to the availability of wind and PV being very low (20% or less), 1 GW of installed wind/PV is worth less than 200MW of coal.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:43am
- MCos
  
  It varies from day to day.
  The output from plants powered by natural gas, wind & solar all go up and down depending on availability of fuel. Gas is also used for home heating. Gas suppliers flog it off to the highest bidder.
  Nuclear seems to be constant.
  All of the various generation plant types were, but not all the plants, were hampered by freezing weather that put some of them out of action.
  Cold as it might have been there are other places that in the US that have these conditions every years. I suppose they gambled it wouldn’t happen to them & lost. A bit like people in NZ who are told that river over there never floods.
  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/19/climate/texas-storm-power-generation-charts.html
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:43am
- SB2
  
  krazykiwi, it was a failure of grid supply on all fronts including the 11% that make up renewables. A grid sytem designed fot peak summer loads airconditioning etc.
  
  Not an extreme weather winter event,
  
  No, The Blackouts In Texas Weren’t Caused By Renewables. Here’s What Really Happened,
  
  https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-winter-storms-2021/2021/02/18/968967137/no-the-blackouts-in-texas-werent-caused-by-renewables-heres-what-really-happened
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:48am
  - Andrei
    
    Keep on spining – in the real world the contribution of the renewable elements to the supply grid during the crisis dropped to effectively zero while the coal and nuclear operated more or less at their normal capacity while the Gas Turbines spun up to take up the slack producing over 400% their usual output
    
    Highlighting that one nuclear plant had problems during this event is just a distraction
    
    That also applies to is the story that the increased demand for natural gas due not only to the gas turbines operating at much higher than usual outputs but the substantial rise in domestic use beagn to cause issues as did grid instabilty due to power being rerouted to make up the loss of the renewables
    
    The trigger for all these problems was the loss of the renewables and the gas powered generators continued to operate at over 400% of normal outputs throughout
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:21am
    - Ian Boag
      
      gas powered generators continued to operate at over 400% of normal outputs throughout
      
      I have not been able to find this one anywhere – despite looking – can you give a citation?
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:17am
      - Andrei
        
        I did have but for some strange reason the people responsible have blocked access to the data.
        
        Hmmm
        
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        February 23, 2021 11:45am
      - Batman
        
        Andrei is spinning his usual chaos narrative.
        
        Renewables accounts for 12% of the loss, while the non-winterised natural gas plants failed on a large scale.
        
        Plus the deregulated Texas grid showed why you need a basic level of regulation to ensure functionality.
        
        https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/texas-power-outages/
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:28pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        @Andrei
        
        Dog ate my homework? 🙂
        
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        February 23, 2021 1:14pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        This is a reasoned sort of story ..
        
        https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-deep-freeze-caused-texas-to-lose-power/
        
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        February 23, 2021 1:20pm
      - Andrei
        
        Well Ian if you read your link carefully you will see how you are being led down the garden path
        
        2nd paragraph
        
        Wind generation fell 32% between 9 p.m. Sunday and 3 a.m. Monday local time, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration figures. Coal dropped 13%. And natural gas generation, the cornerstone of the Texas grid, plummeted 25% over that six-hour period.
        
        Now that would be Sunday the 14th of February 2021
        
        But when did did the ice storm hit?
        
        Well that would be Wednesday February the 10th, four days prior to that cherry picked 6 hour window
        
        And since the Wind power had failed long before this window 34% of FA would be FA
        
        On the other hand Gas which had been filling the gap for four days before this cherry picked interval was beginning to show the strain….
        
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        February 23, 2021 1:41pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    The cold snuck in and the bird catchers were not winterised so massive power breakdowns. Further compromised by managing a grid with wild demands. More…
    
    Ideological ignorance creating ill preparedness in action. Needs a dose of Magenta.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:06am
- oldfella
  
  Talking of coal-fired power generation, guess who didn’t get Cindy’s memo?
  ++
  China Built Three Times as Much Coal Power in 2020 as the Rest of the World Combined
  https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2021/02/03/china-built-three-times-as-much-coal-power-in-2020-as-the-rest-of-the-world-combined/
  Remember, Cindy, don’t trust China. China is asshole!
  
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  February 23, 2021 12:06pm
mikenmildagain

The ‘witch hunt’ continues:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/300236628/supreme-court-clears-way-for-donald-trumps-tax-records-to-be-seized
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February 23, 2021 9:09am
- Fletch
  
  And at the same time they dismissed a case against Pennsylvania without comment, apart from that by Justice Thomas.
  
  The justices on Monday declined to take up cases challenging a Pennsylvania state court decision that extended the ballot-receipt deadline in last November’s election by three days due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  Former President Donald Trump and the Pennsylvania Republican Party were among those urging the justices to grant review of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling. Only about 10,000 ballots arrived during the three-day window, well short of the number that could have imperiled Joe Biden’s 80,555-vote victory in the Keystone state.
  
  The justices offered no public explanation for their rejection of the cases, but one member of the court, Justice Clarence Thomas, dissented. He said the court should have granted review, even though the dispute was effectively moot, and he took a swipe at his colleagues for the decision to pass up the cases.
  
  “That decision to rewrite the rules seems to have affected too few ballots to change the outcome of any federal election. But that may not be the case in the future,” Thomas wrote. “These cases provide us with an ideal opportunity to address just what authority nonlegislative officials have to set election rules, and to do so well before the next election cycle. The refusal to do so is inexplicable.”
  
  https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/22/supreme-court-gop-pennsylvania-election-dispute-470827
  
  Looks like Trump has (and had) the whole establishment media and judiciary against him.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:46am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Poor Trump – appoints three supreme court justices and none of them up hold his election ‘fraud’ bullshit…
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:04am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    The episode of the Chinese cyber attack on the eve of the election is yet to come under real scrutiny.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:10am
    - Batman
      
      Lol what Chinese cyber attack?
      
      Please show your work.
      
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      February 23, 2021 12:36pm
      - KevO'Brien
        
        It’s not my work, I collect what’s of historical significance while it’s available.
        Now much is de-platformed, or being so, access to my files is restricted for the time being.
        There has been a great frenzy of publishing significant material but what’s visible in the morning may be gone in an hour.
        
        The document I alluded to gives details of foreign computers right down to their system board ID’s. timestamps and details of their connection similarly to the USA computers as well as showing the number of votes transferred. Consider, how your email gets to your PC, each user machine has it’s own unique ID and that is included with the message like a giant postal system.
        The info I have access to will surely come to public attention later.
        
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        February 23, 2021 6:44pm
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  Trump is probably the most investigated man on the planet. But they still haven’t found anything, I’d like to see Biden’s and Obama’s for instance. I’m scratching my head as to how career politicians become multi-millionaires.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:53am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Biden and Obama wrote books that sold very well, and did paid speaking gigs.
    
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    February 23, 2021 11:51am
    - Batman
      
      No no no, Mike. They must have become millionaires from illegal business deals and kickbacks, because that is what everyone does.
      
      Also, in unrelated news, anything Trump does is fine because everyone does it. No big deal!
      
      See how this works?
      
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      February 23, 2021 12:37pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Well, you are correct. They must have done so, because politics doesn’t pay that much. Therefore, some other source of income must be the reason. Look at the Clintons: famously broke when he left office, yet now both multi-millionaires.
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:46pm
    - The Proper Ghandi
      
      Get real. Books don’t make that much money, even if you are a good writer with something interesting to say. Biden and Obama are neither. And “paid speaking gigs” are barely disguised kick-backs in return for favourable policies.
      
      11 6
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      February 23, 2021 12:43pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        How about you write some books that sell a few million copies and then come back and tell us whether you made ‘much money’ or not.
        
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        February 23, 2021 2:02pm
      - MCos
        
        Because Barack Obama released his tax returns before he became President it can be seen how much income he made from book sales in 2007 & it was a lot.
        Sales of his recent autobiography & that of his wife were huge so he’s probably up there with his mate John Key by now.
        
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        February 23, 2021 3:49pm
    - Loddenthinks
      
      Milky in yesterday’s GD at 8:13 am: Booksellers don’t get rich selling Jordan Peterson’s best-selling books.
      
      Milky in today’s GD: You can make a lot of money selling Biden’s and Obama’s books!
      
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      February 23, 2021 3:35pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Lol. Hoisted by his own petard.
        
        6 4
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        February 23, 2021 3:47pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Logic fail. An author and a bookshop are separate things.
        
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        February 23, 2021 5:45pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        That is not a logic fail at all. An author and a bookshop are indeed separate things. However, authors tend to sell their books through bookshops, whether physical or online. Therefore, the number of units a bookshop sells tends to directly determine how much money an author will make from their book.
        
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        February 23, 2021 7:58pm
Maggie Pie

When I first read that the fathers of ISIS bride Suhatra Aden’s kids were Swiss, I immediately pictured good looking guys, long blonde locks, getting about in clogs, yodeling.

Appears not to be the case…. according to 1ZB, they were actually all Somali Refugees that Switzerland had allowed in.
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February 23, 2021 9:14am
- Swifty
  
  I thought they were both Swedes and I remember thinking at the time $1000 says neither of them are named Bjorn or Sven or Olaf.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:20am
- Loddenthinks
  
  Are you sure you don’t mean Swedish with the blonde looks and good-looking guys, and the Dutch wearing clogs?
  
  Sure the Swiss do a bit of yodeling and alp-horn playing, but they don’t wear clogs and they’re not an Aryan race. At all.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:34am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    OK – forget the Clogs then. Replace that with…. ‘wearing a suicide-vest wired to a cuckoo clock’.
    
    22 3
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    February 23, 2021 10:02am
    - James Stephenson
      
      That mental (in more ways than one) image will keep me smiling all day.
      
      Is fondue Halal?
      
      11 1
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      February 23, 2021 10:27am
  - rangitoto
    
    If by Aryan you mean of Yamnaya ancestry, then that would be close to 100% of ethnic Europeans. Ranges from about 30% of the ancestry of Southern Europeans to about 60% in the North.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:50am
    - rangitoto
      
      Should have mentioned, the exception is Sardinians, who have a small amount of Yamnaya ancestry. They are mostly descendants of the original neolithic farmers of Anatolia.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:59am
- WaynelSexton
  
  Yup they’re as Swiss as the Samoans who play for the All Blacks are kiwi.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:46am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Hmm. ‘Samoans’ in the current AB squad:
    Asafo Aumua born in NZ
    Nepo Laulala born in Samoa
    Karl Tu’inukuafe born in NZ
    Patrick Tuipulotu born in NZ
    Tupou Vaa’i born in NZ
    Akira Ioane born in Japan
    Du’Plessis Kirifi born in NZ
    Dalton Papalii born in NZ
    Ardie Savea born in NZ
    Hoskins Sotutu born in NZ
    Richie Mo’unga born in NZ
    Rieko Ioane born in NZ
    Ngani Laumape born in NZ
    Peter Umaga-Jensen born in NZ
    Caleb Clarke born in NZ
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:46am
    - WaynelSexton
      
      “Hmmm Samoans ”
      don’t you mean New Zealanders?
      
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      February 23, 2021 11:47am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        You were the one who implied the All Blacks of Samoan ancestry were not ‘kiwis’ somehow…
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:08pm
Happychappy

Senior Ministers in the Government still using the blame game for excuse concerning their Ministry, being held resp6 for their decisions , this Kelvin Davis not excepting a Judges decision on down right thuggery concerning Corrections staff and two woman prisoners.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/02/kelvin-davis-seeking-details-about-judge-s-ruling-auckland-women-s-prison-inmates-treated-in-inhumane-way.html
He liked told National to account over the same sort of practice when they were in power to collect political capital but now the boot is on the other foot he rallies up a argument that the Judge is wrong.
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February 23, 2021 9:16am
mjw

Credit rating upgrade for NZ! Yaaas! Best recovery in the world from COVID – both in health and the economy.
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February 23, 2021 9:17am
- Tall Man
  
  Bankers reviewing bankers hmmmmm.
  
  Maybe “wankers” reviewing “wankers” would be more appropriate.
  
  A “market” that is riding the crest of the housing wave built upon “quantative easing” …… What could go wrong with that ……..
  
  Remember, we already know 53% of the population have zero intellectual capability based on their voting history, we have almost the lowest productivity in the OECD along with the poorest educational outcomes in the OECD and a bunch of borrowing/lending numpties are happy because house inflation leads the world.
  
  Face it, we are run by idiots bening happily supported by idiots.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:47am
  - Cobolt24
    
    Lehman Brothers had an investment grade rating of ‘A’ by Moody’s until 6 days before their collapse. I’m not saying we as a country are due for anything like that but the point is, S&P are only looking at external factors, long term productivity growth here is anemic and probably will be negative long term.
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:38pm
- Jack5
  
  Best recovery in world? A Jacindarella porkie.
  
  New Zealand: population 5.1 million, 2357 cases, 26 deaths.
  
  Taiwan: population 23.8 million, 942 cases, nine deaths. BUT throughout, Taiwan has kept businesses running and schools open.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:05am
- hullkiwi
  
  These are the same bankers who turned a blind eye to what was happening in the US 2004 to 2008. They failed to see what was happening at Lehman’s and Bear Sterns. They had zero credibility then, and have no credibility now.
  
  Suggest you watch the Big Short to get a notion as to the corruption of the Ratings Agenciesand the Commercial Valuation Consultancies.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:46am
BAM

Unless you’re willing to use your real name(fuck that, especially in the current climate) participating on this blog seems to be a waste of time and rather pointless.
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February 23, 2021 9:23am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Goodbye then…
  
  7 16
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  February 23, 2021 10:47am
- Pharmachick
  
  How so?
  
  8 0
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  February 23, 2021 12:39pm
kloyd0306

Headline: Gangs To Be Stripped of Their Gun Licences.

What about their guns?

More symbolism over substance from the law.
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February 23, 2021 9:24am
- kowtow
  
  How the hell did a gang member get one in the first place ?
  
  Issued by the police ,you can’t make this up.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:35am
  - Tall Man
    
    After “careful scrutiny”, probably at “tarrant level”.
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:48am
- Jack5
  
  The worth of the police swoop on gangs’ guns will be in future shootings.
  
  My guess is the campaign’s window dressing to camouflage the Labour Government’s policy: soft-on-criminals; empty the prisons; reform but don’t punish thugs; get the State media conglomerate to brainwash the public by emphasising tough childhood as the cause of crime.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:13am
  - krazykiwi
    
    I doesn’t matter if it’s violent criminals or tiny viruses on the loose: the more afraid populations can be encouraged to be, the easier they are to manipulate.
    
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    February 23, 2021 2:19pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Eeerrr, one problem. When did you ever hear of a gang member with a Gun License?
  The stupid is strong on this one
  
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  February 23, 2021 4:41pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    I heard about it in Parliament last week.
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/436709/act-questions-why-more-gang-members-getting-firearms-licence
    
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    February 23, 2021 5:46pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Must be coz Plod don’t want to investigate gang headquarters – bit dangerous for nancy boys in there
      
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      February 23, 2021 6:17pm
krazykiwi

Stats will publish Child Poverty statistics today. This will be for the year ended June 2020. I wonder how corrupted the figures will be in support of a glowing tribute to Ardern?
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February 23, 2021 9:29am
- Jack5
  
  Cameramen and photographers of the State media conglomerate will be out now hunting for skinny kids to illustrate the poverdy, the poverdy, oh the poverdy!
  
  They’ll be on their cellphones swapping leads: “Found a poor-looking thin kid here”, or “I’m over in suburb X. Damn, all the hungry kids here are obese”.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:17am
- 70andstilllearning
  
  here’s your answer kk
  
  “Child poverty has improved overall since 2018 according to annual figures released on Tuesday, but Maori and Pacific children continue to be worst affected across the board.
  
  Child poverty is officially measured in a number of ways, and all showed downward trends, Stats NZ said.
  
  The statistics only covered the nine months to March 2020 due to Covid-19 disruption, but Stats NZ said it was confident in the data.”
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/124327740/child-poverty-declines-maori-pacific-children-worst-off-but-some-improvement
  
  Measure something that is not comparative – my guess is the full annual figure showed something quite different!
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:46am
  - krazykiwi
    
    Oh and look. A bit of rewriting history too. From Stats today:
    
    “We have revised year ended June 2019 data following technical revisions to methodology used to produce these statistics.”
    
    I don’t have the bandwidth right now, but I hope someone does a differential analysis. Will Ardern et al be found to have cooked the books?
    
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    February 23, 2021 12:27pm
    - krazykiwi
      
      Can’t help myself. Here’s the 2019 data commentary from DPF based on the Stats data published in Feb 2020
      
      Child poverty in Labour’s first year increased on seven of the nine measures and dropped on only two of them.
      
      Yet now, after Stats ‘technical revisions to methodology used to produce these statistics’ we can see that seven measures of the nine measure have now IMPROVED, while just one has declined.
      
      Liar. And >50% of New Zealanders voted for them.
      
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      February 23, 2021 12:36pm
      - 70andstilllearning
        
        To be blunt, I no longer place any confidence on the reliability of Stats NZ releases. It is also notable that the market responses to many of their releases are now non existent which to me suggests that I may not be the only one with this sort of view.
        
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        February 23, 2021 12:54pm
  - Loddenthinks
    
    The media are lying like flat-fish, and taking the most optimistic view possible when cherry-picking anything that goes against the trend (which is that by almost every measure, child poverdy is becoming worse under this useless government.
    
    Neither $1uff nor Newshub have linked to the actual stats (which are here: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/child-poverty-statistics-year-ended-june-2020) although $1uff has found links to a report on last year’s statistics, an article about the arrival of COVID, and to another puff-piece on the gummint’s $5.5 billion ~~bribe~~ families’ package.
    
    They couldn’t obfuscate more, or be more disingenuous, if they’d been paid $55 million to be so.
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:15pm
- hullkiwi
  
  Take a bow that man. You were spot on.
  
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  February 23, 2021 12:16pm
  - krazykiwi
    
    I direct an organisation that is at the sharp end of child poverty. Unfortunately business is booming, and it’s getting worse no matter what the liars behind manipulated data suggest.
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:10pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  So it has taken 8 months to do some counting, write it on paper, then release it? No wonder NZ is going down the shitter
  
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  February 23, 2021 4:45pm
KevO'Brien

How reasonable are the reports of sea level rises? I heard Jan Wright, the former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the other week speaking about that, firmly convinced. However the big guys are still choosing the seaside for their homes.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/21/munging-the-sea-level-data/
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February 23, 2021 9:40am
- cmm
  
  There are still massive predictions for many-centimetre rises by 2100. Some more than 90cm.
  
  If so , they better get a wiggle on – each year that nothing happens means more catching up to do.
  
  File with masks and period poverdee – bullshit to control people.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:46am
- SB2
  
  Presumably the super-rich ” big guys”can afford paying escalating Insurance preiums and houses that have flotation pods built into them.
  
  Us mortals on KB can’t.
  
  LOL
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:53am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Better buy a life raft then.
    
    7 2
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    February 23, 2021 11:12am
- Inandout
  
  Run for the hills, downtown Wellington will be under water before Al Gore can purchase his next mansion.
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/climate-crisis-coastal-wellington-homes-could-lose-insurance-as-sea-levels-rise/FVBXDJIJNWCOYUT3YEKPNV2RMU/
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:36am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  It’s cheap to raise the level of a property by a centuries worth of sea level rise (200mm). It’s a total non-issue for high value coastal property.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:57am
Maggy Wassilieff

Went over to friend’s place last night and started admiring his woodwork.
He told me he was mainly using coastal gum….I racked my brain thinking what the heck he could mean… and as he showed me some of his recently purchased lengths of coastal gum, I asked if the timber had another name.

Yep, it’s blackbutt, he replied… but we can’t call it that anymore.

Tell that to the folks of Blackbutt, I thought.
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February 23, 2021 10:31am
- Inandout
  
  Maggy in te reo Blackbutt would be Mangureke.
  
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  February 23, 2021 10:40am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Polakipoti
    
    5 2
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    February 23, 2021 11:14am
- graham
  
  Wonder how long before the woke warriors target Blackgang?
  
  4 1
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  February 23, 2021 11:10am
lazza

Hey Milken …

Defn; ” Criticism condemns what it doesn’t understand/Critique asks for clarification”

Huh? I think NOT.

For this is to suggest (is it not?) that “condemns” and “asks for clarification” permit a bloody definition! to DO and is able to DO … something!?

NAHH… this definition (1 of 6?) stretches it ehh?

For “they” -criticism and critiques that is … cannot DO anything and therefore, as suggested by the defn … are nothing of the sort.

Just saying folks … I shall now retreat to my monastic academic Eng Dept ivory tower OK?

Memo to self “Must get out more.”
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February 23, 2021 10:34am
Ruahine

Peta Credlin has a timely and well thought out piece with similarities for us in NZ. Her comments about the rollout of the vaccine. I am expecting this gov’t to keep dragging out and ‘allowing’ people to be vaccinated to keep the frightened and compliant to be able to continued to be manipulated. No announcements about what advantages will ensue from being vaccinated regarding freedom of movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzImsOhPY08
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February 23, 2021 10:47am
Fletch

Looks like the Democrats have all signed on to bill H.R 1 which would consolidate their power and change laws to allow ease of cheating in elections.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/every-house-democrat-signs-on-to-hr1

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelosis-top-priority-consolidating-power-11610667245
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February 23, 2021 10:51am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Oh horrors, a new law to improve voting rights and election security, and restrict gerrymandering.
  
  8 16
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  February 23, 2021 11:07am
  - Batman
    
    We can’t have people choosing their government! It’s the right of the GOP to choose it’s voters and ensure that base remains in power by excluding others.
    
    You know, as the founders intended!
    
    7 10
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    February 23, 2021 12:41pm
    - cmm
      
      “We can’t have people choosing their government!”
      
      Quite right. That’s why we need Big Tech to make sure we vote properly.
      
      4 4
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      February 23, 2021 5:10pm
lazza

mikenmildagain
The ‘witch hunt’ continues

THE WHAT?

“GOOD JOB I SAY”.

Lock up the lying!!!/criminal/arrested developmental/toddler/narcissistic apology for a human being /entitled/potty-mouthed pervert/misogynist/racist/totally unfit for public office /chancer-snake oil salesman/ … piece of shite…

What ever existential horror it is that is comin down the pike in Trumpies direction … is richly richly deserved.

Say 10 years in a real prison would be “nice” …a guarantee of a dead on departure … just like 500 K of his fellow deserted (and dead!) US citizens?

PLEASE MR/MRS/MISS/MASTER MODERATOR … “FOR GOODNESS SAKE!” …DON’T DUMP THIS AS H??? SPEECH.

FOR IT IS A SERIOUS CONTRIBUTION TO KIWIBLOG F???! SPEECH OK?
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February 23, 2021 10:54am
- mikenmildagain
  
  My quotes around ‘witch hunt’ were for ironic effect.
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:38am
- Batman
  
  Lazza are you doing ok?
  
  I know Trumpo is a hot topic but I feel you might be a little overheated my friend.
  
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  February 23, 2021 12:46pm
Maggie Pie

Just look at these THUGS !

Like my partner sez, when they’ve got the Aussie cops running scared, imagine what’s going to happen here under Andy’s watch 🙁

https://twitter.com/paul_dowsley/status/1363739307282849795
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February 23, 2021 10:56am
- alex Masterley
  
  Peaceful law abiding members of the Australian community, not.
  Probably all voted for Daniel though.
  
  7 2
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  February 23, 2021 12:53pm
- kowtow
  
  It’s the ‘diversity dividend’ , paying off handsomely.
  
  9 2
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  February 23, 2021 12:59pm
- kowtow
  
  Already happening.
  
  See the NZ Herald footage of the loons leaning out of a truck and pushing motorcyclists off the road .
  
  Outta control.
  
  8 2
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  February 23, 2021 1:01pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Obvious that car’s transmission blew – lost forward gears
  
  2 2
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  February 23, 2021 4:52pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    This is what the cops need for these pricks.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ENiSJX5_s
    
    2 2
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    February 23, 2021 4:55pm
lifesgood

Warning Spotlight stores are forcing all customers to either scan or write down their details. I will avoid them until they act normal, like every other business which makes it a choice. I have some sort of gene which makes me hate being bullied and coerced. Sorry about that.
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February 23, 2021 11:21am
- krazykiwi
  
  Thanks for the heads up. Mrs kk (a quilting nut!) and I will stop using their stores.
  
  5 3
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  February 23, 2021 1:07pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Last time I was asked to do that I wrote “Donald Duck” Oh yeah they go – cellphone number please.
  I said “don’t be silly, ducks don’t have phones” They still served us
  
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  February 23, 2021 4:58pm
Jack5

Indian police have arrested a climate activist associated with Greta Thunberg’s movement and charged her with sedition, which has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Disha Ravi, aged 22, of Bangalore, is accused of being a “key conspirator, in writing and distributing a “toolkit” suggested by Thunberg. It gives ways of supporting Indian farmers who have been camped outside Delhi since November.

The farmers oppose legislation that they say favours big companies in marketing, and they also want a minimum price scheme introduced.

The “toolkit” suggested demonstrations at Indian embassies.

The New York Post reports that in a tweet, soon deleted, Thunberg accidentally shared a message showing she was getting told what to write on Twitter about the farmers’ protests in India. The deleted gave details of “suggested posts” about the protests.

In early December, 1200 Indians gathered in Auckland’s Aotea Square to protest against the new farming laws in India. These would slash protection of Indian farming, and might well put India on the road to being a sizeable market for New Zealand food exports.
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February 23, 2021 11:25am
- krazykiwi
  
  I’m not sure sure it’s something we should capitalise on. My reading of this situation is that law changes in India are making it easier for farming conglomerates to forcibly acquire private farming land, aggregating it to improve yield, resulting in local food supply constraints as crops will be sent to huge processing facilities rather than processed locally.
  
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  February 23, 2021 1:03pm
  - Jack5
    
    Modi’s Government hasn’t fully lived up to its promise of liberalising the Indian economy. Still, Modi, in international meetings has championed liberal trade.
    
    We are a free-trading agricultural exporting nation. It’s weird, to put it mildly, that Indian immigrants in New Zealand have demonstrated in support of protectionism within a potentially huge market for NZ exporters.
    
    Where is New Zealand’s high immigration policy taking this country?
    
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    February 23, 2021 1:44pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Modi is a Hindu Nationalist..
    
    Fuel is being stoked to turn this Agrarian protest into religious strife.
    
    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/why-indias-farmers-protests-have-sikhs-fearing-violent-attacks/
    
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    February 23, 2021 3:24pm
    - Jack5
      
      The Indian farmer protests do seem to be led by Sikhs from Punjab, a leading agricultural region. The Sikh diaspora is being urged to support the farmers.
      
      However, Hindu hostility to “non-Indian” religions falls mainly on Muslims and Christians. The most recent breakdown of religions in India I can find is: Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, other and unspecified 2%.
      
      It is Pakistan that Sikhs suffer most severe persecution. That country’s much smaller Sikh minority has been subjected to forced conversion – to Islam.
      
      If religious hostility in India intensifies there could even be a surge in refugees from the country.
      
      New Zealand would doubtless offer to re-home thousands of Muslims, but would probably continue to shut out Christians. This would be in line with the Woke Left’s contempt for this religion, which for more than a thousand years has been so influential in the West.
      
      https://www.worthynews.com/56396-indian-state-begins-arresting-christians-and-muslims-under-new-anti-conversion-law
      
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      February 23, 2021 5:19pm
TWEEDSE

I see the horrid reports that there are growing calls to drop the name Cherokee from the name of the cars made by Jeep.

I think they should go one step further and recall all Cherokee’s ever built to have their name badges removed. SI.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/native-american-chief-calls-on-jeep-to-drop-cherokee-name/VTPTARMXPP5ESXJZJ244BAUBEM/
8 2
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February 23, 2021 1:17pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Especially the white ones
  
  4 2
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  February 23, 2021 5:01pm
- Bluegrass
  
  The Cherokees may Sioux…
  
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  February 24, 2021 9:13am
Maggie Pie

My doubles partner just dropped by for lunch.

Even though she’s originally from Texas, she has made a study of New Zealand history.
What really surprised me, was to find out the name ‘AOTEAROA’ is not really Maori!!
It was in fact a name dreamed up by ethnologist Percy Smith, for his fable in which he called this country Aotearoa in the 1890’s.

Well butter my butt and call me Chelsea – you learn something new every day 😀
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February 23, 2021 1:49pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  The term long pre-dated Percy Smith, although it is a matter of debate about its origin.
  
  5 4
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  February 23, 2021 1:57pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  First written use appears to be by Sir George Grey 1855:
  
  Ngahue went to seek a place where his jade stones might remain in peace, and he found in the sea this island Aotearoa (the northern island of New Zealand), and he thought he would land there.
  
  http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-GrePoly-c1-9.html
  
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  February 23, 2021 3:03pm
  - Jack5
    
    Great! “Aotearoa” invented by Sir George Grey!
    
    Please especially take note: Jeremy and Clare Dyer, owners of what was the Governors Bay Hotel, over the hill from Christchurch.
    
    The 150-year-old hotel had been changed to match the name of the bay.
    
    The Dyers changed the name to Otoromiro Hotel. They wanted to sever its links with Governor Grey. Jeremy Dyer was reported as believing Grey was “a hard-nosed colonialist” who “wasn’t well liked”.
    
    Governors Bay itself is supposedly named in acknowledgement of Governor George Grey, according to the site NZ History, where it’s stated:
    
    “It is believed that Grey’s boat moored here as he greeted the first four ships of colonists when they arrived in Lyttleton in December 1850.”
    
    In June, a monument to Grey in central Auckland was covered with blood-red paint. The words “stop” and “racist” were still faintly visible, according to a Stuff report eight weeks ago.
    
    An attack on White colonial monuments in NZ was set off by the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States.
    
    Footnote: Imagine a pissed redneck phoning for a taxi to the Ōtoromiro hotel, trying to get the macronised letter’s pronunciation right.
    
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    February 23, 2021 5:45pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Fake News.
    
    3 3
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    February 23, 2021 6:47pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Yep,
      imagine NZ adopting a name revitalized by nasty old GG
      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/154-years-since-governor-george-greys-troops-invaded-waikato/4LGKVSWZ6SXMHSZN2TVKGC3M7U/
      
      4 1
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      February 23, 2021 7:24pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  The North Island has been known as the Fish of Maui and the South as Greenstone water.
  How any remote padler or sailor ever saw the NZ continent covered by a long white cloud is problematical.
  
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  February 23, 2021 6:18pm
curry4me

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2021/02/22/unbelievable-scotus-refuses-to-hear-pa-election-challenge-after-previously-granting-injunction/#more-208112

SCOTUS Refuses to Hear PA Election Challenge.

In a 6-3 ruling today the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to grant writ to hear the Pennsylvania election challenge cases [pdf here – begin page 25]. While the majority of media will likely celebrate this decision; and while the court has refused to hear the case(s) based on their position the issues are “moot”; there appears to be an underlying motive not being discussed.
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February 23, 2021 1:54pm
curry4me

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/02/andrew-cuomos-legal-woes.php

Legal Woes for Governor Cuomo.

Those who read Power Line faithfully know that Andrew Cuomo may be in legal jeopardy. The Justice Department reportedly is investigating him and some members of his staff for their conduct in response to a DOJ request for information about nursing home deaths in New York.
John Daukas was principal deputy to the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights at the time the Department requested information from Cuomo. Later, he became the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights.
In this Wall Street Journal op-ed, Daukas explains why Cuomo should be worried about the federal probe. Daukas pulls the facts together in a way that is helpful even to those who have been following this story. [Will Governor Kevorkian really suffer some undesirable consequences?]
2 3
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February 23, 2021 1:55pm
- Mike
  
  Perhaps he can share a cell with Donald Trump.
  
  4 10
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  February 23, 2021 3:18pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Put your clothes back on Mike – your ugly TDS is showing
    
    7 4
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    February 23, 2021 5:03pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Just for the Liverpool tragics:

Liverpool lost just twice at Anfield during the Trump era.

Since Biden’s inauguration they have lost there four times.

Make of that what you will.
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February 23, 2021 1:56pm
Jack5

??Simon Bridges accuses the national police chief of being too Woke for the job.

Bridges, as a former prosecutor, is the ideal politician to take it to the Woke Left on their ultra-weak policies on law and order.

Go Simon!

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/nationals-simon-bridges-says-police-commissioner-andrew-coster-is-too-woke-for-the-job/H4P6HD7T3W53HI33GC5CJV7WDM/
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February 23, 2021 2:04pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  LOL!! Wouldn’t mind betting Simon had read my GD post @10:56 am
  
  11 4
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  February 23, 2021 3:42pm
  - MCos
    
    Probably
    
    3 0
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    February 23, 2021 6:46pm
- PeeJay
  
  About bloody time. However, see the media hounds have been set on him with the usual bullshit selective editing to make him sound like a lunatic.
  It’s going to be bloody hard for the opposition to land a good hit on the government when you have such blatant bias shown by the media.
  
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  February 23, 2021 3:54pm
  - Inandout
    
    PJ, message from Fraser House: Ridicule that man, why the hell do we pay you those millions of dollars?
    
    4 1
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    February 23, 2021 5:59pm
  - MCos
    
    “The usual bullshit selective editing”
    
    I don’t know what this particular editing is you’re talking about, but the Nats aren’t averse to a bit of creative editing themselves, as everyone knows.
    
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    February 23, 2021 6:44pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Made a fool of himself, and got rebuked by the party leader, too.
  
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  February 23, 2021 5:50pm
Pharmachick

@Nostradamus from GD yesterday (sorry nearly forgot):

– Do you consider the vaccines to be “safe” based on whatever the standard clinical definition of “safe” is?

Yes, I do now.

– Do we know, for example, how long a vaccine will be effective for (eg whether a booster may be needed after 1 or 2 years)?

No we do not. Early reports from the Israelis over the weekend is that the Pfizer vaccine may prevent infection, but I’ve seen no data and I loathe science/medicine by press release. Even with “prevent infection” we have no idea how long immunity will last – the world is currently one large clinical trial for that. Worst case scenario now is 6mo – 1 year annual injections.

– Can we have any idea what the long-term effects might be given the fast-tracked clinical trials?

No serious safety signals so far, and the 3 main approved vaccines (Pfizer, Astra, Moderna) have collectively been given to millions and millions of people. The law of large numbers is kicking in now, we would’ve seen any major acute effects if there were any. Chronic/long term effects unknown at this stage I’m afraid. The caveat there is that there’s almost never been long term negative effects from a vaccine. Drugs OTOH (which are my bread-and-butter) are much more likely to be bad actors. We seem to be fairly safe at priming the immune system to do its own job* Exception that proves the rule you can look up TGN1412 if you like (but that still wasn’t a vaccine, it was a biologic therapeutic)… kinda a cross between an immune molecule and a drug.

Cheers
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February 23, 2021 2:06pm
- Pharmachick
  
  ** Also, Guillian Barré syndrome is excepted from above comments. Interestingly, I haven’t seen that widely reported for the COVID vaccines, but then they’re not being given to kids, so [WARNING SPECULATION] there might be a more exclusively paediatric reaction there.
  
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  February 23, 2021 2:10pm
  - WaveyDavey
    
    I believe that kids are last in line as they are least vulnerable and there aren’t enough doses available/stretched infrastructure to meet adult demand
    
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    February 23, 2021 2:12pm
    - Pharmachick
      
      Correct. Trials are beginning to push down to 12 years old, they just started recruiting this month. BTW the warning above was me – sorry didn’t mean to imitate Mods.
      
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      February 23, 2021 2:52pm
70andstilllearning

1$tuffed’s really onto it today -lol

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300237236/covid19-bowel-movements-investigated-as-possible-cause-of-pullman-outbreak
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February 23, 2021 2:07pm
- Pharmachick
  
  ?
  
  5 0
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  February 23, 2021 3:04pm
- alex Masterley
  
  Going thru the motions so to speak!
  
  9 2
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  February 23, 2021 4:16pm
WaveyDavey

Given that we Must Wear Masks to Stop the Spread™ from our breathing

Must we now wear nappies in public to stop the spread by farting?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300237236/covid19-bowel-movements-investigated-as-possible-cause-of-pullman-outbreak

FFS. This is the same desperate casting around to deflect responsibility as the frozen-food and aircon spin were previously
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February 23, 2021 2:10pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh Shit!!

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/436978/bowel-movements-could-have-led-to-covid-19-pullman-hotel-outbreak-report
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February 23, 2021 2:28pm
- Pharmachick
  
  OK to be fair, on cruise ships where the loo is usually right next to the vanity/sink, there has been documented transmission of Norovirus due to toilet-flush-aerosolization onto toothbrushes (ewww, I know). But Norovirus is *massively* transmissible, we’re talking only a few dozen virions to transmit. I’m not buying it for nSARS-CoV-2, hence my reply to 70 above.
  
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  February 23, 2021 3:07pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Yeah, I’d’ve expected quite a bit of tummy trouble from the Pullman internees if this was a plausible explanation.
    
    Still, I won’t be making a booking to stay there when I’m next up to Auckland.
    
    10 2
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    February 23, 2021 3:19pm
  - cmm
    
    Bacteria such as Ecoli have been transferred long distances in aerosols from pig farms etc.
    
    These are multi-micron aerosols (10 microns or so) and can travel many km (that lovely down-wind smell of a pig farm…).
    
    Now an ecoli is a reasonably small bacterium – about 1 micron cubed and hundreds of the little buggers can fit in one aerosol droplet that is one hundredth of a millimetre across (10 microns).
    
    Consider now that a virus is much, much smaller. About 800 or so can fit in a single ecoli bacterium and a million can fit in a single aerosol….
    
    All that said, as PharmaChick says, our little SARS-CoV-2 buddy isn’t very transmissible and you probably need quite a few million of them to come on board to overwhelm your defences.
    
    Just driving past an MIQ won’t do it no matter what got stuck in the toilet.
    
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    February 23, 2021 5:08pm
    - Pharmachick
      
      @cmm, I considered denigrating you on this Blog, because of the paucity of facts and relevance on your post.
      
      Instead I invite you to look up bacteria and viruses on Wikipedia… that would give you basic High school knowledge. You could then keep going through completely online textbooks etc, please do… all education is good education.
      
      Sincerely yours
      a full Professor, that still does outreach to community groups (mostly educational, and cancer survivorship).
      Pharmachick
      
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      February 23, 2021 5:17pm
  - Inandout
    
    Ph, yes on our 7 day cruise the bog blocked and overflowed twice. The Phillipine worker said they were kept working full time cleaning up blocked loos.
    
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    February 24, 2021 10:22am
doggone7

Lucinda Baulch, the Australian who refuses to take a Covid-19 test is apparently leaving MIQ today.

How is she getting back to Australia? It’s a long swim.
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February 23, 2021 3:07pm
Loddenthinks

Must have been a ripper! Just sayin’

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300237236/covid19-bowel-movements-investigated-as-possible-cause-of-pullman-outbreak
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February 23, 2021 3:25pm
- Loddenthinks
  
  Sorry MW, just saw your earlier post…
  
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  February 23, 2021 3:26pm
Maggie Pie

Came up from the pool in time to catch Q9 –
David Seymour to the Prime Minister.
When Jacinda stood to answer, I quickly went over to the TV and held my forearm alongside hers.
Gosh that girl really needs to get some SUN!

Just saying.
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February 23, 2021 3:32pm
- WaveyDavey
  
  Pale and “interesting”
  
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  February 23, 2021 5:17pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Mods will be along shortly. Insult to Jaspinda for saying you are darker than her – that is anti white people.
  Mods, no nonsense, this racist shit goes goes ways, unless you want to delete my free speech.
  You mods have been a little tender lately, and I don’t know why. Have a look at the past 17 years on Kiwiblog.
  
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  February 23, 2021 6:07pm
I remember when

Texas Power Outages:
Was it the failure of the ‘Green Energy’ power production.
Or, was it that who needs to prepare for a major ‘Cold Snap’ when the world starting a major, probably unstoppable, over heating!
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February 23, 2021 3:39pm
- SB2
  
  “Was it the failure of the ‘Green Energy’ power production.” ??
  
  No!
  
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  February 23, 2021 5:10pm
- Cobolt24
  
  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/20/the-trump-energy-resilience-plan-which-would-have-saved-texas/
  
  Another good article https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/20/the-texas-energy-disaster/
  
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  February 23, 2021 5:11pm
Jack5

zzz
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February 23, 2021 5:16pm
- Jack5
  
  ? Sorry about that.
  
  It’s not that I’ve fallen asleep at the keyboard. It’s just that we don’t appear to have a delete button when we post in the wrong part of a thread.
  
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  February 23, 2021 5:25pm
WaveyDavey

Boo-f*cking-hoo

Today’s millennial whine brought to you by Stuff

What will you do with it, I wonder? That $100 a week from me to you, landlord. Squirrel it away for your retirement? Use it to pad the pockets of your children who already have better prospects in regards to home ownership simply by virtue of having investor parents? Will it be fun money? Time for that trip to Hawaii once the world is vaccinated? Or perhaps it will become half a dozen bottles of champagne at Christmas?

Too bloody right I will, that’s why I’m a landlord you dimwitted child. It’s a business, it’s there to make money… FFS

Although it’s only one and maybe a bit bottles of champagne

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/124318345/my-wellington-apartment-is-depressing-yet-my-rent-just-went-up-100-a-week

Employed by the government. The government that was warned by every single person with any knowledge that this would happen and they still went ahead.

Guess what? You reap what you sow.
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February 23, 2021 5:17pm
SB2

Behind Covid 19 denial is the anti-science world view that is especially evident with Trump and most of his supporters. And it’s no coincidence that they’re also many anti-vaxxers and Climate change deniers. The following link is worth read.

Coronavirus responses highlight how humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don’t fit their worldview

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-responses-highlight-how-humans-are-hardwired-to-dismiss-facts-that-dont-fit-their-worldview-141335
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February 23, 2021 5:29pm
- fernglas
  
  You have to admit that the same principles applied to our Covid response suggest that people are equally likely to choose the science that fits their world view. Science is a discipline which is as geared to providing evidence to fit a pre-conceived view as it is to provide objective truth. You need only go to Siouxsie Wiles’ Twitter page to find confirmation of that. Or to a number of recent studies which have set out to debunk views with which they disagree.
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:32pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  @SB2
  Would you like me to link back to some of your comments 1 year ago when folks were warning of covid-19?
  
  Did you have an anti-science view then when you labelled me as being hysterical?
  
  Have you figured out yet how I knew back in early Feb 2020 what was on the immediate horizon?
  
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  February 23, 2021 8:54pm
  - SB2
    
    MW, not at all.I thought at the time that those who were alarmist had a political axe to grind.
    
    As it turned out I think I was correct.
    
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    February 23, 2021 9:41pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Rubbish..
      
      You carried your personal abuse against me into yet another realm you knew bugger-all about.
      
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      February 23, 2021 10:29pm
krazykiwi

Fair suck of the sav, mate.

Faceie has blinked.
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February 23, 2021 5:51pm
- WaveyDavey
  
  Nah. Aussie has
  
  “Facebook will reinstate news content on its platform after the Morrison government agreed to last minute amendments…“
  
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  February 23, 2021 6:15pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

I just watched a short vid about Donald Trump. The guy is saying vote Trump for Congress and he wins. At that time Republicans take over the House and the Senate. Guess who becomes ‘Speaker of the House?’ Donald Trump.
First Order will be to impeach Biden and Harris. Guess who takes over when Biden and Harris are impeached? Donald Trump as POTUS (this is the skullduggery that Pelosi was after)
Trump finishes out 2 more years (after 2022) and becomes eligible for 4 more years.
Imagine 10 years total of Donald Trump.
Dems are aware of this.
So, lefties, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Fill your boots.
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February 23, 2021 6:00pm
- Mike
  
  Nice fantasy.
  
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  February 23, 2021 6:03pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Seem only two downtickers monitoring tonight. Rest must be waiting for Mum to unlock the basement, to feed them bean sprouts, lentils, and 3 times filtered water
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February 23, 2021 6:21pm
Fletch

From an online post about “conversion therapy”…

“One sure sign you are dealing with an extremely dangerous tyrant is when they want to use the force of the law to impose THEIR sexual and biological preferences on private citizens, while criminalizing the rights of citizens who want to follow their own ideals or make their own choices”.
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February 23, 2021 7:04pm
- Srikaya
  
  Yes. Greens and LGBTQ lobby wanting to mobilise the law to attack any religious group who has the gall to say they disagree.
  
  Christians get bullied, even literally killed in third world countries all the time. We’re not off committing suicide, but called to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, and pray, bless and not curse others who persecute us.
  
  Sigh. We don’t live in a majority Christian nation anymore, so get ready to see universal human rights go down the drain (a concept based on the idea that there is a Creator that gives rights to all humans, who are made in God’s image and therefore have intrinsic value and dignity) and instead be replaced with social constructivism (basically “survival of the fittest” for the moral realm, the mob mentality that decides morals at whim and overrides minorities)
  
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  February 23, 2021 11:26pm
Fletch

Fox has gone totally woke for The Simpsons, replacing the white guy who did the voice for Dr Hibbert (who will voice the character one last time). They will now only let black actors voice black cartoon characters…. SMH.

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2021/02/22/the-simpsons-finds-black-actor-to-replace-harry-shearer-as-voice-of-dr-hibbert/
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February 23, 2021 7:14pm
Maggie Pie

I’ve been at my partner to join me and give something up for Lent.
Tonite he’s finally agreed. He said he’ll abstain drinking any alcohol for 3 days, from the 29th to the 31st of February.
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February 23, 2021 9:18pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  One day at a time…
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:23pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Sweet Jesus…..
    
    😀
    
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    February 23, 2021 10:01pm
- SB2
  
  The road to AA for him is the only way.
  
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  February 23, 2021 9:37pm