General Debate 10 October 2021

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Maggie Pie

TRENDING

Something else not everybody is aware of…..

Greta’s handler is one of the ROTHSCHILDS!!

https://twitter.com/SonnyNicholas7/status/1446916291881848832

Comes as no surprise to some of us of course.

[DPF: This is anti-semitic and a repeat will get a suspension]
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December 10, 2020 11:56am
- WaveyDavey
  
  Bullshit and reported for spreading an antisemitic trope
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:08pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Not the same as the makers of your Rothmans King Size, Maggie.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:22pm
  - ecco
    
    mikemm, I thought you must have logged on to kiwiblog due to the down ticking. I’m convinced you are on Ardern’s payroll as well.
    
    Why else would anyone in their right mind spend half their life on a blog where your world view diverges so much with theirs? It could only be for money.
    
    You say DPF gets you to guest write on here, which you think somehow justifies your existance. I’ve never seen any of these posts. However I’d just scroll on down if there were. Just like I do for all of your posts.
    
    Just some advice, life’s too short to be frequenting somewhere that you clearly don’t concur with. Just saying.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:06pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Thank you for your advice. I have explained to some others making essentially the same point that I regard Kiwiblog as an entertainment forum, from which i occasionally learn some fascinating new information.
      Kiwiblog makes me laugh, gives me some recreational writing practice, and some of the regular commenters, like DPF, embrace liberal values and have a sense of humour.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:28pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        You don’t have a sense of humour Mike. It is sadly missing, but you do try hard
        
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        October 10, 2021 2:21pm
      - ecco
        
        [don’t be a troll. Nobody is paid for expressing their opinion on blogs – Mod]
        
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        October 10, 2021 5:16pm
    - Cinematic
      
      Mike’s very welcome here as far as I’m concerned. Though of course it’s not my blog so my opinion, like yours, doesn’t mean much.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:38pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Mike is smart. Sometimes his comments are quite astounding, other times not so much
        
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        October 10, 2021 2:22pm
    - Brian McDonald
      
      “which you think” another long-distance mind-reader.
      
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      October 10, 2021 2:11pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Then further down in the tweets:
  https://twitter.com/conspiracyb0t/status/1446860752086831109/photo/1
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:36pm
  - Liberal Cliche
    
    This one made me laugh too.
    
    https://twitter.com/conspiracyb0t/status/1446683323087138819
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:44pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  Interestingly, my partner still stays in touch with the Rothschilds.
  Before we met, he sold them a number of top-end luxury motor vehicles when they lived on Waiheke.
  He was saying they were literally chased out of New Zealand by heavy handed government beaurocracy and Tall-Poppy Syndrome.
  All of which still exists today….in Spades!
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:18pm
Man Among the Ruins

“The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them.” – Turkish Proverb
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October 10, 2021 8:01am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Winter is coming. Time for Wellington to bubble up with the South Island. Border control at the summit of the Rumutaka Hill, on Centennial Highway near Paekakariki & stop the passenger trains.

You read it here first.
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October 10, 2021 8:02am
- rouppe
  
  I’m due to go to a Kayaking competition at Blue Lake next weekend. I’ve already had 3 or 4 events cancelled due to that [expletive deleted] control freak Ardern, I’ll be septic if there’s another one
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:14am
  - pdm
    
    If that is the Blue Lake west of Wanaka on the road to Haast. Beware the mosquitoes they were bloody ravenous in early May when we stopped there for a look.
    
    I reckon we each came away half a stone lighter and a few stayed in the car for the drive to Haast.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:02pm
    - rouppe
      
      No, the one in Rotorua.
      
      My recollection of my youth though was that the sand flies were pretty aggressive there
      
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      October 10, 2021 2:08pm
  - kevn
    
    @rouppe… Pop a mask on, the carbon dioxide you breathe in will only hinder your performance a little bit.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:03pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Take away the controls completely.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:45pm
Scott

On Thursday DPF posted a triumphal post that after a recount Trump lost by more in Arizona and that he just keeps losing.

I do find it impossible to believe that Joe Biden, who barely campaigned, could get 81 million votes. Right now the supposedly most popular president in history is getting crowds at football games chanting his name, “F***Joe Biden!”

David Byrne in his book “The Big Rig”, page 31, has a chart that shows in Arizona on election day at 8:06 PM +40 seconds, Joe Biden received an injection of 143,100 votes. This spike is an anomaly and then we have a natural progression for the next seven days till November 10. Biden “wins” by 10,000 votes.
What is the cause of the spike? Did they go into that?

We also see that in the audit of Maricopa County, Arizona, county officials admit they deleted and moved election data.
https://youtu.be/GQ7CaX9wcF8

On the wider front how was it that six states stopped counting on election night? They are not supposed to stop counting, this is unheard of. They are supposed to keep counting until the job is done.
How was it that on the evening of election night Donald Trump was ahead in all six states. Then the counting stopped.
Then in the morning, supposedly at a time when the counting had stopped, we find that Joe Biden had received an injection of votes and suddenly he was ahead? Like in Arizona. How do you explain that?

Given the absolutely frenzied determination of the Democrats and the media to get rid of Donald Trump isn’t it possible that they rigged the election? You know that they would do it if they could? But did they do it?

If they didn’t rig the election why did six states stop counting? And where did this injection of votes come from? Those questions have not been answered.
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October 10, 2021 8:03am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  I do find it impossible to believe that Joe Biden, who barely campaigned, could get 81 million votes
  
  That must be particularly hard for you, Scott, when you already believe in such a wide range of impossibilities.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:36am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Biden could not fill a classroom with supporters Mike.
    Trump on the other hand – thousands of boats with thousands of supporters. Vehicle parade 100 miles long – 100 miles, Auckland to Hamilton long.
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:46am
    - Man Among the Ruins
      
      While Biden would salivate at the prospect of a full classroom, it takes some serious TDS-infused mental gymnastics, the total suspension of any common sense grounded in the observable reality, an absence of understanding of the nature of political machinations at the highest levels, as well as a distorted belief in how the world you inhabit functions, to believe that Trump was defeated by Biden.
      
      The argument is that Trump (and more significantly his voters) was the victim of a long-running (in fact, beginning on election day 2016), concerted and coordinated institutional conspiracy of interested parties to ensure that Trump did not serve a second term, no matter what was required to achieve this aim. Now, it is these same institutions who are telling us – having censored, resisted and obstructed nearly every effort to objectively confirm the result by thorough audits– that there was no case for them to answer. They’ve effectively marked their own homework and passed with flying colours.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:49am
    - dcrane
      
      And massive rally after massive rally in the weeks leading up to the election, often several per day. Trump’s campaign would announce them only a few days ahead of time and tens of thousands would be there…even though every one was held away from the towns, often at the airports.
      
      As Steve Bannon points out, Biden’s cellar-dweller approval numbers so soon into his first year expose the implausibility of an historical vote in his favor. More likely the guy had the support of Bill Clinton’s first win, a three-way plurality of 43% or so…
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:58am
  - Stellaboxer
    
    Pot and kettle come to mind
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:14pm
- WaveyDavey
  
  Or, applying Occam’s Razor, it might just be that Trump was so polarising that he energised and motivated US voters to tick the ABT box
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:41am
  - dcrane
    
    No doubt this was true to a degree, but I don’t see how that many more would have been motivated this way than in 2016, when Trump was just as personally toxic yet also an unknown. Especially because Trump himself so dramatically increased his total.
    
    No, it is looking more and more like the mail-in voting system was gamed using covid rule changes etc. to gin up Biden’s numbers. They got away with it because the GOP establishment (legislatures, especially) of many key states (PA, GA, AZ) wasn’t interested in defending Trump – they were happy to show him the door as well.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:01am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      It was not the Biden voters that mattered, it was who counted the votes
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:26am
  - Man Among the Ruins
    
    Occam’s Razor works on the false assumption that the simplest explanation is probably the most likely. Why would that be the case? It’s a good way to avoid serious thought, however. The world is too complex and nuanced for the principle to be universally applicable, or even applicable most of the time.
    
    Besides, even on your terms, anyone observing the US since 2016 in any reasonably objective manner would be justified in their surprise that Trump lost, and therefore that the simplest explanation (even though it was achieved through complex means), was that he must have been screwed over. Don’t just look at November 2020 and the number of votes we are told accrued to Biden (the argument being they were bogus on a large scale): if you look at the wider context (i.e. Biden before and since the election), there is no observable evidence that he was ever, or remains, sufficiently popular to beat Trump, let alone attracting the highest number of votes in history. Are we supposed to believe that, for effectively one* day only (*give or take), he was the most popular candidate ever, but not before or since? I don’t.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:21am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  They started counting again early in the morning after vans/trucks dropped off boxes of stuff during the night. We have all seen the videos.
  The swamp size was well underestimated by Trump.
  #Trump 2022. #Trump 2024.
  ps, I see the Dems are now trying to ban those Trump gold plated coins. They are free, just pay shipping. Notes too. I have quite a few
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:43am
  - The Other Enoch
    
    Yep!. The driver of the largest truck with the most Trump votes was the man from the grassy knoll. The reporter who photographed and recorded the event was the same reporter who photographed the wind blowing the flag that Baldwin planted on the moon. He was there. Honestly it happened in The good ole US of A. WTF cares
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:59am
- PhilBest
  
  I notice that all the people “on our side” who say Trump lost and was a sore loser and should let it go, were “Never Trumpers” all along. Including DPF, and including the various “Republican” Governors and Attorneys-General and Secretaries who refused to challenge the results in the Democrat-machine districts in their State.
  
  These people actually don’t care about getting at the truth. They regard the removal of Trump as an objective justifying anything.
  
  THIS vignette really needs to become a global meme about the “Centre Right” and the Never Trumpers whose modus operandi is caving in to AND becoming the craven “minor ally” of the enemies of liberty and science:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-E2H1ChJM
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:46am
  - doggone7
    
    People obviously don’t care about getting at the truth.
    
    There was no series of magisterial recounts in New Zealand last year, no audits, no forensic investigations that I am aware of, let alone in every electorate.
    
    If those are the test of caring, we don’t care. Oh how tragic that we don’t care, and are so unconcerned about getting the truth that we LET PEOPLE COUNT VOTES and TOT THEM UP!
    
    Why don’t we have more deluded, paranoid nutcases screaming “FRAUD!” and “CHEATED!”?
    
    Surely we have enough creatives living in parallel universes ready to copy their American mates and heroes. The mantra: No-one who counts votes is to be trusted.
    
    Then when votes are checked and rechecked and audited and investigated and the totals are ‘verified’ (joke), and the results are not as they wish, they can
    yell and scream “FRAUD!” and “CHEAT!”
    
    I guess the time spent refining their skills will be obvious in 2023. The mob surely won’t accept voting without documentation at polling booths. Proof of identity will be needed, proof of residency too. And the mob certainly won’t accept votes being counted by ordinary people.
    
    Maybe a leader is needed, someone credentialed, with the necessary qualities. Step on down Billy Te Kahika!
    When he realises that a group has been cutting it’s teeth and losing its mind on the Trump saga I can imagine him being in like a gumdigger’s dog.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:40am
  - Biscuit
    
    I was anti-Trump, Phil.
    
    Still am…
    
    I’m no great Biden fan either.
    
    The U.S. system seems broken…
    
    And, remember, there are mid terms next year that will largely be run under the same counting system that may/may not have contributed to the Trump was cheated/Biden won fair and square contretemps last year.
    
    Major electoral reform is needed … but neither party have proposed anything meaningful let alone persuaded their opponents to agree to it.
    
    Difficult to see the losing party – whoever it is – in those mid-terms conceding gracefully…
    
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    October 10, 2021 4:36pm
- Drone
  
  Get over it @Scott it’s over, Biden won Trump lost.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:52am
- Fletch
  
  They rigged it. There is really no doubt. The Dems always rig elections. It’s the Chicago way,
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:14am
  - PhilBest
    
    Rod Blagojevich: Democrats have been stealing votes for years
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7sPNXFSwfs
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:33am
  - Paulus
    
    Like Labour are trying already to Gerrymander the next election by Law changes under way.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:35pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  The election rigging is even more exciting as it appears a cyber attack out of China switched votes.
  The USA got out the toolbox their CIA used elsewhere and recorded the whole of the event right down to the manufacturers address of the individual computer systems board initiating the transaction and likewise the one being interfered with. There is an enormous quantity of data with a lot validated. The data is publicly available and a $USD5 million reward offered for disproving it has not been won.
  
  (This may sound far fetched but consider you who have multiple computers how does your email get to yours alone when you have several in the house? Each computer has an unique ID which your email postal system knows and the message packets are addressed with. This is old technology with the message carrying data, address and verification check sums. )
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:01pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    That’s not right Kev, although every ethernet interface in a computer has a unique MAC address, email isn’t addressed using that. If it was, how could you receive emails on a different machine, or on a tablet, your phone, etc.
    
    Your machine links to the email server (typically remote but some people may run their own PO with its own address). A validation routine establishes the bona rides of the email request – usually via a password though you can also use more elaborate mechanisms – and the message is passed to the linked machine. That link is temporary and established each time you query your PO for new mail or to send (or just to look at existing emails).
    
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    October 10, 2021 5:02pm
- surfing
  
  Sour grapes.
  
  You’re like the guy who claims the moon landing flag was flapping in the wind.
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:28pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    Solar wind ! (And that’s a joke in case you weren’t clear !)
    
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    October 10, 2021 5:03pm
artemisia

“Hundreds of builders are calling on the construction minister to reduce long delays for building consents, saying the bottleneck hurts productivity and threatens to destabilise companies ….. The Combined Building Suppliers Cooperative (CBS) has written to the ministers of construction, housing and local government – Poto Williams, Megan Woods and Nanaia Mahuta.”

Good luck with that, guys.

Meanwhile hundreds of builders are on the sofa, while council staff apparently carry on following processes clearly not fit for purpose. Also meanwhile one group is safely funded and employment is guaranteed.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/453221/building-consent-bottleneck-slows-residential-construction
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October 10, 2021 8:05am
- sooty
  
  Maybe councils have been ordered to slow down the building supply chain, by not giving out too many building permits.
  This government doesn’t want every builder in the country to have half finished houses on every street and every town.
  As it would look like the government is incompetent and people would start asking awkward questions
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:47am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    How can the govt make such an order? Under what authority?
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:03pm
PhilBest

Looks like the public health authorities in some countries are waking up about Covid aerosol risk and ventilation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFySlkYZZbg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkK_LZeUGXM

Heard anything of this nature from St Ashley or St Souxsie yet?
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October 10, 2021 8:06am
- Ed Snack
  
  And another nation to look at, one with a more sophisticated health bureaucracy than here, Indonesia.
  
  Cases exploding in July/August, hospitals under stress, shortages of Oxygen, the usual issues. Now cases and hospitalisation dropped to near zero.
  
  How, they used a “well known and cheap anti-viral” and distributed widely. Vaccination, at around 20%, not really that important.
  
  But, hey, Bloomfield, The pink haired one and other “experts” just know that much better. One source of “the truth” is all that matters.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:03am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    Voldemectin? (Like half of US Congress were using last year) according to a physician.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:54pm
- Sacha
  
  This has been known for yonks.
  Any respiratory virus thrives in poorly ventilated spaces where people congregate, singing, laughing, shouting etc.
  The virus is expelled from the throat where it grows – and is inhaled by the recipient. Yay! Another potential spreader! (Remember how we used to ‘catch colds’?
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:33am
  - PhilBest
    
    “This has been known for yonks…”
    
    And deliberately downplayed by the global cabal of officials because there is a crisis to exploit.
    
    https://www.wired.com/story/the-teeny-tiny-scientific-screwup-that-helped-covid-kill/
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJSPL9LQCiM
    
    You can’t be unleashing cops on people to crack their heads and haul them away in handcuffs for being 100 metres away from their house “with no reason” if you accept that aerosols are the problem – because there is NO risk from aerosols OUTSIDE. Locking people INSIDE stinks of a deliberate conspiracy to make the whole of society sicklier and even make more people die of Covid itself.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:38am
Ra Henare

It seems to me that MSM is moving more to opinion rather than news.
Check out headlines on any media and prominently displayed is opinion, mostly from their own reporters.

I love the full on splash about Jack Tame saying get the Passport. As Cactus Cate says Vaccine apartheid.

I have had the jabs, I dont care if I meet/interact with people who have decided not to jab.

If I get Covid, so what 99.8% of cases are mild asymptomatic according to Singapores latest outbreak. (It could be said that Singapores high spike is because they gave out Test kits to every household 🙂

PS> Being Curious I looked up NZs age breakdown. Not easy to find the numbers 12 and under but under 16 looks like 18.5% based on 2018 census.
Lot’s of non passport people running around 🙂
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October 10, 2021 8:14am
- Cinematic
  
  Yes apparently hospitals in Singapore have been slammed by people who have no need to be there. All of this is entirely predictable, fearful people do irrational things.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:42am
  - MCos
    
    I’ll tell you right now.
    NZ public hospitals, which are the ones that we use, decide who gets admitted, not the patients.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:32pm
- PhilBest
  
  I had a delightful conversation with an 87 year old lady a few days ago, I’ve been an occasional participant in a little social gathering she organizes around shared musical interests. She’s moved into a rest home but wants to keep up a bit of the old contact even though she doesn’t have room for the numbers she used to host. I said I had to honestly tell her, because the rest home people might object, that I am not vaccinated yet.
  
  She went right off the deep end, “no, neither am I, I don’t intend to be, they will have to hold me down and jab me against my will”…. we had a great conversation, she is formidably well informed….she has always sworn by self-medication, and is an amazing living proof of her own ideals.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:53am
- Ed Snack
  
  But you will be made to care, to socially distance, to wear a mask everywhere, inside and out (including in the bath).
  
  The mantra is becoming that since the vaccinated can get and most definitely spread Covid, everyone must remain under lockdown, indefinitely.
  
  It is for your own good !
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:06am
  - backster
    
    Well Jacinda knows what’s best for ushttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxKY6WGaL54
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:44pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Too much is for our own good until it isn’t.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:07pm
Mr_Blobby

I am so over the tyranny of this government and these lockdowns.

More and more businesses are facing having to shut down for good, even if they can open for many it will be to little to late.

Who is going to pay the TAX to pay for all this kindness.
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October 10, 2021 8:17am
- Prince
  
  I’m not sure Labour cares about private businesses going under. In fact many of them rejoice at the gift this virus has given them, to do what they have always wanted to do, with apparent public support.
  As for taxes, well they are pumping borrowed money into our economy at $83Million per day, $70K per household, and very few economists are bothered. Pay back will come some day, and then the problem will be duck-shoved to National as it was in 2008.
  All good if your long term plan extends to 2023.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:49am
  - SoloView
    
    Prince – re “Problem duck-shoved”
    
    Found an interesting graph on The Standard” you may enjoy.
    
    https://thestandard.org.nz/who-was-the-better-economic-manager-helen-clark-or-john-key/
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:11pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      Oh dear, pushig a barrow are we?
      Gues syou forgot about the 2008 International meltdown and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake
      
      Key had to borrow to keep the good ship Kiwi afloat.
      
      So would be better to match Jacinda against Helen and key
      
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      October 10, 2021 8:56pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Will there still be a NZ at the end of next year?
    Paying attention to lock downs and ignoring the substance so business and life disappears is foolish.
    A little risk is sometimes needed.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:11pm
    - tf78
      
      Kev, there will be no such place as New Zealand by the time these buggers have finished with us. No wonder the need for the name change, they will just wipe the slate clean and open a new bank account.
      
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      October 10, 2021 7:44pm
- PhilBest
  
  The “debt” will NEVER be repaid.
  
  “The Great Reset” is the “solution” just sitting on the shelf waiting for the inevitable catastrophic systemic crash that the elites have been busily bringing on us. They have been profiting mightily and grabbing power meanwhile, and “the solution” to the crisis their skulduggery has caused, will be MORE power (and profits) for THEM taken to an entirely new level.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:56am
  - Prince
    
    That sounds suspiciously like my attitude in Year One Uni. No need to read or study, who know what could happen by November ? Anyway, I was clever enough to get here so will muddle through. Drink up, enjoy Uni life.
    Also known, now, as my wasted year.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:40am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Thankfully my daughter is grabbing her opportunities.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:14pm
    - PhilBest
      
      Except that this view is one I have come to only recently after several decades of interest in politics. It was 2020 that made me see something I’d never seen before about central banking and money supply increases to the moon.
      
      [KB is not a home for cabal conspiracy content – Mod]
      
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      October 10, 2021 5:38pm
RockyJ

This Friday begins the Heartland Institute’s 14th Climate Realists conference in Las Vegas. Featuring a great line up of speakers including Christopher Monckton, Willie Soon, David Legates.
It would be good if James Shaw could send at least one of his entourage from Glasgow to this. Certainly I would rather be in warm Las Vegas than freezing Glasgow. I would love to go. https://climateconference.heartland.org/
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October 10, 2021 8:20am
- mikenmildagain
  
  How much do they charge the faithful suckers who can attend?
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:37am
  - Ed Snack
    
    A mere fraction of what one has to pay to attend the climate catastrophe meetings. But for those, none of the participants spend their own money, they are spending someone else’s, so the cost is immaterial.
    
    Don’t tell me you are stupid enough to believe that NZ’s 16 person delegation to the latest lie fest about climate are NOT spending our taxpayer funds ?
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:40am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      It’s our grandchildren’s actually as this gobblement is all running on borrowed money (and time.)
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:15pm
      - RockyJ
        
        A free trip to Glasgow. Who wouldn’t want to go?
        Meanwhile the Antarctic has just experienced its coldest winter on record (1957)
        
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        October 10, 2021 1:50pm
Scooter

Either Chris Hipkins and Jacinda are telling porkies about the covid spreaders in the north or they are purposely not being told so they can claim deniability. The way this Govt is pussy footing around the gangs is incredible.
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October 10, 2021 8:20am
- WaveyDavey
  
  The latter is the obvious answer – don’t ask, can’t tell
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:42am
- Justitia
  
  The government is now a coalition between Labour and the Mongrel Mob, haven’t you heard?. Harry Tam is a top prospect for the Police Portfolio.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:11am
  - pdm
    
    First move will be to make Wally Haumaha Commissioner.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:07pm
G152

Saw a fake news headline “What lies ahead”
And immediately went into editorial/proof reader mode.
“What lies lie ahead ?????”
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October 10, 2021 8:22am
- mikenmildagain
  
  And what lies lay beneath, yet to be lied about or laid to rest?
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:40am
I remember when

The great East Coast vaccination drive:
Yet another photo, TV item of Jacinda, with her mask on, leaning towards the open window of a car to greet the occupants.
Even at least one of her hand reaching inside the car and appearing to touch the person.
The source of all information and truth about covid at work.
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October 10, 2021 8:24am
- Man Among the Ruins
  
  Why are vaccinated people still wearing masks? Biden does it all the time too. It’s all just a smoke and mirrors advertising campaign for a product that is not even needed. As an analogy, I don’t need an ad campaign to convince me to drink plenty of water, but there are a lot of Coke ads out there. The manufacturer of Coke is always the winner, while the consumer just becomes fat and diabetic.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:52am
- Benedict Yu
  
  I would have quickly reached for the ‘close window’ button. Then the panic button on the car alarm. ?
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:11am
  - Man Among the Ruins
    
    [Deleted and a warning. Mod.]
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:27am
- emmess
  
  The elites only wear the mask for show
  
  She then pulled her black N95-style mask away from her face, pointed to the camera and said: ‘No, no, no—I’m just wearing it because I’ve got a Republican tracker here.’
  
  https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/tlaib-admits-she-is-wearing-a-mask-due-to-nearby-republican-tracker/ar-AAPdsXE
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:28am
- rouppe
  
  And what was the point they had already decided to get vaccinated.
  
  If she was doing a “vaccination drive” she should be going door to door in the neighbourhoods
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:05am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Door to door, it’s too early for her to do that. Supposed to wait until the 31st.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:42am
kowtow

Sunday Ferald has a big article citing Prof Nick Wilson on lax border controls .

Which brings to mind that every time we’ve had lockdowns the Media Pardy go ape shit around the issue of people travelling from plague zones into pristine paradisos .

We’ve now had a scenario where the Waikato persons with vaginas rugby team have fled not once but twice from lockdowns in order to travel to the Wuflu free South Island to play a game.

Where’s the outrage , where’s the fusdration from Make Glorious Covid Free Leader ?

Where’s the Media pardy that made such a fuss over Israel Folau’s tweets?
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October 10, 2021 8:29am
- rouppe
  
  Too many intersectionality hazards.
  
  Female.
  Largely Maori
  Many lesbians
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:07am
Tomtoddy

I am a bit mystified. Yesterday the Ferald ran a story criticising the Govt, the health Ministry, the DHb and all the rest of us for the fact that Maori are not getting vaccinated.

I am always suspicious of claims about “Maori” that throw a broad blanket over anyone with a ounce of Maori blood as though they all think, act, respond the same just because of the ounce of blood. My Maori neighbours were vaccinated weeks ago. They didnt need $40 million thrown at them or dozens of braindead adverts and cajoling calls from all and sundry.

When does personal responsibility kick in?
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October 10, 2021 8:49am
- Cassandra
  
  As long as the buyer has plenty of money to splash, you can hold your hand out. Maori have votes to sell – actually to rent – so the buyers can queue up. Since Labour has the dosh (actually yours but Labour controls it) than the only personal responsibility is to hold your hand out.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:03am
  - Sacha
    
    My bank balance could do with a cash injection.
    I wonder if I would subject my body to vaccine science for a decent offer –
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:39am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      My price for vaccination on demand: $NZD100K.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:18pm
- Rich Prick
  
  Indeed. If you subject yourself to mainstream news, you could be forgiven for believing that only gang lives matter. Yesterday we heard all about the Mongrel Mob and Black Power and their “good” deeds in these COVID times. Strange that the media should think the rest of us care.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:10am
  - Paulus Gnome
    
    Yep
    
    Yesterday was that watershed moment for me and TV news.
    
    Wall to wall crap, not one overseas report followed by the women’s ‘aren’t we great and need to be paid the same as the all blacks ’cause we so fuckin’ good!’ sports.
    
    I only held out for the weather but guess what tv? There’s an app for the weather without your repetitive arsewipe ads so you are gone burger!
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:26am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      If you don’t watch TV1 news you are uninformed.
      If you do watch TV 1 news you are misinformed
      
      53 3
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      October 10, 2021 9:55am
      - PhilBest
        
        Correction: if you don’t follow ANY news sources, you are uninformed.
        
        I don’t see how not watching TV1 makes anyone “uninformed”. Actually you are just “not misinformed”, which is different.
        
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        October 10, 2021 9:59am
      - emmess
        
        Even that is not true anymore
        There are so many lies by omission, that people who watch it have no idea what is going on
        
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        October 10, 2021 10:30am
      - Nickc2
        
        Agree, I’ve had it with these woke talking heads pissing in each other’s pockets in a language made for the Maori TV Channel and presenting personal opinion as news.
        
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        October 10, 2021 10:32am
    - Prince
      
      Strange how the Waikato wahine captain couldn’t stop using the f word in the after match interview, then invoked the ‘God be praised’ expression ‘alleluia’ (appropriated from the evil colonialist of course) in the team song.
      
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      October 10, 2021 9:59am
      - Tony Stuart
        
        I don’t think it’s strange at all. Waikato was beaten in the last minute last year, so a win yesterday, their first title, was something to celebrate. When you’re excited, and not used to doing on-air interviews, sometimes these things slip out.
        
        As for the team song, it sounded like a Fijian or Samoan hymn. There are a lot of of Pasifika in the team, most of whom have a strong faith.
        
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        October 10, 2021 11:31am
      - MCos
        
        I saw a documentary about a Lions tour coached by Warren Gatland also from the mighty Waikato.
        Variations on the word ‘fuck’ comprised 50% of his team talks.
        
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        October 10, 2021 12:23pm
    - Bridgenag
      
      The TV1 online news has gone to custard and the weather site disappeared altogether. Half the 60 minute news last night, which I didn’t watch but flicked over to now and again, was ad nauseum Covid. BTW Is it true Lisa was not sportswoman of the year?
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:21am
      - Nickc2
        
        I heard she was pipped at the post by the Hubbard creature.
        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10051629/Transgender-weightlifter-Laurel-Hubbard-named-sportswoman-year-New-Zealand-university.html
        
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        October 10, 2021 12:45pm
    - DeepBlue
      
      That’s stamina. I gave up watching TV news 20 years ago because at 6pm I was still stuck in traffic, and 10pm was nightmare inducing.
      
      I’ve recently seen a few news ‘shows’ (certainly not bulletins) followed The Project. Populist, biased drivel.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:30am
- krazykiwi
  
  Personal responsibility is anathema to cultural Marxists. It prevents them from manufacturing, and then manipulating for gain, a society filled with victims and oppressors.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:12am
- MCos
  
  “When does personal responsibility kick in?”
  Ask oneself that question before blaming the government for the misdeeds of someone who deliberately breaks the rules, for example people who bust through the Auckland perimeter.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:14am
- Benedict Yu
  
  It is confusing. Well for me. I thought the Treaty meant we were all one people. Yet I keep hearing about a “partnership” between the Crown and Maori. But does not the “Crown” represent all people including Maori?
  
  I am familiar with a lot of the regulatory Acts passed by this government. They all mandate extensive requirements to consult “Iwi” and tangata whenua in the management of all natural resources.
  
  So I draw the conclusion that the Government is mandating the treatment of “Maori” as a very special sector of the population that will have veto rights over a whole range of issues, including the use of private property.
  
  Of course the benefits of such separate development will be a group of elites. Not the Maori folk that go about their business in the poor suburbs of East Christchurch.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:16am
  - Scott
    
    Quite right Benedict. In 1840 the Maori people became subjects of the Crown. As did everyone else who lived in New Zealand at that time.
    A subject of the Crown cannot enter into partnership with the Crown. We are subjects, not partners.
    
    Admitting the idea of partners means that there are two standards of citizenship – one for Maori partners and the rest are subjects. That can’t possibly be allowed to stand. How can one build a harmonious society on that basis?
    
    Lastly the idea that Queen Victoria, on whose empire the sun did not set at that time, would enter into a partnership as equals with 100,000 illiterate tribes people on the other side of the world is pure fantasy.
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:25am
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      Indeed Scott. And to the best of my knowledge, there is no reference in the Treaty to a “partnership”. Maori ceded sovereignty to the Crown. End. Of. Story.
      But you have a Government pushing the propaganda that there is a partnership. To appease their abjectly hopeless Maori MP’s. Because of course, Labour don’t want to see the rise of the Maori Party again. National should get rid of Maori seats when they get back into power.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:40am
  - sooty
    
    Personal responsibility is taken after the KFC is handed out!
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:31am
  - Taieri
    
    They all mandate extensive requirements to consult “Iwi” and tangata whenua in the management of all natural resources.
    —————–
    
    Who selects representatives of “iwi” and “tangata whenua” and how is it done? Perhaps they self-select?
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:31am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Kind of. Each iwi has “guardianship” of resources, rivers lakes etc in their tribal area. You go to the regional Council. They give you the name of the person who is the contact for you. You then phone the person. You say “My client is applying for resources consent to build a water bottling plant. The (name act) says he needs to consult you. Then you can say goodbye to about 3 years and a half a million. And get used to many many many meetings.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:17am
      - ISeeRed
        
        Extortion racket. Endemic corruption. Flagrant rent-seeking. This must all end.
        
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        October 10, 2021 10:33pm
  - 70andstilllearning
    
    “……will be a group of elites.”
    That group has existed for centuries. The so called ‘beneficiaries” of today’s maori organisations see sfa of the benefits while the elite live high on the hog.
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:35am
    - PhilBest
      
      Who was it who described the phenomenon of the emergence of a class of Maori “upper class twits”? I’m guessing Rodney Hide from memory but it might have been someone else.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:01am
      - Nickc2
        
        Doesn’t matter, so long as it was said IMO.
        
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        October 10, 2021 11:00am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      There are few if any Maori, the ones picking up the loot may only be 1/16 themselves.
      Is an interbred Maori still a Maori? What were the ones that signed up to Queen Victoria’s protection from utu?
      
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      October 10, 2021 3:24pm
  - Justitia
    
    Benedict, this excellent article from Don Brash published yesterday sets out the sorry background to the Treaty “partnership” fraud now well entrenched in government:https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/the-damage-done-by-robin-cooke
    
    Robin Cooke’s ill chosen partnership metaphor in 1987 has been grossly misrepresented by extremists, some Cuban trained, and has caused a great deal of harm to New Zealand society with much more to come over “3 Waters”, Health and the Education syllabus.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:21am
    - SoloView
      
      Re “Cuban trained activists”
      
      Would it be possible for you to identify the Cuban trained extremists for us?
      
      Helps us to know who is spreading dis-information.
      
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      October 10, 2021 12:19pm
      - Justitia
        
        Soloview: From the public record, for starters:https://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/features/profiles/38628/Ripeka-Evans
        
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        October 10, 2021 1:36pm
      - Justitia
        
        International “students” were usually taken to the Isle of Youth, where Castro had once been imprisoned, to study Marxism. Cuba put a lot of effort into promoting socialist revolution among the young from a wide range of countries, especially in Africa, before its economic collapse in the 1990s. Cuba also had a major hand in drafting the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from which He PuaPua takes its cue. Cuba’s purpose was to cause trouble in its enemy the United States as well as countries like Australia and New Zealand. On a personal note, I resigned from the National Party when I learned Key had so irresponsibly allowed Sharples to sign this dangerous document in secret and without any debate. I thought it would be implemented piecemeal by an activist judiciary rather than a Cabinet however.
        
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        October 10, 2021 3:08pm
pdm

Did anyone else watching the Hawkes Bay v Tasman game yesterday think that Referee Doleman lives at French Pass or Stoke or maybe Takaka?

How else could that Tasman prop who KO’d Ash Dixon about 12 minutes from the end not get at least a Yellow and probably a Red Card for a no arms tackle which included a shoulder to the head. What is more that was only one of several dodgy decisions he made favouring Tasman during the game.

The good news is the Ranfurly Shield is in Hawkes Bay for another summer.
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October 10, 2021 8:53am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Agree. Should have been a red. Tasman were very lucky to get close to Hawke’s Bay.
  Here’s hoping Wellington gets another crack in 2022, after I suffered through their abysmal challenge last year.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:43am
  - pdm
    
    Uptick for that MM – seldom do I do that.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:12pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Politics and sport don’t mix well, and DPF doesn’t seem very interested in sport, so we don’t see many sporting comments on Kiwiblog.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:35pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        There’s one slogan that covers sport, politics, and sex.
        
        “Up the Reds”
        
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        October 10, 2021 5:08pm
- Prince
  
  If there is such a thing as a ‘Try of the Season’ , the Bay’s first try should win hands down. Just brilliant.
  If the Hurricanes aren’t signing this team up in bulk they deserve another painful season.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:03am
- blue collar
  
  Only coz the mighty naki never got a shot ….well done fellas … next year it’s ours , probably be a ref from taradale tho .
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:48am
  - pdm
    
    TMO Mark Johnson (aka Malumba) whom we have known since he was about 12 does now live in Taradale I think but grew up at Elsthorpe and also taught at Mangaorapa (Orapa to us oldies from CHB) school.
    
    A good solid Hawkes Bay lad who was sadly lacking when the thuggery happened. Probably not his role with the foot on the touch line or a couple of other dodgy calls by the ref.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:18pm
- Nickc2
  
  Put the blind Touch Judge in the same basket.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:02am
peterwn

Personal responsibility does not come into it. It is all because of racism and colonisation.
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October 10, 2021 8:54am
Bob McCoskrie

Politicians behaving badly.
Watch
https://youtu.be/Hrp1UeTcDTY
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October 10, 2021 8:54am
Clownworld

If people have already chosen not to get a medical treatment , personal responsibility has already been exercised. When will the media acknowledge freedom of choice? When will media become unbiased?
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October 10, 2021 9:07am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Never.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:18am
- MCos
  
  If someone is running round with an infection disease it’s not the same as something like a busted leg that effects nobody else.
  
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  October 10, 2021 3:03pm
Yvette

“If Winston said it, he needs to prove it … If he’s not going to apologise, we will need to look at legal action,” Tam said. [1]

Ardern said there was “no evidence” to back up some of the claims that have been circulating online and the government was not withholding any vital information.
“As we’ve had information about their movements, we’ve released them. But this is a case where the individual, despite the involvement of the police, has not been forthcoming and that is why we took a very precautionary approach, and that was the right one. [2]

Winston claimed to have impeccable sources, but basically his source appears to be a Facebook post that had circulated widely. I have received it almost a dozen times […] I decided not to publish it, but Winston blurts it out on live TV as holy writ. It is a shame Winston did, because it has allowed the Government to escape scrutiny over the rest of the issue. They have denied the aspects about Harry Tam, but are not denying all of it [3]

“Saying there’s no evidence for claims is weaselly as 1990s climate change denial,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “If the Government knows that the person at the centre of the Northland COVID outbreak was not a gang-related sex worker, it should say so instead of treating the public like mushrooms.” [4]

Of the several questions David Seymour poses [4] he should add “What all does Police Commissioner Coster know of the uncooperative female who toured Northland and tested covid positive?

Police Commissioner Coster could confirm part of Winston Peters’ statement
Peters alleged the woman stayed in a hotel in central Whangārei, but when she had a Covid test and it came back positive, she fled to a marae further north. [5]

What this Herald report does not mention is that Winston claims, of a marae hiding the woman –
Winston: “… the Police got a warrant to arrest her, she had gone and probably now is in Auckland. All the was known days and days ago and the shocking thing is that none of us was told that publicly.” […]
Interviewer: Right, do you know what she was doing in Northland?
Winston: Yes, I do
Interviewer: Can you tell us?
Winston: Yes – No, it’s for the Police and the Minister, and the Prime Minister to tell you that [6]

Surely Police Commissioner Coster can confirm the marae situation and a warrant was obtained to arrest the woman, since he has several other times clarified similar contentious social media comments, and this, “involving serious illness or deaths”. is an issue potentially as serious as the others he has publicly dealt with – Gayford rumours, and Samsudeen (his attitude, morning of the supermarket attack).
_________________
[1] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-mongrel-mob-hit-back-at-winston-peters-over-northland-claims/63YJXDDR3A7PLZDK7O4XHVKZQQ/
[2] https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/10/09/no-evidence-northland-case-has-gang-connections-pm-says/
[3] https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2021/10/winston_vs_harry.html
[4] https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2110/S00093/government-sounds-like-90s-climate-denier-on-northland-case.htm
[5] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-winston-peters-tv-claims-woman-at-centre-of-northland-scare-connected-to-mongrel-mob/IUAPS4YERU4NNAPSCI2YOCLWVM/
[6] from a trans-script of a video which has now been changed
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October 10, 2021 9:11am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Winston has always claimed to have “impeccable sources”, but they have often proved to be anything but.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:36am
  - Flossie
    
    That’s right. He knew exactly who had spilled the beans regarding his pension over payment didn’t he.
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:55am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Yup. If you believe Winston I have a Huka lodge to sell to you!
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:07am
  - Yvette
    
    Tony Stuart
    Agreed that Winston can miss the point –
    
    • In July 2014, Winston Peters made a speech in Parliament repeating similar allegations of fraud against Staples after being provided with documents from Freeman.
    In her ruling, Justice Doogue said: “Mr Freeman knowingly and cynically encouraged Mr Peters to make defamatory allegations in Parliament because parliamentary privilege would leave Mr Staples with no recourse against Mr Peters.”
    A large section of Peters’ speech was then broadcast on two occasions on MediaWorks TV show Campbell Live.
    … Freeman was ordered to to pay Staples $350,000 in damages, interest from the date of Justice Doogue’s judgment yesterday, and costs of $20,000 [1]
    
    • New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been ordered to pay nearly $320,000 in costs after he failed to pin a privacy breach on top civil servants and retiring National Party MPs. [2]
    A saga in which it appears the public was not “leaked” anything that Winston did not himself confirm in his own statements or in reported Winston-initiated court evidence.
    
    But Winston’s credibility should not prevent David Seymour asking Parliamentary Question about the Northland marae, which reportedly hid the woman in question, or that Police had to obtain a warrant, and whether or when Government representatives or Bloomfield knew of that.
    __________________
    [1] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/350k-defamation-payout-to-businessman-follows-debt-collector-winston-peters-fraud-allegations/J7LVUYMV5BE66XHMRY2MN23R4A/
    [2] https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/421599/winston-peters-ordered-to-pay-nearly-320k-in-costs-for-court-battle 20 July 2020
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:15am
  - In Vino Veritas
    
    Yep Tony, Peters along with being a political charlatan, is a chancer wide boy from way back. Even when he goes to court and loses, he comes out waving a bit of paper in the air, making claims about a win.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:44am
- emmess
  
  Government Sounds Like 90’s Climate Denier On Northland Case
  
  Seriously, David Seymour?
  You are going to need to come up with better analogies than that.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:37am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Don’t under rate Winston. Work and booze, a common problem of MP’s, may have got him but when he’s working well he has proved exceedingly able. He knows more about what’s really going on than most. Judgement is not the same as knowledge. If he’s now seeking to make trouble for Ardern let him.
  
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  October 10, 2021 3:43pm
Cassandra

Let’s get away from Covid for a spell. Our government wants to show that it is “independent” by restating as its first comment that Australia’s nuclear submarines will be forbidden from our waters. Presumably the RNZN will not be allowed to exercise with them? I wonder. Anyway, has anyone noticed what China is doing in Panama? Massive infrastructure investment, the new colonialism. NZ depends on two major waterways, the Panama Canal and the Straits of Malacca, as well as the South China Sea and the Gulf. Freedom of the seas is vital to us. Yet we have only two ships, so parts of the year none available, and our first priority is to push away our closest ally and best friend?
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October 10, 2021 9:14am
- mikenmildagain
  
  HMNZ ships Te Kaha and Aotearoa are currently deployed to the south China Sea to exercise with the RN’s carrier group, the USN and other nations’ vessels.
  It was a very poor decision in the 1990s to refuse the option to take a third Anzac-class frigate. One might believe that a future government would buy at least three of the Anzac-class replacement vessels, but one should not expect it to happen.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:51am
  - Stu2
    
    Can they defend themselves against over the horizon anti-ship missiles?
    
    Suspect they might be sitting (floating?) ducks
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:51am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      I do know that in the 1990s or early 2000s Jane’s Defence Weekly described Te Kaha and Te Mana as the ‘world’s best informed targets’, as their surveillance systems were in common with the RAN’s Anzacs, but not the weapons upgrades.
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:33am
  - rangitoto
    
    We should order some Virginia class subs from the US. Much sneakier than frigates.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:12am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      A frigate is much cheaper than any submarine, and inherently useful for a much wider range of tasks.
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:34am
      - Lance
        
        Good grief
        Mike wrote something I agree with.
        Happens a few times a year
        
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        October 10, 2021 1:39pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  NZ will treat Australian subs as if they had leprosy
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:01am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Indeed. I have never understood this nuclear free thing. It seems childish. Banning nuclear weapons is one thing but taking a long view, like the next couple of centuries, nuclear will power the world. Our descendents a century for now will look back on wind energy the way we look back on horses and buggies.
    
    And even though we are “nuclear free” we still need the products of nuclear reactors, for example for radiation treatment of cancer. Australia produces all its own isotopes from its research nuclear reactor in Sydney.
    
    https://www.ansto.gov.au/research/facilities/opal-multi-purpose-reactor
    
    So New Zealand wants to be nuclear free but also benefit from essential products generated from nuclear reactors.
    
    I don’t know where this nuclear free thing came from. Before my time here. But it makes New Zealand look stupid.
    
    And as for the Australian nuclear submarines let’s face it, ANZUS is now dead. New Zealand has no functioning defence force, especially the Navy and the Air Force.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:30am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Same as keep NZ GE free.
      
      Haven’t heard much about Genetic engineering in the last few months….. wonder why?
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:46am
      - Ed Snack
        
        Well, keeping some GE products out of NZ would be an excellent idea, but Covid is already loose and spreading so a bit late with that.
        
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        October 10, 2021 11:47am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      The rabid left are as thick as two short planks. For decades the difference between nuclear armed and nuclear propelled has been explained but they just can’t understand.
      It was also politicised
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:05am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Jim Bolger commissioned a report on the safety of nuclear-propelled vessels, but chickened out on following the commission’s advice. No New Zealand government would buy a fight with the nuclear-free zealots.
        
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        October 10, 2021 11:36am
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Nuclear free zealots are infected with some sort of unknown disease Mike. It fucks with rational thinking.
        Btw, you got an uptick
        
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        October 10, 2021 2:07pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      “So New Zealand wants to be nuclear free but also benefit from essential products generated from nuclear reactors.”
      Just like we want to be coal free so we don’t mine it, we import it. Strange people running NZ
      
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      October 10, 2021 12:18pm
    - Paulus
      
      Hasn’t happened yet – am told the next Australian Labor Government will cancel the Submarine order anyway.
      
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      October 10, 2021 2:03pm
- PhilBest
  
  If National had any principles and spine, they would have run with this obvious enlightened position:
  
  George Monbiot’s Green credentials are as impeccable as they come. And he writes for the Guardian.
  
  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima
  
  21 March 2011
  
  George Monbiot: Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power
  
  “You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology…”
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:06am
  - Lance
    
    So long as reactors aren’t PHWR types then I am too in support. Molten salts, particularly Thorium types look safe and promising.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:43pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      The molten salt reactors have probably lost out for the future. Atomic hydrogen can change, in the presence of a catalyst and small plasma, yielding abundant energy. The future will surely be atomic but not the big variety with radiation etc.
      More demos are underway of products close to commercial production. I expect a very interesting new year.
      
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      October 10, 2021 3:56pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        Demos of these “power systems” Kev, have been in preparation for over ten years, and probably will be for the next ten or twenty or more.
        
        They are unfortunately a scam, good for extracting money from gullible investors, but not for producing energy.
        
        Atomic hydrogen exists and can be prepared at some cost in energy. It then gives almost all of that energy back recombining or reacting with other ions. It will not fuse (and you would need at least 1 neutron from somewhere to do so) to form Helium without extreme temperatures and usually, pressure. You might use ionised D+ or deuterium stripped of its electron and not bound with another H or D, or even a T+, but the same problem arises. Despite claims, no one has demonstrated a suitable catalyst yet. Sorry.
        
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        October 10, 2021 5:15pm
    - Ed Snack
      
      The US ran a molten salt reactor for several years in the late 60’s early 70’s but stopped it. They do produce a fissile material that could be used for bomb making, U233, but U233 is problematic in bombs as it self poisons rapidly from decay products. The US did explode a bomb using U233, and it was essentially a failure. It did explode as a fission explosion, but the yield was under 50% I think of the expected yield, possibly through poisoning after a delay in the test.
      
      Quite a bit of work still needed to produce useful and economic designs, but very useful long term as effective failed Thorium is considerably more abundant than Uranium. But cost effective fail to safe designs do exist without using molten salt, and it would certainly pay to work with these while preparing for longer term solutions.
      
      One problem is that the world would need to commission far more reactors annually than even remotely contemplated to make a significant change to CO2 emissions in the medium term. But the other option is fuel and energy poverty – for the masses of course. The elite like this because they won’t have that problem, we will, but why should they care ?
      
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      October 10, 2021 5:20pm
- Paulus
  
  Doesn’t China still manage the Panama Canal so has detailed knowledge of everything that passes through?
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:00am
- Dairy Flat
  
  There are almost certainly British and American attack subs on exercise currently in the South China Sea along with several nations’ surface vessels including a New Zealand frigate.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:08pm
Ruahine

Excellent point made by Cactus Kate on her website regarding all this vilification of people who do not wish to be vaccinated and the new slogan of “no jab no job”.
We do not hear any calls by Ardern etc aalong the lines of “no jab no welfare”.
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October 10, 2021 9:18am
- PhilBest
  
  I wonder if there will be any talk of withholding welfare from people who lost their job because they wouldn’t get jabbed….?
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:08am
- DeepBlue
  
  Winston also said this in his waking from the dead moment.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:34am
- Tom Hunter
  
  You should take a look at Lithuania, with Canada not far behind. Is this Our future in NZ?
  
  Not certain but a high probability: we may be saved only by the gangs and young and middle class Maori, since the government will never have the balls to take them on with tough guy measures.
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:38pm
- MCos
  
  That’s two different things.
  Sure there’s people vilify the anti vaccination cohort, but everyone will be vilified by someone for something.
  I’m vaccinated and I wouldn’t want to be in a confined space with people who were not. While the vaccine doesn’t give total protection it’s certainly enhanced if the others in close proximity are also vaccinated.
  
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  October 10, 2021 3:42pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Law must be respected. Superior law can overtake the petty amateur wishes of the commie chick domain.
  
  The “vaccine” remains experimental and hence requires explicit consent, which cannot be forced by third parties. The Nuremberg Convention is in force in NZ and that prevails (for very good reason,)
  
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  October 10, 2021 4:33pm
Benedict Yu

In 3 months it will be the end of the road for vaccination. There will only be the hold outs left. And they will be disproportionately Maori. Will the Government condemn the stupidity of “Maori”? Logically if you are going to have a separate strategy to get Maori people vaccinated, it also makes sense to condemn them when they all give the finger to said strategy.

But no. Maori will blame the racist health system. Jacinda will wave her arms and frown.
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October 10, 2021 9:22am
- sooty
  
  And stamp her foot and point her boney finger.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:33am
- Yvette
  
  Benedict Yu – Maori will blame the racist health system. Jacinda will wave her arms and frown.
  
  Supposedly the answer to the “racist health system” is known –
  If, the Government has targeted Māori health as a priority area for spending in Budget 2021, and allocated $242.8 million for the sector, and that includes $98 million to set up the new Māori Health Authority (MHA), Andrew Little must know the principles, the precise tikanga that justifies this committed spending, and if these are in fact valid, why are they not applied to the present priority to ensure as many Māori as possible are vaccinated?
  
  Either this Maori tikanga is legitimately applicable to the current under-vaccination of Maori, or it is hogwash (sorry, pigs) proving the new Māori Health Authority is utterly pointless.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:53am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    the new Māori Health Authority is ~~utterly pointless.~~ in conflict with our Bill of Rights and of very dubious constitutionally. If not, it borders on, treason.
    Who has given the mandate for this–not the people. In other times and places a govt being so rash would be evicted with extreme prejudice.
    
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    October 10, 2021 4:39pm
- ecco
  
  Did you see that Maori doctor on Newshub Nation show yesterday? Basically said it’s all the pakeha’s fault because the Maoris have got such low vax rates. That they are in hard to reach areas and everyone should have tried harder to find them and explain it. And it’s so not their fault. He then proceeds to say NZ should not under any circumstance open up until 95% of the Maori are vaccinated. Give me strength.
  
  Then you had a Maori female reporter -with moko-. Of course. On the panel discussion later saying that NZ can’t possibly open up till the majority of the Maori are vaccinated. When is that going to be? Will about Christmas 2022. Yeah right.
  
  Interesting times for Ardern next week. Is she going to sacrifice the whole NZ economy and mental health state of Aucklanders to pander for this section of society who can’t help themselves. I really despair over what we’ve come to in NZ and the victim mentality of a subsection of the Maori population. No amount of money and resources will ever be enough for them.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:02pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Yesterday I asked about the differences between vaccines 1 and 2, and the booster. I don’t think the boosters have been ordered yet.
Serious question.
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October 10, 2021 9:23am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Good question. By next March, vulnerable people are going to need a booster. I guess the government has it in hand.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:33am
  - Cinematic
    
    “I guess the government has it in hand”. Did you miss the sarc labels there BY??
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:50am
  - sooty
    
    Yer, right!
    
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    October 10, 2021 9:56am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Yeah but is the booster yet another vax, or a different substance?
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:04am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      I am still very wary of what these bastards want to force into my body, and for good reason
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:06am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      No the booster is just another dose of the vaccine.
      
      Anyway I thought you were dead against getting vaccinated? ?
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:32am
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        I was scared, you know why. The red flag (yesterday) for me was Judith Collins defecting to the left with her nonsense about vaccine proof or no supermarkets. Straight out Marxist bullshit
        
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        October 10, 2021 11:09am
    - Man Among the Ruins
      
      The booster is exactly the same substance as the first two shots that were – obviously, as a matter of logic – so effectual that you will require multiple top-ups of said boosters. It’s just superstition at this point, not logical consistency or science.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:35am
    - Ed Snack
      
      Current boosters are, as far as I can find out, identical to the current shots. Testing appears to show that the spike protein itself has not mutated much and that the original mRNA strand still produces an immunity that targets current virus variants.
      
      Or so it is claimed.
      
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      October 10, 2021 10:58am
      - KevO'Brien
        
        The spike protein is not intended to mutate but replicate.
        
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        October 10, 2021 4:41pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        Kev, the S protein can mutate, but it was already fairly good at what it does, so selection pressure may not readily be able to produce a version that is better in a short time.
        
        It was almost certainly engineered in the lab (to include the Furin Cleavage Site, FCS) and that may affect its ability to be subject to mutational pressure. Any change that affects that artificially introduced sequence would be very detrimental to Covid’s ability to bind and infect.
        
        All living things can mutate (or rather their DNA/RNA can) and as such variants will be selected based on their “success” in promoting the viability of the object. Some parts of the genome are extremely well preserved as any changes make that part worse. This can trap an organism into a local maxima that isn’t an absolute maxima, for in evolution, sometimes there just isn’t a way to get to a suitable place from where one starts. Human eyes would be a bit simpler and probably better if they didn’t include a blind spot where the connections for the light detecting cells go through to the brain, but once our ancestors started evolving eyes that way round, it wasn’t feasible to change to the sort of mechanism used by Octopodes for example, without a blind spot. Going backwards in evolution is usually (though not absolutely) impossible.
        
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        October 10, 2021 5:29pm
    - Durden
      
      We don’t know what boosters we will get and when. But they could well be variant specific like this NZ developed version being trialled on mice right now.
      
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300424063/covid19-kiwimade-delta-vaccine-in-early-us-trial
      
      I am sure other suppliers will be looking to create variant specific vaccines. If not for anything other than to achieve acceptance for regular vaccinations for ever and create additional permanent income streams.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:41pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        “NZ developed version being trialled on mice right now.”
        Why not just test it on sheep? You know, the ones that vote Labour
        
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        October 10, 2021 2:09pm
  - PhilBest
    
    I think they haven’t worked out yet, because of endemic incompetence, that the vaxx plain straight doesn’t work. It’s not that it “loses its effectiveness”, it is that it only starts to get challenged once politicians start lifting restrictions “because enough people have been vaxxed”, and then people start spending time in the aerosol-risk environments that present a proper infection challenge. The vaxxine trials never bothered to make sure such a challenge was ever part of the analysis, and the trial subjects who were signed up in no way included a representative cohort of those most under aerosol environmental risk. And the trials happened in the middle of summer – the WHO said Covid is not seasonal and not airborne, so the trials were doomed to irrelevance by this criminal “incompetence”.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:12am
  - Lance
    
    I have seen the anti-vaxer videos and I can’t get cutlery to stick to my arms after I have been double jabbed… have I been ripped off?
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:45pm
    - Ed Snack
      
      Undoubtedly Lance, but you are in luck as I can sell you a special set of cutlery designed to stick to your arm, yes, stick directly to it.
      
      Just send $$$ to the secret address, or use Bitcoin if you prefer….
      
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      October 10, 2021 5:31pm
    - tf78
      
      Stainless steel isn’t magnetic.
      
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      October 10, 2021 6:24pm
- pdm
  
  I may be wrong but I think some essential workers will be due for Boosters soon after Labour Weekend.
  
  Does anyone know for sure?
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:39am
- raven
  
  As I understand it, the booster is the same concoction as the vaccine – it’s not a new mix, so it’s not updated to allow for new mutations, like Delta.
  
  FDA has approved for limited use only, assumption: risks outweigh benefits for people not in these groups:
  https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-booster-dose-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-certain-populations
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:51am
- Stu2
  
  If we are using Pfizer the boosters are exactly what we are using now. We probably have a low level of orders 6 months out already for any extra people who decide to get a dose. Shouldn’t be hard to boost the order.
  
  We might decide one of the other contenders is better vs delta, so may be wise not to lock ourselves in now but keep monitoring outcomes.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:55am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Though worth noting that Iceland along with Denmark and Sweden have limited the use of the Moderna vaccine due to concern about serious side effects in unacceptable numbers. Iceland has suspended all use of Moderna, Denmark and I think Sweden only limited its use in younger people (<30 I think).
    
    Doesn’t affect NZ as so far we have used Pfizer exclusively.
    
    Interestingly, latest results I have seen claim that Moderna is somewhat more effective than Pfizer and the immunity wanes slower. Side effects with both were noted, mostly blood and heart related, so clots, strokes, and heart inflammation/heart attacks. The AZ vaccine was also noted for side effects involving clotting and heart issues. These are all mRNA based so all probably from excess circulating S protein where the vaccine escapes the injection site. The S protein is toxic and binds to receptors found in the heart and surrounding areas causing inflammation and clotting cascades.
    
    No doubt when safer vaccines are approved everyone will swap to those as quickly as they can.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:04am
    - Ed Snack
      
      And another interesting finding being reported. Another product has been found that helps protect against Covid infection and also appears to lower the risk of hospitalisation and the need for supplemental oxygen by around 50%.
      
      However it is a repurposed drug that also has other uses, and I understand it has, at times, been used on animals. It is also extremely cheap.
      
      Therefore we cannot expect to see it in use anywhere outside the third world if the drug companies get their way.
      
      BTW, the “new” drug is Aspirin, used in low doses. It is a known anti-coagulant and blood clot reducer. Comes from studies of existing patients where some were already on aspirin for heart related issues, and the risk of needing hospitalisation or ventilation by 43-44% and reduced the risk of death by 47%.
      
      Reported in the JPost from a US and a similar Israeli study. No link provided so I’ll see if I can trace one. Lead author is Dr Jonathon Chow at George Washington University.
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:54am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Here’s what looks to be his preliminary study
        https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/fulltext/2021/04000/aspirin_use_is_associated_with_decreased.2.aspx
        
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        October 10, 2021 4:47pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        Thanks Maggie !
        
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        October 10, 2021 5:31pm
      - tf78
        
        Ed, I see Indonesia is now using it and their cases have plummeted.
        
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        October 10, 2021 6:29pm
    - septic skeptic
      
      AZ is not RNA based. It is DNA based.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:06pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        Yes, sorry, you are correct. It uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus to carry a viral protein.
        
        It does have reported blood clotting side effects at a low level, and there were some cases where it’s use was halted temporarily last year as a result.
        
        It does seem to be more prone to anaphylactic shock reactions, and also seems to have a relatively high rate of unpleasant but not especially serious side effects including nausea, diarrhoea, fever, swelling at the site, and low platelet counts.
        
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        October 10, 2021 5:37pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    With all the deceit about the jab from Pfizer how do you what is in the boosters?
    
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    October 10, 2021 4:43pm
- Northshoredoc
  
  That is a good question Steve.
  
  The requirement for boosters is currently being assessed by Medsafe = waiting on more definitive information from overseas regulators and the manufacturers before saying yay or nay.
  
  There’s a fair bit of uncertainty around regarding who would need it, how much benefit it would be (if any) and whether it should be the same vaccine or another (mix and match).
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:49am
  - amospicton
    
    Newsflash – Medsafe expects to be in a position to approve the smallpox vaccine some time in 2023.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:18pm
BeaB

After decades of complaints about white paternalism, you would think modern young Mari would be up in arms at the patronising way they are being bribed with food, balloons and bans to get vaccinated. All in childish voices and silly slogans.

Muskets and blankets seem a much better bargain.
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October 10, 2021 9:25am
- Ruahine
  
  Some still have their muskets it would appear.
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/mongrel-mob-leader-says-members-wont-hand-in-their-guns/DY3UKD2J3XFQJAYXOJXMWAE27M/
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:12am
lastmanstanding

Anyone want to have a stab at how many unvaccinated Gangsters and their Molls have passed Covid on. I bet its significant.
Cindy and Chippy ( the most transparent Government ) wont tell because.
A It will piss off their Maori supporters.
B It will horrify the Raelenes and some at least may desert Cindy.
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October 10, 2021 9:27am
- Ra Henare
  
  Heres a thought. How many of the Bishops team of 2,000-meeting outside in a park. Have tested positive?
  I wonder what the wind was like during the meeting.
  
  Surely the police took names and checked out their vaccine status?
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:31am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Since it was outside, the probability of someone being infected is, to a reasonable approximation 0 +/-0. Possibly a little higher if any idiots were using masks.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:59am
- ecco
  
  Chippy’s outright lying that he has no details on the Covid cases that are repeatedly breaching the border is really not very credible is it. If he really doesn’t know then he should step down from that position.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:04pm
Maggie Pie

Anyone else noticed during interviews, that Jacinda has never once used the term….”MONGREL MOB”

Either on Telly, or Radio.

Why is that?
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October 10, 2021 9:28am
- sooty
  
  Don’t want to upset her gang besties!
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:35am
- Prince
  
  Robertson refers to ‘the disengaged’.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:06am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Maybe if she barked at them they would understand?
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuLWW24qvDc
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:08am
  - DeepBlue
    
    Authentic, my dog just barked in reply.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:44am
- Ed Snack
  
  Maybe because it is all gangs, so why single out just the one ? Though MM is probably the largest, no ?
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:05am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    The largest Gang we need to worry about is the Labour Party
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:44pm
  - Bridgenag
    
    Watch out we are going to get this lot
    
    https://youtu.be/K2L_5fjbqu0
    
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    October 24, 2021 1:35pm
- amospicton
  
  That’s a genuinely good question. Does it have anything to do with Sroubek? I don’t know but they clearly have something over the princess.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:20pm
Stu2

There was a link in a post yesterday to some models by Chris Billington.

https://chrisbillington.net/COVID_NZ.html

The NZ model assumes :
– vaccinations will reach 85% double dose (I think they will go higher)
– a single dose reduces the effective R value by 40% (ie reduces spread by 40%)
– a double dose reduces the effective R value by 80%

The NZ effective r value is 1.30 /- 0.27
So over 1, could be as high as 1.57. A value over 1 means case growth.
Given our lowish case numbers there is a fair degree of uncertainty.

The reason I mention this is the comparison with Victoria. They still have cases increasing in their lockdown, and reached almost 2000 a day yesterday.
The Billington Victoria model has their effective r value at 1.28 /- 0.08 but it has been as high as 2.

So their current value is similar to the NZ value but more certain. They are still growing and it suggests NZ dialy cases will continue to do the same.

An interesting resource, thanks for the link
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October 10, 2021 9:40am
- Stu2
  
  My plus signs have vanished
  
  NZ effective r value is 1.30 plus or minus 0.27
  Victoria 1.28 plus or minus 0.08
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:57am
  - Stu2
    
    Model has changed already
    60 cases today has moved the estimte of r eff to 1.41 plus or minus 0.27
    
    And Saturday testing is usually on the low side.
    
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    October 10, 2021 4:17pm
- Ed Snack
  
  Interesting though, the rash of places around the world with relatively very high vaccination rates (>80%) that are experiencing huge increases in cases. For example Singapore and in Canada, New Brunswick.
  
  Does suggest to me that the supposition that double vaccinations reduce the R value to <1 is pretty suspect. There does appear to be some other unconsidered factors involved. Noted that in both places fully vaccinated people are the great majority of cases, which is of course expected as the great majority of people are vaccinated.
  
  And just to ride my hobby horse again, take a look at a country where cases have crashed, Indonesia. I wonder what they are doing that is different, though I guess it is possible that they (and places in India) are misrepresenting their numbers for political gain.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:10am
  - DeepBlue
    
    A hypothesis I have is: ‘Ivermectin works in 3rd world countries best because it cleans out the gut track of worms, parasites, inflamation etc, thereby giving the immunity system a natural super boost and newfound spare capacity to fight the virus just as it is under threat from Covid (or any flu virus).’
    
    The counter being 1st world countries don’t receive the same super boost, hence the effect not showing up in the amalgamated clinical trial assessments.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:07pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Useless models by people in ivory towers. Models which recognise Covid lockdowns operate outside any virus are a requirement govt. That needs coupling with a govt’s ability to know what they are all about and capable of understanding or rejecting the “advice” they get.
  
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  October 10, 2021 4:50pm
70andstilllearning

Thought Willie J was going to have a coronary on Q+A. Jack couldn’t get a word in edge ways.
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October 10, 2021 9:40am
WaveyDavey

Possibly my most unpopular post in a history of unpopular posts, but here goes…

I’m glad that Covid has got loose

And I’m glad that NZ was unable to stamp out this outbreak

Covid was ALWAYS going to get in and spread there was no doubt about that and any govt spin that said otherwise was always a lie

Happening now, when vaccines, treatments and medical knowledge is available is far better than 12-18 months ago

Had this outbreak been eradicated the govt would have claimed vindication for their nonsensical zero-covid approach

Covid arriving has forced them out of their complacent stupor and made them do something had this not happened they would never have abandoned their all-we-have-is-a-hammer blanket-lockdown policy

People will die, they always do, and they were always going to – yes, of covid – but now, at least we won’t be pursuing a pointless costly anti-business and anti-scientific policy

I have said since March 2020 that the only real question that needs answered is “what is the number of acceptable deaths?” there are supplementaries such as “how do we keep that number as low as is practically possible” but with the advances over 18 months we have that ability.

Yet still that question is only ever treated by the media as this year’s version of “so you want granny to die”

TL:DR It’s time to grow the f*ck up and be adults taking risks rather than swaddled milksops
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October 10, 2021 9:55am
- Ra Henare
  
  as an addendum. I see that NZ is currently 17% behind on excess deaths expected(ie average over last 5 years)
  So would it be fair to say. Let er rip and get back to normal. ie same as average over last 5 years
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:35am
  - WaveyDavey
    
    Yep, there’ll be a catch-up for sure
    
    In 10 years’ time there’ll be a small blip in the excess mortality line. The UK’s death rate in 2003 was higher than 2020 and their 2015 rate matches 2020’s – just 5 years ago and no pandemic and as many people were dying
    
    On a global scale – 4.5m have died from covid across 21 months. Crudely apportioning them that would be 2.5m in 2020
    
    Annually 60m people die, so that represents a 4% increase. Not great but not the end of the human race either
    
    Finally, here’s a really polarising opinion for you:
    
    The unvaccinated South Auckland church deacon who died from/with covid did us all a service.
    
    That death will have led to many, many people getting vaccinated, more than one of them would quite likely have died so the one death will have saved more lives
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:03pm
Jade Warrior

A cowardly performance by Jack Tame in his interview with David Seymour on Q&A this morning.

While discussing Covid Tame criticises ACT’s plans to open up the country by asking Seymour that classic lose-lose question about an acceptable death rate for the virus. Seymour counters by pointing out that people die of medical conditions all the time and, using breast cancer screening as an example, asks Jack what an acceptable death rate from breast cancer is as medical resources are directed away from cancer screening to Covid initiatives.

A visibly uncomfortable Jack doesn’t even have the good grace to concede that Seymour has made a valid point. He just dodges the question by pointing out “I’m not an elected official”.

What a cop out. Jack – if you get the time to read this post before strapping on your Lycra and cycling home (maybe you’ll get a trim latte on the way) – you might reflect on the fact that the problems of our time are not restricted to elected officials. They affect us all – yes, even TV presenters. And if someone does make a valid point in your interviews, you will do yourself more favours with your viewers if you acknowledge that fact.
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October 10, 2021 10:02am
- Gravelroad
  
  Jack Tame is a joke.
  I sometimes hear him on one of those newstalkzb discussion group things along with a guy called Neal.
  I have never once heard Tame say anything unfavourable against the Labour Party and his love-sick support of Ms Ardern is just plain embarrassing in a modern world.
  He should really give up the pretence of being an independent broadcaster/journalist and get a job in the Prime Minister’s propaganda unit.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:34am
  - Prince
    
    He has.
    Works for TVNZ, no ?
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:48am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    That Tame makes even Neale Jones a former advisor to the PM look quite balanced in comparison is disgraceful.
    
    I’ve often thought that Tame’s goal is to replace John Campbell as this country’s biggest leftie sook journalist.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:06pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Tame’s dress code is far better than Campbells.
      Dress shirt, waistcoat, jacket, jeans with roller cuffs, load socks and brown shoes. All class
      
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      October 10, 2021 3:13pm
  - lifesgood
    
    His mother is a school teacher. Might explain something. I can’t take him seriously, he’s barely out of short pants and has the nerve to bully his olders, betters and more experienced.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:51pm
- Lance
  
  I didn’t think Tame could get any lower… but he exceeded my expectations.
  How many thousands of people are going to unnecessarily die of cancer due to NO screening programs vs a few hundred Covid deaths mainly among the unvaccinated?
  Instead of those lives mattering, that sniveling little weasel was only interested in scoring points against Seymore.
  A truly vile person.
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:51pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    The cancer screening thing is happening. 10 weeks ago prostate biopsy for me, and last Sat my partner had a mammogram
    
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    October 10, 2021 3:16pm
raven

Finland, Sweden and Denmark are limiting Moderna vaccine use in young males, as rates of heart damage increase:
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-10-07/finland-joins-sweden-and-denmark-in-limiting-moderna-covid-19-vaccine

Interestingly, some countries are switching to Pfizer, but aren’t they a very similar vaccine? Maybe the legal team is stronger on one of them. Time will tell.
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October 10, 2021 10:04am
- kevn
  
  @raven… Those companies employ more lawyers then chemists. Always guarding their patch.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:05am
- Cinematic
  
  All a bit late isn’t it? How pissed off would a young person, at very little risk of even mild illness from covid in the first place, be about this?
  
  Pity these vaccines didn’t get the normal testing periods isn’t it?
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:10am
- Ed Snack
  
  Same mechanism (mRNA) but slightly different formulation. As it is suspected that escape of the mRNA strands into the bloodstream so that they get to the heart and are expressed there that causes the issue, it could be that the differences though slight, affect the ability of the mRNA to actually get out of the muscle and into the blood. That is certainly possible, can’t find any papers that have looked at the issue.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:13am
  - burt
    
    Nobody really knows, isn’t it lucky we’re quickly eliminating the control group.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:22am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Be interesting to know if Pfizer and Moderna use the exact same mRNA strand for the S protein, or if they are ever so slightly different, maybe using alternate codons which would change the mRNA but not the actual protein product.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:03pm
- Fletch
  
  Curiously, Israel are switching to Moderna, as they say the Pfizer isn’t being effective enough.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:42am
Gulag1917

How the Soviet media controlled its citizens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsbwWb511bM&t=51s
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October 10, 2021 10:14am
oldfella

Front page of the Vancouver Sun…
The fall of Jacinda Ardern: Delta, low vaccination rates unravel New Zealand’s COVID lockdown strategy.
New Zealand’s prime minister was praised for her decisive pandemic reaction. But, as vaccination rates stall, cracks in her plan are now emerging
https://vancouversun.com/news/world/the-fall-of-jacinda-ardern-delta-low-vaccination-rates-unravel-new-zealands-covid-strategy/wcm/dcbddaa1-06ba-4bcd-abef-9082a6a27d35
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October 10, 2021 10:18am
- Brian McDonald
  
  Which 80% unvaccinated New Zealand is that written about?
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:02pm
oldfella

Powerline’s ‘The Week in Pictures’. Some very funny stuff. As always.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/10/the-week-in-pictures-brandon-for-veep-edition.php
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October 10, 2021 10:20am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Something different. NZ is fucked atm. We miss Hawaii.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ6c3Lf0IC4
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October 10, 2021 10:26am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  A guy took his 78 year old Father back to Oahu. His last visit was when stationed in the Navy 50 years previous.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:29am
  - Don Beckett
    
    Reminded me of my 5 day holiday there in 2002 before heading to Bellingham, Washington State for a yachting regatta. Fabulous couple of weeks.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:42am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Have been 4 times, done 3 Islands. Hawaii is our 4 – 4 day stopover stepping stone on our 2 trips to and from Alaska. Cuts the travel time down, other wise it is 9+ hrs to Honolulu, 10 hr stand down before 5 hrs to Anchorage
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:17am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Time to go back Don. Aston Waikiki Beach is our stomping ground, at the south end. Lulu’s just around the corner, upstairs with an amazing view
      
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      October 10, 2021 3:19pm
  - Hollyfield
    
    I like to imagine the man who posted the video checking his analytics and wondering why there is a surge of views from New Zealand.
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:50am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      He is from Oakland US, not Auckland NZ
      
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      October 10, 2021 3:21pm
- Gravelroad
  
  Or you could watch re-runs of the original Hawaii 5O police drama currently on tv weekdays @:5.50pm.
  Some nostalgia there.
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:38am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    There was a small tourist shop that was featured in one program. His name was David Park, a Japanese Hawaiian. Made seashell jewellery from small scallop shells. Gone now
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:25pm
Liberal Cliche

You know its bad when a police officer in the *squints* gender equality and inclusion command steps down over Dan Andrews use of police as his personal goon squad.

https://www.rt.com/news/537063-victoria-police-quits-coronavirus/
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October 10, 2021 10:36am
Maggie Pie

Something else that intrigues me, why does 1Ewes Sport Presenter, Hayley Holt, wear the same ‘white tennis shoes’ every other night?
I know what mine get like after just a single day 🙁

And watching the Sports News last night got me thinking about something else, not ONE of the hundreds of girls I mix with, plays Rugby.
Where do they find these women?
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October 10, 2021 10:43am
- Cinematic
  
  The rugby may be a generational thing Maggie.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:45am
- In Vino Veritas
  
  South Auckland of course Maggie! And may I just say, womans rugby is an appalling spectacle. No matter how the RFU tries to talk it up, hardly particularly physical and it is boring. Sky just use it as a filler I reckon.
  
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  October 10, 2021 10:49am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    I disagree completely. The standard of the women’s game has improved exponentially over the last ten years, and will continue to improve.
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:36am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Cricket too.
      
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      October 10, 2021 11:39am
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      Tony, the standard has improved, no doubt. But from zero, that’s not saying much. Do you actually watch the woman’s NPC? Form my point of view, it’s wretch inducing. Same with cricket. And I’ve given that a good go over the years. An old playing mate was Coach of a provincial team, so I used to do him a favour and go and watch (and tell lies about great we were!). Calling it paint drying is doing a disservice to paint drying.
      
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      October 10, 2021 1:43pm
  - hookerphil
    
    Agreed – I watch the full game yesterday, nothing more than barge and bash. Very disappointing spectacle.
    FJA
    
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    October 10, 2021 11:56am
    - Stu2
      
      Stunning match between the same teams a year ago, but they had all their Black Ferns that time. The ferns have had to sit these finals out as they about to head off on tour.
      
      Covid has stuffed the timing up
      
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      October 10, 2021 12:24pm
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    Saw a woman rugby player on the news last night in Ruatoria. She must have weighed at least 25 stone. Maybe an asset in the scrum, but nowhere else.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:04pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  What sports did you play when younger, Maggie, apart from softball, darts, and pool, of course?
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:00am
- Stu2
  
  Is women’s league preferred in remmers?
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:03am
- Ed Snack
  
  Shake the trees and recruit the ones that fall out, as the saying goes…(seen in Spike Milligan’s memoirs talking about the size and sheer bulk of the Canadian soldiers billeted next to them in England)
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:16am
- Nickc2
  
  The freezing works.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:29pm
Cinematic

Billions and trillions of cases a day in Australia but I can’t spot any news of overwhelmed hospitals.

I’ve had my first dose and been ok. Many of my friends and colleagues have had their second and experienced a range of nasty consequences. Very nasty relative to the likely asymptomatic covid they would have experienced.

This Pfizzer vaccine is not a trivial medical procedure. It should NOT be rolled out to children and infants FFS.
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October 10, 2021 10:51am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  Your friends and colleagues must be a special breed.
  Mrs. M and I had absolutely no reaction to either dose.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:07pm
  - Cinematic
    
    Oh really?
    
    I’ve not met a single person who’s experienced ‘absolutely no reaction’. You and your missus must be super human.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:21pm
    - Captain Mainwaring
      
      I’ll drink to that.
      
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      October 10, 2021 12:46pm
  - septic skeptic
    
    A few anecdotal reports prove nothing of course, but our experience was nothing except a slightly sore arm dose 1. Very mild cold like symptoms dose 2.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:18pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      My 17 y/o grandson had ‘flu like symptoms for 3 weeks after his first jab. He said that he felt like crap most of the time, but continued with schoolwork etc.
      Had his 2 nd jab 3 weeks ago with no adverse reactions.
      
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      October 10, 2021 4:31pm
- kowtow
  
  Are there any examples in the west of any health systems actually collapsing under the Media hyped wuflu strain.
  
  I do realise that many countries simply told everyone with anything other than the bat flu to fuck off , and in many places hospitals ( NZ in L$ first time round for eg) were empty and that now those people who were told to bugger orf are dying but that is either not reported or under reported.
  
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  October 10, 2021 3:17pm
Yvette

The unknown virus
From the experience of most every other nation on Earth, contracting covid can make the unvaccinated seriously ill, hospitalised some or kill some. There is a very simple choice those yet unvaccinated face – get vaccinated, or not.

Hans Brinker supposedly saved his country by putting his finger in a leaking dike, but in endeavouring to do something similar, does Jacinda have enough fingers?
Politicians appear to be in control of factors that determine the virus spread, but recent media reports confirm they are not – it is determined by random movement of individuals – a marae in Northland that reportedly harboured an infected person, to another person placing Katikati on high alert.
This random placement of individuals may make community immunity instantly irrelevant in some cases.

The decision is clouded for some by the involvement of politicians and other personalities.
But those, who are yet to make their choice, should be aware that the virus is in fact a mindless but highly infectious chance – just as those without religious convictions, usually believe the entire universe to be a matter of chance.

Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
– United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

The virus doesn’t know that – it appears to only be driven, as oddly is every other “living” element of the Universe, to multiply.
Despite politicians.
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October 10, 2021 11:01am
Paulus

Is the push to urgently push Vaccinations in the next few day because the Vaccines brought from the other two countries running out of use by dates ?
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October 10, 2021 11:06am
DeepBlue

Govn have granted border exemptions for people moving house. Surely this should be a one time, one way event. Not five times and counting.

If I lived in Auckland and had a holiday home or even sufficient credit to take out a mortgage on a house in the South Island I’d get going. I’d send the wife and family to some well resourced country school area. I’d do my best to give them at least another term of education, fresh air and Summer outside Auckland.
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October 10, 2021 11:11am
- surfing
  
  Level 3 is coming for the holiday homes too.
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:23pm
lazza

Squid Game, for my money, is an abhorrent perverted, sick and voyeuristic obscenity.

It appeals only to those who relish a gratuitous realism of violence and cruelty.

Not for me.
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October 10, 2021 11:15am
- Liberal Cliche
  
  Yes, interesting how watching 200 people get slaughtered with rifles in 5 minutes is “great television”
  
  The entire series is an attack on Capitalism if you haven’t already guessed.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:56pm
Maggy Wassilieff

The covid-positive case in Katikati, BoP, is fully vaccinated.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/10/covid-19-simon-bridges-expresses-frustration-at-bay-of-plenty-case-being-able-to-cross-auckland-border.html
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October 10, 2021 11:20am
oldfella

Not sure who to believe re vaccination rates.
Stuffed have a graphic showing 78.4% have at least one jab.
Ferald’s graphic shows it’s 81.3%.
They can’t both be right.
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October 10, 2021 11:26am
- Ra Henare
  
  One may be over 12 (about 80 mumble percent)
  One may be as total population
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:43am
- Stu2
  
  MoH show 81%, at midnight Thursday
  
  But they are using a 2020 population number which is too low.
  
  The Stats NZ 12+ year old resident popn estimate at June 2021 is 4.347m, using that produces a first vaccinated percentage of 78.2% at midnight Thursday
  
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  October 10, 2021 11:47am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Stuffed is actually accurate ! Wait, was that a pig I just saw flying overhead…
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:48pm
    - Stu2
      
      The interesting part of this is when the MoH says look we are at 90%, and those in the know say no we’re not, we are at 87%
      
      Might be a pissed off PM and Minister
      
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      October 10, 2021 4:14pm
- MCos
  
  The total number of over 12yo is ~4.3mil.
  Therefore 8.6mil doses are needed for 100% or 7.74mil for 90%
  Up to Friday night 5,621,079 doses had been administered. That’s ~65.4% of eligible people.
  54.4% of the entire population of 5,122,600 estimated at 30-June 2021.
  2,120,000min doses are needed to get everyone to 90%.
  At say 70,000/day that’s about a month.
  
  That sounds easy enough.
  
  By the end of the year 5yo will be eligible. That’s another half a million primary school kids.
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:00pm
  - MCos
    
    Total is now 5,789,574 which is 67.3% of eligible pop. or 56.5% of everyone
    Comprising 3,438,289 1st dose 80% & 2,351,485 2nd dose 54.7%
    
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    October 10, 2021 4:35pm
rangitoto

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/indonesia/

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/

Highly vaxed UK:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

Who’s doing better. What could be the reason?
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October 10, 2021 11:29am
- Ed Snack
  
  It is a complete mystery, one that cannot be actually solved by logic or facts. Only by closing one’s eyes and shouting lalalalalalalala. Or of course by the perfectly *reasonable* assumption that India and Indonesia are just lying about their numbers to own us primitives.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:50pm
  - rangitoto
    
    Just don’t mention any treatments not approved by big pharma or their shills.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:18pm
- Tom Hunter
  
  I’ve been using Worldometer from the start but when it comes to making one-chart comparisons I think World in Data is better.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:17pm
- Ed Snack
  
  Actually, latest figures from the UK are rather daunting.
  
  For every age group (in 10 year groups) from 30 up, the percentage of people who catch Covid is higher amongst the vaccinated. This isn’t an artefact, it is calculated as the number being infected per time period out of all the people in that group. So in the 50-59 age group 840 people per 100K vaccinated people caught Covid, whereas 500 people per 100K unvaccinated people caught it. For the 60-69 group it is 560 and 330 respectively.
  
  Do note that this is not the percentage per everyone in that age group, but the percent of those of that status per age. So in the oldest age groups, the actual numbers of unvaccinated is quite small, but the percentage catching it amongst that small group is still lower than amongst their vaccinated peers.
  
  The remaining confounding factor I can think of is that the vaccinated are likely to be averagely sicker as such people were targeted especially. And the numbers are very small at the top end (80+) so the differences there are no doubt not statistically significant.
  
  Still, would seem to point to the fact that the vaccines are not proving to be nearly as effective as hoped. Which is bad no matter how you look at it.
  
  This data is for weeks 36 to 40, as recorded in the UK by the official website.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:58pm
ecco

God, how much is all this free covid testing costing the country? It seems like the sky’s the limit and we have an endless pit of money to throw at this. How many other countries are testing like we are? This seems to still be tied to Ardern’s elimination policy. Adjustments need to be made to target certain areas since Ardern’s change her strategy.

I see in the Telegraph that the uk are stopping free covid home testing kits there and only making it available for free to at risk settings like rest homes.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/10/08/free-covid-tests-could-scrapped-treasury-tries-save-billions/

With increase in the minimum wage, sick pay etc etc and normal time being around $25 and double time in the weekends (that’s $50 an hour to be one of those marshalls at those centres) this must also be costing NZ millions. And where is it getting us?

There needs to be a full account of the costings of this response path Ardern and Robertson have taken NZ on.
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October 10, 2021 11:37am
- MCos
  
  I would suggest if people had to pay the full cost of a covid-19 test (travelers pay $141), few would bother.
  It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out the money saved would be peanuts compared to the cost of the uncontrolled spread of the virus.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:40pm
  - ecco
    
    Wow if they thought like that they would have stumped up and paid pfizer whatever it took to get to the front of the queue for vaccines and saved several billion. And my a**se that Pfizer doesn’t do deals like that. They do exactly that.
    
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    October 10, 2021 5:08pm
- dcrane
  
  Free home testing is worth it, if it means people find out they have the virus earlier and are thereby less likely to spread it around and/or delay treatment. Early treatment is key to a good outcome with covid.
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:59pm
dime

LMAO no wonder Hendy doesn’t want the rona to end.

He’s the 6 million dollar man!

I thought it was more about his 15 minutes.. Turns out there’s also a dump truck full of money involved lol

I gotta get in on one of these scams
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October 10, 2021 11:46am
- kevn
  
  @dime… Yep, wave goodbye to integrity and it could be yours as well.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:04pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  If only you had the brains to get a PhD in physics and then lead several research teams and receive a swag of academic honours.
  
  6 31
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  October 10, 2021 12:20pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    Which just shows that qualifications and common sense are often mutually exclusive.
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:52pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      A claim quite often made by those without any qualifications.
      
      4 26
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      October 10, 2021 1:29pm
      - slijmbal
        
        @milkmildagain as someone who has a Physics degree from the then top university in the world I’m happy to confirm that qualifications and common sense are typically mutually exclusive in Physicists (and Mathematicians).
        
        The majority of most academically successful physicists are remarkably ignorant of the real world and, as I used to repeatedly say then, ” …cannot be trusted to tie their own shoe laces and cross the road without adult supervision.”
        
        As such, very few of my friends at Uni were physicists as it was impossible to have a real world conversation with them (and impossible to meet girls).
        
        That and the tremendous levels of rampantly childish politics in academia persuaded me to go in to the commercial world.
        
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        October 10, 2021 2:19pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        They’re not all like Richard Feynman, then? That’s disappointing.
        
        4 3
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        October 10, 2021 6:46pm
  - Cinematic
    
    Haha a swag of academic honours.
    
    This guy’s at a little university at the bottom of the world who’s now famous for releasing outlandish model after outlandish model.
    
    Doesn’t take much to impress you Mike.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:35pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Hubby has a PhD in Physics…
    Led research projects and ran the Wellington office of a consulting company…
    Didn’t know how to boil an egg until I taught him.
    
    27 1
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    October 10, 2021 2:07pm
    - rangitoto
      
      I remember the days at Vic in the Physics dept. I’m pretty sure your husband didn’t blow up the lab. So all good.
      
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      October 10, 2021 2:16pm
    - MCos
      
      There’s two sides to being able to multitask.
      I worked in an office in Bangkok that didn’t have designated smoko breaks.
      If I wanted a coffee I’d ring up and a maid would make it with the machine bring it to my desk.
      Later someone would go round and take away the cups.
      Back in NZ at ten o’clock all these highly paid engineers would muck around making coffee/tea, sit around for quarter of an hour talking shit and then queuing up to clean their cups.
      
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      October 10, 2021 4:08pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    You nearly got an uptick for that satire Mike
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:17pm
  - Taieri
    
    Just like Trofim Lysenko…
    
    6 3
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    October 10, 2021 2:24pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Lysenko – about whom approximately 1 in 100 hundred Kiwibloggers would know anything. And pseudoscience is even more popular now than Martin Gardner could ever have imagined.
      
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      October 10, 2021 7:21pm
      - Batman
        
        Make that two…
        
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        October 10, 2021 7:39pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        I do think you might be surprised Mikey, I would think a surprising number of the commenters on here would have at least heard of Lysenko.
        
        To me though the interesting part is that in some limited ways, Lysenko was right. Not in general, not at all, but in the last 20 or so years it has become accepted that environment can influence genetic heredity in some specific ways. In particular methylation of DNA can affect the expression of genes, and methylation can occur as a result of environmental influences.
        
        But in attempting to apply his environmental influences theory too widely was very damaging for Soviet agriculture and for a people reliant on agriculture for sustenance.
        
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        October 10, 2021 9:15pm
  - dime
    
    Oh god, you’re still here.
    
    The fact you’re so impressed by a PhD says more about your brains than mine.
    
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    October 10, 2021 3:53pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  First you gotta join the Labour Party. Then rabble nonsense like an idiot until they accept you.
  Home and hosed
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:31pm
  - MCos
    
    Fame and fortune awaits you, Steve!
    
    10 2
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    October 10, 2021 12:45pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      When I do join the Labour Party you will know me. I am the one with the red MAGA hat on
      
      10 3
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      October 10, 2021 3:24pm
  - Bridgenag
    
    Wrong ….a patch will do it
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:27pm
- Cinematic
  
  $6m with another truckload on the way if they can extend the nonsense.
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:35pm
- ecco
  
  That’s why Des Gorman’s HOD tried to silence him for speaking out objectively about his concerns for Ardern’s mangled response to Covid in NZ.
  
  Hendy and co would be a handy little earner for the uni. Thankfully the uni bosses higher up supported Des.
  
  On that topic, the unis must be on their knees with this closed border policy. Auckland Uni has just built a fantastic new hall in Whitaker Place at huge expense which is sitting empty. Not to mention public and private schools relying on international students. Scots College in Wellington even said they would go into partnership with Wellington College to quarantine international students so they can keep their schools afloat. Were flatly turned down, it was no doubt, Ashley’s ‘No Can Do department’.
  
  I’m sure these schools could’ve done MIQ better than Ardern’s MIQ. That’s for sure.
  
  Soon everyone and every business in NZ will be beholden to handouts from Ardern. I guess that’s what the end game is for her…
  
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  October 10, 2021 12:48pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Do you actually know anything about censoring science in New Zealand?
    
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    October 10, 2021 12:55pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      You don’t need to, just follow the former Royal Society.
      
      6 2
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      October 10, 2021 5:20pm
- DeepBlue
  
  Last week one of the go to science spokespeople (Baker?) was saying he was doing modelling for free and after hours. And the PhD candidates had to get part time jobs, so they were taken away from critical Covid research.
  
  Shows how some modellers are more capitalist than others.
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:16pm
Tony Stuart

The Herald makes a very interesting discovery this morning:

The Government has now spent or contracted to spend more than $6 million for Covid-19 modelling from a single group: the University of Auckland’s Te Punaha Matatini (TPM).

The figure appears to eclipse spending for all other government Covid-19 modelling work, and some details of that work suggest a diminishing contest of ideas is informing weighty policy decisions, including when to ease border and lockdown restrictions in light of vaccination levels.

Last month, the Government released TPM modelling (without peer review) that highlighted an “opening up scenario” of close to 7000 deaths a year from Covid-19, even with an 80 per cent vaccination rate for the population over the age of 5.

TPM’s work has been led by founding director Shaun Hendy, now a Principal Investigator. And Hendy himself was beamed into Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s 1pm press conference to discuss the information.

In an interview, Hendy defended the work as, “informed by New Zealand’s particular situation”. But Rodney Jones, principal at Wigram Capital, who has also provided modelling work to the Government, but who was not asked to review this piece of TPM work, said the exercise “misrepresented risk” and he described it as fearmongering.

Wigram’s primary government contract for Covid-19 modelling is with the Treasury. The department confirmed the firm’s 12-month contract is worth $30,000 (excluding GST) and it runs to March 19, 2022.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/analysis-government-money-for-covid-modelling-has-flowed-overwhelmingly-to-one-group/IVV7GMBX7Q2MS7Y2TTJMV6LW3Y/#

It MAY just be a coincidence, but it has been Hendy’s prophesies of a Covid Armageddon that have significantly influenced the Government’s determination to lock New Zealand down. Remember his initial predictions of 80,000 deaths from Covid? At this point, he’s only 79, 971 deaths out on that one! And even a couple of weeks ago, he was predicting 7000 deaths a year against a 75%!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300414146/covid19-nz-modelling-suggests-7000-deaths-in-a-year-even-with-75-per-cent-of-country-jabbed

And it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Rodney Jones, who’s been given a mere $30k by Treasury. But wait; there’s more. Here comes the real kicker:

The DPMC spokesperson declined to release the procurement rules followed in awarding the TPM contract, she suggested the question be put under the provisions of the Official Information Act. Hendy, however, confirmed the contract was not part of a competitive process.

So Prof Hendy’s company has received a massive sum of taxpayer funds, without having even gone through a competitive tender process. Where is the transparency in that, and the accountability? I hope this is swiftly referred to the Auditor-General, to ensure that proper processes were followed in dishing out more money than most people will earn in a lifetime.

I guess it also explains why people such as Hendy are so keen to keep us locked down, so the Covid Gravy Train doesn’t leave the station any time soon!
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October 10, 2021 12:39pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Hendy does not have a ‘company’. He is a university professor and was the director (no, not a company director) of Te Pūnaha Matatini until earlier this year.
  If I didn’t respect your integrity I would think you were deliberately smearing a distinguished scientist by accusing him of personally and improperly taking large amounts of taxpayers’ money.
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:03pm
  - Cinematic
    
    A distinguished scientist? Haha. Good one.
    
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    October 10, 2021 1:26pm
    - doggone7
      
      Disparaging him and about his science?
      My pick would be that the closest some get to ‘science’ are the letters in their name. That gives them a sound basis for rubbishing him I suppose.
      
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      October 10, 2021 4:25pm
  - Durden
    
    He only works half-time for his government/Uni gig for his millions. He is a credentialled smooth talking front man. There is a flavour-of-the-month every time Usually compliant to the government of the day.
    
    Look up Companies office and he owns 18.65% of
    TOHA FOUNDRY LIMITED (7108533)
    
    And 10% of
    NEBULA NETWORKS LIMITED (7120794)
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:11pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    He has “company” All of the Labour sycophants!
    
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    October 10, 2021 3:29pm
- Stu2
  
  I’ve been in the purchaser position here.
  
  If you want to further develop models (and have runs done, reports written) it’s not quick to bring in a new provider and start from scratch.
  
  The tender process and the time to get the new provider to develop an acceptable, tested version of what you already had could be several months.
  
  In a pandemic I would purchase the best possible technical reviews and tidy ups of what was already done, rather than starting again.
  
  If I wanted a competitive model/another view developed I would do it as a parallel work stream.
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:23pm
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Agreed. Pulling something down and starting again is expensive and proposes what was already done was completely faulty whilst that is still unknown.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:17pm
- septic skeptic
  
  So is it reasonable to assume that Hendy’s over the top “worst case” predictions are made to order so that Labour can claim x thousands of lived saved by their choice to lead us towards financial ruin?
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:29pm
  - Stu2
    
    The results depends on what assumptions were made in the model build and the run.
    
    He didn’t assume outstanding protection from the vaccines which was good (what was used was nothing like their performance after a couple of weeks in the body) but what else is in there?
    
    The difference between the outcomes at 80% and 90% seemed odd. I haven’t heard an explanation of why that might be. Models need scrutiny.
    
    The govt would have been delighted to get a “go at 85%” result, as the pressures at the border would go sooner. They are paying a political price for that. I hope they have had the 90% results looked at carefully.
    
    As I’ve said before the aussie model is producing “go at 80%” results. But they do have a lot of ICU capacity if it turns to custard. I hope our govt has had the differences analysed by someone independent.
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:39pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  How can the PM possibly hire Hendy? She is with her team horribly underdone in practical discernment and judgement. It’s quasi criminal having such people in government. Fear is not without cost nor is losing the remaining small businesses in Queenstown. Cinders doesn’t think outside her matchbox.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:26pm
Cinematic

When the covid carcass finally washes ashore spilling forth from it’s guts will be nepotism on a scale never seen before.

On a per capita basis NZ will lead the world in central government covid corruption.
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October 10, 2021 12:48pm
- WaveyDavey
  
  errrmmm… that arrived long before the coming epidemic
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:03pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    2017. I voted from Chena, Alaska. I guess my vote was not counted?
    
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    October 10, 2021 3:43pm
    - Mike
      
      Do you think your MAGA-hatted US buddies would be happy with Americans voting online or by mail from Godzone?
      
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      October 10, 2021 6:24pm
ecco

Did anyone read Bruce Cotterill’s excellent piece on steps to opening up in the Ferald yesterday? (of course behind the paywall). It was succinct, measurable, steps clearly laid out and with time frames attached. I hope Labour just read this and take it as their own. That would be progress.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/bruce-cotterill-you-call-that-a-plan-jacinda-ardern-heres-a-plan/AIBRUDZWQZMM2LDHUYOX5FCAAE/
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October 10, 2021 1:10pm
Stu2

60 cases today, I wonder who will front the monday news event
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October 10, 2021 1:11pm
- Bridgenag
  
  Love to get better detail….how many of those 1-2 vaccinated….gang members..?
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:25pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    That is classified information, to be fucked with by experts only
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:27pm
surfing

Daily new Covid cases are increasing, even with very restrictive level 3, vaccinations have stalled.

It feels like Auckland is permanently stuck at level 3 and other parts of the country will eventually move to level 3 too.

Government needs to start providing insight on lockdown exit. 90% vaccination is going to take 6 more months, are people wanting to be at level 3 for 6 months?
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October 10, 2021 1:22pm
- Stu2
  
  First doses are going a bit better than you might think
  
  – as of midnight Friday first doses were 3.401m
  – the latest stats estimate of the 12+ year popn is 4.347m
  – 90% of that is 3.912m
  – the gap is 511k less whatever happened yesterday
  – Monday to Friday last week saw these first dose numbers:
  14,939
  17,592
  18,847
  19,706
  18,568
  
  – at an average of 8k a day from now it is 9 weeks to 90%
  – 9k average a day 8 weeks etc
  
  This is all going to depend on how many are hesitent but can be persuaded, and how many no under any circumstances.
  
  The news conference journos should ask what surveys the govt has done, and what focus groups have told it about vaccine takeup
  
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  October 10, 2021 1:44pm
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Plenty of anecdotal evidence of who is resistant and what steps are being taken. The popular idea is that nothing is happening with the gangs but we’ve seen otherwise.
    I think the target groups have been made clear. FWIW I’ve seen younger people in the last few days queuing for vaccination, i saw the same a few weeks back.
    But more questioning would help because it seems a few people are fixated on the unvaccinated which suggests they’re being ignored when they are plainly not.
    If and when we got to 90% plus we still have 100s of 1000s unvaccinated which remains a problem. That’s still a very big number to go haywire and seems to be what we are seeing overseas. The question that should certainly be being asked is if we want to see that in NZ? Will the Government allow that?
    
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    October 10, 2021 2:34pm
    - Stu2
      
      The vaccination percentage maps that came out late last week suggested socio-economic, provincial and rural factors at a quick glance.
      
      There is a zoomable map on the Spinoff, easier to use than the MoH pdfs.
      
      https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/07-10-2021/the-vaccination-rate-for-every-suburb-in-new-zealand-on-an-interactive-map/
      
      And a spreadsheet on the MoH page (plus their PDFs)
      
      https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data/covid-19-vaccination-uptake-rates-across-nz
      
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      October 10, 2021 2:54pm
- Philview
  
  It has got me pondering the next few months. Despite noises to the contary I just don’t see Jacinda allowing hundreds of cases per day. A hard level 4 lockdown will be back. Per usual we will get very little notice. I am thinking bring work matters forward that have to be done before another hard lockdown comes our way.
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:20pm
  - Stu2
    
    With a highly vaxxed community the focus will move to hospitalisations, ICU beds and ventilators
    
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    October 10, 2021 3:33pm
- septic skeptic
  
  As for Auckland being stuck in level 3 – why the fuck do they base the quarantine and MIQ in the biggest population centre? Rhetorical question of course – it’s because they are idiots.
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:31pm
- ecco
  
  A lot of people sitting pretty outside of Auckland thinking Covid won’t come to them. Of course it will. Just a matter of time. It’s a bit like when NZ was smug in 2020 for keeping covid out for a while. Now about to embark on what the UK, the US and many other countries did months ago. They are all coming out the other side and just living with COVID now. At least the high case number is going to push things to a head and force Ardern to act.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:14pm
Maggie Pie

I see Cindy’s had a haircut.

Wonder where she went?
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October 10, 2021 1:27pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  There is a place up in Dome Valley, where people can watch …..
  
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  October 10, 2021 2:30pm
- ABS4EVA
  
  It would never be
  
  Budget Cuts
  
  maybe
  
  MOB Hair dos
  
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  October 11, 2021 1:37am
Yvette

Pike River – as futile as figuring covid origins?
“It has become clear that gas content in the mine during October and November 2010 was high. There is evidence that management knew this and some evidence that they actively chose to ignore it,” it says.. – revelations made by police in an update to victims’ families on the progress of their ongoing criminal investigation

The update says police and recovery teams found evidence of “significant explosive forces” around an area of the drift called Pit Bottom in Stone, which holds equipment that was damaged. However, it said the damage was not believed to be caused in the first explosion because one of the survivors [Daniel Rockhouse] was in Pit Bottom in Stone.

The update says police have recovered two large pieces of the main fan that were blown 200 metres down the drift, one of which weighed more than a tonne.

It is interesting that earlier reports were only of one piece of the main fan housing weighing 920kg. Both must have passed the area of the roof fall, although their passage or impact may have in fact caused the roof fall.

The update says two boreholes have already been drilled, but one missed its target. The other was drilled into an area of the mine known as the goaf, where mining was taking place. A large quantity of methane expelled from a roof fall in the goaf was one of the possible causes of the explosion suggested by the Royal Commission in 2012.
The families’ update says a camera found no fire or heat damage in the goaf area.

Although, if there was no oxygen in the goaf, would methane in that area burn?

Experts told police it was likely the second, third and fourth explosions happened in the area of the main fan, and the first explosion happened further into the mine, far enough away from the goaf for it to have survived relatively unaffected.
The next borehole would be drilled into the area of the main fan, which has been widely considered a possible ignition source for the explosion.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126582986/management-deliberately-ignored-gas-build-up-in-pike-river-mine-investigation-suggests

So it would seem “the first explosion happened further into the mine” – not the much targeted main ventilation fan – and there is no determination of what caused it, and no confirmation apparently that a collapse in the goaf provided the methane, that mixed with the right amount of oxygen, to fuel the explosion.
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October 10, 2021 1:39pm
surfing

“Some local leaders are taking action to protect their communities, including in Northland where three iwi-led travel checkpoints were set up yesterday, with more planned today.”

What is the legal basis for Maoris (or any civilian?) to do this?
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October 10, 2021 1:54pm
- Yvette
  
  Surfing – It appears legal under given conditions
  
  The proposed change will amend the Act to enable enforcement officers, acting under the supervision of a constable, to assist Police with the management of Orders that provide for restricted movements by stopping vehicles at roadblocks and checkpoints. For the specific power of stopping vehicles, enforcement officers undertaking these duties may consist only of:
  • staff of the Armed Forces,
  • Māori wardens,
  • nominated representatives of Iwi organisations,
  • Pasifika wardens or
  • Community Patrollers.
  These class of persons will be considered through a formal process that includes nomination, assessment and training. Enforcement officers will only be authorised on completion of all elements of the selection process.
  
  How will this impact you?
  Police only operate roadblocks and checkpoints at higher Alert Levels where movement is restricted. The amendment will mean that if a restricted movement Order is in place that requires or permits checkpoints or roadblocks to be set up in your area, in addition to a Police constable, it will now be possible for an enforcement officer to direct you to stop your vehicle. If the enforcement officer stops you, they will be required to show you their identification. They may also discuss with you the purpose of your travel, do an initial review of exemption documentation, or direct your movement to manage traffic.
  Police will retain decision making powers and enforcement officers will be acting under the direction and supervision of a constable at all times.
  
  Note: clicking on the following link will likely Download a docx file [appendix-c10-fact-sheet-10-management-of-police-checkpoints-during-restricted-movements-under-covid-19-response] to your computer Downloads Folder –
  https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiBxZms-r7zAhXD5nMBHYtsA2MQFnoECCgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.health.govt.nz%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fdocuments%2Fpages%2Fappendix-c10-fact-sheet-10-management-of-police-checkpoints-during-restricted-movements-under-covid-19-response.docx&usg=AOvVaw2eyUoEmj71chm9aKOKTsF4
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:12pm
  - kowtow
    
    WTF ?
    
    Legislated racial vigilantyism.
    
    This country’s going down the shitter .
    
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    October 10, 2021 10:09pm
kevn

@Maggie… She had a lovely nostalgic time in Murupara. How cool.
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October 10, 2021 2:05pm
Maggie Pie

TRENDING

I see the Advocate is reporting that the MoH have released information…..”that there were ‘no unexpected detections’, following extensive waste-water testing in Northland”.

Surely that should put to bed rumors of anyone having had sex with an Auckland prostitute up there?
8 2
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October 10, 2021 3:20pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  or only quickies were on offer…not enough time for a viral offload..
  
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  October 10, 2021 3:29pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    😛
    
    5 2
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    October 10, 2021 3:35pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Drugs. 2 guys and 3 hookers was the vicious rumour I heard. We supply, you pay, then when you are smashed you have the pork.
  See? Just like a free set of steak knives. But there is more, buy now and we will give you 3 hookers – that is two free, just pay for the meth and the first hooker
  
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  October 10, 2021 3:56pm
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  The wife pointed out that many of us here in Whangarei, especially further North, are on septic systems, not municipal waste water systems.
  
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  October 10, 2021 7:19pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Here we go:
A kid walks into a general store, walks up to the owner and asks for a job:
The owner says. “you think you’d make a good salesman?”
The Kid says. “I don’t know. I think so.”
Owner says. “I’ll tell you what. Next customer comes in, you watch me. If you think you can do what I do, you have a job!”
A few minutes later a customer comes in. The owner of the store says. “Can I help you?”
The customer says. “Yes. I’d like to buy a bag of grass seed.”
“No problem.” Says the owner as he reaches for a bag of grass seed. “Do you think you might want a lawn mower with that?”
“Lawn mower?” Says the customer.
“Yeah.” Says the owner. “You plant that grass seed, you’re gonna have a lot of grass to cut. You might want to get a lawn mower too.”
The customer thinks it’s a great idea and agrees. The owner sells him the grass seed and the lawn mower and the customer leaves.
The owner turns to the kid and says. “See that? That’s selling! The guy wanted some grass seed and I sold him a lawn mower too! You think you can do that?”
The kid says. “Yeah i can do that.”
So the owner says. “Great. Next customer comes in is yours. I’ll just stand here quietly and watch. We’ll see how you do.”
A few minutes pass by and another customer comes in.
The kid says. “Can I help you?”
The customer says. “Yes. I’d like to buy a box of Tampax for my wife.”
“No problem.” Says the kid as he reaches for the box of Tampax. “Do you think you might want a lawn mower with that?”
“Lawn mower?” Says the customer.
“Yeah.” Says the kid. “You’re not going to be doing anything else for the next 7 days, you might as well cut the grass!”
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October 10, 2021 3:50pm
Stu2

I’m trying to remember the press event when the drop to level 3 was announced for Auckland. Was the health official asked what the health advice was?
3 0
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October 10, 2021 4:09pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Oh,
  I’m sure there was some reason…
  
  Ka pai, Tāmaki Makaurau! Your hard work is paying off. The increasing vaccination rate in the wider Auckland community means that Alert Level restrictions are being eased.
  https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/regional-advice/auckland/
  
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  October 10, 2021 7:41pm
  - Stu2
    
    That was the watering down of level 3. There might be questions tomorrow on the justification for dropping from level 4.
    
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    October 10, 2021 8:04pm
Maggie Pie

A few of my partner’s mates have just arrived to watch some silly fight.
I’ve left them to it.
Had been watching some of the tennis from Indian Wells earlier.
Remember when I predicted here some weeks back that Emma Radacanu would be…. ‘a one-set-wonder’. Hmmm.

If there’s one thing I do know a lot about, it’s Tennis.
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October 10, 2021 4:34pm
- Cinematic
  
  Reminds me of your US Open mens final prediction.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:17pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  My partner just came out to tell me to put a frozen pizza in the oven.
  
  He said the ‘gypsy king’ won. Like I could give a stuff.
  
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  October 10, 2021 5:50pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Yet here you are – chatting about it.
    
    6 5
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    October 10, 2021 7:24pm
rangitoto

Not much social distancing going on at the beaches around Auckland today.
8 0
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October 10, 2021 6:26pm
- hullkiwi
  
  Or keeping to groups of 10 from 2 bubbles! We went past a group at Orewa that seemed to be rather dysfunctional with that counting thing, or they were giving a rude gesture to Jacinda and Ashley.
  
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  October 10, 2021 9:18pm
fernglas

This is how an “expert” scientifically describes the current situation, with the Herald permitting him a platform:

“I’m freaking out in a major way,” Jackson said of the possible spread of Covid-19 into Northland.

“I’m freaking out because I think we’re going to have major problems there. Auckland we’ve got to suppress it until we are all vaccinated because we are well and truly in the poo if we don’t keep it down and keep it suppressed before we get high vaccination rates.”

This clown is making policy for NZ. Hilarious. Keep it coming, New Zealand. The world needs more laughs.
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October 10, 2021 6:51pm
- Cinematic
  
  Jackson lost the plot years ago.
  
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  October 10, 2021 8:50pm
Maggie Pie

TRENDING

ClarkE tells Cindy…… ” just blow on it”

https://twitter.com/JaneMorganNZ1/status/1447002037938311168
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October 10, 2021 7:07pm
ABS4EVA

Polish Politicians examine
The Socialist Totalitarianism of
Jacinda Adherns best friend
Dan Andrews and his private Police Force

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-4PObWVgsY

For All Victorian have gone through
this still does not have the hospital system ready

[Deleted]

The Lock down was bad and their reopening
is going to be worse

Ten thousand set to attend Melbourne Cup after Victoria records 1890 new COVID-19 cases

CUCKOO
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October 10, 2021 7:45pm
- Tauhei Notts
  
  ABS4EVA,
  Thank you for bringing that video to our attention.
  It shows the true colours of Australian politicians. As a true blue New Zealander the shame I would feel if such a film was shown about my country would be extreme.
  My Aussie mates have a terrible problem. We should do all we can to help them out.
  
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  October 10, 2021 8:51pm

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