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June 13, 2025 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 13 June 2025

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NeverMindTheBollocks

So there you have it. A female illegal alien can do anything short of murder and still get to stay in NZ if she gets up the duff to a Maori.

Also sickening in John Delamere’s praise of Stuff. Coincidentally, the story is not paywalled.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360720272/extraordinary-arm-wrestle-over-toddlers-future-resolved-after-stuff-inquiries
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June 13, 2025 8:07am
- rouppe
  
  And they’re not even a couple anymore.
  
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  June 13, 2025 12:48pm
- Beach Haven expat
  
  So Mr McClung thinks it would be madness for his baby mama/overstayer to be deported even though he can’t stand living with her? If he has such a chivalrous view then why hasn’t he promised to indemnify the New Zealand taxpayer from any and all costs arising from her now staying in the country? After all, he’s only thinking of his son.
  
  They talk about trying to repair their relationship but don’t want the state involved? They just want the state involved enough to promise not to enforce the law and turf her out of New Zealand. Without being hard-hearted, he says she would do anything for the child, including die for him? Well then, abiding by New Zealand’s laws and departing back to Brazil while leaving her child with clearly a loving father seems a little less onerous than death.
  
  And on a further point, it is reported she has custody of Logan so one must take at face value that has been a court decision or one that is somehow legally in force. Who, may I ask, signed off granting custody of a child to an overstayer facing deportation?
  
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  June 14, 2025 3:13am
artemisia

New Zealand PM defends ‘parent boost’ visa amid criticism Seems some see the new visa as discriminating against Pacific families because they are not wealthy enough to support their parents here. And the parents may not meet the financial requirements either.

Their parents do have access to other visas and also some residence pathways, Prime Minister Luxon says.

Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono told Pacific Waves the visa doesn’t value Pasifika families. … Tuiono said the visa is “all about supporting rich migrants” as opposed to focusing on people that have deep connections within Aotearoa, which is “what I think they should be doing”.

Is Mr Tuiono proposing all groups with a sufficiently deep connection to New Zealand should be included too? Even groups massively larger than the group he is referring to? Same argument applies of course. Or not? I’m sure he will be along shortly to confirm that ‘deep connections’ are the key criteria. He would not wish to be named racist.

He might be wise to have a quiet word with his co-leader to make sure the impact of his policy on the Green Party Budget is carefully included.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/563985/new-zealand-pm-defends-parent-boost-visa-amid-criticism
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June 13, 2025 8:11am
- cmm
  
  It was to be expected.
  
  First: Hey we set the bar high so that we only get doctors and engineers. Uber drivers won’t be able to support their parents. Sweet.
  
  Then: But this discriminates against poor PIs. So we need to make a “pathway” for them too.
  
  Next: Poor PI parents feel socially inferior to others when they get here, so we need to give them hand outs to make them feel better: state house, welfare, hardship grant for a car,…
  
  We do not have competing political parties. They really work together. Think of it as professional wrestling just putting on a show for the punters.
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:35am
  - igm
    
    Maybe PIs new found Chinese benefactors can look after them better . . . they no longer need NZ taxpayers.
    
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    June 13, 2025 9:17am
  - Conservatarian
    
    100% CMM. As to your last paragraph, they call it “kayfabe”
    
    https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-origin-kayfabe
    
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    June 13, 2025 9:28am
    - Jake Dee
      
      Eric Weinstein (Harvard PhD. and former financial advisor to Peter Theil)
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Weinstein
      wrote a very important piece on that back in 2011.
      In response to the question
      “What Scientific concept would improve everyone’s cognitive toolkit?”
      He wrote on “kayfabe”
      https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11783
      Dominic Cummings (former advisor to Boris Johnston) had a good take on this recently when he approvingly quoted famous music producer Rick Rubin,
      “Pro-wrestling is real, the news is fake”
      
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      June 13, 2025 7:46pm
  - R
    
    Not have competing political…..NO, what we have is a very large section of the electors who can’t think for themselves. This leads to the poor legislation we now have in areas such as this commentator refers to
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:09am
- Simon
  
  Thought the third worlders moving here had won some sort of lottery or ballot. But no. According to DPF the third world have passed a govt selection system and have been screened. They are the cream of the third world.
  
  Is this correct?
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:16am
  - Media hater
    
    Virtually none of these third worlders are ever verified. Least of all the highly skilled Pacific communities (sarc).
    
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    June 13, 2025 2:50pm
sungsamning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWL_VTI_JsM
Tony LC Signs PT.12.
Tony’s hilarious & his impersonations of Trump are getting better by the day.
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June 13, 2025 8:20am
sungsamning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtthcUftqXM
NEWS@11PM 08 June 2025 11 00 11 PM.
The nightly news from Nigeria. there’s not a lot about Africa on YT. So, I thought I’d post the occasional item. It has a propaganda feel about it. And some fact based accounting.
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June 13, 2025 8:21am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Shell Lane (The Terrace) bike rack report:

At 8.22am, just the one bike today.

Such a shame. A cool, calm, misty morning in the Capital, simply ideal for cycling on an empty-roads Friday. Reminiscent of old maids cycling through the early morning misty to Mass, as John Major once said.
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June 13, 2025 8:22am
- Reg Perrin
  
  When they built this rack did they consider that most people who ride a bike to work, store their bike in the building or office they work in. That’s what everyone in the building i worked in did
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:22am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    The evidence says not.
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:28am
  - cmm
    
    If you leave a decent bike out on the streets chances are it will go missing within a few months.
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:47am
Cassandra

[Mod – debate the topics without the personal jabs]. yesterday that Trump’s deployment of troops to California was illegal. Commentators, even a Democratic senator, have pointed out that immigration is a federal responsibility. While it’ll be interesting to see what the courts say, informed opinion is that the deployment is legal. Gerrard Baker (right wing Brit) believes this is a defining and successful issue for the Republicans and damaging for the Democrats including Newsom.
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June 13, 2025 8:23am
- CJames
  
  From what I have read, the Californian Democrats (though that might be tautology) are relying on one clause of the constitution about State and Federal powers. The Trump Administration are using the following two clauses. People like Jonathan Turley explain this.
  https://jonathanturley.org/2025/06/09/always-ready-always-there-democrats-mobilize-against-the-national-guard-deployment/
  But then, Governor Hairgel isn’t known to be the brightest light. The original nepo baby. And it explains why Trump for all his myriad of major faults is gaining in the opinion polls. His opposition deliberately picks the wrong side of every argument.
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:35am
  - Interested Party
    
    For the uninformed like me, can you please list some of Trumps myriad faults. I know he says some hurty words some times, and he’s had a few women in his past – what are some others faults
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:23am
    - Ra Henare
      
      Interesting.
      Had some women is a fault???
      
      I would have thought it would be normal for a rich kid.
      
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      June 13, 2025 1:36pm
- cmm
  
  [Mod – just debate the topic]
  
  Of course it is legal.
  
  Federal assets and personnel are being attacked. Federal laws are being broken. The Federal powers can respond. No more arguments.
  
  In USA, Federal powers and state powers are very different and moving law breaking into a federal realm makes things very interesting.
  
  In the broadest terms, Newsom et al are potentially breaking federal law and are subject to federal prosecution because they are impeding federal personnel in the execution of their duties.
  
  https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/111
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:44am
  - cmm
    
    See, that’s how you can make laws you don’t like go away – just keep downticking!
    
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    June 13, 2025 8:55am
  - Local Miller
    
    As I mentioned yesterday, US law says that assault on a state official is a Federal offence, allowing Federal forces to take over. When the first rioter spat on a state police officer Trump gained the right to intervene.
    
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    June 13, 2025 8:57am
    - cmm
      
      Oh it is much more than that. You don’t need to assault a federal employee.
      
      “…forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with…”
      
      So swearing at a federal employee, blocking their path or pretty much any opposition/failure to comply is enough.
      
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      June 13, 2025 9:02am
    - slightlyrighty
      
      A federal crime is investigated by Federal Law Enforcement. Mobilising the Military against Civilians in your own country is another step entirely.
      
      Even the Chair of the Joint Chiefs is expressing reticence.
      
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      June 13, 2025 9:06am
      - Libertarians are right
        
        The problem is that not all of the rioters are “civilians in their own country”. Many of them are foreign nationals in the country illegally committing violence.
        
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        June 13, 2025 10:04am
      - Local Miller
        
        There is nothing illegal however against mobilising the military against rioters who are not citizens, which is largely the state in LA. Those people are certainly not civil and don’t deserve to be called “civilians”.
        
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        June 13, 2025 12:00pm
      - rouppe
        
        The military oath includes defending the constitution against domestic enemies
        
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        June 13, 2025 12:57pm
    - Ghost
      
      Spitting on a state officer is not a federal crime. A federal crime only exists if the state officer is carrying out federal business. This was a protest, so not a federal issue. Throwing a Molotov cocktail is a federal crime which is why those two people have been charged with such. Attacking a federal building, or a federal officer is a federal crime. Now the case in the USA, the man was arrested for spitting on an ICE officer, which is a federal employee. If it was a a state officer it would be prosecuted under state law.
      
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      June 13, 2025 9:47am
      - imalwaysright
        
        As an aside, mailmen in the US are Federal employees and are covered by the same regulations.
        
        Same with the IRS, who have several thousand armed agents.
        
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        June 13, 2025 9:51am
      - cmm
        
        “This was a protest, so not a federal issue. ”
        
        A peaceful protest in itself is not the federal problem so long as it stays off the road, does not get in the way and does not intimidate anyone.
        
        The problem is interfering in federal business or with anyone performing federal duties (including non-federal employees).
        
        If you impede the movement of a federal vehicle or intimidate people on federal business then that’s a federal crime.
        
        Note that this does not just apply to federal employees. It also applies to anyone assisting federal employees, so attacks on state police who are assisting in a federal matter falls under federal law.
        
        The wording of the law is very wide and gives the federal government huge powers if it needs to use them.
        
        “Whoever forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person designated in section 1114 of this title…”
        
        “any person designated in section 1114 of this title” includes all federal employees and also anyone assisting in federal business.
        
        As someone else mentioned, this even applies to the mailman.
        If you swear at a mailman or show him the middle finger that would be intimidating a federal officer – a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code § 111.
        
        https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/111
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:06am
      - Don Beckett
        
        Agreed cmm.
        In fact, the declaration by civic officials who claim to make their city a “Sanctuary City” for illegal migrants is in itself a breach of federal Law. So Newson & Bass are already in jeopardy of arrest.
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:21am
      - cmm
        
        Don: By the strict interpretation of the law you would be correct – there is at least some case there.
        
        Of course, potentially breaking the law and being prosecuted are entirely different things – let alone being convicted.
        
        Newsom and his ilk are certainly opposing and interfering with federal business, but I doubt it would be enough to secure a conviction.
        
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        June 13, 2025 12:11pm
      - Ghost
        
        It’s not a breach of the law. The courts have upheld the law. But it does not stop the federal government from arresting and deporting illegals from sanctuary areas
        
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        June 13, 2025 12:18pm
      - Ghost
        
        The protest did not become a federal issue until the second day when they attacked a U.S. Marshals bus
        
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        June 13, 2025 12:22pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    [Mod – if you don’t stop trying to debate moderation you will be taking a holiday]
    
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    June 13, 2025 1:40pm
- Conservatarian
  
  [Mod – just debate the topic]
  
  1. An illegal immigrant can get a two hour bus ride from his or her slum neighbourhood to my ritzy neighbourhood to nanny my children / clean my pool / mow my lawns, and I can pay his or her boss the cheapest possible hourly rate for him or her to do so. We call this globalism and it is good for everyone. Don’t think any deeper.
  2. Illegal immigrants are counted in a population census upon which we base congressional seat allocations to states for nationwide elections. The more illegals we put into blue states, the more we can offset our lack of popularity with voters [actual voters, excluding fake postal voters in 2020].
  3. The US needs to be enriched by cultural diversity and any side effects such as human trafficking, rape and murder can be ignored.
  4. We need to replace white people in the US, but not the white people in the DNC, the media, the universities or in the entertainment industry. Just the churchy, gun-owning white people.
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:53am
  - Tom Hunter
    
    Here’s a classic example of a Democrat Governor’s attitude toward sanctuary cities and the victims of crime, in this case on the other side of the US from Newsom’s shithole:
    
    Congresswoman Stefanik: These are high-profile cases, New Yorkers know about them and you don’t? So let’s talk about Sebastian Zapeta-Calil. Do you know who that is?
    
    Gov. Hochul: I don’t have the specific details at my disposal, no.
    
    Congresswoman Stefanik:Well, this is an illegal migrant in New York because of your sanctuary state policies. Do you know what crime he committed?
    
    Gov. Hochul: I’m not familiar at this moment.
    
    Congresswoman Stefanik: I bet you’re going to be familiar when I remind you. He found a sleeping woman on the subway, lit her on fire, and burnt her alive. This is in Kathy Hochul’s New York, and as I’m sure you are aware, and I’ll remind you, that ICE issued an order to detain this violent criminal, but that was rejected by New York officials due to sanctuary state laws.
    
    Hochul didn’t even know the name of the victim, even though it was all over the news, nationwide, for days. She could not have cared less as long as it all protected illegal immigrants.
    
    It will be interesting to see if she and her fellow Democrats try to pull the same shit on ICE in NYC that Newsom and Bass tried in LA. For sure the NYPD would be more than happy to cooperate with ICE – if they’re allowed to.
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:26am
Mike

Some [Mod – debate the topic] claim the president has the authority to use the national guard over the objection of the governor.
The president can use the guard for law enforcement if a governor won’t.
in this case though, Trump did not invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use the national guard if needed “to enforce the laws of the United States” in the face of “unlawful obstructions” or “rebellion.” But Trump didn’t do this – he purported to use a law allowing him to use the guard when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion”, but, critically, requires the president’s orders to be issued through the governor. This law has not been used before to call up the National Guard without the request of a governor. Previous uses of the guard without state consent have always relied on the Insurrection Act instead.
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June 13, 2025 8:48am
- Cassandra
  
  I’m reporting only what I read. Others have expertise; I don’t. I suspect you don’t either. As I said, it’ll be interesting to see what the courts say. Whatever, it seems that Trump is winning the politics.
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:40am
  - Mike
    
    I think there’s a good chance of the supreme court voting 6 to 3 to claim whatever the president does is perfectly legal.
    
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    June 13, 2025 9:46am
    - Conservatarian
      
      The three is certainly correct. We know the lib Supreme Court judges will vote as a bloc according to their ideological priors. Especially the intellectual titan who confirmed she is not a biologist.
      
      Do you think a lib intern will leak this judgement?
      
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      June 13, 2025 10:51am
  - Tom Hunter
    
    Section 12406 lists three reasons allowing a President to take over the National Guard of a state:
    1. Invasion
    2. Rebellion
    3. the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States;
    
    At which point:
    the President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws.
    
    Simple and clearcut.
    
    I put this into GD several days ago but of course the opponents ignored the third reason and talk only of the first two. Classic strawman argument.
    
    As to those laws, Newsom, Bass and other Democrats around the USA have made it clear – often with Governor’s orders and/or legislation passed in the State – that their police will not help ICE or any other Federal immigration authority enforce the immigration laws: “sanctuary cities” and all that.
    
    Which is why the LAPD was so slow responding to ICE’s calls for help, and why Newsom would never have sent the Guard in, just like Tim Walz held back the Guard in Minneapolis in 2020 until it was too late and the city looked like Mogadishu.
    
    Those Democrats wanted this but now they’ve finally hit a President who will not just let the sanctuary bullshit stay.
    
    Also, Obama won his immigration case in SCOTUS years ago when Arizona tried to enforce those laws (because they believed Obama’s Feds were not). The court made it quite clear that enforcement of those laws (or not) is down to the Feds and nobody else. There are no local immigration laws.
    
    Finally, the whole business of State law over-riding US Federal laws was settled 160 years ago after another bunch of Democrat Governors and assorted pollies thought the latter didn’t apply to them. But I doubt Newsom and company know much about history.
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:11am
  - Tom Hunter
    
    Looks like the second reason in Section 12406, “rebellion”, is getting closer to being fulfilled:
    
    ARRESTED: Alejandro Theodoro Orellana was arrested this morning by the FBI on an allegation of Conspiracy to Commit Civil Disorders (18 USC 371) for distributing face shields to suspected rioters on Tuesday.
    
    He’s a Member of a Latino Paramilitary Gang called “The Brown Berets”. The “faceshields” are masks that protect the wearer from the effects of tear gas so they can keep rioting.
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:34am
    - Conservatarian
      
      Who is funding the faceshields for the violent revolutionary communists (and the pallet loads of bricks they throw)?
      
      Is it a teachers’ union? They’ve been prominent in their “peaceful protests” her. Or is it just some leftover funds from USAID?
      
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      June 13, 2025 2:29pm
      - Ghost
        
        One of the groups was The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. They get funding from the state of California.
        
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        June 13, 2025 2:36pm
      - Tom Hunter
        
        The 2020 playbook all over again. That’s the last time I recall stories about mysterious piles of bricks turning up on street corners before a “protest””.
        
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        June 13, 2025 2:42pm
- Scott
  
  Mikey – can’t agree with you on this issue.
  
  “President Johnson explained his decision in 1965 to call out the Guard as a way to ensure the rights of American citizens “to walk peaceably and safely without injury or loss of life from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.”
  
  He acted because Governor Wallace — who did not want to take action that could be seen as defending the marchers or their cause for civil rights — refused to issue orders to the National Guard himself.”
  
  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/lbj-national-guard-alabama-1965.html
  
  No mention of insurrection back in 1965. So I’m sure many will agree that the then president was right in 1965 and he plainly had the authority to call up the National Guard.
  Trump has the same authority 60 years later. And calling up the Guard was justified in the case of rioting where the local police chief admitted they were overwhelmed.
  
  So Trump did the right thing and hopefully law and order will be restored to the streets of LA soon.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:13am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    Scottie, I’m sure it’ll all get liitigated in the US courts as to whether the current adminstration was right or wrong in their decision to send in the National Guard prior to a formal requet from the State Governor and/or Mayor of LA.
    
    I expect the judiciary to eventually find in favour of the President.
    
    In the meantime I would be interested on your opinion on the rights or wrongs of the incident as per the link below.
    
    https://www.reuters.com/pictures/harrowing-scenes-jan-6-us-capitol-attack-four-years-ago-2025-01-06/
    
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    June 13, 2025 1:00pm
    - Graeme Hall
      
      NorthshoreDoc: You do know the Jan 6 Committee suppressed most of the footage of the so-called riots – like the Capitol police escorting the protesters throughout the building like tour guides. And, the chap with the horned hat calling on protesters not to damage anything – they didnt? Fox News, at the time, had a good sample of the footage showing what actually happened inside the building, including the killing of Ashli Babbit shot in the face by a police officer for poking her head through a broken window.
      
      None of the protesters were armed, as opposed to the Capitol police, making it the first insurrection in history attempted without guns.
      
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      June 13, 2025 3:01pm
      - Northshoredoc
        
        LOL – so the coverage we all watched live on TV was somehow faked ?
        
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        June 13, 2025 3:12pm
      - Graeme Hall
        
        NorthShoreDoc: I am not sure if you are serious, [Mod – deleted] but what I am saying is only a few selected scenes of the protest were shown. That is why many who watch CNN were misled. Even you must realise there cannot be an insurrection without guns.
        
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        June 13, 2025 3:24pm
    - Scott
      
      Northshoredoc – very interesting topic Jan 6th.
      But I need to tell you that I am an “election denier”, which with regard to the 2020 election is the worst thing you can be. Being an election denier regarding 2016 is perfectly acceptable however.
      
      So, having read extensively on the topic, I do not believe Joe Biden got 81m votes. That’s the genesis of Jan 6th.
      
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      June 13, 2025 5:02pm
- rouppe
  
  This is a pretty good summary
  
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-title-10-national-guard-deployment-los-angeles-authority-meaining/
  
  Reads to me like Trump is on solid ground. ICE became unable to execute their federal duties, which the national guard is now enabling them to do.
  
  Newsom is saying “Local law enforcement didn’t need help”. That’s because California refuses to allow local law enforcement to assist ICE. It isn’t local law enforcement that the national guard are there to help, is federal ice agents. So Newsom is right, but he’s lying about the reasons.
  
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  June 13, 2025 1:18pm
cmm

Yesterday I was monitoring the NZ solar output. The peak we got was about 65MW – around one third of the nameplate capacity.

When the politicians cut ribbons and make speeches about “powering 40,000 homes” or whatever, they are using the name-plate capacity – the absolute peak output under perfect conditions. They don’t tell you what the real expected output is.

So yesterday, in winter, when we need power the most, we were getting one third.
Peak. Yes, it was cloudy, maybe slightly above average, but nothing abnormal.

Of course that peak only lasted for a few hours. Average output was less than 10MW.

Build 180MW, get 10MW average. Is that really a good deal?
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June 13, 2025 8:54am
- Local Miller
  
  The worst ROI imaginable. If wind and solar farms were expected to actually turn a profit for the investors, with no state subsidies, no one would be investing in them.
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:01am
  - Mike
    
    To what extent does the taxpayer subsidize wind and solar generation?
    
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    June 13, 2025 9:15am
    - Jethrod
      
      I infer from that question that you don’t believe that there are subsidies. The subsidies came before the projects were started based on stupid and crazy superstitions floated by climate change extremists.
      
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      June 13, 2025 11:00am
    - Conservatarian
      
      I recall the press conference in 2023. James Shaw put on a nice suit and spoke directly to his fangirls at net taxpayer funded TVNZ and RNZ holding the microphones and set out the meticulously researched and fully costed policy:
      
      Step 1: Borrow and print countless billions of dollars.
      Step 2: Give it to [mumble mumble mumble] and in 2043 we will have the technology which will [mumble mumble mumble]
      Step 3: Smugly sit back and glory in the utopia we have created.
      
      Marama Davidson angrily poked Shaw, who clarified “No cis white man will be given any of these countless billions”
      
      Chloe Swarbrick angrily poked Shaw, who further clarified “No person, and especially no cis white man, will be allowed to profit from these countless billions”
      
      Ricardo Menendez March held up a clenched fist, adjusted his Hamas-branded tea towel, and shouted “Poverty bad. Welfare good.”
      
      The TVNZ cameraman eventually grew tired of clapping and cheering and pressed “STOP” on his video camera.
      
      11 2
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      June 13, 2025 11:11am
    - Local Miller
      
      Well recently to the tune of $28 million!
      https://tinyurl.com/Government-Fund-Renewables
      
      You really should do some research if you can’t keep up with the facts.
      
      7 1
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      June 13, 2025 12:15pm
    - CJames
      
      They subsidise them by not making them comply with the grid connection rules that all other generation types have to meet. That means increased generation costs and additional charges for distribution companies and Transpower. Not taxpayers directly as such, but their other pocket as electricity charges.
      Remeber the Power cuts in August some years ago were primarily caused by an unexpected drop in wind generation.
      
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      June 13, 2025 12:32pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Mike: “To what extent does the taxpayer subsidize wind and solar generation?”
      
      To the extent that their power bills needlessly rise every year (thanks to successive brainless and gutless governments supporting the loony left driven climate scam). Lefties really don’t mind seeing the poor and middle class getting shafted in the service of their grand delusions. You’re welcome. 😊
      
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      June 13, 2025 6:42pm
  - cmm
    
    Oh no, you can definitely make it worse.
    Just add battery storage (BESS).
    
    9 2
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    June 13, 2025 9:20am
    - RoboRob
      
      So true. BESS only makes sense in countries that have a large percentage of their generation from wind / solar. They make no sense in NZ. Better to spend the money on more geothermal.
      
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      June 13, 2025 9:24am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Agree, geothermal is our equivalent of nuclear power with the benefit that we won’t be hostage to nuclear fuel suppliers.
        Steam is steam, the turbines will turn regardless of the source.
        
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        June 13, 2025 9:38am
      - Tarquin North
        
        Meridians BESS installation in Marsden Point is apparently doing fairly well. I’m told they load up the batteries with cheap power during the night and sell it back into the grid at breakfast time for a very good profit. Then again the batteries cost 2 million each and there must be 50 or more over there so I suppose how profitable they are really depends on how long they last.
        
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        June 13, 2025 10:46am
      - cmm
        
        The BESS is perhaps making money but not making power.
        
        The amount of buffering it performs is small and – due to the loss of power during charging and discharging – it would be far better to achieve the same effect by just using more or less hydro.
        
        ie. Instead of charging the BESS, just turn down the hydro a bit. Instead of discharging the BESS, just increase the hydro a bit.
        
        Using the hydro to perform the function would be far more efficient and cost zero.
        
        I had a look at the numbers they have on their website for claimed net power generation and, I think – how should I phrase this- they are somewhat more optimistic than the laws of physics permit.
        
        While the BESS shows up on generation (when it is outputting power) it never shows up as a load when it is charging. This is somewhat disingenuous. It suggests some activism in the way the data is presented.
        
        https://www.transpower.co.nz/system-operator/live-system-and-market-data/consolidated-live-data
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:14am
      - cmm
        
        always:
        Geothermal is an interesting case in NZ.
        
        Most geothermals can be run continuously at close to 100% output without depleting the reserves (as opposed to, say, hydro which consumes water out of the dam – leading to an empty dam if you over do it).
        
        For most geothermal, the heat is being continuously replenished and will be for the next many thousands of years so there is little point in throttling back.
        
        This is why geothermal is currently being run at over 90% utilisation.
        
        We have maybe another 2000MW of geothermal (at least 1000MW) that can be developed relatively easily and it would make sense to do so if the taniwha doesn’t mind too much.
        
        Geothermal like this is perhaps the closest there is to a perfect power source. It is fully dispatchable (ie. you can turn it on and off any time you want – rain or shine, day or night). It does not deplete (well, most sources anyway) and is relatively low cost to develop when compared to what you get out of it. And the CO2 scaredy-pantses should be happy too.
        
        If we put in another 1GW of geothermal, that would set us up pretty well for another decade or two.
        
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        June 13, 2025 12:27pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        I thought there was another geothermal power station in the planning out from Taupo in the Tauhara/Wairakei field which is part owned by the local Tuwharetoa iwi, as is the already functioning one.
        
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        June 13, 2025 1:22pm
      - rouppe
        
        Cmm
        
        I’d caution over “never depletes”.
        
        I grew up in Rotorua. In the Springfield area many homes had a bore that went directly into the geothermal field underneath their homes.
        
        They extracted the steam, heated their homes with radiators, heated their spa pools outside and then vented the remaining steam – still at very very high temperatures – to the air. Incredibly inefficient.
        
        When I was still at school, the Pohutu Geyser, a major tourist attraction, stopped performing. Land subsidence became a thing in Springfield.
        
        Basically the geothermal field was collapsing. First the council banned new bores, then they required those home owners to reticulate rather than vent the steam. I’m not sure any private bores are allowed anymore.
        
        The field recovered, the geyser came back and all was saved.
        
        But a cautionary tale about “never depletes”.
        
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        June 13, 2025 1:33pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        Correct Rouppe.
        I was living in Rotorua 1973 – 1979, and a couple of my friends & others I knew had to shut down their bores. I wonder – has Pohutu geyser recovered yet ? Haven’t been to Whakarewarewa since I came back from Oz in 1988. Now live in Tauranga.
        
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        June 13, 2025 2:39pm
      - rouppe
        
        I left in 1981 to go to university, and left the area permanently in 1985. I’d never go back.
        
        I believe the geyser has revived. Not sure whether they still pour soap flakes down it like they used to to get the reaction.
        
        Being guardians of the environment and all that…
        
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        June 13, 2025 3:04pm
- RoboRob
  
  Been saying this for years. I regularly check the energy sources and its fair to say Wind and solar would average less then a third of their rated maximum.
  
  Right now (https://www.transpower.co.nz/system-operator/live-system-and-market-data/consolidated-live-data)
  
  Solar : 19 out of 179 (9.5%)
  Wind : 164 out of 1259 (13%)
  
  Coal is running at about 50%, indicating it is being used to make up for the above deficiencies.
  
  Solar, for the grid, is a stupid waste of time in NZ. I have no idea why a company would want to build a giant solar farm in south Canterbury. I assume flat land and subsidies make it viable but its a stupid place to build. Canterbury if often overcast / cloudy during the winter months.
  
  If you want solar build it in Nelson or Marlborough, oops they are building wind there.
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:22am
- [email protected]
  
  We put solar on our house roof seven years ago. It paid for itself in six years and we are now in profit mode.
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:48am
  - cmm
    
    ” It paid for itself in six years and we are now in profit mode”
    
    Only due to subsidies, of various types.
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:17am
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      Please identify the subsidies
      
      2 4
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      June 13, 2025 10:30am
      - RoboRob
        
        I dont think there are any official subsidies BUT the price of panels has been artificially low as China tries to kill the solar manufacturing market in Europe and the US.
        
        5 1
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        June 13, 2025 11:06am
      - cmm
        
        * There are massive subsidies in the feed in tariffs. Thus the money earned from solar is much higher than from reliable generation.
        * There are subsidised loans for solar at preferential rates.
        * There are also subsidies in the fact that people using solar on their roof are not paying the cost of providing reliability.
        
        SO there are three subsidies identified. You’re welcome.
        No doubt there are more.
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:19am
      - NZer In Exile
        
        DQ, we the people subsidise renewables insanity with our (needlessly) ever increasing power bills. This is killing businesses and jobs, and fueling the cost of living crisis. There is no climate crisis and the half baked hypothesis behind the scam has been shot full of holes.
        
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        June 13, 2025 6:48pm
    - [email protected]
      
      Hi cmm,
      
      No subsidies, paid for by myself and solar was more expensive seven years ago.
      
      According to AI: “Several financial institutions in New Zealand offer interest-free solar loans to help homeowners invest in solar power systems.”
      
      Really a no-brainer.
      
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      June 13, 2025 10:53am
      - cmm
        
        Those low interest loans ARE subsidies, but there are others too.
        
        9 0
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        June 13, 2025 11:20am
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Could it be that a large communist/supremacist entity wants to sell it’s prospective serf nations crap/pointless energy technology to further weaken them? Could it be that they know that they can rely on middle men in these countries with $$$ signs in their eyes to flip these cheap products? Could it be that these self interested flippers also lobby govts to keep pushing this stuff on their own countries?
        
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        June 13, 2025 6:55pm
  - Jethrod
    
    What…. at $8 per power bill?
    Must be just about time for major replacement parts?
    
    3 0
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    June 13, 2025 11:03am
  - RoboRob
    
    I think home Solar (no battery) makes sense and will pay for itself due to our high energy prices. It uses no space as its on your roof. I dont think it makes any sense for grid generators.
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:04am
    - Flossie
      
      A lot of the cost of power is in the daily availability charges. As more people move to solar panels that daily charge is bound to increase.
      
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      June 13, 2025 12:29pm
  - Taieri
    
    It paid for itself in six years and we are now in profit mode
    ———
    
    Can you provide some details? As to the tech specs, size, cost etc.
    
    5 0
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    June 13, 2025 11:06am
    - [email protected]
      
      18 solar panels 295 watts each (5.3Kw). Cost $13,500 including GST installed and certified by Northpower. Because we have a tile roof the solar company sent two experienced installers from Auckland to our place in Whangarei.
      
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      June 13, 2025 11:52am
      - rouppe
        
        Ah, Whangarei. North of Auckland is the most viable area for solar.
        
        My investigations are that the Inverter is about half the cost of the system. Or was that $13k just the panels with the Inverter on top, at $4-6K to get a hybrid one that can handle 5.3Kw of input as well as feed back to the grid.
        
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        June 13, 2025 1:40pm
      - Taieri
        
        Thanks.
        Wouldn’t work for me without the batteries though.
        
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        June 13, 2025 1:58pm
  - Conservatarian
    
    Did you calculate the opportunity cost of purchasing your panels? This is, for example, the investment gains foregone by not investing.
    
    For example, if the panels cost $10k in June 2018 you could have instead invested that $10k into the S&P 500. This index was at c. 2700 at the time and six years later (June 2024) had doubled to c. 5400. So you forewent $10k in investment gains – your panels have actually cost you $20k including the $10k to purchase. This is $3,333 per year or $278 per month.
    
    That might be about right. You might be in positive territory by now.
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:28am
  - Burtland
    
    10kW home solar, $20,000, 20 % duty
    10*0.20*365*24 = 17,520 kWh PA generation
    
    Meridian feed-in tariff 0.17$/kWh
    https://www.powerswitch.org.nz/solar-rates
    
    17,520*0.17= $2978 PA payback
    $20,000/$2978PA= 6.7 years
    
    so about right – small solar farms are similar
    
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    June 13, 2025 12:18pm
    - Taieri
      
      A big difference in the buy back rates between various companies. Over 100% between Contact and Meridian.
      
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      June 13, 2025 2:06pm
- Burtland
  
  Duty seems to be around 20% https://lodestoneenergy.co.nz/kaitaia/
  
  ROI must be good, the “rich pricks” are splashing their cash
  
  “Xero founder Rod Drury has come on board as an investor in Lodestone, joining existing backers who include The Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall, Trade Me founder Sam Morgan and Gary Haddleton, another early investor in Xero.”
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/128880620/rod-drury-and-sam-morgan-help-get-300m-solar-farm-project-over-the-line
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:54am
  - Burtland
    
    there appears to be a window of opportunity for smart investors to make a profit from solar due to the current over built capacity of baseload generation
    
    in 10yrs, with another 1 million non-net-tax payers, this opportunity will be gone and wind and solar will have to be installed with battery storage – the smart investors will also be sold up and gone.
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:17am
  - cmm
    
    There is a huge difference between making money out of an artificially subsidised environment and actually creating genuine value.
    
    For the forseeable future in NZ, BESS and similar energy manipulation projects only make sense due to the marketplace being structured to incentivize them (eg. preferential feed in rates).
    
    None of these make sense according to the laws of physics. None of them would make sense on a level playing field.
    
    For the most part, none of these make the power grid more reliable either. Instead they drive up “stresses” in the grid.
    
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    June 13, 2025 12:04pm
- kowtow
  
  ‘Is that really a good deal?’
  
  To the politicians, globalists and corporatists who get media headlines , international invitations and who get to “dine out” on this virtue signalling , yes.
  
  For the tax and power bill payers , not so much.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:34am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  Yes, for the last five days in Canterbury it’s been cold, heavily overcast and/or raining and drizzling with no wind. Added to the snowy period last week. Not much generation capability there I wouldn’t have thought.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:41am
  - RoboRob
    
    And pretty standard for much of Winter here too.
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:08am
- JackRabbit
  
  cmm, Great facts.
  
  As we know the best use of solar and wind energy is:
  [1] The sun heats the earth, including the ocean.
  [2] Water evaporates, aided by air flow, caused by winds.
  [3] The evaporated water creates clouds.
  [4] The clouds release the water as rain, snow, and condensation/precipitation. This process occurs abundantly at high altitude, and over mountain ranges.
  [5] Said water flows down the mountain slopes and from high elevation to low elevation.
  [6] This flowing water we call rivers and if it gets stopped by natural contours of the land we call them lakes.
  [7] If we dam said lakes and install generators that are turned by the released water, we get electricity.
  [8] If we further capture to immense force exhibited by flowing rivers, at any point on the river, we generate further electricity.
  
  Everybody knows this stuff as it is taught in primary school and any person whose parents took them to see a hydro scheme knows it. We first visited hydro schemes when I was about 6 or 7, and it left an indelible impression.
  
  You can get 5MW out of a small river. To get 5MW out of solar or wind you need 40-50 MW nameplate rating.
  
  The Greens NEVER promote hydro.
  
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  June 13, 2025 12:45pm
Conservatarian

Just in case you ever wondered at the reliability or political leaning of Wikipedia, it reports:

“The anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles have inspired other anti-ICE protests in other U.S. cities, such as New York, Chicago, and Dallas.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2025_Los_Angeles_protests

“anti-ICE”
“protests”
“inspired”

California has spread another successful export across the US – this time it is rioting, looting and burning by violent revolutionary communists in favour of illegal immigration.

The petri dish of bad ideas has spawned yet again.
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June 13, 2025 9:04am
- Lance
  
  Seriously… did you just write that?
  
  ” rioting, looting and burning by violent revolutionary communists”
  
  In LA some robo-taxi’s were set on fire (they shouldn’t have done that) but I have yet to see mass burnings and lootings, by raping and pillaging heathen hoards anywhere else.
  But hey, if extreme hysteria gets you through the day… go ahead
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:46am
  - cmm
    
    Just chuck in raping too…
    Who is the one being hysterical?
    
    Are you denying there is rioting, looting and burning?
    
    And no the burning is not limited to “some robo-taxis”
    
    10 3
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    June 13, 2025 10:02am
    - MCōs
      
      It’s probably yet another case of you have to be there.
      I used to work a couple of streets away from parliament and often saw protests and demonstrations in the grounds outside.
      Usually they were tiny, but sometimes on tv they looked huge due to camera angles
      
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      June 13, 2025 10:15am
      - Conservatarian
        
        Ah, the “mostly peaceful riot” argument.
        
        7 4
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        June 13, 2025 10:54am
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Where they throwing bricks and molotov cocktails (petrol bombs) at officers of the law as well as burning and looting private property?
        
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        June 13, 2025 6:58pm
  - Conservatarian
    
    Weren’t you liberally sprinkling the descriptor “fascist” into a post you made about three days ago?
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:57am
  - RoboRob
    
    Thre is video of looting at a Nike store and there are plenty of videos with fires, cars mainly as you say. Remember the National gaurd was bought in early to stop this stuff esculating as it did during the ‘mostly peaceful’ black lives matter protests.
    
    Why is it that every is scared of right wing extremists when it seems the left are the ones that do the rioting, assasination attempts etc. You have a lefty setting elderly jews on fire, when was the last time the anti abortion people set pregnant mothers on fire?
    
    Seems the left is far more violent then the right.
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:13am
    - Ghost
      
      I thought the best looting was at the apple store. Everything they stole was blocked and got messages to return them, that they were being tracked, and alarms going off
      
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      June 13, 2025 11:23am
      - Conservatarian
        
        Yes, that was magnificent wasn’t it? FAFO.
        
        5 1
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        June 13, 2025 11:35am
      - cmm
        
        There’s still a pretty good market for spare parts. An ipad screen might fetch $50 to $100.
        
        But yes, looters are not necessarily thinking properly. They see. They grab.
        
        Barnes & Noble was untouched though.
        
        6 1
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        June 13, 2025 11:58am
      - Graeme Hall
        
        There was footage of the LA police blocking and catching looters at an exit door to the Apple Store. Big place. Stock got scattered over the footpath as any looters slippery enough to get away bolted.
        
        Also footage of “largely peaceful” protestors dropping cinder blocks off a bridge overpass onto police cars below.
        
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        June 13, 2025 3:14pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        I thought it was just so LA that after looting shops a Sushi Bar then got looted!
        
        2 0
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        June 13, 2025 3:39pm
  - Conservatarian
    
    Are you reading a physical newspaper from Sunday? You need to get faster updates on news.
    
    3 0
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    June 13, 2025 11:41am
  - rouppe
    
    This might help with your blindness to looting, and heathen hordes.
    
    https://youtu.be/FydgzlUb0dE?si=2ZLr9X8KfSJZyixG
    
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    June 13, 2025 1:48pm
- Mike
  
  I expect you to propose a Wikipedia edit with ‘violent revolutionary communists’ as a neutral POV.
  
  4 15
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  June 13, 2025 9:49am
  - Conservatarian
    
    To have the rights to edit Wikipedia, you first must have the approval of violent revolutionary communists.
    
    6 4
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    June 13, 2025 10:56am
- MCōs
  
  Anyone can edit Wikipedia if they feel they have a contribution to make.
  Don’t like what there, change it
  That’s why Wikipedia can be a fundamentally flawed reference source
  
  5 2
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  June 13, 2025 10:08am
  - Conservatarian
    
    No, Wikipedia is a fundamentally flawed reference source for anything remotely connected to politics and “the culture wars” because it is run by and for leftists.
    It is the dictionary wing of the leftist-academia-MSM complex.
    
    Big Dictionary.
    
    5 4
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    June 13, 2025 11:37am
    - Ian Boag
      
      So has the market delivered us a non-lefty equivalent or there a conspiracy somewhere … ?
      
      5 5
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      June 13, 2025 12:51pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Bollocks MCōs. Anything that goes against lefty narratives is removed in a flash.
    
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    June 13, 2025 7:04pm
Chuck Bird

Luxon should be doing better. He has turned National into Labour Lite. Most people do not think it fair that women have to compete against men. National thinks it is fair.

Labour leapfrog National, but coalition keeps power in Taxpayers’ Union poll

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/563938/labour-leapfrog-national-but-coalition-keeps-power-in-taxpayers-union-poll
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June 13, 2025 9:19am
- RoboRob
  
  When you consider how absolutely terrible Labour were / are and how batshit crazy their coalition partners are, Nationals poling performane really is terrible.
  
  They really should be looking at themselves and asking what they need to do to improve their polling.
  
  29 2
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  June 13, 2025 9:27am
  - Ghost
    
    Economy, cost of living, health. These are the three top concerns in the poll. All mine fields that were handed to them by labour. It will take time to turn around.
    
    22 7
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    June 13, 2025 9:34am
    - Cassandra
      
      If that’s the problem ie more time needed, then they need to sell it better.
      
      18 3
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      June 13, 2025 9:43am
      - R
        
        Can’t very easily ‘sell’ something that MSM won’t report; and if they do, the reported quote is usually out of context
        
        9 2
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        June 13, 2025 10:18am
      - RoboRob
        
        @ R
        
        You can get around the MSM. Trump did in the US and Winston has for years here.
        
        Also the governemt probably fucking own 50% of the MSM.
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:16am
      - Groggy
        
        Can only sell something if you actually have a plan, precious little evidence of that from National. Luxon still has shown any sign of a vision for what sort of NZ they are trying to create, it’s all short term goals & KPI’s.
        
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        June 13, 2025 4:12pm
    - k1w1
      
      Yes, it will take time. In the meantime, they need to give the impression (at least) of leadership on all other matters. And they need to sell what they are doing about those “big 3” much better. All about optics, and they come across wet & weak.
      
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      June 13, 2025 9:45am
      - R
        
        The last government alway gave the impression of leadership; and look where that has got the country
        
        7 1
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        June 13, 2025 10:21am
      - leoj
        
        ….come across as wet and weak, because THEY ARE!
        
        7 2
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        June 13, 2025 11:17am
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      To me they have two problems, time and the media. In regard to time the mid term economy does look promising, it seems the outlook is brighter and by the time the election comes next year it may be hitting its straps. However within Ghosts three key areas there are any number of cemented in land ines (inefficiencies and wasteful practices) that need to be addressed before the economy is going to be in better shape for the long term.
      
      The media is going to build up to a frenzy next year, looking for a final push to get the coalition out. National are going to be subsumed by the volume of bad news as reported by the media and will be continually trying to defend themselves and as a result be struggling to get the positive news out there. They still don’t seem to understand the depth of animosity from the media towards them.
      
      If Labour numbers remain high, Hipkins will be able to point to not needing TPM. That along with the inevitable Labour lolly scramble could push them through.
      
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      June 13, 2025 11:04am
      - RoboRob
        
        The only thing in Nationals advantage is that while Labour stay high in the polls nobody is going to roll Hipkins.
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:17am
      - mogg
        
        There are plenty of of skeletons in the Labour cupboard. The drunken sailor party is all about more borrowing “for growth”. The obvious question is show me the money, and it’s coming from tax rises.
        We all remember 12% plus food inflation.
        
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        June 13, 2025 11:41am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        Hahaha, on all polls the left can not get in without TPM and still can not muster enough
        
        1 1
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        June 13, 2025 1:08pm
      - Ghost
        
        Although a smart Labour Party can get in with a new leader and Winston in government and greens on a confidence and supply agreement, locking the Maori party out
        
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        June 13, 2025 1:12pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Just look at health, cancer drugs rolled out, 9500 extra elective surgeries through private with the separate funding for catching up Labours back log, wait times apparently are starting to improve. How the he’ll can an economy with booming exports be seen as bad or worrying compared to 2 years ago. Joe can cost of living with inflation at 2% compared to 7% be worse, and with interest rates dropping, then a 500 k mortgage is now 15 k a year better off
      
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      June 13, 2025 1:05pm
  - pdm
    
    The answer is fairly simple RR.
    
    Luxon will not do the `hard yards’ or front anything that is remotely confrontational so he disappears quickly when anything slightly controversial rears its head. Not in the house for:
    * Treaty Principles Bill final reading.
    * Privileges Committee debate re 3 Maori Party Members.
    
    There will be more that others can add I am sure.
    
    In addition he is quick to dump on his own people, in most cases for trivial matters – eg Maureen Pugh expressing an honest opinion on Climate Change and ditto Chris Bishop at the Music Awards a week or so ago.
    
    Hardly the acts of an inspirational leader.
    
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    June 13, 2025 9:50am
    - Yvette
      
      Maureen Pugh’s controversial climate‑change comment occurred on 20 February 2023, when reporters asked whether she believed humans contribute to climate change. She replied she was still “waiting on the evidence from the minister”—specifically, citing a letter from a local council
      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/484589/national-s-maureen-pugh-chastised-over-climate-comments-she-s-gonna-be-doing-a-lot-of-reading?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
      
      However, this wasn’t originally her personal viewpoint—it stemmed from her role representing a constituent and relaying their request to the Climate Minister, James Shaw, for supporting evidence. The New Zealand Herald reports she said:
      “I have yet to see the response from James Shaw, where one of our local councils wrote to him and asked him for the evidence… It is not what I think. It is what I can prove.”
      
      Leader Christopher Luxon immediately decried Pugh’s view, and said he would be taking it up with her.
      “I disagree strongly. I’ve seen the evidence. I’ve seen it upfront.”
      “I’ll be very clear with my team – I have been right from day one of taking the leadership – that climate change is real. We are deeply committed to net carbon zero 2050.”
      The message to his caucus was clear: “If you’re a climate denier or climate minimiser today, that’s just not an acceptable position,” Luxon said.
      
      The original remark was framed as a constituent‑driven inquiry—”not what I think, but what I can prove”—rather than a statement of her personal belief.
      
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      June 13, 2025 10:53am
  - Chuck Bird
    
    “They really should be looking at themselves and asking what they need to do to improve their polling.”
    
    It is not National. It is Luxon. I mentioned women’s sport. National think women should have to play against men. See below.
    
    Chuck Bird [email protected]
    
    Dear Chuck
    
    NGCOR1109
    
    Thank you for your email of 21 April 2025 regarding the UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, and in particular whether gender should be defined for the purposes of sport and women’s spaces such as toilets and changing rooms.
    
    I acknowledge that there are strong views on whether gender should be defined in legislation and policies. The Law Commission is currently undertaking a review which includes consideration of matters relating to gender identity such as single-sex spaces and sports. A final report with recommendations is expected to be published later this year, which the Government will respond to.
    In addition to the Law Commission’s review, the Minister for Sport and Recreation recently instructed Sport New Zealand to review its ‘Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport’. Everyone should be able to participate in community sport, and the Government’s objective in calling for this review is to ensure that all New Zealanders can participate fairly and safely.
    
    Thank you for taking the time to write to me on this issue. Yours sincerely,
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:16am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Do one poll out of 4 the last 2 weeks has Nats slightly lower than Labour, but all 4 has the coalition parties in government, I note this poll has Act at 13.% while all other polls have Act at 8%, as a potato head once said, bugger the polls
    
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    June 13, 2025 12:55pm
    - rouppe
      
      With razor thin margins. It would take very little for a switch.
      
      In fact, the latest curia research poll could have
      Labour: 44
      Green: 10
      Nz first: 8
      
      That’s 62 and a majority. Only Chris Hipkins stands in the way of that happening.
      
      That gives us the Greens wealth tax and or cgt and or marginal tax rate increases
      
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      June 13, 2025 2:00pm
- ISeeRed
  
  National had turned long before Luxon.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:01am
- cmm
  
  ” He has turned National into Labour Lite.”
  
  Naah, that started with Key. Luxon is just continuing the tradition.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:08am
  - Ian Boag
    
    So all you perceptive folk should be doing something concrete to get ACT up from 10% to 35+. I guess whingeing on KB is a good start … 🙂
    
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    June 13, 2025 12:55pm
    - pdm
      
      I would be happy with ACT at 15/20%.
      
      1 1
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      June 13, 2025 9:56pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        I would be happy with ACT at 15/20%.
        
        Nice. So what are you doing to make that happen – other than whingeing on KB which is not a target-rich environment for change.
        
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        June 13, 2025 10:15pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  That is utter crap, Nats policy is for each sporting body to decide, so you want him to go Marxist and dictate to governing bodies?
  
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  June 13, 2025 12:52pm
  - Chuck Bird
    
    Do you think it is fair that women have to play against men and have men invade their change rooms?
    
    3 2
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    June 13, 2025 4:33pm
    - Ghost
      
      It’s up to the sporting bodies to ban it and many have. If you want the govt to do it then you are also inviting the next left government to make the sporting bodies include trans
      
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      June 13, 2025 4:39pm
      - Chuck Bird
        
        So you think it fair that women are forced to play against men.
        
        Do you think that men should be allowed to use women’s changing rooms?
        
        3 2
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        June 13, 2025 4:59pm
      - Ghost
        
        I realise you have an issue being able to understand what is said. So read again what I said and stop trying to pretend I’ve said anything other than that
        
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        June 13, 2025 5:15pm
lifesgood

I shake my heaad in bewilderment at the latest Tax Payers Union Poll. Seriously, do people really think that Labour, the Greens and TMP would be better at running the country? Is NZ a country full of idiots? I’m beginning to think so.
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June 13, 2025 9:41am
- cmm
  
  It’s due to Luxon dithering.
  
  If you stand for everything you stand fro nothing.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:19am
- Chuck Bird
  
  I was with Groudswell at Fieldays yesterday. I heard Hipkins speak. He is a lot smarter than Comrade Ardern. He could likely beat Luxon in a debate.
  
  We have a National Party leader who believes that there is a climate crisis, has allowed carbon credits to be paid for be us to incentivise farms to be converted to pine trees, and who believes that women should have to play against men in sport.
  
  We need a change of leader.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:23am
- greybeard
  
  Polls are rubbish, even DPF’s.
  Chlöe Swarbrick: 5.6 percent think she would make a good PM ?
  Really?
  And what on earth has Labour done in the last 12 months to warrant such a figure ? Nothing.
  So just take these poll “results” with a large pinch of salt.
  One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and one poll doesn’t define the truth.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:24am
  - I remember when
    
    It’s why they are called the ‘Greens.’
    
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    June 13, 2025 10:38am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  NO they don’t none of these polls have the coalition trailing
  
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  June 13, 2025 1:10pm
  - rouppe
    
    There’s more than one way to arrange a coalition.
    
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    June 13, 2025 2:05pm
NothingLeft

Democracy is dead.
We have a substantial proportion of the voting population who choose who to vote for based on ‘feelz’ identity and who promises to rob the most from everyone else to give to them.

And with ChatGTP+ we have a personalized propaganda tool, deployable at near infinite scale that through channels owned by ethically wonderful and “don’t be evil” big Tech companies + PRC can sculpt messaging to influence ~~stupid~~ influenceable individuals to push them into voting how they want them to.

Voters are going to be fed endless streams of made-up sad testimonials and stories about various social issues in order to emotively induce them to vote for far left who are almost certainly going to win as a result – and who as good ends-justify-means sociopaths will then ensure we never have free and fair elections again.
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June 13, 2025 9:45am
- R
  
  No wonder that my first year granddaughter is already talking of leaving nz once she she graduates
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:24am
  - Don Beckett
    
    Three of my granddaughters have already gone to Oz – permanently. 🙁
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:45am
- NothingLeft
  
  “It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy.” G. Orwell, 1984
  
  Claire Lehman does good summary on modern mechanism politically radicalizing young women and deleterious impact of phones on them. https://youtu.be/ofi02RBDIe8
  
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  June 13, 2025 11:39am
  - Culture War Criminal
    
    The universal franchise and, very particularly, women having the vote, has over time led to a set of undesirable socioeconomic circumstances that would not have eventuated otherwise. Certain decisions were made by certain sectors of the electorate (or perhaps, rather, the desired direction of travel of the elites of the Western world was laundered and validated via the electoral system).
    
    Despite this being the case, and despite the deleterious effects to which the causes above can be quite reasonably assigned if we are honest, most still suffer from a psychological block that is exposed whenever the ideas that the franchise should revert to being quite restricted and/or that women shouldn’t vote is suggested. There’s a kind of Stockholm syndrome effect that keeps us attached to the things that are actually harming us.
    
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    June 13, 2025 1:48pm
    - NothingLeft
      
      I don’t want to see anyone disenfranchised, but we need to have some means of reducing the electoral power of people who can’t or won’t put the long term future of the country ahead of their immediate gratification, voting themselves rich or childish desire to just hand out money on luxury nice-to-haves without consideration of long term consequences or even how to pay for it.
      
      Probably best to just add a weighted additional voting power multiplier on basis of tax paid on non-govt derived income as an imperfect proxy for economic competence and care for NZ’s future prosperity. Maybe add in something more for those raising children without state support.
      
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      June 13, 2025 4:31pm
      - Culture War Criminal
        
        “I don’t want to see anyone disenfranchised, but we need to have some means of reducing the electoral power of people who can’t or won’t put the long term future of the country ahead of their immediate gratification, voting themselves rich or childish desire to just hand out money on luxury nice-to-haves without consideration of long term consequences or even how to pay for it.”
        
        Isn’t the best way to achieve this to disenfranchised them? If they aren’t voting, they aren’t voting for destructive policies.
        
        Your comment precisely demonstrates my point: we can identify the problem, but we can’t do anything to remediate the problem because we believe in the ideology that causes the problem too strongly. This is completely irrational.
        
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        June 13, 2025 6:01pm
  - Groggy
    
    Clearly they should just stay in the kitchen where they belong and not get uppity ideas about being people eh.
    
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    June 13, 2025 4:18pm
    - Culture War Criminal
      
      I’m only interested in how we have a good society, which follows from the types of policies that get enacted. Let’s be rational rather than emotive and irrational. Is it better for everyone (including those who do not vote) to live in a good society, or is it better to live in a bad society (which is bad for everyone) but wherein everyone gets to vote? Obviously, it’s the former.
      
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      June 13, 2025 6:13pm
imalwaysright

Here’s the list of terrorists banned in NZ:

https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/personal-community/counterterrorism/designated-entities/lists-associated-with-resolution-1373?nondesktop

Apart from Tarrant, none of these organisations have harmed NZ but its proper that they are banned. (Not sure about The Proud Boys being on the list however).

The point is, why are the NZ domestic gangs not on the list ?

Instead, our homegrown domestic terrorists get police assistance for their gatherings and welfare benefits from the public.
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June 13, 2025 9:48am
- Keith White
  
  It would be healthy for the whole country to permanently ban and and all meth-dealing gangs as terrorist entities, and use the Army to back up the Police if (=when) the gangs do not disperse peaceably and permanently.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:26am
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  I have massive issues with the Proud Boys being designated a terrorist entity, and by the New Zealand government no less. I haven’t followed them closely, but at least when I first became aware of them they seemed pretty harmless and (mostly) law abiding.
  
  The thing is that this is the type of nonsense that could criminalize random New Zealanders who happened to donate to a Proud Boys fundraiser. What exactly would be wrong with that? Proud Boys are the type of group who might have got involved to protect people like Posie Parker and so prevent what happened in Albert Park a couple of years ago.
  
  I actually called the New Zealand police to let them know I must at some point have ‘liked’ some Youtube video supporting the Proud Boys. Which police station should I turn myself in at?
  
  It’s actions like this that turn relatively normal citizens against the state.
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:13pm
- Jake Dee
  
  Domestic criminal gangs are not on the list because they are not political.
  They are parasites feeding of the political system.
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:27pm
Bridgenag

Auckland central city is a mess. 501’s and other mentally disturbed men wandering the streets. Place is like a jungle with beasts and prey. Two friends mugged in Quay street 1.30 pm and 5.30pm
Second one requiring stitches. Walked from the Aotea centre to the Pullman after an event about 10.00pm and passed a silent standing man every 50 metres and 5 men sleeping near the Metropolis. Wise owners closing off lifts to car parks. No police in sight.

Something needs to be done.
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June 13, 2025 9:55am
- ISeeRed
  
  Vote National! The law and order party!
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:02am
  - NothingLeft
    
    Policing is changing throughout the world as left wing Govts mostly give up on law and order. In UK apparently 70% of police have not arrested anyone in last year.
    
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    June 13, 2025 11:41am
- BananaLlama
  
  Auckland city has really gone downhill and Police nowhere to be found. Don’t walk with your phone out they will try to grab that too.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:24am
Pope Punctilious II

Auckland Uni’s woke VC (Dawn Freshwater) has resigned. Apparently Auckland Uni forked out over $5M to buy her a mansion when she arrived in 2019:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360719899/university-auckland-vice-chancellor-dawn-freshwater-resigns
Young lecturers and technical staff straining under heavy workloads must have been “thrilled” by the university’s largesse towards their imported VC.
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June 13, 2025 10:25am
- muzled
  
  That’s the best news I’ve read today!
  
  Not that I clicked the link of course.
  
  That’s a double shaka to you $tuffed.
  
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  June 13, 2025 2:13pm
- MCōs
  
  The university also sold the house for a substantial profit a couple of years later because the VC wasn’t happy with the situation.
  The university is casting far and wide for a new VC. Who do you suggest Mr Pope?
  
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  June 13, 2025 5:25pm
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    Simon Bridges!
    
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    June 13, 2025 7:37pm
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  Fantastic news! Even better if she’d done it just over five years ago, but at least she got there.
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:02pm
imalwaysright

Lundy got parole but he says he’s innocent.
Scot Watson is still in jail because he says he’s innocent.
Anyone know how this works?
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June 13, 2025 10:28am
- Ghost
  
  All criminals are innocent in their own minds…..
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:32am
  - Chuck Bird
    
    Some are!
    
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    June 13, 2025 4:38pm
- Hugh Jarse
  
  Prison is full of innocent people.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:43am
- RoboRob
  
  AFAIK
  
  Time. Lundys sentence ended he had to be let out even though he refused to admit guilt.
  
  Watson cant get early parole because he hasn’t admitted guilt.
  
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  June 13, 2025 11:23am
  - MCōs
    
    Lundy was sentenced to life in prison
    He was eligible for parole after twenty years and served twenty three years
    
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    June 13, 2025 5:05pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Scott Watson has a history of bad behaviour whilst in Prison:
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/murderer-watson-accused-of-sending-photos-of-genitals-to-teen/TNAN4FZA6JQZQOI4Y3LBRXYG6I/
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360609284/inside-scott-watsons-six-hour-parole-hearing-his-latest-bid-freedom
  
  Lundy didn’t.
  
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  June 13, 2025 11:46am
  - imalwaysright
    
    The question then is does his bad behaviour while imprisoned deserve a greater sentence than if he wasn’t a prisoner ?
    
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    June 13, 2025 12:08pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      I think it is pretty clear that the appropriate authorities continue to consider Scott Watson to be a danger to the public, hence his continued incarceration well beyond his 17-year non-parole period.
      
      The following is an extract from the Ian Wishart article of 31 December 2017, titled, “The Scott Watson Case: What Really Happened to Ben and Olivia?”
      
      (See https://ianwishart.com/2017/12/the-scott-watson-case-what-really-happened-to-ben-and-olivia.)
      
      “When I published Elementary in early 2016, Watson supporters were outraged that I had concluded, based on his behaviour in the evidence files, that he was a psychopath. Two psychologists hired by the Crown for his parole hearing in late 2016 agreed with that diagnosis, finding that Watson enjoys (‘positive effect’) ‘inflicting pain and distress’ and that he remains extremely dangerous, even now. This from the Parole Board decision:
      
      ‘Two psychological reports have been prepared by Departmental psychologists to assist the Board in assessing Mr Watson’s risk. They are the report by [Withheld], dated 29 April 2015, and that by [Withheld] of 2 May 2016.
      
      ‘On the basis of information available to her, [Withheld] assessed Mr Watson’s risk of violent recidivism as very high. She also concurred with the assessment by [Withheld], who prepared an earlier treatment report for the Department of Corrections, that on the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) he fell within a group of offenders “who show an elevated rate and speed of recidivism, particularly relative to violence”.
      
      ‘While acknowledging that limited information is known about his index offending, she identified: “perceived sexual rejection, ruminations upon revenge, positive affect associated with inflicting pain and distress, and a disinhibition through alcohol intoxication” as relevant risk factors.’
      
      “In other words, he hasn’t changed.
      
      “In fairness, Watson’s legal team hired their own independent psychologist’s report. Unfortunately for Watson, his own doctor agreed he was a dangerous psychopath:
      
      ‘“For present purposes, it is relevant that [Withheld] refers to the reports by [Withheld] and Ms [Withheld] and says that: Given that these estimates of risk were made on the basis of evidence based practice using a combination of actuarial measures and clinical data the writer considers the estimates to be valid.”’
      
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      June 13, 2025 5:17pm
    - Jake Dee
      
      It’s not a greater sentence, it’s having bad behavior taken into consideration for parole. That’s the best way to encourage good behavior.
      Its a very old system.
      
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      June 13, 2025 8:31pm
  - Jack5
    
    People convicted of headline grabbing crimes, or convicted in notable trials, seem to be left with an enduring dependency for publicity.
    
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    June 13, 2025 1:31pm
  - Paul Marsden
    
    I’m sure you would be feeling a bit rebellious too, if you had been incarcerated for a crime for a good part of your life that on the face of it, it was impossible for you to commit. Certainly not by the Police case file notes anyway, nor by the ‘evidence’ and the sham trial against Watson that was conducted by the Crown against him.
    
    Putting myself in Watson’s shoes, if I was incarcerated for a crime that I did not commit, there is no way in hell I would confess to it.
    
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    June 13, 2025 3:53pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Prison culture as it stands tends to demand people behave like animals in order to to survive. Hence why they usually come out as worse human beings than when they went in.
    
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    June 13, 2025 7:09pm
I remember when

Porirua iwi Ngati Toa Rangatira continues to expand its footprint across the wider Wellington region:
“Recently purchasing land at a further 27 public schools in the area.
It now owns the greound leases at 67 schools in total and remains the Ministry of Education’s biggest landlord.”

So lots of debt but a guaranteed source of income.
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June 13, 2025 10:33am
- rouppe
  
  I’d never buy a leasehold property because you have no argument against whatever number they come up with.
  
  Now that one party has control over a large number of very immovable assets, they could heavily increase lease rates every renewal and there nothing the government could do.
  
  It really is self destructive behaviour.
  
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  June 13, 2025 2:12pm
  - slijmbal
    
    @roupee – I think leasehold agreements have standard agreement and arbitration terms around rentals that we see in commercial lease agreements.
    
    Effectively, it becomes valuers at dawn where each side pays a valuer to come up with a number and justify it. If that still doesn’t result in agreement then it goes off to binding arbitration.
    
    The real issue is that typical periods for leasehold rent reviews are long with 7 years being at the low end and a number being at the ‘standard’ 21 year renewal period. At the end of even the shorter 7 year period the likelihood is that the $ should legitimately jump hugely. If we also allow for the fact that for most commercial type properties the land is still the largest part of the value then the story gets worse.
    
    Effectively as a leasholder you are a renter who gets a huge surprise every 7 to 21 years and happens to own a relatively low value asset compared to the land – but an asset that you cannot reasonably move.
    
    If in it for the long term could be a smart move by Ngati Toa Rangatira. Just make sure is in a location where there will be children in the long term.
    
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    June 13, 2025 5:39pm
kazapr

Just got to love that Jacinda. Here we have some overseas commentators stating the obvious. It seems the local NZ media have banned itself from saying such things. Check this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOIwjsC3m0
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June 13, 2025 10:38am
Ghost

Israel has launched an attack on Iran’s capital, with explosions booming across Tehran.

The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programe. The Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency for the first time in 20 years on Thursday censured Iran over it not working with its inspectors. Iran immediately announced it would establish a third enrichment site in the country and swap out some centrifuges for more-advanced ones.

Article
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June 13, 2025 12:38pm
- Culture War Criminal
  
  “Iraqi WMDs” circa 2003 all over again.
  
  Now you see clearly why Iran needs nukes – Israel has them, and is the only nation in the region that does, which emboldens Israel to act aggressively and bomb countries who they declare as threats and based on fabricated or exaggerated intel, simply because that serves Israel’s agenda to achieve dominance over the region (but as always, necessarily backed by the security umbrella the Israel Lobby buys from Congress).
  
  Never has “self-defence” looked so nakedly aggressive.
  
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  June 13, 2025 2:00pm
  - Conservatarian
    
    “based on fabricated or exaggerated intel…”
    
    https://nypost.com/2025/05/22/world-news/un-bbc-walk-back-dramatic-gaza-infant-death-toll-claim/
    
    As reported on 22 May:
    
    “The United Nations and the BBC on Wednesday corrected a dramatic claim that 14,000 infants in the Gaza Strip faced death within 48 hours, clarifying that the figure actually refers to children at risk of severe malnutrition over the course of a full year.
    
    U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher claimed BBC Radio 4‘s “Today” program, saying: “There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them.”
    
    The comment was quickly picked up by national media outlets, cited in U.K. parliamentary debates, and referenced in international diplomatic discussions.”
    
    Oops. Fabricated or exaggerated indeed. Dead in 48 hours = MIGHT go hungry over a year.
    
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    June 13, 2025 2:42pm
- Chuck Bird
  
  I see Luxon thinks it is okay for Iran, a funder of terrorists, to have nuclear weapons to wipe out Israel.
  
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  June 13, 2025 2:41pm
  - Ghost
    
    Of course you have to use what is happening as a means to attack luxon. Give it a break, you are a broken record
    
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    June 13, 2025 2:52pm
    - Chuck Bird
      
      Stick to the argument I make and do not make a personal attack.
      
      If Israel gets nukes, there will be a nuclear war in the Middle East.
      
      Do you agree with Luxon that Israel should not try its best to make sure Iran does not get nukes?
      
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      June 13, 2025 3:08pm
      - Ghost
        
        The topic isn’t luxon but as always you have to turn it into an attack on luxon. Give it a break, every topic doesn’t have to be Chuck”s hate for Luxon. But since you want to make this into a typical Chuck attack on luxon, even trump didn’t want Israel to carry out this attack. He believed an agreement with Iran was still possible. Iran and the USA were set for another round of meetings on Sunday.
        
        4 2
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        June 13, 2025 3:20pm
      - Chuck Bird
        
        ” even trump didn’t want Israel to carry out this attack.”
        
        Do you believe that?
        
        1 6
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        June 13, 2025 3:40pm
      - Ghost
        
        So what is this now, are you refusing to believe trump didn’t want Israel to attack because now you have to hate trump and luxon.
        
        Here’s trumps truth social post
        
        https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114672438335170335
        
        Here’s what trump said when asked by the media
        
        “I don’t want them going in because, I mean, that would blow it,”
        
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        June 13, 2025 3:48pm
Conservatarian

Alex Padilla, US Senator from California, a Democrat, a pro-illegal immigration extremist and a Mexican, earlier today charged into a press conference at the FBI field office in riot-stricken LA hosted by Dept of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

Pro-illegal immigration extremist Padilla was bundled out of the press conference by US Secret service agents.

https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1933257295628284094

Padilla quickly held his own press conference and pretended to be a civil rights hero. It was a clear stunt aimed at furthering the cause of illegal immigration and metaphorically kicking law-abiding migrants in the guts.

What a loser. Keep crying libs.
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June 13, 2025 12:55pm
Conservatarian

I’ve been thinking about the LA pro-illegal alien rioting, looting and car burnings being endorsed by California and LA politicians and by national-level Democrats (except Sen. John Fetterman).

Earlier this year Trump deported Kilmar Obrego Garcia aka “Maryland Dad” to El Salvador but he was recently returned the US to face trial for human trafficking as part of his day job of being a MS-13 gang member. He will apparently not face trial for his wife beating.

I know Kilmar Obrego Garcia is not physically connected to the rioting, looting and car burnings in this case but I know every rioter, looter and car burner has Kilmar Obrego Garcia in his or her heart and mind.

Therefore I am consider renaming the LA pro-illegal alien rioting, looting and car burnings being endorsed by California and LA politicians and by national-level Democrats (except Sen. John Fetterman) to the Kilmar Obrego Garcia riots.

It is much easier to say.
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June 13, 2025 1:13pm
- Mike
  
  Well, that’s a load of nonsense. No politicians have ‘endorsed’ rioting.
  So you come out strongly in favor of unlawful deportations and the illegal deployment of troops.
  Sadly, these outrages against democratic norms will likely be endorsed by a supreme court determined to endorse authoritarianism.
  
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  June 13, 2025 7:08pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    Fantastic reply
    Baghdad Bob would be proud
    
    4 2
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    June 13, 2025 7:54pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    But J6 was an “insurrection” and Trump (and “the right”) supported the “insurrection” according to lefty folklore.
    
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    June 13, 2025 8:39pm
- AitchW
  
  It occurs to me that these riots are the anti Trump riots that the left wanted after the presidential election but couldn’t get organised. Now they’ve had time to get their ducks in a row, as much as a bunch of disparate activists can, they’re taking to the streets.
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:13pm
- artemisia
  
  Sounding like Mr Garcia, if found guilty and sentenced to prison then deported, will regret the considerable political and legal support given to him to return to the US.
  
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  June 14, 2025 6:46am
Media hater

Watch SB Williams threaten Ryan Bridge in this Herald interview. What a contemptible creep.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/boxing/sonny-bill-williams-vs-paul-gallen-sbw-gives-herald-now-host-ryan-bridge-warning-over-greedy-question/DL6K2GOVWBATFHRNELJ347TCL4/
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June 13, 2025 2:41pm
- MCōs
  
  Trash talk
  SBW has a fight against Paul Gallen to promote and all that sort of carry on is par for the course
  
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  June 13, 2025 4:16pm
- pdm
  
  SBW was a quality rugby player at his best. He had skills others could only dream of.
  
  Having said that I have no interest in his boxing or what he says publicly on almost anything.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:06pm
Sparrow

I think the political saying that governments loose elections, oppositions don’t win them might be overtuned next year. Across all people with different political leanings it is the same refrain. Luxon. He does not resonate with people. He is shown up by his coalition leaders. The crafty old campaigner Winston and the aggressive Seymour who is willing to espouse controversial opinions. We don’t know what Luxon believes in or frankly who he is. A grey faceless corporate. Harsh yes , but he needs to get on that platform and talk common sense to us, not PC drivel. If Hipkins can keep out of trouble and get back to traditional Labour values and promises to have no TPM in his cabinet he could overturn that saying. Oppositions can win elections.
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June 13, 2025 2:50pm
- Chuck Bird
  
  [Mod – stay on topic]
  
  That was why the coalition lost in Oz.
  
  Dutton was asked about women playing against men in sport and men invading women’s spaces. He said the issue was not important. Many women disagreed.
  
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  June 13, 2025 3:46pm
- pdm
  
  `Luxon. He does not resonate with people.’
  
  mrspdm who does not often engage in political discussions said exactly that as she read something about the Curia Poll earlier today.
  
  She added she does not like him.
  
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  June 13, 2025 10:09pm
rouppe

Walking away from this crash is a miracle.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/360722752/miracle-seat-11a-why-did-one-survivor-walk-away-air-india-crash
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June 13, 2025 2:59pm
- MCōs
  
  “He spoke to the Hindustan Times from his hospital bed.”
  The guy is battered around, lost his brother and must be in shock and still the hospital doesn’t protect him from the media and probably a parade of politicians looking for selfies
  
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  June 13, 2025 4:03pm
- NothingLeft
  
  Interesting crash, Engines both seemed to be working so looks like pilot error (except that survivor heard loud bang?), short takeoff in hot conditions, seems to not have had full flaps and leaving draggy gear down when it should have been pulled up both of which could have hurt ability to climb.
  
  But these planes are designed to climb even with one engine out in worst case conditions.
  
  We’ll find out in due course.
  
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  June 13, 2025 4:39pm
  - rouppe
    
    Yes my guess is that shortly after take-off one of the crew retracted the flaps instead of the landing gear. Left the plane with insufficient lift to continue, and by the time someone realised the mistake it was too late.
    
    Black box will be clear.
    
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    June 13, 2025 6:00pm
    - Ghost
      
      This was an interesting video on the sound in the video
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbDJjgN7Xbo
      
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      June 13, 2025 6:35pm
NothingLeft

A must watch interview with Dominic Cummings, former chief adviser to Boris Johnston on the corrosive nature of the UK bureaucratic blob and the incentives that see it actively working to destroy civil society in UK:
https://youtu.be/4DTyGKZVNF8
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June 13, 2025 4:12pm
- Jake Dee
  
  I’m going through it now and it’s a good one.
  Dominic Cummings may very well be mad but he was an insider and he has some dynamite stuff.
  A few bits so far (roughly transcribed)
  On the Muslim rape gangs,
  “That it’s a cock up rather than a conspiracy is usually true, except in the case of child sexual abuse, that’s multiple interlocking conspiracies’
  On the U.K. Gov. Westminster vs. Whitehall,
  “the top officials at the treasury are smarter than roughly 100% of the MPs’
  Dynamite!
  
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  June 13, 2025 9:53pm
NZer In Exile

Florida Sheriff Warns Lefty Would-Be Rioters: ‘We Will Kill You’

“If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at, because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We’re not gonna play. This has to stop.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/abigail-johnson/2025/06/12/florida-sheriff-warns-we-are-not-playing-n2658711

I’m thinking there might not be much lefty rioting in Florida.
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June 13, 2025 8:17pm
NZer In Exile

Random question:

If it turns out that alien beings from space did in fact crash in the Roswell area in the 1940’s would this impact peoples’ beliefs in the world’s religions at all?

I keep an open mind on whether or not aliens did crash there.
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June 13, 2025 8:34pm
- Ghost
  
  Take it further.
  
  What if it turns out alien beings have been here much longer than that? Example would be the depictions of craft in the sky in old paintings.
  
  Could religion survive comprehending that humans were an alien experiment?
  
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  June 13, 2025 8:53pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    The down-ticker turd-fairy has been doing the rounds I see.
    
    I’d need to see some pretty hard evidence on the alien thing!
    
    If it turns out there is hard evidence (for the Roswell alien crash at least) I can imagine adherents of at least one religion will be claiming it was really demons deceiving humans and not real aliens.
    
    1 2
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    June 13, 2025 9:09pm
    - Ghost
      
      I think the whistleblowers today are of interest. Actually if you look at Steven Greer’s work getting whistleblowers testimony on video, military, astronaut, pilots, etc is of interest. George Knapp also has some interesting videos.
      
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      June 13, 2025 9:31pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        There was definitely a cover up re whatever happened at Roswell. Maybe it wasn’t aliens but the official story definitely got switched very quickly after whatever happened there.
        
        0 1
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        June 14, 2025 7:17pm
      - Ghost
        
        The interesting part with roswell are the eyewitnesses. Col Jessie Marcel’s story has remained the same through the years,
        
        0 1
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        June 14, 2025 7:50pm

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