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February 20, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 20 February 2026

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General Debate

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Simon

Labour & Greens already third world political parties. National is well on the way to joining them. They are the third world.
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February 20, 2026 8:11am
Colville

The Andrew formerly known as Price has been arrested.

Ha ha ha picked it months ago.

Charlie stripped him of his titles in a clear message to Plod.

Good job.
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February 20, 2026 8:31am
- Paulus
  
  Wonderful that finally discovered that Epstein used him as he is a born idiot and will now know what jail is likw.
  The media like Starmer, will love this as Starmer is also in shit street, but the idiot will stiil be the headlines as part of the doing of the Monarchy.
  We think the media here are ratbags but amateurs agains the UK ones.
  We are told that the Muslims at generally local level will be the real winners in the upcoming elections locally.
  
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  February 20, 2026 8:45am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Sounds like Epstein may have blackmailed Windsor, or Windsor sold him the info.
    
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    February 20, 2026 9:04am
    - Paulus
      
      Not only Andrew but thousands of others including we are being told other foreign Royalty, and ex Presidents and top Executives Worldwide.
      
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      February 20, 2026 2:04pm
  - peterwn
    
    He should be in a jail fit for a Prince ie The Tower.
    
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    February 20, 2026 9:27am
  - RoboRob
    
    David posted…
    
    Police had previously said they were considering investigating Andrew over allegations relating to his association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and were reviewing allegations he shared confidential material
    
    None of this seems particularly illegal. Generally people only get serious sentences for sharing confidential material when they share military or state secrets. Even then they are often simply fired.
    
    I know that Gufrey claimed he slept with her when she was 17. That’s not illegal in the UK, the age of consent is 16. The UK police cant charge Andrew for American crimes. They could extradite him to the US but as far as I know the US has not requested extradition. As far as I have heard, there is no new information in the released documents around that case or any new claims around others having sex with Andrew.
    
    It’s not illegal to associate with scumbags unless you are working with them for their nefarious deeds. Certainly lots of people associated with Epstein. Were they part of the sex trafficking, so far it seems many were there for the power and lifestyle. Of the people listed so far I speculate that Andrew and Bill Clinton seem the closest to actually taking part, but the evidence is limited. There is a reason that the FBI chose to not prosecute anyone else. Perhaps the released docs have more information that Andrew was working with Epstein to facilitate his sex trafficking. In that case he could be done like Epstein’s wife.
    
    It’s really hard to know how serious this is and how much is this just authorities trying to get anyone else. Personally I would be looking at where all the funding was coming from, those people were the true enablers. What did they gain from funding Epstein’s lifestyle.
    
    I might (and I do) think Andrew and Clinton were involved in the sex trafficking but thus far there seems little hard proof. Strangely the victims don’t seem to be rushing forward.
    
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    February 20, 2026 10:17am
    - Master Mariner
      
      Selling state secrets for reward is Treason.
      When he was Middle East Trade Envoy.
      Now that’s a totally different matter.
      
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      February 20, 2026 10:31am
      - RoboRob
        
        100% true. I was focused on the Epstein sex trafficing perspective. If he was selling state secrets to Epstein then he could be in real trouble.
        
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        February 20, 2026 1:28pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      “Certainly lots of people associated with Epstein. Were they part of the sex trafficking..?”
      
      It sounds like the people associated with him were curated according to their sexual proclivities, and other moral and ethical weaknesses, and then were manipulated accordingly.
      
      Most people wouldn’t have made it past the curation, and been let behind the curtain, but are still on the “list”.
      
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      February 20, 2026 10:46am
      - Paulus
        
        Isn’t Mandelson a male homosexual so widen the sphere ?
        
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        February 20, 2026 2:06pm
    - Gravelroad
      
      I can recommend a book – “Entitled” by Andrew Lownie.
      Came out over the Christmas gift buying season.
      I can’t say whether or not it is gospel, but it does give detailed commentary on Mr Mountbatten- Windsor’s relationship with Epstein.
      It explains a lot of the goings on, what and why they happened.
      Mostly it was all about the money and business access and opportunities for the former Prince.
      For his wife, Sarah Ferguson, it was solely about the considerable personal and financial support she received from Epstein – a grandiose rich man who wanted to be a King.
      Or at least play at being the King.
      
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      February 20, 2026 11:56am
      - RoboRob
        
        I had heard that the were milking Epstein for his money, in exchange for their ‘prestiege’. Dodgy but not illegal. Remember Anna whatsherface and Hugh Heffner. Not really a marriage for love was it.
        
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        February 20, 2026 1:30pm
    - stewmar
      
      Epstein didn’t have a wife
      
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      February 20, 2026 2:53pm
  - KH
    
    Andrew is a parish for bonking a 17 year old when he was about 40.
    How old would a hooker need to be before this is OK.
    20 years old? 25 years old? 35 years old?
    Comments please.
    Acknowledging really we don’t want to think about any of it.
    (and we don’t need some wit saying ’75’)
    
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    February 20, 2026 11:28am
    - Don Beckett
      
      The 17 y/o was a hooker – very well paid with high class clientele.
      
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      February 20, 2026 12:25pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        “with high class clientele.”
        
        ?
        
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        February 20, 2026 3:12pm
    - NothingLeft
      
      But Only Fans, with hundreds of thousands of similarly young women all over the world selling their bodies for money is ’empowering’ and double plus good. With a large fraction of women thinking it’s a good thing.
      
      The stench of double standards and pearl clutching hipocrisy around it all is gross.
      
      Epstein and his team were evil, but most of his of-age honey traps, with beliefs formed by our times, were probably willing participants, not victims.
      
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      February 20, 2026 6:04pm
    - rjay
      
      Half ones age +7
      
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      February 20, 2026 9:16pm
- Paulus
  
  Understood been released on Bail !
  See what you can get for some pretty girl sex !
  
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  February 20, 2026 9:50am
- Clyde
  
  The Monarchy are in deep strife with the entitled Harry being led around by the short and curlies and the incredibly entitled Andrew and his revolting ex wife being financially supported by Epstein. They perform no useful function. With Charles having a probably limited life it will be up to William to take the pruners to the remnants of the firm to make it more relevant to modern times. If Andrew has been on-selling information on his shonky trade ambassador position for the private benefit of people who supplied him with endless young women then he belongs in chokey. And that Fergie can join him.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:41am
  - KH
    
    Clyde: The British with a Monarchy can and will arrest it’s members.
    The USA, a Republic, can’t get around to challenging it’s elite.
    
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    February 20, 2026 4:20pm
- Raphael
  
  Arrested on his birthday 🤣
  
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  February 20, 2026 12:05pm
  - Paulus
    
    Has he been arrested – I think not ?
    
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    February 20, 2026 2:08pm
    - MCōs
      
      Of course he was arrested. He was taken into custody, the definition of arrest.
      He hasn’t been charged. It is my understanding bail isn’t necessary until he appears before a judge or similar to be charged.
      
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      February 20, 2026 3:56pm
- imalwaysright
  
  One of the comentators said no one is above the law in England.
  I thought the King and Queen were above it.
  
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  February 20, 2026 12:47pm
  - MCōs
    
    The King said that & Magna Carta backs him up, but it’s fuzzy.
    Note
    Charles is HOS of the UK plus elsewhere
    The previous democratically elected HOS of South Korea has just been jailed for life for insurrection
    The current democratically elected HOS of Russia can do what he likes with impunity until he isn’t
    
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    February 20, 2026 4:26pm
Scott

Winston Peters introduced a bill making English an official language of NZ –

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360941013/bill-bullshit-fiery-scenes-politicians-debate-english-becoming-official-language

As can be expected this prompted fiery scenes from Chloe who’s never seen a sensible measure that she can like.

But it is much needed pushback against the Maorification of NZ. Along with the requirement to have the names of government departments in English and communicate primarily in English this is a good step. I appreciate some civil servants do their best to defy these measures.

However Winston is doing good work and it’s important to note some much needed good news from parliament. 🙂
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February 20, 2026 8:37am
- Jethrod
  
  Will he definitely have ACT support?
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:11am
- Northshoredoc
  
  Panem et circenses.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:18am
- RoboRob
  
  Winston is campaigning. If he cared about this it would be done by now. This is an election chocolate fish that will fall to the side if he gets reelected.
  
  English should be an official langauge AND it should be law that all government communications are in English (with Maori and Brail as required). If Winstons election promise gets action on this I’m all in.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:21am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Chloe seemed to be talking to an empty chamber, with the exception of some Green members.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:22am
  - R
    
    When you live in a SILO, you are always going to be talking to an empty chamber. Same problem occurs with Labour and Maori parties.
    
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    February 20, 2026 10:26am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Post Moa Point, the Chamber is known as the Chamber Pot.
    
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    February 20, 2026 10:55am
  - OlderChas
    
    Much like when Waititi is talking Maggy. I guess our politicians have better things to do that listen to drivel!
    
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    February 20, 2026 11:19am
  - pdm
    
    Maggy – all of the evidence suggests that the empty chamber is between Chloe’s ears.
    
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    February 20, 2026 11:19am
- Jack5
  
  You’d expect neutral, unbiased reporting on Peters’s language bill from State owned Radio NZ.
  
  The plug for its report on the RNZ site — i.e. the sort of index — includes:
  
  ‘Jurassic thinking’: Bill to make English an official language introduced”
  
  The “Jurassic thinking” comes from a comment on the bill by Labour MP Duncan Webb.
  
  The actual headline on the item is neutral:
  
  Bill to make English an official language of NZ introduced to Parliament
  
  However, an example of bias in the report: “Peters’ speech drifted into a lengthy historical anecdote …”
  
  RNZ no longer even tries to be neutral or objective.
  
  Stuff is biased, too, as expected.
  
  The headline begins “This bill is bullshit,” words uttered by the Greens’ Swarbrick.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:28am
  - R
    
    Swarbrick and Webb, two intellectual giants of our Parliament!!!
    
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    February 20, 2026 1:22pm
- rouppe
  
  Along with the requirement to have the names of government departments in English and communicate primarily in English
  
  Interesting, this…
  
  Walked part of the Abel Tasman for an afternoon the other day. Lots of other groups on the track.
  
  One thing I noticed was that people from different places who were walking together all communicated in English.
  
  So for example a Chinese and a Japanese girl we talking on English. A French person and Spanish person (I think) talking in English.
  
  Only when a group of Germans or group of French together they spoke their home language.
  
  The point being that English is the common language internationally. Maori trying to wreck it here is just being backwards.
  
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  February 20, 2026 2:12pm
Swifty

Labour and the unions just can’t hide their disdain for ordinary NZers.

They think them children, not smart enough or not responsible enough to make life decisions in their own best interests.

Labour and the unions want people cocooned, infantilised and only able to operate within the bounds set for them by their betters.

Labour and their union mates would have us all servile, dependent on the benevolent Labour Party, eternal victims forever in need of Labour’s collectivist embrace.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360940160/unions-called-it-dark-day-workers-what-does-latest-employment-law-change-actually-do

I just despair at what this attitude has done to our national psyche over the last couple of generations. No more the rugged individualists, the resilient, self-reliant, no 8 wire types – largely replaced instead by folk who look to the government for everything, scared of our own shadows and looking to our Labour mummies to chase the bad men away.

Well done BVV and ACT for this small win against the pricks.
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February 20, 2026 8:42am
- R
  
  Rest assured Swifty this long overdue Legislation change was not just the result of an ACT duo input; they are part of a COALITION; although at times I get the impression that Seymour is still a bit of a ‘one man band’
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:31am
  - Swifty
    
    Fair points.
    
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    February 20, 2026 12:37pm
- Burtland
  
  NZ has become a nut case nation – it now seems fashionable to have some kind of psychological dysfunction. Covid uncovered festering mental wellness issues – add in endemic dependence on dope and meth and youve got the makings of the nutcase nanny state the Clark Foundation promotes. Self diagnosed ADHD is already here.
  
  AI LLM is going to become DrGoogle on steroids – people losing their minds with the loss of their favorite chatbot have started a petition to save ChatGPT4o – who would have thought
  
  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crl43dxwwy9o
  
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  February 20, 2026 12:01pm
Wairoa Native

Climate change.

For the record New Zealand Dept of Statistics say this about extreme wind.

“The annual average of the daily maximum wind gust (windiness) likely or very likely decreased at 14 of 17 sites across Aotearoa New Zealand”.

They say this about extreme rainfall.

“The annual maximum rainfall in a single day likely or very likely increased at 12 of 30 sites and decreased at 10 across Aotearoa New Zealand”.

https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/extreme-wind/

https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/extreme-rainfall/
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February 20, 2026 8:49am
- R
  
  So basically ….’SITUATION NORMAL’…. for the world’s climate. What now activists?
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:34am
  - Wairoa Native
    
    Well, extreme wind trending down and extreme rainfall, about a third increasing, a third falling and a third, no trend for New Zealand.
    
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    February 20, 2026 12:57pm
  - Paulus
    
    Do you mean SNAFU ?
    
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    February 20, 2026 2:11pm
- Raphael
  
  speaking of climate, another volcano just erupted so that will more than offsett any NZ climate stuff.
  
  https://x.com/sciencekonek/status/2024406080173068395
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:37am
Ian Boag

Yo DG. 14 here in the quiz this am 🙂
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February 20, 2026 8:52am
- pdm
  
  12 for me.
  
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  February 20, 2026 8:54am
  - David Garrett
    
    …and a rare 15/15 for me!! And only one guess: the code for the colour white…pure guess, with a 50% chance of being right. Either knew or thought I knew the rest.
    
    I will always remember: the day the Andrew formerly a prince got arrested, I got 15/15 on the quiz!!
    
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    February 20, 2026 9:26am
    - Flossie
      
      It was the 50/50 black or white one that ruined it for me.
      
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      February 20, 2026 9:30am
      - David Garrett
        
        Flossie: Well 14/15 aint bad…I got 8 or something the other day…Had to remind myself that it is a trivia quiz of no real importance.
        
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        February 20, 2026 9:54am
- Flossie
  
  14 for me too!
  
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  February 20, 2026 9:06am
- Cassandra
  
  Although I failed to get 15 it seemed to me to be a little easier than usual. Who knew what a space ship’s name was? I remember where I was when Kennedy was shot and now I’ll remember what I was doing when the Andrew formerly known as Prince was arrested. 13.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:11am
  - Jethrod
    
    14, failed on same question. Your right, seemed easier.
    
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    February 20, 2026 1:02pm
- Scooter
  
  Try Lovatts puzzles if you want to wean off Stuff.
  
  https://lovattspuzzles.com/
  
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  February 20, 2026 11:49am
Yvette

Official English
National’s Rima Nakhle took issue with Swarbrick’s use of the word “bullshit”, and accused the opposition of theatrics.

I wonder what would have happened had Swarbick used the Maori equivalent for ‘bullshit’ – whether she would be accused of degrading te reo, talking Manglish (neither official language), theatrics, saying something the full number of MPs would not understand, pushing an agenda, or “Being Chlöe”?
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February 20, 2026 8:57am
sungsamning

In a Wednesday letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi obtained by Breitbart News, Banks urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into the growing “national and coordinated” network of radical leftists protesting ICE in events that often turn violent.

“I urge you to investigate foreign influence behind anti-ICE activism. Progressive groups across the country are organizing protests, economic boycotts, and school walkouts to oppose immigration enforcement,” the senator wrote. “In many cases, they are inciting the obstruction of federal law.” [There is enough work for lots of investigators here. Lets hope they uncover enough facts for successful prosecutions. Foreign entities need to know the rules will be vigorously enforced.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/02/18/exclusive-sen-banks-calls-for-investigation-into-foreign-funded-anti-ice-groups/
Exclusive: Sen. Jim Banks Calls for Investigation into Foreign-Funded Anti-ICE Groups.
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February 20, 2026 9:27am
sungsamning

A Canadian separatist group pushing Alberta independence has reportedly met with Trump administration officials—and is even seeking a $500 billion US credit line. Is this routine diplomacy, or is Washington quietly fueling a constitutional crisis in Canada? With oil, China, and sovereignty at stake, Alberta’s referendum push could reshape North America. Here’s what’s really going on. [They should seek independence, not statehood. It’ll be less jarring, and easier to sell. In no particular order, they should dollarize, ink an FTA with the USA. Re do the pipeline Biden cancelled. Its obvious why President Trump picked a fight with Trudeau, and Carney. Adding Canadas oil would lower the price for US consumers. ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpEnER2TbV0
Trump Just Found Canada’s Weak Spot.
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February 20, 2026 9:28am
- virtualmark
  
  Will go nowhere. Polling in Alberta consistently shows large majority want to remain a province of Canada. The separatists – like the separatists in Quebec – are a small but vocal minority.
  
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  February 20, 2026 3:45pm
Notsofast

Losing the Sahara!

https://x.com/i/status/2024402415689351232P

With CO2 up 70% this is good news for food security, but not for coastal communities.
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February 20, 2026 9:37am
- mandk
  
  X tells me that page doesn’t exist.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:41am
- David George
  
  That link should have the “P” at the end removed – it doesn’t come up with anything otherwise.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:44am
- Raphael
  
  There has been a new study in Brazil showing that a mere 6000 years ago the sea level was 2m higher and the water temperature was ~4°C warmer.
  
  https://x.com/Electroversenet/status/2024091526305878496
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:54am
Im Right

15/15 also….easy quiz this morning
Yes, only guess I had was that #FFFFFFF is for white
No doubt some will see that as a racist question lol
(Didn’t explain what #FFFFFFF meant though)
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February 20, 2026 9:39am
- imalwaysright
  
  The color white with hexadecimal color code #ffffff
  
  #000000 – black
  #ff0000 – red
  #00ff00 – green
  #0000ff -blue
  
  It has a full measure of red, green, and blue, which in fact produces white.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:30am
Master Mariner

It certainly looks likely the attack on Iran May go ahead,
If so, Who is prepared for fuel price spikes of 5$ +/- and /or rationing.
per litre?
Remember Singapore / South Korea source 80% of refined Oil through the Straights of Hormuz.
Who thinks Closing the refinery instead of upgrading was a Good idea?
Economic sabotage. Why ?. Will there be any public
accountability?
Transitory inflation anyone?
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February 20, 2026 9:57am
- MCōs
  
  My understanding is NZ currently imports fuel rather than oil as previously, which required processing because it is more economical for the suppliers who also owned the refinery.
  Most fuel comes from refineries in Asia whereas previously unrefined oil mostly came from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
  
  May be time to swallow ones pride and buy an electrical car (or bike) and get some solar panels.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:46am
- Master Mariner
  
  What would happen if the Straights were closed for over a month, So I asked AI.
  “Gemini said
  If the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz were to last for more than a month, New Zealand would move from a financial crisis into a physical survival crisis. As of February 2026, New Zealand’s “fuel wall” is designed to last about four weeks. Once the conflict crosses the 30-day mark, the country would enter uncharted territory.”
  
  It is a possible Sovereign Risk, Hence this is why we must have Strategic assets such as a Refinery or some means as Synthetic fuels etc.
  
  An old but valid statement from the Sustainabilty Council.
  https://www.sustainabilitynz.org/an-oil-supply-crisis-could-trigger-a-sovereignty-crisis-for-nz/
  
  Next question, Was the Great “Cash Splash” During Covid worth it ?
  When NZ BOR’s was trashed and the people responsible refused to show at the Inquiry ? Is there any accountability ?
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:52am
  - Don Beckett
    
    The USA is a net exporter of oil & by-products – fuel. Surely someone in govt. or a private fuel provider has had the foresight to contract fuel supplies from the US.
    
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    February 20, 2026 12:31pm
    - RoboRob
      
      My understanding is that there are many alternatives. Also the Singaporians are far far from stupid. I am sure they have contingencies to source raw fuel from.
      
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      February 20, 2026 1:36pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Nothing like depending on everyone else.
        
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        February 20, 2026 3:18pm
  - virtualmark
    
    Our dependence on imported fossil fuels is a huge strategic risk.
    
    But the better response would be for the Government to incentivise:
    1) a mass programme of solar+batteries, and
    2) more EVs.
    
    We are better to move towards a fuel source that can’t be interdicted by any other country, and that doesn’t involve us continuing to pay about 8% of GDP pa to offshore entities.
    
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    February 20, 2026 3:48pm
    - marcw
      
      Oh dear, goodbye to our agricultural and transport industries. Closing down our limited refining and not increasing our storage of fossil fuels, right up there with closing the country down for covid. Insane.
      
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      February 20, 2026 3:56pm
      - virtualmark
        
        ?
        
        How would this threaten our agricultural and transport industries?
        
        Firstly, this is an energy transition that would take decades. The best day to start is tomorrow, but even then we would still be importing fossil fuels in 30 years time. But it’s about *reducing* our dependence. That’s an achievable goal.
        
        Secondly, there are EV solutions for buses and trucks, just as there are for cars. Lots of EV buses here in NZ. Trucks just starting to come to market. Construction equipment also moving to EV. And I’m sure agricultural equipment will also be available. Like I said, best case is this is still a 25+ year generational transition.
        
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        February 20, 2026 4:06pm
MCōs

Yesterday on the History channel I watched a documentary about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague during WWII. He was a particularly nasty high level SS official and architect of the holocaust
In retaliation the Germans killed about two thousand innocent civilians and destroyed two villages in one of the worst atrocities of its kind in the war.
Fortunately most cultures , but not all, are not as barbaric as the Germans were.
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February 20, 2026 10:01am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Fortunately most cultures , but not all, are not as barbaric as the Germans were
  
  How about listing a few of those lesser barbaric cultures, because I’m at a loss to think which ones they could be.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:28am
  - David George
    
    The Iranian Islamic regime (and their sidekicks, Hamas) make the Nazis look good.
    
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    February 20, 2026 10:48am
- newview
  
  It would have been the Nazi regime that authorised the massacres not the German people.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:46am
  - cmm
    
    The Germans were up for it.
    The white knighting that airbrushes the Germans as wonderful peace loving people somehow corrupted by the Nazis does not fit with history.
    
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    February 20, 2026 10:48am
    - Jack5
      
      About one-third of the DNA of English people is Anglo-Saxon, that is German.
      
      English is a Germanic language – specifically from the West Germanic branch, like German, Dutch, Frisian, Afrikaans.
      
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      February 20, 2026 1:52pm
      - Paulus
        
        Was once told that some 20% of the Citizens of the USA have German ancestry.
        Yes, Herr Trumph !
        
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        February 20, 2026 2:15pm
      - Jack5
        
        Paulus: Trump’s mother is from Scotland’s Isle of Lewis, and will have Scandinavian DNA — that is North Germanic genes.
        
        Vikings settled on Lewis in the 9th century AD and intermarried with the local Scots. For a period the islanders were called Norse Gaels.
        
        Trump’s father was the son of German immigrants to the US.
        
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Lewis
        
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        February 20, 2026 7:25pm
      - Graeme Hall
        
        I understand English is based mainly on three languages with some duplication: Greek, Latin, and Western Germanic (according to a Stanford Classics Professor Dr Victor Davis Hanson).
        
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        February 20, 2026 9:42pm
- cmm
  
  The Germans had lots of practice before WW2.
  
  Just look at the Herero/Nama genocide in German South West Africa.
  
  Apart from the Herero and Nama that were killed, huge numbers of Owambo people moved over the border into Angola to get away from the German rule and get under Portuguese rule.
  
  When the British took over South West Africa in 1916, Owambo streamed back into SWA again. Being under British rule was preferable to being under Portuguese rule.
  
  Germans were awful colonists. Probably not as bad as the Belgians though.
  
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  February 20, 2026 10:46am
  - greybeard
    
    I think the Romans feared the Germanic tribes more than anyone else: they saw them as total savages with no redeeming features.
    
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    February 20, 2026 11:04am
    - Graeme Hall
      
      Don’t know about the Romans fearing the Germans. Apart from the terrible loss of three legions in the forest of Teutoburg, which the Romans avenged soon after and retrieved their standards. The Romans generally drew the line of their empire at the Danube, although they did build a bridge across it. The Roman General Germanicus Julius Caesar got the name “Germanicus” in honour of his victories in 9AD against the Germans. Look at the top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin – pure Roman with the Eagle Standard & Chariot,
      
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      February 20, 2026 10:02pm
  - rouppe
    
    I went through the prison museum in Vietnam that described French colonial treatment of the Vietnamese.
    
    Pretty barbaric.
    
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    February 20, 2026 2:27pm
- kowtow
  
  It wasn’t ‘German” culture , it was dictatorial political savagery .
  If one read “the Rape of Nanking’ where the IJA massacred 300 k Chinese in 1937 or Lord Liverpool’s Knights Of Bushido , one could as easily conclude that “japanese culture was just as barbaric.
  Or read Robert Conquest’s The Great Terror , re the Russians’ massacres , genocides etc in the ’30’s .
  
  or how about the various Turkish Ottoman genocides .
  
  Central Africa has seen many millions massacred since the ’60’s
  
  And immediately we’ve seen the Iranian “culture” massacre tens of thousands of its own citizens , including dragging wounded from hospitals and reports of rape and sexual assualt,
  
  The one thing all these evils have in common is they are not democracies , the instigators are not “the people” or the ‘culture’ but the dictators and authoritarian systems that run them.
  
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  February 20, 2026 12:51pm
  - Jack5
    
    Kowtow mentions the Nanking massacre.
    
    John Rabe, a German Nazi businessman, was a hero of this massacre. He was a leader in establishing the safety zone that saved thousands of Chinese. Estimates of the number of Chinese killed are as high as 200,000.
    
    The German genocide of Jews was beyond appalling, but so was the Turkish genocide of hundreds of thousands of Armenians.
    
    Hitler is reputed to have said on 22 August 1939, a week before the German invasion of Poland: “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
    
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler%27s_reference_to_the_Armenian_genocide
    
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    February 20, 2026 2:23pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    The Nazis were by no means exceptional in their organised murderous brutality. Other socialist regimes killed higher proportions of their populations. Stalin an Mao are still venerated by modern leaders and much of populations of countries they wrecked
    
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    February 20, 2026 6:24pm
- Jethrod
  
  The bombing of Dresden wasn’t the Allies finest moment.
  
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  February 20, 2026 1:16pm
  - kowtow
    
    Dresden was an important rail/communications hub and its bombing must be seen in the context of support for the Red army offensives in the east.
    
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    February 20, 2026 2:17pm
- sungsamning
  
  There are two, or three Operation Anthracite documentaries on YT too. What I found surprising was sending a hit team into Europe with the worlds worst sub machinegun. Namely the Sten gun. It was cheaply made, and notorious for jamming. They should have had a Thompson submachinegun, or a Lanchester submachinegun. Luckily, the anti-tank grenade worked, and blew some horsehair from the upholstery into his body. The resultant infection killed him.
  
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  February 20, 2026 1:29pm
  - Jack5
    
    By far the best submachine-gun early in the war was Finland’s Suomi m/31 (see link below).
    
    The Soviet Union used it as the model for its PPSh-41 submachine gun.
    
    The Germans’ MP40 was nifty, and the Americans were inspired by the Sten to switch to the cheaper-made MP3, with a designed slower rate of fire.
    
    However, the most interesting submachine-gun of World War 2, in my humble opinion, was the Australian Owen gun (second link below). Funny looking but as durable as Hell.
    
    Finns’ submachine-gun:
    
    https://youtu.be/CiTS3dcYicw?si=Mm_YWlgkdoJociUN
    
    Australia’s Owen gun:
    
    https://youtu.be/O1aZuAbgjGY?si=JmTazxo37QuWJmc8
    
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    February 20, 2026 7:38pm
- virtualmark
  
  MCos, there’s an interesting coda to the Heydrich “assassination”.
  
  Lina Heydrich (his wife) believed that Heydrich was recovering from the wounds he sustained, and was on his way to making a full recover. Her take was that he was then poisoned by Himmler’s doctor, who had been sent from Berlin to take care of Heydrich. Lina Heydrich was convinced that her husband had been poisoned on Himmler’s orders.
  
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  February 20, 2026 3:57pm
  - MCōs
    
    The doco suggested something along those lines
    Btw
    There is plenty of evidence the German public were right in behind the persecution of the Jews on an ideological basis, and the war in general, as long as the war was going in the favour.
    Of course the media was totally controlled by the government with regular patriotic broadcasts by Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda maestro.
    Further afield in occupied land many people just wanted to get rid of the Jews so they could purloin their land and possessions.
    
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    February 20, 2026 4:48pm
imalwaysright

The Police roadside saliva drug tests have resulted in 7 fines from 300 tests.

Is the testing worth it?

Over 90% of actual theft crimes go uninvestigated, so what would be the reasoning for investigating 293 people for suspicion of a potential crime purely because they are driving a car?
8 2
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February 20, 2026 10:10am
- MCōs
  
  I expect the drivers are also subjected to a breath test for alcohol
  
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  February 20, 2026 1:16pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Clearly you don’t get the point.
    
    2 1
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    February 20, 2026 2:07pm
    - MCōs
      
      I was in a rush and didn’t finish all I wanted to write.
      Road deaths in NZ are around four times the homicide rate and drugs/alcohol is a contributing factor to about a third of road deaths
      Burglaries at 45k pa are way down the scale from deaths, armed assaults, sexual assaults and there’s not the personnel or budget to investigate them all.
      
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      February 20, 2026 5:09pm
imalwaysright

Judith Collins has supported her senior soldiers in their resistance to being obliged to learn karakia by rote.

Judith said she was in Europe recently and their soldiers main priority is to not have to learn to speak Russian…!!

Brilliant.
23 1
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February 20, 2026 10:23am
Master Mariner

USA may leave the IEA, (International Energy Agency) which has departed from its original Mandates.
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Trump-Admin-Threatens-To-Withdraw-From-IEA-Over-Net-Zero-Agenda.html

“According to Wright, the global energy agency would be better served by refocusing on its founding mandate of energy security, energy access, and “energy honesty,” rather than acting as a “climate advocacy organisation”.

It astounds me how many “agencies” , “World Organisations” have shown total disregard to there original Mandates. One of my favourite oxymorons is the WMO , World Meterological Organisation.

Understanding how/who / when of being “Captured”, leads to a better understanding of “Why”.
9 1
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February 20, 2026 10:25am
- sungsamning
  
  Great idea. The sooner the better. Its just another globalist grift.
  
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  February 20, 2026 1:30pm
KH

The state of Israel is barbaric. (Please note I did not say ‘Israelis’ or say ‘Jews’)
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February 20, 2026 11:36am
- Swifty
  
  What is Israel except for the people that inhabit it?
  
  Or are you saying it’s the land that’s barbaric? The rocks, soil, grasses and trees?
  
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  February 20, 2026 12:32pm
  - KH
    
    The ‘state of’
    
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    February 20, 2026 2:00pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Government?
      
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      February 20, 2026 3:21pm
    - Swifty
      
      Ok then.
      
      “What is the state of Israel except for the people that inhabit it?
      
      Or are you saying it’s the land that’s barbaric? The rocks, soil, grasses and trees?
      
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      February 20, 2026 3:30pm
      - KH
        
        OK Swifty. The “State of Israel” is barbaric. Excluding many Israelis who oppose the slaughter in Gaza, and even more Jews world wide who also oppose it.
        But the barbarism is there.
        And of course barbaric states are not unusual.
        
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        February 20, 2026 4:24pm
      - Swifty
        
        I watched parts of the Hamas videos taken on Oct 7 a few days ago. Some few I’d seen before but most I hadn’t.
        
        The actions of Hamas and their supporters were barbaric that day – the violence was just sickening. I was particularly struck by a South East Asian immigrant worker (some say he was Thai) his shirt covered with blood but alive, lying on a floor with some raving monster hacking repeatedly, over and over, at his neck with a garden hoe while screaming how great his god is.
        
        I suggest if that Oct 7 happened to us here, we’d happily get a bit barbaric in return to prevent that happening again.
        
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        February 20, 2026 6:37pm
- virtualmark
  
  Unfortunately for Israel they live in a tough neighbourhood.
  
  If your neighbours kept doing drive-by shootings of your house you might feel a bit toe-y about that too.
  
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  February 20, 2026 4:01pm
  - MCōs
    
    I first starting taking an interest in Israel in 1967, but soon decided there was, for me, easier things to get one’s head around.
    However it can’t be ignored
    I have my opinions, but what’s the point in expressing them anymore.
    My father was on leave in Feb 1941 in the Holy Land, almost 85yrs to the day.
    Everything was Palestine back then according to his letters back home, which I have. Maybe it should have stayed that way.
    Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, Jerusalem all those places he went to.
    
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    February 20, 2026 5:36pm
Boy Geoff

I see that “shareholders in a Gisborne-based (surely that’s Tai Rawhiti-based) Māori incorporation have passed a vote of no confidence in its committee as an application to investigate its multimillion-dollar overseas investment loss is considered in court.”

A couple of questions spring to mind: are they going to argue that the committee didn’t follow appropriate tikanga and mātauranga Māori business procedures, and why is this matter being considered in an oppressive colonialist court rather than being dealt with in an appropriate indigenous people’s forum?
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February 20, 2026 11:38am
graham

Newly released documents and interviews related to the Obama presidency reveal just how catastrophically the 44th US president – and others – failed to grasp the electoral threat posed by his eventual successor, Donald Trump.

And they show that to many in Obama’s White House, Trump was nothing but a “conman”, “clown”, and a “laughing stock”.

So how did his administration, so focused on “change” and which regarded its own election as a landmark victory against the Washington status-quo, get it so badly wrong?

It started, it seems, with an outright – some would say arrogant – refusal to take Trump seriously.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/hundreds-of-interviews-have-revealed-how-badly-the-democrat-administration-failed-to-grasp-reality/W2NER36MKZCHLBPCNBVQZYWUIU/
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February 20, 2026 12:51pm
Chuck Bird

This is a 24 minute video. It is something that the Aussies should watch.

Italy Just Did Something To ISLAM That Changes Course of History

Italy drew a hard line on integration, public law, and foreign-funded religious influence while much of Europe hesitated. This overview traces the policies, the political backlash, and the broader European shift toward tighter cohesion, transparency, and national norms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n4JtvuZrsk
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February 20, 2026 1:35pm
Swifty

More carbon dioxide is killing the Sahara!

https://x.com/peterdclack/status/2024402415689351232?s=46

Won’t somebody do something?
4 0
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February 20, 2026 1:46pm
- mandk
  
  Yes, we need demonstrations on Queen St, Lambton Quay etc..
  
  What do we want?
  Save the Gerbil!
  
  When do we want it?
  Now!
  
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  February 20, 2026 2:37pm
sirknz

Tuhoe to run a charter school in the Ureweras?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/tuhoe-to-open-charter-school-in-te-uruwera-forest/PZXRXG5QZBCKZK6GRWE6MQFFN4/

Didn’t they have one that was previously closed down by he government circa 2007?
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February 20, 2026 1:48pm
- Ian
  
  Will the left close it down if they come to power like they did last time? Or would it be racist to do so against maybe the most self-proclaimed independent tribe in New Zealand – imagine the push back and two fingers…
  
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  February 20, 2026 3:38pm
Albie

Winston’s bill couldn’t have come at a better time with te reo being force fed on us like geese farmed for foie gras. You just have to hear the reaction from Chloe to know he’s on the right track. I think DF is wrong to call it a silly bill. Chloe and her fellow travellers need a bit of serious push back even if it takes a blunt instrument like a bill to state the bleeding obvious.
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February 20, 2026 2:16pm
- MCōs
  
  I’ve been a regular at Middlemore over the last 2-1/2yrs
  Back at the start Te Whatu Ora was in big print on the letters, then with the change of government it was NZ Health. Now it’s back it te reo Maori
  Shock Horror
  Not that many other people there besides me are pakeha or Maori
  
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  February 20, 2026 5:50pm
Colville

Listening to Peter Zeihan, he says USA have reached agreement with Aussie to permanently station 4 nuke subs in existing facilities just south of Perth. Justification is if Gaum got smacked they need more in the Pacific. He thinks real reason is to sink Chinese shipping in Indian ocean if it got interesting with China.
Control the shipping and China as a nation ceases to exist.
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February 20, 2026 2:42pm
Swifty

Ring ring.

“Hello?”

“Israeli Army here. Do you want to die alone or with your family….”

https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2026/02/israel-called-hezbollah-terrorist.html?m=1

Hezbollah wanted a war and they got one.
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February 20, 2026 3:25pm
Albie

Colville, I just recently watched the 2000 remake of On The Beach. The premise this time was US / China /world annihilation over Taiwan.
This Cold War I feel is more dangerous than the last one. Your post doesn’t fill me with confidence.
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February 20, 2026 3:26pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  China has openly stated that it intends to invade Taiwan.
  
  Should we just let them?
  
  If the answer is yes then do we also just let Israel take possession of Gaza.
  
  Give up any nation that Russia decides it like and wants?
  
  Is Greenland now available?
  
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  February 20, 2026 4:28pm
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    Who is “we” here?
    
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    February 20, 2026 5:03pm
    - cmm
      
      Quite, I doubt the tub-thumping Charlotte is prepared to grab a rifle and steel helmet and “do her bit”.
      
      But let’s also be real. NZ is unable to do anything militarily significant.
      
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      February 20, 2026 8:20pm
rouppe

Inland Revenue accused of ‘behind closed doors’ push for tax on groups

“The government backed away from tax changes to charities but seems intent on imposing changes to incorporated societies. That seems at best inconsistent. Even more worrying is the fact that only a select number of interested parties, presumably hand picked by the department, are being asked to respond to the proposal. This seems to fly in the face of the Generic Tax Policy Process.”

Ran that through the bullshit decoder and got:
The government backed away from tax changes to iwi corporations but…
4 1
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February 20, 2026 4:28pm
Jethrod

The firemen struck for an hour today……. high school burns 15 mi uses after strike started!
I recall just after the last strike started there was another fire about 15 minutes into it.
Mmmmm, interesting!
6 1
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February 20, 2026 4:32pm
Swifty

The mighty mountain has spoken!

https://x.com/aniobrien/status/2024680283807895747?s=46

Tremble peasants, bow down and behold the wisdom of the maunga.
6 1
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February 20, 2026 5:03pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360941474/loving-grandmother-killed-three-dogs-have-final-service-and-burial
The main problem here is that so many of the Kaipara Council employees and elected members are related to the ferals in the area.
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February 20, 2026 7:22pm

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