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March 18, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 18 March 2026

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KKNZ2025

The Trump administration’s top official on counterterrorism has resigned over the war in Iran, and has urged the president to “reverse course”.

In a letter posted to his X account, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent said that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the US and claimed that the administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4g66r3z40o
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March 18, 2026 8:02am
- sungsamning
  
  Bye. I hope the door doesn’t hit his butt on the way out.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:36am
  - Wandering Star
    
    Why, because he was honest about how the Israel Lobby dictates US policy in the Middle East, including sending Americans to die for Israel?
    
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    March 18, 2026 1:58pm
    - CJames
      
      No he was not trusted because he was a leaker and now blames the Israelis for the death of his wife killed by ISIS.
      Erick Erickson on his podcast gives a lot of information that the media hasn’t mentioned. His second wife works for a lot of very liberal organisations and Joe had been frozen out of a lot of security briefings because of his leanings.
      
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      March 18, 2026 5:24pm
      - Wandering Star
        
        Given that ISIS was a direct consequence of the breakup of more coherent nation states in the ME in service of the Greater Israel project, he’s not wrong. And that’s without even considering the quite plausible claims that ISIS has been, and perhaps still is, funded by the Israelis, given that the existence of groups like ISIS only add to the chaos that Israel prefers over stable regimes able to challenge them.
        
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        March 18, 2026 7:07pm
- kowtow
  
  Resigned? So what .
  He had the choice to serve his country and now in a crisis , runs off.Iran has ordered its overseas goons to attack Jews , and it’s happening. Our media haven’t given much coverage to that.
  
  I see the terrorist ,theocratic Mullah regime has exerted pressure on the members of the women’s football team to retract their bid for freedom.
  
  What choices did they have and much more worryingly what pressure was put on their families in Iran to force the retraction .
  
  There are reports that women protesters were gang raped by Basij religious goons during their bid for freedom last December.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:42am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Any chance of a fact or two?
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:15am
    - kowtow
      
      https://www.9news.com.au/world/iran-protests-update-basij-paramilitary-force-crackdown-explained/23fa8255-d14f-499d-8171-a05a6cc556c9
      
      IDF drones can’t get enough of these goons as far as I’m concerned .
      
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      March 18, 2026 9:55am
  - Wayne1749
    
    “serve his country” LOL …..you mean he’s an Israeli?
    
    “reports that women protesters were gang raped by Basij religious goons during their bid for freedom”
    
    “Reports” —LOL
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:25am
  - David Garrett
    
    Kowtow: Oh dear…you are normally much better than this:
    …and now in a crisis, [he] runs off.
    
    If you are a high ranking member of an administration, and you come to believe that your country’s leaders have taken the country into an unjustified war, I would characterize the subsequent resignation as an act of integrity, not “running off”.
    Now I don’t know whether there was an actual threat against the US posed by Iran a month ago or not – that history has yet to be written. But one thing is for sure – Mr Kent knows a damn sight more about the threat profile Iran posed than you or I do.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:25am
    - Colville
      
      DG.
      It’s his job to deal with shit.
      Pretty gutless to throw his toys when it gets hard.
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:47am
      - David Garrett
        
        Colville: “Getting hard” has nothing to do with it…he believes his boss has dragged his country into a war it has no business being in.
        
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        March 18, 2026 1:02pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        In 2024 Iran conspired with 2 assassination plots against Trump.
        
        Assassinating a nations leader is an act of war.
        
        For the last 47 years Iran has been directly and indirectly killing US personnel. Iran is also responsible for many attacks on other nations including the 7 October atrocitites against Israeli civilians.
        
        The current US administration is now fighting back.
        
        Does anyone have any other way of stopping Iran that has been proven to work?
        
        Will the world be a better place when this Iranian regime is replaced with one that is prepared to work within the international rules-based world order and follow international law?
        
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        March 18, 2026 1:45pm
      - Hard Cheese
        
        @Charlotte Wells
        
        In 2024 Iran conspired with 2 assassination plots against Trump
        
        Plots.
        
        Assassinating a nations leader is an act of war.
        
        Which the US has done in Iran
        
        Will the world be a better place when this Iranian regime is replaced with one that is prepared to work within the international rules-based world order and follow international law?
        
        Therefore by your logic the US is not prepared to work within the international rules-based world order and follow international law either.
        
        Thank you for making the position clear. You may go now.
        
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        March 18, 2026 5:32pm
      - Wayne1749
        
        Given Mr Kent’s military record, he could hardly be described as the ‘gutless’ type
        
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        March 18, 2026 5:52pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        ” Assassinating a nations leader is an act of war.
        
        Which the US has done in Iran”
        
        You are wrong.
        
        Can I suggest you go look up the correct information before commenting.
        
        The US is at war against a nation that has been waging war against it for 47 years.
        
        Now you may go.
        
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        March 18, 2026 6:43pm
      - Hard Cheese
        
        @Charlotte Wells 6:43PM
        
        “Assassinating a nations leader is an act of war.
        
        Which the US has done in Iran”
        
        You are wrong.
        
        Can I suggest you go look up the correct information before commenting.
        
        So you refute that US forces killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28th?
        
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        March 18, 2026 9:51pm
    - kowtow
      
      ‘Oh dear…you are normally much better than this’
      
      Yeah well , I’m tired of and more than a little surprised at the number of Mullah shills on this blog , highlighting every single negative thing ( towards the Israel/US coalition ) about this current war . The Mullahs and their proxies pose an immediate threat to Israel, proven by Oct 7 of which this is a continuation .
      
      But there’s now even a very strong pro CCP front opening up on this topic here too. Which is also a particular worry .
      
      Whatever about the pros and cons of this particular stoush , there’s a much much bigger geopolitical picture . Yes it’s immediately about the Mullahs getting a nuke and Israel in existential danger , but then so is every Sunni entity there too , it’s also part of the long running Saudi/Shia dominance of the region , as well as the Islamic axis , who helped them get the bomb technology ( they’re allowing pakistani tankers through) and all part of MAGA and constraining China’s undoubted rise and immediate threat to the Pacific ( that’s us in the frame) .
      
      Not to mention the rights of the Iranian people under evil Mullah occupation . And Ukrainians whom the Mullahs help oppress with arming the Russians.
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:39am
      - Taieri
        
        highlighting every single negative thing
        ————-
        
        Is there anything positive about it? Is there anything positive about ANY war?
        
        (And I’m not counting the late ayatollah as there’re plenty of replacements for him…)
        
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        March 18, 2026 2:35pm
      - David George
        
        Yes Kowtow, I’m surprised as well.
        I don’t think there are all that many it’s just that they are super active and madly obsessed – fired up by grifters, liars and fools like Tucker Carlson and his jihadist fellow travelers.
        
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        March 18, 2026 3:32pm
      - Wayne1749
        
        “The Mullahs and their proxies pose an immediate threat to Israel, proven by Oct 7 of which this is a continuation”
        
        Err…..is it not Israel that attacked Iran first?
        
        And in any case, most people don’t give a shit about Israel, anymore than they do about Bhutan.
        
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        March 18, 2026 5:50pm
      - Wayne1749
        
        ‘evil Mullahs’
        You have a cartoonish view of the world, lol
        
        Israel has nukes. Iran does not. If Israel has nukes why cannot Iran have them? If Iran actually did have nukes they would not have been attacked.
        
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        March 18, 2026 5:53pm
      - Drone
        
        The Israelis are the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, who use American AI aided weapons and have destroyed Gaza, are now destroying the Lebenon again and are destroying Iran and you want me to believe the Iranian Mullahs are the personification of evil, yeah right..
        
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        March 18, 2026 8:50pm
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  He has sacrificed himself to give his former master an off-ramp which is actually a better option than any other that Trump now has available. Trump and Hegseth are too stupid to see that, but Rubio may not be. My bet is that they will take the way out that Kent has shown them. They won’t say thank you, though
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:16am
  - imalwaysright
    
    You could be right DQ.
    Trump said that they will be leaving the area very soon.
    
    Add to that the reluctance of some countries, and the refusal of others, to take part in the attack and it seems Trump may have realised he listened to Uncle Ben a little too much.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:42am
    - Wandering Star
      
      Trump’s begging the world to join his disastrous war of choice for Israel, and quite rightly, they don’t want a bar of it. He and Netanyahu have made their bed, and they will have to lie in it (pun intended).
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:04pm
      - David George
        
        The European (and Canada) countries that have, thus far, refused to help with breaking the SOH blockade (and thus freeing trade to their own people) have one thing in common: They are utterly terrified of their Muslim population and the likelihood of them going even more crazy.
        Blowing up stadia full of school girls at a pop concert or mowing down people at a Christmas market were just the beginning.
        
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        March 18, 2026 3:43pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Maybe. Don’t underestimate how many Sunni Muslims will be cheering on the US and Israeli forces from the sidelines. The enemy of my enemy, and all that.
        
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        March 18, 2026 5:55pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Dudley: A good analysis.
    
    I did notice – as I’m sure you did too – that Trump was unusually restrained in his criticism of Kent after his resignation. Normally when one of the MAGA tribe defects, there is a torrent of abuse and denigration. That was notably absent this time.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:27am
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Hopefully the gravity of this war has given Trump pause to think about what he says more carefully.
      
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      March 18, 2026 7:09pm
- Simon
  
  “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”.
  
  Read it again boomers.
  
  US empire at an end. Can’t guard its vassals Gulf Arabs.
  
  Iran has got this. So many denied reality only a week or so ago.
  
  Heavily censored war by the way.
  
  Trump will get the blame, but the Israeli controlled US govt is out in the open.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:17am
  - lastmanstanding
    
    Im thinking it might be better long term if the Coalition of Chaos Labour/NZF/Greens/Maori Party win the election. They will crash the economy and many will get hurt. However it may teach fringe Labour and NZF voters a lesson they wont forget for s very long time.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:41am
    - David Garrett
      
      Lastman: I take your point, but surely that would be a case of the cure being worse than the disease??
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:28am
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        Too many of our citizens don’t realise that it is a disease.
        
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        March 18, 2026 1:49pm
    - Phronesis
      
      The communists literally closed the borders and threatened people with arrest if they left their own homes just 5 years ago.
      
      Voters have already forgotten.
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:55am
    - R
      
      Fringe Labour and NZF voters have already forgotten the disaster of the Ardern Hipkins Robertson era, and the NZ MSM are not going to remind them of such.
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:13am
    - Poppax8
      
      Fringe Labour and NZF voters are like goldfish – cant remember Chippy crying yesterday
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:30am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Haha, just looked at Talbot Mills new poll, it has Nats at 32% putting the 28% in the bullshit bracket. I find it very strange the media has never mentioned the Talbot poll as they always do. No do called leaked TM poll
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:27pm
      - Ghost
        
        Pass, Curia is more credible
        
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        March 18, 2026 12:35pm
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        Ghost, so you think the particular Curia poll that showed Nats losing 4% in a month to the greens who were up 4% is credible? the Talbot Mills poll shows the needle has not moved, same with Morgan, same with Varian, some with Reid, and why was it the Curia was exactly the same as most other polls just last month?
        
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        March 18, 2026 3:51pm
      - Ghost
        
        I think you are a bit of a weather‑vane. What ever poll is giving you the numbers you want, you support then abuse the others. You change your views on polls depending on the results of those polls. Curia remains one of the more accurate with the election results.
        
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        March 18, 2026 4:08pm
    - Ghost
      
      Will it teach people anything? the left have caused the damage we have today, remind me what the polls are saying today
      
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      March 18, 2026 1:55pm
    - Paulus
      
      After last ime I thought that they would have learned but No !
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:20pm
  - BananaLlama
    
    Yeah, Nah.
    America is still a global power and can smash any country to pieces if they choose. Luckily for us most Americans are a reasonable people who don’t want to send young men into pointless meat grinders and prefer to use diplomacy instead.
    That’s why this war is just stupidity, no one wants to fight it except a bunch of old cronies trying to force this war on everyone else.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:18am
    - David George
      
      There’s been almost half a century of “diplomacy”, Banana. At what point do you acknowledge that they are liars and terrorists? After they’ve nuked West Asia and wherever else they can?
      
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      March 18, 2026 3:48pm
    - Drone
      
      Air diplomacy,or was that only the Israelis..
      
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      March 18, 2026 9:49pm
  - Ross Bayer
    
    Simon,
    great post fully agree
    now for downtickers here is an opportunity to get out of the echo chamber
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtAj89I_yjw
    
    War criminals support them if you wish
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:49am
    - All_on_Red
      
      Scott Ritter?
      You expect us to take seriously comments from a convicted Sex Offender who spent time in Jail?
      A guy who sent video of himself masturbating to an undercover Police Officer who he thought was a young girl?
      Wow
      Whats next. Tucker Carlson and Candice Owens?
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:15pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        AOR.
        So what has that got to do with his military expertise and experience????
        
        He was charged in June 2001 with trying to set up a meeting with an undercover police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl.
        
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        March 18, 2026 2:59pm
      - Ghost
        
        who he thought were underage girls. You can defend what he did any way you want, but the sick bastard thought he was talking to a 14 year old girl, a 15 year old girl, a 16 year old girl on different occasions. thinking they were these ages he arranged meetings to have with them, he masturbated online to them
        
        why do people always want to try defend the actions of these disgusting creeps.
        
        Thank God for these law enforcement agents who do the work they do to catch these creeps.
        
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        March 18, 2026 3:16pm
  - Yabster
    
    which Boomers are you referring to Simon? I would gues some on here are most not- you sure you aren’t Chole in drag?
    
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    March 18, 2026 2:00pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Chloe called the then Nat leader boomer, she was 5 years out, and was being laughed at as opposed to her and her ilk thinking they were laughing at boomers
      
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      March 18, 2026 3:53pm
- mandk
  
  When is the correct time to attack?
  
  Iran has declared “Death to America” since 1979, and has been building its military capabilities to match.
  
  The longer Iran is left to grow stronger, the greater the threat, and the more difficult it becomes for America (and the free world) to remain safe.
  
  The ayatollahs should be taken seriously.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:50am
  - Ra Henare
    
    and why did The Death to America happen after the revolution in 1979???
    
    Maybe because the CIA helped the Shah to brutalise his people.??
    
    There is always a reason for things.
    But maybe thinking might detract from emotional resons to a complex situation
    
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    March 18, 2026 3:04pm
    - Graeme Hall
      
      A summary below of the Shan of Iran’s reforms (from Search Assist). Although he had a lavish lifestyle it seems he was doing an exceptional job of liberating his country from a kind of serfdom and was far superior to the religious monster unleashed by the French on Iran.
      
      The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, implemented a series of reforms known as the White Revolution from 1963 to 1979, aimed at modernizing Iran through land redistribution, industrialization, and social reforms, including women’s rights and education initiatives. While these reforms led to significant economic growth and urbanization, they also faced opposition from traditionalists and contributed to social unrest that ultimately led to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
      
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      March 18, 2026 5:55pm
  - Hard Cheese
    
    1979 was 47 years ago. How long do we have to wait?
    
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    March 18, 2026 5:38pm
- Damocles11
  
  “The best people”. Another one. This one will have to be called ‘dumb as rock’ or something similar and abused and attacked by the fanatics, like all those before him. Anyone contradicting Dear Leader must be ripped apart verbally and by the on-line army.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:51am
- David George
  
  “no imminent threat”
  Some could (some do) just dismiss decades of the regime’s calling for “Death to America”, just ignore the terrorism and deaths, but beyond that how could Iran pose a serious threat?
  
  What would it take to fit a commercial ship (or aircraft) with a below decks nuclear armed missile, send it across and blow up New York or L A?
  Why would you not take seriously an articulated threat form an outfit that wants the apocalypse to usher in the final Imam – or some such nonsense?
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:56am
  - David Garrett
    
    David G: Valid points – except that the mullahs have been chanting “death to America” since 1979.
    
    AFAIK other than claims by Trump, there is no credible evidence of the threat having increased to the point you envisage in the past month or so. As I have said above, it will all come out in time.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:36am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Weren’t the Iranians friends of the West until the oil leases came up for renewal in the late ’70s and the Iranians asked for higher royalties?
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:47am
      - R
        
        The Iranians, under the Shah, formed a cartel OPEC, with like minded countries to blackmail the Western economy. The Mullahs created a popular uprising, the Shah was deposed, and the rest is later history. Which the west has had to endure.
        
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        March 18, 2026 11:18am
    - David George
      
      Thanks David.
      Apart from their decades of bellicose rhetoric, during the “negotiations”, the Iranians boasted they had over 400 kg of 60% enriched uranium* (a figure previously confirmed by the IAEA*) and eleven Chinese technology ballistic missiles ready to go.
      Even without the clandestine attack along the lines I suggested their Shahab 3 and Soumar missiles already put all of western Asia and most of southern and eastern Europe within range. Both means and mad Mullah motivation IOW.
      
      *https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-steve-witkoff-iran-enriched-uranium-11-nuclear-bombs/
      
      *https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mg7kx2d45o
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:20am
    - Charlotte Wells
      
      Compliments of AI;
      
      Estimating the total number of people killed directly or indirectly by the Islamic Republic of Iran over its 47-year history (1979–2026) is complex, with figures ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands depending on whether domestic crackdowns, proxy wars, and foreign assassinations are included.
      
      I suggest Iran is a real threat on a daily basis.
      
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      March 18, 2026 1:54pm
      - Wayne1749
        
        Yeah, and a study by Lancet puts deaths from American interventions since 1971 approaching 38 million.
        
        https://www.facebook.com/thetelegraphindia/videos/political-scientist-john-mearsheimer-argued-that-washington-has-been-responsible/1664510757880197/
        
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        March 18, 2026 5:58pm
      - CJames
        
        Does that number include all the thousands of children the Iranians used to clear minefields in their war with Iraq?
        
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        March 18, 2026 7:31pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      Actually, saying something for 40 years but never acting on your words reasonably indicates either you’re not serious at all or you have no ability to follow through, or both.
      
      Even if its true they having been literally making such statements, Israel, by contrast has been busying itself over the same time neutralizing challengers either by force, by US force, or by bribery funded by US taxpayers. Meanwhile, the Iranians just say provocative things. It’s quite clear who the really motivated actor is in the region.
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:11pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        By challengers you mean the various invasions and attacks by the regular forces of Israels adjoining countrys, yes?
        
        All of which they have defeated.
        
        As for the Iranians just saying provocative things; Iran is a major supporter of Hamas, which launched the 7 Oct 7 attack on Israel, resulting in roughly 1,200 deaths.
        
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        March 18, 2026 6:50pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      [Mod – no need to comment like that]
      Death to America since 1979(Revolution).!!!
      
      Could it be that the US was involved in overthrowing the Iranian regime that wanted to Nationalise their Oil (Think American Oil companies loseing their profit).
      
      So They “”installed:: the Shah who cancelled Nationalisation in favour of American and British Oil companies.
      
      Chants are in themselves meaningless(as you well know).
      recent examples
      Defund the police
      No taxation without representation
      Read my lips: no new taxes
      
      Closer to home
      The Podium of Truth!!!
      and other Covid era crap.
      
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      March 18, 2026 3:14pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        Except Iran does more than just chant.
        
        Here are some refreshers on what Iran does other than just chant.
        
        Iran has been directly involved in incidents leading to deaths, such as the 2020 shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which killed 176 people.
        
        The U.S. State Department has noted that Iran has killed or maimed hundreds in targeted assassinations and bombing attacks across more than 40 countries since 1979.
        
        A 2019 Pentagon report attributed the deaths of 603 U.S. service members in Iraq (2003–2011) to Iran-backed militias. Hezbollah was involved in the 1983 Beirut embassy and Marine barracks bombings, killing 241 U.S. military personnel.
        
        Iran’s “axis of resistance” (Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Iraqi militias) has caused thousands of deaths across the Middle East.
        
        Iran-backed groups have been involved in conflicts in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
        
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        March 18, 2026 6:52pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Rough place the airspace around Iran. Trigger happy people. Let’s not forget the the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner in 1988 with 240 on board ….
        
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        March 18, 2026 7:41pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        The Vincennes was under attack at the time from Iranian gunboats. The airliner was challenged many times and failed to reply to the challenges.
        
        The airliner was not transmitting that it was a civilian airliner. There was no indication it was civilian.
        
        The Iranians showed compassion and retraint by promptly blowing up Pan Am 103, the Lockerbie disaster.
        
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        March 18, 2026 9:54pm
      - Ghost
        
        It is interesting that under the different accounts and names you use, you always distort the facts and are only partially true, often misleading. Is that why you change your name so often?
        
        Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled flight, travelling along its published route. Commercial airlines monitor the ATC frequencies, not military, which was what the Vincennes was broadcasting to the plane on, military frequencies, not civilian
        
        The flight was broadcasting Mode III (civilian) transponder code 6760, of which the Vincennes detected and misinterpreted
        
        Actually everything the aircraft was doing, the transponder, the flight path, the scheduled flight showed it was a civilian plane. And every time you post under your many names you do this, lie, mislead, distort the truth, use partial truths then false information.
        
        Might be time for you to change your name again
        
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        March 19, 2026 1:02am
      - Ian Boag
        
        @Charlotte
        promptly blowing up Pan Am 103
        
        Wasn’t this some bad Libyans?
        
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        March 19, 2026 8:19am
  - artemisia
    
    USA and allies – al Qaeda’s ‘Far Enemy’. That description has been around for at least 2 decades. Sounds a lot like war.
    
    (Also covered in Terry Hayes’ book ‘I am Pilgrim’- fiction but a good read.)
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:10am
  - Albie
    
    David George- that is exactly what George Friedman on Leighton Smith’s podcast said was the main reason Trump and co went into Iran. The destruction of 9/11 is still raw, and a hidden nuke to have another go is not out of the realms of possibility in their minds.
    
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    March 18, 2026 1:03pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      Do you honestly believe that Iran would sanction a nuke attack on America knowing that the response would be a mass nuke strike on Iran physically obliterating it.
      
      Keeping in mind that the people who facilitate/launch such things are military(with families) not clergy radicals.
      
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      March 18, 2026 3:18pm
  - virtualmark
    
    David,
    
    What it would take is a death wish. If Iran were to set off a nuclear bomb in New York or LA (to use your examples) then the US would turn Iran into a sea of glass.
    
    Authoritarian regimes may be nasty, but they’re not stupid. What would Iran gain? What would they lose? Regimes like Iran are totally rational, it’s just that they have their own objectives that they are rationally pursuing.
    
    Authoritarian regimes tend to be focused on one thing and one thing only … regime preservation. The Iranians are smart enough to see Iraq & Libya didn’t have nukes and have been overthrown, while the North Koreans do have nukes and everyone treads carefully around them. That’s their main motivation for seeking a nuclear bomb.
    
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    March 18, 2026 3:22pm
  - Drone
    
    Iran DID not have nuclear weapons . How many times does that have to be said..
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:56pm
- kowtow
  
  Meanwhile Ali Larijani ,national security goon, has exited the Mullah regime .
  
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  March 18, 2026 10:26am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Apropos of data centres and electricity generation, my issue is the mismatch between the type of demand and the type of supply coming into the market.

Data centre demand is 24/7, which would be well matched by base load – geothermal or nuclear. New supply is primarily intermittent, ie wind and solar. This inevitably means that data centre power input will need to be met on a regular basis by hydro or coal.

What’s more, data centre power demand cannot easily be dialled down in time of generation shortage. This means that in dry years, other electricity consumers, including you, me and other industries, will have to take the hit. Does that seem reasonable, or appropriate?

Our major dry year power generation option is burning coal. Those Rankine units at Huntley are old. What modelling has been done if they were to break down during a dry year, with the added “first priority” demand of the various data centres around the country?

What’s clear is that not all power consumers are equal, and NZ should be careful about committing significant quantities of base load electricity to businesses that are unable to flex demand with supply, to the detriment to the rest of us.
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March 18, 2026 8:06am
- RoboRob
  
  Very true, but, the solution isn’t getting tough on data centers. The solution is building a strong, resilient, affordable energy supply that allows the economy to grow. The current ‘plan’ of letting high use businesses close, isn’t a plan. Shame on Woods and Watts.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:50am
  - [email protected]
    
    The cost to build a medium size hydroelectric plant is about $3700 per Kw. There are about 2 million households in New Zealand. The cost to put solar and batteries into those homes would cost about the same as building another hydroelectric plant. The big difference is that solar requires almost zero maintenance costs. Power outages would disappear.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:03am
    - Spam
      
      The other “big differences” are that hydro works 24/7, not just when it is sunny. Hydro doesn’t spike when a cloud goes by. Hydro doesn’t need lines upgrades and transformer upgrades on all the residential substations.
      
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      March 18, 2026 9:55am
    - David Garrett
      
      info: Solar in Dunedin or Greymouth? Have you actually been to either of those places?
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:51am
    - Jack5
      
      Spam’s ….hydro works 24/7…
      
      So, too, do geothermal-powered generators.
      
      They seem to be supplying about a fifth of our power.
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:31am
    - Ra Henare
      
      Guess you dont have solar panels on your roof Info!!!!
      
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      March 18, 2026 3:20pm
- Colville
  
  Is power demand from data centre processing power or for cooling or both?
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:57am
  - kowtow
    
    Excellent long form interview by Michael Laws on the Platform on this very subject .
    
    https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/mark-laurence-on-the-ai-database-going-in-southland
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:12am
    - Jack5
      
      The guy Laws interviewed seems to have some sort of stake in AI consulting or education. He didn’t throw light on how the Southland project might be realised.
      
      The entrepreneurs from French Polynesia who are behind it, and their relatively small Singapore-based company, would need to raise billions to build the Southland centre.
      
      They plan to link it to an undersea cable system they build between Australia and the South Island.
      
      If they do raise the capital, where’s the power’s coming from?
      
      It took years for NZ to get Japanese industrialists and international mining firms to invest billions in the smelter.
      
      Much more information’s needed on how the Southland data centre can be financed.
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:40am
      - kowtow
        
        yeah , I’m just pointing to an interesting interview .
        
        I reckon we should be investing in coal to fuel plants down there .make much more sense.
        
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        March 18, 2026 1:22pm
- Master Mariner
  
  Its funny how electrons can not differentiate between Renewable Power and Coal generation, But rest assured the Power companies can , Your bill will be increased because of coal power and the “Clean” data centres will be powered by renewables energy.
  Where is all this Power coming from ?
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:03am
  - peterwn
    
    There was that discussion with Manapouri and Tiwai some years back.Tiwai is nominally fed from Manapouri only but there is interconnection with the rest of the grid at Invercargill so surplus Manapouri power feeds the grid.
    However some bright spark noticed that on odd occasions the Tiwai load was greater than Manapouri output and this became political. The System Control chief (an amazing engineer who was later CEO and whom I had the greatest respect for) bluntly said that this was the most expedient way of dispatching the grid and if the circumstances arise again I will do it. End of argument. One journalist offered to be an electron counter who would check the electrons flowing into Tiwai to ensure they are coming from the right place.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:44am
    - R
      
      With the subsequent development of GPS, surely the electrons don’t get lost now./s
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:23am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Like most things in engineering, it depends…
  
  There are really two types of data centre load:
  * demand driven. These are are the loads for which a real-time response is required. eg. when someone makes a query over the internet they expect an immediate (or semi-immediate) response. Examples are search, streaming (eg. Youtube and Netflix) and cloud services (AWS, Xero, etc).
  * discretionary. These are functions which do not need an immediate response and can be dialed up and down (eg AI learning which can take days, weeks or months).
  
  In theory some loads can be reduced depending on available surplus power. In theory this is especially the case with AI learning data centres.
  
  In practice nobody wants that because they don’t want their expensive capital sitting idle. That is especially true of AI learning data centres which are extremely expensive and which are evolving quickly. ie. they lose value fast. Therefore people want to crank these as fast as possible.
  
  IMHO NZ should steer clear of this space. There is very little value generated by AI data centrres. All the AI money is made by the big brands selling the services to customers – not by the people running wholesale datacentre services in the background.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:47am
  - artemisia
    
    Could data centres here be creating and exporting electricity for profit, in a manner of speaking? Maybe that’s a stupid question.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:55am
    - Phronesis
      
      Exporting electricity is exactly what the Tiwai smelter is doing. To a considerable extent this is true of any manufacturing. People wonder why we don’t process more of our natural resources here rather than exporting logs etc. The answer is always mostly due to higher energy costs in NZ.
      
      The irony is that people had thought that energy demands would decrease as enlightened economies such as NZ shifted from manufacturing goods to office based services. (software etc) But it turns out that AI is going to replace those offices and jobs, and all it will require is enormous amounts of energy…
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:03am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        Correct, Tiwai is, effectively, exporting electricity in bulk at a discount.
        
        The only real difference is that Tiwai involves real physical jobs that employ a few thousand jobs (direct + indirect). A data centre employs a couple of dozen at the outside.
        
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        March 18, 2026 1:06pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      “Could data centres here be creating and exporting electricity for profit”
      
      No, not really.
      
      The data centre is just a huge warehouse full of servers. It employs a few people during construction then a skeleton staff to feed the servers. ie. very little employment created.
      
      All the value is in zeroes and ones sent to USA/wherever over the internet.
      
      There is no real value for NZ.
      
      All we would be selling them is bulk electricity at a discount. There is no development of local skills or the local economy.
      
      OK, we would get slightly better ping times on Netflix, but no substantial boost to industry.
      
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      March 18, 2026 1:03pm
- imalwaysright
  
  I wonder how it works, do these data centres need RMA approval and if so, how are they getting it? Haven’t seen any stories of objections.
  
  Also, what part does the Ministry of Energy play in their establishment?
  Why would they approve such a massive continuous use of electricity for miniscule benefit to NZ?
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:52am
- Poppax8
  
  https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/power-and-utilities/nuclear-energy-powering-data-centers.html
  
  Small modular nuclear reactors sitting next to the data centre. The Greens love them
  
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  March 18, 2026 11:35am
slightlyrighty

So…did Hipkins kill the story yesterday?

I have no doubt that the emotions were real, but it also seemed to be a way to paint him as a victim, using the kids as some sort of emotional Munchausens by Proxy device. Not deliberate, but a by-product of the mess he finds himself in.

The question is, is this something he has contributed to?

It seems to have garnered a bit of sympathy, and I find myself wondering how the polls will react.
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March 18, 2026 8:07am
- BarryB
  
  “I have no doubt that the emotions were real, but…”
  If you believe that then I have a bridge for sale – going cheap.
  Remember this is the guy who cant tell us what a woman is.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:33am
  - slightlyrighty
    
    I said the emotions were real, but the reasons for them may well be up for debate…
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:04am
    - muzled
      
      Bridge sold!
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:14pm
- sungsamning
  
  He’s not getting any sympathy from me. The Platform ran a couple of stories on the subject. He didn’t come up smelling of roses.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:38am
  - Paulus
    
    But The Platform is not mainstream so called media so few will read it !
    
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    March 18, 2026 2:25pm
    - Ghost
      
      the platform is broadcasted over radio as well
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:26pm
      - Ghost
        
        no wait, Radio Aotearoa stopped broadcasting the platform late last year
        
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        March 18, 2026 2:48pm
- septic skeptic
  
  I assume none of the MSM are actually fearful that they could be successfully sued for reporting that his ex wife said he x,y,z. Not a lawyer but surely that’s just the plain simple truth – she did say that. Are they worried that they could be sued unsuccessfully but at great cost to defend? If so then surely a flat denial and the threat of legal action is now enough to shut down any allegation.
  Or is this just the biased MSM doing the job National are happy to pay them to do, running cover for the left wing parties.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:41am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Karl du Fresne reckons the MSM quickly took on a very coordinated response to emphasise “unsubstantiated claims”.
  
  It has been fascinating to observe the media’s treatment of allegations against Labour leader Chris Hipkins by his ex-wife.
  
  The first thing to note was the uniformity of the coverage. It was as if the political editors of the mainstream news outlets hurriedly got their heads together when the news broke yesterday and decided on a common approach.
  
  The stories were all brief and couched in “nothing to see here, folks” language. They all made the same points: that the claims were “unsubstantiated” and that no one was accusing Hipkins of doing anything unlawful.
  
  https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2026/03/karl-du-fresne-masterclass-in-damage.html
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:42am
  - kowtow
    
    I note the nzme radio news has been at pains to make sure they get in the line “not criminal” matters involved.
    
    And yes no one should be surprised at a co ordinated media responsed , presumably at the behest of the Labour media control machine , which we know they employed during the scamdemic.
    
    Talking of attack politics the Herald continues its campaign against “chief” Luxon , which we now know, from their own stable , Soper, to be a beat up.It’s unrelenting and obvious.
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:47am
  - Boy Geoff
    
    A Coalition of the Willing…?
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:55am
  - David Garrett
    
    ³Maggy: Thanks for that link to some actual journalism
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:56am
  - Chris2
    
    Hipkins has still not said the claims by his ex-wife are untrue, only that he rejects the claims.
    
    In recent days he has said he is not going to talk about private family matters but he had no such hestitancy in talking about family during his interviews in the “Womens Weekly” magazine – twice – when he was PM and more recently when he became engaged.
    
    He would have treated those interviews as an opportunity to promote to women readers what a great family man he is and that he was worth voting for. But the moment he comes under scrutiny he claims family matters are private.
    
    When the story broke a few days ago Hipkins first comment was “I reject the allegations entirely and don’t intend to make any further comment.”.
    
    Well since that statement he has spoken to media at the airport, appeared at a press conference in the Beehive and again this morning on TV with Ryan Bridges. So the man who said he was not going to make any further comment has now gone on to give several interviews to the media. The guy is just a complete hypocrite and liar – he cant even keep his word about not making any further comment on the matter.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:24am
  - slijmbal
    
    As others have noted previously the description of his alleged acts are remarkably specific (yes easy to find on the Interweb – even popped up on my FB page without having to search for them).
    
    One of the described behaviours does look to be somewhat hyperbolic but the remainder come across as remarkably credible and consistent with his history.
    
    Here’s hoping the specifics come out.
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:06am
  - Jack5
    
    From the Stuff report about Mrs Hipkins No.1:
    
    “She is not alleging he has done anything criminal, but Stuff is unable to publish the as yet unsubstantiated claims for legal reasons.”
    
    If the allegations aren’t criminal, what’s the problem? In such a case wouldn’t an editor feel safe with just accusation and response?
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:07am
- imalwaysright
  
  I think he started crying because it was the first time his media asked him a hard question…
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:42am
  - In Vino Veritas
    
    He cried? FFS. This wet sook could be PM. You have to be kidding.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:58am
    - Flossie
      
      Didn’t he have a blub when he lost the last election?
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:50am
- Colville
  
  The first of the claims, broadly under a health heading, would be very easy to verifie so I am hoping we will hear more!
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:00am
- Paulus
  
  My wife said this morning imagine if this has been a National Party Leader ?
  He would be gone by lunchtime as the New Zealand media scum would have him over a lying barrel.
  Poor diddums sweety !
  Was your real wife not a woman ?
  But we are already hearing already the women still love him and will elect him in November.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:30am
- Im Right
  
  Does the “Believe all women”, the “Me too” movement only apply when it’s against someone they don’t like (hint: a right wing male)
  Asking for a friend….
  
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  March 18, 2026 10:09am
- Raphael
  
  So…did Hipkins kill the story yesterday?
  
  Nope.
  
  His PR team has spent the last several years painting his affair as some amazing love story, and how it’s so wonderful.
  
  They ignored the fact that he cheated on the mother of his children, and according to her was terrible as a husband, and is equally terrible as a father.
  
  The very base that his PR team was trying to appeal to with the “love story” will not take kindly to the story coming out.
  
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  March 18, 2026 10:28am
  - Jack5
    
    On the night after the last election, didn’t Hipkins say something on the lines of, I’m not a loser, I’ve got a new love?
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:10am
- David Garrett
  
  Souvlaki: I am with you on this…only the late Queen was able to say she was a the Queen first, a wife second, and a mother third. Family should always come first – unless as you say, the political matter is literally one of life and death.
  
  I cannot imagine letting your wife go home from hospital “in a blood stained gown” as has been reported after a miscarriage. Terrible behaviour – and I am speaking as someone who has been a far from perfect husband twice over.
  
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  March 18, 2026 11:08am
  - Quail
    
    DG,
    Re Hipkins v Hipkins
    The NZ media has failed abysmally to make every reader aware of both sides of the story.
    Given the “ interest “ in the story Mrs Hipkins’ PUBLIC comments should be available to all who may have an interest in that! This appears to be her intent.
    At present the only full participant in the debate is Mr Hipkins .His every word is reported.
    This is unjust!
    The News media refusal to print Mrs Hipkins comment is totally unfair.
    
    The threat of legal action against the media for printing her comments is ridiculous.They are reporting her comment , something that can be verified. That is the media’s job.
    NZ needs editors with the mantra of Britain’s past Daily Mirror.” Publish and be Damned “
    
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    March 18, 2026 12:29pm
    - Ghost
      
      It’s important to remember what Hipkins has said. He sought legal advice to stop the media reporting the accusations. Stuff have told you they cannot report what she posted.
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:46pm
- R
  
  ‘No woman should……..him. But thesimple ones will. The woman’s vote this election could see the end of DEMOCRACY in NZ.
  
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  March 18, 2026 11:35am
- jacthecat
  
  “…only a scnhmuck would sent his mother to collect his wife from a hospital, following a midtrimester fetal loss.”
  And imagine having Rose Hopkins coming to pick you up from hospital!
  
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  March 18, 2026 12:49pm
- Rumblestrip
  
  I suspect that the weepiness will be a short-term boost for Hipkins, but a long-term hindrance.
  
  In the short-term, it garners sympathy and hobbles the attack lines against him.
  
  In the long-term, when the specifics of the event are forgotten, he is remembered as the emotional (weak) man who cried on camera.
  
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  March 18, 2026 4:17pm
artemisia

RNZ having another tilt at the cruel and heartless government, once again reporting on the “invisible unemployed”: people who have too much to qualify for a benefit, but not enough to make ends meet.

Currently household income is used to determine if welfare is available to people who become unemployed. Not just Jobseeker benefit but also other taxpayer subsidies. For example the accommodation supplement is available, but only if a couple has less than $16,200 in the bank.

An Auckland man …. he and his wife would struggle to pay the rent despite her earning well above the threshold. … that $1040 [threshold], after tax … doesn’t even cover our rent,” he said. This is not a young couple starting out as he has clocked up 30 years in his industry.

Minister Upston said the thresholds are a long-standing feature of the welfare system.

Is household income still relevant these days, or should joint expenses and assets be split down the middle on paper so an individual can be paid by the taxpayer regardless of the total household income. That would be quite a philosophical change – has our society moved that far?

Maybe a little bit more personal responsibility would mean households planned ahead, even a little bit.

It does seem that RNZ is on a mission. Yesterday a series of ‘poor me’ scenarios was set out about changes to boarder income that may impact a couple of taxpayer housing subsidies (Accommodation supplement and social housing income related rent).. There was no mention in the article that the change is to eliminate ‘ double dipping’ where a household claims more than once for the same taxpayer funding.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/589877/your-partner-is-your-welfare-system-coupled-up-with-not-enough
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March 18, 2026 8:11am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  As usual, there’s little comment on the fact that benefits are assessed based on household (couple) income (and assets), whereas income tax is assessed by individual.
  
  I was all in favour of the income splitting policy advanced by Peter Dunne back in the day. The reality is that households are the basis for society. It seems unfair to me that a couple who choose for one parent to stay at home to bring up the kids are penalised via a vis couples who choose that both should work.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:55am
  - R
    
    ‘chose that both should work’…..and then cry because they can’t get a benefit to maintain their past lifestyle, when hardships falls. Some lessons in Buddgeting and prioritizing expenditure would be invaluable to both such couples
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:40am
- Paulus
  
  Whaddaya mean Personal Responsibility
  – our Social Welfare is designed fpr people to understand that they are owed by the Government for being great New Zealanders.
  Damage is far to long in the teeth, and cannot be efficiently changed as attiitudes, along with out poor Education will not change.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:35am
Cassandra

Scrap Net Zero: Dramatic New Ice Core Evidence Shows Current Century Warming Common Throughout the Last 400,000 Years: headline in an online newsletter.

One of these days some reputable scientists will tell us what’s really going on. In the meantime my suggestion is don’t spend any money.
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March 18, 2026 8:22am
- All_on_Red
  
  Here you go
  ‘…we use the Epica-Vostok Ice core dataset, a single proxy dataset for temperature data sampled every century for the last 800,000 years or so and ask the question “Is a 1.1°C temperature rise in a century unusual in this dataset?” ‘
  https://scienceofclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/SCC-Vol.6.1-Hatton.pdf
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:28am
Tauhei Notts

I have transcribed a paragraph from Joe Kent’s resignation letter to Donald Trump, dated March 17th.
“Early in this administration high ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.”
Think about that.
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March 18, 2026 8:26am
- All_on_Red
  
  The Iranians have admitted to having enriched Uranium. The question we should be asking is; if Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, would they use it?
  And Kent is a useful idiot of the left.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:32am
  - sungsamning
    
    Of course they would. The 12th Imam thing is a core belief of the Mullahs. Well, the ones that are still alive anyhow. They’d be content to use ‘dirty bombs’ if they couldn’t make a real one.
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:41am
  - septic skeptic
    
    I have follow up questions. Did the earlier bunker busting raid not totally obliterate their nuclear program? How many bombs and missiles will they have to use, and for how long, before a new pro- Israeli/American regime emerges and hands over all uranium and any remaining ballistic missiles?
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:50am
    - Paulus
      
      We do not know an answer for you !
      In Iran fact and fiction are synonimois worth lies in everything as they totally control the media in their way.
      
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      March 18, 2026 9:38am
    - sungsamning
      
      It destroyed the centrifuges. They still have uranium, which could be used for a ‘dirty bomb’ or three. They are firing far fewer missiles. How long is a piece of string. Hopefully this one is real short.
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:17pm
      - septic skeptic
        
        No chance this is short. When did bombing ever succeed anywhere in forcing a regime change. Consider the blitz, allied bombing of Germany, US bombing of Vietnam etc. to force a regime change you will need boots on the ground.
        
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        March 18, 2026 1:42pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Uranium is no use for a dirty bomb. You are thinking of plutonium.
        
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        March 18, 2026 10:10pm
  - MCōs
    
    Whatever else he might be Joe Kent is most certainly not left anything.
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:52am
    - grumpy
      
      But his new wife is…..
      
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      March 18, 2026 1:05pm
  - Taieri
    
    And Kent is a useful idiot of the left
    ————
    
    As is everyone you don’t agree with…?
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:16am
    - All_on_Red
      
      So you dont think Iran is a threat to Middle East peace and stability either then.
      Tbh I think a lot of you guys need better sources.
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:23pm
      - Taieri
        
        I think that the biggest threat to the stability in the Middle East is the US. Anywhere they got involved they left behind chaos and destruction: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and now Iran. I don’t think I need any sources to prove it, I’ve been to most of these countries (except Afghanistan) and seen it with my own eyes.
        
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        March 18, 2026 2:40pm
      - Drone
        
        Israeli is a proven threat to stability in the Middle East.
        
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        March 18, 2026 10:13pm
- kowtow
  
  Jewish conspiracies , again.
  
  I can accept Bibi had more than a little role getting him into this thing ( and the Saudis according to the UK Daily Telegraph) but to chuck Iraq in there is nonsense , when we know that was a Bush family /cabal project , with a little help from war criminal Tony Blair.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:52am
  - Master Mariner
    
    I agree with TK and will throw in the war in Syria as well as being instigated by the Israelis.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:09am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Uncle Ben wants to turn the Iranians into Uranians.
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:12am
    - kowtow
      
      My comment “Jewish conspiracies” was directed at TN’s comments about this all being about Jews and I want to be very clear I have no time for that type of “blood libel” anti semetic rubbish.
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:15am
      - sungsamning
        
        You and me both dude.
        
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        March 18, 2026 12:18pm
  - Wandering Star
    
    So, 2003 was not a Jewish conspiracy (a quite impossible scenario and a hateful suggestion, obviously), but it was a Bush cabal/Blair conspiracy? Yes, Bush and Blair conspired to do something (for some reason) which benefitted Israel more than anyone else (and which they and their successors continued to do in other places in the region for another 20 years) just as attacking Iran does today.
    
    Qui Bono? Dubbya and Tonz, clearly.
    
    Only a blind, politically oblivious person (or a dishonest person) would not concede the obvious influence the Jewish lobby has on which wars Americans fight, the only question is whether or not you think this influence is good for anyone except Israel.
    
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    March 18, 2026 2:26pm
- David George
  
  Hard to take this seriously; Israel clearly warned America against going in to Iraq and that they didn’t consider Saddam a realistic threat to themselves or America.
  
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  March 18, 2026 10:13am
  - Spoff
    
    “Israel clearly warned America against going in to Iraq”
    I didn’t know that. Got a source?
    Here is what I thought:
    https://twitter.com/i/status/1935465215723704450
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:32am
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh for Goodness sake…
Now we have the MSM continuing to deliver Chris Hipkins’ sob story

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360952513/hipkins-considered-stepping-down-labour-leader-after-ex-wifes-claims

I wonder how wise it is for him to be characterising the mother of his children as a liar.

“The claims are simply not true.

Such a pity that he didn’t just leave things at: there are always regrets.
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March 18, 2026 8:30am
- slightlyrighty
  
  If he considered stepping down, is that a tacit admission that the allegations have a hint of truth about them?
  
  Barry Soper, has been in contact with Jade, and yesterday in ZB, repeated Jade’s assertion that the allegations are “Verifiable”.
  
  This isn’t over.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:36am
- pdm
  
  Maggy this situation makes me think of two H words that sit neatly together.
  
  Hipkins. Hypocrisy.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:37am
  - Jethrod
    
    A nice ring to it!
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:43am
- BarryB
  
  Hipkins was quite happy to parade his kids for various magazine articles, but now hes saying that its not right to bring them into the public……….. well maybe he thinks that its OK for him to drag them into various magazines.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:39am
  - MCōs
    
    “Hipkins was quite happy to parade his kids for various magazine articles”
    
    Has he?
    He says he hasn’t & you say he has.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:14am
    - Graeme Hall
      
      Hosking read out on air this morning some of the headings of the Hipkins family articles in the Woman’s Weekly. There are many.
      
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      March 18, 2026 9:22am
    - greybeard
      
      Go to NewstalkZB Week on Demand, 7:46am today.
      Quite easy to answer your doubts.
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:14am
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      I suggest googling, Hipkins articles in women’s magazine or similar. It reveals three articles including one in January this year on his glorious relationship with Toni and the kids settling in to the new relationship. And then look at his FB account for photos of him with his children. So on the basis of those previously published articles with headlines like, the kids are planning our wedding I would say Mr Hipkins is bullshitting again.
      
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      March 18, 2026 4:05pm
- alex Masterley
  
  This business with Mr Hipkins and so his accurately described sob story is a really good smoke screen for the story about the unneccessary spend of 30 billion during the coid years.
  The media have been taken for a ride here.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:45am
  - RoboRob
    
    One they are more than willing to take. No real coverage of the ex wives story but wall to wall coverage of Hipkins side. All while they ignore his role in the COVID cock up
    
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    March 18, 2026 8:54am
    - Master Mariner
      
      Not really sure , but did the affair take place during Covid Restrictions , Stay at home, etc ?
      Interested to know.
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:31am
- septic skeptic
  
  Interesting that the MSM are prepared to publish his claim that she is lying, but not her claim that he (xyz).
  For that matter I find it curious that I can (presumably) say on here that he says she is a liar but not put her case. All seems a bit unfair.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:54am
- Gravelroad
  
  “He said he was concerned that the claims had snowballed, with further claims being made against him on social media.”
  Gosh, Mr Hipkins must be a very busy man/boy…….
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:59am
  - kowtow
    
    One has to wonder about exactly how the whole parliament ,cough cough, social scene , is as a ‘toxic’ workplace , full of all those narcissists , small minded , and many low iq types or political power seeking wonks , young star struck women ( and men) totally out of their depth in a shark tank.
    
    Just what is the “culture” there.
    
    And to top it all off , the Faustian deal between our neo Aristo ppolitical elites and the so called fourth estate , whose sacred duty is to hold power to account , going along with it all , safe behind the lie that pollies private lives are off limits , while they the pollies and their media luvvies have no compunction in going after us peasants, when it suits. Nudge nudge wink wink , say no more .
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:26am
    - sungsamning
      
      If the post of Groom Of The Stool was ever reactivated; ‘political elites’ , and the fourth estate would fight to the death to get the job. Most of them would forgo using toilet paper.
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:25pm
- RoboRob
  
  So today the story by the very friendly media is that he considered stepping down, but decided against it. Does no one in the media remember their reporting from all of 24hrs ago?
  
  This from his tearful speech….
  ‘Asked if the situation could be damaging for Labour, he said he hoped not, and said standing down wasn’t something he considered.’
  
  Nobody want to ask him if he is lying? No follow up questions, just print his PR stories?
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:10am
  - Ghost
    
    And the important part, he wasn’t talking to his lawyers about Jade, but to stop the media reporting on the allegations. That should get more attention that he wanted to silence the media reporting this
    
    Did he consider quitting, more than likely a spin for the sympathy vote.
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:33am
    - Paulus
      
      Are her comments taken from Facebook which is not the so called media but social enlightenment, to which I do not subscribe anyway, but as such cannot be sued can it ?
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:37pm
  - Biscuit
    
    What I found telling was that Chippie, the boy from the Hutt, wasn’t asked about his clearly non-existent parental skills.
    
    Asked about his kids, he tearfully commented ‘I don’t know, they’re with her.’
    
    Seems they’re in Fiji on holiday with their Mum. Good on them. But Hipkins implies they’re being kept from him by the Mum.
    
    There should have been an immediate follow-up question: ‘When did you last meet/contact them?’
    
    He’s a co-parent, he has rights, right?
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:49am
    - MCōs
      
      Maybe it’s none of our business
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:06am
      - Eastlander
        
        I think it rather is our business if a once and would-be-again prime minister is habitually dishonest and feels no sort of loyalty or obligation to any other living soul.
        
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        March 18, 2026 10:44am
    - imalwaysright
      
      “‘I don’t know, they’re with her.’”
      
      Is he trying to imply that they are in some sort of danger because they are with their mum?
      
      What a low blow. He should be ashamed of himself.
      
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      March 18, 2026 10:59am
      - RichardF
        
        Why are his kids not at school? Its not the holidays yet. He was a disaster as education minister, maybe he doesn’t value it? The ex would not have taken them overseas without his knowledge.
        
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        March 18, 2026 11:17am
      - Ghost
        
        Are you blaming him for his ex taking the kids for a holiday?
        
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        March 18, 2026 11:20am
- MCōs
  
  More accurately he’s responding to her public litany of sob stories, which anyone here would be obliged to do faced with the same situation.
  Most people’s dirty linen doesn’t get aired in such public circumstances because nobody else is interested
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:49am
  - Cassandra
    
    He is calling her a liar publicly. It is our business now.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:24am
  - Boy Geoff
    
    Most of us aren’t out there in the public domain desperately trying to give impressionable members of the public a reason to vote for them…
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:27am
  - Eastlander
    
    No, a decent chap would say nothing at all in public. Even if he had the truth on his side, he would hold his tongue for the sake of his children, since he would only compound their misery by disparaging their mother for all the world to see.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:47am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Exactly
      
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      March 18, 2026 2:54pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Normally I’d agree with you… and I made no comment on the issue yesterday, but now Hipkins has thrown the mother of his children under the bus by publicly stating that her claims are untrue.
    
    [Mod – until DPF says otherwise please don’t post details]
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:30am
KKNZ2025

“Is household income still relevant these days, or should joint expenses and assets be split down the middle on paper so an individual can be paid by the taxpayer regardless of the total household income. That would be quite a philosophical change – has our society moved that far?”

Society certainly has, since the 1960s. Political economic convenience otoh…

There is absolutely no logical or moral excuse for the hypocrisy that determines that a couple who have paid taxes all their working lives should not receive unemployment support when one partner is unemployed while someone who didn’t work their whole life gets supported by their partners unemployment benefit.
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March 18, 2026 8:30am
- KKNZ2025
  
  link to artemesia 08.11 post above
  
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  March 18, 2026 11:50am
sungsamning

Since the end of the Cold War, Europe indulged the illusion that war itself was a thing of the past, and defense was not a priority anymore. February 24, 2022 brutally ended that illusion. But is Europe really prepared to deal with the harsh realities it now faces? [Aparrently not. They walked right into a trap by declining to send defence assets to the Straights of Hormuz. [Thanks France for the ships] Now, President Trump can say NATO is a waste of space, and pull the troops out. They can’t exit NATO without a 67% vote in Congress. There’s nothing to stop them pulling troops out though.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqgUNRvqf_o
What Happens If America Leaves Europe?
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March 18, 2026 8:35am
- slijmbal
  
  @sung
  
  I agree Europe incorrectly assumed that Russia and China would follow the path of becoming more reasonable based on the concept that having an influential well off middle class tends to ameliorate autocratic approaches. They thought the US was being its usual somewhat xenophobic self and were happy to let the US spend lots on defence. They were wrong.
  
  Trump has done Europe a favour by being untrustworthy – they are busy (somewhat frantically) getting up to speed defence wise and reducing their dependency on the US both in terms of armed forces and where they get their weapons from.
  
  As we saw from the response to Trump trying to get NATO countries involved in his and Israel’s war against Iraq his behaviour is now starting to bear rather rotten fruit. I agree with Europe’s approach to let Trump stew in his own mess. I think he was rather surprised at the co-ordinated response and as we all know TACO.
  
  Frankly, with Russia unable to defeat a much smaller opponent the loss of US forces wouldn’t really add risk and Europe is getting to the point of being happy to see the back of Trump. With the UK and France’s nuclear weapons Europe still has a nuclear deterrent and it’s clear that should there be a real war Europe would have complete air dominance. Poland on their own could probably hurt Russia quite badly based on their recent ramping up. Europe would not try and invade Russia but should Russia be foolish enough to, say, have a go at a NATO or EU country they would be forced to fight.
  
  I have said before Trump will actually hurt the US in the long term but let’s be honest he doesn’t give a s**t. It’s all about his narcissism. I believe the US will be noticeably weaker and with less allies and more isolated in 10 years time. It can no longer be trusted.
  
  The US will continue to ‘defend’ Taiwan as their high tech companies would be dead without their chips. Ironically, China is coming out stronger after Trump’s attempts to bully them.
  
  Based on current polls and the American populace’s dislike of wars Trump could end up a lame duck president after the mid terms. If GoP loses both houses expect an attempt to impeach him. There are plenty of impeachable acts with his kleptocratic approach. Will have to stock up on popcorn.
  
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  March 18, 2026 12:03pm
  - sungsamning
    
    With ‘friends’ like the Fourth Reich, who needs enemies? TDS will not help anyone.
    
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    March 18, 2026 12:34pm
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    Perhaps you could list the impeachable acts of which there are plenty as you assert.
    
    I mean genuine ones. Not made-up bullshit ones.
    
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    March 18, 2026 7:17pm
- Paulus
  
  Europe goes bust as they are now !
  
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  March 18, 2026 2:39pm
sungsamning

We’ve seen so much media malfeasance in recent times, but it’s arguably gotten worse since the start of the Iran conflict, as the Fake News mainstream conglomerates have been posting false stories with regularity.
Multiple liberal outlets implied or outright alleged that the recent jihadist attempted bomb attack at Gracie Mansion was targeted at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Of course, it had already been verified that the two teen terrorists were trying to indiscriminately maim and kill people attending dueling pro and anti-Iranian regime protests. [The alphabet news organizations have to operate in the public interest. As in telling the truth, and presenting both sides. It was like that until the 1970s. The FCC can’t do much about CNN, and MSNOW though. One out of two is better than nothing.]
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/03/15/fcc-chairman-carr-has-warning-for-the-fake-news-conglomerates-clean-up-your-act-or-lose-your-licenses-n2200251
FCC Chairman Carr Has Warning for the Fake News Conglomerates: Clean Up Your Act or Lose Your Licenses.
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March 18, 2026 8:35am
- David Garrett
  
  GOT worse….unless you are a Yank, in which case “gotten” is acceptable usage.
  
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  March 18, 2026 11:15am
  - sungsamning
    
    I’m a native speaker. Most people who have English as a second, or third language use US grammar and idioms. Its a fact of life and won’t go away any time soon. Having said that; my pet hate is ‘horseback riding’. It sounds just as illiterate as cardriving, or aeroplaneflying.
    
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    March 18, 2026 12:38pm
david in Aus

The government should be rationing/reserving diesel now, not so much for petrol. Although the fuel stocks are reasonable now, we can see that in six weeks there will be a large dip in fuel supply.

Businesses will stop without diesel.

This reminds me of covid disruptions. You can see the disruption wave on the horizon, I am concerned about complacency on the shore.
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March 18, 2026 8:36am
- Master Mariner
  
  I was concerned about complacency / nievity when they allowed /closed down Marsden pt.
  Any war in Iran was always going to result in the closure of SOH.
  We really are served by complete fruitcakes in Wellington.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:14am
  - Taieri
    
    Feed stock for the Marsden Point refinery was coming mainly from the Middle East, so there would have been supply problems if the refinery was still operational.
    But keeping it open would have given the country far more flexibility and energy security that it has at present, after all it was built for that very reason. Its crude storage capacity itself was about 700K cubic metres, which would have provided a significant reserve in times of crisis.
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:00am
    - Master Mariner
      
      Another thing that does not seem to be considered is “Shelf Life” of refined Petroleum Products.
      More so with Av Gas etc having a limited Life.
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:00pm
- kowtow
  
  Oh for goodness sake , everyone needs to simply stop panicking .
  
  btw “covid disruption”
  
  The great and the good have allowed this situation to develop over some 50 years , at least .
  
  Plans? This country can’t even conduct a census . Welcome to the third world .
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:34am
- david in Aus
  
  They should consider opening the city rail link earlier and making it very low-cost until the end of the war.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:35am
- sungsamning
  
  Something else they could do is send a frigate to the Phillipines so a USN ship can go to the straights. Not recognizing ‘Palestine’ was a good start.
  
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  March 18, 2026 12:40pm
Flossie

Politicians seem happy enough to have glamorous spreads in women’s magazines at times. When the stories doing the rounds are not to their liking suddenly politicians private lives are off limits.
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March 18, 2026 8:38am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  Everybody chooses what to make public and what to keep private about their lives. There’s nothing unusual or unreasonable about that. Occasionally inviting friends for dinner doesn’t make it ok for your neighbours to walk in and empty your fridge the next day
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:47am
- kowtow
  
  It’s interesting to note how the media seem to think the voting public have no right to know /comment on the sexual shenanigans of our very own neo Aristo class .
  And now we’re actively manipulated into the sympathy tactic …….for the man .
  
  But consider how the very same media have over the last few years treated men in “power relationships in the workplace” and how in those circumstances the younger , vulnerable woman is always the victim.
  
  Until it’s the male leader of the Fabian Labour party .
  
  To the baricades , comrades .Protect our revolution!
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:02am
All_on_Red

Interesting article about the Iran War on Aljazerra of all places.
‘When you look at what has actually happened to Iran’s principal instruments of power – its ballistic missile arsenal, its nuclear infrastructure, its air defences, its navy and its proxy command architecture – the picture is not one of US failure. It is one of systematic, phased degradation of a threat that previous administrations allowed to grow for four decades.’
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/3/16/the-us-israeli-strategy-against-iran-is-working-here-is-why
Blockading the SoH hurts Iran more than anyone else- except perhaps China.
We suffer a rise in cost- that’s all. Iran suffers from zero income- think how things will go when the regime has no money to pay their thugs- which is occurring.
I don’t think the blockade will last. Ships are going though now apparently anyway.
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March 18, 2026 8:41am
- RoboRob
  
  If algazera are reporting bad news for Iran, the other Arab states must be very unhappy with Iran. That’s good news.
  
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  March 18, 2026 8:57am
  - Colville
    
    ElJizz is Qatar owned isn’t it?
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:03am
    - sungsamning
      
      Yes, and its usually ‘all jihad all the time’. A week is a long time in politics though. Speaking of media figures; Tucker Carlson’s interview with a Mullah might not have been a good idea. Relevant phone number hacked, and bomb sent. Join the dots.
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:43pm
- virtualmark
  
  Iran is still shipping its own oil out. And the US Navy isn’t blockading that (surprisingly).
  
  Iran is also allowing non-US non-Israeli tankers to transit the Straits of Hormuz providing they (a) pass between Qeshm and Larak Islands, allowing for visual inspection of the ship and (b) pay a “toll” aka ransom.
  
  So it looks like Iran is still getting income – indeed higher income than a month ago.
  
  US/Israel and Iran have very different definitions of “winning” this conflict. For Iran it’s just to survive and to cause ongoing political pain. That seems more achievable than the US/Israel goal of regime change.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:02am
  - kowtow
    
    ‘(b) pay a “toll” aka ransom.’
    
    That’s literally piracy .
    
    There was a time, not that long ago that London would and could have dealt with that .
    
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    March 18, 2026 9:46am
  - kowtow
    
    ‘And the US Navy isn’t blockading that (surprisingly).’
    
    It’s not surprising at all . This is also an economic war and allowing gas /oil out to the Asian markets makes a lot of sense . In order to try and keep int’l markets calm , as they like many others are wont to panic and that serves the evil Mullah regime.
    
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    March 18, 2026 10:30am
- kowtow
  
  AJ is Qatar . Currently under attack by those very missiles .
  No surprise at all. It’s always been a propaganda outlet .
  Talking of proxies , also been more than happy to support Iranian proxy Hamas against innocent Israelis .
  
  As the famous military strategist Cpl Jones would say ” They don’t like it up ’em”.
  
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  March 18, 2026 9:07am
  - David Garrett
    
    Kowtow: I am not sure Jack Jones the butcher ever made full corporal…I believe he was a lance corporal only. Although “Captain” Mainwaring had never actually served, so ranks in the Walmington-on-sea platoon of the Home Guard were somewhat fluid.
    
    Side note: At one point it was revealed that “Sgt. Wilson” had been a Captain in “the last lot”, as it was called at the time. I once met John le Measurier, at Victoria station in London. Lovely man.
    
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    March 18, 2026 11:24am
    - kowtow
      
      You are of course quite right.
      
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      March 18, 2026 11:55am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Private Godfrey, the pacifist, was an actual war hero.
      He was awarded the Military Medal in WW1.
      
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      March 18, 2026 12:13pm
- Master Mariner
  
  “Blockading the SoH hurts Iran more than anyone else- except perhaps China.”
  No it does’nt. Do you not realise Iran has exported more oil in past year than previous Years Because they allow there Tankers to transit, Along with Indian State Owned Tankers / Gas Carriers.
  The ball in totally in the Iranians court and I can see absolutely no quick solution to reopen it any time soon.
  
  10 3
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  March 18, 2026 9:17am
  - kowtow
    
    “Hurting Iran”
    
    The mullahs IRGC Basij don’t care how much hurt is caused to Iran , as long as they stay in power and can contine to cause hurt to all the people of Iran ( and the whole region , including as far as the British bases in Cyprus)
    
    Amazing how the ayatollah apologists just don’t get that.
    
    6 2
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    March 18, 2026 9:49am
    - Drone
      
      Neither do BiBi or Don care about how much hurt the Iranian people suffer.
      
      0 0
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      March 18, 2026 10:33pm
  - Taieri
    
    Blockading the SoH hurts Iran more than anyone else
    ————-
    
    Not sure about that.
    On my own personal score:
    
    Filled my diesel car with fuel 13 days ago @ $1.5 per litre.
    If I was to fill it today it would cost me about twice as much at the same bowser.
    
    My own experience my not be relevant to anyone but myself, and I can walk or take a bus if I have to instead of driving.
    But just about all commercial transport will face the same problem. This of course is going to translate into grossly inflated costs for the operators with corresponding increase in prices of virtually everything. Provided that diesel is still available in the required volumes of course…
    
    7 1
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    March 18, 2026 10:28am
  - David Garrett
    
    MM: I hope I am wrong, but I believe Trump has dragged the US and – by way of collateral damage – the rest of the world into a tar baby situation that could end up being worse than Iraq.
    
    6 6
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    March 18, 2026 11:26am
    - Master Mariner
      
      I think this is the “mother” of all miscalculations.
      Its the “Why” I struggle with and trying to make logic out of ?
      Any emotion aside, I am not in the Nuclear Bomb anytime soon, Mullahs murdering there own people camp ( which I do not discount).
      
      4 2
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      March 18, 2026 11:44am
      - Taieri
        
        Its the “Why” I struggle with
        ———–
        
        A whim of a deranged old man trying to leave his imprint on the History. There’s been plenty of his ilk, doing a great damage without a thought for the consequences of their decisions.
        
        5 5
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        March 18, 2026 1:13pm
- Stu2
  
  “We suffer a rise in cost- that’s all”
  
  If this dragged on for months then a 20% reduction in world oil supply could mean NZ gets very little. Our refined product comes from Singapore and South Korea, which depend on Middle East crude.
  
  The minimal number of tankers getting through are heading to India and China.
  
  The concern once the tankers coming here already are exhausted is whether our emergency stocks which are housed offshore will actually get to us.
  
  5 1
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  March 18, 2026 9:28am
- Paulus
  
  Only to take Oil to China and India are being let through currently.
  
  2 0
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  March 18, 2026 2:42pm
BeaB

Does RNZ think Hipkins benefits from the cosy chat dear old Aunty Ingrid had with him this morning. He was allowed to keep repeating his PR-formulated lines, to label his former wife as a liar (not overtly of course) and to keep wheeling his kids out. No questions about how this reflects on his character and suitability for public office. No questions about why, if he values privacy so much, he is in a women’s magazine with his new partner. No questions about why he thinks his former wife would tell these ‘lies’ at this stage. No attempt to make him react to each accusation. All of which, if true, are damning.
It almost seems the media are colluding , their approach is almost identical, even down to the same wording.
Remember how they hounded Luxon over leadership rumours they themselves had concocted? Here is a real issue that we deserve to have clarified for us by Hipkins without lawyers and PR. Once again, our media fail us because of their political bias.
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March 18, 2026 8:53am
Simon

Thanks for the input into my staff free business idea from S Korea. Shop which sells stuff you scan and pay at terminal. No cashiers.

Thing is it works in S Korea because they are not special people just normal people who can go into a shop and purchase items honestly.

Can’t operate this business in NZ as much of NZ is a dishonest abnormal third world country.

It’s third world in a lot of NZ. This is just another red light flashing
12 11
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March 18, 2026 9:22am
- Ghost
  
  You are welcome to go back to your home country since you obviously don’t like it here, no one is making you stay here. Plenty of supermarkets have self service.
  
  8 12
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  March 18, 2026 9:31am
  - RichardF
    
    Not really, Ghost. The self service checkouts need to be permanently staffed because the system is unreliable. The assistant has to approve many purchases, like bakery items and alcohol. Or it doesnt like the weight of the steak. They recently installed cameras because peolle are stealing by putting expensive items through as onions. I reckon 80% of the time I use self service, I need a human to approve it.
    
    8 1
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    March 18, 2026 11:29am
    - Ghost
      
      At the woolworths I go to, staff only come over if someone needs help. In all the time I’ve been using it, never needed any help, scan, pay, and go
      
      4 1
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      March 18, 2026 12:10pm
      - Taieri
        
        staff only come over if someone needs help
        ————-
        
        The one I occasionally shop at has a person on stand by at self service checkouts all the time. And she’s very helpful.
        
        5 0
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        March 18, 2026 1:10pm
      - rouppe
        
        At the PaknSave I go to, an assistant has to come to the self serve terminals to approve at least half the fruits and vegetables that I buy.
        
        0 0
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        March 18, 2026 7:20pm
- Gravelroad
  
  Do you actually go to a supermarket in New Zealand, Simon?
  All the larger supermarkets in the smallish town here have areas where customers can scan and pack their purchases themselves and pay accordingly.
  There are staff on hand in case there is a stuff up with the scanning, otherwise I can go to the supermarket and not have any interaction with a staff member at all.
  And I expect in South Korea there will be staff upstairs monitoring all terminals to make sure every customer pays for their purchases – same as here.
  Perhaps you should get out more?
  
  16 0
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  March 18, 2026 9:43am
  - slijmbal
    
    @Gravel
    
    the staff member is also there to deter shrinkage as the euphemism goes. Not that they do a particularly good job of it as they’re usually too busy. They probably do have some effect on shrinkage.
    
    4 0
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    March 18, 2026 12:10pm
  - sungsamning
    
    There aren’t. In Korean convenience stores, the family live at the back. There was nobody at the back in this one. There is virtually no crime by Western standards.
    
    7 0
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    March 18, 2026 12:50pm
- Jethrod
  
  I think that will collapse your support for the list seat !
  
  3 0
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  March 18, 2026 10:25am
- sungsamning
  
  There was one in Jeonju in 2012. It was a 7/11. It took me a couple of trips to figure out it was unmanned.
  
  4 1
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  March 18, 2026 12:48pm
- NothingLeft
  
  Another couple of years and robots + AI vision systems will be able to replace checkout operators entirely. More people on dole.
  
  As robots usher in cheaper and cheaper delivery services I think it’s likely it will disrupt whole natural local-monopolies of supermarkets. Remove their part and gate-keeping status in the groceries supply chain, to be replaced by something more akin to Amazon.
  
  2 0
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  March 18, 2026 4:35pm
  - Simon Arnold
    
    Yes, I think this is more to the point. The bulk of our supermarket shopping is click and collect, easily automated by robots. We do the fresh stuff ourselves (and the stuff that isn’t included in click and collect), and we collect being semi-rural, but delivery options are no doubt available.
    
    Two edged sword for the supermarket because they lose the in-store purchase decision influence, but it’s happening and cuts a whole layer of costs out. So that will happen.
    
    The future lies in being a butcher, baker (or green grocer).
    
    Less so candle makers, but who knows in these troubled times.
    
    5 0
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    March 18, 2026 6:58pm
cas

I got a book out of the library yesterday called How to Rebuild Trust in Journalism by Tim Watkin. In light of all the media lies and coverups in recent days, I thought it might be interesting. Then I read the acknowledgements in which he thanks his bosses at RNZ.

So probably a quick return to the library. I should have known as it was published by Bridget Williams Books – short books on big subjects for Aotearoa New Zealand.
7 0
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March 18, 2026 9:37am
peterwn

A construction company has gone into liquidation and the ‘liquidator’ is transferring assets in an ‘orderly’ manner to a new company with the same director. Trade creditors will be paid because of guarantees. However IRD and ACC are the only creditors who will lose out.
Hope that IRD are on the warpath over this. Someone should be held personally liable for the debts and should be going to jail.
14 1
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March 18, 2026 9:55am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  “Hope that IRD are on the warpath over this”
  Nope.
  
  As I raised yesterday, IRD has all the teeth and laws they need to prosecute people failing to pay PAYE/GST within some period (92 days IIRC – which IMHO is far too long).
  
  Yet they never do.
  
  They recently warned what the law is, but unless they actually follow through with prosecutions nobody will take them seriously.
  
  Currently the IRD is owed over $2 billion (yes, Billion, not million) in overdue PAYE.
  
  13 0
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  March 18, 2026 10:14am
cmm (semi-retired edition)

My overactive imagination still backs the Sepuloni-is-shanking-Hipkins theory.

The big Cindy-win of 2017 was basically a huge appeal to female voters and I suspect they’re trying that again.

Hipkins is not really up to it, Sepuloni wants her time in the sun, so here is how you play it:

Set Hipkins up to be caught out as a liar by:
* Getting him to make emphatic statements about never cheating on his ex-wife and screwing his staff.
* Expose that he was.

Now Hipkins is compromised and Sepuloni steps up.

Big song and dance about “all men are bastards”. “vote for a woman because you can trust her”, and every woman who has had a relationship go sideways (ie. 99.9% of women) get an extra push to vote Sepuloni.

Remember folks… cmm was the one to predict Cindy was pregnant before the MSM did.
17 3
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March 18, 2026 9:58am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Na….
  
  Carmel hasn’t got the organisational skills to carry out this subterfuge….plus she’s lazy.
  
  32 0
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  March 18, 2026 10:07am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Oh, I am certain she couldn’t mastermind tea and scones herself, but her handlers could.
    
    18 1
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    March 18, 2026 10:09am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Well, she’s a fine-looking woman and always looks fabulous on TV.
      
      7 5
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      March 18, 2026 10:19am
      - NothingLeft
        
        Definitely the most important attributes for a left wing poli. Competence and hard work are ever so white supremacist and misogynistic.
        
        7 1
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        March 18, 2026 11:39am
    - Paulus
      
      There is not much of a close relationship in Labour between the Parliamentary Wing and the Labour Party real Hierarchy, including the Unions of course,
      Apparently tense currently I am led to believe.
      
      4 0
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      March 18, 2026 2:47pm
  - Blog-aholic
    
    Those two qualitys go hand in hand with IQ.
    
    4 0
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    March 18, 2026 10:31am
- zulumonster
  
  I don’t agree with your theory although it’s possible you are correct.
  What intrigues me about it is that would open the door for Winston to walk through and cosy up with Labour again after the election … frightening!
  
  13 0
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  March 18, 2026 11:13am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Winston will always do what is best for Winston.
    
    The best outcome for Winston is Labour and National running head to head. That maximises his leverage in his “Kingmaker” position.
    
    7 0
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    March 18, 2026 1:08pm
- David Garrett
  
  cmm: Remember folks… cmm was the one to predict Cindy was pregnant before the MSM did.
  
  Jesus mate, you didn’t did you??
  
  6 0
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  March 18, 2026 12:30pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    DG: I certainly didn’t and wouldn’t do the dirty if that was what you meant. She’s certainly not my type.
    
    In fact she’s 100% the opposite of my type and I’d need a lollypop stick and some tape to get the old-fella up.
    
    No, when she was seen in public without her ring people were predicting that there was some fall out with the fisherman. I predicted she was up the duff. Pregnancy sometimes causes women to get allergies to metals.
    
    11 1
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    March 18, 2026 1:13pm
  - Jethrod
    
    He was possibly there for the conception!
    
    6 0
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    March 18, 2026 2:09pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      Mind bleach required.
      
      6 0
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      March 18, 2026 2:40pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

So…. why is National allowing the Medical Council Maorification to happen?

One might say that the Medical Council is a professional organisation that is nothing to do with politics, but that would be incorrect.

The only way the Medical Council (and other professional bodies) get their teeth is through acts of parliament. If it was not for a nod from parliament, the registration of doctors could be run by others that are more competent.

In other words, we can only conclude that National is onboard with the Medical Council.
24 1
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March 18, 2026 10:08am
- imalwaysright
  
  One of the first things the settlers agreed upon was that NZ must be a secularly governed country.
  The general idea was that religious differences would make no difference to a persons rights and obligations.
  
  It worked very well until the cult of Maorification became State sanctioned.
  
  15 1
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  March 18, 2026 10:25am
- Ghost
  
  Government are working on the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Amendment Bill. I read yesterday it will take some of the powers away from the council
  
  6 0
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  March 18, 2026 11:39am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    “I read yesterday it will take some of the powers away from the council”
    
    Good, but I have some concerns with “some powers”.
    
    This smells of saying something to sound foreceful but delivering nothing – a bit like the new “3 strikes” which is, in some ways, even limper than no law at all (refer any of DG’s informative rants).
    
    They should completely strip the Medical Council of powers.
    
    6 1
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    March 18, 2026 1:18pm
    - Taieri
      
      They should completely strip the Medical Council of powers
      ———–
      
      Some sort of statutory authority would still be required to assess professional competence and to maintain the registration of doctors though.
      
      4 0
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      March 18, 2026 2:53pm
- R
  
  The present Medical Council was probably staffed by the Hipkins years, and for a 5(?) Year term. Same overlapping governments tactic that used for the last PIJF tranche was.
  
  8 1
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  March 18, 2026 12:26pm
Jack5

The cycling boom continues in Christchurch.

The council is telling citizens of the “NorWest Arc cycleway,” and the “Wheels to Wings Cycleway.”

The Greens want to bike to the airport.

Maybe they’ll fly from there in gliders.
12 0
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March 18, 2026 10:38am
- Taieri
  
  The Greens want to bike to the airport.
  ———
  
  There’s been a bike repair/assembly station in front of the CHC terminal for many years. I’ve never seen anyone using it though.
  
  7 0
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  March 18, 2026 1:07pm
- graham
  
  I guess a cyclist could just about manage to cart their 7kg carry-on bag in the bike panniers – maybe – but towing a 23kg suitcase behind their bike would be a sight to behold …
  
  5 0
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  March 18, 2026 1:08pm
- MCōs
  
  I went to boarding school in Christchurch in the sixties
  Back in those days there were a lot of cyclists on the streets. The city is ideal. Flat, for the most part and not a lot of rain.
  Wellington, where I went next, was the complete opposite
  
  7 0
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  March 18, 2026 3:55pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

I wonder how well the victim card thing is really working for Hipkins?

Sure, it might earn him some sympathy, but when the world is apparently going to hell in a handcart do you really want a cry-baby running the show?

How’s he going to do with a tough trade deal? Shout “not fair” and run out of the room balling his eyes out?

Naah, the boy’s a dead man walking. Especially if they pin more sleaze on him.
32 1
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March 18, 2026 10:42am
- mogg
  
  Nobody wants to see either a PM or prospective PM blubbing on TV.
  
  6 0
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  March 18, 2026 4:08pm
Boy Geoff

Lots of lefty social media warriors now coming out and moralizing with leave the families of MPs – both left and right – alone messages.

Somehow, I think they’ve twigged as to just how damaging all of this could be – for ‘their’ side…
29 1
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March 18, 2026 10:45am
- kowtow
  
  Where were they when the media conspired with Labour to shaft Uffindell over a schoolboy incident .
  
  Low life hypocrital scum.
  
  26 2
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  March 18, 2026 11:58am
- David Garrett
  
  Boy: When the media were camped outside my house in 2010 – which continued after I had resigned as an MP – my main worry was that one of the jackals would try and speak to one of my kids when my wife walked them up to the school bus.
  
  Had they been unwise enough to do so, I have no doubt that Saane would have dropped one of them. Then the headline would have been Disgraced MP’s wife puts journalist in hospital.
  
  19 0
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  March 18, 2026 12:36pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Now that’s a headline that would be worth framing.
    
    11 0
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    March 18, 2026 2:53pm
TripeWryter

I am writing this at 11am.
It has been fascinating listening to the gaslighting of Jade Paul and the minimising of what she had to say against her former husband.
The poor children. Yes, the poor children.
They’re the ones being used as shields to hide behind.
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March 18, 2026 11:03am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  The “poor children” may now have to cope with playground bullies/ school teachers calling their mum a liar.
  
  21 1
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  March 18, 2026 11:42am
  - Gravelroad
    
    Isn’t Mrs Hipkins senior something very high up and influential in the educational world?
    Maybe she could step in and stop any alleged bullying of her grandchildren by teachers?
    Lol.
    
    13 1
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    March 18, 2026 12:44pm
    - kowtow
      
      The ‘senior” left wing wimmin , the matriarchs of the current front people of Labour are the very ones who degraded traditional education and values that have turned schools and playgrounds into even more toxic environments than they ever were.
      
      Wreckers .
      
      But of course that’s ok till “cum t’revolution , comrades all will be utopian’.
      
      16 2
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      March 18, 2026 1:15pm
- Libertarians are right
  
  Why would Hipkins consider resigning if she was lying?
  
  16 1
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  March 18, 2026 1:08pm
Hugh Jarse

Tears can be caused by a lot of circumstances, rage, grief, sadness, pain, exposure, embarrassment. They can be used as an outlet of emotion, show of empathy, show of contrition, a diversion. Up to everybody to decide for themselves what Hipkins tears were for.
8 0
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March 18, 2026 11:30am
MCōs

Good news for National
Talbots Mills has them polling at 32%. Panic over.
6 2
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March 18, 2026 12:59pm
- kowtow
  
  Panic?
  
  It wasn’t panic , it was a deliberate , orchestrated media campaign.
  
  21 2
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  March 18, 2026 1:12pm
Ghost

Guess that’s another threat to the oil taken out.

Article

The US military says it has fired multiple 5000-pound (2270kg) deep penetrator bombs on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,” US Central Command said.
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March 18, 2026 1:29pm
- kowtow
  
  My crystal ball tells me that in some time very soon the people of the cities will rise up , again. There’ll be very nasty civil war , the army will side with the people .
  
  A new relatively less authoritarian regime will emerge .
  
  8 2
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  March 18, 2026 1:45pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    I doubt it. The authoritarians have all the guns and are religious nutjobs not troubled at thought of murdering the masses.
    
    Need to feed small arms and/or FPV drone in large quantities to opposition if they want to get rid of Iranian regime. They have the numbers but need more than rocks to carry the day.
    
    Cheap FPV drones make this an unwinnable quagmire unless the Iranian regime is deposed. Hormuz, and really anywhere that ends up in sights of militants can no longer be defended without squashing states and supply chains that support them. US bases in middle east have or will soon become easy targets – just as we are seeing in Ukraine.
    
    Effective drone defense does not yet exist. All you can do is hide underground.
    
    4 0
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    March 18, 2026 2:59pm
    - mogg
      
      Low flying or seaborne drones have the advantage because conventional radar can’t pick them up, but radar in an aircraft sees everything. There are now drone killing weapons which can deal with a dozens of drone attacks simultaneously. They also cost a fraction of the shaheed drone value.
      
      5 1
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      March 18, 2026 4:27pm
      - NothingLeft
        
        laser anti-drone defenses will likely work, but are not yet in the field in useful numbers.
        
        Anti Shaheed type drones like the Ukrainian Pi-Sun cost probably ~$2k, but have very patchy success rates. Ukraine still sees about 10% of Shaheeds missed, using something like 2-4 per drone taken out. The missed drones do a lot of damage. Chinese are now making and selling Shaheed clones internationally.
        
        But real danger is from thousands of $1k 30km range FPV drones. Too numerous and small to intercept, but lethal and able to dole out damage many thousands of times more costly than the drones themselves. They could do a lot of damage to ships, ports, refineries and infrastructure. Iran aligned guerillas have started attacking US bases with them already.
        
        It will also be dead easy to use fiber optic guidance of small quiet electric torpedos out to potentially 100’s of km at low cost. That will be a future nightmare for shipping. Practically impossible to defend against.
        
        Iranian regime has to be taken down to avert this.
        
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        March 18, 2026 6:16pm
    - Charlotte Wells
      
      No, the authoritys don’t have all the guns. The Iranian army which is practically every male citizen has guns.
      
      I am thinking along the same lines as Kowtow. My thought is that when enough damage has been done to the IRG there will be another uprising. The army will swap sides and the regime change will happen.
      
      If Mossad has that many spies in Iran I can see that there is a core of agitators waiting in the wings for the signal that the hour is nigh.
      
      1 0
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      March 18, 2026 7:37pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360952721/almost-12-million-invested-desexing-dogs-auckland-and-northland
When they have done all the dogs they can start on some of the owners…..
18 1
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March 18, 2026 2:12pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Don’t muck around, just put the dogs down.
  
  If the owners complain, give ‘em a greyhound.
  
  1 0
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  March 18, 2026 8:20pm
Jethrod

Karl du Fresne has written a very good piece on the current political situation with Chippie.

https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2026/03/karl-du-fresne-masterclass-in-damage.html

Also Michael Laws has done the same, and it is actively available on YouTube….. there it was when I opened the ap
10 2
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March 18, 2026 2:14pm
Jethrod

Michael Laws , Hipkins talk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cII9bT7Wj-8&si=nneqOsTs-CMpYVij
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March 18, 2026 2:23pm

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Kiwi FireWalker

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