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April 7, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 07 April 2026

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NeverMindTheBollocks

Winston Peters has announced that he will be introducing legislation to close down the rugby industry, with all club and union assets being turned over to NZ Soccer.

“Rugby is a dangerous sport”, he thundered. “We’ve known this for a long time. They’ve been told time and again to get their house in order, but they haven’t, so NZ First is going to do it for them”.

No compensation will be paid to professional players, coaches or management.

Outrageous, right? Just substitute greyhound racing and horse racing, and that’s what’s happening.

More disturbing is that if it can happen to the doggies then it can happen to any industry, anywhere.
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April 7, 2026 8:00am
- Burtland
  
  Winston sacrificed the dog industry for his friends in the horse racing fraternity – with the excuse of animal welfare. All the dog gambling will now shift to the horses.
  
  Horse racing now has the target on its back.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:11am
  - peterwn
    
    And it seems that the foreign owned TAB can still offer bets on overseas doggie races.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:04am
  - pdm
    
    Winston looking after his big thoroughbred racing industry Donors.
    
    Closing down Greyhound racing is not a good for any New Zealanders who value their rights to pursue their own sports and interests. Especially those that dare to build up assets in doing so as they Greyhound Racing Industry has.
    
    In summary it is – Winston looking after Winston.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:41am
    - David Garrett
      
      pdm: Or more accurately, Winston looking after Winston’s mates..and his major donors.
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:30am
      - pdm
        
        The circle always returns to Winston though.
        
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        April 7, 2026 12:15pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Funds from the greyhound racing industry including infrastructure must be disbanded, betting will ramp up in horse racing, stake money paid by the racing nz will go to horse racing, tab sponsorship and share of stakes must go to horse racing, no this is huge for mainly thoroughbred racing.
      
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      April 7, 2026 2:30pm
- MCōs
  
  You mean New Zealand Football. There’s no such thing as NZ Soccer.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:14am
  - kowtow
    
    It’s all “football” , be it rugby union , rugby league or in this instance association football.
    
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    April 7, 2026 9:22am
  - In Vino Veritas
    
    Maybe not MCos, but in my lifetime, in NZ, rugby has always been described as “footy” or “football” and Association Football as “soccer”. It was “assoccer” for a while.
    The etymology of soccer is the shortening of “Association” and adding of “er” and was common slang in England in the late 1800’s.
    As an aside, soccer is still used in the USA, Ireland and Australia among others.
    
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    April 7, 2026 9:47am
  - peterwn
    
    Soccer is short for ‘Association Football’ which is the football most commonly played in the UK.
    There would be plenty of Brits unaware that there is a rugby stadium at Twickenham.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:08am
  - Flossie
    
    I do believe it’s soccer in the USA.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:25am
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Was it somebody from the Greyhound Racing Association was it some great philosopher in the past who said;
  “The government that is big enough to give you everything you want will be big enough to take away everything you have got.”
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:45am
  - R
    
    That sounds like a potential future LABOUR, GREEN, TPM government.
    Possibly coming to you soon, unless people start thinking about the future for they, and their families.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:36am
    - pdm
      
      Well it was The Greens that started the demise of Greyhound Racing Industry.
      
      Winston only applied the final `kick in the guts’.
      
      Probably because the Greens did not know how to do the legislation bit.
      
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      April 7, 2026 10:45am
      - R
        
        So Winston has a hankering to support the inept GREENS. Warning flags here!
        
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        April 7, 2026 11:57am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        No it was not, it was Labour who gave the Greyhound racing 2 ultimatums to tidy their safety act up, it was Robertson that gave them their final warning. Greens may have down their hand ringing, but they are doing it about horse racing as well
        
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        April 7, 2026 2:34pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Funny that, because the final warning to greyhound racing was delivered by sports minister Grant Robertson
      
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      April 7, 2026 2:31pm
  - Quail
    
    T N,
    A US President made that comment, Gerald Ford 1974
    And they should know!
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:42am
- imalwaysright
  
  Winston doing this shows there is a little Ardern in every MP…
  
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  April 7, 2026 11:02am
- Ra Henare
  
  Bit late for this April Fools attempt there Nevermind. 🙂
  But you suckered a lot of commenters who seem to lack any rational thinking.
  
  Brilliant troll tho.
  
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  April 7, 2026 1:22pm
artemisia

Not sure Green MP Francisco Hernandez is reading the room. He says it is “hugely concerning” that graduate places in some government departments have plummeted so grads will head across the ditch.

More specifically most of the reduction is said by Vic Uni Students’ Association President Aidan Donoghue to be for humanities and law grads. The Public Service Commission publishes a list of grad programmes and short internships, and from a quick look they are mostly offering specialist and technical roles.

That is an indication that even if public service numbers are not reducing fast enough for some there is more focus on specific and technical quals. And humanities grads not so much.

Humanities subjects broadly explore the human experience, focusing on communication, creativity, and cultural understanding. Sounds like a move in the right direction for taxpayers, but I can see why Mr Hernandez is so worried. But maybe those unemployed humanities grads will find work in Australia.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/public-sector-graduate-jobs-down-66-as-green-mp-warns-of-exodus-to-australia/
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April 7, 2026 8:06am
- Boy Geoff
  
  Definitely in Australia – especially now that Victoria has signed a Treaty with its indigenous people…
  
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  April 7, 2026 8:09am
- rouppe
  
  The Greens are concerned because it changes the source of indoctrinated grads needed to turn this country into a Marxist utopia.
  
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  April 7, 2026 8:43am
- R
  
  Perhaps this change within the Public Service, highlights the beginning of an emphasis in Universities on graduates with employable STEM qualifications; not the ‘feelz’ basket weaving output of the last 30 years.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:02am
- PeterTrentham
  
  You can learn humanities in your spare time.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:07am
  - Don Beckett
    
    ……at the University of Life – the world’s greatest teaching institution.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:27am
    - R
      
      U.O.L best place to LEARN anything! Other options include a lot of ideological misinformaton
      
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      April 7, 2026 10:37am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Might be time for recent Arts & Humanities graduates to retrain…
  
  Chinese Universities are closing down many of their Arts and Humanities courses, as AI takes over their fields.
  
  https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1018302
  
  https://asianews.network/chinese-foreign-language-majors-face-uncertain-future-as-ai-replaces-basic-skills/
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:22am
  - Wandering Star
    
    “Arts and Humanities” is such a broad category that it is basically meaningless to speak of the category in such sweeping terms. Those articles you link to talk of “photography, comics, visual communication design, new media art, and fashion design” as programs cut from the broad “arts and humanities” category.
    
    Moreover, STEM subjects are, at bottom, about quantities and “left brain” activities, and manipulating quantities and performing rigid logical calculations is exactly the forte of AI.
    
    You don’t need some guy to design a bridge when AI knows more about physics and mechanics than any STEM graduate could ever know.
    
    Accordingly the article speaks of science and engineering programs being cut along with various humanities subjects.
    
    “The university also closed three humanities majors, including translation, as well as six economics and management majors and two science and engineering programs. “
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:40am
    - Quail
      
      WS,
      “You don’t need some guy to design a bridge when AI knows more than etc etc”
      Don’t agree , AI often gets things wrong, and how can anyone hold AI accountable?
      Decisions made by machine are only as good as the inputs,
      Trust in AI is very dangerous!
      
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      April 7, 2026 4:55pm
- Paulus
  
  In Tauranga a few top lawyers are collectively canvasing openly for more to join their booming Tauranga practices.
  But they want more, including from Overseas, with some sound experience.
  How many sudents albeit, inexperienced are passing their final each year in New Zealand but are actually of no use as they lack many things except the ability to pass a Law exams.
  A large number I understand who wail they can speak Maori, but nobody will give them a job so overseas they go. Ten years with a London Law firm will get them a job though.
  The Public Services is not taking many either now as they are overloaded.
  Why do they all want to be Greenpeace ad Evironmental Lawyers when there are no jobs ?- the Universites still encourage them though.
  
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  April 7, 2026 3:16pm
Simon

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
NZ should be part of some international alliance outside of the vile Israel/ US & Russia/ China partnerships. Disgusting war mongers.

Certainly enough in the pacific to contain the mad dogs from Israel & US while pushing back on China.
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April 7, 2026 8:21am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  What exactly do we want to push back on China for? They’re not going to invade us. Anything they want or need from us, they can get quicker, easier, cheaper and with less international political and reputational damage, by simply paying a fair price for it.
  
  Also, what does “the vile Russia/China partnership” actually consist of? I hadn’t heard that China was helping Russia against Ukraine, or that it was helping Russia to help Iran against the US/Israel aggression, but then I might have missed it
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:55am
  - NothingLeft
    
    Russian war effort would crumble in weeks if China stopped supplying them with all the equipment; electronics, engines, airframes, motors, batteries etc that their military uses to murder Ukrainains. Russia is a backwards industrial husk
    
    China’s foreign policy agenda is to do anything that will weaken US+Europe so that they can take Taiwan as soon as possible. They have no ethics or morals other than seeking power and hegemony over the world and are Han supremacists happy to genocide Uighers or Tibetans and support evil monsters like the Kim regime simply for the trouble it causes USA+Korea to forward their agenda.
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:51am
    - Romney
      
      China’s sole focus is and always has been keeping their own population under control. A quick study of their jaw-dropping civil wars will show you why. They never expand much beyond the old Qing Empire.
      
      If you want to see what a global hegemon looks like, learn what the Wolfowitz Doctrine is.
      
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      April 7, 2026 4:47pm
    - Gussy
      
      “China’s foreign policy agenda is to do anything that will weaken US+Europe…”
      
      This is evident, though there are still some here who assure us that The Middle Kingdom is quite benign, citing stats on wars not started and the non-existence of military bases. I doubt such sentiments will age well.
      
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      April 7, 2026 5:44pm
  - R
    
    ‘might have missed’…….you certainly have. About six years or more worth. Pay attention.
    As an aside I see that today, at the Security Council, CHINA is not supporting a bid to open the straits of Hormoze with military protection ships.
    
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    April 7, 2026 12:01pm
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      And quite right, because that’s a stupid, ineffective and dangerous way to do it
      
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      April 7, 2026 3:02pm
- David George
  
  The world is moving towards regional zones of common interest but it’s nothing to do with your fevered imaginings.
  
  “Trump is also using the Strait of Hormuz crisis to accelerate something the administration has sought from the beginning: a Middle East in which American allies assume primary responsibility for their own neighborhood, freeing Washington to concentrate its strategic attention on the Western Hemisphere. Burden-sharing was long treated as a European conversation about defense spending. The Strait of Hormuz has just expanded the terms of that project to the entire Eastern Hemisphere by including Gulf countries as well.”
  https://www.thefp.com/p/how-america-broke-the-iranian-regime
  
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  April 7, 2026 10:10am
RRM

Today’s the day Artemis 2 is close to the moon and taking photos of the far side.

It’s wonderful to see so much airtime for genuinely impressive people doing something amazing. It makes a welcome change from the grinding negativity and points-scoring of politics.

https://www.youtube.com/live/z-j1uxBmis0?si=mYbbZViF1mDVPgJE
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April 7, 2026 8:26am
- R
  
  The negativity and points scoring is from the MSM and their Marxist sycophants. The present coalition is doing the best that a coalition can, in the circumstances.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:04am
- imalwaysright
  
  Shows how advanced we were in the Sixties that the astronauts could bring their own car and have a round of golf…all done with the computing capability of a Camrys key fob!
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:08am
  - MCōs
    
    Back in those days I was nutting things out on a slide rule
    I don’t know how they coped with imperial units
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:06am
    - Phronesis
      
      They used decimal inches.
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:59am
      - MCōs
        
        The old decimal inches
        
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        April 7, 2026 3:32pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      ‘I don’t know how they coped with imperial units.’
      
      Sometimes it bit them on the arse:
      
      “NASA lost the $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999 due to a critical mix-up between imperial and metric units, where a contractor provided trajectory data in pound-force seconds instead of the required newton-seconds.”- Internet
      
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      April 7, 2026 1:25pm
- nova
  
  In 1968 Apollo 8 went into lunar orbit and did 10 orbits over 20 hours at 70 miles above the surface. Artemis II is doing a single flyby with a closest approach of 4000 miles. It requires a lot of spin to describe this as ground breaking. India’s lunar programme has yielded a lot more data at a fraction of the cost.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:23am
  - In Vino Veritas
    
    I think the ground breaking bit is divided in two nova. Firstly, it’s the first deep space mission since the early 70’s. Secondly, it will go further into space than any human has been before, allowing for more info on deep space astronauts.
    
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    April 7, 2026 9:51am
  - RRM
    
    Nova – I’m sure I recall one of the Apollo astronauts saying he recalls sitting on the launch pad and believing they had about a 33% chance of completing their mission, a 33% chance of failing the mission objectives but still returning home, and a 33% chance of being killed.
    
    With that in mind I figure that Artemis is a bit like making the same coast-to-coast road trip in a 2026 Volvo SUV that your granddad did in a 1969 Ford. Likely a much safer and more comfortable trip, that will allow the crew to do a lot more. And a much better safety margin. But still not risk-free.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:08am
  - Ghost
    
    This flight, this program is to test systems for future Mars flights, so no, the India missions are not comparable.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:10am
  - David Garrett
    
    Nova: Yeah, I am very curious as to why they are not going to orbit…surely with much more advanced technology they could learn more about the far/dark side of the moon than Apollo 8 did?
    
    It was revealed much later that NASA only gave 50/50 odds that they could bring the Apollo 8 astronauts back safely.
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:41am
    - Ghost
      
      Artemis 1 went into lunar orbit
      
      This is a test flight to test how the crew handles a high-radiation, deep-space flight, and to test the free-return trajectory
      
      Artemis 3 will be a low earth orbit to test the lunar landers
      
      Artemis 4 will be the first moon landing, and 5 will be the start of building a base on the moon
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:51am
      - Wandering Star
        
        The obvious question is “why?” Wasn’t all of this already done 50 or 60 years ago?
        
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        April 7, 2026 12:23pm
    - Keith White
      
      “There is no dark side of the moon. Matter of fact, it is all dark…”
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:52am
      - imalwaysright
        
        And the Moon doesn’t orbit the Earth, it orbits the Sun, so technically its not a moon. Unique in our solar system.
        
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        April 7, 2026 1:29pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        ‘And the Moon doesn’t orbit…’
        
        Its true.
        
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        April 7, 2026 3:20pm
    - RRM
      
      DG – Like with Apollo, they are walking before they run. Artemis 2 is on a free-return trajectory… I.e., even if they just go along for the ride, they will pass by the moon and return to the earth in a few days. No do-or-die engine runs to decelerate into moon orbit, accelerate out of moon orbit again to come home.
      
      Future flights will be doing more stuff like moon orbit, moon landing etc.
      
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      April 7, 2026 12:23pm
    - Tom Hunter
      
      Simple answer: the rocket on Artemis is not as big as that of the Apollo command ship; they don’t have enough power to enter or exit lunar orbit.
      
      How this can be after $30 billion and a twenty year development time frame for the Orion spacecraft is down to poor NASA management. As just one more example of this, the SLS rocket ($60 billion and 15 years) re-uses the rocket engines returned to Earth on the Space Shuttles. NASA owns them, they cost $40 million each when bought new in the late 70’s, through the 2000’s – and NASA is paying an outfit called Aerojet $460 million to refurbish them. That’s per engine!!!
      
      If you want more detail, but not as much as in technical docs, you can read my post on it here, You Are Go For The Moon!.
      
      Suffice to say that as a long-time space nerd, Artemis is pretty bloody sad, even as I’m thrilled to see this mission.
      
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      April 7, 2026 5:28pm
- Burtland
  
  Artemis is a DEI crusade – the $4B trip has determined the toilet doesnt work
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:25am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Even the toilet is full of crap…
    
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    April 7, 2026 9:42am
  - RRM
    
    Oh for goodness’ sake. This is exactly what I meant. DEI blah blah blah.
    
    Victor Glover was a navy fighter pilot and test pilot. Christina Koch has spent over a year in space. Neither of them seem like lightweight tokens. I presume they are who you meant by “DEI”?
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:04am
    - rouppe
      
      If Christina Koch has spent a year in space already, you’d think she’d know how to control her hair so it’s not poking everyone in the face
      
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      April 7, 2026 10:49am
      - RRM
        
        I’d think a lot of things. I’m still waiting for NASA to return my calls and listen to all of my ideas about how they should be doing things better! 😉
        
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        April 7, 2026 11:01am
    - NothingLeft
      
      Yeah, he seems like the real deal. Feel sorry for him that the cancer of DEI likely unfairly tarnishes his success.
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:54am
    - Keith White
      
      Well, MSM quoth:
      
      “Artemis II crew includes first woman, Black astronaut and Canadian ever flown to moon.”
      – Reuters, April 2, 2026
      
      Pretty much DEI, yes, whatever the “first woman, Black astronaut and Canadian” thought.
      
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      April 7, 2026 1:01pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        I wonder if the Canadians realise that the rest of the world consider them DEI fodder…
        
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        April 7, 2026 2:59pm
  - Ghost
    
    Actually, a very qualified and experienced crew.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:19am
  - greybeard
    
    That toilet was designed by Howard Wolowitz.
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:16am
    - Charlotte Wells
      
      Outstanding reference.
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:28am
    - Keith White
      
      …which is why I tolerate no Wolowitz crappers, just Armitage-Shanks.
      
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      April 7, 2026 1:03pm
    - Observer of Life
      
      Grey: 🤣
      
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      April 7, 2026 2:47pm
  - BananaLlama
    
    Yup, it’s a tax payer funded holiday around the moon.
    
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    April 7, 2026 1:03pm
- sungsamning
  
  Yes the Artemis thing is fantastic. The first of many more. JFK will be looking down and smiling.
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:58pm
artemisia

Record number of ‘mum and dad investors’ look to sell properties amid uncertainty Herald today. Concerns about running costs, council rates and a shortage of good tenants remain high.

I would add to that recently increased complexity in the residential sector, that was already highly regulated. Self management can easily lead to expensive wrong decisions. And even a cursory look at Tenancy Tribunal applications show many are made by the paid property managers, most including rent arrears often in the thousands.

People will say, yes but the homes are still there if sold. True but about 20% of new residential bank lending is to investors. If that starts to slide that market will be impacted. There is already an oversupply in some locations.

Build-to-Rent will pick up some of the slack, but these will be tightly managed complexes and tenants carefully selected.

Expect a big push for more taxpayer funded housing, and John Campbell roaming with his camera team talking to people not high on landlord offer lists. Because reasons.
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April 7, 2026 8:42am
- rouppe
  
  I sold my two rentals a few years ago now. Such a weight off my mind, facilitated early retirement and exploration.
  
  Currently two months into a south island roam.
  
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  April 7, 2026 8:46am
- Philview
  
  There is also the fear of a far left Government coming to power this year who are going to hammer residential investors with taxes.
  
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  April 7, 2026 8:53am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  It’s not quite right that “houses are still there if sold”. That is because rental accommodation tends to be more densely occupied. If two people currently renting with two others go off and buy a house of their own, that’s reduced supply by one but it hasn’t reduced demand at all, the remaining two still need somewhere
  
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  April 7, 2026 8:59am
  - rouppe
    
    A couple of weeks ago I was told by an old uni mate that rental property investment was so bad, and not investing “in the productive sector”.
    
    As we sat in the lounge of his Lake Taupo holiday home.
    
    I had to let that one slide as I explained that the movement of money buying shares in a “productive company” was exactly the same as the movement of money buying a rental house. Ie from one private individual to another.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:53am
    - Wandering Star
      
      Except that investing in residential property is non-productive, obviously. On the contrary, investing in a company that makes something and thus creates value is productive.
      
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      April 7, 2026 12:26pm
      - rouppe
        
        Sigh… When I acquire possession of some company shares, it means that someone else has divested themselves of possession of the same number of shares.
        
        It makes no difference to the ownership structure of the company, it’s finances, how much stuff it makes, nothing.
        
        Leaving aside that my rental was occupied by people making something… Whereas my mates two properties are by definition 50% unoccupied all the time.
        
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        April 7, 2026 6:31pm
- peterwn
  
  “People will say, yes but the homes are still there if sold.”
  Yes but the prices will drop thus undercutting the prices of new builds. So new builds would slow down.
  
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  April 7, 2026 10:13am
- Paulus
  
  I was told that when my daughter went overseas, on Government committement she paid 8% for her house to be managed for three years.
  
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  April 7, 2026 3:21pm
kowtow

Where England goes ……

Yesterday’s UK Daily Telegraph had a disturbing article about political violence in Oldham , near Manchester, given the recent appalling case of the firebombed ambulances in London , this looks like a very disturbing pattern of extremist, sectarian, political violence , literally across England’s green and pleasant land .

Here’s a link to the Oldham issues.

https://dailysceptic.org/2026/04/05/the-labour-run-council-where-disputes-are-settled-with-firebombing/
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April 7, 2026 8:46am
- Philview
  
  Sir Keir Starmer had the same problem last year with young Ukrainian male models torching his cars.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:03am
  - Inandout
    
    Phil, conveniently buried by the MSM and most alternates. Of course behind the scenes rumour is rife and one wonders what that Palestinian envoy whispered to Starmer as he stroked the PM’s arm.
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:24am
  - kowtow
    
    Talking of Ukrainians .This from the US ( Democrats)
    
    ‘The Providence, Rhode Island artist commissioned to paint a mural of slain Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska said he feels his freedom of expression has been curtailed after left-wing backlash to the project caused it to be shut down.’
    
    https://nypost.com/2026/04/04/us-news/artist-fumes-after-tribute-honoring-slain-iryna-zarutska-gets-scrubbed-amid-woke-blowback/
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:40am
RoboRob

If you are a principled centre right politician and someone asks you in an interview ‘how many Maoris in your cabinet’ (a stupid question) the obvious resonse is ‘It doesn’t matter, we dont select people based on race, sex or disability, we select the best people for the job. The ratio of minorities isn’t something we track, its a distraction from getting the job done. Somtimes there will be more sometimes there will be less’

The wrong way to answer the question is ‘We have more Maori in our government then any other’ and ‘umm James Meager is Maori’ (forgetting he isn’t in your cabinet).

If you are polically skilled and someone asks ‘TPM want to MP cancel pay rises’ you dont waffle about the independance of the remuneration commision. You say ‘We are more interested in quality people doing a good job in parliament. If TPM wanted to give tax payers better bang for their buck they might consider actually showing up to parliament and doing the job’.
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April 7, 2026 8:58am
- R
  
  When speaking with media journalists(?), one has to try and respond at a level befitting the cognitive skills of the interview. Contextual comprehension is not that great in our MSM.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:09am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Or the interviewer should be at the intellectual level of the interviewee?
    
    Why should standards drop to accommodate the lowest common denominator?
    
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    April 7, 2026 9:45am
    - R
      
      ‘standards drop to accomodate’……..that I.A.R seems to be the NZ WAY, post DEI.
      
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      April 7, 2026 12:07pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Yep, even mediocrity is now seen as showing off.
        
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        April 7, 2026 1:33pm
  - rouppe
    
    Because politicians allow it
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:02am
- MCōs
  
  So if the most able people were to rise to the top of the current administration why don’t they?
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:33am
- In Vino Veritas
  
  Better bang for their buck Robo? There’s probably a decent argument that they are giving maximum bang for buck by staying away from Parliament. For instance, the combined average IQ of those in Parliament goes up quite a bit when no TPM ministers are attending.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:58am
  - R
    
    No TPM or greens would see a big improvement.
    
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    April 7, 2026 12:08pm
- newview
  
  Another hit job on Luxon by Tova. He’s no politician in that sense but anyone with a brain could see she was going for the gotcha. Half the country will thinks she’s great the other half seeing her for what she is. An ambitious self fulfilling sensationalist whose questions weren’t about politics so much but more about Tova and her agenda.
  
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  April 7, 2026 10:20am
  - RoboRob
    
    Oh yes, totally a gotcha interview, which should have been expected from Tova and TVNZ. But Tova isn’t actually all that good, as I showed above it is easy to turn her gotcha question into a vote winning answer. It also makes her look rather stupid too.
    
    Winston would have thrown in a ‘Thats a really stupid question, we have a war in the middle east and you are focused on petty politics around representation in parliament’. When journalists become scared of looking stupid they start to avoid asking gotcha questions. Winston gets a fairly easy go in interviews and it’s not becuase the ‘journalists’ like him 🙂
    
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    April 7, 2026 10:41am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Maybe this is why TVNZ won’t release the report into their bias.
      
      Imagine Tova reading it on the 7am news and then interviewing Luxon….
      
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      April 7, 2026 11:12am
    - R
      
      Tova does seem to have ‘matured’ a bit since motherhood, she needs to stay home with baby and let the maturing process finish. About 25 years.
      
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      April 7, 2026 12:11pm
      - MCōs
        
        I watched the other morning and saw her conduct a couple of pretty good interviews, but for me the programme is too lightweight to be compelling viewing.
        
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        April 7, 2026 3:54pm
    - Scooter
      
      It seems he was caught off guard and had a brain fart. I would have thought the Breakfast show would provide him with a list of the questions in advance so at least he can get the numbers. Or is he deciding to wing it? He really needs to get smart especially with her because she is not going to give him an easy ride. It’s only going to get worse for him if he keeps wanting to be friends with the mainly female (Cindy fans) journos.
      
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      April 7, 2026 6:14pm
  - PurplePen
    
    Don’t even tune in so I don’t see her either way.
    
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    April 7, 2026 3:49pm
- Paulus
  
  The poverty striken mass voters could not really care less, all they want is money to be paid by Government exponentially as Ardern gave them.
  Sod the rest.
  
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  April 7, 2026 3:29pm
  - MCōs
    
    That’s a bit brutal
    There’s going to be people at bottom end of our society who are going to be hit hard by skyrocketing diesel prices one way or another over the coming period and thus far the government is sitting on their hands, offering no hope.
    Even worse if the fuel dries up . . . . .
    
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    April 7, 2026 5:43pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      An uptick. Wow! KBers an empathetic lot 🙂
      
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      April 7, 2026 6:08pm
Yvette

When the rubbish hits the road –
The hopeful …
As New Zealand’s Foreign Minister (2020–2023), Nanaia Mahuta pioneered a “Māori foreign policy” by integrating Te Ao Māori principles—manaakitanga (hospitality), whanaungatanga (connectedness), and indigenous values—into diplomacy. This approach focused on relationality, particularly strengthening ties in the Pacific and with China, offering a unique, indigenous perspective in international relations.

International Recognition: As the first Māori woman in the role, she was recognized for representing a new generation of indigenous leadership in foreign affairs, often drawing media attention for her moko kauae.
– Google AI

… the reality :
On Easter weekend, he wrote online that “all Hell will reign down” on the Iranians unless they met a deadline of Monday to make concessions or open up the Strait of Hormuz to ship traffic, adding, “Glory be to GOD!”
The president was emphatic about the targets in a follow-up post: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH. Praise be to Allah.” – NYT but also many other sources.
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April 7, 2026 9:08am
- pdm
  
  We should never forget that she was the first ever Foreign Minister to reluctantly leave the Country. To the extent IIRC she only did two or three overseas excursions during her time in the Foreign Minister hot seat.
  
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  April 7, 2026 10:59am
  - imalwaysright
    
    An Indian Trade Delegation came here to see her.
    
    Two of them were interviewed at Oriental Bay trying hard to suppress their disbelief that Nania had offered them a 30 minute audience !
    
    I don’t think she took the job seriously.
    
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    April 7, 2026 1:39pm
- rouppe
  
  I’ve not heard s single person point out that hell should rain down, not reign down.
  
  He might rein in his rhetoric, but he’ll never reign anything because he’s not a king despite the Left’s screaming that he is
  
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  April 7, 2026 11:06am
  - MCōs
    
    America hasn’t had a king since independence because they are a republic, but the current president is tending towards acting like an absolute monarch.
    Julius Caesar met an untimely death for that reason
    
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    April 7, 2026 4:32pm
- Ra Henare
  
  haha. Trump is loosing it.
  
  Guess he hasnt had too many people/countries calling out his bullying.
  
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  April 7, 2026 1:50pm
- david
  
  Yvette – did he really say “reign down”.
  
  Perhaps “rain down” might have been what he meant to say.
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:18pm
kowtow

Wasn’t it nice , the Easter break , with so many “journalists” on the long break , we weren’t treated to their breathless , panicky hype over fuel supplies , closed petrol stations and general doom and gloom .

But they’re back now , sowing hysteria and anxiety.
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April 7, 2026 9:16am
- pdm
  
  Good to see Wendy Petrie doing TVNZ 6pm news. She is miles better than the incumbents.
  
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  April 7, 2026 11:00am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Yes, she is.
    Getting fed up with the other woman’s poor diction and nasal drone and her almost daily interviews of the depressing Barbara Dreaver.
    
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    April 7, 2026 11:17am
- Wandering Star
  
  Have you ever considered simply not reading, watching or listening to them?
  
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  April 7, 2026 11:13am
  - MCōs
    
    I usually watch the 6pm news, but I couldn’t tell you who the presenters are. They just sit there and read what’s put in front of them in a professional manner and over the last few days introduce whatever filler pieces the station has prerecorded to stretch out to the weather
    
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    April 7, 2026 4:45pm
TripeWryter

I don’t have a dog in the fight – sorry for the cliche – but I have been thinking about the story of the Koreans in Auckland proposing a memorial at Barry’s Point to Korean girls and women used in prostitution by the Imperial Japanese Army.
The Japanese Embassy opposes.
Perhaps the Koreans need to explain to New Zealanders why such a memorial – in New Zealand – is so important and necessary.
Because at the moment I’m leaning towards Japan.
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April 7, 2026 9:24am
- imalwaysright
  
  They should put their memorial in Japan.
  We didn’t do it so why would we need the reminder.
  
  Its a sad and tragic thing that happened to the women, but we have our own problems.
  
  Maybe we should erect memorials to the Kahui children, Nia Glassie, Baby Ru etc.
  Perhaps we could use the Rainbow funding or the cycle lane money to set up memorial parks in each town where the children were tortured and murdered?
  Then their murderers who walk the streets can be reminded of their evil.
  
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  April 7, 2026 9:57am
- kowtow
  
  The Japanese imperial project , aka the Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere , was an appallingly brutal affair .
  
  However both sides should not be bringing their ethnic , racial , historical grievances to our fair shores.
  
  We have enough lefty created problems of our own, along those divisive lines.
  
  It is mildly amusing though how the Japanese project seeks to cast huge guilt over the Allies ( and our lefty media go along) for nuking a couple of cities and yet do their very best to scrub from history their own very callous , widespread and deliberate violence across their conquered territories.
  
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  April 7, 2026 10:51am
- david
  
  TW have a look at “Korean comfort women” might give you an inkling into why it is a touchy subject for the Japanese. Even in the cold hard light of day Japan could not bring itself to offer anything meaningful in the way of an apology and spun out the handling of claims while the survivors died off one by one.
  Regardless, it did happen and should not be hidden or denied by Japan getting touchy about it. Time they took ownership of their own actions would be my opinion.
  It is almost in the same basket as China trying to suppress mention in Western media of Taiwan as a country in its own right.
  However hard you might try, it is almost impossible to rewrite history.
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:28pm
- Nobby2
  
  TW, I agree with you. The comfort woman had absolutely nothing to do with NZ or New Zealanders.
  Let the Koreans put up whatever memorials they like in the countries that the comfort woman were in, not in NZ where they never were.
  The idea of a NZ memorial to comfort woman is abhorent and the Koreans proposing such a thing should tell us why they want one in NZ and they should also be named and shamed.
  
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  April 7, 2026 5:06pm
Diogenes

Over at No Minister, Colinxy has posted what to me seems the most insightful analysis in recent years of the current state of New Zealand’s political landscape.

“For decades, the New Zealand Right has been trapped in a strange political purgatory: it wins elections, but it never governs. It occupies the Treasury benches, but it never wields power. It campaigns as a counter-force to the Left, but once in office, it behaves like a timid caretaker for the very institutions that oppose it.

The nutshell of his argument is that Labour is a party of activists, while National is a party of managers. “National accepts the Left’s moral framework.” Therefore there will be no reversal of the downhill trajectory on which we are headed.

https://nominister.wordpress.com/2026/04/07/the-failure-of-the-new-zealand-right-why-national-keeps-losing-even-when-it-wins/
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April 7, 2026 9:53am
- R
  
  Political reality, leads to the acceptance; NOT National Policy. National can only moderate the embedded disasters of SOCIALISM, particularly in the presence of a MARXIST media.
  
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  April 7, 2026 12:16pm
Bernard Black

During the long weekend I watched the recent Nuremberg film.
Centred around the pyhcological assessment of Goering while in custody.
A good watch, well acted by Russell Crowe.
At the end the psychologist who spent much time with Goering remarked to anyone who would listen “the Germans and the Nazis are not unique, there are people just like them all over the world, including in the US, people who would happily walk over the corpses of half the population if it meant gaining control of the other half”
“They stoked hatred, thats what Hitler and Goering did, it’s textbook stuff”

As I watched and listened I could not help but think that such people exist in modern day NZ, happily stoking hatred and division in their naked lust for power and money.
Some even walking our halls of power, overt, defiant and totally unashamed.
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April 7, 2026 9:56am
- rouppe
  
  That’s why I used to call The Maori Party another name before I was censored.
  
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  April 7, 2026 11:08am
- Wandering Star
  
  Is the “they were just Mad/Diabolical” heuristic of any use in really understanding history, or contemporary events for that matter? Doesn’t approaching anything in this very limited and narrow way guarantee that the subject won’t be understood? Is this, in fact, the intention?
  
  If we’re going to criticise the use of simple caricatures, half-truths and the systematic repetition of three or four key ideas by our adversaries, shouldn’t we take great care to ensure that our own account of things does not rely on the same deficient methods which we write off?
  
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  April 7, 2026 12:16pm
- R
  
  Are you referring to the NZ publicc service bureacracy!
  
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  April 7, 2026 12:18pm
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  People like that exist everywhere. That was the point of the movie
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:58pm
imalwaysright

If we were energy independent we would have escaped some of the inflationary consequences of overseas conflicts.

The only thing we get from these wars is the privilege of paying for them.

The victors get the spoils and we get warflation.
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April 7, 2026 10:51am
- MCōs
  
  We would only escape the inflationary consequences if we had oil that wasn’t owned by one of the oil companies, that is owned by the state similar to Saudi Arabia.
  Otherwise we’d be paying market rates as we do now.
  We could however have a guaranteed supply, which we don’t now
  We’re better off than countries that rely on diesel for electricity generation, but the fertilizer is a worry as I understand
  
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  April 7, 2026 12:02pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    Curiosity got the better of me re State Owned OIl.
    So I looked up Norway(who owns its oil & Gas)
    
    One month ago (late February 2026): The price was NOK 21.43 per liter.
    Three months ago (early January 2026): The price was NOK 20.09 per liter.
    Current (March 30, 2026): The price is NOK 22.87 per liter.
    
    Save your calculator fingers.
    Thats a 6.7% increase in one month..
    
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    April 7, 2026 1:57pm
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    That’s assuming we’d be happy to pass up the chance of selling our oil into a market that’s willing to pay big money for it.
    
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    April 7, 2026 2:57pm
    - MCōs
      
      We wouldn’t be selling ‘our’ oil because we it’s not ours. It would belong to an oil company. Apart from that the oil hereabouts was not suitable for the recently scrapped refinery.
      Dairy products are produced in NZ, but they are owned by private companies who sell them to Kiwis at market rates.
      Back in the old days it was different and milk was extremely cheap
      
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      April 7, 2026 4:59pm
- PurplePen
  
  Has anyone done a study of what the impact on our GDP would be if over the last 3 to 5 decades we’d had low cost, abundant electricity instead of the current just enough and high cost to end user supply.
  
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  April 7, 2026 3:53pm
MCōs

Things are pretty desperate when NZ First are on 13.6%
I’m not even sure what the appeal is of those two old codgers except it’s always someone else’s fault when a government they are part of falters
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/new-poll-national-up-slightly-still-below-30-nz-first-sees-surge-in-taxpayers-union-curia-results/I5BX56CYUJFDVAYE5NRM6DAV54/
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April 7, 2026 12:10pm
- R
  
  There is a possibility that many of the current rash of POLL Results, are from keyboard polling stations!
  
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  April 7, 2026 12:19pm
- Scott
  
  McCos, I think Winston is popular in some circles for the following reasons:
  – Unlike Luxon he speaks his mind. He is not frightened to go after journalists, indeed he seems to relish it
  – He represents the conservative older people. Working class people also can relate to him.
  – He values NZ and can’t abide racial separatism and doesn’t want us to descend back into tribalism.
  – He regularly attacks the Maori party and he can do so without worrying about being called racist because he is Maori himself.
  So Winston has a lot of support. National has lost support mainly because Chris Luxon can’t seem to speak to us in a way we can relate to. So Winston is getting some of those votes.
  
  I’m one of the few on this blog who like Winston and Shane Jones. I’m over 2017 and I like what NZ First is doing. The whole concept of NZ First is good. I’m sick of globalists running the country. Winston is a keen patriot and I’d probably vote for him if it wasn’t for David Seymour. 😎
  
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  April 7, 2026 12:51pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    National would poll higher without Luxon.
    People think it is too late to change Leader for the election but I would say it is the perfect time, especially for National who will suffer for the upcoming media onslaught against Luxon.
    He has no leadership presence, he debates with facts and figures instead of plain language, he looks nervous and eager to please anyone, and no matter whether he is or not, he doesn’t come across as trustworthy.
    
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    April 7, 2026 2:01pm
    - Jack5
      
      Who else but Chris Luxon can hold both NZ First and ACT in a coalition with National?
      
      MMP gave us coalition governments. Luxon has held together a New Zealand Centre-Right coalition.
      
      The inevitable election-year onslaught by our media would switch target to anyone who replaced Luxon as Centre-Right leader.
      
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      April 7, 2026 3:50pm
  - Paulus
    
    But can you trust Winston – never again !
    
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    April 7, 2026 3:34pm
- RoboRob
  
  There are few options for some and NZF has become the option.
  
  Talked politics with friends in the weekend. Was careful not to say much so I didnt mess with the results.
  
  All those who voted National last time were 100% unlikely to vote Labour. Some were planning on voting National again but almost all thought National was going to lose. Some were looking at NZF as they felt they couldnt vote Nat or Lab.
  
  The labour voter (yes one). Still considering voting Labour to ‘get house prices down for his kids’.
  
  So yeah not an official study but matches what the polls are showing. National voters drifting to NZF and a little to Act. Labour voters ‘glued on’ and not considering changing to a Labour like National.
  
  I see RNZ are reporting this poll as good news for National as they have moved up from 28% to 29.8%. If I was National I wouldn’t be celebrating as thats two Curia polls in a row with them under 30.
  
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  April 7, 2026 1:09pm
  - R
    
    So Robo, you are seeking a NZF coalition with Labour, Greens and TPM.
    
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    April 7, 2026 1:25pm
    - RoboRob
      
      Nope absolutely not. I am just telling you what my friends were thinking and likely why NZF is rocketing up in the polls.
      
      I am likely to vote Act this election, which helps avoid a Labour coalition government just as much as a National vote does.
      
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      April 7, 2026 3:42pm
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Nats were up 1.8% all three parties in coalition were up, all 3 parties on the left were down, the swing of seats since the last TPU poll is 13 seats, this is huge
    
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    April 7, 2026 2:48pm
    - RoboRob
      
      Yes, overall a good result for a ACT, NZF, NAT coalition. However there is always the chance that NZF and Labour could form a government.
      
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      April 7, 2026 3:44pm
      - MCōs
        
        There’s always the chance NZF will spin around and disappear into a vortex created by their success
        
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        April 7, 2026 5:06pm
    - Nobby2
      
      G, We do not have three parties in coalition, we have three parties indulging in a threesome, with each party buggering up the other two.
      
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      April 7, 2026 5:19pm
- Ra Henare
  
  or.
  Maybe they are winning the popularity contest in political strategy/opinions.
  While the others rabbit on about nothing much of importance.
  
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  April 7, 2026 1:59pm
- The Boss
  
  Labour plus NZF = 47%. They can (probably will) form the next government
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:06pm
  - kowtow
    
    How will NZF’s Maori bashing / drill baby drill mantra transmogrify into a coalition with Labour.
    
    Having said that, if it does happen as anything is possible in politics, the folk who give Winston First their vote on the back of that race/fuel rhetoric will end up like all the other NZF voters who were sucked in , spat out and left bewildered by what could have been.
    
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    April 7, 2026 2:42pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Agreed, all that has to happen is Hipkins to get the boot, Peter’s will go with Labour if only 2 parties are involved
      
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      April 7, 2026 2:50pm
      - RoboRob
        
        Quite possible. A two party coalition is much more appealling (for politicians) then a three way.
        
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        April 7, 2026 3:45pm
  - The Boss
    
    with Winston as PM
    
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    April 7, 2026 3:13pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  People have not compared the previous TPU poll to this month. Last month had the left winning government just, this poll has all three coalition parties up and the coalition 10 seats ahead, this is a huge swing away from the left, there is a sniff of the Covid swing in this poll, the swing votes have to go somewhere, so it has gone to all three coalition parties but mostly NZF.
  
  Peters must read this poll and realise the swing says we do not want the unthinkable government. Interesting days
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:44pm
  - RoboRob
    
    I’m not sure the ‘seats’ part of the polling is particularly accurate. I would focus on the overall percentages, which is also good for the current government. The seats cant easily factor in electorate outcomes and overhangs etc.
    
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    April 7, 2026 3:47pm
- greybeard
  
  Oh for God’s sake, it is a poll !
  Someone asks about 1000 various people some leading questions and publishes the results as if they were some sort of life-changing omens !
  Ask those same 1000 people the same questions next week and I bet there would be a totally different result.
  
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  April 7, 2026 7:54pm
Gary Benner

Over at NewstalkZB Hosking posits:

“Most of the world argues for rules-based decision making.
Most of the world argues what Trump has done is illegal.
One of the questions though: which one is more effective and actually gets things done? ”

“most of the world” is in actuality, the leaders of the world. I would suggest that if you had a vote of the people of the world, it may just be a little different.

Since it’s inception, the UN has been ineffective at sorting out the thorny issues of the world, as it was predicated on a warfare reminiscent of WWI & WWII. But warfare now includes financial, social, cyber, and other surreptitious attacks, giving the ability for one country to attack another without a formal declaration of war.

Also, as in Iran, we have seen the takeover of a country by deranged idealogues, who are then able to use the resources of that country to wage war on others. And with the aid of just one or more partners, the UN is unable to do anything to stop them by veto.

This is where a fundamental law of the jungle kicks in, and those with the power and the vision step in.

I for one find “politicians” and “diplomats” have failed, yet we hang on to some silly ideal that if we keep turning the other cheek, god or whatever entity you believe in will make it all right.
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April 7, 2026 12:49pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Politicians and diplomats are now the sales reps for big business.
  Governments don’t serve their population, they serve their boss.
  
  The Fabian Society wrote that countries can be controlled by very few people so long as they are in the critical positions.
  
  Business seems to have adopted this strategy to bypass lobbying and inconvenient democratic elections and instead apply influence directly on the critical members of the bureaucracy.
  
  Look at the Ardern Regime. Within a few months they had most of the country standing at their letterboxes clapping for heroically bored Tik Tocking medical staff in relatively empty hospitals. Its not hard.
  
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  April 7, 2026 1:06pm
- kowtow
  
  GB
  
  The great and the good go on and on about this “international rules based order”.
  
  At the same time that there is , due to the very same commentariat,ngo, academic, legal, political class a now non existing domestic rules based order.
  
  It’s almost as if they want us to ignore the anarchy at home but all join North Korea type (or Big Brother) anti Trump “struggle sessions”.
  
  That proves how cool and with it one is .
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:08pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  Also, as in Iran, we have seen the takeover of a country by deranged idealogues, who are then able to use the resources of that country to wage war on others. And with the aid of just one or more partners, the UN is unable to do anything to stop them by veto
  
  Are you describing the US or Iran here?
  
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  April 7, 2026 2:20pm
Gary Benner

“Politicians and diplomats are now the sales reps for big business.”

Locally I find our elected representatives still perform useful functions (eg. if you have a local / private issue), but as to overall policy, that is set from the top, and they do act, as you say, as sales reps.

“Governments don’t serve their population, they serve their boss.”

Just look how in lockstep they were during the pandemic, along with the media, and how quickly those who had a different opinion or idea were quickly shut down or out.
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April 7, 2026 2:01pm
- Quail
  
  GB,
  “Politicians and bureaucrats are sales reps “ for big corporates.
  That includes bureaucracy and the indigenous corporates. Eg most of the above have their own “coms teams “
  Individuals and small businesses are just pawns!
  
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  April 7, 2026 5:21pm
Steve Todd

There will be Kiwibloggers out there who know that I am a fan of Dr John Gartner, a psychologist and former Johns Hopkins University Medical School professor. See, for example, https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2025/12/general_debate_16_december_2025.html/comment-page-1#comment-3795329 and https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2025/12/general_debate_22_december_2025.html/comment-page-1#comment-3797172.

Well, following Trump’s disgusting and highly disturbing Easter rant – which is, in my opinion, the final proof that he must be removed from office, by impeachment for, and conviction of, “… other High Crimes and Misdemeanors”, or by invoking the 25th Amendment; I don’t care which – Dr John is back, talking again to Joanna Coles at The Daily Beast podcast. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSnEJoKCJO0.)

As even TDA sufferers like Scott must surely realise, Trump’s mental and physical condition has clearly deteriorated since December. Dr John lays it all out, for our edification, once again. Enjoy.
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April 7, 2026 2:02pm
- Steve Todd
  
  Correction: As even TDS sufferers like Scott […].
  
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  April 7, 2026 3:15pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    Saying someone has TDS is Personal Abuse Todd.
    Its against the Rules.
    I hope the Moderators remove your comment.
    Then there is the irony of you complaining about Trump ranting and here you go…
    
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    April 7, 2026 3:33pm
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    “Gartner argues that it is actually Donald Trump and not President Biden who is showing diminished mental acuity and dangerous behavior related to aging.” (Feb ’24)
    
    I don’t think your man is a reliable judge.
    
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    April 7, 2026 3:39pm
Ra Henare

Trump. Champion of climate change!!

By his adventure in Iran he has disruped the fossil fule industry
Sales of Electric cars, trucks and buses are thru the roof!!!!

AI hubs are being built to produce much much more electric (which can be siphoned off to charge vehicles)

He should get the Nobel prize. Not for Peace but for ?Physics? Reducing the carbon footprint by having a good sized war.

/sarc
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April 7, 2026 2:23pm
Phronesis

Australian Victoria Cross recipient arrested for war crimes.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/591675/victoria-cross-recipient-ben-roberts-smith-arrested-over-war-crimes-allegations

This isn’t going to end well.
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April 7, 2026 2:34pm
Steve Todd

I have been watching Joanna Coles’ chats with the brilliant David Rothkopf at The Daily Beast podcast for several months now. Rothkopf is a foreign policy, national security and political affairs analyst and commentator. The guy is brilliant; he’s totally connected to the Pentagon and the intelligence community.

Now that we know, beyond all doubt, that Trump has lost his mind, I thought I would bring to your attention their latest discussion, just a few hours ago. It’s well worth watching.

The blurb says—

“In this explosive episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, host Joanna Coles sits down with David Rothkopf to unpack the mounting chaos surrounding Donald Trump—from inflammatory Easter posts and escalating tensions with Iran to growing fractures within the Republican Party and fears of institutional breakdown in Washington. As Trump lashes out at the Supreme Court, faces sinking poll numbers, and contends with internal dissent from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon, the conversation explores whether his leadership is entering a dangerous endgame. With sharp analysis on global ripple effects, military unrest, and the legal threats closing in, Coles and Rothkopf deliver a gripping, high-stakes look at a presidency under pressure and a political moment that feels increasingly unpredictable—and unprecedented.”

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X34R36k4Wlg [43:28]. Enjoy.
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April 7, 2026 4:08pm
- Steve Todd
  
  Watch this, Kiwibloggers. It’s Lawrence O’Donnell at MS NOW suggesting it’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vz1riGwpMM [11:50].
  
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  April 7, 2026 7:08pm
  - Ghost
    
    Sad pathetic excuse for a human Alex Jones can smell a sinking ship
    
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    April 7, 2026 7:27pm
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    MS NOW and it’s assorted hosts are partisan hacks.
    
    They will still tell you that Biden was on top of his game, the best Biden ever.
    
    3 3
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    April 7, 2026 7:37pm
    - Ghost
      
      Sounds like you are describing yourself, you even lie as much as them when you pimp your messiah
      
      3 3
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      April 7, 2026 8:39pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  “as the Chief Content Officer of The Daily Beast, she co-hosts the podcast “Inside Trump’s Head,” which is critical of Donald Trump.”
  
  Certainly not unbiased.
  
  Do better.
  
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  April 7, 2026 7:39pm

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