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April 11, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 11 April 2026

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NeverMindTheBollocks

The problem with the Iranians tolling the Strait of Hormuz is easily solved. The Americans simply have to send in the Marines.

But, the American public will not stomach American casualties.

Compare and contrast with the Second World War. Case in point: the Battle of Iwo Jima resulted in 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 deaths.

Not for nothing were they known as the greatest generation.

Trump is a coward: he will not send in the Marines: not because he feels responsible for the inevitable deaths, but because he does not have the gumption to see through what he has started.
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April 11, 2026 8:01am
- Wandering Star
  
  Why should hundreds or thousands of US Marines lose their lives for, ultimately, Israel? The best way to solve the Strait of Hormuz situation is for the US to leave with its tail between its legs. Sure, they’ve been humiliated, but at least American blood and its dwindling treasure will not be given away.
  
  The difference between a case like Iwo Jima and the current situation in Iran is that Iwo Jima was somewhat relevant to Americans. Iran, 8 thousand miles away from America, is only relevant to most Americans because Zionists infiltrate the US body politic and dictate US foreign policy in the Middle East in the interests of Israel.
  
  In the information age, more and more Americans understand the dynamic, which is why the war on Iran is so woefully unpopular, except in the eyes of only the most deluded or self-interested. Even WW2 would have been far less popular if information at the time was not as centralised and open to curation as it was.
  
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  April 11, 2026 12:07pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    Here’s the issue,
    “The best way to solve the Strait of Hormuz situation is for the US to leave with its tail between its legs.”
    If the US leave then they walk away from the PetroDollar, ie bbl Oil in US$ which thus far enables them to rack up huge debt.
    The foundation of the petrodollar is that the US will protect the Gulf States.
    Anyone see the problem?
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:37pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      There’s no reason why oil has to be traded in US dollars, except for the threat of violent US intervention to ensure that it continues to be.
      
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      April 11, 2026 2:08pm
  - David George
    
    “Wandering Star”: “Zionists infiltrate the US body politic and dictate US foreign policy”
    
    These sorts of claims have been around for a long time. Apparently the Jews control the news media, finance, entertainment, the world as well.
    Sure!
    
    Just apply a smidgeon of critical thinking.
    If these masters of the universe had a fraction of the power and control claimed they don’t seem to have much to show for it – continually fighting for their existence on what was a land of sand and swamp on the edge of West Asia. It’s BS dreamed up to give a whisker of justification for pure hate.
    
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    April 11, 2026 1:37pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      Nobody, including me, claims the Jews and/or the Israel lobby control everything, so saying they don’t isn’t a rebuttal of any much more particular claim.
      
      All you have to do is look at who some of the biggest donors are, the various lobbying entities and how they relate to and interact with elected officials and members of the Executive, and naturally and most clearly, US Middle East policy itself for the last 60 or 70 years, which makes little sense except for when considered in the context of the first two aspects I note, and the dynamic is quite clear. In Trump’s speech when he started this war, he even cited Israel’s interests as a major motivation.
      
      Ask yourself: when you look at what they tend to say and do, and what policies the US has, why is it that US politicians, especially GOP politicians, have such an unswerving and almost fanatical commitment to the fortunes of Israel (even to the clear detriment of America), a tiny nation on the other side of the world, and when the US Jewish population is about 2%? Why indeed.
      
      You may think that the US acting as an Israeli proxy is a very good thing: that’s fine, but don’t deny the obvious fact that this is the situation.
      
      If you have an explanation that doesn’t involve the consequences of an excessive political influence, I’d love to hear it.
      
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      April 11, 2026 1:52pm
      - David George
        
        It’s because we’re in a civilisational war against Islam, Israel is the front line.
        No one wanted it but here we are.
        
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        April 11, 2026 2:46pm
      - Wandering Star
        
        Unlike Israel, which is not even 100 years old, Iran is a civilisational state. It’s not like Iraq or Syria which were created by Sykes-Picot. Civilisational states have deep roots which cannot be pulled up by six weeks of bombing. The Judeo-Americans have just discovered this.
        
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        April 11, 2026 5:30pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        The ‘Civilisational state of Iran’ was disrupted by the Mad Mullahs, who, when they came to power with Marxists & other parties supporting them, then set about killing or imprisoning those whose religion or philosophies did not meet their approval.
        Iran has been a captured state for 47 years – why do you think the Persian population is rejecting the Islamic stae.
        
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        April 11, 2026 7:26pm
    - Simon
      
      Israel has a powerful lobby in US and a lot of influence over US govt, including the Trump Admin. This isnt in dispute. Your straw man points about the “Zionists control everything” which you then tear down is a form of denial.
      
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      April 11, 2026 2:02pm
      - David George
        
        Simon, and “Wandering Star”, claim that the anti Israel/Jew activists don’t promote the idea that the Jews control or heavily influence politics/commerce/finance/entertainment and so on.
        Much of the activist’s cant (including from the likes of Candace Owens for example) reads like an update to the Protocols of Zion or Mein Kampf.
        
        https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=2043067948169089408
        
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        April 12, 2026 8:50am
  - In Vino Veritas
    
    “Ultimately for Israel”. “is only relevant to most Americans because Zionists infiltrate the US body politic and dictate US foreign policy”. In your, I am sure, humble opinion. There’s the small matter of the 1,000 or so Americans that have been killed either directly by Iran, or by their proxies and the billions of $ of American assets that have been damaged and destroyed by same. Clearly your view is that America should just continue letting Iran and it’s proxies kill Americans and doing whatever it likes to American assets.
    And why should Marines die? Unfortunately being in the military puts you in harms way. Something that those that are there understand and accept. They are not there just to collect a pay cheque. And defending American interests is part of the job.
    
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    April 11, 2026 3:08pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      Let the IDF invade Iran, I say. Boys from Texas, Nebraska and Illinois shouldn’t have to lose their lives for Tel Aviv.
      
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      April 11, 2026 5:24pm
  - David Garrett
    
    WS: You really are woefully ignorant of WW II history…there was massive contemporary censorship, and 80 years after it ended some information is still classified.
    
    The Slapton sands disaster was an excellent example of the first…information on it not released until after the War. I’ll leave it up to ur towering intellect to figure out why that was.
    
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    April 11, 2026 4:27pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      “…there was massive contemporary censorship, and 80 years after it ended some information is still classified.”
      
      That’s exactly my point.
      
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      April 11, 2026 5:22pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Always have a smile when non militray types Trumpet, send in the Marines/Army etc etc.
  They have no idea what strenth of force would be required to invade a defended homeland.
  
  Using Iraq invasion as an example(against a weaker regime than Iran) 180,000 front line troops to start entering a 187km wide entry point (Kuwait/Iraq border)
  
  The Iranian coast relating to the straits of Hormuz is up to 1500kms long.
  
  How do these army/marines arive on the “beach””
  US have withdrawn their aircraft carriers/troop carriers due to missile attacks.
  
  A previous administration (1982) had wargamed the invasion of Iran (Bandar Abbas) during the US supported iraq.Iran war(Us supported Iraq!!) Hence the Death to America chant due to approx 1 million war deaths over the 8 years of conflict.
  The wargamers conclusion. Iran 1 US nil
  
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  April 11, 2026 3:40pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Just the islands that control the Strait, which is containable. No need to invade the Iranian mainland.
    
    The alternative is that everyone pays the shipping toll.
    
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    April 11, 2026 6:11pm
- Stew
  
  The USA/ Oman could toll ships carrying Iranian oil, then give that money to ships being tolled by the Iranians.
  Stopping ships is not the same as controlling
  
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  April 12, 2026 5:46am
Cassandra

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics, inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s model of Islamic governance. Hezbollah established strong ties with Iran and is part of the “Axis of Resistance”, the Iran-led anti-American, anti-Israel terrorist group. Hezbollah was initially supported by 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, it is a creation of the rulers of Iran.

Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran’s supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by Iran’s political ideology.

Despite calls for disarmament under United Nations Security Council resolutions, Hezbollah has expanded its military capabilities. Its armed wing is now considered stronger than the Lebanese Armed Forces, making it one of the most powerful non-state actors in the world, with a claimed 100,000 fighters.

Hezbollah has been involved in many high-profile attacks – bombings, assassinations, hijackings, the whole range of terrorist activities.

It has been designated as a terrorist group by at least 27 countries, including most Western countries. Since October 2023, Hezbollah has been at war with Israel.

The truce between America and Iran has nothing to do with Israel or Lebanon. For someone like UK PM Starmer to criticise Israel just demonstrates in spades why lefty lawyers do not make good leaders.

This is an opportunity for Israel to destroy Hazbollah and it should not stop until the job is done. Best to do it in conjunction with the Lebanese government.
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April 11, 2026 8:01am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Why has Israel not tried to work with the Lebanese government to rid themselves of this cancerous growth on their body politic? I appreciate that Hezbollah will have strong ties into government, but there are other strong factions within Lebanon that must abhor Hezbollah as much as the Israelis.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:15am
  - Wandering Star
    
    Probably because Hezbollah prevents Lebanon being invaded and overrun by Israel.
    
    The Israelis have never forgiven Hezbollah for defeating the IDF in Lebanon in around 2006, which was the third Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 1978.
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:17pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    The real question is,
    Who enabled and funded Hezbollah to be bigger than the state of Lebanon, Ask the same question for Hama’s as well. What happened to Fatah/Palestinian Authority ?
    2 state solution? Not if Hamas and Hezbollah openly state Death to Israel and money is “allowed” to via Iran and UN sponsors etc.
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:49pm
  - David George
    
    They have been working with the Lebanese government but, much as they want rid of Hezbollah they have to tread carefully because of their large Muslim population. Same as the UK.
    
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    April 11, 2026 1:13pm
- SGA
  
  But, Cassandra, there are times when one must examine whether the ends always justify the means, and this is probably one of those times. Many in the international Jewish community are far from comfortable with some of the Israeli excesses.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:21am
- Simon
  
  Hezbollah was formed in response to Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. It was a defensive
  organisation against Israel aggression.
  
  Everyone around the world can see mad dog responses by Israel govt to losing its war against Iran. It’s out in the open for everyone. For shame Israel.
  
  Check out mainstream Tucker Carlson
  
  “Netanyahu launches terror attack on Beirut, destroying Trump’s ceasefire. We need to detach from Israel immediately.”
  
  Unless good Israelis vote out the mad dogs currently running Israel, Israel will be regarded as a rogue nation.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:23am
  - Cassandra
    
    It’s not that simple, Simon. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 in response to terrorism from southern Lebanon. If the attacks had not taken place then Israel would not have n added. You might recall Israel suffered many casualties.
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:10pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      “Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 in response to terrorism from southern Lebanon.”
      
      And why was there “terrorism” from southern Lebanon? Because southern Lebanon shares a border with Israel, which has been the biggest threat to the Lebanese since the inception of Israel.
      
      “Israeli threats to occupy or annex south Lebanon dust off a decades‑old playbook”
      
      https://theconversation.com/israeli-threats-to-occupy-or-annex-south-lebanon-dust-off-a-decades-old-playbook-279704
      
      “Those calling for an enlarged Israel that includes parts of Lebanon tend to shroud their ideology in religious rhetoric. Yet the view is hardly isolated to the hawkish, religious far-right. It is also nothing new. As a scholar who specializes in Middle East studies, I believe that the policy of occupying and annexing south Lebanon up to the Litani River has long held influence among parts of the Israeli government and dates back to influential Zionist leaders – secular and religious alike – before Israeli independence in 1948.”
      
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      April 11, 2026 12:22pm
      - David Garrett
        
        “A scholar who specializes in Middle East studies” LOL
        
        At what uni do you lecture? What was the topic of your MA or PhD thesis?
        Of course you won’t answer any of those questions
        
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        April 11, 2026 5:46pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        It’s a quote from the referenced article – by Mireille Rebeiz.
        
        https://theconversation.com/profiles/mireille-rebeiz-1503505
        
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        April 11, 2026 6:53pm
    - R
      
      From his regular comments on KB, it is very clear that Simon has a selective recall capability
      
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      April 11, 2026 12:27pm
    - Simon
      
      You were talking specifically about Hezbollah. Which was a reaction to the Israeli invasion in 1982.
      
      How far do you want to go back?
      
      Anyway some good news in all this just as China schooled Israel China is also a moderating influence on Iran. Once the mad dogs in the Israeli govt are taken care of then there can be lasting peace. Regime change in Israel is what is needed.
      
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      April 11, 2026 12:52pm
      - Wandering Star
        
        It’s nearly impossible to have a serious conversation with people whose starting point is that anything bad that happens to Israel or the Jewish people is due only to an irrational hatred of Jews, and never because we live in a world of cause/effect and action/reaction, and there’s a political aspect of reality where legitimate interests clash and conflict ensues.
        
        They’ll tell you that Hezbollah, Iran and others are hostile to Israel, but they’ll never entertain precisely why that is the case, because if they did entertain the reasons, their cartoonish worldview would be seriously undermined.
        
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        April 11, 2026 5:42pm
    - double d
      
      You could have just answered with the 4th and 5th word of your response. It would have been appropriate.
      
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      April 11, 2026 1:31pm
- Scott
  
  Lebanon is a good case of a Christian nation that may be on the way to falling to Islam.
  This from “Islam, Israel and the West” by Danny Burmawi. Danny is a former Muslim.
  
  He writes:
  
  “The fragmentation of the post-Ottoman order was felt most acutely in Mount Lebanon — a historic Christian stronghold that had long operated as a semi-autonomous entity under both the Ottomans and the Egyptians. Yet, despite its Christian character, Muslim communities throughout the Levant still regarded it as unquestionably part of the House of Islam, and therefore Islamic land.
  For Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, the creation of an independent Christian-led state on historically Islamic territory, under European Christian protection, was perceived as a direct violation of Islamic sovereignty—at once theologically intolerable and politically illegitimate.” P34
  
  So it’s not that the Christian leaders of Lebanon have not been accommodating to the Muslims. What’s given rise to Hezbollah is the religious view of Muslims that this is Muslim land and an offence against Allah to cede it to the Christians.
  
  This is the pattern everywhere. Mosques are an outpost of Islam. The deep religious motivation is to take the territory for Islam and subject it to sharia law.
  
  So Israel is quite right to fight back against Hezbollah. The Muslims cannot be appeased. They can only be resisted.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:28am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    The framing of the latest shambles in the Middle East as a religious war by a number of pundits is not particularly.
    
    The tendency for the current secretary of defense/war to go down this rabbit hole is disturbing.
    
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    April 11, 2026 1:21pm
    - David George
      
      But it is a religious war of conquest by the Islamists.
      That’s what the Ayatollahs have long said, and what the founder of that God forsaken cult said when he invented it 1400 years ago.
      Hegseth is simply acknowledging that truth.
      https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=2042801061153648738
      
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      April 11, 2026 3:07pm
- Southern Raider
  
  That’s what I can’t understand. This was the one chance for the Lebanese Army to work with Israel on a pincher movement to remove Hezbollah once and for all from Lebanon. But the Lebanese Govt does nothing.
  
  Also France flying the white flag again and going against Israel as too scared of their rapidly growing Muslim community.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:56am
- CJames
  
  Aren’t a lot of Hezbollah fighters the enforcers for the theocracy in Iran? One more reason to destroy that terror state’s revolutionaries.
  
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  April 11, 2026 9:24am
- kowtow
  
  The Mullahs undermined Lebanon and built net works in the US too.
  
  https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-892533
  
  “Inside America: How Iran’s regime built a decades-long influence network inside the United States
  IRAN AFFAIRS: The Islamic Republic has spent 47 years trying to root itself inside America, building a network of institutions designed to shape influence in Washington along the regime’s ideals.”
  
  And if in the US then surely in other western regions too.
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:08am
  - Drone
    
    Just like the Israelis did in America.
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:53pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      Yes, no evidence whatsover of any significant Iranian influence in the US (and moreover, the US is literally bombing Iran), while, as just one example, every GOP politician has an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) “babysitter” to ensure Israeli interests are always to the forefront:
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74ZA-GdeQP4
      
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      April 11, 2026 5:52pm
- Taieri
  
  Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics, inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s model of Islamic governance.
  ———
  
  It would be useful to add that Hezbollah was not founded in vacuum, but was created by the Lebanese Shia clerics in response to the 1982 invasion of South Lebanon by the IDF. The invasion followed the so called Habib Ceasefire between PLO and Israel, concluded in 1981. The 9 months ceasefire ended with the Israeli air strikes on Lebanon after an Israeli officer visiting South Lebanese Army post in southern Lebanon was killed by a landmine.
  And the rest is just a history, with Hezbollah becoming another piece of the Middle East jigsaw puzzle. A very prominent piece at that.
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:22am
  - Scott
    
    Taieri – that’s not what Danny Burmawi says. He says that the Ayatollahs wanted to export Islam to neighbouring countries and in 1982 founded Hezbollah supposedly to resist Israel but the plan all along was Islamic dominance.
    And that’s what’s happened. Lebanon has gone Islamic and is now a failed state whereas once it was known as the Switzerland of the middle East.
    
    Once again islam wants to dominate. It doesn’t want to appease. Muslims really believe that sharia law should rule everywhere.
    
    Once again, stand up for your own side. Stand up for the west. Down with the Ayatollahs. Israel is not the bad guy. The Ayatollahs are.
    
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    April 11, 2026 1:09pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      There has to be some reason why we should care enough about some ayotollahs to suck up $4/litre diesel and $3.60 petrol with both price and medium-term supply looking a bit ugly.
      
      It’s our contribution and we should be pleased to know we are helping. It will work its way through the economy sometime and in the meantime a bit of financial stress won’t harm anyone who matters.
      
      All this shit is going to take quite a while to filter through – in the meantime the “economic recovery” is either on hold for a (quite a) while or maybe out the window …..
      
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      April 11, 2026 1:18pm
- Wandering Star
  
  “The truce between America and Iran has nothing to do with Israel or Lebanon.”
  
  You and others constantly repeat the talking points about “Iranian proxies” such as Hezbollah. Accordingly, first, the war in Iran is an Israeli war conducted by America (which could be considered an “Israeli proxy”). Second, because Hezbollah is indeed (as you always stress, including above) an Iranian proxy, then Israel’s contemporaneous attacks on Lebanon are deeply entwined with the attacks on Iran.
  
  For the Jews to claim that their attacks on Lebanon bear no relationship to the last few weeks of attacks on Iran is an outright falsehood, and thus they are ignoring the “peace deal” because it impedes their plans.
  
  This demonstrates my consistent contention that Israel does, and will always, attempt to thwart any peace negotiations between the US and other ME states because Israel relies on an indefinite and ambiguous state of affairs as to “peace” in the region so that it can constantly perform any attacks on anyone as it pleases.
  
  The more “peace deals” that are negotiated, the more Israel is constrained by them.
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:38am
  - double d
    
    What a distorted world view – all the faults of those pesky Jews.
    Israel is not fighting one war. It is under siege from every country in its neighbourhood and sharing a border with Lebanon.
    The religion of peace doesn’t seem that keen to let Israel live in peace.
    
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    April 11, 2026 1:40pm
  - Frankie Lee
    
    “The Jews”
    You just can’t help making these little slip-ups, can you?
    Or do you just not see the need to hide your antisemitism anymore?
    
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    April 11, 2026 3:51pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      What I am supposed to call them? “The Brazilians”?
      
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      April 11, 2026 5:56pm
    - KH
      
      I suggest that it’s the Israelis who are laying siege on all their neighbourhood.
      Such might not suit you political view.
      Just count the events on who strikes who.
      
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      April 11, 2026 9:49pm
- Notsofast
  
  18 years ago Hilary Clinton vowed to do precisely what Donald Trump is doing, and said she would obliterate Iran and prevent a nuclear armed Iran were they to attack Israel. They paid Hamas to do just that. A clip to forward to those with TDS, which is 80% of your compatriots.
  
  https://x.com/i/status/2042520464816312575
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:40am
  - Wandering Star
    
    So instead of putting Hilary Clinton “in jail” Trump adopted her war with Iran for Israel policy, in a complete 180 on his popular “end the foreign wars” and “Iraq was a huge mistake” program that got him elected. Is MAGA tired of winning yet?
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:30pm
- Wandering Star
  
  “This is an opportunity for Israel to destroy Hazbollah and it should not stop until the job is done.”
  
  That’s the thing with the Israelis though, isn’t it? Once they “destroy” their latest impediment, they move onto another one. Over the years its been Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Libya and so on. All have been destroyed or otherwise bribed into compliance by the Israeli proxy the United States. Being the largest and most coherent state in the region, Iran has always been the main objective.
  
  Some of the Israelis are now talking openly about Turkey being next on the hit list. When the Israelis talk about “defending” themselves, they are really talking about completely disempowering any other state that could conceivably be in a position to obstruct Israeli ambitions (which is being an unassailable entity at the confluence of the African, Asian and European continents).
  
  I frequently see quite accidental and inadvertent admissions as to what Israel is really up to like the one in your comment. The fact is, Israel is the number one problem and source of conflict in the Middle East, not those on its very long hit list.
  
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  April 11, 2026 11:02am
  - Ra Henare
    
    WS.
    How do you destroy a resistance movement, when the assaulting force keeps generating new recuits to “fight the enemy””
    
    I concure, the biggest threat in the Middle east Is Israeli expansionism along with its brutality in its ocuppied(illegallY) territory..
    
    A thort (yes downtickers hit that button).
    
    Whats the real difference in Israelis killng 10s of thousands of “”terrorist”” Palestinians
    and Iran killing thousands of “”terrorist”Iranians?
    
    Both countries killing dissidents in their own “countries””
    
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    April 11, 2026 3:51pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Think you will find that Hezbollah was created after the invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 1982.
  
  Did you miss that bit in your piece on Hezbollah? and your Religion rhetoric?
  Would it have benn different if they were a resistance formed by Christians??
  
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  April 11, 2026 3:45pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Good coverage by Stuff of frank admissions by a convicted Indian fraudster.

Once she leaves jail, we should be able to deport her. Part of getting PR here is that you’re of good character. By definition, she was not. Therefore, her application form was another exercise is fraud. We should be able to reverse the decision that was made based on incorrect information.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360962970/mother-who-stole-2m-oranga-tamariki-i-wanted-early-retirement
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April 11, 2026 8:12am
Nikola Donatello

Now the cyclone is “looming” and “bearing down”.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360962518/cyclone-vaianu-live-weather

These journalists are simply incapable of objective reporting. The truth is that high winds are forecast for a narrow band where the cyclone makes land fall. Even more so for rain.

The risk from this weather system is mitigated by its speed. It will be off Dunedin on Monday morning.
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April 11, 2026 8:20am
- Simon
  
  Some rain gonna fall. It’s pay day for Iwi, National are going to make large payments to Iwi for Luxon photo ops
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:25am
  - Jethrod
    
    So do you know that for a fact or are you still interviewing your typewriter?
    
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    April 11, 2026 1:18pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  It’s not just the weather reporting. The media are addicted to using superlatives in place of moderate language (see what I did there?). Stock markets plunge rather than fall; a 20 point loss (rugby) is described as a thrashing; and so on. Their need for attention-grabbing headlines devalues the very language they use. Self-defeating, really.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:45am
  - pdm
    
    It is Councils too.
    
    Hawkes Bay is supposedly under some sort of emergency watch.
    
    As a Hastings resident I am not sure why. In fact the only explanation is they are – gun shy.
    
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    April 11, 2026 2:11pm
- mandk
  
  We just need someone like this to keep us calm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR0lOtdvqyg
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:59am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Weather warnings have been updated. The situation is downgraded. Looking at each region, there is no need for any concern with the notable exception of the Coromandel.
  
  In Northland there is a region wide state of Emergency. Yet the forecast is betwen 50 and 80 mm of rain south of the Bay of Islands.
  
  https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home
  
  Watch out for the media finding video of some flooded streets and trees down. Then blaming Chris Luxon for cancelling EV subsidies and causing a climate emergency.
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:28am
  - Notsofast
    
    The forecast for Auckland has not varied for 5 days, 42km winds from 3 to 5pm Sunday, and a fair bit of rain. Business as usual. Having said that it is good to know, modern weather forecasting is fantastic, but does not require media handholding, just a smart phone and the forecast for your district.
    
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    April 11, 2026 10:43am
  - 70andstilllearning
    
    It’s not only the media really.
    The Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (TCWC) Wellington tracking shows they downgraded the cyclone to a low/depression around 2 days ago. However, as of last night, their narrative was still referring to “Cyclone Vaianu” tracking. If you create and hype up a doomsday scenario for a week as this country’s meteorologist did, it becomes difficult to admit that you over egged it when the alternative scenario becomes the reasonably likely outcome – even if that might be the professional thing to do.
    As some commenters noted yesterday, most boaties in this country no longer tend to rely on local media weather forecasts these days as their weather info source.
    https://www.metservice.com/warnings/tropical-cyclone-activity
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:20pm
    - Paulus
      
      Now actually not a Cylone but now an Ex Tropical Depression.
      Call it a Cyclone and your internationally supported insurance premiums will rise – again.
      
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      April 11, 2026 2:22pm
  - CJames
    
    Just received an emergency alert from Civil Defence saying I am risk from flooding and landslides so have a grab bag ready to evacuate. As I live on a top of a rounded hill 70m above nearest water sink, I think I can safely ignore the warning.
    If the bad weather turns out to be no worse than a typical autumn storm, I think a lot will question the over the top alarms. Boy who cried “wolf”?
    
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    April 11, 2026 3:16pm
sungsamning

Tensions are rising across Ireland as fuel protests continue to escalate.
In Rosslare, Gardaí have issued a first official warning to protesters, telling them to leave the area or face arrest and up to six months in prison. The situation is intensifying as authorities move from monitoring to enforcement.
At the same time, footage of Taoiseach Micheal Martin walking past a member of the public without engaging has gone viral, raising questions about leadership during a growing national crisis. [Plenty of money for Ukraine. None for a drop in fuel tax until things stabilize. [There is some talkof army units not wanting to help the Gardai. Dublin is blocked presently. It could spread to the ports.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEL0MKMN-Gk
Garda Warning Issued — Protesters Face Arrest as Ireland Tensions Rise.
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April 11, 2026 8:25am
sungsamning

Cuba’s Regime Just BLINKED… as Trump’s Oil Blockade DRIVES Diaz-Canel to Washington’s Door Overnight
Trump’s oil blockade left ten million Cubans without power for 29 hours straight, forcing Diaz-Canel into secret talks with Washington that Cuba spent sixty years refusing to consider.
This video covers what Cuba agreed to behind closed doors, why Russia abandoned its closest Caribbean ally, and what the 2026 Cuba blackout crisis means for the regime’s survival. [The arrival of a Russian tanker has allowed the regime 12 days supply of deisel. Negotiations are ongoing. Cuba can’t rely on Venezeula, China, or Russia. The tanker was a one off thing. Cubas transition to the next stage won’t be easy.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKCgUcEZ3x8
Cuba’s Regime Just BLINKED… as Trump’s Oil Blockade DRIVES Diaz-Canel to Washington’s Door Overnight.
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April 11, 2026 8:25am
Gravelroad

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360961664/cant-see-it-getting-better-region-where-almost-half-residents-are-struggling-put-food-table
No offence intended as I am sure there are some genuine cases of hardship involved, but, isn’t it often a case of how individuals prioritise the spending of their available money?
I know here in Aotearoa we are not meant to “judge” the poor, blameless folk who are addicted to illegal drugs and alcohol, but according to the Min of Health report published in 2024, the cost of drug harm in NZ increased to $1,941 billion.
Probably more now.
That’s a lot of coin that could be spent on nice food, housing, health care and clothes for the kids -money which is currently being flushed down the toilet.
But somehow we are not supposed to call drug addicts or alcoholics to account, because it is never their fault and there will be someone down the road with a free food parcel.
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April 11, 2026 9:12am
- R
  
  The consequence of years of a growing welfare entitlement system, and a dumbing down of the education system. All for the political benefit of those ideologists of the Marxist persuasion.
  
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  April 11, 2026 9:20am
- CJames
  
  IIRC, when the NZ pension scheme when originally set up, to qualify people had to be “deserving”. A panel of worthies assessed the quality of potential recipients. It was not until later that it became universal.
  
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  April 11, 2026 9:21am
  - igm
    
    Any pension should be assessed on input.
    Why should a hard working thrifty person subsidise some lazy unemployable druggie or boozer to a better standard of living than himself?
    Will not even go into ratepayer/taxpayer subsidising of cheap accommodation for those that choose not to provide for themselves.
    It must stop.
    
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    April 11, 2026 9:36am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Why should a hard working thrifty person subsidise some oldie who is still earning over $100k to a better standard of living …
      
      Well?
      
      I know – “paid into the scheme for years” and “recompense for building the nation” and “because they deserve it” and “because we can afford it” 🙂
      
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      April 11, 2026 10:07am
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        There is no scheme to be paid into. Your pension is funded by current government revenue. Not some accounting of your previous tax payments. By definition, New Zealand National Superannuation is unfunded. Aside from the “Cullen Fund” which is a smoothing mechanism not a funding mechanism.
        
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        April 11, 2026 10:32am
      - kowtow
        
        Why should a hard working thrifty person subsidise some oldie who spent their whole life taking drugs , committing crime and never once contributing to the commonweal.
        
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        April 11, 2026 10:37am
      - igm
        
        They sure are entitled more than lazy unemployable beneficiaries who have screwed taxpayers/ratepayers for a lifetime.
        Contribute nothing, receive nothing.
        
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        April 11, 2026 10:50am
      - Cassandra
        
        It’s a difficult situation, Ian. The wealthy have paid about. Third of their come in tax plus all the others like fuel tax, excise and GST all their lives. The answer is to foster a different attitude – there are too many lifelong bludgers.
        
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        April 11, 2026 11:25am
      - Wandering Star
        
        Ian says the same thing as Nikola, yet the former gets downticked and the latter is upticked.
        
        This is an example of the kind of irrational emotivism preventing so much meaningful and much needed systemic adjustments, including not paying a Super benefit to people who don’t need such a benefit.
        
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        April 11, 2026 11:34am
    - MCōs
      
      “Any pension should be assessed on input.”
      If that were true some people would be getting a vast amount more than the $48k per couple
      How do you think it should be figured out?
      The other day I was required to fill out a twelve page questionnaire for Winz. Imagine if every pensioner had to do that every year. The cost to the taxpayer would be substantial
      
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      April 11, 2026 11:44am
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      If you want a system where what you get out relates to what you put in, your bank will be happy to help you set up a savings account.
      
      It’s not the Government’s responsibility to ensure that people who were better off during their working life, continue to be better off in retirement. Government will make sure you don’t starve, but anything more than that is up to you.
      
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      April 11, 2026 12:09pm
      - MCōs
        
        An ordinary worker putting money aside at the bank is never going to save enough for their retirement without it being supplemented by the pension
        A lot of ordinary people are not too flash when it comes to budgeting
        
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        April 11, 2026 12:45pm
  - MCōs
    
    The National government made the pension universal in 1977 at aged 60. Previously it had been means tested at 60 and universal at 65 since 1938, which was the life expectancy at the time.
    It wasn’t paid to everyone; only those who applied for it
    The first means tested pension scheme was set up in 1898
    
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    April 11, 2026 9:53am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  $1,941 billion annually can’t be correct.
  
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  April 11, 2026 9:50am
  - MCōs
    
    All those sorts of numbers must have an element of conjecture
    
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    April 11, 2026 9:55am
  - thebaldy
    
    It’s not correct. It should read $1.941 billion.
    
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    April 11, 2026 10:18am
  - Ian Boag
    
    OK. Call it $1-2bn or so. Not scotch mist, but in the scheme of $120bn annual budget, if one managed to get rid of it people might not notice the fiscal saving.
    
    Don’t get me wrong – getting rid of drug harm would be good stuff.
    
    We would of course have to deal with the myth that alcohol is the #1 harmful drug. Find some way to leave all us responsible drinkers unaffected – might wonder about responsible dope smokers too. Meth, heroin and coke are of course another story and we should adopt the inordinately successful approach of the USA …. 🙂
    
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    April 11, 2026 10:23am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      I was responding to $1,914 billion which is about 4 x annual GDP. I guess you mean $1.914 billion.
      
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      April 11, 2026 10:34am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      But alcohol is the number 1 most harmful drug in Western nations. By a huge margin. What is the basis of your claim that the magnitude of such harm is a myth?
      
      In New Zealand alcohol is number one, methamphetamine number two. But the margin is considerable.
      
      https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10481626/?utm_source=perplexity
      
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      April 11, 2026 10:43am
      - kowtow
        
        ‘But alcohol is the number 1 most harmful drug in Western nations.’
        
        You left out the “sarc” following that sentence.
        
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        April 11, 2026 12:05pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Sigh. I’m one of the lucky folks who gets downticks for existing ….
        
        I did think this example was interesting though. PaulL nailed it the other day when he pointed out that today’s pensioners did not leave a pile of money behind with which said pensions could be funded …..
        
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        April 11, 2026 12:41pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        What is the basis of your claim that the magnitude of such harm is a myth?
        
        Certainly not anybody in the addiction space …. 🙂
        
        There’s any number of KBers who can explain about their “responsible drinking” and therefore if alcohol causes social harm, it’s really not a lot and the harmers just need to pull their socks up ….
        
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        April 11, 2026 12:46pm
- kowtow
  
  Not to mention the evil criminal networks supplying .Or the so called ‘justice” system that’s so soft when they do get caught.
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:11am
- artemisia
  
  I have intelligent educated family with decent household incomes. And overdrawn bank balances. Seems like money burns a hole in the pocket and just has to be spent. On stuff. Not just the young either.
  
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  April 11, 2026 11:20am
  - pdm
    
    Our oldest daughter is like that arty. Age mid 50’s substantial joint income, generous and wants for nothing on a day to day basis.
    
    Every now and then she complains she has no idea how they are ever going to buy a house. Husband is a Farm Manager.
    
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    April 11, 2026 2:21pm
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    Artemisia, one of our highly educated daughters made fun of me when I asked for a “doggy bag’ at an Asian restaurant.
    Two days later in the microwave; that was the most beautiful Asian food I have ever eaten. Apparently it takes time for the exquisite spices to penetrate the food.
    As the microwave was going round and round I danced the Village People’s song YMCA. Once upon a time YMCA stood for the Young Mens’ Christian Association. Nowadays it stands for Yesterday’s Meal Cooked Again.
    My daughter asked why a homophobe, such as myself, was dancing to the Gay Peoples’ anthem.
    
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    April 11, 2026 9:21pm
- Paulus
  
  Many people got used to the times when Ardern/Robertson threw borrowed money at New Zealand in the tens of billions, of which much has yet to be mopped up, and is still around often in personal assetts, but not to everybody, as then.
  
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  April 11, 2026 2:30pm
Swifty

We were taught this song, ‘The Swazi Warrior’, and had to sing it too many times to mention, at Khandallah School in the early 1970s enthusiastically led by Ivan Neale the Headmaster on ukulele – is anyone else familiar with it from school days?

https://becomingthemuse.net/2021/10/22/the-zulu-warrior-izika-zumba-song/

After having it pop into my head this morning I looked it up and it has an interesting back-story.
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April 11, 2026 9:22am
- Don Beckett
  
  I remember that song, along with a number of folk songs when I was a kid at primary school. Weren’t told what it meant though, until I learnt of the British/Zulu wars of the 19th. century some years later.
  
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  April 11, 2026 12:36pm
  - Swifty
    
    Thanks Don.
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:41pm
Damocles11

‘Neha Sharma blamed “baby brain” when her elaborate $2m insider fraud unravelled. She now says she stole to live in luxury, and had no plans to stop.
She worked in a senior management role in property for the Ministry of Education, used fake references from that job to get a lucrative position at Oranga Tamariki in February 2021, before exploiting its systems to steal $2m with her husband, Amandeep Sharma.’

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360962970/mother-who-stole-2m-oranga-tamariki-i-wanted-early-retirement
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April 11, 2026 9:34am
Master Mariner

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/IMF-Warns-Iran-War-Will-Leave-Lasting-Scars-on-Global-Economy.html
“She warned that the most severe fuel disruptions will come for islands in the Pacific Ocean, with the ripple effects then spreading around the world. ”
With the dismantling of Supply Chains, The Countries at the very end will suffer the most.
Pretty obvious conclusion.
Now there is talk about Japan directly approaching Iran for allowing access through the SOH.
Japan relies in the vacinity of 90+% for energy through the SOH.
Qatar and Oman are starting to side with Iran which is splintering the Alliances with the Gulf Co-operation Council. Leaving KSA and UAE with no option but to side with US/Israel etc further splintering alliances/allegiences etc.
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April 11, 2026 9:44am
Ipanema69

Hit the supermarket this morning after the gym.

I have named the flimsy paper bags provided by new world for produce the “Jacinda bag”.

They collapse under pressure and the contents attempt to run away.
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April 11, 2026 9:59am
- kowtow
  
  …….and when the contents fall out the bottom , there’s nuffink left in the tenk.
  
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  April 11, 2026 12:06pm
I remember when

Great to see the merchant seaman on TV stating that he intended to stay put as the impending storm arrives.
Said that his life experiences at sea meant he had seen, been through it all before.
Do we need to remember, that such storms occur regularly in the tropical oceans and the only thing that makes this one different is that it is affecting New Zealand.
So take the necessary precautions and ride out whatever happens.
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April 11, 2026 10:03am
- fightingtemeraire
  
  One thing you are taught when doing Meteorology for master’s is “How to dodge TRS'”
  
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  April 11, 2026 12:12pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    Yep, Buy Ballots Law and all.
    
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    April 11, 2026 12:57pm
- Paulus
  
  Port of Tauranga today appears to be empty as vessels have gone to other parts and alternative shelter.
  
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  April 11, 2026 2:33pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    Paul, sometimes they stay out at sea, because it is safer for the ship which has plenty of maneauvering space, rather than getting caught part way through the entrance etc..
    
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    April 11, 2026 3:13pm
Tom Hunter

Artemis is getting closer to finding out if that heat shield works. It sort of did during Artemis 1, though with big chunks ripped out which has worried NASA ever since.

Live coverage here. It’s been cool seeing the Earth literally get bigger in the view minute-by-minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kR2KK8TEs

Don’t expect any HD coverage as with Starship reentry. Once they ditch their service module, Orion has no other outboard cameras and no transmitters to Starlink satellites above, avoiding the plasma cloud underneath and to the sides of the reentering spacecraft. Like much else about this mission we’re back to the days of Apollo where there will be a blackout period.

Pretty much like this scene from the movie, Apollo 13.
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April 11, 2026 10:08am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  IIRC re-entry speed is about 40,000 kmh. Impossible to comprehend really.
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:38am
- Jethrod
  
  Just hope the supply of the heat shield didn’t go to the lowest tender price!
  
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  April 11, 2026 10:48am
I remember when

Is it time for the Government/Parliament to do away with the iwi/hapu distinction for Maori.
They belong to their iwi/hapu for the same reason the rest of us associate with family, home country connections.
Do we need Maori, for the purposes of legislation, to simply be individual Maori.
Remove the intertribal disputes so that all Maori benefit equally according to need.
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April 11, 2026 10:21am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  That’s never going to fly
  
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  April 11, 2026 6:22pm
Jethrod

It appears that the changes at NZME in the upper echolons, has had a flow on effect!
Thomas Coughlan has an article in today’s Herald, “Labour’s words fine, but they butter no parsnips” Mmm.
And the cartoon on the same page by, is it Emmerson, shows a tired horse, ridden by The Chippie,with lance in hand saying “charge”, withe the title “charge of the lightweight brigade”.
Has it come from on high to balance their words and pictures??
This is SO UNLIKE the Coughlin and Emmerson of several weeks ago.
Would put up a comment on the Horrid, but it would be banned due to their policy of no abuse of staff allowed.
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April 11, 2026 10:46am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  Word has gone out from E Tu HQ – clear Hipkins out of the way for Helen to continue her run at the Leadership.
  
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  April 11, 2026 3:53pm
Quail

The Roar is here and gamebird season not far off.
Wild deer have been noisy this year and an opportunity for keen hunters to enjoy the benefits of their sport.
Fitness,meat on the table and appreciating the benefits of the outdoors .
And in the process making a contribution to controlling pests and vermin (eg Wallabies in Hawkes bay .)
An undervalued contribution to NZ.
Under present Government firearm regulations hunting is now rapidly becoming just a sport for the wealthy.
The costs associated with getting approved for gun licensing , access to hunting areas and guns and ammunition. Example – Ammunition:Twenty cartridges of a common caliber ammunition ( 7 -08 ) price $109 .99. Or over $5,00 each.
Then there is the price of the gun. .Grandads old 303 are regularly advertised on Trade Me for more than $1000. Plus scopes ,binoculars etc about the same pricing.
Who can blame todays one hunt a year ,ordinary NZ hunter. for throwing his/her guns away and watching the wealthy (on TV )cruising around in Dodge Rams towing side by side motor bikes all covered in camouflage gear.
And isn’t that precisely the plan of the NZ Government and its agencies to be rid of private gun ownership?
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April 11, 2026 11:37am
- Ian Boag
  
  Just out of curiosity – how does gummint make grandad’s .303 worth $1000? How does gummint influence the cost of ammo/scopes/binos other than 15% GST? And what should they do to all the wealthy folk with quadbikes on the back of their Rangers/RAMs whatever? So that you can afford to traipse round in the bush and shoot the odd deer ….
  
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  April 11, 2026 12:51pm
  - Gravelroad
    
    Quail is talking about the impact of the Government’s firearms regulations, requirements and costs on recreational and food hunters.
    Perhaps you are not familiar with these?
    Your comment is irrelevant in any event.
    
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    April 11, 2026 2:16pm
- Jethrod
  
  Just incidently, back in the 60’s and 70’s there were wild wallaby around Lake Okataina (a small lake next to Lakes Rotoiti and Rotorua), and also on Kawau Island just north of Auckland. Totally unexpected in both areas.
  
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  April 11, 2026 1:26pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    Yes, I have seen them in the locations you mention. I read a long time ago in history lessons, that Gov. Grey – I think – built the mansion on Kawau, and because he loved Australian fauna, imported wallabies, cockatoos & rosellas.
    Have actually shot one while hunting around Okataina – like a cross between a rabbit & opposom, but slightly bigger.
    
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    April 11, 2026 2:13pm
    - Jack5
      
      Wallabies have been a pest in South Canterbury since at least the 1940’s. There have even been “wallaby boards” running campaigns to contain them.
      
      You can see a video of them and some views of officialdom at the link that follows (don’t be put off by the opening advertisements, or by the bloke pointing out that an early white settler brough them in, and that wallabies “don’t have a whakapapa here”).
      
      The video clip:
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INKw0EKcyj0
      
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      April 11, 2026 2:53pm
    - CJames
      
      They have built a wallaby fence around Waipa forest and alongside SH5. Tying to stop the spread of the pests.
      
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      April 11, 2026 5:04pm
surfing

Should kiwis start taking out domestic travel insurance?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/cyclone-vaianu-bachcare-to-refund-and-rebook-risky-coromandel-trips/2R67YV2VHVH7RERZIPCXQRGGUU/

Although, bachcare also look like a bunch of money grubbing leeches — wanting their cash even though and happy to see babies being put into the path of a big hurricane.

They seem to change their tune when the public focus is on them. I guess their morals are dependent on whether anyone is looking .
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April 11, 2026 11:43am
Swifty

I didn’t know Chuck Norris was in so many movies:

https://x.com/thenotarubicon/status/2042443679110160539?s=46
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April 11, 2026 12:40pm
- Don Beckett
  
  The Clint Eastwood of Karate movies. 🙂
  
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  April 11, 2026 2:15pm
- greybeard
  
  Chuck Norris determined how many movies would be made and how many would include him.
  
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  April 11, 2026 7:17pm
Swifty

An appallingly bad US VP still thinks she is up for being the next POTUS:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/592071/kamala-harris-says-she-might-run-for-president-again-in-2028
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April 11, 2026 1:10pm
- CJames
  
  The Republicans would think all their dreams had come at once if she becomes the nominee.
  
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  April 11, 2026 1:58pm
- Paulus
  
  Thanks for the Laugh !
  
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  April 11, 2026 2:35pm
MCōs

I watched the end of the moon adventure and splash down outside San Diego earlier on this afternoon, which I found very interesting
For a perspective I asked my wife if she was interested
No
She said Thai people were more worried about the escalating prices of fuel, gas and food
I asked her what Thais thought of Trump and she said ting-tong. A Thai adjective that doesn’t require translation. He says this today and that tomorrow
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April 11, 2026 1:26pm
lifesgood

A post on our local FB page says that all the supermarkets in the area are full to bursting with panic buyers, long queues at the check outs and cars circling the car parks searching for spaces. Gee NZers are thick. The storm will last about 2 days, if that.
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April 11, 2026 1:32pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Here in Tauranga we have cloudy, with occasional sunlight, 10 – 20 km/h breeze from the East/SE direction. On checking the rain radar, the East cape & northern east coast, & Eastern BoP are just starting to get a little rain.
  Forecaste is for light rain around 11 pm – midnight, & winds up to 40 – 50 k/h. Then heavy rain tomorrow morning till early afternoon, then gradually fining up with the wind dropping.
  Hardly a Cyclone Bola.
  
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  April 11, 2026 2:20pm
- ISeeRed
  
  Yes. Runs on water and canned veges at Pak’n Save but the toilet paper’s holding up.
  
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  April 11, 2026 2:23pm
- [email protected]
  
  Not stocking up on food, etc. but did charge the EV to 100% in case the power goes out we can run the fridge and freezer off the EV with a DC to AC Inverter for a few days.
  
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  April 11, 2026 4:06pm
Albie

I naively went up to Eastridge shopping centre at midday to pick up some stuff for lunch as we had friends calling in. It was utter chaos. I was abused by an elderly English gentleman who thought I was going to take his car park, horns blasting. Large queues for check outs with trolleys loaded to the gunwales. Madness.
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April 11, 2026 2:11pm
Paulus

Ex Tropical Depression !
7 1
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April 11, 2026 2:36pm
Don Beckett

You’d think it was Hurricane Katrina the way the weather pundits & news media are losing their shit.
8 1
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April 11, 2026 3:17pm
Don Beckett

Here is the latest from Tousi. The first 20 minutes are very good. Armed Iranian groups are now hunting down & killing IRGC members. In Beirut, the citizens are rising up against Hezbollah & killing them. There are phone videos of both claims. Plus a lot more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDmGRYQIEL0
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April 11, 2026 3:58pm
Prince

You have to wonder why Tana Umaga has been selected as All Blacks Assistant Defence coach.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360962280/chiefs-catch-massive-break-after-tonga-match-against-moana-pasifika-collapses
5 1
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April 11, 2026 4:00pm
Steve Todd

Highly informative alternative viewing, just in a few hours ago, Kiwibloggers.

Joanna Coles at The Daily Beast talks to the brilliant Jennifer Welch, co-host of the I’ve Had It podcast. It’s slightly about-face, because the chat was about the week’s events, but got overtaken by Melania’s extraordinary press conference (which we still don’t know the reason for, but we can imagine). So, that discussion comes first.

The splurge says—

“Jennifer Welch, co-host of the hit I’ve Had It podcast, joins Joanna Coles to dissect Melania Trump’s bombshell Epstein statement, sparking a blistering conversation that spirals from political hypocrisy and MAGA infighting to war tensions with Iran and the perilous stakes surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. With unfiltered candor, Welch unpacks conspiracy theories, culture wars, and the power struggles roiling Trumpworld, while exposing the strange alliances, simmering scandals, and high-stakes maneuvering shaping America’s future. From explosive revelations and eyebrow-raising rumors to sharp insights into the forces driving today’s chaos, this electrifying episode pulls back the curtain on a political drama that grows more shocking by the minute.”

It’s incisive stuff. And very funny, as Welch always is.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V90kSXywwmU [1:01:07]. Enjoy.
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April 11, 2026 4:27pm
- Ghost
  
  I found it interesting the president claimed he didn’t know she was going to give a speech, her team confirm president did know. He can’t stop lying, that or dementia
  
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  April 11, 2026 4:37pm
  - Sane Voice
    
    Would you care to share a link to where the President said he didn’t know.
    
    Every query I run says he did know.
    
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    April 11, 2026 5:12pm
  - Sane Voice
    
    P. S. Don’t use any link to a site where they say a source reportedly said …
    
    I don’t want hearsay rubbish.
    
    Supply a link where Trump says it.
    
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    April 11, 2026 5:29pm
    - Ghost
      
      There is this amazing thing on the internet called google, you can go there, google.com and look for yourself. It’s not hard, but I doubt some of the people on this blog will believe a journalist saying they just had a call with the president and ….. it’s a bit over their ability to comprehend anything outside of their little fanboism
      
      https://x.com/JaxAlemany/status/2042335011253162426
      
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      April 11, 2026 7:11pm
      - Sane Voice
        
        I said no hearsay. Google what that means.
        
        For all those that whirled off like a firework, it had to be clarified that he didn’t know about the content, as delivered, in the speech.
        
        Is it really conceivable that the First Lady would call a presser without the President being informed.
        
        The deliberate misinterpretation of Trump is as old as his presidency.
        
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        April 11, 2026 7:28pm
      - Ghost
        
        I completely agree with her former head of staff who said
        
        “I’m going to say, I call BS on our president saying he knew nothing about it, because at the very least, I imagine she would have given him a heads up if she had sent an advisory out yesterday,”
        
        But I get it fanboism doesn’t allow people to believe anything that trump doesn’t tell them. Strangely that’s changing with his supporters, Tucker, jones, etc who have woken up to what a liar this deranged man is
        
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        April 11, 2026 7:57pm
- Swifty
  
  That splurge is sounding a little hysterical don’t you think Steve?
  
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  April 11, 2026 5:33pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    Hmm, no, that’s a bit OTT, Swifty. I think it’s just promotional guff designed to draw in the viewers, or something.
    
    What did you think of the two discussions? Informative? Entertaining? Well worth watching?
    
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    April 11, 2026 7:39pm
    - Swifty
      
      I must confess Steve, I’m not remotely interested in either the Epstein’s files or what Mrs Trump did or didn’t say.
      
      I’m currently giving all my kitchen knives a tickle up in the bench stones and periodically checking the weather outside, a much better use of my time. 😃
      
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      April 11, 2026 8:25pm
Swifty

An animation of the cyclone’s projected path:

https://x.com/niwaweather/status/2042823293456257060?s=46
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April 11, 2026 5:31pm
- waikatosinger
  
  Crikey. High tide at Tauranga right as it passes overhead. The beach at Mt Maunganui/Papamoa is going to take a big hit.
  
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  April 12, 2026 12:32am
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360962760/young-people-roof-auckland-youth-justice-facility

“Brought down safely”.

Dear God: the appropriate thing to do would be to take them to the nearest police station and give each one 6 of the best with a cane.
And a warning that next time they do something wrong they get 12 of the best.
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April 11, 2026 5:54pm
- MCōs
  
  When I was at secondary school corporal punishment was fairly routinely used by some teachers to discipline the usual culprits
  It didn’t seem to have much effect because it was always the same kids.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:15pm
graham

TV One News has reported a MANDATORY evacuation from Ohope. An evacuation notice has been issued, ordering residents in coastal or low-lying areas to leave immediately.

This was reported live … by the TV One News reporter … standing on the beach at Ohope.

So, does TV One News not believe the evacuation notice they’re reporting on is really that serious? Or do they just think they’re so much more important than everybody else, so official notices don’t apply to them?
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April 11, 2026 7:48pm
- Ghost
  
  They are doing their job and will have permission to be filming there before the storm hits.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:01pm
- Jethrod
  
  Just for the West End of Ohope, I think.
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:29pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Invitation to looters
  
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  April 11, 2026 8:42pm
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Ohope Wins!!!
  
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  April 11, 2026 9:30pm

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