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June 5, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 05 June 2026

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General Debate

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CJames

As well as unusual ads running within blogs like this one (I don’t think I will ever buy a McHale haybaler or watch Netshort movies so they don’t seem personalised), has anyone else noted there seems to be some very strange ad placements on podcasts. As an example, on Erick Erickson’s, there are a lot of ads from the Electoral Commission for Maori to choose which electoral roll to be on. Does a very rightwing Christian conservative really have liberal Maori listeners? Don’t they know about Erick’s opposition to race based electorates (majority minority Districts)? Or was this just blind pepperpotting by some ad agency, putting them anywhere to filling a quota?
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June 5, 2026 8:01am
- wsk12345
  
  Yes! I get the maori roll ads on a heap of different podcasts i listen to and which i am 100% certain that precisely zero radical or ignorant young maori listen to (being the only maori that want separatism).
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:20am
  - Clyde
    
    Part of these annoying ads is a young child – who can’t vote – and the concluding piece is something about “mana” being on the roll. The ads are shit and I assume we are all paying for them. Almost as annoying as the high predominance of East Polynesians in TV ads….what market are they aimed at?
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:49am
- yobi
  
  I think you’ll find these ads are placed there on purpose to remind you that part maori are still the chosen ones no matter your opinion.
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:47am
  - Paulus
    
    We are also seeing many more young women proclaiming their superiority with a painted face now at a younger age, that was conceived to an old respected family member.
    Even at Kapa Haka parties the youngest children are endowed with a painted face.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:36am
- BarryB
  
  Agree. The main thing about these ads seems to be that they want to annoy the watcher.
  I suppose the blog operators have to supply what the advertiser wants – ie screen location, difficulty to get past, difficulty to click the ‘close’ etc. Seems to me that blog/website operators are charging low prices and many will accept any sort of stupid condition.
  For me I use a Browser that block all adverts – I was literally driven to it by the annoying ads.
  For you – do a search (yes on google) and it will give you a list of browsers that block adverts – some do it automatically others need extensions or a change of settings.
  By the way – I have no idea McHale baler is – Ive never seen the advert…………
  But one advert that makes me think is the one on TV and Youtube for colon cancer. Whoever it is aimed at must be really, really, really stupid that it takes so many reminders to do something to save your health……………..
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:50am
- Ghost
  
  google uses your digital footprint with the ads you see.
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:55am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Not all ads are served via Google.
    
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    June 5, 2026 9:05am
    - Jack5
      
      Using the browser DuckDuckGo’s an easy way to block a lot of the trackers that build a profile of you for the advertisers.
      
      Sometimes tracking can be helpful. If you’re studying something, such as a language, then the throwing up of possibly useful sites can be a boon.
      
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      June 5, 2026 11:43am
- lastmanstanding
  
  Some of us recall the 1984 election when Labour avoided campaigning on Rogernomics so as not to frighten the horses.
  Will Labour try the same trick in 2026. Will Barbaranomics look like this?
  1. Family home subject to CGT at the marginal rate with exemption for lower 80% by value. Wont bring in much tax with prices flatlined but threshold wont be raised same as income tax rates so over time more homes will be captured.
  2. Kiwisaver. Same as family home but share trading profits will attract CGT from day one. Deduction of losses not allowed.
  3. Other share and investment portfolios same rules as Kiwisaver.
  4. As already signalled residential rental property and baches captured.
  5. Commercial and industrial properties subject to CGT.
  6. Trust tax rate currently 39% over $10K income raised to 50%.
  7. New income tax rate of 50% for incomes over $250K.
  There are probably others I have missed. Remember the Greens need $80 billion tax to pay for their promises and Labour wont be far behind. I just hope enough of my fellow citizens understand Governments all of them are looking to raid you hip pocket BIG TIME.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:17am
  - rouppe
    
    They won’t do 1 or 2.
    
    All their previous discussions all talk about excluding the family home. Only evil landlords to be targeted.
    
    They won’t include KiwiSaver because that will affect lower income people too. Only “rich pricks” with private savings/investments.
    
    I haven’t heard anything about commercial or industrial properties but I’d be surprised if they start with that. Certainly the interest deduct ability has only said residential landlords even though commercial and industrial landlords operate under the same scheme.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:02am
    - lastmanstanding
      
      With the Left never say never. Ask Ozzies. Labor did a bunch of stuff in the recent Budget they said they wouldnt do. You miss the point with my 1 and 2. At least 80% would be excluded maybe 90% so only Rich Pricks would be caught. Remember Cullen. The Left target the Rich. They know the rest either dont care a stuff or are glad and support the Rich being taxed. Labour and the Greens need ten of Billions of dollars a year for their agendas.
      
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      June 5, 2026 11:47am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Last.
    That’s like comparing goats to camels.
    A meaningless non-comparison when talking about the ability to climb trees.
    
    Rogernomics WAS A LABOR initiative!!!
    So not talking about their past actions is normal
    
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    June 5, 2026 2:53pm
- Paulus
  
  Tauranga, and the favoured media, are begining to explode as the Council and Councillors prevaricate over the selection or otherwiase of Wards as per Government regulations, as they have considerable control over greater Tauranga.
  See the 8 year old fiasco on Port expansion.
  Mayor Drysdale appears to favour them.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:22am
  - Jethrod
    
    Just one vote !
    
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    June 5, 2026 9:36am
- Burtland
  
  internet advertising is so off target as to be useless
  
  most advertising budgets are just slush funds run by fools
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:43am
  - Ra Henare
    
    would be interesting as to a reference or why you actually believe
    
    most advertising budgets are just slush funds run by fools.
    
    Your quote makes me think you have not been involved in any marketing for a medium-sized company
    
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    June 5, 2026 2:57pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Personally I think Governmnet should NOT be mass advertising.
  As usual Gummints ferk it up.
  and the Socialists/Lefties empower them to ferk it up
  
  Seems Bernie Saunders didnt learn the lesson
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sElz_P6QsZo
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:17pm
Cassandra

Armchair strategists throughout academia and the media have criticised Epic Fury, America and Trump.

Condoleezza Rice has a different view; she argues that the war has degraded Iran’s conventional capabilities, decimated its economy, smashed its remaining proxies and brought the Gulf States closer together.

“Iran is far weaker today than it was in February,” Rice writes. “No amount of Iranian propaganda can mask this reality. America’s near-term goals should be to keep it in that weakened state, to strengthen the region’s political realignment, and to make certain that President Trump’s promise that Iran will never possess a nuclear weapon is fulfilled.”

Now, the remaining goals of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and dealing with Iran’s nuclear material may take time, but Rice says “time is on the side of the US and its allies.”

No matter what your views on this are, what is undeniable in my opinion is that Iran is a rogue state and must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons.
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June 5, 2026 8:01am
- kowtow
  
  “No amount of Iranian propaganda can mask this reality.”
  Yep despite the best efforts of most of the west’s msm , just as they did when Iran proxy , Hamas, was doing the Mullahs’ bidding.
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:12am
- Ross Bayer
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Cassandra,
  Condolezza Rice isn’t she still looking for those WMDs in Iraq, or maybe covering up for CIA torture prisons?
  All the credible sources i have seen suggest IRAN has won the war and has US in a place that is not going to end well for the planet
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:28am
  - David George
    
    “All the credible sources”
    Do tell.
    
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    June 5, 2026 8:37am
    - Ross Bayer
      
      How about
      Professor Jeffrey Sachs
      Col Douglas MacGregor
      ex CIA Analyst Ray MacGovern
      Ex CIA analyst Larry Johnson
      Professor Mearsheimer
      Max Blumenthal
      Col Lawrence Wilkerson
      Pepe Escobar
      Ex Marine Scott Ritter
      now over to you but the view doesnt count neither does Mark Levin
      
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      June 5, 2026 8:53am
      - kowtow
        
        News yesterday reported Head Mullah called for unity in Iran and stated anyone not with them was assisting the enemy . That’s Shia clerical short hand for “we’ll hang you for wanting to be free”
        
        Such a public warning is reminiscent of 1945 Germany . A clear sign of desparation and of losing.Bigly.
        
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        June 5, 2026 9:31am
      - Hapuku
        
        Looks like a who’s who of Russian apologists. Wonder if they’re still at the St Petersburg forum?
        
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        June 5, 2026 9:32am
      - Nūhaka Native
        
        It’s always good to look at the background and experience of people that the mainstream media will label as ‘controversial’ and ‘problematic’ commentators. They often have credible experience and qualifications. Just a few of the above:
        
        Scott Ritter is a former UN weapons inspector and U.S. Marine intelligence officer who became known for challenging claims about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 Iraq War
        
        Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Army officer and former chief of staff to Colin Powell, who became known for criticising the intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq War.
        
        Professor John Mearsheimer is a professor at the University of Chicago known for arguing that great powers compete for power and that NATO expansion helped drive tensions with Russia.
        
        Colonel Douglas Macgregor is a retired, decorated U.S. Army combat veteran best known for his leadership during the Battle of 73 Easting in the 1991 Gulf War and for his later work as a military strategist and commentator.
        
        Professor Jeffrey Sachs is an American economist at Columbia University known for his work on economic development, poverty reduction, sustainable development, and international affairs, and for his criticism of aspects of U.S. foreign policy.
        
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        June 5, 2026 9:33am
      - Ghost
        
        Scott Ritter became known for serving time in jail for unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, and criminal use of a communications facility. Not exactly the kind of person the msm will want to use.
        
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        June 5, 2026 9:49am
      - imalwaysright
        
        ” Not exactly the kind of person the msm will want to use.”
        
        He will certainly need to try harder if he wants to work for the BBC….
        
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        June 5, 2026 10:05am
      - All_on_Red
        
        These people are all pro Russia propagandists and arent senior Military personal at all.
        I could fisk them all but cant be bothered.
        You should be embarrassed believing what they say and then actually telling people that!
        I guess you think Russia is winning the war against Ukraine too…
        
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        June 5, 2026 11:23am
      - CJames
        
        General Jack Kearne seems to have a different view on Iran thinking they can be militarily destroyed in 10-14 days
        “I’ve had nothing that’s contrary to 10 to 14 days, is what I’ve been told and it remains the same………..Central Command has more resources now, close to two to one and what they had when they started the conflict. These are in the words of Admiral Cooper. The Israelis’ magazine depth, while they ran into shortages during the five-week campaign, they’re flush with it. So they are ready to go and they would start to make certain the air defense systems were all down to do that and another targets would be upfront as you could imagine, but they have very comprehensive and very achievable target lists within the timeframe I suggested”
        https://ricochet.com/podcast/aei-what-the-hell-is-going-on/wth-is-going-on-with-iran-general-jack-keane-explains/
        
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        June 5, 2026 2:36pm
    - Ross Bayer
      
      Hi David,
      got a response?
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:08am
  - colina
    
    Sources please
    
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    June 5, 2026 8:37am
    - Ross Bayer
      
      provided
      care to comment or list yours
      PS the View doesn’t count
      
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      June 5, 2026 9:39am
  - Rodney Hide
    
    Hi Ross
    
    Good on you.
    
    You remind me of “Comical Ali”. “Baghdad is safe. The battle is still going on. Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad. Don’t believe those liars”. “Authentic sources—many authentic sources”.
    
    Rodney Hide
    
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    June 5, 2026 8:44am
    - Ross Bayer
      
      Rodney,
      Like many current or x politicians your lack of knowledge of world events is scary, see my list of sources above .
      
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      June 5, 2026 8:55am
      - Rodney Hide
        
        Hi Ross,
        
        Let’s not trade sources. Just tell me the metric by which Iran has won the “war”.
        
        Rodney
        
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        June 5, 2026 9:04am
      - Spoff
        
        “the metric by which Iran has won the “war”.”
        Prior to the US/Israeli attack on Iran:
        1. The Straits of Hormuz were open.
        2. Iran allowed IAEA Nuclear monitoring. (If we go back a little further, Iran had agreed to and, according to the IAEA, was in compiance with the JCPOA. Iran also sponsored a plan to make the Middle East a Nuclear-free zone.
        3. The U.S had military bases in the Gulf States.
        
        The present situation:
        1. The Straits of Hormuz are closed to all U.S. allies.
        2. Iran’s nuclear stance is non-disclosure and has suspended all cooperation with the IAEA and refuses to relinquish it’s enriched uranium..
        3. The U.S. lost:
        At least 500 soldiers to death and injury.
        A $700 million airborne radar detection and command aircraft was destroyed in an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 27
        Three F-15E fighter jets portayed as a “friendly fire” incident in early March
        At least 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones ($40 million to $50 million each) have been shot down by Iranian missiles. and others destroyed on the ground or in crashes
        Five KC-135 refueling planes were damaged during an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base
        Two F-35s ( $70–$80 million) hit and forced to make an emergency landing after reportedly taking fire,
        THAAD Radar: Two THAAD missile defense radar systems, valued between $485 million and $970 million, were destroyed in an early March attack.
        Trump claimed Iran launched ballistic missiles at the USS Gerald R. Ford, widely regarded as the world’s largest aircraft carrier forcing it to head for port with 200 sailors suffering smoke inhalation from “a fire in the laundry”.
        The U.S. and Israeli missile arsenals are critically depleted. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/21/politics/us-military-missile-stockpile
        Gulf States are reconsidering their defence strategies.
        Israel suffered approx. 20 billion in property damage, 1,200–1,500 civilian deaths, at least one F-35 stealth fighter ( $100 million) that was shot down by an Iranian missile, : Several F-15 and F-16 fighter jets were reported damaged by debris or direct hits.
        
        U.S. Secretary of State has announced that the War is over.
        https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kEoY39uCklk
        
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        June 5, 2026 1:08pm
    - Ross Bayer
      
      Ok Rodney,
      The worlds economic future is dependent on the flow of commerce through the strait of Hormuz now controlled by Iran.
      All the US bases in the middle east have suffered significant damage including the three major radars which gave warning of incoming missles to Israel
      It is unlikely that US presence in the ME will continue as the Gulf states now know the US cannot protect them
      Israel has suffered significant damage across the country and its port and there is political discord within the country
      The US and Israel have decimated their political standing in the world, now considered Rogue states by any rationale person.
      To fully under stand maybe listen to Col Wilkerson he is much more informed than I am
      Both China and Russia are now supporting Iran as is the vast majority of the worlds population. Think China, India, Russia, Brazil all of Asia. Asian economies are already suffering and by late July August as the economic consequences land everyone except for a few useful idiots will realise this was the biggest mistake by two countries ever
      
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      June 5, 2026 9:22am
      - Cassandra
        
        There are quite a few colonels who agree with Condition Rice.
        
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        June 5, 2026 10:00am
      - Phronesis
        
        Time will tell. Incidentally, I assume you are fabulously wealthy as anyone who can tell the future with any accuracy would be.
        
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        June 5, 2026 10:11am
      - Sane Voice
        
        Oh Ross, where do you get the information that forms your opinions?
        
        Nothing in that statement you made is in touch with reality.
        
        Do tell where any rationale [sic] person considers the USA a rogue state?
        
        I haven’t the time or the inclination is disprove all the other nonsense you have put forward.
        
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        June 5, 2026 10:25am
      - kowtow
        
        If you want to be taken seriously , and it appears you do , you should avoid using hyperbole .
        Your first and last sentences being examples , which are ,other than being hyperbolic , utter nonsense.
        
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        June 5, 2026 11:06am
      - Cassandra
        
        I typed Condi, auto did the rest.
        
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        June 5, 2026 12:00pm
      - Spoff
        
        Rogue State (definition)
        “A nation or state breaking international law and posing a threat to the security of other nations.”
        – National Museum of Diplomacy.
        
        “The United States has become a rogue state”
        https://www.washingtonpost.com/ripple/2026/03/26/united-states-trump-rogue-state-iran/
        “The US Is a Rogue State That Deserves to Be Sanctioned”
        https://www.thenation.com/article/world/venezuela-kidnapping-illegal-international-law/
        “Is the United States now a rogue state? There are certainly plenty of reasons to believe so—and plenty of people willing to say so. ”
        https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/24/trump-america-united-states-rogue-law/
        
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        June 5, 2026 3:01pm
      - Rodney Hide
        
        I am sorry Ross. I can’t take you seriously. There is no metric there showing Iran “won the war”. You also describe USA as a rogue state in a debate over Iran.
        
        Rodney
        
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        June 5, 2026 4:37pm
  - Philview
    
    Sources in the Russian military have since said they removed the high tech weaponry out of Iraq. I think it was there but don’t believe there was an imminent threat.
    
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    June 5, 2026 8:54am
    - Ross Bayer
      
      Phil,
      I have a bridge for sale looks like you would be a keen buyer
      
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      June 5, 2026 9:04am
      - Philview
        
        Per Google, here are a couple of articles discussing the removal of WMDs from Iraq by Russian Special Forces.
        
        https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/oct/28/20041028-122637-6257r/
        
        https://www.inquisitr.com/syria-chemical-weapons-iraq-wmds-taken-by-russia-to-assad-and-back-again/
        
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        June 5, 2026 9:48am
  - leoj
    
    How has Iran won the war when they cannot export oil? There is a blockade in place and Iran’s oil wells will soon have to shut down because they cannot sell their oil.
    Again, how is Iran the winner here?
    I’d suggest that the war is far from over and your crystal ball is no better than anyone else’s.
    It does appear that you are okay wth Iran having a nuclear weapon, that is if they have won.
    Time to rethink……….and stop relying on anti USA propaganda.
    
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    June 5, 2026 12:05pm
    - Ross Bayer
      
      leoj,
      I did in my post above detail how Iran has improved its strategic position in the middle east.
      I do not recall taking a position on Iran having a nuclear weapon but now that you mention it Douglas MacGregor on the Judging Freedom podcast today suggested that will be the outcome of this war of choice
      Your are right it is a time to rethink and once you have undertaken that process you will be much happier.
      Those of you who think what the US and Israel did to Iran is somehow a good thing is a sad reflection on all of you.
      where are you Rodney
      
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      June 5, 2026 1:23pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  I think that the biggest effect is driving a very big wedge between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
  
  While this does, indeed weaken Islam as a bloc, it might also lead to unintended consequences like Sunni vs Shia squabbling becoming more intense through out the world).
  
  Even in Christchurch there are low-ish key hostilities with Shia Muslims celebrating the Mosque attacks. Maybe those will escalate. Time will tell.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:10am
  - Ross Bayer
    
    Newsflash,
    Time to get out the red-pills
    Tump and Netanyaho’s worst nightmare is realised
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6M5BnXKF3g
    
    Looks like the bombing of Iran was a massive blunder
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:55am
- Scott
  
  I’m disappointed with the dragged on negotiations and the seemingly inconclusive end to the war. The Ayatollahs and the Generals are still in power. The regime can say they defeated the Great Satan.
  
  Americans haven’t actually won a war since 1945. You can’t negotiate with the Ayatollahs. They don’t want money and prosperity for their country. They want to destroy Israel and preferably the United States as well. They are powered by an apocalyptic religious vision of the most militant version of Islam.
  
  The thing about wars is they only really end with victory. One side must win and one side must lose. And the side that lost must acknowledge they have lost. They must realise they have been defeated. As in 1945.
  
  Otherwise this conflict in Iran is but a way station in an ongoing conflict. Iran will take years but they can rebuild and rearm.
  
  Which will be a shame for the middle East and a shame for the people of Iran, most of whom want to be free. Hopefully one day they will rise up and take back their Persian nation.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:13am
  - Ross Bayer
    
    Hi all
    its all gone very quiet and thanks Nuhaka for being more articulate than I.
    Rodney where are you
    
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    June 5, 2026 9:56am
    - Nūhaka Native
      
      I think it was Noam Chomsky who, in the seminal 1988 work on media propaganda, ‘Manufacturing Consent’, recommended reading the news widely if you want to know what is going on in the world.
      
      That is still good advice. I should also thank our contributor ‘Ghost’ for the ‘poisoning the well’ strategy.
      
      For the record: Scott Ritter was convicted in 2011 following an online sting operation in which he engaged in sexually explicit communications and webcam activity with someone he believed to be a 15 year old girl. He was sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison and was paroled in 2014.
      
      Which shows you can be a creep but still be right about no WMDs in Iraq prior to the 2003 Iraq war and invasion by the USA.
      
      The Iraqis did use Chemical weapons on the Iranians in the 1980 Iran-Iraq War, supplied and supported by the USA and France, as it happens.
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:50am
      - Ross Bayer
        
        Nuhaka,
        Those wise words from you are still getting downticks
        The useful idiots who repeat CIA talking points better not open my link to Danny Haiphongs podcast this morning or they will be black-pilled
        
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        June 5, 2026 11:29am
      - Ra Henare
        
        It seems to be common practice to challenge the reliability/expertise of somebody by referring to something lese in their personal lives.
        
        The Great entertainer Michael jackson was pilloried by his enemies for playing with little boys(a sexual deviant charge). All accusations were rebutted and disproved in court.
        Didn’t diminish his musical/entertainment genius.
        
        Scott was online to a sting operation. For communicateing with a supposed 15 yera old
        Does not diminish his expertise and experience on Militray matters in teh Middle east and nuclear issues.
        
        I do wish some hyper-emotive, biased commenters could stand back and see how juvenile their comments are.
        
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        June 5, 2026 8:28pm
  - Sane Voice
    
    The concept of winning and losing like 1945 takes a different reality than exists in the world today.
    
    I really doubt the world wants WW 3 just so you can have your winners and losers like in the good old days.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:21am
    - Ross Bayer
      
      HI SV,
      Better get out the red-pills
      How have I formed these views, by listening to the sources named above who collectively are very connected including current contacts in US military and intel
      The ex CIA analysts in particular still hint at contact within the current intelligence community
      All of what i am saying is backed by deeply connected AMERICAN citizens some who are jewish as well
      I am quoting my sources now where are yours
      
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      June 5, 2026 11:39am
      - Sane Voice
        
        Any relation to the CIA analyst who knew the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation?
        
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        June 5, 2026 1:27pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “The thing about wars is they only really end with victory. One side must win and one side must lose.”
    
    Maybe that was true before the turn of the 20th century since when the moneylenders offered finance so that wars could be fought now and paid for later.
    
    Wars are great business for banks and for arms manufacturers.
    
    It doesn’t matter who wins or loses, all that matters is that they happen.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:45am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    Iran is a salutory lesson in why tribal religious thugs are not the best alternative to an authoritarian monarchy running a country.
    
    Agret pity that the US and UK conspired to remove Mohammad Mosaddegh all those years ago.
    
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    June 5, 2026 2:19pm
    - Ross Bayer
      
      Doc,
      I tend not to be judgemental of foreign regimes of which I have no proper knowledge, and would would not under any circumstances wish ill of these people.
      What I can say with certainty is that anyone who supports Trump and his friend Benjamin in their war of choice are complete fools with no understanding of geopolitics and I am supported in my view by many learned people around the world.
      Their details are given above and the lack of understanding of world events and politics is scary.
      Rodney where are you
      
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      June 5, 2026 4:03pm
- virtualmark
  
  Clausewitz said “war is the continuation of politics by other means”. What he meant is that the goal of war is to secure some sort of political win, or force a political concession, that you weren’t able to achieve by non-military means.
  
  So in that vein … what political win, or political concession, has Trump achieved with this Iran conflict?
  
  It’s a weird war where the “winner” gets higher fuel prices and higher inflation, while the “loser” gets to control the flow of 20% of global oil in a way that has reshaped the regional power in its favour. The US has been militarily flawless but politically clueless (as it was in Iraq and Afghanistan).
  
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  June 5, 2026 11:12am
  - Sane Voice
    
    Clueless, you are kidding me.
    
    Iran is isolated. It’s proxy armies are being hammered. It has lost influence in the region and the other gulf states are united against it.
    
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    June 5, 2026 2:14pm
    - Ross Bayer
      
      SV the Hunter Biden laptop misinformation was done by the same group that you are getting your info from.
      Nothing to do with my sources unfortunately a trap for you
      
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      June 5, 2026 3:56pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Really?
      * Which countries have broken their support for Iran since April? Iran’s major strategic supporters are China and Russia – who are both still there supporting them.
      * Do you believe Iran has decided to never again send money and weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis? Or do you think Iran will revert back to doing that in the coming months? What lasting change has been achieved there?
      * Are the Gulf states united against Iran? Simple question: What do Qatar and Saudi Arabia think of Iran? Are they united?
      
      I can keep going:
      * Is Iran’s nuclear programme materially worse off than it was in March? It was “obliterated” in June 2025. But then apparently Iran was within two weeks of having a bomb in March? Puleeeze.
      
      War is about achieving national strategic goals. What were the USA’s strategic goals in this conflict with Iran? And have they been achieved?
      
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      June 5, 2026 4:08pm
- Master Mariner
  
  “Condoleezza Rice has a different view; she argues that the war has degraded Iran’s conventional capabilities, decimated its economy, smashed its remaining proxies and brought the Gulf States closer together.”
  A couple of points to ponder.
  Condoleezza Rice had an Oil Tanker named after her.
  Degraded Iran’s “Conventional ?” capabilities. Its now not about Iran, Its China, Russia, Turkey and possibiley Egypt.
  Gulf States Closer, Righto Really ? They have been decimated by Trust, Confidence and likely will never return to the levels pre War levels and now find them selves boxed into a corner going Broke.
  Israel , US and Iran have a lot to answer for in regards to the Global consequences by mostly Relligous nut cases.
  
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  June 5, 2026 1:27pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Condellesas’ views are as valid or invalid as anybody’s.
  She stopped being a senior Republican official in 2009. (So one could say out of the loop with teh current administration).
  
  Then returned to being an academic at Standford University….as a political science professor
  
  So her views/opinions can be seen as as valid as John Mearsheimer also a political science professor;
  
  Seems they see the world thru different lenses apparently. SO pick an opinion that suits your bias.
  
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  June 5, 2026 4:21pm
- pb
  
  Boomers want so badly to go back into their cave and watch the shadow puppet show. Toothpaste not going back in the tube. US lost.
  
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  June 5, 2026 4:32pm
Scooter

You have to wonder what is going on with sentencing and our judges when a mongrel mob member gets 7 years for killing a guy by stomping on his head. Apparently he can be out in 3.5 years. Another case the guy gets 5 years. Is intimidation involved with judges or are they simply giving up on any sort of punishment and siding with the leftist no sentence no time point of view.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/nathan-te-hana-sent-to-prison-after-repeatedly-stomping-on-flatmates-head/

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360987223/cold-case-killer-jailed-seven-years-fatal-act-thuggery-harmless-man
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June 5, 2026 8:14am
- MCōs
  
  I was on a jury where a bunch of guys were convicted of manslaughter for a killing every bit as violent as that one.
  They got something like two years from memory.
  That was at least forty years ago
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:03am
  - Paulus
    
    I was on a jury whereby the accused was without doubt guilty of damage, as could be seen, but chose Jury Trial, and two Jury people said Not Guilty in the first minute of the Jury deliberations – got up for a cup of tea, and said nothing more.
    The accused was Maori, surprise so were the two decisive Jurors.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:49am
- kowtow
  
  This country , our society has a huge problem because of these organised crime groups.
  
  When judges sentence as lightly as they possibly can , it also shows our judiciary don’t care a jot for the common folk or peace and stability in society.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:21am
  - imalwaysright
    
    The Crown Prosecutors should be appealing these miscarriages.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:08am
  - David Garrett
    
    Kowtow: Judges sentence “as low as they possibly can” but that is what the Sentencing Act requires them to do.
    
    If the Nats were remotely serious about crime, they would have repealed the relevant section. While they are at it, they could have repealed the section which allows eligibility for parole after serving only one third.
    
    They have done neither; they are simply not serious about being tough on crime and criminals
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:03am
    - kowtow
      
      Thank you for pointing that out. I wasn’t aware .
      Well that makes the two major parties complicit , actively , in the hug a crim agenda.And the consequent lack of safety for the general populace.
      
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      June 5, 2026 11:10am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Kowtow,
    
    With due respect, unless you attended all the court hearings and read all the evidence then your OPINION is worthless.
    
    Judging sentences on media reports and emotional bias does not help justice move forward.
    
    I am not defending judges or this or other sentences. Just applying some perspective.
    
    As Mr Garret says, change the rules if you want different outcomes.
    
    But of course PPPP
    
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    June 5, 2026 4:24pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  I was looking at that and wondering how the hell people in NZ have any outrage to spare for the Nowak murder in UK.
  
  People, we should be expressing our outrage locally.
  
  Yes, the Nowak murderer got some kid gloves treatment by the cops and Nowak was treated outrageously but, eventually, the system worked and he got 21 years with no parole.
  
  Here in NZ we end up with a 3.5 year affective sentence for “manslaughter”.
  
  How this ended up as manslaughter and not murder is beyond my understanding. A head stomp is surely as much an intent to kill as stabbing or shooting.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:25am
  - kowtow
    
    It also goes to show that all the ‘concern” shown by all and sundry over George Floyd’s death ( I won’t call it murder as the police had no criminal intent and indeed I consider the charges and convictions politically motivated , theirs was a ‘show trial”) was all confected lefty agenda propaganda.Pushed very hard and relentlessly by the so called msm.
    
    Recall our commissioner of police attended a prayer meeting .
    
    Starmer and one of his ministers made a very public point of ‘taking a knee” . Now he has to be forced to voice some platitudes over poor , young Henry’s awful death .And the UK media attention has trained their sights on Farage for having the temerity to point out how the wheels have fallen off .
    
    British Lives Matter.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:20am
    - imalwaysright
      
      “Recall our commissioner of police attended a prayer meeting .”
      
      Yes, Coster wore a lounge suit rather than his Police uniform to that Church service.
      
      By doing that he declared that day that the job we paid him to do was irrelevant and he would instead take the stage as a political toady.
      What a shameful character.
      
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      June 5, 2026 11:55am
  - mogg
    
    The UK identity politics driving policing to discriminate in favour of non white skin colour, ie they are trained in ‘equality of outcomes’ not equal treatment before the law, is alive and well here in NZ. The cancer of DEI and positive discrimination which is embedded in UK Civil Service and all government institutions is also thriving here in NZ. If this is allowed to go on It can only be a matter of time before have our own Henry Nowak situation.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:51am
  - Ra Henare
    
    cmm
    
    Murder is INTENT.
    Your opinion says he intended to kill the guy by stomping on his head.
    Other s(dare I say rational) opinions will differ.
    
    My opinion. Move to fully retired and practice some rational thinking with the extra time available to you.
    
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    June 5, 2026 4:28pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Nope. You can also be convicted of murder if your actions are so reckless that you don’t care or not whether they cause the death of victim.
      
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      June 5, 2026 6:30pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        More correctly
        
        Intentional Injury with Recklessness: The offender intends to cause bodily injury that they know is likely to cause death in that situation, and they are reckless as to whether death results or not
        
        With TV shows often showing someone getting kicked in the head then recovering. I presume that would be grounds for defense against the “”they know is ….””
        
        I am neither a judge or a criminal lawyer. Just an interested observer. Thanks for getting me to look at the NZ relevant laws
        
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        June 5, 2026 8:38pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Further, we seem to have a spate of head stomping – from 14 year old girls to gang members dishing them out.
  
  In the NZF/National coalition agreement there was a clause to promote “king hit” legislation. That is either making its way through parliament or is now law.
  
  At the time I raised the concern that such specific legislation is broken and pointed out that this would not cover other methods of causing severe injury – specifically mentioning head stomping.
  
  There is absolutely no reason why a head stomp should get a lesser sentence than a king hit.
  
  https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-criminal-offences-coward-punches
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:36am
  - Raphael
    
    Recently at Mercury Bay Area schools, a 14yr old boy was physically assaulted by 3 other boys (2 did the assaulting, 1 was the lookout). They broke his leg in two places. When the victim crawled to get help a teacher told him that were busy and to wait.
    
    The school suspended one boy, then eventually another, but didn’t suspend the third.
    All 3 should have been expelled, and charged with criminal assault, and the teacher who was too busy suspended or fired.
    
    https://theinformer.co.nz/column/paulines-piece/resolving-together-what-concerns-us/
    https://www.pennymarie.nz/p/student-on-student-violent-attack
    
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    June 5, 2026 9:53am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      Assaults like that should certainly not be handled as internal school matters. They should be handed over to the police.
      
      Of course there is nothing stopping the victim’s family from going to the police. The school’s “handling” of the situation did not make any crime go away.
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:06am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Have heard of schools putting children high on drugs into ‘time out rooms’.
        
        Theres a death waiting to happen.
        
        They should be calling the paramedics, the police, and the parents.
        
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        June 5, 2026 10:12am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        imalways: Yup, quite correct.
        
        Nobody really knows the provenance of drugs on our streets and what the wee darlings have ingested. Drug consumption can go very pear shaped very quickly and teachers are unlikely to have the training or the equipment to cope.
        
        If they’re acting erratically then call an ambulance.
        
        Minor bumps and scrapes are fine to treat with a Band Aid or whatever, but drugs – no way.
        
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        June 5, 2026 1:39pm
- Ghost
  
  Judges follow the laws that parliament wrote. Want to blame someone for the sentence, it’s parliament and the Sentencing Act 2002
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:36am
  - Burtland
    
    dudges are employed to tailor the punishment to the crime
    – their woke political agenda fails society
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:01am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Ghost – to some extent you are correct. The judges operate within constraints given to them by parliament.
    
    However the judges do seem to use these to maximize leniency.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:07am
    - Ghost
      
      the fault is within the law, the fix is changing the law.
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:09am
      - David Garrett
        
        Ghost: Quite so, See my comment above
        
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        June 5, 2026 11:05am
  - Sane Voice
    
    Judges are well versed in distorting parliaments intent to suit their own agenda and beliefs.
    
    The Supreme Court and Tikanga is one example.
    
    When he surfaces, ask D. Garrett how the courts subverted his 3 Strikes legislation.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:17am
    - Ghost
      
      I’m sure David would agree that was a fault of the law. The fault there, again, is with national. Perhaps your question to ask David is how 3 strikes would look without the changes national demanded the first time around
      
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      June 5, 2026 11:18am
imalwaysright

The ‘gifting’ of Maori names to Publicaly owned organisations seems to actually be ‘grifting’.

The new Wellington water company is apparently paying $50k (initially) per annum, to lease the name.
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June 5, 2026 8:18am
- pdm
  
  Says a lot about the respect and concern that new Wellington Water outfit (buggered if I know its name) has for the people paying their water bills.
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:46am
  - yobi
    
    I’ve got a name they can have for free:
    Wellington Water
    
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    June 5, 2026 8:50am
    - muzled
      
      Damn you yobi, I was going to lease it to them for $25K and save them 50%!
      
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      June 5, 2026 1:16pm
  - mogg
    
    Yesterday they were working around the corner from my house, nine vehicles, uncountable number of hi vis jackets, the usual sea of road cones, with just one man working.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:57am
    - Paulus
      
      Sounds normal !
      
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      June 5, 2026 4:39pm
- Ghost
  
  sounds like a social media rumour, got anything to prove this?
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:40am
  - imalwaysright
    
    No, a caller to the Platform raised it and was going to supply evidence off air.
    
    Another caller cited MOTAT as being another whose Maori moniker is rented.
    
    Rather than wondering if its true, I’m wondering why it took them so long to come up with these leasing plans… the grift that keeps on giving.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:18am
    - Ghost
      
      They typically just pay for the consultation with iwi to find a name. It will be interesting to see what provides,
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:38am
      - All_on_Red
        
        The issue is you have to consult Iwi- sometimes multiple Iwi.
        There is no way you can ignore them.
        You dont have to accept their recommendations but things tend to go better if you do accept them.
        We push back occasionally as we get sick of having too many Maori names for our streets.
        
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        June 5, 2026 11:17am
      - Cantabrian
        
        Why should iwi be invited to provide a name? Maybe I could propose an English name for my local marae? Yeah – right!!
        
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        June 5, 2026 11:41am
Philview

TVNZ News reported on the Henry Nowak’s murder last night. They finished their report saying the killer said he was the victim of a racist attack and acted in self defence. To report this alleged provocation after it has been discredited in court gives the appearance that TVNZ is suffering from the same bias as the British police.
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June 5, 2026 8:49am
- Burtland
  
  Iranian and Putin regime propaganda is repeated word for word, Trumps is spun
  – theyre a biased news source, even the BSA says so
  
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  June 5, 2026 10:11am
- Nūhaka Native
  
  TVNZ (who we all pay for) likes to ‘manufacture’ news. One might almost call it misinformation and disinformation.
  
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  June 5, 2026 11:39am
  - imalwaysright
    
    “One might almost call it misinformation and disinformation.”
    
    The rest of us call it lies.
    
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    June 5, 2026 1:27pm
- mogg
  
  TVNZ has perfected the art of lying by omission.
  
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  June 5, 2026 12:00pm
- Ra Henare
  
  TVNZ is so good at SPINNING,
  They should start a cotton mill instead of trying to indoctrinate the gullible.
  
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  June 5, 2026 4:32pm
MCōs

Stuff could be banned from parliament for publishing the photo shown in this article of a minor cabinet minister taken from a spot where the photographer is entitled to be while the minister is way down a corridor out of bounds to the fourth estate.
There is another photo in the article taken from a similar spot of the PM, Governor General & Speaker himself, which didn’t cause outrage. Indeed there is a security guard by that open door whereas in the offensive photo the doors are held open by cabin hooks.
My guess is Gerry has replaced the door attendant with a cheaper option as directed by Nichola
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360988039/stuff-journalists-could-be-banned-parliament-over-hallway-photo
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June 5, 2026 8:50am
- pdm
  
  MCos I think Louise Upston is a bit more than a `minor Cabinet Minister’ as you imply.
  
  She is ranked at no5 by National, Leader of the House and holds 5 portfolios of which Social Welfare and Tourism are the most prominent.
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:54am
- peterwn
  
  How do you define a ‘minor’ Cabinet Minister and why is that Minister allegedly more insignificant than other Cabinet Ministers? They all get the same pay (apart from the leader and deputy leader).
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:56am
  - Taieri
    
    How do you define a ‘minor’ Cabinet Minister and why is that Minister allegedly more insignificant than other Cabinet Ministers?
    ————-
    
    Is the Ministry for Ethnic Affairs as significant as the Ministry of Finance?
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:19am
- Nukuleka
  
  Who’s Nichola?
  
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  June 5, 2026 8:57am
  - peterwn
    
    She pops up when Nicola is otherwise engaged.
    
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    June 5, 2026 9:02am
- nova
  
  There was no reason for the second photo to cause outrage, the PM and party were walking towards the camera, to make an announcement on the tiles, and it was very much like a ceremonial procession. I’m not sure if the photo of Louise Upston is that big a deal either, but it is materially different. It is a photo taken of someone not expecting to be photographed, in a private place, and used for the purpose of making them look like they are evading the camera.
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:00am
  - Warren Murray
    
    Context applies; it helps if you know the layout of the place. From the Government side of the House through the lobby there’s a passage that runs between the Grand Hall and the Legislative Council Chamber and leads to the Govt Whips offices, from there people with appropriate passes can walk out a door to the bridge to the Beehive.
    
    That pic was taken from outside the doors on the tiles looking down the length of the Grand Hall and through the doors at the other end to the corridor that separates the Grand Hall from the Legislative Council Chamber. That’s quite a distance. Its a fair assumption that Upston has chosen that route to avoid the media. If she had walked around the back of the Legislative Council Chamber, she wouldn’t have been visible through the length of the Grand Hall and two sets of double doors. It appears 1. She was avoiding the media on the tiles and 2. That was not an accidental pic; Stuff positioned the camera to catch her and 3. She was stalked.
    
    Borderline stuff & storm in a teacup. It’s a pity she looked to her left as she passed the Grand Hall.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:16am
- MCōs
  
  I should have run my comment through some sort of AI machine to iron out a couple of minor flaws to avoid the withering criticisms herewith in
  My point is if MPs are not to be photographed in a private location the doors conveniently located to block off that area should be closed, not held open with cabin hooks.
  Btw
  You think her expression is furtive?
  Andrew says hold my . . . . . beer
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:23am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Presumably they aren’t Fire doors.
    
    Good point about them being open Mcos.
    Could it be that Gerry has failed to ensure the workplace privacy of the Members?
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:39am
Maggy Wassilieff

We often hear that Maori die younger than other ethnic groups, but little analysis of what actually is responsible for this discrepancy in lifespan….

Is it a genetic/ biological reality that Maori lifespan is shorter than other groups of humans?

The recent deaths of 3 long-lived Maori academics:
Sidney /Hirini Mead – 99 years
Whatarangi Winiata – 92 years
Tamati Reedy – 89 years

suggests that Maori lifespan falls well within the range of other groups of people who avoid gang life and attend to their health.
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June 5, 2026 9:39am
- MCōs
  
  So the average lifespan of Maori is really 93
  Mind you they could be exceptional
  I was in one of the ancient cathedrals in England and there was a plaque commemorating some bishop who’d died in his eighties way back in medieval times.
  How is that possible when there was basically no cure for anything?
  
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  June 5, 2026 9:55am
  - Sane Voice
    
    They were using naturopathy long before it became a fashion with modern females.
    
    If they survived beyond childhood most lived a long life.
    
    The average lifespan is distorted by the high number of childhood deaths.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:14am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    So the average lifespan of Maori is really 93
    
    What nonsense!
    
    Our latest statistics put lifespan of Maori males at 74 years, but continuing to increase at a high rate.
    
    https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/maori-have-highest-increases-in-life-expectancy/#:~:text=Life%20expectancy%20at%20birth%20for%20people%20who%20identify%20as%20M%C4%81ori,increased%20by%201.5%E2%80%931.6%20years.
    
    I’m just presenting information to indicate that a short lifespan for Maori males is not set in concrete and increasingly is a thing of the past.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:22am
    - Phronesis
      
      The suspicion is that most of the increase is due to changes in who is identifying as maori.
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:28am
      - artemisia
        
        Why not id as Maori if it gets you priority and cheaper health care? Rational behaviour.
        
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        June 5, 2026 12:04pm
      - Ghost
        
        Does it? Strangely my GP doesn’t have a fee specifically for Māori. Nor do they reserve places for Māori. As for hospital, people are typically, at least here, seen due to their priority. The Equity Adjustor Tool was scrapped by Health NZ in 2024
        
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        June 5, 2026 12:09pm
      - wsk12345
        
        Well Ghost, since I changed my ethnicity to that of the special people I get offered all sorts of free stuff by my medical centre (flu jabs, smears, nurse consults…). And pushed up the queue for a diagnostic procedure. Highly recommend d doing this.
        
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        June 5, 2026 5:32pm
      - Ghost
        
        This government got rid of the ethnicity criteria for free flu vaccines. Free doctors visits and nurse visits aren’t race based in my gp’s practise, I get a few a year. My father gets around six free gp visits.
        
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        June 5, 2026 6:17pm
    - artemisia
      
      Part Maori of course. My part Maori generation of siblings and first cousins has lived years longer than any of the previous generation (7 sibs) did. Now – 3 sibs, more than 20 first cousins all the same apart from one (cancer) and two suicides. Mind you more than half the generation live overseas, most in Australia.
      
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      June 5, 2026 10:30am
  - peterwn
    
    It is partly probabilities and partly lifestyle. There is a probability a person not get appendicitis, brain tumour, certain heart conditions etc. So in the old days a person had some chance of living to a ripe old age. Also a person who chose to live an austere lifestyle would be less likely to be afflicted by potentially life shortening issues. So it was a matter of luck together with lifestyle choices.
    Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated at 78 years old, if it was not for that he would have probably reached 90.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:27am
    - kowtow
      
      ‘if it was not for that he would have probably reached 90.’
      
      We can’t be sure of that . All that bathing with young naked women could have brought on a heart attack.
      
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      June 5, 2026 12:54pm
  - Warren Murray
    
    We can be confident the Bishop was a non smoker. Perhaps a moderate drinker. Was the Bishop married? Such factors influence longevity.
    
    The average life span then was less than now though.
    
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    June 5, 2026 2:21pm
    - RdM
      
      “We can be confident the Bishop was a non smoker.
      [ … ]
      Such factors influence longevity.”
      
      You (the royal we?) might feel confident (that non smoking confers longevity) but smokers tobacco users live long lives too, and are arguably smarter.
      
      I suggest that you’ve just absorbed (much pharma funded) anti-smoking propaganda over decades, and are just regurgitating it unthinkingly.
      
      Sadly this is the collective norm nowadays.
      
      Tobacco (& not just the nicotine therein) has many proven and undisputed benefits for well being.
      
      Plenty of references.
      
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      June 5, 2026 5:46pm
      - Warren Murray
        
        U prob won’t see this but my comment on the Bishop assumed he lived before tobacco was brought into Europe from America
        
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        June 6, 2026 3:38pm
    - peterwn
      
      Not surprising. Appendicitis was pretty well lethal 200 years ago, nowadays (and even 100 years go) it is generally easily sorted. That alone would boost average life expectancy slightly.
      
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      June 5, 2026 8:36pm
- Phronesis
  
  Maori identification isn’t really a medically relevant category these days. There are few maori that are ancestrally more than half maori and a large number that are 2% or less. The average maori is probably around 10-20% maori which means they are mostly something else. Essentially being maori is a cultural identification not a biological ethnicity for the majority of maori.
  
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  June 5, 2026 10:27am
  - Cantabrian
    
    Agree. And the ‘Maori die 7 years earlier’ claim arose many years ago. It would have been based on data accumulated on people in their later years – so it would reflect past lifestyles of youth and early adulthood and the health and community living practices of at least 50 – 60 years ago.
    Does anyone know whether there has been any authoritative recent study that can correlate today’s lifestyles and health practices with the age people are dying now? I doubt that there is one.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:48am
    - artemisia
      
      Don’t know, Cantabrian, but seems likely such research would (quietly) be considered racist and fall at the first hurdle.
      
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      June 5, 2026 12:08pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Does anyone know whether there has been any authoritative recent study that can correlate today’s lifestyles and health practices with the age people are dying now?
      
      Not that I'm aware of….
      
      I've always been interested in "The Glasgow Effect"
      https://mh.bmj.com/content/50/1/60
      
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_effect
      
      For the latter part of the 20thC and early 21st C… the
      lifespan of Glaswegians was less than that of Maori.
      (lifespan of Russian men has always tracked along much lower than that of Maori men)
      
      In NZ in recent times we've only had a racist analysis of the disparity in life spans, never a dispassionate look at the life-spans of the long-termed unemployed and poorly educated folk in N.Z.
      
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      June 5, 2026 12:29pm
- Aquarius
  
  I understand that in the Mormon Church Maori life expectancy is the same as non-Maori; environment anyone ?
  BTW Maggy, if I have a blood transfusion and receive a pint of ‘Maori’ blood
  Will my health outcomes immediately be adversely affected ?
  
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  June 5, 2026 10:29am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    I’m alive because I received blood transfusions at birth.
    
    Goodness only knows what the ethnic/cultural background of my donors were (Catholic or Protestant// English or Scottish)… but here’s the thing….. once I was assured of life, my bone marrow makes my blood… not the donor’s blood.
    
    If you need a blood transfusion from a fellow human, grab it with thanks for the gift.
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:25am
    - Phronesis
      
      Only because you’re biologically inclined Maggy, but you should look up microchimerism.
      
      5 0
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      June 5, 2026 12:02pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        I’ve done my 3 score and 10… so if I’ve picked up a few cells from my kids and a stranger or two….I’m not bothered.
        
        I’ve got countless foreign microbial cells and viral bits doing their thing within and without my body….they’re welcome to share my carcass – alive or dead.
        
        https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43674270
        
        6 0
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        June 5, 2026 12:41pm
- RockyJ
  
  This is important because the myth of why Maori have a shorter life span, that is, systemic racism in the health system, is used as the justification for Maori receiving priority treatment over other races in our hospitals.
  
  A few years ago Dr Lawrie Knight did a study on this and came up with some interesting facts;
  
  1. The race in New Zealand with the longest life expectancy is Chinese. Then other Asians, European with other Polynesians and Maori shortest. This suggests that if life span is determined by racism in the health system then it must be curiously accurately targeted to favour Chinese most.
  
  2. Cook Islands Maori, who are genetically also identical to NZ Maori have the same life expectancy as NZ Maori. This is despite the Cook Islands having been decolonized over 50 years ago and their health system run by Cook Islanders.
  https://www.brashandmitchell.com/post/dr-lawrie-knight-fact-checking-m%C4%81ori-health-claims-that-led-to-the-pae-ora-healthy-futures-bill
  
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  June 5, 2026 10:41am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Indeed…
    
    This study was only released publicly last year, but seemed to be much of the basis of the drive for a separate Maori Health service
    
    https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2025-12/m%C4%81ori-years-of-life-lost-estimates-from-the-global-burden-of-disease-study.pdf
    
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    June 5, 2026 11:32am
    - RockyJ
      
      That has good clinical data but does not explore any causes. It does make the sweeping statement “in New Zealand, people have differences in health that are not only avoidable but unfair and unjust. Equity recognises different people with different levels of advantage require different approaches and resources to
      get equitable health outcomes’ (Health New Zealand 2017).” In other words changing the level of advantage, eg a separate health system, would fix this.
      
      It is interesting that the leading cause of death for Maori is lung cancer. This is not the case for other races. Yet lung cancer is prevalent in smokers and Maori are known to be heavier smokers- a factor individual Maori only can control.
      
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      June 5, 2026 12:23pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        And of course smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease and strokes (other main killers of Maori).
        
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        June 5, 2026 12:47pm
- Nūhaka Native
  
  My rural working class grandfather, died in his early 70s. My well deucated upper middle class mother made it to 92.
  
  From my not very scientific survey sample of 2, I would say life span is correlated to socio economic status. Well off Māori do just as well as the other well off people. There may be some genetic traits influencing life span as well
  
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  June 5, 2026 11:51am
  - Taieri
    
    My maternal grandfather died at 81 as a result of an accident, otherwise he was quite healthy for his age.
    My maternal grandmother died at 90.
    Both were farmers.
    Only one of their 6 children lived past 70.
    All were middle class.
    
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    June 5, 2026 12:07pm
- imalwaysright
  
  “..but little analysis of what actually is responsible for this discrepancy in lifespan….”
  
  Too much sugar.
  Too much salt.
  Too little exercise.
  
  Same as for those in every other race who die from the same diseases.
  
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  June 5, 2026 12:42pm
- malc
  
  Interesting how much attention the supposedly racist health system contributes to all of the negative health outcomes associated with Maori. So little attention is paid to another group far more discriminated against if your assessment is based on outcomes. Poorer mortality, higher rates of heart disease and cancer, higher suicide and accident rates. I could go on. However, no one talks about this part of the population, no one campaigns for privileged services or more money to be spent. Yes, you guessed it – the group referred to are, of course, men.
  What this shows is that even scientists, let alone lay observers, struggle to distinguish between correlation and causation .
  
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  June 5, 2026 3:26pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

There is still a massive push for ending streaming in NZ schools despite the mountains of evidence that it is needed.

PPTA is pushing – hard – to have streaming outlawed in NZ schools by 2030.

Surely the intruduction of the Foundation Achievement standards underlines that:
1) Not all kids have the same ability.
2) Not all kids are at the same level.

According to proposals, kids will be able to sit the Foundation Award any time from Year 9 to Year 13 with the bulk being at Year 11.

Now imagine you’re a kid who achieves the Foundation Award in Year 9. Why should you then sit in a class surrounded by those who might give it a go in Year 13?

How the hell are you supposed to get a productive education out of that?

No, the only logical approach is to keep streaming. Without that there really is no way to get the most out of bright kids (or at the other end keep the slower kids engaged).

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360780822/what-proposed-new-foundational-award-senior-secondary-students-and-what-it-good
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June 5, 2026 9:55am
- MCōs
  
  I don’t have an opinion on the matter in general, but I do know that streaming in my time was the luck of the draw and no good for me.
  
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  June 5, 2026 10:03am
  - imalwaysright
    
    We were streamed from our second year at Primary school.
    It worked, we were focussed and so were the teachers.
    
    That’s the problem in the NZ system, the teachers lack focus and the children know it.
    
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    June 5, 2026 10:50am
    - MCōs
      
      I spent my primary and secondary years in the catholic education system, which meant four years at Marist intermediate. Every catholic kid in Timaru of my age who didn’t go to a state school was lumped together in one class – about 40 to 50 of us with one teacher. No streaming, but plenty of fights!
      
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      June 5, 2026 1:02pm
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        A few lines up you say you were streamed and it wasn’t good for you. Now you say you were not.
        
        Can you make up your mind?
        
        5 1
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        June 5, 2026 1:46pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Mcos
        Mine was in N Ireland, Catholic, so we were all of similar ilk.
        I look back on it and am thankful for the teachers usefully distracting us from the conflict outside.
        We were made to focus and we became good at it very quickly.
        School was our oasis.
        
        4 0
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        June 5, 2026 1:53pm
      - MCōs
        
        Intermediate school is an extension of primary school in NZ. The streaming started at secondary school when the huge classes of the previous year were split up into rankings – I suspect based on what you father did.
        The problem was I was thus directly to the languages subjects for which I had/have little aptitude or interest in learning. That was 40% of my course
        
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        June 5, 2026 4:38pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    MCos, I call bullshit.
    
    How the hell could streaming be the “luck of the draw”?
    
    By its very definition, streaming means separating kids of different ability into different classes so that all kids can get some productive time in education.
    
    If you ended up in the thick class then, newsflash, the teachers thought you were thick. Nothing to do with luck.
    
    You’re confusing cause and effect.
    The kids in the A stream didn’t come out brighter because they were lucky to be placed in the A stream. They were brighter and that is why they were placed in the A stream.
    
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    June 5, 2026 1:44pm
    - MCōs
      
      I was in the middle, which didn’t mean I studied subjects appropriate to my strengths.
      This is back in the mid sixties when things were pretty rigid
      
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      June 5, 2026 4:44pm
      - jonno1
        
        That sounds like the ‘Professional’, ‘Commercial’, and ‘Technical’ streaming that generally worked well in that era.
        
        2 0
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        June 5, 2026 7:19pm
- Burtland
  
  the NZ colonial education system is being enshittified by the marxists
  
  the intention of the MoE is not to improve it but destroy it- 20yrs of documented decline wasnt enough for the MoE to change anything
  
  when chippy gets back in, enshittification will continue unabated
  
  a cannibalistic stone-age slave culture is being whitewashed to replace it – the marxists utopia
  
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  June 5, 2026 11:02am
  - MCōs
    
    Add cannibalism and enshittification to yesterday’s list of excruciatingly misappropriated words along with Marxist
    Btw
    Slavery was abolished with by the Treaty of Waitangi & faded out thereafter. Some years before America, the self proclaimed leaders of the free world.
    
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    June 5, 2026 12:38pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      “Slavery was abolished with by the Treaty of Waitangi ”
      
      More correctly, it was abolished by the British in 1807 in Britain and throughout the Empire in 1833. That meant that when NZ joined the Empire slaving would be illegal.
      
      The Maori held slaves all the way up to Waitangi (and maybe further).
      
      I don’t think that USA would have thought of itself as any form of leader of the free world at the time.
      
      Slaving in Africa was rife, especially in German colonies (modern day Namibia and Tanzania) until the Brits booted the Germans out in WW1 and the Brits put a stop to it.
      
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      June 5, 2026 1:55pm
      - MCōs
        
        Just what I said
        
        2 0
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        June 5, 2026 4:46pm
    - RichardX
      
      Slavery does give an interesting perspective on history.
      Below is from the Texas declaration of secession dated 1 March 1845.
      
      That in this free government all white men are and of right ought to be entitled to equal civil and political rights; that the servitude of the African race, as existing in these States, is mutually beneficial to both bond and free, and is abundantly authorized and justified by the experience of mankind, and the revealed will of the Almighty Creator, as recognized by all Christian nations; while the destruction of the existing relations between the two races, as advocated by our sectional enemies, would bring inevitable calamities upon both and desolation upon the fifteen slave-holding states.
      
      https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_texsec.asp
      
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      June 5, 2026 3:22pm
- Phronesis
  
  If we admitted that individuals have differing levels of innate ability, then we would have to admit that groups of individuals have differing levels of ability. This would completely undermine the narrative that differences in representation in selective professions are always and necessarily a result of structural sexism or racism. This obviously cannot be allowed to happen. Clearly all children are equally intelligent and any differences in achievement are entirely the teachers fault, due to structural racism and sexism.
  
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  June 5, 2026 11:09am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    “If we admitted that individuals have differing levels of innate ability, then we would have to admit that groups of individuals have differing levels of ability”
    
    While I think it true that different groups clearly have different ability, your statement above does not follow.
    
    Individuals within a group can vary in their abilities without it meaning that groups as a whole vary in their abilities.
    
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    June 5, 2026 1:57pm
- peterwn
  
  Who is pushing – PPTA members or PPTA leadership. Union leaders often have their personal political views and outlook and use the the weight of union membership to underpin their ‘authority’. Interestingly the most pragmatic unions in the UK and in NZ were the electricians unions.
  What is the use of some poor kid in a classroom where the lessons are way over the kid’s head and the poor kid just cannot wait to get out of it.
  Some years ago the Education Review Office slammed a high school in a disadvantaged socio economic area for not teaching the curriculum. The principal responded that there was no point in teaching the curriculum if the pupils do not actually learn anything. Better to teach the pupils life skills and whatever they could usefully learn so they are placed to be a useful and fulfilling member of society.
  
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  June 5, 2026 11:43am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    And notice how the PPTA is trying to keep qualified and master tradies at the bottom of the teaching profession:
    
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/597068/erica-stanford-plans-to-increase-pay-for-tradies-working-as-unqualified-teachers
    
    The arrogance of Chris Abercrombie is revealing.
    
    How passing a few paper exams for a basic B.Ed or B.A. or B.Sc. trumps a qualified tradie with years of practical experience beats me.
    
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    June 5, 2026 12:55pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      A good toolmaker has more knowledge and physical skills than a dentist.
      
      Not diminishing dentists, as the consequences of their mistakes are far more serious than for a toolmaker, but skills and knowledge and how to apply them are common to professions and to trades.
      
      7 0
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      June 5, 2026 1:37pm
Swifty

A shame that some of us think that the naked looting of public infrastructure is perfectly acceptable – so that they might benefit by a few dollars.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/rotorua-copper-theft-thieves-dig-up-150m-of-cables-from-water-site/WROQAHDNO5DXHGLNGFKJVCVKTM/

For me, I’d welcome the return of public floggings.
14 0
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June 5, 2026 11:54am
kowtow

All fair minded and reasonable people need to be mindful of how dangerous the west has become.

This woman has had to flee Amsterdam of all places , the city of Anne Frank , due to her support of women and Jewishness .

Truly shocking.

‘ Sarah Hildering van Lith, an Amsterdam-born music industry executive, told the Post that a series of incidents convinced her she could no longer safely remain in the Netherlands.’

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-898449
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June 5, 2026 12:51pm
Pope Punctilious II

Outraged progressives are gathering signatures to have Elizabeth Rata’s damehood revoked. Such kindness!
https://www.facebook.com/BreakingDownTheBeehive/posts/kia-ora-and-wowthank-you-so-much-to-everyone-who-has-added-name-to-the-public-co/122180974436894566/
7 0
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June 5, 2026 1:12pm
- Ghost
  
  meh, who cares. ignore and don’t give them free publicity.
  
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  June 5, 2026 1:19pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Pope,
  If you read the comments, and note the standard of grammar, it will quickly become obvious why they seem to hate Professor Rata.
  
  On a pro rata metric, they appear quite thick…
  
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  June 5, 2026 2:04pm
  - mogg
    
    DEI is ‘flushed through govt departments’ by activists who have been placed into Public Service jobs deliberately. Speak out or contradict them at your own peril, it would be career ending.
    
    7 2
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    June 5, 2026 2:31pm
Notsofast

The DEI departments Chris Hipkins mandated in the 2020 one party rule system have been unmandated.
I never heard anything about this except scrolling X.
This is pretty big news for the permanently outraged.

https://x.com/i/status/2062498727345217708
8 2
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June 5, 2026 1:28pm
- Ian
  
  And thus ships will not be sunk anymore…
  
  1 1
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  June 5, 2026 2:16pm
  - Notsofast
    
    Yes, Chris Hipkins sank the ship.
    Toppling dominoes, another reason not to vote for him.
    
    3 2
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    June 5, 2026 2:36pm
    - Ghost
      
      chris hipkins may be the person responsible for the legislation, but the legislation was passed because 3 parties voted for it, NZ First, Greens, Labour. That Party that pretended recently to be against the Public Service Act 2020 are responsible for it being passed.
      
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      June 5, 2026 2:43pm
Ghost

American flag blue looks very black

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360988399/water-begins-refilling-reflecting-pool-after-trumps-renovati
2 0
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June 5, 2026 1:39pm
Gravelroad

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360988434/massive-sense-helplessness-river-sewage-floods-wellington-street
Oh, dear, how awful.
Faecies , tampons and condoms floating down the street in Island Bay.
A resident said he was worried about E.Coli in the playground.
Another said “Ok we’ve got a lovely bicycle track on top (of the street) but it’s only a facade.”
This is Wellington, not some small town in Asia or India.
You all still going to vote for the Green Party?
Yep.
10 2
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June 5, 2026 2:29pm
- greybeard
  
  https://www.wellingtonwater.co.nz/about-us/governance/executive-leadership
  Here are some of the very well-paid executives who couldn’t give a shit.
  You never hear their names mentioned.
  
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  June 5, 2026 4:04pm
- Handyman
  
  The picture is a perfect metaphor for Wellington.
  Faeces and tampons running down the street on the wonderful ten-million-dollar cycle lane.
  Even now, I bet the priority for the Wellington council will be to get the cycle lane open as soon as possible; don’t worry about the pre-school or people’s front gardens.
  
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  June 5, 2026 4:06pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Island Bay, home of Mayor Andrew Little.
  
  Oh, the irony.
  
  2 0
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  June 5, 2026 9:22pm
Ian

Newstalk ZB opinion piece railing against pathetic NZ sentences compared to Australia. Three times rapist George Starling paroled two years into a six year sentence – because he’ll be a good boy and now knows what asking for consent means. Carla Cardno’s murderer being released – we’re not even allowed to see his picture. At 2009, Parole Board noted he was high on the psychopathy checklist, 2014 in a parole hearing, he said he enjoyed the act of the murder – now suddenly he’s all cured. My wife, a retired mental health nurse would note once a psychopath, always a psychopath. Even Stuff has reporting on the George Starling case – as a court report, but it may as well be a rant. What is wrong with our justice system?…
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June 5, 2026 2:31pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Whoever kills Daly on release from State care should be nominated New Zealander of the decade and live tax free for the rest of their days…
  
  5 1
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  June 5, 2026 2:48pm
Ghost

lucky man that the dog didn’t feel like having a sausage for lunch

A man is facing a slew of charges after allegedly attempting to drown a police dog, while naked, in an Auckland swamp.

Article
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June 5, 2026 2:53pm
- MCōs
  
  Fairly interesting NZ headline, as is this one
  
  Someone Called The Kiwi A “Fat, Flightless Fuck” And New Zealanders Don’t Know Whether To Laugh Or Cry
  “Political tension in New Zealand.”
  
  https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kassycho/bird-of-the-year
  
  As is this one
  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/27/new-zealand-police-break-up-one-person-anti-lockdown-protest-in-auckland?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
  
  Also this story on the ABC website in 2008
  
  “NZ man convicted of assault with hedgehog”
  
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  June 5, 2026 5:10pm
RichardX

Does anyone believe a “Trump class battleship” would provided a positive impact for the US Navy in the current conflict?
4 2
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June 5, 2026 3:29pm
- imalwaysright
  
  It will be driven by a Netanyahu class reactor which are notoriously unreliable…
  
  2 1
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  June 5, 2026 5:23pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360988604/food-bank-founder-dave-letele-constantly-depressed-need-grows
I wonder how much Dave Letele is making out of this “charity” ?
3 0
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June 5, 2026 6:45pm

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