Posts by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
(DIR) Post #AudZOzs1VNZ2exHQIK by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-05-31T00:46:54Z
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Simeon grasped Chris gently but firmly by the hand and took him for a walk in the garden to sober up after last night's fiasco. This wasn't the first time Bish had gone on a bender but it was almost as bad as that time he'd been caught inappropriately messaging teenage girls.Bishop was tired. His eyes were moist and he was sure they were red, at least they were from the inside looking out. He reeked of stale booze and regret. "I can't believe Don McGlashan called me a dickhead", he sniffed.Brown shuffled awkwardly. "Don't look over there", he warned. "There's a Maori flag which might trigger you again."#NZPol #Humour #ChrisBishop
(DIR) Post #AujIz3kU1vRuqC7gie by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-02T19:01:33Z
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Act is at it again. NZ's 'Workplace Relations and Safety Minister' Brooke van Velden reckons Worksafe plays it too safe. But she intends to fix that by directing the department to change their attitude and reduce the silly concentration on er... safety.Coincidentally the proposed legislation will take companies out of the firing line for industrial accidents and push the burden onto employees. Pure Atlas Network.Oh, and there's some distraction about 'too many road cones' to keep the media occupied.https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/atmosphere-of-fear-minister-kicks-off-agency-shake-up-with-hotline-for-overzealous-road-cone-use/AYKQ7P4VRZA7RBELZVGPUBXFUI/#NZPol #Act #VanVelden #AtlasNetwork
(DIR) Post #AulZ6F8S53HtlWhXhA by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-03T21:23:42Z
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Today's ODT editorial has the intriguing headline: "Halfway down ‘Dickhead’ Road".As you'd imagine, it's about Chris Bishop's drunken abuse at the music awards.https://archive.ph/8d9Mw#selection-1197.0-1197.28#NZPol #ChrisBishop #NationalNotFitToGovern
(DIR) Post #AuoCxr87pgCtTr1Xfc by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-05T04:21:11Z
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For people outside the US, fourth graders are only 9–10 years old.@Nonilex
(DIR) Post #AvAoEEVO3fXiDBQ3LU by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-13T05:15:03Z
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⬆️ Advanced web view here too. That means I see most of the posts on my local server, which being dot NZ is more localised and parochial than many.Mastodon without five columns would be a very different experience.@lisamelton @lrhodes
(DIR) Post #AvOKQJ9kJZj9hQZrkW by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-21T20:18:40Z
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America has The Onion, Canada has The Beaverton. This is a helpful travel piece: "Canadians travelling to the US advised to not fucking do that".“Canadians are welcome in California. It’s perfectly safe to visit,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Just so long as you take a few basic travel precautions, like travelling on a valid passport, teleporting over the border, moving undetected in the shadows in the dead of night, getting the telephone number of an immigration attorney tattooed to your upper thigh, saying a heartfelt goodbye to your pets and the people who love you, and appointing someone to water your plants just in case you disappear into a labyrinthian nightmare of an extrajudicial immigration enforcement system that no longer answers to judge nor common mercy.”https://www.thebeaverton.com/2025/06/canadians-travelling-to-the-us-advised-to-not-fucking-do-that/#Beaverton #Canada #Satire
(DIR) Post #AvR7PuX8CAWFmbreWu by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-23T21:49:37Z
3 likes, 1 repeats
Heh! Back in the early 80s my ex and I did some randomised driving across France and ended up in Condom.We took a 35mm photo of the two of us with our yellow VW in front of the 'Condom' sign at the edge of the village. Sent them as postcards to friends with the caption "Playing safe in France."Memories!@kaia
(DIR) Post #AwHsobSqNbv8doLZtA by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-07-19T04:17:46Z
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In Glasgow 64 year old Sean Clerkin has been charged under the Terrorism Act for holding a placard reading "Genocide in Palestine, Time to Take Action".He's effectively banned from the city centre until his court date.UK courts are slowly filling with groups of these elderly, peaceful "terrorists", making a mockery of the law.https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/25325826.man-banned-glasgow-city-centre-palestine-protest/#UKPol #Genocide
(DIR) Post #AxiHfpdI7Yx4k6RLgu by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-08-30T20:26:32Z
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*If* Labour had won the last election, Dunedin Hospital would be well into construction instead of remaining an empty building site. However I take issue with this line from Glenn McConnell."The $1.88 billion hospital was previously expected to open in 2029, but its cost was set to reach $3b."That $3b figure was invented by Bishop during a presser, and the actual cost at the time was around $2.2b. Sloppy journalism allows National's bigger lies to become fact.However, Labour has let the cooker coalition ram through untold bad legislation with very little pushback. Hipkins' tactic of hiding in a cupboard somewhere may improve his ratings, but a largely invisible opposition doesn't give voters much hope.Kieran McAnulty for Labour leader!@Salty #KieranMcAnulty #NZPol
(DIR) Post #AxiHfsEETBgonFjsY5 by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-08-31T00:02:25Z
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I've voted Green for as long as I can remember and support TPM. NZ Labour is stuck in a weird place where they've forgotten their roots.Much like Starmer's lot who are almost to the right of the Tories. They're already wasting time, energy and goodwill competing with Farrage, who only has four seats in parliament. Farrage says something dumb, UK media run in as a top story and Labour slips further right, trying to capture that mythical centre ground. Hopefully Corbyn can restore the left's mana.When Chippy was PM, the Nats maintained a daily barrage of criticism. Labour spent more time responding to accusations than introducing meaningful policies... like a UBI, like a wealth tax. Instead Chippy did the foolish "not on my watch" thing.In tumultuous times, NZ deserves a lot better than weak centrist leaders who aspire to be nothing more than history's placeholders. Chlöe for PM. @jeremy_pm @Salty #ChloeForPM
(DIR) Post #AxkScuAaHeVbkzjuFM by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-01T00:23:32Z
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Former RNZ National addict here. I hate commercial radio and waffling presenters so RNZ was my companion, at home, in the car, everywhere. For fifty years.Morning Report led the news agenda, regularly broke stories and RNZ was the gold standard of authoritative sources.As the media world shattered and diversified, RNZ gradually became less Kim Hill and more Jim Mora, cutting edge became the radio equivalent of squashy blancmange and I stopped listening in 2020.Now I stream BBC Radio 4 when I need a radio fix. They're not perfect but they're less annoying than RNZ. How could RNZ win back listeners? For a start, bring back intelligent interviews - not Wallace fucking Chapman dominating every conversation or yet more blathering from Jesse Mulligan.In depth analysis should provide insight -- not inane "Let us know what you think" appeals to listeners.Stop trying to compete with Mike Hosking and the anger merchants -- there is still a market for intelligent radio.Now becoming more Auckland-centric? RNZ has misplaced its niche.@zl2tod @leighelse #NZ #RNZ
(DIR) Post #AxkU1MJ5QE7zvWwNea by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-01T02:12:10Z
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Gavin Ellis knows what he's talking about."He (Sutherland) says the focus should be on the 50-69 age group for RNZ National but I go further. The focus should be on the 50 to death age group."From one who ticks the '70-death' box, thank you Gavin."No more trying to beat commercial radio at its own game, producing television without the pictures, and placing undue emphasis on reporters’ own opinions."https://knightlyviews.com/rnz-national-may-have-received-the-circuit-breaker-it-sorely-needs/@zl2tod @leighelse
(DIR) Post #AxlCtNNC4Nywr2QgTY by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-01T05:47:15Z
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Here's a working sand battery in Finland. Heated to 500°C, it'll store heat for up to three months. This one heats all the town's municipal buildings, uses no chemicals, it doesn’t degrade and won’t catch on fire. Seriously cool tech!https://cleantechnica.com/2025/08/30/finnish-city-inaugurates-1-mw-100-mwh-sand-battery/#SandBattery #GreenEnergy
(DIR) Post #Axmr8fGS1Vha0m532W by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-02T06:18:11Z
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Dita De Boni on reheating the old project using some very dodgy numbers."But to the extent US companies feel they need any kind of social licence to operate - and it is arguable about whether the large tech companies do or not - it would help to employ a public relations strategy that did not rely on the goldfish-like memory of citizens or the opportunistic nature of politicians to make claims of beneficence that don’t really stack up."https://www.waikatotimes.co.nz/business/360810019/amazon-repackages-old-and-unknown-golden-carrot-new-zealand@lightweight @davemosk
(DIR) Post #AxtVAclJSYkRwelT04 by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-05T11:15:01Z
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Sounds like the same audience who buy from infomercials. "Ring within the next ten minutes and you'll receive a second objectively useless gadget absolutely free."@futurebird
(DIR) Post #Ay0lv4ASrBPNdVPpqK by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-08T21:12:28Z
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New Banksy!Titled "Royal Courts Of Justice. London.” this one is on the outside of the Royal Courts of Justice, in London. Naturally.It shows a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel.Hands up anyone who can't see a connection to the foolish proscribing of Palestine Action. Authorities are not amused. Police are investigating the mural as potential “criminal damage” and it will be destroyed, soon.Sure it's a listed building. But what the people in power hate the most is the fact that it takes the piss out of the judiciary and criticises the misuse of law to define anyone opposing genocide and supporting Palestine Action as terrorists. https://www.banksy.co.uk/#Banksy #Courts #PalestineAction
(DIR) Post #AyxoF9gCgciKP35JeS by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-10-06T23:36:16Z
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I can remember when NZ Post was a government service operated for the public good. The Luxon government has just approved changes "to allow NZ Post to operate the mail service in a commercially sustainable way."That means a 33% cut in urban mailbox deliveries, and a 40% cut for us rural customers."... the new deed requires that mail be delivered two days a week to urban addresses, PO boxes and private bags and a minimum three days a week to rural addresses."Rural users rely on NZ Post to receive medicines and all manner of small packages. Not long ago we were guaranteed six day per week deliveries, then it became five, and now it'll be three.Unlike city folk, we yokels have no alternatives. Other courier companies all hand off to rural mail for the last mile.https://www.odt.co.nz/business/changes-may-mean-cuts-mail-delivery-days-rnz #NZPost #NZPol
(DIR) Post #B0CYxCXjDamioJkNfs by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-09-22T06:12:36Z
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Calling @jackyan -- can you see this post Jack?@peterson @theadmin
(DIR) Post #B0OAYGCSZmIw9QrvRw by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-11-19T02:04:12Z
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BCG seems to be closely aligned with the Trump regime and is involved in the "redesign" (annexation) of Gaza. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Consulting_Group@lightweight #BostonConsultingGroup
(DIR) Post #B0w1EQcrMrbnFFNn8q by BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
2025-06-07T22:22:41Z
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Dr Neal Curtis argues that we should avoid the neoliberal-inspired phrase of ‘taxing the rich’ and instead use ‘reclaim the wealth’. He points out the many social inequalities which exist in New Zealand."... the tax giveaway to landlords is estimated to cost the country $2.9 billion. To put this in perspective, that is more than the amount paid in Treaty settlements since 1985, which is about $2.7b. In other words, in one year, the current Government awarded landlords more money than has been paid out to Māori in 40 years as compensation for historical wrongs."https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/06/08/lets-call-taxing-the-rich-what-it-really-is/#ReclaimTheWealth #TaxBillionaires