The Bull Ring

  Trump's real-estate empire pays the price for poisonous politics Former US president Donald Trump's slashing rhetorical style and divisive politics allowed him to essentially take over the Republican Party. His supporters are so devoted that most believe his false claim that he lost the 2020 election because of voter fraud. Former US president Donald Trump. Photo: 2021 Getty Images But the same tactics that have inspired fierce political loyalty have undermined Trump's business, built around real-estate development and branding deals that have allowed him to make millions by licensing his name. Trump's business brand was once synonymous with wealth and success, an image that now clashes sharply with a political brand rooted in the anger of his largely rural and working-class voter base. His presidency is now associated in the minds of many with its violent end, as supporters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January. Those seari...

  Couple denied NZ residence due to Chinese intelligence links 12:15 pm on 30 October 2021 A couple who set up a business in New Zealand have been described as a threat to national security because of their link to Chinese intelligence services. China and NZ flags Photo: 123RF They denied they were spies, but were rejected for residence and lost an immigration appeal. The Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) told immigration officers the man and his wife have "almost certainly" assisted the People's Republic of China Intelligence Services (PRCIS) and had deliberately concealed the amount of contact they maintained with PRCIS. "Therefore, NZSIS assesses that [their] presence in New Zealand presents an enduring national security risk as we cannot discount that [they] may seek to assist the PRCIS again in the future." Immigration New Zealand (INZ), which was assessing the couple's residen...

𝕆𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪'𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕚𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪'𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕚𝕩 𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕜𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕣 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤. B oth National and the New Zealand hospital system are lucky we'll never experience the consequences of the party's reopening plan. If implemented, the plan would see Covid-19 moving through the community while too many Māori and young people remain unvaccinated. Hospitals could be strained under the burden of Covid-19 cases. And these outcomes would of course prove to be horribly unpopular, sparking backlash against National itself. While much of the focus on Wednesday was on its economic promises, including tax cuts for businesses and all income earners and support for the tourism sector and RSE employe...

ℍ𝕠𝕨 '𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰, 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯' 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕕𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕌𝕊 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕁𝕠𝕖 𝔹𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕟 (ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕕) ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝔹𝕚𝕝𝕝 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕒 𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕟 𝕆𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟙 ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕙𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕖 “𝕃𝕖𝕥’𝕤 𝕘𝕠, 𝔹𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕟!” 𝕚𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕣𝕪𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕚𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘. B ut the phrase was already growing in right-wing circles, and now the seemingly upbeat sentiment –actually a stand-in for swearing at Joe Biden – is everywhere. South Carolina Republican (Retard) Jeff Duncan wore a “Let’s Go Brandon” face mask at the Capitol last week. Texas Senator Ted Cruz posed with a “Let’s Go Brandon” sign at the World Series. Senator Mitch McConnell’s press secretary re-tweeted a photo of the phrase on a construction sign in Virginia. The line ...

𝕌𝕊 𝕤𝕡𝕪 𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕆𝕍𝕀𝔻-𝟙𝟡 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕌𝕊 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕆𝕍𝕀𝔻-𝟙𝟡, 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕒 𝕟𝕖𝕨, 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕣𝕦𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕝-𝕥𝕠-𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕣 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒 𝕝𝕒𝕓. T he Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a declassified report that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans. But it said analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all. The report also dismissed suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bioweapon, saying proponents of this theory "do no...

𝕆𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕀𝕟 𝔸𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒: 𝕄𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕦𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕟𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕖𝕝𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 -- 𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕖. L ake County Search and Rescue says it got a report last week that a hiker hadn't returned from a hike on Mount Elbert. The hiker had set out at 9 a.m. on October 18 and wasn't back at 8 p.m.,  LCSAR said in a post on its Facebook page .   Rescuers tried to call the person's cell phone multiple times, but weren't able to reach them. Five LCSAR team members looked for the hiker in areas where people tend to get lost, but called off the search at 3 a.m. A three-person search team checked another area at 7 a.m. . They got a call at about 9...

𝕃𝕖𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕕𝕠 𝕚𝕥: 𝔽𝕚𝕝𝕞 𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕𝕪 𝕤𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕒𝕟 𝕘𝕦𝕟𝕤 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣-𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕪, 𝕚𝕥 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕞𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕜𝕪’𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 ℍ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕪𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖: 𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕕𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕤. 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕖, 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤. 𝕀𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕛𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕪𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕪𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕤. B ut as a shocked and saddened industry was reminded this week, many productions still use guns – real guns – when filming. And despite rules and regulations, people can get killed, as happened last week when  Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after he was handed a weapon and told it was safe . The tragedy has led some in Hollywood, along with incredulous observers, to ask: Why are real guns ever...