The Bull Ring

𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙: ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝔸𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒 𝕚𝕤 ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕞 𝕗𝕦𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕊𝔸 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. . . . .

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕣𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕕𝕠𝕥𝕖: 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡, 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕖𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝟝𝟘 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕙𝕠𝕨 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕’𝕤 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕔. A otearoa New Zealand has had the great good fortune to be guided through the pandemic by a progressive government, led by the New Zealand Labour Party (NZLP)—first in coalition, now in an unprecedented, single-party, majority administration elected under the German-style system of proportional representation. By a mixture of luck and good management, the country of five million has suffered fewer than 50 deaths to date from Covid-19 and is almost the only nation to have recorded  an improvement in life expectancy. Despite the closure of international tourism and education, the economy has  barely misse...

𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕤 & 𝔽𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕤 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 ℍ𝕚𝕞 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕗 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕝𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕙𝕦𝕘𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝. ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤 - 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 - 𝕚𝕥 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝔻𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕. ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕪 . . . . 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝔾𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝔹𝕆𝕆𝔼𝔻 𝔻𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕚𝕤 𝕆𝕨𝕟 𝕃𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝔾𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝔻𝔼𝕊ℙ𝔼ℝ𝔸𝕋𝔼 𝕋𝕠 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝔽𝕦𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕀𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝑀𝐸𝑅𝑅𝒴 𝒞𝐻𝑅𝐼𝒮𝒯𝑀𝒜𝒮 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒥𝑜𝒽𝓃𝓃𝓎 Summer Wonderland - Ronan Keating 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕁𝕣. ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕞𝕤 𝕋𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕄𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕎𝕖𝕣𝕖 -𝔼𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕- 𝔹𝕪 𝕁𝕒𝕟𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝟞𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕚...

𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕡 𝕦𝕡 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕. 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕕 𝕦𝕡 . 𝑀𝐸𝑅𝑅𝒴 𝒞𝐻𝑅𝐼𝒮𝒯𝑀𝒜𝒮 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒥𝑜𝒽𝓃𝓃𝓎 Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens . . .

𝕀𝕟 𝕒 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕤, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝔸𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕟. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝔸𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕘𝕘𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒 – 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕖𝕝 𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 I f you want to know me, look at my surface”, Andy Warhol once said, or something along those lines. It’s an invitation to the obvious that should apply in politics, and yet the public regard politicians with – at best – a good deal of suspicion and, at worst, contempt. And who can blame them? In  New Zealand  the workers’ party (Labour) was responsible for introducing and administering neoliberalism in the 1980s, a dramatic break with their social democratic history that the Australian Labor party was also undertaking in the 1980s, the US Democrats in the 1990s, and UK Labour shortly after. As the old...

𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕤 ℙ𝕄 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝔸𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕋𝕠𝕧𝕒 𝕆'𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟, 𝕁𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕒 𝕄𝕦𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕄𝕔𝕂𝕒𝕪 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕤 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝔸𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕋𝕠𝕧𝕒 𝕆'𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕁𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕒 𝕄𝕦𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕄𝕔𝕂𝕒𝕪 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕁𝕠𝕟𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔹𝕖𝕟. D uring the segment on radio station The Hits, a lot of fun was poked at Ardern's approach to media briefings for journalists - specifically, the order in which she takes questions. Comedians Jono and Ben even gave her a T-shirt printed with large wording saying: "Jessica then Tova". . But they had an even bigger surprise in getting O'Brien and Mutch McKay to join the segment over the phone. "They have fired an abundance of questions at you over the last 12 months and right now, we...

𝔾𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕥𝕤 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝔸𝕟𝕥𝕚-𝕧𝕒𝕩 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 "𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞" ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕒 𝕡𝕦𝕗𝕗. T hey showed up to an empty house with MPs already gone home for the holidays and Wellington weather quite literally rained on their parade.  "We are under a Government that is moving towards a totalitarianism regime," one protester said.  . "We don't agree with any mandates that Jacinda is imposing on us," said another. "Still quite angry, not as angry as I was," said a third. Wellingtonians were angry right back . Under 2000 but this must be the greatest concentration of NZ morons ever to assemble in one place. #PeakMoron pic.twitter.com/At3sjY04gP — Lying ex tobacco lobbyist (@rugbyintel) December 15, 2021 Why are they using umbrellas? They don’t even offe...