The Bull Ring

𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕣𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕪 𝔸𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕪? 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝔻𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕪 ℝ𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣, 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝟙𝟝𝟟 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕠: "𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕨𝕠 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕥𝕤. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕, 𝕀 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪.” -𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕌.𝕊. 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 If we learned anything from January 6, it’s that the struggle for the future of America isn’t about Democrats versus Republican, left versus right. It’s about democracy versus fascism. — Robert Reich (@RBReich) April 29, 2022 I like democracy and that's why I'm a Democrat! pic.twitter.com/YHhIQkM0CH — Michael LaFond (@michaellafond31) April 30, 2022 . . The Republican Party is a disgrace to our democracy. pic.twitte...

𝔼𝕩𝕔𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕄𝕣 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟, 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪'𝕤 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕖 𝕖𝕘𝕘 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕖 ℍ𝕦𝕚𝕒 𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕥𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕝. B   y now, you'll realise I love trains.  I've talked to railway modellers, backyard railway creators, railway tour operators fighting in Ukraine, and those behind the Save Our Trains campaign. . . I've also been a proponent of the Auckland-Hamilton passenger train called Te Huia.   Te Huia's had a rough start in life - it launched in the middle of the pandemic, and then passenger numbers plummeted during the lockdown.  It's since become a political football for National Party leader Christopher Luxon who says the $100m/year it costs to run is an example of wasteful spending that he'd scrap.  He's used it as an example numerous times. He loves to ...

ℝ𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕝 𝕊𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕪 𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕀 𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 - 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕. 𝔸𝕔𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥... 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖! F   or a while, I took a break from the media and worked for the Ministry of Housing. I know, right? Me, in a Ministry... You won’t be surprised to hear that I wasn’t a particularly brilliant public servant. I was always a bit exasperated. Always a bit frustrated. Nothing ever happened at pace, there were always so many rules, and there are lots of titles, tiers, and protocols in the ministry.     . . Those rules and restrictions are in place for a very good reason. You’re dealing with taxpayer money, so you are always advancing cautiously with a great deal of care and ov...

ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝'𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕖 𝕖𝕘𝕘 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕣𝕦𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤. W   hile they get to endlessly criticise the governing party for even the smallest digression or policy decision, they also have to come up with an alternative proposition.  In short, they can easily talk the talk, but walking the walk is much, much harder.     . . One of the reasons for this is they don't have the resources, the researchers, the people-power, and the might of government departments.  A prime example of this is National Party leader Christopher Luxon's recent performances on TVNZ's Q&A on Sunday and Today FM's Tova this morning. “Concerns are growing in the business community and in his own party about whether National leader Christopher Luxon is quite up to it.” Brutal column from Hooton. https://t.co/feJSyvG6k1 ...

𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕖 𝕖𝕘𝕘 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟'𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕤 𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝'𝕤 𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕛𝕠𝕓 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪'𝕤 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕖 𝕖𝕘𝕘 𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕊𝕚𝕣 𝕁𝕠𝕙𝕟 𝕂𝕖𝕪’𝕤 𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖. A   nother two years quietly back-benching away, getting his electorate chops up and better learning the machinations of politics and policy, and Christopher Luxon would have built that bit more resilience, preparedness, and agility into his brand of leadership.  Sir John had long urged Luxon to wait until after the 2023 election. Putting money on fair chances that National would lose, Luxon would be anointed the leadership and after nine long years of Labour, the 2026 electorate would be so ready for change and he would be so ready to rise to the role of Prime Minister, his chance of a win would be a cinch.   . . To...

ℕℤ 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕓 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝔸𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕒 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ℕℤ 🤣🤣 𝔸𝕤 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕓 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℕℤ'𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝔸𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ℕℤ.🤣🤣🤣 𝕆𝕣, 𝕞𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞? K   iwis hoping to escape inflation by moving to Australia or holidaying there may be in for a disappointment. Price rises in Australia outstripped those in New Zealand in the first three months of this year, figures released by Australia’s Bureau of Statistics show. Annual inflation in the year to the March quarter is still  higher in New Zealand , at 6.9%, than in Australia, where ann...