May 17, 2025 - Personal blog of Rick Giles

Hostage Puppy

By NZB3

I wake up this morning to a dramatic headline from Three News: “…President Donald Trump’s decision to gut the humanitarian agency, USAID. It comes as the United Nations warned millions of people would die if the funding was pulled as planned.” You can watch the full clip on their site here. Or, I’ve clipped it […]

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February 9, 2025

Chinese Tiger Trouble

By NZB3

As the Trump Administration flexes in their hemisphere it seems that China is doing the same over here in ours. The USA has been insisting on more power and influence over the Panama and even making designs on Greenland and Canada (check out great Jordan Peterson’s take on that.) The Colombian President announced that his […]

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February 8, 2025

“That tide has turned—or if it hasn’t yet, it’s turning.”

By NZB3

Well that’s an interesting admission to mark the ending of what I call ‘Aotearoa New Zealand Culture’. Mike Hosking said on his Newstalk ZB radio show this morning some words I wasn’t expecting. He, or one of his script-writers, put it quite well- the ‘currently cool’ SJW and Woke Virtue Signalling about all things “Māori” is […]

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February 7, 2025

Government’s Free Lunch

By NZB3

“This week, headline after headline bitched about the new ‘free’ school lunch programme. ” wrote Lindsay Mitchell yesterday. “School lunches are already well-catered for with $261.86 cash assistance. Parents are double-dipping.” So, this new solution makes no moral sense. It’s an example of the Amnesiac Samaritan principle where we have already solved a problem at […]

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February 3, 2025

Miss Lee or Misled?

By NZB3

Melissa Lee, before becoming a politician, was a great presenter on Asia Downunder (1994-2011.) I remember watching her anchor and rather than flick away I had to watch because the team she was part of was making great, informative television. Then she turned to politics. Lee was at the wheel as Minister for Media and […]

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January 27, 2025

Peter Gluckman’s Mask Slips

By NZB3

Peter Gluckman is New Zealand’s biggest science grifter. From 2009-18 a new job was invented: Chief Science Adviser to the Prime Minister. AKA The Court Scientist. He shilled for John Key, Bill English and Jacinda Ardern and didn’t care who he sold his science to. Reminds me of a song Don Henley lyric: I can […]

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January 24, 2025

Nick Smith’s Anti-Trump Campaign

By NZB3

Local government elections 2025 are coming but the campaigning has already started. Leading the way with international headlines is Nelson Mayor Nick Smith’s made-up plight of Ernest Rutherford. “President Trump claimed many achievements for the USA (scaling mountains, braving dangers, ending slavery,..) without saying his country was the only one or the first one to have done […]

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January 23, 2025

Government Airline Messes With Wrong Cat

By NZB3

Without government airlines who would transport our pets safely to Australia? And back. And then back again, all in one trip! Messing with Margo Neas, a Communications Manager, came with some international headlines blowback for the ‘national carrier’ Air New Zealand. Mittens is one of the few New Zealand cats to have her own Press […]

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January 23, 2025

Government Wigs

By NZB3

Part of the reason we can’t have a State, no not even a little one, is that it always grows and ends up controlling and fowling up everything. One crisis at a time, each seemingly “kind” or “necessary” or “urgent” popular need is grasped upon by politicians on the make to expand their powers. In […]

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January 21, 2025

Parklife

By NZB3

Just listening to Radio Hauraki. (Hau-rak-ie not ‘Hoe-raki.’) A Blur song came on and a lyric struck me… “I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too It gives me a sense of enormous well-being (Parklife) And then I’m happy for the rest of the day Safe in the knowledge there will always be […]

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January 8, 2025