Yep, they are sleepwalking.
Idiots.

[Interview] Journalist Szabolcs Panyi: ‘Being accused of espionage after exposing Hungarian foreign minister’s Russian links is a sign of weakness’ In an escalation of Hungary’s campaign against independent media, award-winning journalist Szabolcs Panyi has been accused of "espionage" following his investigations into the Budapest-Moscow hotline....

It is increasingly clear that Viktor Orbán is afraid of losing next month's election and is pulling out all the stops to rig his victory.
euobserver.com/208735/inter...

Screenshot of livestream of 'national fuel plan update'.

Jeez they really seem to be cosplaying a 'crisis', aren't they?

End of “Chat Control”: EU Parliament Stops Mass Surveillance in Voting Thriller – Paving the Way for Genuine Child Protection! The controversial mass surveillance of private messages in Europe is coming to an end. After the European Parliament had already rejected the indiscriminate and blanket Chat Control by US tech compani...

"Voting thriller" seems apt.

Anyone familiar with the long history the cryptowars just KNOWS this won't be the end of this ... urge.

www.patrick-breyer.de/en/end-of-ch...

ACT's sole purpose

Rant by Hooton accusing Electoral Commission of trying to find "missing million" left wing voters to assist Jacinda Ardern to beat (far more worthy in Hooton's eyes) Bill English. Oh dear. Literally spittle-flecked.

I see RW efforts to suppress voters in context. Whenever I hear Elec. Comm pushing enrolment, I recall an epic rant from Matthew Hooton prior to 2017 election (immortalised here, with audio).
www.thepaepae.com/why-is-matthew-hooton-so...

Rant by Hooton accusing Electoral Commission of trying to find "missing million" left wing voters to assist Jacinda Ardern to beat (far more worthy in Hooton's eyes) Bill English. Oh dear. Literally spittle-flecked.

I see RW efforts to suppress voters in context. Whenever I hear Elec. Comm pushing enrolment, I recall an epic rant from Matthew Hooton prior to 2017 election (immortalised here, with audio).
www.thepaepae.com/why-is-matthew-hooton-so...

Rant by Hooton accusing Electoral Commission of trying to find "missing million" left wing voters to assist Jacinda Ardern to beat (far more worthy in Hooton's eyes) Bill English. Oh dear. Literally spittle-flecked.

I see RW efforts to suppress voters in context. Whenever I hear Elec. Comm pushing enrolment, I recall an epic rant from Matthew Hooton prior to 2017 election (immortalised here, with audio).
www.thepaepae.com/why-is-matthew-hooton-so...

No, I don't think ACC levies are linked to vehicle safety ratings now. As I recall Labour govt decided discounting ACC premiums for those who could afford safer/more expensive cars discriminated against people who couldn't afford them (poor folk).
Then Coalition govt: EV RUCs & axed EV incentives.

See: bsky.app/profile/pete...

What’s the argument to justify higher ACC levies on EVs?
(Is it just that there’s a 6c/litre ACC levy on petrol, which obviously EVs don’t pay?)

A viral dog rescue from 2016 is now immortalized with a statue in Kazakhstan. When a dog fell into the Sayran reservoir, bystanders formed a human chain to pull him to safety. The statue is a reminder of the value of unity, solidarity and collective action. 14/10 for all

Extract from promo email from NZPIF: Hi Peter, You do not need to be an NZPIF member to get involved, or to save money on fuel. NZPIF has partnered with Kora, a New Zealand-owned fuel card company, to offer supporters access to real fuel discounts at over 390 stations nationwide, including Waitomo and Mobil*. In return, a portion of your discount goes back to fund NZPIF's 2026 election advocacy work automatically, every time you fill up. With fuel past $3 a litre, the savings are significant. Here is what you get: Contribute $45 to the 2026 advocacy fund and unlock your Kora fuel card.

NZ Property Investors Federation (landlords) soliciting funds from members and non members for their '2026 election advocacy' fund. No doubt they see their right wing political campaign last time as an investment that paid off.
Along with fat cat donors who wanted Luxon as PM.

Very ‘Fox in charge of the henhouse’ vibe coming off this appointment.

I’ve been involved in several healthcare consultations in the last 12 months or so & have been asked to consent to AI tools being used to transcribe the appointment. In one case in extreme pain.
How would you respond?

Yes I agree B.
I referred to this as a ‘routine’ fuel shock … which might be slightly overstating the predictability/regularity of such events. But jeez, they do happen, and will happen, you know, repeatedly, at intervals.

Is there an English world for a mixture of ‘depressed by’ and ‘angered by’?
Because that chattering BS, blaming ‘progressivism’ as if it were the root of the problem, makes me feel that very amalgam. Exasperating.

Also, ‘With friends like these… etc etc’

What I've learned (and saved) in my first year owning an EV I've saved $2 a day by owning and driving an electric vehicle – even before petrol prices spiked above $3 a litre, Marc Daalder writes.

I've had an EV for nearly a year. As petrol prices rise, I've decided to share what I've learned (and saved) in that time:
newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/24/w...

Cheers MD. Thanks for a refreshing, worthwhile article.

Screenshot of the satellite visualisation website on arrival -- identifying the user as a Starlink customer. Ew.

Yes, that's interesting -- and so is the (cough) surveillance aspect of that website!

Pic of Monsters Inc movie 'astronaut walk' -- right before they trip and all tumble

Right. Nek minute...

How ‘unacceptable’ Orbán defeated the EU again — but maybe for the final time Europe’s longest-serving leader won the fight over Ukraine’s €90B loan. By the next summit he could be a distant memory.

Hard to conceive how much damage the corrupt, reneging on his word Victor Orban has wrought on Hungarian politics and to Europe over 16 years.
In the tank for Putin, sure, but also pillaging crime boss.

www.politico.eu/article/how-...

Yep, he's out of his depth.

extract from stuff article "Spending during the pandemic “wasn’t well-targeted, wasn’t necessarily time-defined and timely, and it also wasn’t actually temporary in nature, [and] that ended up causing a huge amount of short-term gain for long-term pain,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. Willis has ruled out any blanket decrease in fuel tax - the Government believes this is too much of a blunt tool, which would result in financial support going to people who do not need it."

Surely this is irony: "Hang on, help is on the way: Government signals fuel relief package"

Some idiot told these two lightweights to compare a routine 'fuel shock' with a 'deadly global pandemic of a virus without a vaccine' – as if they were similar.

Luxon using management jargon is cringe/laughable most of the time, but *ludicrous here.

And Jenna Lynch's headline is irony, right?

Yes, I've noticed the same thing. Luxon just gabbles. So many adverbs & fillers.

Luxon keeps repeating his weak 'How good are we, we got out ahead of it' talking point. #delulu

Sorry to my friends at Westpac Economics but this seems the shabbiest of shabby takes. (Bought & paid for?)
As if our health system is “under pressure” for any reason *other* than fiscal strain caused by decades of underfunding — by successive governments.

Yes, that is fabulous! #dry

“show some guts” says TV host from studio couch.

Lol. Right #nzpol