Rex Widerstrom

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[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

New Zealand could again lead the world by banning this "sport" but there's zero chance of that ever happening when NZ First is bought and paid for by the racing industry (among others). "Donations" to the shadowy NZF Foundation will always take precedence over animal welfare. #nzpol

[Alex Macdonald @alexfmac]

I hope this photo is a watershed moment.

Forced to carry on to the end of the race with a broken back.

Collapsed & died after the finish line.

RIP Gold Dancer.

If you’re making money off this kind of suffering - how do you look at yourself in the mirror?

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@death2nazisxxx @TheNoisyTrunk Surely no amount of money could recompense someone for having a waves of stale alcoholic breath directed at you all day?! 😂 That's an incredibly large amount for managing one extra MP.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

One might almost think that politicians of all stripes - who've have had plenty of opportunity to easily fix the broken OIA system by funding additional staff at the office of the Ombudsman to clear the backlog, then sustaining some positions to make sure it can cope - are allergic to the scrutiny they'd face, indirectly, if the system worked properly. But that'd be the actions of a bunch of shady dissemblers, so surely that can't be it?! #nzpol

[Douglas Brown @darkwaterjack]

This. So much this. Government departments and agencies make it extremely difficult to obtain information. They know the Ombudsman's office is overwhelmed; they rely on that, plus imprecision in how requesters ask questions, to get away with gaming the system. It is disgraceful.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

And when all else fails, claim they have no records on the matter, as @HuttCityCouncil did after I asked the Ombudsman to investigate why they refused to supply a *number* for people paid severance after the new CEO took over. Something they originally denied on the grounds it was "personal information." As soon as the Ombudsman eventually got to the complaint, a year later, they said it was none, "based on the recollection of people who were there at the time" 😒

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

Social media is the main source of news for only 19% of New Zealanders. Given that X (& to a lesser extent, Bluesky) are more news oriented than most (tho I believe Tiktok is starting to emerge among younger age groups) I doubt it's much higher for them.

Of more concern is the 78% who suffer from "news avoidance" (in any form). These ill informed people get exactly the same vote as you or I.

https://t.co/1EM450D7wB

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@Charteddaily The Wild West where cowboys meet at High Noon to politely avoid ad hominem attacks and listen to one another's points of view in the blazing sun.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@davidcapie I notice there's no explicit time limit on the sanction in that statement. Where did the one year reported by the media come from? Was that in the communique sent to the Clerk of the House?

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@PronouncedHare Welcome to the Land of False Equivalence.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@TheConsultant18 No less an authority than Meta would beg to differ. People don't come to social media for news but for entertainment, they say - much as I said.
(Source: https://t.co/akvMOHT8Ty)

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@secondzeit @PronouncedHare Culling old tweets? I don't even have time to weed the actual garden.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@kapiti_coaster If only I could remember the name of the social welfare minister who felt anyone in receipt of taxpayers' money was a lowlife leech, deserving of public approbation, I'd ask her to have a word with Paula.

[Kapiti @kapiti_coaster]

The National government say there is no money for our public services which they are busy running down & the replacement interislander ferries..

BUT they have money to give ex-National MP Paula Bennett a 63% pay rise.

It's about CHOICES on what a government spends its money on.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@LewSOS Firstly, what photo? I still remember Winston's warning about the famous Alexander Downer & the famous "fishnets" photo. Don't do dumb shit around the media was the takeaway. And if you do it's on you.

Secondly, it'd be a damn shame if a whole lot of us were to retweet it.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@truereckons1 @TheConsultant18 Depends on the person. You could probably graph credulousness against age, with the line rising sharply at about 50.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

I get out plenty. I just don't go the weekly meetings of people who think lizard people run the world. As a frequent tweeter I wish it wasn't so, but social media is widely viewed (especially by younger people) with total incredulity when it comes to facts.

"Boutiques" tend to be run as a hobby by people who want to showcase their work, but are very poorly visited, so you're probably accurate there.

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@mutley_90210 @TheConsultant18 And yet 2 NZ journalists are engaging with this very tweet 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@whaeavee Well at least he's not like me, who writes vitally important notes to himself (yes, I'm old school), puts them in his pants pocket, and then spends hours trying to piece together the bits I pick out of all the other clothes items that were washed with the pants 😳

[Rex Widerstrom @RexWiderstrom]

@Economissive I was moving around at the time it screened in Australia and missed the last few episodes 😢 Come on @netflix buy #Wilfred already!!