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6:00 am, February 20th, 2026 - 33 comments
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c70kjr9wjw0t
Pedo prince is arrested in epstiein ring.
1 down
Get them all
The arrest was for classified information being shown to Epstein.
A woman, being over 16 when in the UK, was of no interest to them, that is a matter when the jurisdiction has an age 18 law (trafficking in under age women is the offence of the procurer).
When do the injustices visited upon the women take precedence?
the UK has sex trafficking laws, and prostitution laws, that apply to women (and men) over 16 .
Yes, but that part of the Epstein orbit does not involve Andrew MW, but the still living US prison inmate. As I said, trafficking in under age (18) women is the offence of the procurer.
Whether prostitution laws apply, when there is no (cash) payment for sex, is another matter.
MSM are using the best photos of Mr Windsor.
I’m not justifying the actions of “Randy Andy” formally known Prince, however pedophiles are vile creatures that are attracted to pre pubescent children, with Andy he apparently likes young impressionable teenage girls, it’s still grubby, but a long way from the depths of pedophilia.
The word for that is Ephebophilia, and means attraction to 14-16 year olds (those going through puberty).
Some say 15-19 year olds are ephebopiles.
Putting the legal age for sexual activity at 16 (or 18) seems to largely focuses on those not yet past puberty.
Your link says that the term ephebopilia is a term for attraction to those who are (recent) post puberty, not going through puberty.
It uses the ages 14-16.
It certainly does not apply for those age 16-19.
No it does not.
No, the first link states that ephebophilia comes from a Greek word that means attractions to those who have "arrived at puberty". Puberty is a process that takes a few years.
Actually, these days puberty is put at:
But, that being an average means some young people would not complete puberty til later than 17 years.
No, as late as age 17 in some cases, is not later than age 17.
Just no.
Put it this way, do you think those still going through puberty, should be seen as adults. That is drive vehicles, vote etc.
Deciding on the cut off age for young people to be eligible for specific activities is complicated.
The age of someone's sexual partner (age of consent) is largely set around the completion of the main changes of sexual development of puberty.
However, there are other changes that are triggered by the onset of puberty, and with it hormonal changes, etc: eg emotional and neurological developments. Mood swings, emotional vulnerabilities are part of it, as well as related and cascading developments in reasoning, decision-making, etc. And that brings with it vulnerabilities around sexual activities right through the teenage years.
I think as the age of completion of the main core of puberty is around 17yrs, I can understand why 18 years can be considered the age of consent in other jurisdictions or at other times in history – and it is related to puberty. I was surprised wikipedia defined ephebophilia as up to 19 years old, but my other link set it as up to 17 years.
As far as age of consent goes, it does largely focus around the main period of sexual changes at puberty, which on average finishes for most people at 17. In NZ, prostitution ('sex work') is legal for anyone over 18yrs – anyone other than the young person involved in the transaction can be prosecuted.
I can see an argument for the age of consent being 18 years when predatory older (largely male) people are involved. They can be preying on the emotional and cognitive impacts triggered by puberty changes.
Adult cognitive development is not fully achieved until early-mid 20s, which is probably why the age of majority in NZ used to be 20 years old. I'm not sure if it still is considered to be still the age when someone is fully adult?
But, in 1974 the age for voting was dropped to 18, and later some things dropped to 16.
I think that neurological immaturity can make teenagers vulnerable to sexual predators.
Some say 16 year olds are not cognitively mature enough to vote. However, I don't think their reasoning capacity or knowledge is going to be worse than many older people who vote, and it will help them be more invested in voting during the rest of their lives. Last century I was shocked when a group of female students I taught in the UK, who would have been eligible to vote for the first time, said they weren't going to vote because they didn't know enough about politics and the politicians – an educational failure.
The bigger problem is funding of election propaganda by wealthy people – and for sure young people tend to be the target of both advertising and political propaganda, probably because of their emotional and cognitive immaturity.
As for driving – a 16 year old is physically capable of driving, but there are a greater number of accidents involving 16-14 year olds, though the amount is dropping due to changes in policies and regulations.
Your first link used the ages 14 to 16. It seems to infer during, or at completion of, puberty.
The wikipedia one noted it was associated with also being a young (Greek) adult after the completion of puberty development, thus the age 15 to age 19 range.
I think you are wrong to claim age 17 is the age when most complete puberty development (it is near all by then). The age ranges specified would indicate that is most females by age 16 and most males by age 17.
In law, we use age 16 as a requirement for consent when the other person is over 18.
(the age of consent was raised to 14 for girls in 1889 and finally to 16 in 1896).
We allow a 16 year old to marry with a Court Order from a Family Court Judge (use to be from a parent).
We have the age for voting (18) as the age for sex work and pornography, rather than the age of consent.
Be alert. Watch out for all the bad doings done by people at the top of our latest political saga, while undermining us from below. (Often literally – see it on youtube.) But sex has always been a tripping point for humans, and after all it is so basic isn't it. You would have thought we would have corralled it and kept it under control by now.
But no, and in the meantime the really bad traits we have of enabling killing, ignoring egregious attacks on human life, wars that enable the use of superior killing devices etc. and genocide, they get overlooked while we run forward with tongues hanging out like mad dogs ourselves, wanting to bite Prince Andrew, Trump etc. Let's get all the so and sos who send poor people into hazardous jobs, into wars forcing them to become murderers, shaming people who can't do it. Etc… and forever.
Kokako I'd prefer he was getting done for the range of serial offending he's done, bit a wins a win , it shows how low womans rights are that he is the only one arrested so far, I'm hoping he spills all
It's not either/or. The Epstein Files indicate a tangled web of dodgy and illegal activities connecting (largely male) wealth, power, finances, politics and sexuality.
There are some concerns that some of the most crucial political influencing within this network is being largely ignored, and that the sexual offences against females is being sidelined by the mainstream media.
There are, for instance, concerns that the likes of Epstein, (Trump connected) Bannon, and Nigel Farage (and possibly Putin) were involved in well-funded attempts to undermine the EU via elections, and in the UK, Brexit.
The Guardian 5 Feb 2026:
Middle East Eye 2 Feb 2026:
Factually:
Epstein files raise questions because,
There's a lot in the files that needs investigating.
There is now a process to create a vetted pool of candidates for the members to vote on for party list ranking.
Past listed candidates who were not placed into the pool are not happy.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360952848/exclusions-spark-tension-greens-tighten-list-rules
The way things are going in NZAO politics I think the decision about voting may be:
None of the Above – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXEglx-or6k
2016 https://decollins1969.medium.com/we-need-a-none-of-the-above-write-in-campaign-starting-now-83b6557999f6
If you cannot find a better vote option than the current government you are an enabler.
True SPC but your same comment could have been made in past elections with no better results than we received, and backwards down a hall of mirrors.
We are near the end-time is the message on my sandwich board – the one I saw in London in the 1970s every day said something like 'Repent Now – the End is Coming'. I felt it was hyperbole then, but now it is true. But the end of what, we need to think? And if not the end, can we start something – but what we need to think. Saying what we have always said doesn't cut the mustard boy.
Only an "idiot" would "enable" those making it worse, by not voting.
If blocking those making it worse, is as good as it gets, why not at least hold the line?
Opting out is not virtuous.
Quite. There were too many of those in the 2016 US election, the ones who didn't like ol' Four-O's, but "couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hilary".
The sneaky truth hiding here is that the present so-called democratic system for and by the people is neither and kaput for any good for the people.
We thought all along we would always have a say but didn't think what and how; that we should pass a 'driving test' to have logical ideas in our heads when making our so-important vote. Labour didn't take the universal vote seriously enough to apply themselves to gaining understanding and regularly updating ideas. The WEA didn't take on as universal. The upper class treat education as a badge of superiority, learn the words but not the meaning. Hence the present.
I’ll take a break from commenting for a few days. I see I’m appearing numerous times in today’s line-up.
To be fair the Greens have always vetted candidates, it's just that a) it wasn't particularly thorough and b) only came after they'd been selected by their branch. Doing it beforehand makes a lot more sense.
Because if you can't even pass a basic political vetting process, then you absolutely should not be seeking election to public office.
Given the last year or so and the number of Greens leaving parliament under a cloud, this is probably a good thing to try and improve the vetting process.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/lifestyle/ken-drick-and-lamar-the-sheep-security-at-auckland-s-ambury-farm
Here is a great example of applied intelligence to improve an difficult situation in NZAO. This sets an example, a way forward that other Kiwis can follow in their thinking in the 21st century, practical and kindly, to create a reformed system of stewardship of the country in our endangered century?
Will there be a critical nucleus of people in a grouping for advance other than in cults as helpful as ingrowing toenails for in this country??
Known for yonks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock_guardian_dog
(Used by others for some long time, but ideas take awhile to filter to Kiwi brains.) Not just talking, and should bes, doing something useful, facing the problem and experimenting in good and useful ways which seem to have worked.
I'm finding that testing my responses and understandings about things using analogies is a way of reaching reasoned practical judgments.
This is an analogy of what situation our nation, NZAO is in at present, and will continue to be for some time. The only way of changing this trend is for good, thinking people to start doing practical things to make better, in as kindly and intelligent way as possible. Do – after cogitation and consideration of likely outcomes and whether useful, and requirements enabling, not just argue about the logic of it, the method, and the precedent, and research and….
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/587409/wellington-resident-horrified-after-raw-sewage-exploded-from-his-toilet…."I feel disgusting, because the house stinks of poop. It's given me a bit of a headache."
Ed said that he immediately rang his neighbour and heard that the same thing had happened to them. He said they encountered the workers on their street and saw that several other residents had been out to speak with them as well.
The workers gave Ed a phone number and a reference for a cleaning job, but he said neither number worked. His attempts to contact the council also didn't seem successful….
Found an interesting thinker Fulke Greville who died in 1628 – and I like this line about him from his write-up in Encyclopaedia Britannica: ...'his verse treatises showed how statesmen can best keep order in a naughty world.' His poem “Humane Learning” was skeptical about the instruments and aims of earthly knowledge and, in stressing practical improvements, probably owed something to his friend Francis Bacon. Greville was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth….https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fulke-Greville-1st-Baron-Brooke..
Frankenstein rises again. You can't keep a good monster down. Hailway for the Railway.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2602/S00409/new-zealand-needs-to-reopen-mothballed-railway-lines.htm
Recent weather across the country has illustrated the fragile nature of New Zealand roads and how they are being damaged more frequently by increasingly powerful and damaging storms.
The infrastructure commision has also announced that the government cannot afford the big ticket Roads of National Significance (RoNS) projects as there is a greater urgency to rebuilt many of our hospitals.
Oh dear this is practical, sane advice. Is there any way of presenting it to our pollies and fortune-hunters so it will excite their dormant brain cells?
Hopefully he'll get life. Sharing classified material should be pretty easy to prove. I listened to his biographer on red radio and they said he's really dumb and thinks rules don't apply to him. Ka kite.. cell door clangs shut.
Investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr on implications of charging Andrew Windsor. She predicts a media and judiciary crisis as UK press won't be able to report one he's been charged, but US and other media outside the UK will.
https://x.com/carolecadwalla/status/2024631513254408293
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/2024631513254408293.html
Maybe, but then there is this view.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360941152/andrew-arrest-why-misconduct-public-office-so-hard-prove
Parliament has been attacked by an angry FSU, over its decision to stop using X.
It seems FSU believes X is a champion of free speech and thus should face no consequences for what is allowed on its platform.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360953985/parliament-departs-x-formerly-twitter-over-groks-deepfake-and-abuse-imagery