Chris Hipkins set to become New Zealand's 41st Prime Minister after Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation from top job

New Zealand is set to have a new prime minister as soon as Sunday, with the Labour Party revealing only one nomination following Jacinda Ardern's sudden resignation.

Chris Hipkins is set to become the 41st New Zealand Prime Minister after being named as the only nominee for the Labour Party leadership.

He was named unopposed by the caucus on Saturday morning following Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement less than three days earlier.

Mr Hipkins, 44, is currently the Education and Police Minister and had also taken charge of the nation's COVID-19 response at the height of the pandemic.

The MP regularly fronted press conferences alongside Ms Ardern to provide daily updates at a time many residents have put behind them but not forgotten.

New Zealand was plunged into at times stricter lockdowns than Australia, which included take away shops not being able to operate, under his orders.

His decisions still stick in the mind of New Zealanders, but he has backing from the public according to polls, with residents instead during COVID turning their frustrations at Ms Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson as inflation spiked.

Mr Hipkins, who was first elected into parliament in 2008 and from the right of the party, is seen as the safest choice to fill the role due to his experience.

Other than his portfolios of education and policing, he has also been public service minister and was leader of the house, which placed him in a strong position.

He will need to be formally endorsed by Labour as the party's new leader, and that is expected to happen on Sunday afternoon.

"The Labour Party caucus will meet at 1pm on Sunday to endorse the nomination and confirm Chris Hipkins as Party Leader," NZ Labour Whip Duncan Webb said.

https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/chris-hipkins-set-to-become-new-zealand-prime-minister-after-jacinda-arderns-shock-resignation-from-top-job/news-story/658b4b1058b374efc813e433ccbb2802

Sky news are reddit spacers not me

ASIO spied on Pine Gap military base protesters in the 1980s, declassified documents reveal

Declassified ASIO files have revealed the national security agency planted spies among a group protesting against the Pine Gap military base in Alice Springs during the 1980s.

The 1987 documents, released last year by the National Archives of Australia, show intelligence about peace activists and their protest plans were being fed to ASIO's central office by one or more covert operatives who surreptitiously attended the group's meetings.

The peace movement had gained momentum in the political landscape during the Cold War era, as concerns ran high over the threat posed by the Soviet Union and the possibility of nuclear warfare.

Pine Gap, the top-secret defence facility that had begun operating during the previous decade on the outskirts of town, was feared to be a target due its strategic importance to the United States Department of Defense and the Australian government.

More

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-21/asio-spies-1980-pine-gap-peace-protesters-declassified-documents/101815740

GOP Rep Calls For Firing Squad for Gay Parents Charged with Adopting, Raping, Pimping Prepubescent Adopted Sons

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) posted a link to an investigation that charged two gay partners with raping, pimping, and making child pornography of their two adopted children.

A Republican congressman has made a call for a firing squad to be used on two homosexual partners allegedly running a pedophilia ring, abusing their two adopted children.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) posted a link to an investigation that charged two gay partners with raping, pimping, and making child pornography of their two adopted children.

Two LGBT activists and homosexual partners, William Dale Zulock and Zachary Jacoby Zulock, were charged with aggravated child molestation, sexual exploitation of children, and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

The two partners are accused of producing and distributing pornography with their two adopted children, who are now 9 and 11 years old.

The Zulocks “allegedly performed oral sex on both boys, forced the children to perform oral sex on them, and anally raped their sons,” Townhall’s Mia Cathell reported.

It is reported the gay couple would not only rape their prepubescent children, but also pimp them out to pedophiles in the Atlanta area.

Both suspects are facing more than nine life sentences and are still pleading not guilty.

Townhall reported:

“According to a copy of the 17-count indictment Townhall has obtained, the adoptive dads allegedly performed oral sex on both boys, forced the children to perform oral sex on them, and anally raped their sons. In at least one instance, the anal rape injured the older Zulock child, who just turned 11-years-old in mid-December. Court records indicate that the child sexual abuse stretches back to as early as late 2019 and intensified in January 2021, March 2021, and December 2021, as the offense dates are listed.”

Stay tuned to National File for any updates.

https://nationalfile.com/gop-rep-calls-for-firing-squad-for-gay-parents-charged-with-adopting-raping-pimping-prepubescent-adopted-sons/

Sens. Graham, Blumenthal and Whitehouse Make Surprise Visit To Ukraine

Three senators met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, pledging more military and economic assistance to the besieged nation.

Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrats Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island held a press conference in St. Michael’s Square in Kyiv. There, the three promised to push for continued financial support to the country and floated terrorism designations for Russia and a paramilitary organization.

“The Ukrainian military needs tanks. I am tired of the shit show surrounding who is going to send tanks and when are they going to send them. Putin is trying to rewrite the map of Europe by force of arms. World order is at stake,” Graham said. “To the Germans: Send tanks to Ukraine because they need them. It is in your own national interest that Putin loses in Ukraine. To the Biden administration: Send American tanks so that others will follow our lead.”

The U.S. is urging Germany to send tanks to Ukraine to help the country push back against a renewed Russian offensive. However, Germany will not do so unless the U.S. sends its M1 Abrams tanks, which the Pentagon is reportedly reluctant to do, citing the logistical challenges of the tanks’ upkeep.

“I am as deeply concerned as ever because we are at a critical turning point, a historic fork in the road, for this conflict,” Blumenthal added. “It is a time of maximum danger but also maximum opportunity. The Russians are on the verge of a major counter-offensive that will be as barbaric and inhumane as all of what they have done.”

The senators are also urging Congress designate paramilitary organization the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. Operated by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary band has been accused of killing civilians and committing mass rapes. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced Friday the U.S. Treasury would designate the group a “transnational criminal organization.”

“We are keenly aware that in the last year Ukrainian families have experienced a lot of suffering, and many mourn loved ones,” Whitehouse said. “We are going to go back together and try and sort out a problem you shouldn’t have to face.”

https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/20/graham-whitehouse-blumenthal-ukraine-military-assistance/

Comms are unsecure accept for face to face for DS

“I Fly Commercial Exclusively!” – Climate Envoy John Kerry Rushes Away As Reporters in Davos Call Him Out For Flying on Private Jets

https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1616157601263398913

>>18184219

Lindsey Graham Calls for Tanks for Ukraine: ‘World Order Is at Stake’

Sen. Lindsey Grahm (R-SC) in Ukraine on Friday called for more military aid to Ukraine, charging that the “world order is at stake.”

Graham said, “We will continue to ask the American people and the congress to send aid to Ukraine, economic aid and military aid to accomplish the objective of driving the Russian invader out of Ukraine.”

Sens. Graham, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) met with U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“To achieve that goal, the Ukrainian military needs tanks. I am tired of the s*** show surrounding who is going to send tanks and when are they going to send them. Putin is trying to rewrite the map of Europe by force of arms. World order is at stake,” the South Carolina senator said.

“To the Germans: Send tanks to Ukraine because they need them. It is in your own national interest that Putin loses in Ukraine. To the Biden Administration: Send American tanks so that others will follow our lead,” he said.

“If Putin gets away with this, there goes Taiwan. If Putin’s successful in Ukraine and isn’t prosecuted under international law, everything we’ve said since WWII becomes a joke. He will continue beyond Ukraine,” Graham continued:

The bipartisan group of senators called for:

Designating the Russian paramilitary organization the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization under U.S. law

Designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism

Assisting the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring war crimes charges against Russians who have allegedly committed war crimes

Continued military and economic aid to Ukraine

Blumenthal said today the conflict is in Ukraine but “tomorrow it will be us if we do not stop [Vladimir] Putin now.”

“We should not send American troops to Ukraine, but we should provide Ukraine with whatever we would give our troops if they were fighting on the ground,” the Connecticut senator said.

Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong reported that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” after the Biden administration just announced another multibillion-dollar aid package to the country. This brings military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of 2021 to $27.5 billion.

The U.S. has provided more than $100 billion since the conflict began.

Meanwhile, defense contractors have been raking in millions of dollars as the Biden administration continues its endless support for Ukraine.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/01/20/lindsey-graham-calls-for-tanks-for-ukraine-world-order-is-at-stake/