Gahan comments

Iran have brought this upon themselves.

With Israel under attack from all sides and much of it being sponsored by the terrorist state, Iran. It is completely just for them to launch a counter attack against the Islamic state. They will simply being starting a conflict that the US will relish finishing off for them.

Israel is going hard and they are being brutal - no doubt. But given the constant attacks they suffer who can honestly blame them?

Magnificent double win from NZ men and women at HK. It seems the return of injured stars and a settling after the change of coach have NZ poised to resume their natural position at the top of the tree.

I don't understand why it is news what their faith is?

Along with Brodie Retallic he formed the greatest lock-pairing the game has ever seen.

Not a moment too soon. Watching the last RWC being ruined by a subjective call leading to one team having 14 players was a massive stain on the legitimacy of the game. In the SH 20min RCs are the norm and it simply works better.

More power to them I guess. Noh, like kabuki is one of the most painfully boring experiences imaginable.

Hamas and its supporters must know by now that this is a result of their horrific attack on Israel in October. Israel will not (nor should) stop until every single hostage is accounted for. The cost to Gaza has been huge - but it is a self-inflicted cost. Sadly - all the anti-Semites commenting to the contrary expose their own ignorance on the issue.

oh - SOCCER world cup. Might have been nice in the headline

Great - so another 4 years of doing whatever it takes to slow the game down and not actually play any rugby... yawn!

It is quite clear from the comments posted here that most people (especially the Americans) desperately need to learn more about the causes of this conflict. In a world where almost all MSM is driven by advertisers needs and clicks as entertainment, Tucker Carlson's long form journalism is actually quite refreshing. You already know he is conservative - but at least he presents in good faith. Which MSM news stations can honestly say that these days?

Perhaps the only 1ist 5/8th of the amateur era that deserves to mentioned in the same breath as the perfect 10, Dan Carter

It used to be about music quality. Now it is about branding and diversity. Hard Pass!

For all the talk about how amazing the 6Ns is. It was THREE SH teams that made it through to the RWC2023 semis. And even though 6Ns ruined the final with their incorrect application of the laws - the world's 2 best teams are still from the Rugby Championship.

This is great for NZ rugby. Having a strong and competitive Australian team is vital for NZ player development. The sabbaticals and seasons spent in Japan's soft domestic tournament just makes our players go backwards.

That we live in a time when a movie such as Barbie is even in contention for an award shows how far we have fallen as a society

What else does one expect when countries rushed to print money (quantitative easing) during covid? That debt-creation drove wealth directly into the financial markets and drove up the equity of the wealthy's holdings. Exactly as orthodox economics predicted it would. I.e. - it was socialist and Modern Monetary Policy ideas that drove the wealth increase of the already wealthy. And yet - the ignorant will quickly seek to blame this ill-defined set of ideas they dismiss as being 'neo-liberal economics'.

Then can be no ceasefire until all hostages have been returned an Hamas (and their supporters) have answered for their heinous crimes. Israel must stay the course.

If you pay peanuts - you get monkeys.

I was on JET in the mid 1990s. Although I had a post-graduate degree in economics I had zero idea what it meant to be a classroom teacher. I did however receive a salary about 30% more than a fully qualified teacher in my home country, health benefits, social insurance, housing subsidy and professional development.

Skip forward 10 years I was doing the exact same job for 40% less pay and zero benefits as a 'contractor'. Can you guess how that affected my motivation? I valued that job as little as I was valued by the local city office.

Now I am a qualified teacher in my home country teaching in an area I am an actual expert in - running a department. I am listened to by senior management, valued, paid a 6-figure salary and genuinely enjoy the work.

Volumes and volumes have been written about how badly Japan has handled second language teaching; and there is no single solution. However, paying for qualified teachers seems a pretty basic start.

she is a bit of a looker isn't she...

The MCUs downfall has been Disney's insistence on pushing their woke agenda into their films - they are unwatchable, woke nonsense now, for the most part. Barbie, actually, wasn't much better. In a year that had a masterpiece like Oppenheimer, Barbie's success merely reminds us that people still enjoy unthinking fluff as well.

Utterly woke nonsense.

A terrible move by the JRFU

Israel should be wary of giving terrorist group Hamas any breathing space at all. History shows that they only use times like these to prepare more attacks upon Israel. Scorched earth and the annexing of Gaza is the only real solution for Israel's safety.

Is Thanksgiving not the weirdest day? It is constantly on movies and TV shows and yet 90% of the world have no idea what is and care even less...

Just legalize cannabis. So easy.

Hamas only have themselves to blame for this result. The people living in the Gaza strip and on the West Bank are clearly not serious about peace as they constantly are attacking the citizens of Israel. At the end of the day when the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel in such an horrific manner on October 7th they brought response upon themselves. Sadly - the rise of anti-Semitism, particularly from the left wing side of Western politics, is a sad reminder of how we have to go.

Israel must stand strong and do whatever is in their power to rid the middle-east of Hamas and other terrorist groups of their ilk.

Likely this game will be remember for the controversy of the poor officiating and the constant interference of the TMO. Whilst the WC often doesn't have the best team win the tournament - usually the best team at least wins the final. Rugby has a serious issue with how cards are inconsistently applied and the parameters by which the TMOP can interfere with the game.

A poor result for the game.

The 1995 RWC final is a contentious moment in world rugby. The mysterious food poisoning that swept though the NZ camp 2 days before the final has always left a bitter taste in the mouths of fans and the ABs that took the field that day. This final in 2023 will be a remarkable moment for on of these teams and a heartbreak for the other. It's impossible to pick a winner. But - if NZ can keep all 15 players on the park and the Bok is forced to stop their time-wasting tricks then NZ should have just too much for SA. If it becomes a slugfest in the trenches, with stop-start rugby and a steady flow of penalties then the Bok will squeeze the life out of the game and win through the boot.

Smith has spent the vast majority of his career as the world's premier scrumhalf. In NZ he is without peer and will be considered our greatest ever. Whilst he has probably been surpassed internationally in the last couple of years these last few games at RWC 2023 he has been the best scrum half on display. Like Richie McGod and Dan Carter before him - he is irreplaceable for NZ.