Well, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in the United States is all about tariff city as US president Donald Trump (Well, I don't trust him all the time as of today since I'm an anti-Trump type of person) announced a 10% tariff on all goods coming into the country & 104% on levies on China starting on the 9th of April as the American stock markets crash (Including Dow Jones & NASDAQ for the first time since the beginning of the global COVID pandemic in 2020) following Trump's tariff policies that he's always setting up during the global trade war which resulted mass protests in all 50 American states, even though that the protesters who voice their disapproval of their leader implementing such tariffs & their pro-democracy stuff in which they labelled as a hostile takeover (While I label it as a national tragedy, but these things have still gone wrong in the 2020's decade (Which is easily the worst since the 1930's in which the end of the decade was marred by the war when the Second World War began in 1939 where Germany invaded Poland which allowed France & the UK to declare war on the Germans (And World War III could be on the cards with peace likely to end, even though I asked Pops about it on the 5th of April (And I remember a story vividly from Pops about the late Ronald Christie that he hates German people because of him being a prisoner of war during his time at a concentration camp, & even invited German people for a meal after the war, but he has a strong dislike about it because of his fear of German people who were once our enemies on the battlefield like the first & second world wars) such as COVID first, then a spate of both invasions such as that dreadful invasion which had been going since 2022 (And Pops told me not to post anything about it since its objectionable & sensitive to the country who started it to avoid backlash for which I originally mentioned about it, but somehow I've got to refrain it from doing that) in which the world is stunned as well as Israel's invasion of the Iran backed Hamas in Gaza which has been going since 2023 (And there could be World War III on the cards if things spiral out of control, but if New Zealand is involved, it looks like I fear that my Dad might be enlisted into the military mainly because to his age at 55 (He's due to turn 56 in June this year, but he might be too old if a world war could start in 5 to 10 years), but it seems unlikely that World War III would definitely break out (And at least we're safe, even if we survive a nuclear holocaust because of the fact that we are not in danger, even though we managed to survive the COVID pandemic as well (And I never seem to have COVID throughout my entire life along with both Pops & Carole) just like Dave Gallaher (Who was the original All Blacks rugby team captain when they toured Britain, France, & North America for the first time in 1905-06) twice in the Boer war in the 1900s, & then World War I in which he got shot dead of his wounds, specifically in the head by an enemy troop who fired his gun during the Third Battle of Ypres at Passchendaele in Belgium in 1917) also in which the world is stunned again (Oh hell, not once but twice, but they'll certainly be a dark future being signalled as most predict about it due to both invasions they're currently having for which is a stark reminder), & now, the trade war between the US & the rest of the world which resulted in a higher inflation to all imports (And why the hell will there be a price hike on goods being imported into America? Because of everything being dear at the moment like the PS5 Pro for example in which most American gamers are livid & a bit upset about the high price, as well as Chinese made phones, tablets & laptops included as part of the most expensive list), that hurt (And what is my reaction about the tariffs Trump has imposed? Well I'm gutted, absolutely gutted because of America being turned into a Trump steak according to these tariff policies being introduced right there that has happened (And at least we're not Americans because of the United States betraying against the rest of the world including China since 2018 with that ongoing trade conflict which everybody hurts them people that I'm getting sick, tired & in disbelief about the tariff chaos stuff which actually makes sense for which the US President (Who actually has a plan about the big picture) who I labelled him as a diabolical human being (And America is robbed as most people in their country there are stunned about it all according to plan, but there was a presidency that no one won I believe due to their issues/problems on both crime & the economy for which is a farce that I'm getting fed up (For which I label the US as a dread & wretched country) needless to say (In which the American people have gone crazy/insane, & are having less charitable memories towards Donald Trump (And it could get messy with the far left wing liberal supporters, with bloodshot eyes & flared nostrils, could lose their rags, while the best way/solution for Trump to make friends is to introduce tariff policies to win the heart of his loyal far right wing conservative supporters who are always legislation abiders, & they already did since he won the election again last year (2024) by beating Kamala Harris to take back the presidency for what is his, which is depressing, but, oh god I hope they get sued, because it is such a ripoff, it's a shameless ripoff, oh shameless, maybe that's a slap on the wrist for that) but I don't trust him because I'm getting intolerant to Trump, & there's only two things I hate in this world: people who are intolerant to other people's cultures, & the Americans (And the Americans under Donald Trump, they made them so damn evil...And of course, they share a border with the Canadians), is laying down the legislation during the tariff event that he was holding, is known as 'Liberation Day' which was the most unique event of modern times - & a complete fiasco (Well, I wasn't paying attention for that, however many Americans don't know just how upset they were about the tariff chaos on Trump's botched tariff rollout & the meltdown on the stock market, well I'm bitterly disappointed with that (And I have no clue or idea what is going on with their minds), even though the Chinese are fighting Trump's tariffs during the American trade war (And they could declare martial law which cracks down protests & free speech being delivered on the 20th of April if they turn themselves violent which is going to spread nationwide, or an insurrection legislation act that they're going to have to send military personnel to restore order, just like in the 1992 Los Angeles riots for which I haven't mentioned in my blog before), but I managed to start booing about Trump every damn time I see him on TV or online on the internet (And I haven't watched CNN or Aljazeera since I infamously booed & jeered the current US President about his tariff policies that signalled the beginning of the trade war between the US against China) because of me showing signs of hostility towards him who is on self-destruct mode at the moment as the rest of the world is on the brink of a tariff war against the United States therefore possibly cause a recession in which the entire economy fanbase is devastated & shattered (It could be 5 years to a decade prior to the world tweaks Trumps tariffs, according to the former Reserve Bank governor here in New Zealand, then the high amount of tariffs may have stopped the Great Depression (For which lasted for a decade from 1929 until 1939 when World War II began, & it remains the longest & most severe economic downturn in modern history for which the Smoot-Hawley tariff act (For which the law is named after both politicians of the late Senator Smoot & also the late Congressman Hawley) which was passed in 1930 that it raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods in an effort to safeguard American farmers & industries during the Great Depression (And I fear it might be a new Great Depression which will happen in the 2030's decade for several years meaning that there will be a high inflation price hike because everything will be expensive as well as more trade wars & a geopolitical instability while the effects of a new Great Depression could be long-lasting, impacting generations to come (And there was a book that argues about the COVID pandemic has created conditions for a major economic crisis that is potentially worse than the Great Depression in the 1930's (While people are deciding what to call the next Great Depression which is the New Great Depression, because mine would probably say Great Depression 2.0, then the American tariff rates under Trump could be higher than the Smoot-Hawley levels taken from the Great Depression era, but Pops alluded to me that the 2020s decade isn't worse than the 1930s because of the Great Depression in which many people were unemployed & couldn't get enough food to eat until they were enlisted to the military when war began again in 1939 with World War II which was true that signalled the end of the Great Depression, but now the United States is on the brink of the new great depression because of the US President Donald Trump implementing such tariffs like that which will harm the economy once & for all) history says while Trump's claim that low tariffs caused the Great Depression is false, according to the economist, & Trump said that the Great Depression would have never begun if tariffs continued) but Pops alluded to me before on the 8th of April that it's a decent idea, meaning that he liked it indeed in which I thought it was a strange noise being made, even though the entire world is ruined with tariffs all over the place meaning that the stock market came crashing down to earth, therefore triggering an economic collapse just like the global financial economic crisis or recession should I say that they once had way back in 2008-09 in which the world has gone volatile (And even though that liar of Trump who is an abysmal leader that I'm always biased about that rhetoric stuff, absolute rhetoric stuff (Wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, I've calmed down now, I was absolutely livid, it's wrong, he's killed their society, I mean Donald Trump is by far one of the worst leaders of the world of our generation, he's killed their society for them, I'm livid), but I fear it might be the end of the world as I know it (And this trade war stuff sucks like hell, for a change which is really that severe (And the headlines would prolly be: HEY MR PRESIDENT, DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, & I was like, oh my god! Holy smokes! What the hell! But that current tariff trade war thing is killing me, especially in terms of our generation as the American stock market has been crashing recently which triggered a collapse that would be their downfall (But Pops told me on the 9th of April thinks that is not because I'm very lucky to be here in New Zealand for which is fine), & I mean, Trump really is to me, a crook (A senseless crook I should say, because he's acting like a damn fool, I think he's bluffing like Dr Evil from the Austin Powers movies, well, that was exactly a constructed discussion, but that'll do), unlike the late Richard Nixon (Who famously said "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook, well, I'm not a crook" about Watergate that shocked America in the mid 70's that would define his legacy as he defended himself against serious allegations).
And secondly onto the rugby stuff in Super Rugby Pacific as here are the results that they had in round 8 of the southern hemisphere's biggest club rugby competition (Well, the quality of the rugby may be good but the tariff thing imposed by Donald Trump is bad):
Chiefs 27 - 15 Queensland Reds (It was the Chiefs night as they stymied over the Queensland Reds (Who had Reds prop forward Jeff To'omaga-Allen being given a card under review for dangerously cleaning out a player in which they stayed it as a sin binning offence for which I thought was controversial) in the wet at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton to retake the lead on top of the standings)
Moana Pasifika 45 - 28 NSW Waratahs (And it was Moana's day as they stunned the Tahs to bits after coming from behind or trailing should I say at halftime, at North Harbour Stadium in Albany to win 2 in a row for the first time in the club's history, therefore following up from a historic win against the 12 time champions (And twice Super Rugby Aotearoa champions) the Crusaders in Christchurch in one of the biggest upsets in Super Rugby Pacific history, including a hat-trick from starting tighthead prop playing for Moana of Feleti Sa'e-Ta'ufo'ou (And I remember at one point that referee James Doleman had awarded the penalty to Moana against Waratahs reserve prop Taniela Tupou for illegally using foul language towards an official because of Tupou who abused Doleman (A New Zealand referee) which is a big no-no in the game of rugby, moments before Sae-Ta'ufo'ou scored a hat-trick)
Fijian Drua 14 - 31 Crusaders (It was the Crusaders day as they had a emphatic victory over the Fijian Drua at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva)
Blues 19 - 18 Hurricanes (And it was the Blues night as they cling on to win against the Hurricanes by the barest of margins at Eden Park in Auckland despite a card under review against the Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu for a dangerous hit on a Hurricanes player, in which they remained it a yellow card that caused a bit of controversy)
& Western Force 29 - 20 Highlanders (And finally it was the Western Force's day as they knock over the Highlanders at HBF Park in the west in Perth which was marred by Highlanders blindside flanker Sean Withy who had been shown the red card for taking a Western Force player of Harry Potter (Not a famous wizard straight out from JK Rowling, but a rugby player) out of commission during the 1st half by deliberately kneeing him straight to the head after the try had been scored by Potter in which the referee had shown a card under review against Withy for a cheap shot, then Jona Nareki (One of Pops old students from Aramoho School) got yellow carded for repeated violations such as never onside that ruined the Highlanders chances of winning after they had a promising fast start to their game in which their coach Jamie Joseph (Dad of Otago, Matatu & Black Ferns female rugby player Maia) will be gutted about the result)
And thirdly in motor racing related news such as in the F1 as defending 4 time world champion racing for Red Bull of Max Verstappen, clings on from the hard charging pair of McLarens to pick up his first win of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan (And his first since Qatar last year in which Verstappen's last win came in Lusail at the Qatar Grand Prix), therefore ending McLaren's 3 race winning streak dating back to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year & their quest of remaining undefeated this year, but Lando Norris (Who finished 2nd behind Max, but ahead of Norris's Aussie teammate of Oscar Piastri who rounded out the podium, but our own Kiwi Liam Lawson has had a difficult weekend that he endured since his demotion from Red Bull Racing to Racing Bulls lately, while the grand prix was marred by Aussie Jack Doohan who escaped injury in which he kept it secret since his Alpine car failed to close the DRS that triggered a horror high speed accident during the 2nd Free Practice session, but he was struggling to get out of the car after the race because of him experiencing soreness from the impact in which the drivers who are urging the FIA to make a serious loophole alteration (And if Doohan was ruled out, why not an Argentinian of Franco Colapinto replace him?) remains the championship leader after 3 races ahead of Verstappen by a whisker, but last year (2024) marked the 30th anniversary of the tragic events as well as Formula One's darkest weekends at Imola in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, in pair of horrific but fatal crashes which took the life of legendary Brazilian F1 star Ayrton Senna (A 3 time world champ) during the race as well as fellow racer of Austrian Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying before that which shocked the F1 world, & it's been 20 years since the most controversial Grand Prix in history took place at the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, Indiana in America for which I've mentioned a story before on my blogs not once but twice in both 2023 & this year, where only six cars with Bridgestone tyres ran at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Home of the annual Indy 500 IndyCar race) in which the race was won by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher (The man & the team he races for who ruined F1 which turned fans away due to the utter dominance of him & Ferrari from 2000 to 04, but his only win came way back in 2005 in which he was booed by the hostile but unhappy American crowd (Whose tickets have been refunded (And they were demanding a full refund when they confronted these people at the ticket office, but the cops were able to step in as the peace makers which are being kept for crowd control), but they got free ones for the following year's race also way back in 2006 & also the Burke Lakefront Airport Champ Car race took place at the neighbouring Ohio state) who don't appreciate him as well as the pro-Michelin supporters which hurt them ruining a great Grand Prix it was) following the Grand Prix in the aftermath of the drivers ran with Michelin tyres including eventual champion Fernando Alonso (The only active driver from the 2005 season to compete in F1 as of today who was the world championship leader at the time, but his race engineer told him that he knows what their plans there for the start, is to head straight to the pits please mate, along with 13 others with Michelins which triggered 6 cars with Bridgestone's who were racing) in the Renault were robbed in which the race was nobody won, while Tiago Monteiro was the only one who was cheered by the fans when he finished on the podium in which he became the first & only Formula One driver from Portugal to do so (And he was happy to be there while for both Michael & Rubens Barrichello (Who finished 2nd) left the podium shortly while the fans were absolutely gutted as Tiago celebrated the last podium finish of the Jordan F1 team to date (Which was Portugal's finest but proudest sporting moment along with their football/soccer team's Euro 2016 triumph against the hosts at the time of France in the final at the Stade de France in Paris as the multi-millionaire mega sports star of the Portuguese captain, Cristiano Ronaldo (Who was subbed off with an injury during the final) lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy aloft (That was 4 years after Spain had a successful Euros glory again back in 2012, & 5 years before Italy triumphed at the delayed Euro 2020 which was played in 2021), while his Jordan teammate at the time of Narain Karthikeyan (One of both Indians who competed in F1 along with Karun Chandhok) who finished 4th which is a best result for a driver from India, while both Minardi drivers of Holland's Cristjian Albers & Austria's Patrick Friesacher finished 5th & 6th respectively (And both expected not to score points just like the 2 Jordan drivers of Monteiro & Karthikeyan before the GP, but they did) & the reason why? Is that the Michelin runners withdrew from the Grand Prix, even before the race began in which they barely took a lap due to a tyre failure during Friday practice that caused the accident by German Ralf Schumacher (Who was racing for Toyota at the time, then he got injured in the process as Brazilian Ricardo Zonta drafted in for him who suffered a crash just like Ralf (Who was ruled out for the race on Sunday through injury, but under those loopholes that no tyre changes are required to be made during a race (And there was one option which is refuelling, but they abolished the tyres that last the whole race that ruined Michael Schumacher & Ferrari's continuation of world championship dominance once the 2005 season had concluded) because it had been brought into play after Ferrari effectively nailed their pit strategy en route to the title in the previous year, but it had its downside as 'The Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen on his way to victory during the European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring circuit in Germany, suffered a flattie that caused a tyre delamination therefore missing out on a chance with one lap to go (He should've pitted, but no because that would've been a penalty back then for an illegal tyre change, & following Ralf Schumacher's accident due to tyre failure which resulted in an injury that they should suggest adding a chicane to slow the cars down just like in the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix in the aftermath of the Senna tragedy, but they refused so Michelin warned its 7 customer teams that the tyres would just be safe for 10 laps with full speed for which a tyre failure that Michelin had fallen foul like that at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, in one of the largest non-fatal race debacles in Formula One history while during the practice sessions, there were already crashes caused by tyre damages following 14 F1 race car drivers pulled out as a result of safety concerns for which was an absolute shocker that turned into a farce as well as a fiasco like that when both Ferraris, a pair of Jordans & the 2 Minardi's raced altogether with the fans who turned up to watch cars race for 73 full-on laps, left in protest as a chorus of boos rang when Michael Schumacher won the most shocking Grand Prix in history) did) was to blame (And there was no social media like Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok & Snapchat to start with back in the day, & it must've remained silent for the matter, but the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix had since been taken over from the 2005 US GP as the strangest race ever with the race beginning under the safety car during the treacherous conditions & then the next minute as 2 laps into the Grand Prix at the Spa circuit that they would finally call off the race fearing further inclement weather which resulted victory to the eventual champion Max Verstappen (Who is a bit of a slight lookalike of the French rugby player (And Olympic champion in men's rugby sevens for his country of France during their home Olympics last year in Paris) of Antoine Dupont, compared to Rey actress Daisy Ridley being a bit of a Michaela Brake (The Black Ferns sevens player who is a double Olympic champion) lookalike).
And finally that it's been 20 years since I saw that Campbell's chunky soup ad way back in 2005 featuring our own sports stars of league's Ruben Wiki (The Warriors & Kiwis captain at the time who once played for the Canberra Raiders in which he won an ARL Premiership, even in his first year at the club before making his high profile move to the New Zealand Warriors in 2005 (A year before they were deducted 4 points before the season started for breaking the salary cap also way back in 2006, just like the Bulldogs 4 years earlier way back in 2002 in which they did not make the playoffs) before retiring also way back in 2008 after a 14 year career, but his daughter McKenzie plays for the Canberra Raiders women in the NRLW competition) & rugby's Jerry Collins (A Wellington, Hurricanes, All Blacks, Ospreys, Yamaha Jubilo, Toulon & Narbonne player as well as Tana & Mike Umaga's cousin & uncle of Jacob & the Umaga-Jensen twins of Peter & Thomas (Twin sons of Mike & Tana's sister Rachael (Wife of former club rugby player Tony Jensen) who unfortunately passed away a decade ago back in 2015 due to a crash in southern France that took him & his Canadian wife Alana Madill but Ayla (The late couple's daughter who is currently raised in Canada by her relatives) managed to survive the impact caused by a Portuguese bus which carried 19 passengers travelling from Lisbon to Monaco) in which the ad (Narrated by the famous Kiwi actor Tim Balme of Shorty Street fame) is about both Ruben & Jerry who are great mates before debating whether in an arm wrestling contest that it should be eaten with a spoon that it's a soup, or a fork for which it's a meal, but the debate is over at the end of the ad that Campbell's chunky soup is a soup that eats like a meal, right guys? But onto the rugby sevens stuff as the reigning Olympic champions of the Black Ferns Sevens (Which features the likes of captain Sarah Hirini, speedster Michaela Brake, Risi Pouri-Lane, young Jorja Miller & Stacey Waaka (Who decided to come back to rugby this year (2025) after spending a season in the NRLW women's league competition last year (2024) which ended in injury following her gold medal triumph in Paris) retain the women's SVNS crown following their win in Singapore in the women's Cup final against our main rivals Australia in a winner takes all contest which was a tussle between both sides (And the men's SVNS event in Singapore goes in the way of Fiji who trailed 7 - 0 at halftime to overturn a deficit to dispatch Kenya (While the SVNS league championship, remains in Argentina's hands following a Cup semi final appearance to clinch the title), but an unfortunate ending for the All Blacks sevens sees them being crushed by Ireland in the 7th place playoff for really is a tragedy for New Zealand, especially in the men's department (And their coach Tomasi Cama needs to be fired due to a spate of recent poor performances lately).
So that is my 605th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 29th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.
No comments:
Post a Comment