Daily review 21/03/2022

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 21st, 2022 - 35 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

35 comments on “Daily review 21/03/2022 ”

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  1. adam 1
    21 March 2022 at 5:37 pm

    Funny how the failings of liberalism as an economic system just keep showing up in the time of crisis.

    Take the Australian floods for example. It's why I like this video and as the commentators said on the video it makes you want to laugh cry.

    • pat 1.1
      21 March 2022 at 6:16 pm

      The real thing that will make you cry is the fact that even if the coalition is voted out in May it is unlikely anything of significance will change

      • adam 1.1.1
        22 March 2022 at 12:00 am

        Ah but the Australian system has this wonderful voting system, where by independents can get in, and have a real say. Worked really well the last time the ALP was in power – until the ALP ripped themselves apart.

    • RedLogix 1.2
      22 March 2022 at 12:16 am

      An utterly dishonest piece of shit. Australia has seen historic floods like this reaching back to the beginning of formal records.

      Australia's strongest La Niña years, 1917-18, 1955-56, 1975-76 and 2010-12, have all been part of multi-year La Niña events.

      And while climate change absolutely feeds into this, there is nothing unique about the floods this year. The root problem is local governments that refuse to accept the need to move their towns and suburbs away from low lying land that has always flooded and always will.

      I have been one of the loudest and most consistent CC voices here since the site started, but the one thing I will always push back on are dishonest, distorted arguments that blatantly politicise climate change. They are a manipulative ploy that undermines effective action.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 1.2.1
        22 March 2022 at 2:11 am

        An utterly dishonest piece of shit. Australia has seen historic floods like this reaching back to the beginning of formal records.

        Imho this provocative video doesn't claim that there's anything "unique" about this year's floods – it's simply saying that Aussies (and not only Aussies) can expect these sorts of extreme weather events to become more frequent (duh!), and using colourful language to highlight the Australian government's indifference wrt pursuing “effective” climate change policies.

        Change, be it climate change or any political policy change, will be 'inconvenient' for some, but change is coming, ‘weather’ we like it or not.

        Tbh, I was surprised the video didn't mention "lift all boats" wink

        ‘Rising Waters Don't Lift All Boats’: a sustainable livelihood analysis of recursive cycles of vulnerability and maladaptation to flood risk in rural Bihar, India [13 August 2014]

        Global evidence of constraints and limits to human adaptation
        [26 August 2021]

      • adam 1.2.2
        23 March 2022 at 2:03 am

        Have you been watching Fox news RedLogix? They are the ones on the dishonest end of things.

        So what do when the other side is really bloody dishonest – this calling out below by the ABC is good. Your rant – mmmm not so much – the main issue is climate change is happening, and the shitty response from federal and state governments was the problem. Also lack of leadership, to blame local government is a a pretty weak argument in my opinion, when the federal government over their is funding carbon extraction and use.

  2. ghostwhowalksnz 2
    21 March 2022 at 5:41 pm

    Talking about War Criminals . It seems some have forgotten these sanctions

    On September 2, 2020, the United States government imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and another senior prosecution official, Phakiso Mochochoko. In addition, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the United States had restricted the issuance of visas for certain unnamed individuals “involved in the ICC’s efforts to investigate US personnel.”

    Thats right ICC prosecutors have been sanctioned for daring to want to investigate war criminals

    Shout out for the "Which Side are you on' commentators

    One rule for thee another rule for me – under the 'rules based system of course'

    • SPC 2.1
      21 March 2022 at 6:18 pm

      Trump era …

      That said Biden has yet to do much to restore a rules based world trade system by acting to fix up the mess of the WTO made by Trump.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 2.1.1
        21 March 2022 at 7:38 pm

        it wasnt just Trump, Bush worked against the ICC as well

        'Specifically, the Bush Administration deliberately punished states that were party to the ICC-including democratic, human-rights-respecting allies. The U.S. government also threatened United Nations' efforts to assist countries in crisis where such efforts would directly or indirectly legitimize the ICC.'

        You will find many countries find sanctions against them when they dont sign waivers to exempt US service members from prosecution

        'Initially, the U.S. government went so far as to veto continuing a peacekeeping operation in Bosnia in 2002 because it was unable to secure similar immunity provisions in the authorizing Security Council Resolution'

        Bolton especially is the dark hand working on these.

        https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/08/02/united-states-and-international-criminal-court-bush-administrations-approach-and-way

        Obama changed that approach when the chance came for ISS investigation in war crimes in Syria as long as Israel was exempted

        https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/05/07/exclusive-u-s-to-support-icc-war-crimes-prosecution-in-syria/

        • SPC 2.1.1.1
          21 March 2022 at 7:49 pm

          The US has never had a problem with others being prosecuted for war crimes, they just claim the perks of empire – immunity and reserve currency status (getting involved in the world affairs on their own terms).

    • alwyn 2.2
      21 March 2022 at 6:28 pm

      I very much doubt that you will find anyone commenting on this site who will approve of such an action by the USA.

      It was after all during the time that Trump was President. Do you remember him? He was Putin's mate wasn't he? Isn't it a good thing that the American people tossed him out. And also in spite of Trump's attempts to steal the election he ceased to be President on the legally appointed day. If only all countries followed the rules as well as the US does.

      I assume you also want the following item to be noted. It might have taken a couple of months but they did lift the sanctions after Biden became President.

      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-icc-sanctions-idUSKBN2BP1GY

      • Nic the NZer 2.2.1
        21 March 2022 at 6:38 pm

        Never the less the US doesn't seem to believe the ICC decisions should apply to them.

      • arkie 2.2.2
        21 March 2022 at 6:39 pm

        Interestingly the 'Hague Invasion Act' Bush Jr signed is still law: https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/4775

        ASPA authorizes the President of the United States to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court".

        …

        The act prohibits federal, state and local governments and agencies (including courts and law enforcement agencies) from assisting the International Criminal Court (ICC). For example, it prohibits the extradition of any person from the U.S. to the ICC; it also prohibits the transfer of classified national security information and law enforcement information to the ICC.

        The act also prohibits U.S. military aid to countries that are party to the ICC. However, exceptions are allowed for aid to NATO members, major non-NATO allies, Taiwan, and countries that have entered into "Article 98 agreements", agreeing not to hand over U.S. nationals to the ICC.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act#

      • Francesca 2.2.3
        21 March 2022 at 6:49 pm

        Check your memory

        the Hague invasion act was in Bush's time

        https://www.hrw.org/news/2002/08/03/us-hague-invasion-act-becomes-law

        U.S. President George Bush today signed into law the American Servicemembers Protection Act of 2002, which is intended to intimidate countries that ratify the treaty for the International Criminal Court (ICC). The new law authorizes the use of military force to liberate any American or citizen of a U.S.-allied country being held by the court, which is located in The Hague

        • SPC 2.2.3.1
          21 March 2022 at 7:10 pm

          Neither post 2, or 2.2, referred to the 2002 Act.

          Not that arkie's elaboration on the issue was not relevant. It exposes the irony of the US position on the ICC

          1. no American can be charged with war crimes
          2. Biden accuses others of being war criminals
  3. weston 3
    21 March 2022 at 7:05 pm

    Galloway on Ukraine and other matters plus the hunter biden story ! the most interesting part of which is that now the story is confirmed NOT to be russian disinformation the presstitutes lauded by some here as being "the free press "are gonna have to fess up that they lied begging the question if they were lying about that what else were they lying about at the time and what are they lying to you about now ?



  4. Nic the NZer 4
    21 March 2022 at 7:26 pm

    Good review of how relevant interest rate rises (or govt austerity drives) are to inflation outcomes (spoiler alert, basically irrelevant).

    http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=49446

      • Muttonbird 6.1.1
        21 March 2022 at 8:58 pm

        About time Ukraine stopped thinking it's all about them.

        • McFlock 6.1.1.1
          21 March 2022 at 9:48 pm

          What are they gonna do? Surrender and hope Putin gets the harvest in on time?

          • Muttonbird 6.1.1.1.1
            21 March 2022 at 10:08 pm

            They could decide to become a regional stabilising influence rather than a source of friction.

            • McFlock 6.1.1.1.1.1
              21 March 2022 at 10:14 pm

              The only actor destabilising the region is Putin. He could order a withdrawal from Ukraine tomorrow.

              • aom …
                22 March 2022 at 8:52 am

                Get off the grass McFlock! Volodymyr Zelenskyy clearly didn't give a fuck about his country or its people. If he did, he would have pointed out to the US and its aggressive disguise, NATO, that Russia had long ago established a justifiable red line. All he had to do was show that line then tell the "empire" to fuck off to the other side of the line and stay there!

                • McFlock …
                  22 March 2022 at 1:47 pm

                  Which empire?

                  The reason Eastern European nations were and are eager to join nato is because of the threat of invasion from Russia. A threat Russia has shown to be very real.

                  Your argument is that Ukraine shouldn't want bodyguards because the existence of bodyguards will provoke the most likely assailant. In reality, the most likely assailant will only attack their victims if there are no bodyguards.

                • McFlock …
                  22 March 2022 at 4:46 pm

                  Latvian defense minister says as much about 1m30s:

                  I think the Kremlin and Russia ought to ask themselves why all Russian neighbours are so eager to join NATO? Obviously, they are afraid of Russia. Hence, if Ukraine is not afraid of Russia, there will be no reason for it to join NATO.

                  I think the key to this problem is not in Ukraine or Brussels, but in Russia itself.

  7. joe90 7
    21 March 2022 at 8:56 pm

    Something's rotten in the state of Denmark.

    //

    Shortly after Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, the Danish Immigration Service reportedly asked Denmark’s 98 municipalities to assess their capacity to take in Ukrainian refugees. This same agency recently began stripping Syrian refugees of their residency permits in a bid to force them back to Syria, asserting that parts of Syria are safe.

    […]

    The irony was palpable. In the last few years, Denmark has been to the forefront among European countries to enact pernicious laws and policies designed to deter people from seeking asylum. It has a self-declared zero-asylum policy. Chief among these is the so-called “jewelry law” – a measure which allows the government to seize asylum seekers’ assets, including their jewelry, to fund their stay in the country. The Danish government has clarified that Ukrainian refugees will be exempted from this law.

    https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/16/denmarks-mismatched-treatment-syrian-and-ukrainian-refugees

  8. Muttonbird 8
    21 March 2022 at 9:33 pm

    Eve Ainscow and the Horse Master. It's important to know her name because she is the victim of harassment.

    Wayne McCormack is the Horse Master, accomplished and engaging, but also heady and loose at the wrong moments, evidently.

    It's difficult. Ainscow's work situation is a problem, but also McCormack is a major asset to the NZ screen sector.

    No sure who is advising him, if anyone, but my advice is to go public, make peace and an apology, offer compensation, and re-enter normal life without having articles written about you every six months. Might find everyone ends up happy? Most can forgive if the effort to repent and make good is genuine.

    Could be an issue for Jane Campion's film at he Oscars since it's McCormack's horses featuring. Still, it is a film about an abusive man…

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/metoo-in-nz-sex-assault-victims-say-they-have-been-blacklisted-from-movie-horse-industry/KFQO2ARCGDHYICR2M6UQUFIBTE/

    Film and TV is difficult for workers because if you are seen to be difficult you don't get work. It stops people from speaking up.

    • SPC 9.1
      21 March 2022 at 11:59 pm

      The thing is our housing crisis. Housing refugees while placing locals into motels, and expecting to pay back debts they accrue from this, is an issue.

      If the Ukrainians were not European, the writer would have quibbled over only giving those with relatives here access and making it only temporary residence – work rights (and access to education) for two years.

      There are also 1635 Ethiopians residing here. Why wasn't such a scheme developed when the conflict in Tigray escalated into war in late 2020?

      An estimated half a million people have died in the region from protracted conflict, famine and lack of health care, and two million have been forcibly displaced.

      Their immediate need then, late 2020-2021, was for people to get to a place of safety and access to food and health care. The fighting is now over. It's sort of pertinent to note the limited state of international air travel applying at the time because of border controls (pandemic management).

      However, these visas were designated for those who worked for or supported New Zealand government initiatives, military, and human rights defenders, especially women. They were not primarily intended for family reunification.

      Because it was part of an emergency airlift out of Afghanistan of those who were seen as vulnerable with the Taleban coming back into Kabul. An immediacy scenario.