Daily review 23/03/2022

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 23rd, 2022 - 32 comments
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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 …

32 comments on “Daily review 23/03/2022 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    23 March 2022 at 5:43 pm

    Former National MP Matt King says while most vaccine mandates and passes are being removed, the hurt will remain for many people impacted by them… the after effects – the physical, financial and all those sorts of scars – will not be dropped and people will not forget.”

    King has spoken out against Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government and the “undemocratic” mandates, and also said National went against the bill [of rights] when it removed prisoner voting rights in 2010… DemocracyNZ has had good support since its low-key launch on Friday, with about 2000 people signing up to become members in the first 48 hours, he said.

    The former detective lives on a farm in Ōkaihau, in the Far North, in an off-the-grid house. “I can’t see any other houses where I live, and life’s pretty good”.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128137973/covid19-why-matt-king-thinks-his-antimandate-prorights-party-is-still-needed

    • Blazer 1.1
      23 March 2022 at 5:57 pm

      I'd like to see the much despised Social Credit party reinvent itself and become a political force.

      It's raison d'etre has been adopted by the two major political factions in NZ and economists in the western world.

      The ruling classes-the 'crony capitalists' oppose SC in principle ,but have a look at their eager uptake during the…pandemic.

      Reform of the private banking system of feudalism is well …overdue imo.

    • Hongi Ika 1.2
      23 March 2022 at 6:08 pm

      A lot of people have been hurt world wide Man Up and get Over It like Brain Tamake would say.

    • gsays 1.3
      23 March 2022 at 7:08 pm

      There is a brutal irony that it is a Tory politician speaking out about the financial impacts of the mandates, presumably due to the loss of jobs.

      Then, on a 'left leaning' blogsite his views and the hurt of working people are readily dismissed.

      The consternation, among seemingly intelligent people, wondering about why the mandates being lifted is also surprising. We moved from a health response to a political one yonks ago. The reason for the lifting, IMO is polling, polling, polling.

      As we move along, I feel this up-coming election is National's to lose.

      Can’t help but observe at the start of this virus we were all good socialists and as the pressure came on too many started to let their inner tory out.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 1.3.1
        23 March 2022 at 7:24 pm

        Our government's COVID-19 response and other strategies may be increasingly 'poll-driven'. Fortunately, however, not everyone has to be. This pandemic has taught me a new way of living; a silver lining if you like.

        To all those intent on rebuilding BAU, or something ‘better’ – best of luck (you're going to need it!) It's something simpler for me!

        I am just going outside and may be some time.

    • Kat 1.4
      23 March 2022 at 8:28 pm

      “I can’t see any other houses where I live, and life’s pretty good”.

      And may his eyes forever gaze upon that view not leaving it for even a blink and may his lips be forever steadfast in awe of his good life and nary a word ever foul the fair winds that roll in from the north………….

    • arkie 2.1
      23 March 2022 at 6:09 pm

      Very interesting, coppicing is great for wicker ware and cane work as well, which reminded me of the similar and beautiful Japanese technique: Daisugi

      Daisugi (台杉) roughly translates to “platform cedar”.

      This technique results in a harvest of straight logs without having to cut down the entire tree. Although originally a forestry management technique, daisugi has also found its way into Japanese gardens.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisugi

    • gsays 2.2
      23 March 2022 at 8:06 pm

      Thanks Robert, a good read.

      Methinks life was way more sustainable before shareholders.

      Recently I read an article (I forget where) that advocated for forestry cadets. The idea was that with mobile retorts, they would take the trimmings from conventional forestry and turn them into biochar. Unfortunately Pinus Radiata does not make a good wood vinegar (pyroligneous acid) but other woods do.

      A bit of a tangent but I can see it working in tandem with the coppicing/pollarding.

    • Dennis Frank 2.3
      23 March 2022 at 8:11 pm

      Excellent resource & archive!

      Low-tech Magazine underscores the potential of past and often forgotten technologies and how they can inform sustainable energy practices. Technology has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is—more often than not—aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions.

      There is a lot of potential in past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society. Interesting possibilities arise when you combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when you apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology.

      Low-tech Magazine was founded in November 2007

      https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/about.html

    • weston 2.4
      23 March 2022 at 9:21 pm

      Thanks robert vry good article .Cassurina or she oak would i think for nz fit the bill as a wood ideally suited for coppicing or pollarding .What would youre pick be ?

      • Cricklewood 2.4.1
        23 March 2022 at 9:37 pm

        Well in the North hard to go past Pururi. Excellent timber, reasonably fast grower and was coppiced for fence posts in the past.

        Otherwise Plane trees pollard very well.

        • weston 2.4.1.1
          23 March 2022 at 10:22 pm

          Thats true crickle i was thinking casurina would still beat them tho cause its so uniform lovely long even stems can grow to a great height some local stuff must be easy 30mtres splits nice burns hot an long .As constuction wood in the round its attractive and incredibly strong im not sure if its actually related to oak but certainly has oaklike tough features

      • Hongi Ika 2.4.2
        24 March 2022 at 2:19 am

        Fast maturing Puriri trees grow very well on the East Coast we put some trial plots in about 30 years ago with FRI must have a look next time I am down that way ?

        • weston 2.4.2.1
          24 March 2022 at 9:20 am

          Be really interested to know Hongi FRI prob did some gd work in their time before they were destroyed by beancounting fucktards in suits !!

  3. arkie 3
    23 March 2022 at 6:01 pm

    Understanding the concerns of the immunocompromised:

    Green Party Spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman however said the moves for the most vulnerable would mean a shift away from normality, and towards the lockdowns that had been left behind.

    “For a mum who has survived breast cancer, chemotherapy would have made her immunocompromised so she has to decide whether to send her kids to school where there’s no teacher vaccine mandates and then put herself and her life at risk having survived cancer.

    “A multigenerational family household with elderly grandparents living with them, they have to make that decision – and that means do you go to work, do you send your kids to school? If you’re the parents of a newborn do you still go into a cafe?

    “Obviously the risk is never zero, but it is much harder for vaccinated people to get sick or pass that on and the sickness is going to be different… especially with the booster and so our community would’ve been far safer if the government’s focus was on the booster drive.”

    Ghahraman herself has multiple sclerosis and is immunocompromised, and said the vaccine mandates and passes strategies had been about inclusion.

    “It meant that we could leave, we could leave the house, we could go to work, we could go to school, so it was about inclusion. And now we are in a position where we have to decide whether we want to go out into those spaces at quite a high risk which feels exclusionary. And we don’t have a choice, it isn’t about choosing to take the vaccine or not. We are vaccinated – those of us who can be – but we are no longer safe in those public spaces.”

    She rejected the idea the government had simply bowed to political pressure, but said if the government was moving away from those measures and relying on masks as a defence, it should at least ensure availability and accessibility of high-quality masks for everyone.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/463880/parties-critical-of-plan-to-lower-covid-19-restrictions

    KN95s or equivalent should be purchased in bulk and distributed to households and individuals directly, a campaign to explain proper mask wearing practice more thoroughly would also be a sensible accompaniment.

    • Hongi Ika 3.1
      24 March 2022 at 2:23 am

      Problem is there is a % of the population who don't give a rat's anus, I see people spitting and blowing their noses in Public, I turn a blind eye as I am liable to get into an altercation ?

  4. Peter 4
    23 March 2022 at 8:29 pm

    An awful story in the Herald caught my eye with an interesting sidelight.

    "On impact, the child, whose family are associated with the Mongrel Mob, was thrown at least six feet into the air before crashing onto Pipitolu's BMW and then onto the ground.

    Pipitolu continued to accelerate and fled the scene, stopping 600m up the road to check for any damage to his car and then immediately leaving New Plymouth for Auckland."

    Online I found "Thirty years ago today the metric system was introduced into New Zealand says Consumer Affairs Minister Judith Tizard. The Weights and Measures Amendment Act became law on the 14 December 1976."

    One word from that past has become part of the vernacular, as a general notion not a specific measure – miles. "She was miles faster."

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/child-run-down-by-crips-member-amid-clash-with-mongrel-mob-in-new-plymouth/4KGBMSDDEYXJA3XTLLDHI5OKDM/

    • Hongi Ika 4.1
      23 March 2022 at 8:52 pm

      These guys are just F***ing animals a friend of mines son went to a domestic at gang related house as he knew the woman involved and was shot in the back once he thought the dispute was resolved at 2.00am on a Sunday morning = Dead ? He has also had a stroke last year so he didn't have a good year 2021. Maybe we need to bring back Winston and Shane Jones and harden up on gangs, The gangs have been running rampant in NZ for the past 30-40 years, with weak policing, politican's and judiciary. Too many gangs, too much drugs, too many guns. Bring back Winnie all's forgiven.

    • Patricia Bremner 5.1
      23 March 2022 at 9:05 pm

      yes We hope not Pat. He is far less than NZ needs.

    • Muttonbird 5.2
      23 March 2022 at 9:48 pm

      Frankly, there could hardly be a less credible champion of the people trapped in a “cost of living crisis.”

      yes

      Luxton speaks out of both sides of his mouth, which takes some doing because his foot is always in there too.

  6. Poission 6
    23 March 2022 at 9:40 pm

    Parliamentary Commission for the Environment defuses Hydrogen Bomb sends it back to Ministers for recycling.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/128130801/hydrogen-plans-for-southland-will-push-up-household-power-bills–simon-upton

    Inefficiency alone makes it an unsustainable policy.

    Mothball the idea,and use the savings on any further work into more efficient systems.

    • pat 6.1
      23 March 2022 at 10:08 pm

      The Ministers (and presumably also cabinets) mind is made up…..

      Woods said she appreciated Upton's letter but that the Government was still keen on hydrogen.

      "Our Government sees real potential for hydrogen in our energy system and for decarbonising parts of our economy, whether that is for intensive and long-haul transport, or for process heat in the iron and steel sectors, where it is currently difficult to meaningfully reduce emissions," she said.

      "Hydrogen also has potential to increase flexibility in power systems, and this is being explored as a comparator technology in the NZ Battery Project, which is looking at how to solve our dry hydrological year problem. There is likely to be a growing market for hydrogen, particularly in the Asia Pacific region."

      https://www.newsroom.co.nz/pce-concerned-about-hydrogen-policies

      None so blind etc.

      • Poission 6.1.1
        23 March 2022 at 10:24 pm

        There is substantive work in using waste wood resource and spare mill capacity to produce bio oil which can be used in boilers for industry and steel making,she needs to read her briefing notes.

        That the locations in the central NI already have infrastructure and RMA consents will reduce the need for consultants luncheons.

        • pat 6.1.1.1
          23 March 2022 at 10:29 pm

          How much of that substantive work has attracted gov dollars?….hydrogen is 60 mil deep apparently.

          • Poission 6.1.1.1.1
            23 March 2022 at 10:43 pm

            Less the Helmets to Ukraine under 5m,a lot being undertaken in the research stations such as SCION and the forest and mill owners already have similar research initiatives in R&D overseas,( they are mostly looking at enhanced efficiency etc.)

            I wonder how many trees have died in all these so called reports etc,and how many MW of renewable ready now generation could have been undertaken.

          • Poission 6.1.1.1.2
            23 March 2022 at 10:55 pm

            China see's there is an Energy security problem,and goes full monty rolling out an energy expansion programme twice the size of India's energy production.

            https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1506456831404933122?cxt=HHwWhIDQlbaggegpAAAA

            • pat 6.1.1.1.2.1
              23 March 2022 at 11:07 pm

              One thing you cant accuse the Chinese of is procrastinating. I fear the capability/capacity we so willingly abandoned these past decades will be our undoing.