Lynx restored

Now for some good news.

The supremacy of farming interests has driven wildlife from vast tracts of countryside. The farmers insistence is creating a wild animal-free habitat perfect for  cultivating subsidies and profits. Their solution to almost all difficulties is to kill animals. That includes sadly foxes and badgers. 

They hysterically oppose the reintroduction of any of the species that have disappeared from our countryside. It was in defiance of local farmers that the lynx was reintroduced in 1983 to three areas of France. They were wrong.

In the Vosges mountains of Alsace, local nature lovers are celebrating. There are now 30 lynx living in viable sustainable communities in these mountains. None of the fears of the farmers were justified. Neither the local children or cattle have been savaged. The lynx are more frightened of our species that we are of them. For good reason too. Our gratuitous slaughter of wild creatures has been barbaric. Much of  the rich diversity of nature has been vandalised.

These stunning creature have taken their previous place in nature's hierarchy. Unmolested they will thrive as a settled population. We could do the same here  for diversity by re-introducing beavers and wolves in some our fenlands and mountains .The nonsensical selfish objections of the farming community should be faced down. Nature should be allowed to flourish and multiply in all its rich manifestations.

Non story

The Daily Mail have been chasing me today for a quote.

They must be short of their daily fix of a Labour-bashing story for tomorrow's edition. This is desperate stuff. They wanted me to sound aghast at the alleged sin/crime/gaff of Lord West.  He is alleged to have placed a bet that the next parliament will be a hung one. He got odds of 66-1! So what?

The event took place before he was a minister. I was tempted to ring the Mail back. Not to rail against Lord West, of course  but to find out which politically incompetent bookie is offering such generous odds.

There are so many combinations of results that could create a hung parliaments, any odds greater than 10-1 are good for the punter. Even a LibDem revival is possible.

Clegg clunks

Not that the LibDem leader inspires hope or confidence.

I've come the conclusion that he does not understand MPs expenses.  His latest wheeze answers a problem that does not exist. He says he wants the second home allowances to be paid only for mortgage interest, council tax and utility bills and not for mortgage payments. 

The present system expressly forbids the use of public money for mortgage payments. It's paid only for mortgage interest. However thoroughly the published receipts will be examined in July, no claims for mortgage payments will be found.

Building absurdity on error, Nick says that appreciation of MPs' second homes should be repaid. Why?  The other side of this coin is that MPs should be compensated for depreciation. That has been the experience of all those who bought property in London since 2005. Is he suggesting that?

The decision to buy, rent or live in hotels is made by members. The cost to the taxpayers is about the same in each case.. Decisions of buying property is a risk that some MPs take. The risk is with the MPs' own money for richer or, recently, for poorer.

Nick should spend more time reading the Green Book rules on MPs claims rather than swallowing the lying bile of the tabloids.

Comments

[patrick]

PF
"The farmers insistence is creating a wild animal-free habitat perfect for cultivating subsidies and profits."

Placing farmers as a collective group in this way is as simplistic as making statements about all MPS.
There are plenty of farmers still farming chemical free and contributing a great deal to nature.

If we want to take a serious look at damage done to our beatiful British countryside we need to go back to the end of the second ww.
Mass food production was demmanded by government and with it came the chemical poisons and Monsanto.

We have lost nearly all our meadows and wild flowers, ponds , and pollinators and replaced them with industrialised green deserts with not a flower head in sight.

Let's not forget that it was government policy that set and has maintained this agenda.

The only hope left to safeguard the future for precious pollinators bees, butterflies etc is to farm organically . As this method is financially non-viable for most farmers it would have to be subsidised.

The problem here is that no government would consider this as the poison producers are in control and the sums are huge.

End result

Monsanto 10 - Nature 0

[John]

Couldn't agree with you more Patrick the sight of Mrs Obama ripping up the white house lawn to plant an organic vegetable garden is an example to us all.

The response by the huge agrichemical lobby to her actions is an example of the resistance to producing our food while respecting nature rather than their profits.

Our food security in the UK is non existant this should be addressed immediatly by our Leaders. If we wish to preserve our environment protect our indiginous species and encourage them while providing nutritous food that actually tastes like it shoud the Govenrment should subsidise the Organic farming movement as a priority. It is mor elabour intensive so will create sustainable and long term employment.

its a no brainer in my book

[DG]

"Nick should spend more time reading the Green Book rules on MPs claims rather than swallowing the lying bile of the tabloids."

I think that some MPs have spent too much time reading these rules already - we're told that most of the claims that are totally taking the mick are "within the rules".

[DG]

Paul, on a different subject - please could you comment on Margaret Haywood being struck off the nurse's register?

[Paul Flynn]

DG. It's elementary and obvious. MPs CANNOT claim for mortgage payments in any circumstances. The press have lied and re-lied saying, they can. If the taxpayers was paying for mortgage payments there might be some point in claiming that house appreciation cash should go back to the taxpayers. But depreciation should also be compensated for. The latter is not possible and neither should the former be.

Is Nick Clegg ignorant or stupid? We need to know.

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks Patrick. Yes I know some farmers do work on the side of wildlife and nature. There are unfortunately a tiny minority. I have friends in the organic farming going back for 30 years.

[Paul Flynn]

No DG, I have not commented on the nurse who was struck off because all the information I have is from the press. We know how unreliable and manipulative they are.

The information she put into the public domain is valuable and important. But she certainly broke the rules of her own profession by filming patients, some of them naked, without their permission. Was there any other way that this information could have been presented in order for changes to be made? There usually are facilities for whistle blowers to make their point. What was the relationship between this lady and those who broadcast the videos?

It would be interesting to see the full details of why she was expelled. It is unlikely that her professional organisation has any interest in suppressing the truth.

[DG]

Thanks for the responses Paul - I'll take a harder look at the Margaret Haywood thing.

Just for clarification, on Nick Clegg - the point I was trying to make was that I'd much rather MPs didn't spend too much time poring over the rulebooks since there seem to be far too many ways to take the mick within the rules that unscrupulous people will exploit.

By emphasising that "only" mortgage interest should be paid, I believe Nick's aiming to persuade the tabloid readers that this entitlement should continue without having to have an argument about it - in fact, they'll end up arguing the point /for/ him.

Not so stupid :)

Not sure what's with the appreciation/depreciation argument, though.

[Paul Flynn]

The argument is a sound one if you can forget the myth that the papers have produced in recent weeks. If MPs have to pay money earned in the gamble of house purchase that makes money they should be entitled to be compensated when that gamble loses money. Ever MP who has bought a property in London since 2005 has lost on it. It was their decision to buy rather than rent or use hotels. The argument is a non starter because neither will happen. What is shocking is that Clegg does not appear to understand that mortgage payments cannot be claimed out of MPs allowances.

[patrick]

John
I was not aware of Mrs Obama's actions.
Had a look at it and it's amazing at the fury of the agrichemical business because one person (although an important one) decides to have an organic garden.
These manufactures of poisons really are bad news. The danger is that as world population rises the existing landmass needs to be more productive and you no where that will take us....GM.

Nobody knows the extent of damage to wildlife that GM will cause. It is a complete lottery.

[Gareth Williams]

You know as a LibDem supporter, I wish Nick Clegg wasn't such a non-entity. The LibDems really need someone whom the public could identify in some way.

atm, I think the vast majority of people are essentially "Nick, who?"

As for the Lynx, I think that's wonderful news. It's the same type of thing with the Welsh Red Kite populations, being reintroduced in England and Scotland. The U.K has some wonderful flora and fauna.