Feared tongue
It was always inevitable, but still creates a shudder of fear now it's here.
I was rabbeting on about Bluetongue virus six years ago. Foot and mouth cost the taxpayers £6bn and more in human misery to the leisure and farming trades. Now the Government has it under control.
But blue tongue is more hazardous because it's spread by uncontrollable midges. There is a minor plague of them at the moment. Tonight the history of the spread of bluetongue in continental Europe will be studied. There is no need for panic. The threat is a relative slow moving spread that could be extremely costly if we continue to give free insurance to an industry that has never stood in own feet. Added to the problem here is that we have been so generous with compensation that it perversely accelerates the spread of the contagion.
There are remedies to reduce to scourge of this and other farm animal diseases. Animal movements must be reduced. Entirely unnecessary movements of animals spread F&M in 2001. One group of animals in West Wales were moved from 10 farms in a period of nine months. That was all about maximising headage payment subsidies. There are alternative and they were used to a small extent in 2001. Animals were shown and sold uses hi-tech links. With Bluetongue rampant the farming industry should avoid all unnecessary animal contact. But the industry is wedded toHow to avoid farm 'blues' tradition and reluctant to adapt. Unfortunately there is little incentive to do this, unless the industry shares the same financial discipline of all other industries. In the 2001 F&M there was a perverse incentive to lengthen the outbreak as some farmers received compensation that was three times the market value of animals destroyed.
The uncertainty of the new disease might shake Gordon Brown's confidence in his own , so far, immaculate luck. This might not be the first animal diseases that will have delayed a British Election.
Monk power
Can we dare to hope that oppression may be challenged in Burma?
In spite of an emphatic democratic elections extraordinary courage of Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her supporters, not an inc h of progress has been made for a generation.
British rule in the twenties was embarrassed by monks who challenge our power. Famously we killed one and he is recalled to this day. The present conjunction of angry respected monks, the influence of china and Aung San Suu Kyi may break down the the worst excesses of this cruel regime
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