Agenda 2019

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/30/humaneness-badger-cull-judged-noise?commentpage=2    Humaneness of badger cull to be judged on noise of dying animals.      "Observation of a shot animal's behaviour and vocalisations is the only method available to determine the degree of pain that may be experienced during the dying process."   Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The badger cull could begin any time from 1 June in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset.  There is no such thing as "humaneness" in killing badgers (or any other animal for that matter). Particularly when the "link" between bovine TB and badgers remains questionable in many scientific circles. In addition to this, many scientist and vets who do consider that there is a link, advocate a programme of vaccinations to address the problem rather than a wild-west shooting spree. Whichever camp you agree with, the wholesale killing of badgers ...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hungry-britain-more-than-500000-people-forced-to-use-food-banks-warns-oxfam-8636743.html   More than half a million Britons are using food banks to stave off hunger and destitution A volunteer at a Trussell Trust food bank sorts donations to the charity Since the early part of 2012, I have been posting the occasional comment, in this and other media, on the subject of Foodbanks and the way in which they have become a growing feature of British society. Today, I return to that subject in the wake of new evidence which indicates that this scandalous phenomena continues to grow and is accelerating at at alarming rate. In December of 2012, it was predicted that this year, 2013, foodbanks would be feeding some 200,000 people, double the number of 2012. It is now May, less than six months into 2013, and the figure is more than 500,000, more than half a million people who are today reliant to some exten...

  http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/10448604.Costs_soar_for_Weymouth_harbour_wall/   The cost of works will rise to more than £4.4 million and that is only the latest estimate.   Repair work continues at Weymouth ferry berth three    I have never been as optimistic about this repair project timescale and costs as Weymouth and Portland Borough Council seem to have been. Going back over some comments made by Condor Ferries since before the Olympic Games in 2012, it seems (reading between the lines), that they too did not share Weymouth's confidence that the repairs would be complete and operations from Weymouth would recommence in May of 2013. The date for the return of the ferry operator from Poole is now scheduled for July of this year, but it seems that even that date is questionable. The comment form Condor that "...The company is keen to return and will start sailings on July 17 – if the work is done." is a qualified one and does not seem particul...

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/28/linda-wootton-dies-after-being-judged-fit-for-work_n_3346582.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Transplant Patient Linda Wootton Dies After Being Judged 'Fit For Work' Linda Wootton   This is the DWP response to an appeal against an assessment carried out by Atos on Linda Wootton, “We have decided that you are not entitled to Employment and Support Allowance because you have been found to be capable of work following your recent Work Capability Assessment.”  At the time when the ruling to remove her benefits came, Mrs Wootton was in hospital, dying. Her husband Peter said "I sat there and listened to my wife drown in her own body fluids. It took half an hour for her to die – and that’s a woman who’s ‘fit for work’. The Department for Work and Pensions, the Secretary of State Iain Duncan-Smith, Atos and the ConDem coalition government are equally culpable in the creation and  implementation of a system of "refo...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/28/syria-arms-embargo-lifted-mps_n_3345281.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Any move to arm the Syrian opposition would dangerously escalate the violence in the region "Free Syrian Army" fighters  In another example of extreme hypocrisy, the British, the French, the Americans all jump up and down screaming "Support the rebels, provide weapons, Assad must go", while the Israeli's lurk on the margins giving little prods to McCain and Kerry, awaiting the right moment to fully intervene and occupy more territory.  S300 missile defence systems    However, when another player in this tragedy announces that it will honour its current, legal contracts with a foreign government and supply a quantity of S300 missile defence systems, the "western powers" immediately scream "FOUL" and criticise the decision as inflaming the situation, as the White house announces that they are instructing the Pentagon to draw...

  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-looking-to-mend-ties-with-un-rights-council-but-says-built-in-discrimination-must-end.premium-1.526488 Israel looking to mend ties with UN Rights Council, but says 'built-in discrimination' must end Benjamin Netanyahu and Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Elkin     The nerve and hypocrisy of the Israeli's is breathtaking. They require that " fair play and international standards are applied towards Israel,” in order to resume ties with the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council. There is no reference to "fair play and international standards" for the people of the occupied territories.  A Palestinian demonstrator talks to Israeli soldiers.   Netanyahu and Zeev Elkin should remove the Israeli occupation force from Palestine, dismantle the illegal settlement in Palestine and end their occupation of East Jerusalem. Perhaps then the rest of us may then believe that the State of Is...

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/27/william-syria-arms-embargo_n_3343336.html?utm_hp_ref=uk  The UK and France have led calls for the embargo to be relaxed. France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, left, Britain's Foreign Minister William Hague   The British and the French have done more than enough damage in Syria already, dating back as far as 1917. Now this inept Foreign Secretary, in cahoots with French, is itching to get British weapons into the hands of one, or more, of the fragmented elements of the "rebels" fighting Bashar Al-Assad. As is invariably the case with British foreign policy in the Middle east, Britain, (Mr. Hague) has no idea who to give the weapons to or which section, or sections, of the "Opposition", Britain should support. British and French involvement in the Middle East generally is littered with bad judgement leading to bad decisions.  The provision of weapons to any component of the Syrian opposition, would b...