Feeling badgered?

[John McKenna]

From a letter from a 'wildlife consultant' - entitled Badgers are not the source of bovine TB - in yesterday's ES (the parentheses are mine): ...Forty years ago I asked a Ministry of Ag. official how he knew badgers transmitted... (it) to cattle. "We don't know, but we are sure they do!", he replied. Officials from successive governments have given the same answer. The only 'proof' appears to come from a cruel 70s experiment in which 13 (!?) diseased badgers were confined in a yard with 6 calves. It was 6 months before the first calf reacted positive to a TB test.

Can that really be the only evidence? Or is it more a circumstantial case of - on cattle farms there is TB and in the countryside badgers are the main carriers? Forty years is a long time to rely on a single crude 'experiment', perhaps there is now conclusive scientific proof that the TB in cattle came from badgers, I don't know. And, I don't remember a vote in Parliament about whether or not to proceed with this slaughter. If not, could the government be said to be behaving like a certain Near East dictatorship when it comes to badgers?

[Neil Graham]

I tried to find what the alternative view on this and other subjects was but I am having trouble tracking down the English language version of the Pyonyang Morning Star. I cannot comment on the badger cull as it leaves me cold but Miley Cyrus is another kettle of fish. Her antics reminded me of this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usa3A62VBpQ

I think that the TOTP2 youtube video is a much better representation of this song by Haysi Fantayzee - quite why it has appeared on this board I can't really understand. The male half of this duo, one Jeremy Healy, married Patsy Kensit in 2009. He isn't an ECF member so probably a comment by Mr R de C is called for!

[John McKenna]

Hi Neil, not going to argue about your pop-picking TOTP2 (I was listening to Tony Blackburn earlier) preference as I have not compared any versions of the various videos available. I just linked to the first one I found. The reason why I put it up is tangential - when I went to the link kindly given by Mr. Paul McKeown in his original post my attention was immediately grabbed - not by the van with the billboard in the centre of the page, but by Miley Cyrus 'twerking' at the top right of the page. I dimly recalled similar moves being executed by the Haysi duo on TV many moons ago so I sought it out online and, hey fantayzee, there it was.
Now, I probably owe Paul an apology for posting it in his 'Feeling badgered?' topic and would accept that I could have done a 'Feel like twerking?' topic of my own but I was just too darn layzee. Thanks for the info about the recent marital activities of the male half of the duo. I'd also welcome any equivalent news for the other half if you get it.
And, as for membership of a certain august body, mine lapsed at midnight last night so I am currently scheduling my progress from limbo to Bronze, Silver and finally Gold. Or, maybe I should go straight to Gold this time? But, this is not the place to be thinking out loud about it as I suspect 'they' are monitoring the forum and I do not want them badgering me for what Mr. RdC believes is a licence fee.

[Neil Graham]

Hi Neil, not going to argue about your pop-picking TOTP2 (I was listening to Tony Blackburn earlier) preference as I have not compared any versions of the various videos available. I just linked to the first one I found. The reason why I put it up is tangential - when I went to the link kindly given by Mr. Paul McKeown in his original post my attention was immediately grabbed - not by the van with the billboard in the centre of the page, but by Miley Cyrus 'twerking' at the top right of the page. I dimly recalled similar moves being executed by the Haysi duo on TV many moons ago so I sought it out online and, hey fantayzee, there it was.
Now, I probably owe Paul an apology for posting it in his 'Feeling badgered?' topic and would accept that I could have done a 'Feel like twerking?' topic of my own but I was just too darn layzee. Thanks for the info about the recent marital activities of the male half of the duo. I'd also welcome any equivalent news for the other half if you get it.
And, as for membership of a certain august body, mine lapsed at midnight last night so I am currently scheduling my progress from limbo to Bronze, Silver and finally Gold. Or, maybe I should go straight to Gold this time? But, this is not the place to be thinking out loud about it as I suspect 'they' are monitoring the forum and I do not want them badgering me for what Mr. RdC believes is a licence fee.

The other member of Hayzi Fantayzee was Kate Garner. She is now an avant garde photographer/painter/designer and has exhibited in London, Paris and San Francisco. A search of Google should reveal her work. The TOTP2 video has Steve Wright commenting on her dress (or lack of it).

[John McKenna]

Thanks for that very special extra info. I particularly liked the "lack of it".

[Paul McKeown]

I see the badgers have been messing up Owen Paterson's deeply thought out plans. Fancy that, eh? A Secretary of State who can't even beat a bunch of West Country badgers. Perhaps the worthy citizens of North Shropshire should return Mr. Stripy Brock to Parliament in 2015, he would clearly be more use.

[IM Jack Rudd]

I predict now that someone representing the "Badger Avenger Party", or something similarly named, will stand in Paterson's constituency at the next General Election, perhaps promoting a cull of Conservative MPs to stem the spread of bovine TB.

[David Robertson]

I predict...a cull of Conservative MPs

No explanation needed

[Paul McKeown]

Your earlier posts in this thread, David, were quite prophetic. I see no reason to doubt you now!

[David Robertson]

There's never a reason to doubt me! [no smilie; firm-set face of total certitude and amply-chewed rectitude]

[Paul McKeown]

penalty shoot out

[Paul McKeown]

Conventional warfare having proved unsuccessful, Goalposts Paterson resorts to chemical warfare.

[Kevin Thurlow]

So when a badger ran across the road in front of me last night (in an undisclosed location in the West country), I should have run it over, or shot it, or lobbed some sarin at it?

[Paul McKeown]

You should have sent an invoice to DEFRA.

[Paul McKeown]

MPs vote overwhelmingly to halt badger cull in England