leicsmac

Good to see the usual print media suspects being entirely rational regarding the agreement reached between the EU and UK yesterday. It's interesting that they didn't make such noise about sovereignty etc when they were practically begging the UK to hop into bed with people of upstanding moral character such as Felon#47 from across the pond. I wonder why that is?

These are all excellent points, but tbh I'm still looking for an answer to the question I asked because I honestly don't know myself - what way is there to balance the food based needs of people while maintaining necessary biodiversity for the future? A crash in populations either way is really unacceptable.

As per above, I'm not sure how muchmore sustainable those independent operators are in the mid to long term anyway. While we need sustainability, is it possible for such a ban to happen without causing famine issues in a lot of different places? I would have thought fish farming to build controlled and sustainable stocks would be the best solution for the time being.

Possibly. Or possibly they might be thinking such agreements are, while distasteful to some, better than the death, blood, loss, pain and intestines (hanging out) that stood in place of such agreements when they were of age. I guess it's difficult to know for sure, given the dead can't really be contacted for their opinion.

Tbh I think such measures would have the same end result in terms of habitat and biodiversity loss, just a bit more slowly with regular fishing boats than supertrawlers. That being said, perhaps the UK is closer to actually considering sustainable solutions than other places. I'd like to be proven wrong/ right there.

I have to say that I find the inference that the UK is somehow significantly more ethical or altruistic on this matter (depending on need and opportunity, and along with a lot of other biodiversity related matters) than the EU or any other human group rather lacking in substance beyond mere "patriotic" assertion.

... if it's any consolation, the way those fish stocks are being overfished by everyone (including UK fishermen) it will no longer be a problem in a couple of decades anyway. There will be a rather larger problem to replace it, but not that one.

You would think so, but I'm not sure what this has to do with Trump Jr being his usual dickish self.

Exactly. And relative to a civilisation that has managed - by whatever method - to master travel over hundreds or thousands of light years, I think it's highly likely that our more tribal concepts and viewpoints on life would be considered entirely backwards to them.

Reading a particular sci fi novel right now, and this paragraph stood out. "Fleshers [humans as they are right now] used to spin fantasies about aliens arriving to ‘conquer’ Earth, to steal their ‘precious’ physical resources, to wipe them out for fear of ‘competition’…as if a species capable of making the journey wouldn’t have had the power, or the wit, or the imagination, to rid itself of obsolete biological imperatives. Conquering the Galaxy is what bacteria with spaceships would do – knowing no better, having no choice." I do think a lot of our preconceived ideas about alien spacefaring civilisation, if indeed there is such thing any out there, is based on our own (relatively) primitive mindset towards life and so is in all likelihood totally bullshit.

Don't worry, the progeny has it covered.

...I wonder where he got that particular line from?

Yeah, as per above there appears to be a certain amount of shenanigans going on, perhaps.

Good question to ask anyone given the current world we live in tbh.

The public voting patterns were certainly... interesting last night.

Yeah, I think this one is a case of an egotist actually making a good point but for entirely the wrong reasons (eg. It's all about him).

It's a seriously tricky balance to strike, maintaining control without lurching into unnecessary or even abusive measures.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgq98edegxo I don't blame teachers for quitting or for industrial action one bit, given what they have to deal with every day.

What's more frightening to me is that this man was elected in a democratic system, which shows rather clearly that there is a systemic issue that extends far wider than just Trump and his cabal themselves.

I wish I could say that I was surprised. The same could be said of every single scientific researcher on the topic.

Certainly not, not in degree of blood spilled anyway. I was more stating the fact that domestic cats aren't the only animal to engage in such behaviour.

And the worst thing about it all is that behind all this sensationalist bluster, real, tangible harm is being done to people and to the future itself, in Trump's name and with his approval.

Fair to say. The above being true, however, there are quite a few other species that do engage in surplus killing without then eating what they kill.

I'm not sure I or anyone else really wants to know the answer to that question tbh.

Another corollary of human activity and its effect on global biodiversity.