News media scaremongering about the possible spread of "coronavirus" from Cyprus to the UK

OPNION: I am annoyed at the news media again because they are creating click bait articles about the outbreak of FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) in Cyprus. FIP is a coronavirus but the way the articles are written they give the impression that FIP is a form of Covid-19 about which people are frightened. It is not.

The spotted cats of Cyprus. Not all cats on Cyprus are spotted (spotted tabby). Image: PoC.

Spotted Street Cats of Cyprus.

The news media is deliberately creating a frightening situation or scenario to get readers. The situation on Cyprus is not a problem for the UK because although FIP is contagious it requires direct contact between cat and cat and a transmission of, for example, saliva between those two cats for the infection to be transmitted between them. It can't be transmitted like Covid-19 in the air like a typical virus.

It's impossible to envisage a cat in Cyprus suffering from FIP transmitting the disease to a cat in the UK because there are thousands of miles apart! A cat on Cyprus might travel to the UK with their owner on an aeroplane and they might transmit the disease to one cat in the UK but that'll be about it. 

And, in any event, less than 1% of cats who catch FIP develop the fatal version and die. Most often the disease is asymptomatic or it creates mild symptoms. Cats with mild symptoms of FIP which they cure themselves end up being carriers. This is a concern obviously but we shouldn't be frightened about this outbreak in Cyprus.

What chance is there of the deadly cat coronavirus in Cyprus spreading to the UK?

And, in addition, the news media has grossly exaggerated as have the Cypriot authorities the number of cats dying of FIP in Cyprus. They have quoted the figure of 300,000 stray and domestic cats dying of the disease on that island. 

I decided that it was an impossible figure because if it's true there would have to be 30 million stray and domestic cats on the island and we know that there are about 1 million cats on Cyprus. 

The island is famous for two things: there are more cats in Cyprus than there are humans and, secondly, the earliest recorded domestic cat lived on Cyprus around 9500 years ago as judged by the unearthing of the skeleton of a tame wildcat next to their owner.

Ukrainian soldiers build a great cat flap for their dugout on the front line

Every so often we see a cute cat video from the Ukrainian frontline trenches during the Ukrainian war - brought on by Putin's illegal invasion - of the troops interacting with cats that they've adopted. They also adopt dogs who help to keep an eye out for Russian soldiers while the cats keep the soldiers company. I am sure that they provide a lot of calming therapy. A dangerous role though even if it is in a bunker. 

Ukrainian soldiers build a nice cat flap for their dugout on the front line. Measuring up to make sure the cat flap is the correct size. Screenshot.

I love this carefully constructed cat flap. A very professional job. It looks great. The cats looks very comfortable.

RELATED: 11-year-old Ukrainian girl takes on responsibility of feeding abandoned cats in devastated Ukraine.

Gender-critical man storms into a LGBTQIA+ meeting in a public library

The tweet reads: "Father interrupts Drag Story Hour for children calling it 'Men dressed as prostitutes reading filth to children.'" This is a clash between the old world and the new in a public library.

This is Ireland; a country with primarily traditional beliefs. A family man storms into a meeting held in a public library. The tweet doesn't tell us exactly what is happening in the meeting but it must be to do with transgender issues and self-identification of a certain sex or gender.

This is a clash between the more liberal minded people who believe that a person can self-identify as a certain sex and a family man who believes that there are only two sexes namely male and female and your sex is determined at birth biologically. The latter viewpoint is called 'gender-critical'.

This is a clash between established attitudes/values towards gender and the woke movement's attitude towards gender which is that there is a spectrum of genders as signified by the acronym: LGBTQIA+ which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more.

The clash that we see in the video, for me, appears to encapsulate the sharply polarised attitudes of people all over the world on this topic. It is a very difficult topic.

My personal view is that mainstream society should be sensitive towards all people concerning their thoughts about their gender. We should respect all people's views on this. I do believe that there is a spectrum of mentalities regarding one's sex or gender. It's a spectrum rather than the black-and-white view which is you are either male or female.

That said, I understand the man who stormed into the library meeting. He sees it as a perversion and that the organisers were indoctrinating kids. It appears that one man was dressed in a dress to highlight the fact that there is this spectrum of sexes. He describes that man as being in drag and looking like a prostitute.

He has strong feelings of the old-fashioned kind. I understand him too because I think there are only two sexes: male and female. I do believe that sex is determined biologically but, as mentioned, we need to respect what is in people's minds as to how they identify. We need to give them space to express themselves. Listen to them and be open-minded.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that a girl might identify as a boy but we should give that person time to work through those feelings. We need to respect the girl. I would expect her to gradually - as she moved towards adulthood - to leave those feelings behind but if not and at a certain time in her life when she is entirely settled in her thoughts, consideration might then be given to changing her sex as she might suffer from gender dysphoria (a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity).

I don't believe that hormone treatments and operation should take place at an early age. I believe that does harm and there are some adults who dive in far too quickly to facilitate young boys and girls to change their biological sex through an operation.

Young minds are developing. We must allow them to develop before they have a clear picture on their sex. Perhaps one problem is that this particular area of diverging attitudes has possibly been hijacked by the woke movement. It becomes a clash between a liberal woke movement and establish conservative values. I don't think that this is helpful either.

It requires an open mind but above all respect for people and their differences. 

Do you have views on this? The woke movement affects all areas of life. Those who support it would say that it is an enlightened view of the world and that conventional attitudes are too closed and narrow-minded.

Some children identify as animals, often cats. That's another issue which has often hit the news media and which also causes a lot of anguish and discussion as it indicates stresses in school children which is supported by an increase in self-harming and suicidal thoughts.

Is self-identifying as a cat similar to self-identifying as the opposite sex? Are the underlying issues the same? Are kids troubled? Are they reacting to a deteriorating world? Many don't see a stable future. I think this is feeding back in their behavior.

Clean-cut Chicago man allegedly a kitten torturer and killer

NEWS AND COMMENT-Chicago, USA: The New York Post tells me that Thomas Martel, 22, turned himself into the police after his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend or a woman filed a complaint about him concerning animal cruelty.

Clean cut Thomas Martel. An alleged kitten torturer/killer. Image: Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Some websites have put a warning on their article to protect readers because it is alleged that he put one kitten in a bag and then in a microwave. It is also alleged that he drowned and squeezed to cats to death and a third he mutilated.

Bizarrely, each of the kittens that died had the name 'Shelly'. Apparently, the arrest warrant has been made public and within it there is a record of Martel taking prescribed medications and that he allegedly suffers from mental health issues.

Comment: you have to suffer from mental health issues if you did what he is alleged to have done. Nobody normal cannot do what he allegedly did.

He has a clean-cut look as I say in the title. I think it is relevant to the discussion. He is not a dishevelled, ill-educated young man as you might think, on drugs and a low-lifer. 

He appears to be well educated, well brought up and the kind of young man you would pass in the street in a respectable suburb and believe that he was a contributor to society but apparently not. 

We will have to see how it pans out because these are allegations but then again, he did turn himself in which indicates an admission to the allegations.

His alleged perverted behavior reminds me of Jack Spicey Strip in China who apparently went on a rampage an cat killing including using a microwave. Maybe be got the idea from Jack.

The tweet from Phaedra updates the page. It looks worse than I had thought. His girlfriend allegedly found the kittens on Craigslist! Why did she expose the crimes?

#ThomasMartel of #WickerPark is out on $7,600 dollar bail. His family got him out. His girlfriend would go and get kittens for him off #Craigslist.
Laws are weak because #lawmakers don't want #dogfighters to go to #prison. #FACT
Hes been enjoying killing animals since he was 8,… https://t.co/sjjIPrRrpS

— Phaedra (@PhaedraXTeddy) July 16, 2023

Rewilding of India with cheetahs is becoming a failure

Cheetahs were once widespread in India. They became extinct in 1952 due to habitat loss and their persecution by sport hunters. They are the only predator to become extinct in India since that country's independence in 1947. They want cheetahs back in India and the only way they can achieve it is to import them from Africa which is what they've done. But relocating cheetahs from one continent to another is very risky as is being proven.

Imported cheetah from Namibia to India waiting to be released into the Kuno NP. Image: AP.

The Independent newspaper tell me that India has "borrowed" 20 cheetahs from Africa; I presume Namibia where there is the highest population of cheetahs in the world. The word "borrowed" is incorrect. That's obvious. They are a gift from I believe Namibia but these precious cheetahs are finding it too hard to survive. The project the rewilding is called Project Cheetah and was started on Sept 17th, 2022.

The project the rewilding injure with cheetahs is taking place in Kuno National Park. There have now been eight fatalities. The authorities have confirmed of yet another cheetah death bringing the total to 8 in four months.

The most recent death is of a cheetah named Suraj (which means "sun"). This cat's death comes just five days after the country lost its seventh whose name was Tejas (meaning brilliance). This cheetah died of traumatic shock caused by injuries to their neck. Ironically the injuries were caused by a fight with a female cheetah and not by an existing predator within the park.

The report tells me that it is not clear as yet as to why the cheetah died. It must either be an attack from another predator or ill-health. There appears to have been two shipments from Africa. The first shipment was of eight cheetahs and the second was of 12 which occurred in February.

One of them was a female who became pregnant and gave birth in March to 4 cubs. Three of them died. These deaths have been counted into the tally of eight fatalities so far.

I'm told that 15 adult cheetahs remain in the park together with a single surviving cub who is now nearly 5 months old and being reared in captivity. The project was always seen as ambitious. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which indicates its importance to India.

The project is indicative of how very difficult it is to play catch up in conservation. In 1952 India was a different place. The population of India in 2021 was 1.4 billion. In 1952 the population was 373 million. 

The human population of India has more than tripled over the ensuing time which makes it even more difficult to introduce a new species into the country. There's going to be more habitat loss because of the gradual encroachment of new human settlements and commercial activity. 

As mentioned, habitat loss was one reason why the cheetah became extinct in the country in the first place.

Although India does have some good national parks (reserves) although these are often tiger reserves.

Negative comment in video: