What th'

  

 

  

 

 

 

What th’

 When I opened my newspaper this morning, there was a tiny insect crawling across a picture of an explosion in Ukraine, so I readied my index finger to squish it. But I didn’t. This was the second such insect that had crossed my newspaper within the last few days, and yes, I did squish the first one. This time I had second thoughts… these little fellas probably wandered into the paper as it was lying outside on the path and were probably surprised by the light when I opened it. They were tiny flies; they could run fast and fly as quickly, but they were small… about four times the size of one of the full stops on this print, yet vibrant life was packed into them. Although I couldn’t see them, this little fellow has sensory organs, a mouth of sorts, it defecated, so must have had internal organs, it had legs and wings. Actually, the tiny insect is one of those miracles of nature we don’t think about. I let it go with some care.

 I then read the article about the explosion in Ukraine. In a way, I had some power over that tiny insect just as Putin has with the people of Ukraine, although his power has dire consequences for the people and the country. If his reasons for the war are fathomable, I’m not privy to them, but they seem to be flimsy excuses rather than an honest justification… if there was justification, solutions are more possible. Does death and destruction, and the acceptance of his own people’s casualties justify Russia’s need for whatever it is Putin thinks they need? The killing and displacement of the people is tragic, and the wanton destruction of infrastructure and homes is a separate crime. According, to international law, the aggressor in any conflict is responsible for the rebuilding once peace comes, they are also responsible for the protection of civilians. Good on the lawmakers… and Russia did face up the its responsibility after their insurgence into Afghanistan. In the past, international aid has also come forth… but where does the money come from? The thing is while the welfare of people is of paramount importance, people can’t survive without bricks and mortar and the necessities of life.

 The other conflict reported on in the newspaper was the Gaza situation. I’m not sure media informs us with balance on this issue, and this report mentioned the word ‘genocide’. When strong words like that are used, it is often used as an inflationary tool to embarrass the supporters of one side. Israel hadn’t been an aggressor and is responding to an attack… and from a humanitarian point of view could be argued that the response is too strong, but if Hamas hadn’t attacked that day, there would be no killing and no infrastructure damage. Is Hamas’ excuse for the attack a legitimate protest? No, attacking civilians is a criminal act, and their dogma of ‘wiping Israel off the face of the Earth’ is at least dangerous rhetoric. The end result is civilians being killed, and infrastructure being demolished for which most feel great sorrow. There is long history in and area, that is important to each side, but there is a glaring elephant in the room that needs addressing. For the past thirty years or more, the people of Gaza have not been able to sustain themselves making them reliant on aid, and donations from various countries. If the current conflict had never happened, the aid would have continued… so how long do their leadership expect such aid to continue? Accepting continual aid creates an unhealthy dependency, yet they have no way of changing the situation. In the unlikely event of Israel suddenly disappearing, would the returning Gazan population be able to support themselves after decades of not having to use any expertise, especially in food production or working collectively?

 At least the media reported about President Trump blindsiding President Ramaphosa of South Africa about the treatment of white farmers in his country, but the media didn’t show the video which justified Trump’s assertion. * There some context to this – I wrote about it some time ago, but here’s the guts. Ain 1995, a young Israeli man came to Tanzania with an American who was working with me. At the immigration counter, he was arrested and held in prison until his release was won, but his passport was stamped ‘undesirable alien’. This happened because of a throwback to when the Israeli government cooperated with the apartheid government of South Africa. The present South African government recently complained to the International Court of Justice about Israel’s treatment of the Gazan people, which was arguably a revenge act rather than humanitarian. Trump was made aware of this. *  Ramaphosa had taken along a couple of white golfers, which he hoped might elicit some United States cooperation, if not funding, but when asked by Ramaphosa, one of the golfers confirmed that white farmers were indeed being targeted with violence. The media seemed not to take as fact that Trump had taken in white farmer refugees from South Africa, who were fleeing from the violence there, echoing similar events in Zimbabwe. Behind this is the United Nation’s declaration on indigenous rights… as toothpaste that can’t be put back in its tube. Despite Nelson Mandella trying to establish a free, multiracial democratic state in South Africa, the present administration has passed a law where land can be taken without compensation, and the video Trump showed was a stadium-full of people shouting, ‘Kill the farmers, kill the Boer.’ I saw a group of South African people being interviewed about the future of South Africa and three people stood out to me. A young man believes that all land should be returned to the people with tribal chiefs in charge. There was a white farmer who told of the challenges of farming, the expertise required and the need for access to finance. A young woman who farms a small holding agreed that the farming economy and food security are based on the expertise of white farmers. She thought all Soth Africans should be able to work side by side to feed the nation. It is apparent that cool heads are certainly needed. Back in 1900, the African population in South Africa was around four million, and the white settlers had already been there for a hundred years. Now there are sixty-three million Africans and many of them want the land back… the irony being the rapid increase in the populations is partly due to the food production carried out by the white farmers. But the land the people want, is the land already under cultivation by white farmers. In 1900 if all of the people wanted to farm land, they would have had small subsistence holdings, which would have been gradually been divided among the family until they become too small for sustainability. As happened in Zimbabwe, there is a large population to feed and traditional farming methods no longer suffice. The South African white farmers have reduced in number markedly over the last few decades, mainly because farming is a difficult business to be in… some have been forcibly removed, so there is the safety consideration as well. The young woman is wise… the poverty among the poorer people will not be solved by the return of land, except in a few instances. They’ve never had land, so have no farming expertise and don’t understand the responsibility of ensuring the nation doesn’t go hungry. Only by working together with the white Africana farmers will they be able to feed the nation… if violence continues, widespread chaos will be the inevitable result.

 This little snippet is timely but wasn’t in the newspaper; I still receive news from my Tanzanian friends, news which the mainstream media is unlikely cover. Tanzania has been progressing well, quietly minding its own business. I’m told that the European Union, pulled on its big-boy boots to threaten the withholding of funds if Tanzania didn’t lift its ban on homosexuality. Tanzania has many religions and the parliamentarians pray before each session; they believe that according to all the religions I parliament, legalising homosexuality would be blasphemy, so they have said so. Kiwi lingo probably says it best, ‘If that’s the basis of your funding, (respectfully) you can stick your funding where the sun doesn’t shine!’ The folk I know over there support their government’s point of view on this issue.

 My old Tanzanian mate Loti used to say that politics is a dirty game, and from what I’ve seen in my eighty-odd years is that there’s nothing new under the sun, just different players and occasions. There have always been tyrants who think that killing people will somehow change things for the better… but they never do. People become involved in politics because they are deluded enough to think they can make a difference, but they are hamstrung by a system where the unnamed drive the main engine. Children cry, but outrage is always brief.

  

 

  

 

 

Training

 

 

 

Training

 

There was light drizzle though not enough to stop me going for my morning walk, but it did seem to stop others; except for a few of the usual dog walkers. I had a brief talk to the guy I refer in my mind to as ‘Brown-dog-man’, and as usual his dog was pulling him along. We often talk, and as usual I referred to his dog as a horse, because of his size. As I’ve noticed with many dog owners, this fellow had justifications for his dog’s behaviour. I sympathised with him, but didn’t tell him what I thought… and that was that the dog was in control of him.

The dog in question is a Labrador, a chocolate Labrador, and the man had told me the reason for his size is the new-fangled nutrition with vitamin-rich, processed food… as against the old way of feeding pets on household scraps. A sheep breeder once told me that ninety percent of the breeding goes down the throat; meaning, the better the tucker (food), the better the animal, so that tallies with what Brown-dog-man said. The other justification the man had was that the young dog had needed some surgery for an injury, so he had been locked in a cage for a few months, thus missing out in formal training. I pondered on that as I continued my walk.

I’m not sure I agreed with Brown-dig-man. Having worked with a whole range of animals, there’s one fundamental to understand for animals to behave well, and that’s for them to know who is the boss. It’s also important for owners to understand that all animals have a level of intelligence, but different levels, and you have to give them time to understand what you want them to do. It’s also worth noting that animals are not humans, have no understanding of human emotions, nor do they don’t understand your language… but they will quickly cotton on to repeated learning, sounds, and recognise your habits, even your mood.  We’ve seen how giving titbits as a reward can be very effective, but I’ve never needed that ploy, nor do farmers that I’ve known.

The term ‘breaking’ is applied to horses and to heifers that are going to be milked, and sure enough there are those who use harsh treatment to achieve their goals of breaking the animal’s spirit. And yes, animals do respond to harsh treat yet aren’t inclined to carry a grudge… unless the harsh treatment is prolonged; but there’s no need to use harsh treatment. Breaking in a horse may well mean breaking its spirit, but it might also mean getting a horse familiar with wearing harness or carrying a rider. Being patient, calm and gentle is effective. Usually.

 I was logging with horses and the boss wanted me to train another horse from another forest. He was a big docile fella, and placidly allowed me to put all the logging harness on him, but when I put a load behind him, he just kicked all the harness off and had no interest in actually pulling. Time and again we went through the process with the same result, so finally I roped the big fella to Jimmy the most reliable of horses and Jimmy taught the big fella what to do in no time at all. I couldn’t take any kudos except for the idea. I have no idea how horses communicate, but something went on there.

The same went for my pig hunting dogs, I’d had plenty of time to train Wally from a pup, and he learned more when, each morning and evening as we walked through the sluicings of old gold workings. I liked him to walk at ‘heel’, so I could touch his head, but as a reward, I would allow him to run something most dogs like to do. But I taught him that he could only run on my say so. How did I do that? Simply by repeating the commands and giving him the ‘good boy’ in a soft voice. On command he would even stop panting when we were listening for game. When I introduced him to another dog, Fred, an adult dog I acquired from the pound, I knew they needed to sort out dominance sooner or later, so I tossed down a piece of possum, and sure enough they fought. But I quickly broke them up… and rather roughly, which showed I was the boss and that Fred was at the bottom of the pecking order. I didn’t train Fred any more than that. Wally did the training; they would both stay at heel so I could touch their heads unless I said otherwise. But Fred had three other traits that he brought of his own accord. If there was a creek, he would drown pigs by holding their head underwater. He would look at me for which direction he should run and he’d go off wherever my raised arm indicated – a trait from the collie in him. And if I left an item of my clothing and told him to stay… he would, for as long as it took.

My mate Andy was a sheepdog competitive trialer and his room full of trophies was testament to his skill, yet he risked his dogs buy using them for pig hunting… because the loved it. They could bail pigs, but were gentle with sheep as required in competitions. Books have been written about working farm dogs, they are bred for their inherent characteristics such as eye, huntaway and heading. My dog, Bess came from Andy as a pup and apart from a tweak of two, she instinctively knew what was required of her. The eye-dog in her would help me catch a ewe that was lambing… similar to the way a stoat hypnotising a rabbit. She was a heading dog and would bring the whole mob of sheep towards me. She was a yard dog, helping me to move sheep in the yards… she would bark when I said, ‘Speak up,’ which helped me fill the pen when I was crutching or shearing sheep.

Breaking in a heifer for hand milking as a house cow will upset a new mother because her calf is usually taken away… not always. Before she calves, it is helpful to yard her regularly and acclimatise her to the bail and having her udder touched. Curiously it is an urban myth that if you hit, or treat a house cow roughly, sooner or later she will get you back… and that is in the back of mind always. They get you back by kicking the bucket, or crapping on the bucket or you. I’m not sure if the bucket of bran at the head of the bail is an enticement; it adds to her diet and reduces spring-growth watery flatulence. But cows are usually easy to work with, probably through breeding, I saw the same thing in Africa.  With age, they can often be milked in the open without a bail. But slow actions, being patient and gentle works best.

If you think about it, the same techniques work with children and people, mind you I’ve known farmers who aren’t good with people… but they don’t seem to have much luck with their livestock either. I suppose it can be summed up by saying that every action generates a reaction in kind.

 

 

 

Storm in a Teacup

 

The mainstream media, are inclined to peddle their narrative rather than the facts, but in this case, to understand the facts takes a little insight. The stakes are high and most of us hope for a positive outcome.

 

Storm in a Teacup

 

I’m calling the tête-à-tête between presidents Trump and Zelensky a storm in a teacup because, it seems that negotiations are back on the table by now. I saw a couple of things that happened that nobody else seems to have done, and because it looks to me that there will be progress, it could be assumed the explanation doesn’t matter and then again, maybe not, but here goes.

First a little personal story.

When our forest was ready for harvesting to begin, I was in charge of getting the operation started. The son of my neighbour and friend, who happened to be the local sawmiller, decided to throw his hat in the ring, so I helped him with the costing and what was required to make a go of it and he won the tender on a fair and open tender basis. The young fellow was learning was we went along and bought the necessary equipment, and employed a couple of bushmen. His output and quality easily met the demand.

When his contract came up for renewal, the big noises at the regional office had a mate who had been logging overseas and had arrived back looking for work. It was as plain as day to me they intended to award the contract to him. I objected and because I was known for having the ear of the local member of parliament, they called me down to their office about 300 kilometres away, to soft-soap me. I told my neighbour what was afoot, but promised I would fight in his son’s corner.

I had guessed correctly and at the meeting I had four big noises singing the praises of their fellow so I sang the praises of my fellow just as loudly. They wanted me to agree with them before I left the office, and I held out until 6:30 on a Friday evening while they usually finished up at 4:30 and had a few drinks. I had known all along that I would have to give in, which I finally did.

At least I could honestly face my neighbour and his son with honesty that I had put up the best fight that I could.

 

Now the issue at hand.

The first thing I would point out, is that I know how difficult it is to concentrate when using a second language for an hour. President Zelensky was there with a roomful of English speakers, and yes, I’m aware he had an interpreter there, and that for the most part, the conversation was cordial, but he didn’t want to quickly capitulate to the Russians, because he knew the Ukrainian people wouldn’t want him to. In an issue like this everyone wants to save face as much as possible.

 

The eruption (if I can call it that) was caused when President Zelensky said to Vice President Vance, ‘You raise your voice.’ Now, we all could see that VP Vance didn’t raise his voice, but this is where nuances in language come into play. Again, I’ve been there myself. He more than likely meant, ‘You often raise the issue of diplomacy…’ or ‘You always highlight diplomacy…’ or perhaps, ‘You make a song and dance about diplomacy…’ Or there could be other variations.

On President Trump’s side, I don’t think he’s ever used another language, so he couldn’t be expected to pick up mistaken use of terminology, so he was quick to defend his deputy, which is what a good boss should have done, because he, as all of us saw that the vice president had not raised his voice. Also, Trump’s awareness that his country was watching and sooner or later so would President Putin, put pressure on him to become forthright. The art of diplomacy is about making points and being able to reading the room.

In the preamble, President Zelensky’s use of language seemed to needle the others… and maybe that is what he was trying to do, but manners and the use of speech differs with societies and while a professional interpreter might understand the nuances, the people who interpreted for me, usually didn’t quite get the gist of what my meaning was, which is why I did my best to lean the language, manners and all.