Cyprus-Forum.com

[GreekIslandGirl]

You might find, in time, that Miltiades is not as innocent as he seems.

[supporttheunderdog]

What is ridiculous is ...

... that the British military Bases are working against these birds' survival, from what you say, and yet you blame the RoC. If the Base areas were given over 100% to the RoC this problem would be diminished just as it has been in the rest of the island. Or are you now going to tell us there are hot-spots everywhere! Go on keep changing your story just to blame the RoC.

Oh how Typical of your delusions and distortions. Ludicrous beyond stupidity. The masts and wires in the SBA are probably no more dangerous to birds than eg the many mobile phone masts and high voltage power lines with pylons and cables strung about the country side. So using your twisted logic let's therefore accuse EAC and Cyta of working against the birds' survival. These structures are static andreasonably visible to birds, who have developed these things called eyes to help them detect and avoid reasonably visible objects such as masts and wires, whether EAC pylons and wires, Cyta phone masts or SBA wireless Arials of various configuration. Note. Wind turbines cause problems because the blades rotate. Mist nets which are deliberately placed to catch as many birds cause problem since they are designed to be invisible to birds. And no , no one is blaming the ROC as such. That again is typical of your paranoia.

We are only blaming criminals in the ROC for their illegal activity, or doesn't the ROC have criminals? Alternatively do these criminals constitute the ROC?

[miltiades]

You might find, in time, that Miltiades is not as innocent as he seems.

Im [leased to say that the CCs ( cemetery cats) had more than one feast over the festive season. So many leftovers that usually end up in the bin, this time there was no cat fighting grabbing the food as it landed on the pavement. More orderly cat behaviour since I have since discovered that another Cypriot regularly feeds the cats with dried cat food.

My last day in Paradise today as I fly out at 8pm. Have enjoyed the festivities, the company, the grandchildren, family and friends and not least some fine village red wine gifted to me by one of my nieces.

My other third and her daughter flew back yesterday, they too enjoyed their weeks break not least the fabulous weather, a welcome change from the snow back in Belarus.

I cant wait to come back just as soon as circumstances permit.

Wish you all a very happy new year, a healthy one most importantly.
My special loving wishes to my beloved daughter in law back in London who is fighting the last stage, and perhaps her last battle, against a brain tumour that the doctors have given us no hope.

I fly back today so as to be with my devastated son who is looking after her, is just so unfair after losing his mother, my wife, some four years ago to the same dreadful horrid illness.
She is just 37 years old...

[Flying Horse]

37. Same age as myself.

I hope the last stage is filled with love and happiness, and no pain.

Such sadness for you and your family

[The subaltern]

“Cypriot’s attitude to animals” is not a question and neither a statement but an unfinished sentence that seeks a response; in fact it seeks an evaluative response. The response can be good, bad or indifferent. The half sentence though has an inbuilt bias that predisposes one to express negative views about the Cypriots. This predisposition is the result of 20-30 years of propaganda that has been waged by organizations and individuals reporting through the mass media of their “findings” regarding bird trapping. Needles to say the above are not unbiased reporters of facts but partisan individuals with an agenda.
Unfortunately these organisations and individuals, been unchallenged for so long, had spread propaganda and untruths that with time have become “truths” through repetition or factoids if one prefers. For example millions (!!!) of birds are trapped by lime sticks and mist nents; yet you will never find how many millions of birds have been caught by lime sticks and how many by mist nets. You will never be told how many people are involved in the tradition and neither how many restaurants serve ambelopoulia. You will never be told that the increase of mist net use( an indiscriminate method of trapping) is due to their campaign in destroying lime sticks wherever they find them resulting in their replacement by mist nets.
You will never be told that the purpose of the lime stick trapper is to trap ambeloboulia and that ambelopoulia are not in fact an endanger species and that their numbers are increasing in Europe. You will never be told that the ambelopoulia migration from Russia, Scandinavia and W. Europe towards Africa is spread from Spain to Cyprus in a fan shape migration. I bet a lot of people think that all the ambelopoulia pass through Cyprus! You will though be told that millions are trapped!!! That they have Viagra qualities, (See New Yorker article by J. Frazen 26/7/2010) that the Cypriots had it a well kept secret until it was exposed to the world by Mr. Frazen and Co., that the Cypriots do not chew ambeloboulia but swallow them whole like boas, see Wikipedia; Difficult to believe that they can spread such trash but they do; that Cypriots pay 80 Euros a dozen, that the trappers are criminals Mafiosi and the like. That the unemployed in Cyprus have now got a job; they have become bird trappers!!! Difficult to believe it I know; I can provide the evidence if some one requires it. So it begs the question; how would one respond to: Cypriot’s attitude to animals? If I didn’t know otherwise my response will no doubt be greatly influenced by what I been told to believe.
The propaganda does not stop here it continues; the trappers are catching endanger species. Lists of birds trapped are published by CABS and BirdLife Cyprus. The first by CABS has 122 birds on its list (April 2010) while the second BirdLife Cyprus has 152 spices been trapped.
How many of each species they are actually caught they do not say. They neither say that out of the 152 species the trappers are really interested in approximately 16 species. Please note this lists, CABS is for species trapped since1958!!! While the BirdLife Cyprus for birds trapped since 1968!! You will never be told that a lot of birds on their lists are “rare passage migrants”. What is the likelihood of one been caught on lime sticks? Or what is the likelihood of an endanger species been caught on lime sticks since there are not so many?
You will neither be told why the species are endangered. Picked at random from the above lists: Squacco heron: “…the thread to this species is the loss and deterioration of natural and man-made freshwater habitat. (Nicolaous 2010) That the Cinerous bunting number decline is due to the destruction of its habitat by grazing sheep and goats and also due to the birds habitat been floated by dam construction in Turkey that holds 90% of the global breeding population ( BirdLife international 2004) Has any one from CABS gone to Turkey to demonstrate? The list goes on yet you will only be told that it’s the Cypriots trappers fault that the birds numbers are declining and that the Western Europeans have no hand in theirhabitat destruction and environment. You will never be told what the Cypriot contribution is toward their depleting numbers.

Please note all reports about the birds, Cypriot behaviour etc is written in English. Their authors become the “detached” narrators of stories as Edward Said puts it “as descriptions in one way exchange. As they spoke and behave (the Cypriots) he (the W. European) observed and wrote down… And what he wrote was intended as a useful knowledge not for them (i.e. the Cypriots) but for Europe and for its various disseminating institutions (Edward Said Orientalism)
Cultural imperialism, hypocrisy, arrogance and a holier than tough attitude, provides the answer to the “Cypriot’s attitude to animals”.

[Get Real!]

“Cypriot’s attitude to animals” is not a question and neither a statement but an unfinished sentence that seeks a response; in fact it seeks an evaluative response.

You’d be well advised to start using an empty line in between paragraphs instead of just a line feed to aid readability.

[The subaltern]

Thanks . You are right. In fact I had. The text is even longer but for some reason it did not appeared here.

[Cap]

A good read from subas.

I had to use the mouse pointer to follow what was written, but a good read nonetheless.

[erolz66]

Needles to say the above are not unbiased reporters of facts but partisan individuals with an agenda.

The reports come from organisations like Bird Life Cyprus, who have been running a monitoring campaign year on year bi annually for years. Organisations like the RSPCA, CABS, NABU and many others. Yes these orgnisations have an agenda. They have a clear stated and public agenda - the preservation of Birds. So what is YOUR agenda might I ask as you seem so obsessed with agendas and seek to make out that Bird Life Cyprus, RSPCA etc have an agenda to 'bad mouth Cypriots'.

Unfortunately these organisations and individuals, been unchallenged for so long, had spread propaganda and untruths that with time have become “truths” through repetition or factoids if one prefers.

By challenging them you mean just posting 'they are liars and Cypriot haters' do you ? Is that your idea of challenging them ? The surveys carried out bi-annually by Bird life Cyprus are scientific and rigorous, they take many many man hours of work in the field and work in the office to collate and analyse the raw data and they are all public. Yet we are apparently to assume that they are liars with a hidden agenda, where as your assertions from behind an anonymous ID on a forum backed up by no surveys or evidence is more credible and we are not consider if YOU have an agenda ?

For example millions (!!!) of birds are trapped by lime sticks and mist nents; yet you will never find how many millions of birds have been caught by lime sticks and how many by mist nets.

Not true. If you could be bothered to ask for and study the Bird Life Cyprus surveys you will see there ARE break downs between mist nets and lime sticks. Still lets not let truth get in the way of propaganda shall we.

You will never be told that the increase of mist net use( an indiscriminate method of trapping) is due to their campaign in destroying lime sticks wherever they find them resulting in their replacement by mist nets.

No you will not be told this because its total bullshit.

You will never be told that the purpose of the lime stick trapper is to trap ambeloboulia and that ambelopoulia are not in fact an endanger species and that their numbers are increasing in Europe.

Again just bullshit. Even in this thread alone I make it clear that if the ONLY birds trapped by these means were black caps there would be no issue. It is there in black and white, yet you come here and claim 'no one will tell you this'. Incredible !

The problem with illegal bird trapping is the indiscriminate nature of the birds trapped and killed. If you could and wanted to factory farm black caps for your table you would not hear a peep out of me. Hell if you could trap them in mist nets without ALSO trapping many species that are in very real danger of not existing at all ever again I probably would not care much either.

And your bullshit continues on and on and on. It is just a FACT that illegal bird trapping in Cyprus, as carried out today, does have a material effect on a numbered of endangered species. All credible evidence from credible sources based on thousands of man hours of WORK agrees on this. All you protesting, based on no supporting evidence what so ever but just an ingrained paranoia and determination to deny and distract anything that might paint Cyprus in a negative light, that it is 'all lies made up with the intent of making Cyprus look bad' will not change these FACTS.

[erolz66]

Once more I challenge those who assert here so vociferously that 'its not true, its lies made up by haters of Cyprus' and all the other bullshit and distraction and denials to actually come with me for two days (in season) and SEE for themselves what REALLY goes on with their own eyes. Of course the 'nay sayers' will never take me up on such an offer because they do not want the TRUTH, they do not want to be forced to confront THEIR lies, for that is not their AGENDA. Their clear AGENDA is denial of the truth, even if the cost of that is irreparable and unnecessary permanent damage to our environment.