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[Enemy post]

I don’t think it properly gets across how I feel when I say that I hope that Ukraine is alright tomorrow.

[martinuzz]

Farmers are angry, again.
Because of the mandatory quarantaine of chickens because of the bird flu, chicken farmers are no longer allowed to sell their eggs with the 'free range' quality mark (because their chickens can't go outside). They will have to sell them as animal-unfriendly eggs, getting a lower price for their eggs.
Farmers demand compensation from the government.
Regulations state that eggs of a chicken that has been inside for 16 weeks can no longer be sold as a free range egg.
The price drop is losing our average chicken farmer 25000 euros per month.

[Frumple]

what kind of average chicken farmer was making more than 25k euros a goddamn month?

[martinuzz]

It's all a matter of scale. We don't have small scale agriculture here except for the growing trend of biological/ecological farming.
All farmers over here are multimillionaires (because of the size of their business).
Last year we had 100 million chickens in the Netherlands. Farms with a million or more chickens aren't unheard of.

Also note that the 25k per month is not personal wage, it's business loss. The farmers want compensation for their business, not for their personal account.

[Frumple]

I guess, but like... cry me a river at a multimillion dollar business losing out on less than a couple hundred thousand a year, y'know? Someone still making bank and just making less bank is not exactly the most sympathetic position in the world

[askovdk]

I don’t think it properly gets across how I feel when I say that I hope that Ukraine is alright tomorrow.

Yes, it's a very strange time, and it feels impossible to get a 'real' picture of the situation.
I wonder if any London bookmakers are taking bets on an invasion happening, - if so, then that may be the best indicator, as politicians and medias can spread cheap words, but a backstreet bookie must stick to the actual facts.

[dragdeler]

I didn't want to be the one who says it, but yes look at these sums, and look at what their equip costs, and how regularly they are buying new equip (better to have a new traktor than pay taxes right?!).

There is often a lot of crying on a very high standard of living with these farmers. I know folks who have like 11 cows only to get a couple a thousand bucks in subvention money each year - I reckon most "small farms" are only that by now.... And the big ones? Just look at how many assets they own.


I do understand that farming is essential for our survival, but really, many of them are entitled pricks, I'm not gonna even touch the can of worms of how negligently they threat their giant heaps of garbage.

[martinuzz]

Yeah. I know right.
I usually can't find much sympathy for farmers blocking roads with tractors, threatening politicians, and a year or two ago even drove a tractor into the door of a provincial senate house, all because the government is offering them a millions of euros fair market price for their company, in an effort to reduce CO2 and nitrogen emissions.

They also brought this whole bird flu quarantaine risk upon themselves. It should be a calculated business risk by now, after decades of repeated quarantines and exterminations. The only caveat is that food distributors don't want to pay more for eggs.

[martinuzz]

The squirrel bridge in The Hague is finally being used by squirrels since it was built 10 years ago.
Wildlife cameras counted somewhat over 400 squirrels using the bridge in 2021.
The bridge cost 144 thousand euros, which was paid for by the nature compensation that was paid by the government for moving the US embassy from The Hague to Wassenaar.

After 10 years of barely seeing any use, squirrels seem to have figured out that using the bridge for park hopping prevents them from getting killed by cars. That, or the 400 sightings were one and the same squirrel, and the rest is still roadkill.

[EuchreJack]

The squirrel bridge in The Hague is finally being used by squirrels since it was built 10 years ago.
Wildlife cameras counted somewhat over 400 squirrels using the bridge in 2021.
The bridge cost 144 thousand euros, which was paid for by the nature compensation that was paid by the government for moving the US embassy from The Hague to Wassenaar.

After 10 years of barely seeing any use, squirrels seem to have figured out that using the bridge for park hopping prevents them from getting killed by cars. That, or the 400 sightings were one and the same squirrel, and the rest is still roadkill.

Knowing squirrels, its probably the second one.  They're quick little buggers and tied into routine.

[martinuzz]

The Russian ambassador in the Netherlands threatened our prime minister Rutte with the use of nuclear weapons, if we aid Ukraine.

[Loud Whispers]

The Russian ambassador in the Netherlands threatened our prime minister Rutte with the use of nuclear weapons, if we aid Ukraine.

Bruh moment

Putin really has brought this on himself. It was already NATO policy to not expand into the Ukraine. Yet he dishonours Russia's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, so now the West is forced into supporting Ukraine, and cannot trust Putin to honour any deal. It's like a finger trap

[martinuzz]

I am horrified. This is not just some political commentator going yadda yadda, it's the frigging official ambassador threatening our head of state (on national Dutch tv, 'Nieuwsuur').

[Loud Whispers]

I am horrified. This is not just some political commentator going yadda yadda, it's the frigging official ambassador threatening our head of state (on national Dutch tv, 'Nieuwsuur').

Just a bit of banter

[martinuzz]

Geesh, storm Eunice ripped part of the roof off the O2 Arena in London.
It's starting to get real windy here too, although I think it won't be nearly as bad here in the south of the Netherlands as it is and will be in the north.