Traditionally, animals have not been thought of in terms of emotion or morals, more in terms of instinctive self preservation and gratification.  However, a review of Wild Justice by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce explores the complex world of emotional and moral intelligence in animals

Apparently, animals exhibit behaviours such as: fairness; compassion; empathy; trust; a sense of justice; reciprocity.  In other words, a recognisable moral code.

Reviewer Deborah Blum sums it up: “Their definition of morality is a strongly Darwinian one. They see moral actions as dictated by the behavioural code of social species, the communal operating instructions that bond a group safely together, the “social glue” of survival.”

Sound familiar?

I thought so: until I started reviewing the state of parliament and the behaviour of politicians.

What fairness do many politicians show when fiddling millions of tax payers’ pounds, legally (it seems) but unethically?  Recent leaked documents are a catalogue of shame for many MPs.

How much compassion has been shown to Gurkhas and their families? Mercenaries or not these soldiers bravely fight and sometimes die for queen and country, ours, not theirs; surely they deserve a pension equal to that of other members of the armed forces. Recompensing themselves doesn’t seem to be  problem for MPs.

With their inflated salaries, expense accounts and status how many MPs show genuine empathy towards the wider population of the UK?  Career politicians often have no experience at all of ‘real life’ because they have gone from school to university to politics without taking a breather for a glimpse of reality.

Yesterday, a Populus poll for The Times showed a drop in support for the two main political parties. People no longer trust them to be anything more than self-serving.

MPs in the House of Commons, as a group, have overall control over the creation of laws by which the rest of us live.  Yet, when it comes to creating the rules by which they are governed, they suit themselves.  Where’s the justice in that?

As for reciprocity, what are they giving back? Not a lot at the moment it seems.  At least not anything that is quantifiable.  The economy is still in a mess; unemployment is rising; national debt is rising; bankruptcy is rising; businesses are failing; the pound is falling.

And politicians? They are getting pay rises and claiming huge expenses.

Apologies from leaders of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties and proposals to change the Second Home and Allowances systems are a step in the right direction. Worrying though, is that these changes have been brought about, not because of any moral code but because of public outrage.

So, Margaret Moran (flipping); David Willetts (Lightbulb replacement); Oliver Letwin (Tennis court pipes); Jacqui Smith (Sister’s bedroom); Ken Clarke (Council tax reduction); et al: The public is watching and waiting to see whether you will continue to focus on your own self preservation and gratification or if you will develop a moral code equal to that of mice, rats and wolves.

Of mice and men. is a post from: Anna Raccoon

This morning as the Telegraph tumbrils continue their relentless journey towards Canary Wharf, exposing the mighty to the condemnation and indignation of we peasants, my eyes lit upon one particular carriage.

Can there be any more deserving passengers in this week of the Gurkhas’ rejection than that of those insatiate monsters, Sinn Fein MPs  Martin McGuiness and Gerry Adams?

To learn that five MPs, who represent the political wing of the IRA, have not even taken up their Parliamentary seats and yet have claimed £500,000 for second homes in the same breath as we are told that we ‘cannot afford’ to allow some 1500 Gurkhas, who have fought in every major theatre of war, from the first Afghan war through to Bosnia, the Falklands and more recently Iraq, on behalf of the British Army, to settle in the UK, and yet we can ‘resettle’ the old ‘soldiers’ of the IRA in London, complete with ‘Samson’ 28-inch wide televisions, and DVD Sony cinemas surround systems, in a £5,400 a month – a month! – house in London.

Truly, the Gurkhas must this morning be wondering whether they were aiming their guns at the wrong soldiers.

Gordon Brown used a ‘fabric of falsehood and fantasy’ in claiming that it would cost taxpayers 1.4 billion pounds to let Gurkhas live in Britain, according to campaigners.

The sum was based on the number of Gurkhas claiming a pension in 2004 – 36,000 – with the assumption they would each bring two dependents. More recent Ministry of Defence – figures state there are only 26,500 Gurkha pensioners. On the basis of two dependents each, this brings the figure down to 75,000 applicants. In fact only 1,550 Gurkhas and dependents have tried to unsuccessfully settle in the UK under the former discretionary policy and there are a further 1,350 immigration appeals pending.

The Sunday Express has exclusively revealed that MPs have already voted themselves an additional £16 million in expenses this year.

More than sufficient to resettle those Gurkhas who are desperate enough to apply to live in a country that must surely be on the verge of revolution.

The tumbrils rattle towards the printing presses today – tomorrow the guillotine.

‘Snub’ nosed bullets for the Gurkhas. is a post from: Anna Raccoon