This headline struck a chord with me as I have an allotment and enjoy growing all sorts of fruit , vegetables and some flowers on it. There are successes and lots of failures, there’s hard work preparing the soil and there’s the idiosyncrasies of the weather.
The land the allotments have been set up on is part of a large school playing field, but increasingly land around the allotments is being used for Housebuilding. I do wonder , if the land will become too valuable and as the Headline says we will be turfed off to make way for Housing. I hope not.
The article is very sad as the process to remove the people who were growing on their allotments began in February, they were given six months to vacate the plots. Anyone who grows their own fruit and vegetables , knows that August is a busy harvesting period and now the people have been forced to abandon the things they have grown. Despite appeals , the landowner’s agent is insisting that the plots be vacated .
Thanks to Mal James and the Space Daily Editorial Team and Space Daily for the Headline.
There are a lot of landed gentry in England and Wales , who do not want common people wandering over their lands, we also have a lot of bridleways, right of ways and also a protest group called Right to Roam who work to ensure the access that exists at the moment is not further reduced.
Scotland, however, has open access laws , similar to Finland and commonly known as the right to roam. This allows walking, running, cycling , horse-riding, wild camping, climbing and water sports like canoeing or wild swimming. The proviso is leave the land as you found it and do not invade people’s privacy.
Fishing and hunting is a bit more tricky, there are licenses for certain activities that need to be obtained. The shared expectation is that people experience the countryside without causing damage or disturbance. No off road vehicle racing or indeed snowmobiles which scar the land.
Ownership need not regard access as potentially damaging and the Countryside and it’s benefits should be accessible to all. In Finland (and Scotland) it seems to work well.
Increasingly, I am forced to think that Countries with Power can no longer afford the unpredictability of their Leaders actually being able to think independently or act on their own beliefs and moral compass. Perhaps AI has already entered the fray and it will only get worse not better.
In the UK we have just had “Keir Starmer” replaced by ” Andy Burnham”. No election Andy ousted Keir in a drawn out process involving an election at a “safe” seat, resigning as Mayor of Manchester and then being appointed without contest , simply because he was Andy Burnham ( The man from the North). Democracy in action. No election just appointments.
Now Keir was born and bred to be the Labour Leader. Tony Blair was his progenitor, Blair was not perfectly formed although he talked like a robot and he certainly blazed a trail and showed those in control what could be achieved. Unfortunately his ego took over and it’s quite possible he began to believe he was in power because he was “Tony”. This did not suit the powers that be and he needed to be replaced.
Working as a Lawyer seems to be the chosen profession for “Leaders”, no need for a moral compass with that particular career. Enter baby Keir, whose father ran a toolmaking business and who chose to name his child after “Keir ” after Keir Hardie , the founder of the Labour Party.
I never thought Starmer was the brightest tool in the Political Toolbox, and always felt he was a fair weather politician who would agree to anything , partly because he didn’t understand the argument and also because he knew he was a puppet.
He protected Peter Mandleson ( The Black Knight of the Labour Party) and it led to his downfall. Starmer appointed Mandleson to be US Ambassador, despite many questions about his suitability and then argued the case that he was not given a full briefing on Mandleson’s status.
“Sorry my Lawd, I didn’t read the brief” ( an excerpt from one of Starmer’s early Court appearances).
“That’s alright , young Starmer, you’ll do better next time!” says Judge who is part of the Establishment.
Andy Burnham is no better, he likes to portray himself as a man for the northern people, but he has been chosen by those who decided on Blair and Starmer and Bandenoch. They are all middle class achievers with big mortgages and big aspirations.
America is no better, why Trump a lot of people hold their hands up and cry? Two words “The Apprentice” if he hadn’t been on that television programme then all of this would not have happened. He was chosen to be President and given the position to lead the Republicans even though he had never been a Republican and there were far better candidates. Thank heavens Alan Sugar ( the UK Apprentice ) retired to Monaco and didn’t want the hassle of becoming Prime Minister.
In other words it’s almost like The US and The UK have a cartoon strip of Political Leaders who were appointed by others and the electorate were given no choice. Selection not Election.
Thanks to Awogbemila Temitope and Business Insider Africa for the Headline.
South American Columbia has embroiled itself in Middle East Politics by recognising Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
The United Nations consensus is that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory and as such are under occupation.
Columbia’s decision under President President Abelardo de la Espriella means that consensus is under threat.
Egypt (presumably according to the Headline) Africa’s strongest military force has warned that Colombia’s stance threatens regional stability and undermines peace and the UN Charter.
Colombia has also supported Morocco’s claim for sovereignty over the Western Sahara.
It seems that Colombia is trying to gain an economic advantage in the middle East and African Continent by supporting these claims. Given the inherent instability of the Colombian Economy and their reputation for Drug Cartels, I would hope that the business they wish to promote are beneficial to all parties and doesn’t do harm, even if it helps their balance of payments.
Thanks to Milena Wălde and Politico for the Headline
The Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš went for a hike in the beautiful National Park in eastern Czechia which encompasses a mountain called the Lysá Hora. He picked a few flowers on his way up and tucked them into his rucksack and laid them at the monument at the summit to remember a colleague who had sadly died. They both had previously completed the mountain hike together, so it was a mark of respect for his deceased colleague.
Sad to say, this reached the press and PM Andrj Babiš explained his reasoning , however, he did offer to pay any fine attached to the misdemeanor.
Interestingly enough the National Park Officials said that no harm had been done as the species of flower that was picked was common.
This is fair enough , but as a general rule it’s probably best not to pick any wildflowers in National Parks, though I appreciate PM Babiš offer to pay the fine, perhaps to discourage others from picking wildflowers willy nilly.
thenotsomightyom 