Thanks to Spencer Kornhaber from The Altantic Culture Online for the Headline
Bruce Springsteen has written a very effective protest song.
” Streets of Minneapolis“
He will galvanise a lot of the American’s who thought that Trump and his cohorts were their saviours. Bruce has been blunt and named names and said that as the United States is a democracy there is no King of America .
Trump cannot touch Bruce, because Bruce is the American dream life lived with integrity and talent. For him to be so forthright is just what was needed. Bruce couldn’t save lives , but he can change lives and he has done what he knows best ,written a song to make everyone think. I think it will work.
I like to complain about expert complainers, the ones who outdo everyone when it comes to life giving them a hard time. Move on , honestly , there is nothing you can do to make it better and I’m a tiny bit suspicious that they like to bathe in their misery and why waste time listening when it will always be the same conclusion. “No one can help me”.
You all know they exist and how you deal with them is up to you. Yes understand their situation and empathise with them then tell them you have an appointment you can’t miss ,tell them you’ll ring them later. Whether you do or don’t is irrelevant. The more times people don’t ring back the more likely they will get themselves out of their own self-made fug. There’s no guarantee, but then what in life is guaranteed, even doom and gloom.
This donkey is actually a very happy donkey, he has lots of grass to eat and an nice barn to sleep in. He just looks sad.
Thanks to Lila Vanorio and Aljazeera for the Headline.
Venezuela’s oil has become a free for all now with the support of their parliament. Overnight with Maduro’s departure, the reforms that Hugo Chavez put in place to Nationalise the Oil Industry under the state-owned oil Company PDVSA in 2006 have been thrown to the wind with the backing of a Β£500billion energy agreement from the United States. “Stop Oil” protesters eat your heart out.
I often wonder about the practicality of these things , but the main drivers to achieve a more open oil industry is allowing external private companies to purchase interests in Venezuelan Oil projects, permit the opening of bank accounts in any currency and jurisdiction ( profits will go back to investing country ) and while stating that PDVSA still will maintain a majority stake in joint ventures , but allow minority partners to exercise technical and operational management( does the Venezuelan Government feel they lack the technical know how of the likes of Red Adair the famous Texas Oil Driller).
I’ve probably oversimplified the situation, but Delcy and Donald seem to have come to an agreement and everyone has forgotten about the kidnapping of Maduro. Nice to know that one of the main concerns of the major American Oil Companies has been addressed , in that there will be Arbitration and Legal redress for businesses working in Venezuela, this follows the disaster where the American Oil Companies were thrown out in 2006,their fingers were burnt and they do not want that to happen again.
Already the oil revenues have increased for Venezuela which is going to help their economy, the bill still needs to go through a second reading . Does the World want or need Venezuelan Oil? We will have to wait and see, there are Hydrocarbon agreements in place Internationally .Can we really afford to live with this and what impact is this going to have on the environment in Venezuela or indeed the World? A powerful headline indeed with lots of food for thought.
I like to think I’m a good sport and will occasionally watch something purely for entertainment purposes. Though as I am an observer of human nature, it pains me when I see behaviour which isn’t very sporting. Sport is all now so monetised, the stakes are so high, that it seems anything goes, and we have lost the point of Sport . So I turn to Shakespeare who knew a thing or two and probably watched the odd game of Tennis as it features in his plays.
“If all the year were playing holidays. To sport would be as tedious as to work” Henry IV Part 1(Act 1 Scene 2
As to me playing sport nowadays. I shall again refer to Shakespeare ” But I , that am not shaped for sportive tricks”. Richard III (Act 1 Scene 1)
Thanks to Katie Waple of BBC News Online for the Headline
There’s a place called Buster Hill in Hampshire, England where occasionally some Highland Cows like to wander around as it ‘s their perfect terrain, full of gorse , the cows walk around daintily on their hooves and get some exercise. Enter humanity.On a bright summers day someone takes a picture of the Cows doing what cows like to do , chewing the cud and admiring the view and subsequently publish it on Social Media.
Towards the end of January this year, in declining weather conditions, three humans after discovering the Social Media Post decide to go searching for the cows in the wet and cold crossing wet gorse which is tangly underfoot with hidden hoof divets, excellent for hurting your ankle.
The three humans eventually realise it’s getting dark and cold and still no sign of the cows, so they contact Hampshire Fire and Rescue to rescue them from the pickle they’ve gotten themselves into . Dutifully they are rescued. Where were the cows? The cows were probably comfortably asleep in their barn, it is winter after all.
I’d sit on the Dock of the Bay and think what boat I could buy, then I’d breathe deeply and wish I could write a song as good as Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and realise that money isn’t everything and a boat wouldn’t make me happy anyway.
Thanks to BBC Online News Kelly Ng and Shaimaa Khalil for the Headline
It’s not the Pandas it’s Taiwan. Sad to say humans have brought animals into their conflict again. Poor Pandas, having the life of Riley in Japan, they were born there and now they have to go back to China who seem just to use them in bargaining powers to get bigger and better trade deals. In all honesty if China had have left the Pandas alone they probably would be extinct by now, and the World Wildlife Fund wouldn’t have a motto. Hope the Japanese Pandas have a good life in China, I suppose the Chinese have been very good at breeding them.
I’ve got to say what immediately struck me with this Headline was today, Tuesday 27th January, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. All victims of the Holocaust both Jew and non-Jew are remembered. I wish I could get the pictures of what happened during that period and what is still happening today into those protesters heads and the Politicians that support them.
Thanks to Gareth Gordon and Jayne Mc Cormack , BBC News NI for the Headline.
While the Australians have banned 16 year olds, the French are considering banning them and British MP’s have raised a petition to ban 16 year olds from Social Media. Meanwhile some of the worst offenders are Politicians themselves , in this case the above Northern Ireland Minister was found responsible for using a Facebook post to “contribute to further unrest” with respect to immigration in Northern Ireland.
thenotsomightyom 