Tag Archives: #HeadlineTherapy

#HeadlineTherapy Gardeners’ disappointment as they spend their last day on the allotment as landowner turfs them out

Thanks to ITVX Online News for the Headline.

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 .

Community garden beside construction site marked Urban Regeneration Phase 1
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#HeadlineTherapy Under everyman’s right, anyone in Finland can walk,ski, cycle , ride, swim , angle and camp temporarily-even across privately owned countryside-provided they leave the place undisturbed.

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.

Two hikers ascending a rocky trail above forested lakes and Highland mountains
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#HeadlineTherapy Africa’s strongest military force hits back after a South American nation recognizes Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights.

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.

Cartagena port exporting Colombian coffee in containers labeled Africa, Israel, Lagos, and Nigeria

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#HeadlineTherapy Czech PM BabiΕ‘ apologizes for picking flowers in national park

Thanks to Milena Wălde and Politico for the Headline

The Czech Prime Minister Andrej BabiΕ‘ went for a hike in the beautiful National Park in eastern Czechia which encompasses a mountain called the LysΓ‘ 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 BabiΕ‘ 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 BabiΕ‘ offer to pay the fine, perhaps to discourage others from picking wildflowers willy nilly.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.πŸ™

Five hikers walking along a mountain trail with alpine peaks behind them
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#HeadlineTherapy Lebanon ends executions: Where does the death penalty still exist in 2026?

Thanks to AJLabs at Aljazeera Online for the Headline

According to Amnesty International Three-Quarters of the world has abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.

Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty. On Tuesday , a majority of the 128 member parliament voted in favour of scrapping capital punishment and replacing the death sentence with life imprisonment and aggravated hard labour.

In practice although judges in Lebanon have issued death sentences none have been carried out in Lebanon since 2004.

It is very forward thinking of Lebanon to take this step and it is an example to all of us. Capital Punishment like any form of killing dehumanises us and solves nothing. One mistake is one mistake too many.

The use of the death penalty by countries who still have it was recorded as 2,707 executions in 2025. Iran was responsible for 2,159 of those in 2025. Which is a tragedy as it reflects the civil unrest that happened in Iran, so those who were caught up in the debacle in many cases were summarily executed without a fair trial because they disagreed with the Government.

This is why the Death Penalty should be abolished everywhere it is open to misuse.

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Namaste and Thank You for Reading.πŸ™

And here’s my You Tube Short on the above Headline. Please click on the link as I haven’t figured out how to embed the video yet.😁 Also I think they did is as a short and I said at the end that ” I am proud of Lebanon”πŸ™

https://youtu.be/MOVZMxGb6Us?is=xBRCioU8rjBfYDdU

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#HeadlineTherapy Please Stop Trying to Make AeroPress Coffee Complicated

Thanks to Jameson Fink and Food and Wine Online for the Headline

I love my Aeropress and I just can’t believe that the “trendies” and apparently trendy chefs have hijacked the simple design and suggested that you get a better cup of coffee if you basically do the process upside down( at great risk of scalding yourself with hot coffee).

Like the journalist who wrote the article I basically make a strong double espresso and then add hot water to it to make it into a “long black”. I love the suction sound, which the Aeropress makes when you push the plunger down. It’s like you are pressing every ounce of flavour and goodness out of the ground coffee beans.

The tinkerers are wasting their time. Aeropress is perfection personified.

Hands pressing an AeroPress coffee maker over a ceramic mug on a wooden table
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https://youtu.be/M0VZMxGb6Us?is=1_L-FF0ucCt7dmZ8

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#HeadlineTherapy They need each other? What’s behind the new Syria-Russia accord?

Thanks to Usaid Siddiqui and Aljazeera for the Headline

The new Syrian Government which has been in place now for about eighteen months have been in talks with Russia and have announced a memorandum of understanding regarding Moscow’s Hmiemim airbase and Tartus naval base.

Syria has taken some Civilian and Commercial Control over both military bases and the consensus is that neither Syria or Russia wish to break relations. Although , as Russia was a major backer of the previous regime and the local Syrian population suffered tremendously during the Civil War, there was significant resentment from the people about the Russian role.

However, the political premise “of there are no permanent enemies , only permanent interests is ensuring that the lines of communication are kept open with the Russians. Russia on their part have invested heavily in Syria , so they wish to keep good relations too.

Russia has helped the current Syrian Government by vetoing at the UN Security Council’s designation of the new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa as a “terrorist”. Russia also supplies subsidised oil and grain to Syria and has important debt and reconstruction projects with the Syrians.

Putin has welcomed al Sharaa and signalled support for Syria’s territorial Integrity.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.πŸ™

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#HeadlineTherapy Tennessee governor refuses clemency for death row inmate; execution set for Thursday

Thanks to Sam Stockard of the Tennessee Lookout Online for the Headline

A death sentence is so final I am convinced that no human has the right to decide the end of another human’s life for criminal offences no matter how heinous. My reasoning is , one mistake is one mistake too many.

To sit in an office , any office and sign a piece of paper which continues with the process of taking the life of another person does not seem right. It seems detached from the reality of the situation.

The lawyers in this case will keep arguing until the end, their reasoning is that the method of execution is barbaric and cruel as the state has not employed a doctor qualified to implement the procedure competently.( I won’t go into details , but a previous attempt with another death row inmate went terribly wrong).

No you can’t detach yourself and sit in an office and sign off on something like this as if signing off building regulations, it’s barbaric to do so.

The death sentence sullies everyone.

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Namaste and Thank You for Reading.πŸ™

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#HeadlineTherapy Mounted Police thank public for protecting stables

Thanks to Tony Fisher and BBC Online News for the Headline

Thames Valley Police have thanked farmers and residents for the help they provided to prevent a field fire spreading to its stables. Thankfully the actions of those who came to help meant that they didn’t need to evacuate the yard and the horses were kept safe.

The local people arrived with their own machinery to spray the fire and soak the paddocks ,creating a vital fire break. The Fire Brigade followed through and ensured the fires were extinguished. Meanwhile local people had turned up with horse boxes just in case the horses had to be evacuated.

This is really an inspirational story and it’s lovely to hear about everyone helping in what must have been a very terrifying situation for the horses and the people who look after them.

Firefighters digging a firebreak next to horse stables with wildfire burning on hills behind them
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#HeadlineTherapy Extreme heat grips Southern Europe as Spain sends toxic alerts and France shuts reactors

Thanks to Sertac Aktan and Euronews Online for the Headline

This article covers what is happening in Spain, France and finally Greece with the extreme heat and the lack of rain that has hit Europe over the last couple of months.

Thankfully , the fire in a waste management plant in Spain did not cause any fatalities, but there was an issue with airborne pollution. The Nuclear plants in France are owned and run by EDF. They have fifty seven plants which are all located near rivers to be close to a water supply for cooling the reactor. Three plants have been shut down due to low water levels and to reduce the impact on the local environment.

Finally in Greece, unfortunately wildfires have caused the death of five people over the last two weeks. A senior wildfire meteorologist said that it was “one of the worst fire crises I have seen in the last eight to ten years”. He added that no direct comparison can be made until the end of the “fire season” to establish quantitatively the burnt areas and number of ignitions.

More than twelve thousand hectares of forest and agricultural land have burned over the past week , according to analyses by the European Union’s Copernicnus Earth Observation Programme.

And here’s the rub, the Senior Meteorologist who says that until the results are analysed at the end of the “fire season”, says that though Climate Change may be playing a role, that there is also a significant contribution from”failures in land management”.

Funny all our Media talk about is Climate Change and Windpower, no one ever talks about “failures in land management”.

Presenter speaking at a podium with wind turbines and climate change graphics behind
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Namaste and Thank You for Reading.πŸ™

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