Tag Archives: #HeadlineTherapy

#HeadlineTherapy Turkey’s Erdogan has tough, no-nonsense reputation- and his message on Iran war is clear.

Thanks to Alex Crawford from Sky News Online for the Headline

Two quotes from President Edrogan in this article struck me.

” I emphasise again that the war should be ended without spreading further in our region.”

and also that

” We do not accept the Middle East geography to be put on the operating table just like a century ago.”

President Edrogan has referred to the other Countries including Iran in the Middle East as “brotherly countries”, an expression to me that says Edrogan knows what is at stake should the disruption thrust upon the area continue and regretfully gets worse.

Erdogan has the best chance of ensuring the Iranians officially contain their revenge, but has no chance with the inevitable ire generated by the fanaticism of an extreme Iranian regime populated by tarantula like factions ready to spread their venom against those who they see as “infidels” but who are in fact innocent populations just wanting to live in harmony.

Land is to be lived in and what does it matter who owns it as long as it is looked after. I’m relieved that Turkey is in Nato, and that they are taking as many steps as possible to reduce tension and have been quite clear to the Americans that Turkish Air Space cannot be used to attack Iran.

I feel President Tayyip Erdogan is one hope that we have, hopefully there are others, but the biggest threat from Iran and America is unpredictability and that even strong Statesmanship cannot always cope with.

Peace without Terror

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#HeadlineTherapy Dancers loved practising in this Singapore walkway. Then the complaints came.

Thanks to Kelly Ng and BBC News Online for the Headline

Singapore is a land-scarce country with more than 8,300 people jostling for each (square?)kilometre. Dance studios are expensive , so budding dancers have got used to practising their moves on a public walk way in a train station which very innovatively has floor to ceiling mirrors that reflect the dancers and thus enable them to perfect their “moves”.

It isn’t really unreasonable for normal commuters to complain, to be honest , art is fine , but to have art thrust upon you when all you are trying to do is get through your day can be irritating. The Landowners have frosted the mirrors and so the dancers cannot practice and have had to find another quieter area, with the same big mirrors which unfortunately is less atmospheric.

However, the article is more about how Singapore sees itself, is it too organised?

Should it loosen the controls on use of public areas. I’m not so sure, when there is little space you have to consider everyone needs, obviously don’t waste space but at the same time ensure people’s welfare by having spaces that they can use and are beneficial to everyone, not just dancers.

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#HeadlineTherapy Labour whip restored to farm tax plan rebel MP

Thank to Richard Moss and Pamela Tickell of BBC Online News for the Headline

A Cumbrian MP , Markus Campbell-Savours was suspended from the Labour Party for opposing increases to inheritance tax on farmers . The Government at the time was pushing for a limit of £1million on inheritance tax but they have now had a rethink and have decided the threshold of £2.5 million will remain.

Campbell-Savours was caught up in the furore of the Government’s heavy handed approach of insisting that MP’s supported the changes despite farmers ( who make up a significant number of his consitituents) being against it.

He felt he had to vote against the Government, and his Party, and as a result he was suspended and became for the few months of his suspension effectively an Independent MP, without the backing of the Labour Party.

Much has changed within the Labour Party in the last few months, and I for one am relieved that the cult of “Peter Mandleson” has gone and hopefully there is more respect for people who actually do the “right ” thing for their constituents and also the modesty that was expressed by the MP who said that his suspension had not been a pleasant experience and one he does not want to make a habit of doing , though ,representing the wishes of his constituents is what he was there to do.

Such a refreshing bit of news about our Parliament , that there are still people who will stand up against policies they disagree with even at great personal cost.

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#HeadlineTherapy Norwegian influencer buys failed property development in Spain to build ‘self-sufficient’ eco-community

Thanks to Beatriz Olaizola of El Pais 50 Online for the Headline

So what happens to old property developments when they get old and die because they ran out of money, it happens quite a lot, the money flushes around and we wait while someone comes up with a bright idea to resurrect something from the rubble.

The Joya de Planes ( The Jewel of Planes) was one such project with plans for 450 houses beside a reservoir in the mountains of Alicante. Political skullduggery allowed this plot of land to be developed as it was previously owned by a Politician and despite many objections the approval for development was given and disruptive work continued until the property bubble burst in 2008 .The developer had no more funds to complete the work. Under new laws the land has now received protected status due to it’s high environmental value.

Enter in essence a new developer, a Norwegian and her Romanian Husband. They bought the land from a Bank and two private Citizens for an undisclosed sum. They do have plans which they are going to submit to develop an” eco-village”, including a school, shops and even a health centre which will need to be approval in this area of Environmental Interest.

The houses will mainly be attractive to foreigners and the development is likely to take the form of a sort of gated village, separate from the local residents who currently number 700 people. The development has received the support from the local mayor of Planes who also happens to be the deputy chief of the Infrastructure Department of the Regional Government of Valencia.

This project is mainly based on a Social Media Project run by the Norwegian lady who has gendered over 1 million hits and has started selling plots on the proposed development. Little has been agreed by the local villagers.

Surprisingly though the Mayor is already saying that any costs such as street lighting and road maintenance will have to be covered by the New Developers themselves as they local Government will not be able to afford it from their tax revenue.

The development of a Modern Eco -Village is a development by any other name and it remains to be seen what happens to the development and if it does indeed bring any benefits to the local area. Without sound financial backing , I’m not sure it’s going to work.

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#HeadlineTherapy Gas and oil prices soar and shares tumble on fears conflict could escalate

Thanks to Osmond Chia and Natalie Sherman from BBC Online News for the Headline.

The main talk around what is happening in the Middle East in our house centres around prices , that everything will go up and fuel and energy prices which have seemed to have steadied will now become unaffordable. Suddenly the prospect of not being able to do things that we now take for granted comes into play.

In truth , the advisors and analysts can produce as many graphs and detailed comments on the effect on inflation and interest rates as they like. The real effect is that we are being asked to not do things, not travel, not buy what we like from the shops, reduce our consumption, live like monks and not to rely on having any power ( energy wise or voting wise).

Waste is everywhere and certain governments just want to ensure that their War Machines and the Business’s behind them don’t collapse. Forget the little people.

It does feel incredibly unstable and for what reason? The Middle East is incredibly beautiful and it’s big enough land wise for it’s various populations, they need to learn to live together and Western Governments need to stop interfering with their infrastructure and their economies.

Also they need to stop encouraging us to buy Heat Pumps as they are not efficient and we really need to find ways of looking after our consumption of energy more rationally. I predict the traffic on the roads will reduce and having a car will become a luxury. The problem is that business’s and therefore choice will not survive.

The British Government have thought they can take the consumer for a ride , well there’s no more to give or take; with House Prices, Fuel Costs and Education loans, I think most working people are actually broke and looking at their standard of living dropping like a stone.

I saw on the news that President Trump has a rash on his neck, well if I’d got myself into the mess he’s made I think I’d develop a rash too.

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#HeadlineTherapy Bus drivers will ‘resume strike’ on Friday if ‘serious proposal isn’t met by Isle of Man Government.

Thanks to ITVX News online for the headline.

I’ve always been fond of buses and public transport generally , ever since being driven to work by a bus driver who had to deal with heavy snow, take a diversion and pick up passengers who otherwise would have been stranded. In my mind he was as heroic as Indiana Jones.

So I was saddened to read about the Vannin (in my mind Valiant) Bus Drivers on the Isle of Man having to resort to strike action to achieve equal rights for all drivers whether full-time, part-time or casual. When they are working, whatever hours they are doing they are all doing the same job and should be given the same reward.

The dispute relates to fair , consolidated and pensionable pay and requires fairness to be applied. I really don’t think that the Isle of Man Government and Bus Vannin Management have a leg to stand on.

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#HeadlineTherapy Waste firm starts turning used nappies into fuel.

Thanks to Hugh Casswell BBC News Online for the Headline

Using four chambers on a new machine that cost £1.5million to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

The first chamber in the machine will crush the nappy and sanitary waste into a compactable form while the rest of the chambers use aerobic digestion, biology and drying to safely break down the waste and convert it into inert non-organic matter, which can then be burnt and used to create energy. The material that comes out of the process is a kind of floc which can be used as a coal replacement but with a much smaller carbon footprint and of course with no biological nasties.

It sounds a no brainer as the modern nappy and sanitary towel is something that is made not to break down for convenience sake of the user. However, the waste will remain present in landfill for up to 500 years.

It’s estimated that about 400,000 tonnes of nappies are sent to waste every year, heaven knows what the amount of sanitary products are , currently most will end up in landfill.

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#HeadlineTherapy Blind refugee found dead in New York after being released by immigration authorities.

Thanks to Ana Faguy and BBC News for the Headline.

A 56 year old man who had lived in Myanamar(formerly Burma) and had to leave due to ethnic violence has died on the streets of New York having been arrested, detained and then left at a coffee shop some miles from his or his families residence. The authorities had investigated his right to be in New York and had ascertained they were valid. This was despite the fact the man, Nurul Amin Shah Alam was blind and did not speak any English.

In the article the Border Authorities implied it was kinder to drop him off somewhere warm and comforting like a coffee shop , rather than just kick him out of their premises after interrogating him. This argument fails miserably when it turned out that the coffee shop was closed. Somewhat worse was that the Homeland Security Department wrote a summary of what happened saying that he “showed no sign of distress or disability requiring special assistance.” The man was blind.

The temperatures in New York after dark were heading into minus figures, having probably never risen above 1-2 degrees the whole day. The people who left Shah Alam didn’t care , they just wanted their burden removed.

What is even more infuriating is that Shah Alam had the right to stay, otherwise they would have sent him to one of their holding areas where he would have been at least safe and warm even if the conditions may have been overcrowded.

Instead despite establishing that he had been given sanctuary in America, he was abused by a system which clearly has no respect for humanity.

There will be an investigation but the fact remains, Shah Alam had family in New York who could have been contacted and would have looked after him. It was pure cruelty to leave him on the freezing streets.

It was a random woman who had seen him lying down and” moving a bit” (three hours previous) to her report to the Police that she had seen him lying down and not moving. On the arrival of the Police he was discovered to have passed away, having presumably died of the cold and neglect.

This is an absolutely tragic story of human indifference.

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#HeadlineTherapy Major bank faces £600 million hit after UK mortgage lender collapses.

Thanks to Temie Laleye and GB News for the Headline

The bank in question is Barclays who appear to have been duped into lending to an unscrupulous UK mortgage lender “Market Financial Solutions”.

It’s all in the administrators hands now. The evidence shows that multiple loans were improperly secured for a number of single properties, leaving a massive shortfall in the loan to asset ration and leaving lenders exposed to losses.

There is worse news , according to Bloomberg more than £2 billion ( I assume the figure is correct and isn’t $) in loans to the bridging loan and buy to let mortgage provider (Market Financial Solutions) were provided by Wall Street Firms.

Pretty scary stuff, money chasing money and a House of Cards Scenario. Let’s hope it’s not the World that catches the cold from the plague of financial services double dealing.

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#HeadlineTherapy The family-owned soda firm that still uses returnable glass bottles.

Thank you to Gemma Handy and BBC News Online for the Headline

Twig’s Beverage in Shawano County in Wisconsin continue to use glass refillable bottles to provide their customers with their well known soft drinks which are made with sugar and not high fructose corn syrup.

There most well known product is “Sun Drop” a citrus-flavoured soft drink developed in the 1940’s.Today the brand is owned by US drinks giant Keurig Dr Pepper, but Twig’s continues to make their drinks under license for sale in Wisconsin and remains an independent family run Company.

Some of the refillable glass bottles are as old as 60 years old and are still going strong. This is truly an amazing business model which with an estimated 127 billion plastic bottles purchased every year in the United States Twig’s is a beacon of hope to everyone that there is a better way of providing for the consumer.

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