Tag Archives: politics

#HeadlineTherapy Bangladesh hands down jail sentences to former PM and her Labour MP niece.

Thanks to Sky News Online for the Headline

You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives. Poor little Tulip, still as Sir Keir Starmer PM and ex Director of Prosecutions has said that the court cases are not valid as Tulip has not been given any opportunity to review the charges against her or indeed be represented in the Bangladeshi Court and let’s face it Sir Keir must know a thing or two about the Law.

What really interests me about this debacle is that the ex Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina (Tulip’s Aunt) attacked for many years the founder of the Grameen Bank, Professor Muhammad Yunus after he fell out of favour with her for considering forming his own political party in Bangladesh. She accused him of corruption and nuturing poverty not solving it, her main target being the Grameen Bank.

The Grameen Bank enabled the “poor” mainly women to borrow small amounts of money to start businesses and work their way out of poverty in Bangladesh. It is a model that was taken up by many other countries and eventually won Professor Yunus the “Nobel Peace Prize”. My impression is that the Grameen Bank is a success and that Sheikh Hasina’s attacks on it were vindictive, apparently she is another Politician that believes she should have been awarded the ” Nobel Peace Prize”. I really feel sorry for the Norwegians having to put up with these gainsayers.

In reality it was very much tit for tat and after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina, Professor Yunus was appointed the” Chief Adviser of Bangladesh” and since 2024, has been part of the interim Government .

Professor Yunus has put in place many improvements such as improving communications and introducing a digital legal aid system which enables those on a low income to take legal address without having to incur large fees. Yes Professor Yunus knows a thing or two about the Law too and seems not very interested in buying up real estate.

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#HeadlineTherapy Shipping giant Maersk to take over Panama Canal ports after court ruling

Thank you to Lyndal Rowlands and News Agencies Aljazeera for the Headline

Panama’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Hong Kong based shipping Company C K Hutchinson (such a British Name) will no longer have the right to control the entry and exit to the Panama Canal and as an interim measure the running of the ports will be taken over by Maersk the Danish Shipping Giant.

In terms of the employment of local Panamanians working in the ports this will mean significant insecurity. Who will be responsible for paying them and will their conditions of work change significantly. Will more automation be introduced? Who cares, at least it’s not in Chinese hands anymore?

“Shadow tankers” supplying oil to Countries that have had worldwide sanctions applied to them have been the bugbear of the United States and puts into perspective the actions of the United States recently with the kidnapping of the President of Venezuela and the agreements now in place to allow Venezuela to produce and ship oil in partnership with the United States. The control of the Panama Canal is now in Danish hands, not sure if this has anything to do with Greenland, maybe it’s some kind of concession. Here you have the Panama Canal and we can have Greenland. Watch this space.

Either way the Chinese aren’t very happy about it but Victor Li the President of CK Hutchinson has experience of being kidnapped himself while a young man in Hong Kong, his father paid a ransom 1 billion HK$1 to get him free , he was held for one night. The Hong Kong gangster responsible for the kidnapping was later executed by Mainland China , which would not have been possible under the then Hong Kong jurisdiction, so it is probable that there is a close relationship between the Hong Kong Company and the Chinese Authorities.

Panama itself was caught between a rock and a hard place, but perhaps it was a bit strange not to review the contracts and the working of the canal with more care and they shouldn’t have just been automatically renewed for long periods without any bidding process.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏

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#HeadlineTherapy Venezuela’s interim president’s oil law reform to break with Chavez model

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 £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.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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#HeadlineTherapy Farage inadvertently breached MP’s rules says watchdog

Thanks to Kate Whannel Political Reporter, BBC Online News for the Headline

I hate to promote “Brand Farage” any further than is necessary, but this headline caught my eye Apparently it’s alright for him to have breached MP’s rules 17 times by failing to register financial interests totalling £384,000 within the 28-day limit . He won’t even get detention or have to write out 500 lines of I will not do it again.

Apparently the parliamentary commissioner for standards said that the breaches were “inadvertent”.

Oh well, I don’t get a chance to even take my pension without HMRC assuming I am taking a second income and taking money off me without checking that in fact it was my only source of income and that their actions would cause me financial distress despite my appeal. I suppose that was inadvertent too and really not worth bothering about. No parliamentary investigation about that eh? Or for the 6,000,000 other UK dwellers affected.

However, back to the “head in the clouds” Parliament. I checked the biography of this said parliamentary commissioner and yes ,he may be an expert in Law, but accepting apologies which he did from Mr Farage and acknowledging Mr Farage’s inability with computers and Mr Farage’s ability to blame anyone but himself strikes me as naïve and yes perhaps in his world it was’ ‘inadvertent.’ I suspect the parliamentary commissioner is not very good with computers either.

In my World, we have an MP who is paid a good salary and has entitlement to a pension normal people would sell their soul for. He also has significant financial interests in the outside World which do often conflict with his role as an MP. Why would he want to spend time in his constituency when he’s got bigger fish to fry? Not to mention what he is being paid for by the likes of Google and other Social Media Outlets for his self-promotion of his own ideas. I’m afraid Parliament to Mr Farage is just a vehicle to promote his bigger plans, just like his role as an MEP was.

He cannot take responsibility for his errors and plays his “I’m a good fellow, know nothing about computers” card and guffaw in the private members bar after that he got away with it . Many of his supporters would be guffawing in the bar with him , if they were allowed to.

Actually this is such a bad example of behavior to everyone that “standards” , parliamentary or not result in a deterioration in the understanding of what is right. Perhaps the Parliamentary Commissioner is over qualified and they should get a good cost accountant in to do a work study on Mr Farage and see if his efforts are appropriate to his role.

Also let’s move Parliament to Milton Keynes with serviced office and serviced accomodation while we’re at it.

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#HeadlineTherapy Pope Leo criticises how countries are using force to assert their dominon amid ‘zeal’ for war.

Thanks to Sky News Online for this Headline

#HeadlineTherapy King of Spain warns about the risk of ‘dismantling’ the link between Europe and the US

Thanks to Miguel Gonzalez of El Pais Online for the Headline.

Unusually I have combined two Headlines today as Pope LeoXIV and the King Felipe VI of Spain were both speaking at the ” Conference of Ambassadors , the Pope at the Vatican with the Vatican Diplomatic Corps in Rome, while King Felipe VI held a two day conference with the heads of Spanish diplomatic missions worldwide in Madrid.

I suppose we forget about the history of the Catholic Church and it’s relationship with Spain, but the fact that they both call it a “Conference of Ambassadors” is interesting. I must admit at first I thought they had both attended the same event, but they were separate, but both asking for Peace and Level-Headedness when dealing with the challenges that their Ambassadors face.

Pope Leo did not mince his words denouncing countries for ” completely undermining ” peace, saying ” was is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading”. He was talking about the many conflicts in the World today and said that” consensus- based diplomacy is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.” Perhaps we do need to read that in black and white. With the big child in the Whitehouse who’ll throw his toys at you if you won’t be his friend , yes consensus is going out of fashion, Donald might as well sing “if you want to be in my Gang”

King Felipe’s stance is very similar to the Pope, neither want conflict. Spain with it’s common language and most probably a lot of business trade with South America the King’s hope is that his Ambassadors can act with great patience and diplomatic courage, particularly with respect to Venezuela. Also that the closeness of Europe and America must continue, as the benefits are too great and isolationism would be catastrophic as it nearly was in the first half of the last Century. We all need each other

King Felipe was able to be secular and pragmatic, where Pope Leo as leader of the Catholic Church was from a religious point of view, however, they both have valuable messages and maybe all Countries should have a “Conference of Ambassadors” to set out plans for consensus and understanding.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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#HeadlineTherapy ‘Everyone feels so afraid about what is going to happen next’ Caracas-based journalist tells Sky News

Thanks to Callum Tennant, news reporter Sky News Online for the Headline.

Inevitably when Power and Resources become an unseemly tussle , the only ones that suffer are the local people. The article describes now that the people have resorted to queuing at Pharmacies, Petrol Stations and Marketplaces in order to be able to buy essentials when they can, because the uncertainty now in what was already a fairly fragile economy looks like it will get worse for the foreseeable future.

There is no news, as that has been shut down , with the only station broadcasting endless repeats of past speeches by Nicolas Maduro. Interestingly enough, there are at least five or more other leaders within Venezuela who are basically stronger and controlled Nicolas Maduro, the implication being Nicolas Maduro was a puppet. The people know that those leaders will now take charge, they were the strong ones. If the Americans had wanted to take Venezuela then they would have had to taken them all.

So now the people are left with the ‘colectivos’, a sort of armed militia wandering the streets, previously used by the government to control demonstrations and basically use violence. They are largely uncontrolled and undisciplined. Meanwhile the different municipal police run their own check points where their district starts and ends. As you can imagine, movements are going to be restricted and it introduces the danger of being harassed for whatever reason while you are trying to go about and do your daily business.

Recent events have made the situation so much worse for the majority of people in Venezuela, I understand even the Chinese who bought the oil rights from Nicolas Maduro, are keeping their distance and watching to see what happens next. The Oil rights are worth only 3% of the Chinese requirement for Oil so, it is not critical to them. So in truth I don’t think the oil can be the main driver for the United States. Authorising the kidnapping of a Leader of another Country is not going to help President Trump’s prospects for winning the Nobel Prize, though I suppose stranger things have happened.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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#HeadlineTherapy Government set to defend decision to strip *****’s UK citizenship.

Thank you to Suzanne Leigh and BBC Online News for the Headline

I choose not to continue the media hype, it’s a case currently highlighted and does not need me to further publicize the complainant.

Frankly when the incidents occurred that caused this debacle, the lady concerned was 15 years old, so I cannot see how you can argue that she was capable of making a decision that would mean her Citizenship of the UK would be revoked. So personally I think the Government is trying to defend that which cannot be defended.

However, as the Media (probably the liberal media) has taken hold of this and has made two films about it, with a lot of discussion in newspapers and television about the case. The said young woman now is in a refugee camp in Syria with no nationality as her Bangladeshi parentage does not entitle her to live in Bangladesh either, the Bangladeshi’s have refused her entry to Bangladesh.

She was born in the UK and has up until she left the UK at 15 only ever lived in the UK. Went to school here. So refusing her reentry and encouraging her to go to Bangladesh, stinks of the worst drunken pub rascist saying ” go back to where you came from” to someone who is a second generation Britain , but who is not as white as said rascist.

This was our Government then and it seems our Government now wants to follow through on that line. Which absolutely seems incredible to me and strikes me as desperation for votes from the quiet majority of homespun supremacist’s who crawl out of the woodwork to vote in elections that matter to them. Anything to do with race or the death penalty.

I have no idea what the Security Forces know about this woman and if there are concerns about her motives. The reality is that if she does return to the UK then she should be closely monitored and it must be quite clear to her that if radicalisation is still part of her make up , then that is a criminal offence and will be treated as such. We are not powerless, and we need to be able to deal with that should it occur, using the Criminal Laws of this Country.

What I find unacceptable is the emphasis on her appearance and this hair, makeup and sunglasses idea , it shouldn’t matter what she looks like. She was born in the UK and she is our problem or if the Human Rights Lawyers and Her Media Supporters are right our solution , not anyone else’s.

Yes she may need financial support when she comes back, let’s face it with youth unemployment in the UK as bad as it is , she may have needed that anyway if she stayed. What is everyone so scared of , do we not think we have the resource to deal with her. I actually think if we continue to disown her and leave her in what is the maelstrom of the Middle East that we may turn her completely against any chance of leading a humane life. She was misguided at 15, I’m sure lots of people have made mistakes at 15 , and wouldn’t expect to pay for that mistake for a lifetime. If she has committed international crimes try her, but to continue denying her rights that she was born with , is basically wrong and makes the Government look foolish.

This is an AI generated image which represents the fear of the unknown.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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#HeadlineTherapy Investigation Reveals Thousands of Russians Fraudently Gained Romanian Citizenship by Descent.

Thanks to Moustafa Daly, IMI Cairo and Le Monde for the Headline

Fortunately Romania does not have a channel for people to cross in boats and look to gain Citizen rights in their Country. No newspaper headlines or promises of one to one exchanges.

They do however have a different problem caused by their descent laws.

As a remnant of border changes going back to 1918 ; territories which use to be part of the Kingdom of Romania that either due to conflict or as the result of the aftermath of World War Two; changed hands ; and are now either Russian satellites or indeed occupied by Russia.

The Kingdom of Romania’s territory between 1918 and 1940 included land that has now( under a Law passed in Romania in 1991), given the residents of those territories during that period the right to apply for Romanian Citizenship and subsequently entitlement to a Romanian Passport. Romania being part of the EU, this is a valuable asset to have. Giving freedom of travel and the ability to do business within Europe to the passport holder.

Hence , sometimes with the aid of crooked Romanian Officialdom, the addresses have been used of locations within “descent countries” and passports applied and given to Russian Nationals. The Romanian Authorities now estimate that over 18,700 citizens from the former Soviet republics have now registered under the “descent” criteria, with fake genealogy and using genuine addresses where they have never lived in order to obtain a Romanian passport.

I can’t help but wonder what was behind the “descent law ” that has been in operation since 1991, did Romania genuinely want some of the people they had lost back. Is there just simply not enough people in Romania and they thought that with a Romanian passport these people would choose to move back?

Sad to say , this admirable gesture has been abused by a criminal fraternity , advertising Romanian Citizenship for sale on the internet for thousands of euros, and in these instances the likelihood is that there is no benefit to Romania, indeed there may be harm.

Thankfully , the Romanian authorities have ascertained what has been happening and are now taking steps to prevent it , the” active citizens” did not appear in towns where they were registered and thus they are back to square one with their plan to embrace their population from the “Old Romanian Kingdom”

Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏

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They haven’t.

How have your political views changed over time?

I’ve always been a bit confused by Politics and Politicians. They harp on about being Public Servants, but the ones that get to the top are on the whole megalomaniacs, who initially may have had a plan to do good, but with the onset of the status quo of a crashing economy, low growth prospects and aggressors coming at them from every angle , they choose the path of least resistance and the one that helps them line their pockets. Let’s face it if we were in their position we would do the same.

When I was young I was at their mercy , now I’m older I still am. Politics and Greed solve nothing. Politics and the People just causes confusion.

When did a politician ever ask you what do you want? They wouldn’t dare, even if they wanted to they could never give it to you.

Being called a great politician is like calling someone a great real estate agent. Everyone needs them but no one loves them and everyone thinks that their job is easy whereas they are at the beck and call of the market. There are potentially big gains , but then the bottom can fall out of the market just as easily as it was flying upwards when it hit a ceiling. They then look foolish and are left with no sale and no commission.

There is no requirement to trust a politician, because you simply can’t . They have a system and they are part of it. What the people want or need is irrelevant and perhaps all they are is a necessary evil, elected individuals whom may have won fairly or unfairly. There should be legislative structures in place to protect us from their corrupt actions, but these can be dismantled and are hard to replace once they have gone.

When the people are not represented we still have Politicians, and those Politician’s will insist that they are protecting democracy. They are not , they are protecting themselves and their hangers on.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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#US forces stormed cargo ship travelling from China to Iran: Report

Thanks to Aljazeera news online and Al Jazeera Staff for the headline

#Being homeless eats away at your self-worth says care leaver.

Thanks to BBC News Online and Annika Grosser at the BBC England Data Unit for this headline

I decided to do two headlines today as much as the fact that the American’s are playing at Pirates amuses me, on the other hand the debacle that is the Social Service System in the UK is accurately described and the vast amounts of money that are wasted on it while not achieving results or support needs to be highlighted too.

You might not see the connection , but I do. Yes , we can worry about the Americans who according to the Chinese in Bejing ” opposes unilateral illicit sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in International Law or authorization of the UN Security Council, and the abuse of sanctions” Guo Jiakun , the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

In truth, I think the Americans are on a sticky wicket with their interceptions of tankers and container ships in order to impose their will on Countries who the American Government feel are not playing ball.

However, the rest of the World is left with the prospect that safe maritime traffic is being put under threat and goods that quite reasonably should be reaching a destination are not and in the case of the Chinese vessel going to Iran , this could mean that they Iranian Public are subjected to further shortages.

At the time of the seizure of the Chinese Tanker, Bejing chose to keep quiet, perhaps to allow the investigation of what the ship contained to be completed. The cargo was released as there was no evidence that goods which were part of the Worldwide Sanctions on Iran were on board. End of story, until the Americans seized a Venezuelan Oil Tanker the following month and this very much upset the Chinese.

You might ask why I see the sad situation of a young lady who was as a 16 year old in the care system in the UK, reduced to seeing her Social Worker every now and then and only when she was to be given £50 in cash from her Universal Credit allowance. Most of the time the Social Worker was on “leave” as connected to the above story. The young lady was inspired to become a Social Worker herself , and got the necessary qualifications in order to “improve” the system”, which I’m sure with her actions she already has and in whatever role she has in the future will continue to do so.

I was surprised how defensive the Council that looked after her were, saying that “they had made improvements and that “cover arrangements ” were always in place. This struck me as denying what was really going on.

Also another quote is from the Charity Become is

” Part of the problem is that young people aren’t reaching out for support.”

Their concern being that some children are overlooked and are not in the statistical data analysis. My concern is how do you expect a young person , who already feels neglected and whose belonging are handed to them in a black plastic bag(like a prisoner leaving prison) to feel like reaching out to anyone.

The common factor between these two stories, is the conviction that everything is being done right by the Powers that Be ,whether it being the American Government or a Local British Council. The self righteousness and arrogance is obvious and the talk or money and big budgets being used for the good of all is bandied about. Meanwhile on the ground there is a lack of achievement or any ability to do what’s right because those right at the top have decided what they want to do and the money is being spent the way they want it to be spent. Whether it’s sending soldiers on to ships or not helping vulnerable young people who are looking to leave care and build a life for themselves.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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