Tag Archives: politics

August 7, 2026 · 8:49 pm

Jaffa Oranges

This post is a labour of sweet love. I’ve been listening to an audio book about Seafaring and Trade in the Mediterranean and it mentioned the town of Jaffa (apparently also known as Yafa).

As a child I can remember seeing the label in the Supermarket, I always associated Oranges with the name Jaffa. Oranges seemed sweeter when I was a child.

I didn’t know the History of the Jaffa Orange and was unaware of the sadness attached to it. “The Land of Sad Oranges” is the title of a famous story by the late Palestinian Journalist and writer Ghassan Kanafani that tells the story of the life of a young child growing up in an orange grove in Palestine. The history of the Jaffa orange has strong symbolism with the Palestinian’s connection with the lands and the immense loss they have suffered.

Sad to say at the beginning everyone worked together to make the Jaffa Orange a success story. It was a sweet orange with a thick peel, ideal for the export market. Arab cultivation was regarded as labour intensive but in actual fact it was probably the best way to harvest the original crop and it brought wealth to the region.

Nowadays , the crop is not a pure Jaffa Orange , and it can come from a number of Countries depending on the season. In fact now it is an all year round orange which means Jaffa is a brand. It and other fruits are grown under the Jaffa brand and sold in Tesco.

It originated in Palestine, but globalisation and the situation in the Middle East has led to the name Jaffa becoming a brand.Who cares for the fruit or where it comes from as long as we put it on the supermarket shelves and it’s fit to eat and we make money out of it.

I think if I saw the label “Jaffa” on a supermarket shelf, I would walk by because to me it is a sad orange. However, if things change and there is Peace and Prosperity in Palestine and the Oranges are grown in a Cooperative way where everyone benefits from the crop, then I would look differently at the “fruit” and it would no longer be a sad orange but a happy orange.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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July 17, 2026 · 11:40 am

#HeadlineTherapy Trump alleges Chinese election interference in address to nation.

Thanks to Sky News for the Headline

Not  knowing anything about the German language I never really understood what Hitler was saying or how he managed to enthrall so many people with his speeches. I suppose he really was speaking nonsense, that appealed to generations of people who felt they had been unfairly treated, it did not need to make sense, but it did need to play on their reactions or fears. A soundbite and then a lot of rabble rousing cheering.

Is it possible that today’s politicians use the same technique? Polarising people into thinking or believing what they want and then mobilising them into actions which history will judge as shameful.

Let’s hope we have moved on, I really think we have.

So this claim by President Trump that China had used “the largest compromise of election data in history” contradicts the findings of a Senior Intelligence Expert who investigated the claim in 2020 and is now the CIA director no less. Yes Joe Biden beat Donald Trump fair and square.

Well, we may all laugh at his claim and the fact that President Trump is belittling even his own Security forces. The President took twenty five minutes to rant about it on a recording that some will believe because they want to believe.

I think I understand better how Hitler worked and how he mobilised those who wanted to believe him.

My experience, though is tempered by the people who made fun of Hitler, I was a child born in the 1960’s and there was some brilliant television programmes made by men and women who had lived through the war. One “Dad’s Army “has always stayed with me. The programme itself was genius but the opening credits stuck a chord.

” Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?

If you think ol’ England’s done

We are the one’s who will stop your little game

We are the one’s who will make you think again.”

The tone was definitely Hitler was a clown, a clown who unfortunately resulted in a horrendous amount of innocent people getting killed. Even during the War though there were colloquial songs aimed at making fun at the Nazi Establishment ” Hitler Only has one ball” which was very funny. There were others too, I found this one You Tube it made me laugh . I do believe Spike was from California

The Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that China ” has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US” and also wary of the need to fact-check the president’s claims first- several US networks chose not to broadcast it live on their main channels.

It’s funny what thoughts reading a headline generates, the article explained that the Republican’s are concerned that their mid term election results will be weak and perhaps this is the reason for the twenty five minute rant about the Chinese bogey man .

In the end though a sense of humour ridiculing the pompous and corrupt works wonders and I’m afraid the headline made me smile.

Swirling torn newspaper clippings against a red and black background
Torn newspaper fragments swirl dramatically against a dark red backdrop.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading🙏

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June 15, 2026 · 9:13 am

#HeadlineTherapy ‘Nothing works’ : Russians react as intelligence services shut down the internet

Thanks to Anastasia Stognei and Max Seddon and the Irish Times for the Headline

Before we all rush to the idea that the Russian secret service the FSB (which replaced the Soviet era KGB) is deliberately blocking the Russian Citizens freedom of expression out of choice. Not caring that it is returning the Russian economy to the late 1970’s where mobile payments were a thing of fantasy and it was faster using a geriatric pigeon then the Russian Postal Service and the connectiviy of e.mail and attachments was a distant dream.

Think the recent Israeli attacks on Tehran which wiped out most of the Senior Government figures. These targeted and effective attacks were facilitated by mobile phone towers and software embedded in Tehran’s video surveillance systems. No wonder the Russian Secret Service are worried.

Up until now the Russian Government has tried to create an appearance of normality in Moscow, as if the population could continue about their normal very Westernised activities with plenty of social interaction, communication and even a cashless society without the worry of terrorism or indeed invasion.

No longer, the threat from external forces led to the FSB requesting and receiving powers to block internet access. Unfortunately now “ordinary citizens” can no longer rely on what used to be a reliable service and connection. It has even hit Telegram which was used by over 90million Russians and now is being hit by “outages ” and lack of connectivity. I suspect a few Apple I-phones have been thrown out of high rise suburban flat windows in pure frustration.

Apparently it has been a major pet project of the Russian Government to offer alternatives to the Global Media Services which up until recently had flooded the market in Russia. There are government controlled applications which try and do what the more established Western applications do , and without all the “outages” .The uptake of these alternatives has increased. Their effectiveness, however, is patchy and one particular service is linked to a subscription to a news channel run by Vladamir Solovyov, one of Russia’s leading propagandists. Not something you wish to have if you just wanted to order some groceries online.

The FSB sounds a rather inefficient Big Brother, nevertheless there is an element of fear all around , not just from suppression of original thought but from how the freedom that technology allows has the potential to be manipulated by dangerous forces. Russia needs clever technologically savvy people to ensure their safety , they cannot afford a brain drain of those skills. Is the FSB fit for purpose?

Operations center staff react in panic to internet and server outages with multiple warning screens
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Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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March 4, 2026 · 5:19 am

#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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Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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February 3, 2026 · 5:38 am

#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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February 1, 2026 · 8:15 am

#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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January 29, 2026 · 6:22 am

#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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January 22, 2026 · 7:59 am

#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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January 11, 2026 · 12:59 pm

#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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January 5, 2026 · 2:47 pm

#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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