How many peace walls are there?

January 27th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

Peace walls developed in Northern Ireland shortly after sectarian tensions broke out into violence in 1969 but, since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, I think that most people outside Northern ireland have assumed that the violence has ended and the peace walls have come down. In fact, dissident Republicans continue to mount violent actions and, as this Wikipedia page spells out, there are still some 40 peace walls separating Catholic/Republican communities from Protestant/Unionist ones.

In another assessment, there are apparently a total of 88 peace walls and barriers and you can view photographs of 15 of the walls here. Surprisingly around a third have been erected since the formal end of terrorist activities. However, a £2m fund aimed at bringing down the peace walls by building confidence between communities has just been announced by the International Fund for Ireland, as explained here.

Of course, Northern Ireland is not unique in approaching issues of inter-ethnic conflict by erecting a wall or barrier. On my trip to Israel, I kept obtaining glimpses of “the wall” between israel and the West Bank. Israelis call this “the separation fence” or “the security fence”, while most Palestinians call it “the racial segregation wall”.

I’m sure that around the world there are all sorts of physical barriers of this kind. The English poet Robert Frost once wrote a poem called “Mending Wall” which I studied at school. In that he famously wrote that “Good fences make good neighbours” . Is that true?

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)

What is the major strength of the British political system?

January 27th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

This week, I had the following e-mail from a student in Russia:

“Hello! I have read your short guide to the British political system, and I wanted to ask what you think about this statement: “The capacity of the UK’s constitution to evolve is its major strength”. Do you agree with this, as I am a foreign student and want to find out more on this topic. Thank you very much!”

I replied:

“This a major subject that can hardly be dealt with in a brief e-mail.

Formally the UK does not have a constitution. It simply has lots of constitutional laws that can be amended by Parliament at any time by a simple majority vote.

This is probably a major strength but not necessarily the major strength of the British democratic system. In fact, you could argue that the absence of written constitution would be a major weakness if it was not for the fact that the British system has so many other strengths including the rule of law, an independent judiciary, a free media, a strong civil society, and a sense of tolerance.

In fact, the British did not choose not to have a written constitution. It is just an accident of our unique history.”

You can check out my “Short Guide To The British Political System” here and contrast it with my “Short Guide To The Russian Political System” here. I know which I prefer.

Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)

A (sleeping) babe in arms

January 24th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

This afternoon, I collected my granddaughter Catrin from her nursery as I do from time to time to help out her parents. I found that she had been running a temperature because she has some sort of fever.

Back at her flat, she was not her usual joyful self. She did not want to crawl around or play with her toys, so instead I cuddled her and read her lots of books. I could see that she was fractious and flagging so I sang to her until she fell asleep in my arms. When her mom and dad returned from work, she was still sleeping, so we decided that there would be no bath time this evening and instead I transferred her to cot and the land of nod – but not before her dad took this picture:

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)

How democratic is the United States?

January 24th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

On my web site, I explain the political systems of some 11 countries and these pages are very popular. I’m sometimes asked which nation is more democratic than another and, when I’ve time, I propose to write something about how to critique a political system.

Some of the questions that I would ask are:

How extension is the right to vote?
What proportion of those with this right are actually registered to vote?
What proportion of those registered to vote actually do so?

These tests, when applied to the United States (a country often thought of as one of the most democratic in the world), present a disturbing picture.

As explained in this story:

There are 50 million American citizens who are not registered to vote
There are 20 million names on registration lists that ought not to be there
Turnout in presidential elections is often below 60% and can fall as low as 51%
Of 172 recognised democracies, the US is ranked 139th in voter participation

Posted in US current affairs | Comments (0)

My review of “The Lady”

January 22nd, 2012 by Roger Darlington

You’ve heard of the film “The Iron Lady” about the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (which I’ve not seen yet), but you probably don’t know about the film “The Lady” about the Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi. That’s a pity because the movie is well-done and deserves a much wider audience than it is receiving [see my review here] and the heroic stand of Suu Ki – who may soon be the new leader of Burma’s government – merits a much better profile [see her biography here].

Posted in Cultural issues, World current affairs | Comments (0)

Word of the day: synurbia

January 21st, 2012 by Roger Darlington

I recently came across a word which was new to me: synurbia. According to this article, it a term describing a form of coexistence or synergy between urban living and the natural world as illustrated by the urban foxes that frequent our back garden. I like the idea.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

What bonfire of the quangos?

January 20th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

In October 2010, I did a posting about the new Coalition Government’s intention to abolish or merge some 300 so-called quangos, including both the ones on which I sit, the Communications Consumer Panel and Consumer Focus.

Fifteen months later, only one merger has actually happened – Postcomm going into Ofcom which was in fact proposed by the previous Labour Government – and the National Audir Office now projects that the cost of the abolition process will be almost twice what the Government originally estimated {see story here).

Meanwhile we are still waiting for the Government announcement explaining how the various bodies involved in consumer advocacy will rationalised. The resultant uncertainty and cuts in funding has reduced the effectiveness and resources of such bodies at precisely the time when consumers most need them as they face the worst economic recession of our lifetimes.

At a personal level, my terms of office on the relevant bodies are due to end very shortly anyway. I finish at Consumer Focus next week and at the Communications Consumer Panel later in the year. So I need to refresh my portfolio. Watch this space.

Posted in British current affairs, Consumer matters | Comments (0)

My reviews of books on the English language

January 18th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

I feel fortunate that English is my native language since it is the global language and so useful. I’m really interested in the use of the language and, over the years, I have read several books on the subject.

There was “Mother Tongue” by Bill Bryson [my review here], “Eats, Shoots And Leaves” by Lynne Truss [my review here] and “English As A Global Language” by David Crystal [my review here]. My first book of 2012 is another book by Crystal entitled “The Story Of English In 100 Words” which I have reviewed here.

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Baby Catrin one year old today

January 17th, 2012 by Roger Darlington

Did I mention that i have a beautiful granddaughter called Catrin? I thought I might have made reference to her.

Well, little Catrin is one year old today. I was present at her birth day [see posting here] and I will be there for her birthday (I’m babysitting while mom and dad go out for a little celebration).

Rich & Emily have been great parents and Catrin is such a happy little girl. I just love being with her.

“I’m one now, granddad!”

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)

What is American exceptionalism?