Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Is the ageing of those who can and do vote killing social democracy?
August 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This is an (edited) extract from a blog posting this week by Nick Pearce, Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). “Most people are familiar with the inequality in turnout between the social classes. No less egregious is the inequality in turnout between the generations. This is now a major political cleavage, with […]
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At last, the United States has an embassy in Cuba once more
August 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
When Vee and I visited Cuba seven years ago for a wonderful holiday, I hoped – and expected – that the thaw in relations between the USA and Cuba and the introduction of political reforms in Cuba itself would move more quickly. But there has been real progress under Barack Obama’s leadership and with support […]
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Is it time for some facts about those migrants?
August 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
One of the hottest topics in the British media at the moment is the issue of migrants into Europe and especially the numbers at Calais seeking entry to the UK. The debate is an emotional one and it’s useful to have some relevant facts
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What kind of a country is Iran?
July 16th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I am very pleased that a deal has been done on Iran’s nuclear programme. As I explained in this blog posting, more than eight years ago some observers were insisting that Iran’s nuclear programme had reached “a point of no return” and Israel was contemplating bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. The assessment was wrong and, had […]
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The challenge of Islamic extremism (4)
July 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This weekend, I attended a one-day course entitled “Hope And History: A Short Introduction To Contemporary Issues In Muslim Contexts” run by a lecturer called Dr Farid Panjwani. He explained that most post-colonial leaders of Muslim countries were modern and secular but were dictators and did not provide welfare systems or prosperous societies. In the […]
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The challenge of Islamic extremism (3)
July 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This weekend, I attended a one-day course entitled “Hope And History: A Short Introduction To Contemporary Issues In Muslim Contexts” run by a lecturer called Dr Farid Panjwani. He was adamant that terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS should not be called “fundamentalist” because many Muslims hold fundamental beliefs but do not condone violence. Instead he […]
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The challenge of Islamic extremism (2)
July 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This weekend, I attended a one-day course entitled “Hope And History: A Short Introduction To Contemporary Issues In Muslim Contexts” run by a lecturer called Dr Farid Panjwani. A major theme of the course was the clash between the historical experience of Islam and the colonial take-over of Muslim societies: Christianity was not a state religion […]
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The challenge of Islamic extremism (1)
July 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As a believer in lifelong learning, I regularly attend short courses at a London further education college called the City Lit. This weekend, I attended a one-day course entitled “Hope And History: A Short Introduction To Contemporary Issues In Muslim Contexts”. Our tutor was Pakistani-born Dr Farid Panjwani, a lecturer at the Institute of Education, who was very […]
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The impossible escape from North Korea of Ji Seong-ho
July 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Ji Seong-ho is a North Korean defector who grew up during the country’s terrible famine in the 1990s. In order to survive, Ji would exchange stolen coal for food on the black market. While taking coal from a train car in 1996, a malnourished Ji lost consciousness and fell onto the tracks, losing his left […]
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Are we moving ever closer to a new cold war or has it actually begun?
June 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Tensions between the West and Russia are growing week by week, most notably over the situation in Ukraine, sanctions and troop manoeuvres. So, is the West simply reacting to Putin’s growing aggression? Or is the West unnecessarily provoking Russia? There is a short but interesting piece on the BBC web site which points out: “Russia […]
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