Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Understanding the French political system
April 22nd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Today sees the first stage in the French presidential election. If you would like to understand a little more about the French political system, you will find my short guide here.
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Word of the day: augean
April 16th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I’ve recently been having an e-mail exchange with an Indian political commentator about reform of the Indian political system [see my guide here]. She used the word ‘augean’ and I was impressed that an indian used an English word which I had to look up. The adjective refers to a task which is both hugely […]
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My personal guide to the state of Iran
April 4th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I was in the British Museum yesterday with my Chinese ‘family’ looking at the Egyptian mummies. When we stopped for refreshments in the main court, I found myself in conversation with an Iranian family – a software engineer, his wife, and their daughter. My Iranian friend was astonished to find a Westerner who had recently […]
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Ever heard of the International Institute for Finance?
April 3rd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
No, neither had I until today. It is not being paranoid or conspiratorial to acknowledge that the world is run by power elites. It is obvious to anyone who has studied politics or sociology. But it is important that we struggle to have more transparency over the existence of these elites and try all we […]
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Remembering the Musahar – the poorest of the poor
March 19th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
One of our closest friends is Cindy Berman who is Senior Social Development Advisor in the British Government’s Department For International Development (DFID) . She has responsibility for DFID projects in a group of south-east Asian countries ranging from Afghanistan to Vietnam. Last week, she was in India and returned just in time to attend […]
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Should Israel bomb Iran?
March 14th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I’ve blogged several times before about the possibility that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and the risk that Israel might seek to pre-empt what it sees as an existential threat by bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. I’m sure that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron are discussing this issue during the latter’s […]
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A year of revolution in Syria
March 3rd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Exactly one year ago today, my wife and I flew to Damascus to start a 10-day holiday in Syria and Lebanon. Some of our friends thought that we were crazy. But we had booked the holiday six months before, nobody had told us there was going to be an Arab Spring, and at the time […]
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How worried should we be about Iran?
February 18th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Worried? Certainly. Very worried? Probably. Talking of a military attack by israel or the United States as soon as September or October? Hopefully, not. In an article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper, Ian Black explains why it suits everyone to exaggerate Iran’s power. The article concludes with a quote from Emile Hokayem of the Institute of […]
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Who are these credit rating agencies? (2)
February 16th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
That was the question I asked in my posting yesterday and today the “Guadian” devoted three and a half pages to a feature addressing precisely this issue. Patrick Kingsley points out: “More people would trust the agencies if they hadn’t got so much so wrong so recently. In 2009 Moody’s issued a report titled “Investor […]
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Who are these credit rating agencies? (1)
February 15th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
This week, we had the news that the UK economy might lose its valued triple-A rating. The statement from the Moody’s credit rating agency put the UK on “negative outlook”, implying a 30% chance of losing its AAA credit rating within 18 months. But who are these credit rating agencies that have such power and influence? […]
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