Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
The American presidential election (84)
October 24th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It isn’t over yet- and every vote will count. Even mine? Footnote: The video was sent to me by a friend – from Sweden!
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Understanding American politics
October 24th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The current United States Presidential election campaign has understandably created great interest all around the world but American politics is not always easy to understand. Even how the Americans actually choose their President is so different from anything in any other country. Therefore, in recent weeks, I’ve had a lot of visits to my web […]
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Forgotten World (150): Palau
October 24th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The tiny northern Pacific nation of Palau – which only became independent of United States administration in 1994 – consists of more than 200 volcanic and coral islands, many of them surrounded by a single barrier reef, and its tropical waters are home to an abundance of marine life, making the pace a paradise for […]
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Forgotten World (149): Jordan
October 23rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a small country with few natural resources, but it has played a pivotal role in the struggle for power in the Middle East. Jordan’s significance results partly from its strategic location at the crossroads of what most Christians, Jews and Muslims call the Holy Land. It is one of […]
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Bosnia on the brink
October 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Last year, I visited Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In my account of the holiday, I wrote: “There has been a great deal of reconstruction and investment is slowly coming in from abroad, but there is still unemployment of around one-third and the divisions are greater than ever: this small country with half […]
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The American presidential election (83)
October 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
A friend of mine in the United States – a supporter of Barack Obama – has drawn my attention to this video clip of a frank discussion of the race issue in the presidential election from trade union leader Richard Trumka :
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Forgotten World (148): Vatican
October 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The Vatican was created by the Lateran Treaty of 1929. It is the smallest independent state in the world – a mere 0.44 sq km (0.17 sq mile) – and the residence of the spiritual leadership of the Roman Catholic church. Its territory is completely surrounded by the Italian capital Rome, while priests and nuns […]
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Forgotten World (147): Zambia
October 21st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Zambia is landlocked and sparsely populated by more than 70 ethnic groups, many of them Bantu-speaking, with a total population of 12 million. When it gained its independence from Britain in 1964, the country switched from colonial government into an era of one-party rule lasting 27 years. A multi-party system emerged in the early 1990s. […]
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The American presidential election (82)
October 20th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Please watch this clip of Michele Bachmann, a member of the US Congress from Minnesota, being interviewed on “Hardball”, a leading American talk show: Then read this article by Michael Tomasky, editor of “Guardian America”. McCarthy may be dead – but clearly McCarthyism is alive and kicking. When a black man is elected President of […]
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Forgotten World (146): Honduras
October 20th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It’s been almost two months since I’ve run a week of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that hardly feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 145 entries here. Honduras is one of the least developed and least secure countries in […]
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