Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Why are oil prices rising so fast? (6)
September 6th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Three months ago, I did my first posting on the dramatic rise in oil prices and challenged the conventional view that prices had risen so far and so fast because of an increase in demand. In my second posting on the subject, I suggested that the markets were wrong and that oil prices would fall […]
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The American presidential election (62)
September 6th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
OK, I’ve now seen the speech by John McCain to the Republican National Convention. It was just like one of his town hall meetings rather than an oratorical call to arms. It’s not just that the delivery was lack-lustre – we’ve come to expect that. It’s that it was so light on policy, especially on […]
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Forgotten World (145): Netherlands Antilles
September 5th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It was the 17th century when the Dutch colonised the present five far-flung Caribbean islands that make up the Netherlands Antilles, alongside Aruba. The territory, once called the Dutch West Indies, became self-governing in 1954. Aruba then pulled out of the federation in 1986 to become an autonomous Dutch territory. The other five, with a […]
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The American presidential election (61)
September 4th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The selection of Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, as John McCain’s Republican running mate has certainly enlivened what was already a very exciting – and seemingly very close – presidential race. Her address to the Republican National Convention in St Paul has energised the traditional Republican base, but I’m not sure that its hard-line […]
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Forgotten World (144): Lesotho
September 4th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Lesotho – an African country with a population of less than 2 million – cannot be seen apart from South Africa. First, it is totally surrounded by the territory of the much larger state. Second, over the decades thousands of workers have been forced by the lack of job opportunities to find work at South […]
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Forgotten World (143): Kashmir
September 3rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Kashmir is the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term “Kashmir” referred only to the valley lying between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range. Since then, however, it has been used for a larger area that today includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the […]
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Forgotten World (142): Denmark
September 2nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Denmark – nation of 5.5 million – is one of the very few European countries of significant size that I have not visited. It is noted for its frequent post-war social democratic governments and high standards of living, but latterly it has had some centre-right coalitions and it is a skeptical member of the European […]
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Forgotten World (141): Sardinia
September 1st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It’s been 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 140 entries here. Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). The island […]
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The American presidential election (60)
August 31st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Barack Obama has only one bigger fan here in London and that’s Karin Robinson who leads the Obama in London campaign. You can read her latest comments on the candidate here. The big difference between Karin and me is that as an American she actually has a vote. Of course, if the world citizenry was […]
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The American presidential election (59)
August 29th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The current presidential race in the United States is the most exciting of my lifetime which is why, with still two months to go, I’ve already blogged on it almost 60 times. The last 24 hours have been particularly exciting. First, the Democratic National Convention in Denver ended its fourth and last day with an […]
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