Only one more day to the US mid-term elections
November 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Some 33 million votes have already been counted in early voting, vastly more than at this stage four years ago.
Turnout is on track to be the largest in a mid-term election for more than 50 years.
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Only two more days to the US mid-term elections
November 4th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been following this year’s mid-term elections in the United States like no other. Never have I seen a sitting president campaigning so hard in such elections, but Trump knows that these elections are all about him.
In a piece in today’s “Observer” newspaper, Simon Tisdall explains that:
“Set against the overwhelming weight of historical precedent, political experience and poll predictions, logic suggests Trump and the Republicans should lose on Tuesday, possibly big time. But will they?”
He points out that:
” … if the political world has learned anything since Trump’s shock victory in 2016, it is that traditional indicators must be taken with a barrow-load of salt. Trump does not behave like a conventional politician, for the simple reason that he is not one. His midterm campaign tactics have surpassed, in crudeness, the worst excesses of his most cynical White House predecessors.”
Just two days to go … Meanwhile, if you’d like an explanation of how the American political system works, you can read my guide here.
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A review of the new film “Bohemian Rhapsody”
November 3rd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This film of the British rock band Queen has had a troubled journey to the screen with a change of lead actor (Rami Malek replacing Sacha Baron Cohen) and, late in the shooting, a new director (Dexter Fletcher taking over from Bryan Singer).
American-Egyptian Malek is outstanding as Indo-Parsi Freddie Mercury (originally named Farrokh Bulsara), wearing a set of false teeth to create that famous over-bite and the four extra incisors that apparently gave the singer a greater vocal range. And the music is just fantastic which is why the movie should be seen on the big screen. The group had so many iconic hits and the title track was just breathtakingly original (if utterly unintelligible).
But the film has some problems.
The rise and rise of Queen, the four-member group, is not that interesting a story and certainly the remake of “A Star Is Born” – released a few weeks before – has a much more engaging narrative. Mercury’s own story is much more complex, but the film avoids going into too much detail on his sexual activities and hedonistic lifestyle and band members Brian May and Roger Taylor, who co-produced the movie, righly ensure that Mercury does not receive all the credit for the group’s success. Finally some of the dialogue is a bit clunky and some of the visual effects rather naff.
All that said, this is a thoroughly enjoyable romp and the recreation of the 1985 Live Aid concert is alone worth the ticket price.
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A revolution that succeeded – until it was crushed by other revolutionaries
November 2nd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended a lecture on the Georgian revolution of 1918-1921. It was delivered by my friend Eric Lee and the venue was the Centre of Contemporary Central Asia & the Caucasus in London.
Eric quoted an assessment of the Georgian revolution at the time by the noted German Marxist Karl Kautsky: “In comparison with the hell which Soviet Russia represents, Georgia appeared as a paradise”. But it was the Soviets who took down this democratic system.
Eric has written a book on the Georgian revolution entitled “The Experiment” and you can read my review here.
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A review of the important new film “The Hate U Give”
November 1st, 2018 by Roger Darlington
What a change and what a delight to see an American mainstream movie where virtually all the characters are people of colour: young as well as older, female as well as male, gay as well as straight. And how impressive that a film with a young person’s focus addresses so directly and fairly the issue of race relations in today’s America.
The central character is 16 year old Starr Carter who lives in a poor black neighbourhood but attends a largely white private school and attempts to staddle these two contrasting worlds until a violent death shakes up her life and beliefs. Amandla Stenberg is excellent in a role that carries the film but her voice-overs remind us that the origin of the script is a young adult novel by first-time author African-American Angie Thomas. The film is the directorial debut of African-American George Tillman Jr so, one way and another, a lot of new black talent is on show here and it is impressive.
Not since “Detroit” have not seen a movie which brings home so vividly what it is like to be a young black person at the mercy of a white police officer. “Detroit” portrayed real events in 1967, whereas this work is fictional, but the storyline reflects the experience of so many prominent and controversial police killings of young blacks in contemporary America that has given rise to the movement Black Lives Matter.
The film does not hide its support for the movement but uses a black cop to explain the viewpoint of the white cop facing a black youth who might be armed and about to kill him. Whites are not the enemy here – Starr’s white boyfriend is both understanding and supportive – but the movie highlights dramatically the routine abuse of power by the police and the unresponsiveness of authority to black voices and concerns.
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Stories to make you think
October 31st, 2018 by Roger Darlington
There are about 200 sections to my website, but one of the most popular is one which I call “Stories to make you think”.
Here you will find no less than 79 thoughtful stories, motivational tales, and pieces of wisdom from around the world.
I’ve justed added a new story to the collection and you can view them all here.
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Why Peterloo was so important and why you’re going to hear so much more about it
October 29th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
On 16 August 1819 in St Peter’s Field in central Manchester, around 60,000 pro-democracy reformers gathered in a peaceful protest that turned savage when it was attacked by armed cavalry, resulting in 18 deaths and over 600 injured. Until recently, the only public commemoration of this historic event was a plaque on the wall of what used to be the Free Trade Hall and is now the city’s Radisson Hotel.
Most people have never heard of this event which was quickly called Peterloo. However, I have always been aware of it because I grew up in Manchester until I was 23; I spoke as School Captain at my school’s Speech Day in the Free Trade Hall; and I studied in the Central Library in what is now St Peter’s Square.
This week, a new film, called simply “Peterloo” and directed by Mike Leigh, will be released which – together with bicentenary events next summer – will highlight this neglected piece of working class history.
In the “Guardian” newspaper today, John Harris has an interesting piece on Peterloo, the event and the film, and comments:
“The kind of history that now seems to dominate our culture is too often centred on kings, queens and powerful men, something lately seen in the revival of the cult of Winston Churchill.
Peterloo and everything that followed it were the products of things that were much more profound: disjunctions between systems of power and the new industrial economy, and the fact that among the first people to live out those contradictions and demand their resolution were the thousands who gathered in St Peter’s Field.
Put another way, this country’s journey into democracy was a product of the wisdom of crowds. There, not in ministries and mansions, is where social progress always originates, and in times as uncertain as ours, we would do well to remember it.”
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Remembering the creation of Czechoslovakia 100 years ago
October 28th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Exactly 100 years ago today, the new state of Czechoslovakia was created. This new country had a chequered history.
It was dismembered by the infamous Munich Agreement of 1938, it was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1939-1945, it was controlled by the communists from 1948-1989, and it was deviderd into the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993.
You can read my review of a history of the Czech lands here.
British readers especially should be reminded that Czechoslovak pilots flew with distinction in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Indeed the top-scoring RAF pilot in the Battle of Britain and the top-scoring RAF night intruder pilot in the war were both Czech. You can read my essay on this Czechoslovak contribution here.
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The vital role of UK Biobank
October 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
UK Biobank is a major national and international health resource, and a registered charity in its own right, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses – including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression and forms of dementia.
UK Biobank recruited 500,000 people aged between 40-69 years in 2006-2010 from across the country to take part in this project. I was one of them and I am pleased to be contributing to this vital project.
Participants have undergone measures, provided blood, urine and saliva samples for future analysis, detailed information about themselves and agreed to have their health followed. Over many years, this will build into a powerful resource to help scientists discover why some people develop particular diseases and others do not.
One of the world’s leading health research geneticists took time out of his schedule to address this year’s UK Biobank Scientific Conference. He reminded attendees how, with the help of half a million participants and support from funders like the MRC and Wellcome, UK Biobank is transforming health research in the UK and overseas.
The provision of information about illness, lifestyle, diet, activity and genetics and much more “shared freely with other approved researchers, is world changing,” Dr Eric Lander, from Harvard, USA told delegates. “It’s what we always dreamed of.”
You can learn more about UK Biobank here.
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A review of the novel “Prague Fatale” by Philip Kerr
October 26th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Kerr – who died in March 2018 – was a writer of both adult fiction and non-fiction who is known for the Bernie Gunther series of historical thrillers set in Germany and elsewhere during the 1930s, the Second World War and the Cold War. “Prague Fatale” is the eighth novel in the Gunther series and the 14th will be published posthumously next year (2019).
I don’t normally read thrillers but someone bought me this one as a birthday present, presumably because of my interest in all things Czech for family reasons. The action takes place in the Autumn of 1941 and is located, partly in Berlin and mainly in Prague. The narrator is Bernhard Gunther, a 43 year old widower who is an officer in the SD, the intelligence wing of the SS, in Nazi Germany. In classic Agatha Christie style, he is summoned to a stately home on the outskirts of the Czech capital to investigate a strange murder for which there are many plausible suspects.
What makes this very readable, dialogue-heavy, carefully-plotted story so compelling is that so many of the characters were actually historical figures and there are allusions to many historical events. The leading real-life character is Reinhard Heydrich who, some months later, was assassinated by Czech and Slovak parachutists. At times, I felt that Gunther’s conversations with men like Heydrich almost humanised them but, if one can overlook this conceit, this is a splendid read.
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