How long can a Trump presidency last?
January 11th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The latest allegations about connections between Russia and Trump and his associates, if substantiated, are deeply worrying and come after a whole slew of concerns about conflicts of interests, character defects, political nominations, and flip-flopping policy announcement (often simply via Twitter). It is not just those who opposed the Trump candidacy who are worried; many independent observers – including American diplomats, military and intelligence personnel, campaign and pressure groups, and much of the media – are deeply concerned and rightly so.
The American political system is famous for its sophisticated mechanism of ‘checks and balances’ but, over the coming weeks, months, and maybe years, it is likely to be tested as never before. A series of constitutional crises seems inevitable and a resignation or impeachment by President Trump would hardly be a surprise. This is a terrible situation, not just for Americans, but for the world. We are all watching with bated breath …
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Meryl Streep trumps her previous performances
January 9th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
I have been a huge fan of Meryl Streep as an actress and a person since her role in “The Deer Hunter”. At the Gold Globe Awards, she spoke with characteristic grace and passion:
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
A review of the Taiwanese film “The Assassin”
January 8th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
This work won the Best Director award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, but what did I think of it? You can read my review here.
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How to think critically
January 7th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Once again, I have just given permission for the use of my advice on how to think critically to the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School of the US Naval War College who will issue it to course students as a handout. If the advice is good enough for the American military, you might like to take a look here.
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A review of the new sci-fi movie “Passengers”
January 6th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Guys, how would you like to be all alone with Jennifer Lawrence? Girls, how would you like to be all alone with Chris Pratt? The next best thing is to see the film “Passengers” which is absolutely carried by Pratt and Lawrence. You can read my review here.
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Think Christmas is well and truly over? – it’s not if you’re Italian
January 5th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany in Christian countries. My mother was Italian and Catholic and she introduced we three children to the character of Befana – the Good Witch who brings presents for children on the eve of the Epiphany. It made some sense; after all, the three kings did not bring gifts to the baby Jesus on the day of his birth which we celebrate as Christmas Day, but some time later on the day we mark as the Epiphany. You can learn more about Befana here.
It’s on a day like today that I particularly remember my mother who died in 1999. Of course, I still miss her very much. One my my short stories was inspired, not so much by the life she led (which was a tough one), as by the life I would like her to have experienced. You can read it here.
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It’s Fat Cat Tuesday – a national disgrace
January 4th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The UK’s top bosses will have made more money by lunchtime today than the typical UK worker will earn all year, according to an analysis that exposes the gulf between executives and the rest of the workforce. On “Fat Cat Wednesday” campaigners say that public anger with elites will intensify unless action is taken to tackle excess among executives at a time when pressures on household budgets are rising.
The High Pay Centre calculated that the average FTSE 100 boss now earns more than £1,000 an hour, meaning they will pass the UK average salary of £28,200 by around midday today. The think tank said that after enjoying rapid earnings growth in recent years, leading bosses now typically earn 129 times more than their employees.
More information on this story here.
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“Stuck: How Labour is too weak to win, and too strong to die”
January 3rd, 2017 by Roger Darlington
This is the title of a report published today by the Fabian Society on the state of the British Labour Party. It is a sobering but fair analysis of the current challenges facing the party.
The one paragraph summation is as follows:
“The Labour Party is too weak to win the next election – whether it takes place in 2017 or 2020. But it is also too strong to be displaced as the UK’s main party of opposition. When an election comes Labour may end up winning only 140 to 200 big city and ex-industrial constituencies, but it will have a platform from which to rebuild. On the other hand, if Labour’s fortunes recover sooner, while there is no chance of a majority, the party might be able to gain sufficient MPs to govern in partnership with other parties. That should be Labour’s goal.”
You can read a one-page summary of the report here and access the full 12-page report here.
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Volunteering with Crisis at Christmas (7)
December 31st, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Earlier, I have blogged about my three shifts as a volunteer with the charity for the homeless Crisis at Christmas (CAC).
The 45th CAC is now over. Collection of accurate statistics and data is still taking place, but the charity has shared with volunteers some highlights of the event to demonstrate what we contributed to this Christmas.
From 22-30 December, CAC welcomed thousands of guests in 10 centres across London (CAC was also delivered in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Coventry). This was made possible thanks to the more than 10,000 strong army of volunteers that attended shifts in London. 38,000 meals were served across the week and more than 5,600 meals across centres on Christmas Day.
From 23-28 December, 620 guests accessed doctors, nurses and pharmacists via the healthcare clinics. On 28 December alone, the healthcare service saw 127 guests, their busiest day. From 23-28 December, 325 guests accessed the podiatry service.
Teams of advisors were helping with everything from housing to immigration issues. 4 dental units and dozens of dentists were working flat out every day. Foot care and eye care teams were sorting guests’ feet and issuing free prescription glasses.
Hundreds of guests had their hair cut and hundreds more enjoyed a massage. Clothes were being repaired at a furious rate. There were thousands of sessions in the 10 IT cafes (a total of 300+ pieces of kit) provided by the IT supporter AIMAR. 71 hours of international phone calls were made.
Many guests just relaxed in the cafes and libraries or played chess and board games and many more just sat and chatted into the early hours. There was some wonderful art created, creative writing and poetry written and performed, films watched in the 10 cinemas, bands and performers enjoyed, and karaoke endured. The musical highlights the guests enjoyed included a clarinetist playing beautifully during breakfast, a steel pan band and the London Bulgarian choir. Oh and Chris Martin from Coldplay made an unannounced appearance and sang some songs with guests.
Backstage, the Catering, Operations, Resourcing and Transport teams were adapting to life in the new CAC Warehouse and coped extremely well. A fleet of 100 vehicles ferried warehouse supplies and guests across London to and from the centres. The catering team were operating 24 hours a day to make sure every centre had its meals and the Operations Centre made sure that each centre had the supplies and support it needed to run efficiently.
A magnificent effort all round. It was good to be a tiny part of this amazing operation.
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A review of “The Danish Girl”
December 30th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander and Tom Hooper consolidate their success in this moving story about a genuine transgender experience. I’ve reviewed the film here.
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