Where is Dabiq and why is it so special?

April 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Media reports suggest that Syrian Government forces are close to retaking the ISIS-occupied town of Dabiq in north-west Syria close to the Turkish border, but ISIS is putting up a strong resistance. Before the war, this was a small town which had a population of only just over 3,000, so what makes it so special?

This is a location with a special place in history. The town was the site of the battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516, in which the Ottoman Empire decisively defeated the Mamluk Sultanate.

It is also a place that Islamic fundamentalists believe will have a special place in the future. It is one of two possible locations for an epic battle between invading Christians and the defending Muslims which will result in a Muslim victory and mark the beginning of the end of the world.

So Dabiq is special and indeed ISIS has named its English-language magazine after the town.

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

How to be a good listener

April 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

You might think that listening is easy; after all, we are kind of doing it all the time. But really listening is a skill that often has to be learned.

As I revive my Friday tradition of blogging on my life skills advice, I venture to offer this guidance on “How To Be A Good Listener”.

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)

A review of the “Batman v Superman” movie

April 14th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

At last, I’ve managed to see the blockbuster film “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice”. It’s not as good as I had hoped but not as bad as many critics have suggested – and it’s doing well enough at the box office. You can read my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

How do you tell the story of black America in one museum?

April 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

In November, I’ll be making my ninth visit to the United States. The main reason will be for Vee and me to celebrate Thanksgiving with special American friends Mike and Laura. Thanksgiving is an event we have seen in so many American movies and television programmes but it is something we have never witnessed, so it is on my ‘bucket list’.

As it happens, it will be a fascinating time politically to visit the USA because, 16 days before, Americans will have voted for a new president and the era of Barack Obama will be coming to an end. We might have the nation’s first woman president or – perish the thought – we might have Trump in power.

Our friends live outside Washington DC and Vee and I love visiting the capital’s wonderful museums. Two months before our trip, a new museum will open on theWashington Mall: the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We are really looking forward to experiencing this museum.

But, as the “New York Times” has explained in this article, curating the exhibits for this museum has been a very difficult task.

Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)

A review of the new children’s movie “Zootropolis” and why all adults should see it

April 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Some the best movies of recent years – think of “Frozen”, “Big Hero 6” or “Inside Out” – have been made for children, but thankfully I have a granddaughter (now five) who gives me the excuse to see them.

The latest success is the wonderful “Zootropolis” which I have reviewed here. If you don’t have a child or grandchild, borrow one and go see this clever and uplifting film.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

A wonderful weekend with our granddaughter Catrin

April 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Regular readers of NightHawk will know that I have a granddaughter called Catrin whom I used to see every week for the first four and a half years of her life. But then, last summer, her parents moved to Nairobi and so I see her much more rarely these days. I’ve been over there twice and Catrin spent this weekend with us while she was over in the UK with her mother.

She was as good as gold and, as always, we had lots of fun.

On the first day, we were in central London where we started by visiting “Hamley’s” toy shop. We explored every floor and observed lots of demonstrations of some amazing toys. I offered to buy her one present and, out of all the options, she chose a pink poodle that – with the aid of batteries – barks and walks. I’m not sure what her parents will make of that – or the two dogs back in Nairobi.

Then we went to see the wonderful new Walt Disney film “Zoopolis” with my young friend Jen and her son James who is the same age as Catrin and known well to her. It is a beautifully executed movie with a very strong message of tolerance and inclusion.

That night, Catrin climbed into bed with me around 2.30 am which was a reminder of my days as a parent four decades ago.

Our second day was spend locally. So we went to Harrow shopping centre where Catrin went on some rides, ate an ice cream, and chose a multicoloured summer dress to wear back in Africa. Next we had lunch in a lovely tea room called “The Doll’s House” which is on Harrow-on-the Hill.

For all the fun that kids can have with grandparents, in the end kids love playing with other little ones. As it happens, we have a next door neighbour with a son George just a little younger than Catrin and, in the afternoon, we went round there for two hours and took advantage of his extensive toy collection. George has a toy kitchen and the best part of the afternoon was when the two of them ‘cooked’ a three-course with me as the waiter and George’s dad as the customer.

It must have ben an exhausting day because Catrin slept through the night and only came into our bedroom at 7 am.

It was a wonderful weekend and I adored spending time with the cheeky monkey come little angel.

Roger & Catrin at “The Doll’s House”

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)

The Panama Papers story has been over a century in the making

April 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

It is amazing that the Panama Papers were leaked almost a year ago but the story was only broken when journalists had done the necessary research.

Originally an anonymous hacker handed the files to journalists on “Süddeutsche Zeitung” who shared the information with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Then 400 reporters working in 80 different countries and 75 different languages piled through 2.6 terabytes of material. Nobody leaked anything.

Everybody piled in on the appointed day, producing stories so far and so wide they couldn’t be stopped, but also targeted from region to region and country to country. This is why in the UK Prime Minister David Cameron has been targeted.

But the origin of the whole scandal lies in the origin of the state of Panama itself.

In 1903, the administration of Theodore Roosevelt created the country after bullying Colombia into handing over what was then the province of Panama. Roosevelt acted at the behest of various banking groups, among them JP Morgan & Co, which was appointed as the country’s ‘fiscal agent’ in charge of managing $10m in aid that the US had rushed down to the new nation.”

The reason, of course, was to gain access to, and control of, the canal across the Panamanian isthmus that would open in 1914 to connect the world’s two great oceans, and the commerce that sailed them.

Full story here.

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

“Mexico: What Everyone Needs To Know”

April 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

This is the title of the book that I read during our recent two-week holiday in Mexico.

We visited six archaeological sites of pre-Hispanic civilisations, but I also wanted to learn about the contemporary issues facing Mexico and this book addresses those issues.

You can read my review here.

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

A short guide to the Mexican political system

April 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Over the years, I have written a series of short guides to various political systems, starting with those of the UK and the US. During the primary race in the States, my guide to the American system is being viewed by around 350 a day

I have just returned from a two-week visit to Mexico where I read about Mexican politics and discussed it with local people. As a result, I decided to produce a guide to the Mexican political system – the 15th in my series

You can check it out here.

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)