What will Barack Obama find on his historic visit to Cuba?
March 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Today Barack Obama will be the first sitting US president in 88 years to visit Cuba. The last such visit was in 1928 when Calvin Coolidge went over to give a speech at an international conference. The opening up of relations between the USA and Cuba will be one the lasting legacies of the Obama presidency.
Less than a year before Obama took office, Vee and I had a holiday in Cuba. You can read my account of the trip here.
Posted in American current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the extraordinary film “Room”
March 19th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’ve only just caught up with this film and now I will definitely read the novel. It’s not the movie you probably suspect, so I recommend that you see it. You’ll find my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the novel “The Book Of Strange New Things”
March 18th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This is the sixth (and last?) novel by Dutch/Australian/Scottish author Michel Faber. I found it an odd work which I have reviewed here.
Anyone else read it? What did you think?
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Does big data have to mean Big Brother?
March 17th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Over the past 13 years, I’ve written a regular column on Internet issues and I have just contributed my 90th piece.
It’s on big data and the power of the algorithm – you can read it here.
If you fancy dipping into any of the previous columns (you can see how far and fast things have developed online), you’ll find them all here.
Posted in Internet, Science & technology | Comments (0)
These days, at almost every event I attend, there is some reference to Brexit
March 16th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
On 23 June 2016, there will be a referendum in the UK to determine whether the nation should remain a member of the European Union or whether we should leave (so-called Brexit). This is a huge issue for the future of the country and understandably it comes up at almost every meeting I attend. Yesterday was a classic …
In the morning, I attended a Westminster Media Forum seminar on European developments. The main topic of discussion was the European Commission’s review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). It was repeatedly pointed out that the UK cultural sector has benefited enormously from this Directive since, of the 1100 television channels approved by UK regulator Ofcom, some 650 are providing programming to other EU countries.
In the afternoon, I attended a Board meeting of the Tinder Foundation, a charity that promotes digital inclusion throughout the UK. As at every Board meeting, we considered an up-date of the risk register. One member suggested that it should now include a reference to Brexit even though very little of our funding currently comes from the EU.
In the evening, I attended a debate on the EU referendum organised by the “Guardian” newspaper. There was such a demand for tickets that the venue had to be switched to the London Palladium theatre where more than 2,000 turned up. Three of the four speakers had to vote in the House of Commons, so the start time was delayed and two comedians attempted to amuse us but found that British politics is not that funny at the moment.
The event was very boisterous with the speakers constant interrupting each other and substantial heckling from sections of the audience. At times, the “Guardian”‘s incoming political editor Anushka Asthana struggled to keep control but it was never boring..
I was not an unbiased observer of this debate, since I am a supporter of British membership of the EU and I thought that the speakers in favour of a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum had by far the most compelling arguments.
UKIP Euro MP Nigel Farage was simplistic, strident and personal (especially against Clegg) in his case for withdrawal. He insisted : “We’re better than being a star on somebody else’s flag.” and suggested that a ‘Yes’ vote would mean union with Turkey. He argued that “The project has outlived its purpose” and that “The rebellion against Europe is coming from the young” [in other EU countries anyway]. Perhaps most controversially, he opined that Europe had provoked Russia to take over Crimea.
Conservative Minister Andrea Leadsom (a replacement for Nigel Lawson) put a more measured case for leaving the EU and she was the most temperate of the speakers. She argued that “The EU is heading towards political union” and claimed that “The remain side is all about Project Fear and the leave side is all about Project Hope.”
Labour MP Alan Johnso was a fluent advocate for the ‘Yes” vote. He insisted that, in the case of of Brexit, “We would spend time and treasure” negotiating what we already have on trade deals and constantly reaffirmed the strength of the UK in an economic block of 500 million. . He acknowledged that so far a lot of the public debate has been “blue on blue” but insisted that the Labour leadership was firmly in favour of EU membership.
Former Lib Dem leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg was a revelation. He was the most passionate and persuasive speaker and attracted the most applause. Like Johnson (Alan, not Boris), he majored on trade and pointed out that 50% of our exports go to the EU but only 10% of EU exports go to the UK – which led Farage to call him a liar. Farage suggested that Clegg’s performance was an audition to become a European Commissioner which I, for one, think would be an excellent appointment.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (4)
How common is rape in India?
March 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I have recently been in e-mail correspondence with an Indian woman currently living in Canada.
She felt that my “Short Guide To The Indian Political System” contains “some negative information”, but I explained to her that “My readers expect a critical evaluation in my guides to political systems since constitutional details alone do not explain what is really going on.”
My Indian correspondent went on to suggest that the Western media is overly critical of current affairs in India and she instanced particularly BBC coverage of rape in India.
She drew my attention to the Wikipedia page on international rape statistics which includes this statement:
“India has been characterised as one of the “countries with the lowest per capita rates of rape”. The National Crime Records Bureau of India suggests a reported rape rate of 2 per 100,000 people, much lower than reported rape incidence rate statistics for many nations tracked by the United Nations.”
I think my Indian correspondent has a point, but comparison of incidences of rape between nations is an immensely difficult area. We know that that in all countries rape is massively under-reported. We cannot know whether under-reporting in India is greater or less than in countries like the UK or the USA.
Furthermore definitions of rape vary between nations. For instance, marital rape is not illegal in India (and in 48 other countries) and it is reported that the relevant Government Minister in India (a woman) has just insisted that the concept of marital rape “cannot be applied in the Indian context”, despite the Government laying out plans to introduce legislation to criminalise it last year.
So, while we cannot be sure of the exact incidence of rape in India, it is probably the case that rape outside marriage is much less than is commonly supposed around the world and that world media should be careful how they report on rape cases.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The Siberian crater saga: more widespread – and scarier – than anyone thought
March 14th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
If one spends a bit of time surfing the web and looking at social media – as I do – often one comes across something new and interesting and sometimes scary.
For instance, have you heard of the Siberian crater saga? No, neither had I. But it seems that across this end of the earth huge holes are appearing and explosions are taking place.
What’s it all about? You can learn more here.
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
When will we have a balanced assessment of the premiership of Tony Blair?
March 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“Broken Vows: Tony Blair – The Tragedy of Power” by Tom Bower is a newly-published hatchet job on Blair’s record in office that has rightly been criticised by many reviewers. The political editor of the “Observer”, Andrew Rawnsley, opens his review of the book by pointing out:
“History, so it is often said, is written by the victors. There seems to be an exception to that rule in the case of Tony Blair. Three consecutive election victories, two of them by landslides, ought to give him a place in the history books as Labour’s most successful leader. He is one of only two prime ministers since the Napoleonic wars to secure an unbroken decade at No 10.
The economy grew in every single quarter of his premiership, a record unrivalled by any other major developed country. Sharply higher levels of investment went into health and education, the school and hospital building stock was renewed, child poverty went down and even the Tory party eventually embraced much of a legacy that includes the minimum wage, more spending on international aid, gender equality and gay rights.
When he left office, pollsters reported that a majority of voters thought he had done a good job as prime minister, all in all, and even that he was still “likable”. That’s not bad after a decade at the top. Yet it is now a commonplace of much public discourse that he was one of the most despicable characters ever to inhabit No 10, even the “most hated man in Britain”.”
Of course, Blair himself is the last person to provide a balanced assessment of his premiership, but his memoirs, called simply “A Journey”, are a useful starting point and you can read my review of the book here.
In fact, no full judgement on Blair’s time in office can be written until we see the Chilcot Report on the decision to invade Iraq. Even then, whatever Chilcot states and whatever one thinks of the invasion, we should remember that this was not a decision by Blair alone – he had the support of the Cabinet and a majority vote in the House of Commons.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (4)
The world’s oldest man: a survivor of Auschwitz who is 112
March 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The human body and the human spirit are amazing things. I regularly marvel at how some people who have suffered so much can live so long.
A case in point is Israel Kristal, a citizen of Haifa in Israel. He has just been confirmed as the world’s oldest documented living man, but he is a an Auschwitz survivor who was rescued from the brink of death by the allies in May 1945, weighing only 37 kg.
Israel Kristal, aged 112 and 178 days on 11 March, was handed a certificate at his home by a representative of the Guinness World Records confirming him as the oldest known man on the planet.
Kristal succeeded 112-year-old Yasutaro Koide of Japan, who died earlier this month.
You can read more about this remarkable man here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (23): should the Democrats choose Hillary or Bernie?
March 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Some of my closest American friends are working their hearts out for Bernie Sanders and he is doing far, far better than almost anyone expected in his quest to win the Democratic nomination for the US presidential election in November rather than the presumptive candidate Hillary Clinton.
But for me, while my heart says Bernie, my head states Hillary. I just feel that her policy positions are more credible and that her experience would make her a better president both nationally and internationally. I was impressed by her memoir as Secretary of State “Hard Choices” which I’ve reviewed here.
Bernie has attracted massive support from young voters and Paul Galtris sent an e-mail – which he has turned into an online essay – to one of these young people explaining why he supports Clinton rather than Sanders. The analysis reflects some of my own thinking on the primary race and concludes as follows:
“Of course, most people don’t have the time or inclination to learn the nuances of complicated policy questions. If you’re a young person who leans left, you’re probably engaged in a simpler thought process: establishment politics has left me with high student debts and diminished job prospects; Hillary Clinton is the ultimate example of establishment politics; Bernie Sanders has fought establishment politics for years on behalf of progressive goals I believe in; why the hell shouldn’t I vote for Bernie?
I get it. The simplest response I can offer is this: on policy, Bernie doesn’t know what he’s talking about; the policies that most damaged your life came overwhelmingly from the Republicans, not the Democrats; and the Democrat most likely to beat the Republican in November is not Bernie Sanders.”
You can read the full essay here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)