My new appointment: Chair of the Essential Services Access Network
January 28th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Since I took early retirement from the Communications Workers Union 14 years ago, I have worked part-time, sitting on various bodies representing consumers in regulated sectors, especially communications.
This week, I took on another such appointment, that of Chair of a body called the Essential Services Access Network (ESAN).
The object of ESAN is to promote social inclusion by helping to protect people in vulnerable circumstances from the disadvantages resulting from difficulty in having affordable access to essential services. Currently the essential services covered by ESAN comprise energy, communications, water, and financial services.
The Network brings together consumer groups and regulatory bodies in these four sectors. I am looking forward to working with them all.
If you’re interested in the full range of my current appointments, you’ll find that information here.
Posted in Consumer matters, My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Holocaust Memorial Day: we must never forget
January 27th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Here in the UK, it is Holocaust Memorial Day as we remember the six million Jews and other persecuted groups who died in the Nazi concentration camps and killing fields in Europe during the Second World War.
It is an event in human history without direct precedent and almost impossible to comprehend – but we have to remember, think about the victims and the lessons, and try to build a better world.
One way of trying to understand the Holocaust is to visit a concentration camp and I have been to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland and Theresienstadt in the Czech Republic. Another way is to visit a relevant museum and I have been to several including Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. Still another way is to heard the testimony of survivors and I have been privileged to hear several such talks.
One more way of thinking about the Holocaust is to read a book. An account which I found particularly powerful is “The Nazi Holocaust: Its History And Meaning” by Ronnie Landau. On today of all days, I would urge you to take a few minutes to read my review of the work here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
A review of the Oscar-contending film “The Big Short”
January 25th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
There have been some really good films portraying the madness that is the financial market. I think particularly of “Margin Call” [my review here] and “The Wolf Of Wall Street” [my review here].
This year’s nominations for the Academy Awards (popularly known as the Oscars) have been released and a candidate for Best Film is a movie showing how the collapse sub-prime housing market rocked the American (and world) economy in 2007/08.
We saw the film, “The Big Short”, this weekend and you can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership: it wasn’t supposed to be like this
January 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
When Jeremy Corbyn was elected overwhelmingly as the new leader of the Labour Party, his supporters told us that people would flock to join the Party (which they have) and voters would get behind a radical new Labour (which they haven’t).
Already, as this “Observer” article explains, Corbyn’s supporters are offering excuses for why Labour will do poorly in the elections in May.
Labour may win the London Mayor election, but in Scotland the party could fall to 25 seats or below, far behind the SNP, who could claim up to 70, and only a little way ahead of the Conservatives, who could take 20 or more. In English councils, Labour is down on average by 8% on its 2012 polling levels, suggesting the loss of control of 20 councils, while in Wales a 7% fall in support since 2011 suggests that Labour would lose effective control of the Welsh Assembly and could suffer its worst ever result there.
You can’t blame Corbyn for all of this; any Labour leader would have a huge mountain to climb. But, earlier this week, an “Independent” commentator offered nine simple, salient observations about the current state of the Labour Party. In a succinct and sad analysis, one fact stands out:
“Labour lost the election because its leader was not liked and it wasn’t trusted on the economy. Today, it has a leader whose approval ratings are lower than Ed Miliband’s, and is less trusted on the economy.”
Don’t shoot the messenger!
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
U.S. presidential election (17): it wasn’t supposed to be like this
January 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Over a year ago, commentators – me included [see this blog posting] – were speculating that the 2016 presidential election could be a contest between candidates from families that have previously occupied the White House, namely Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Jeb Bush for the Republicans. So, how’s it working out?
This is an extract from an “Observer” review of the current state of the races:
“A year ago Jeb Bush versus Hillary Clinton looked like a safe, if dull bet. No one dreamed that, with the Iowa caucuses approaching on 1 February, polls might be suggesting the rather less likely head-to-head of Donald Trump versus Bernie Sanders, a clash not of political dynasties but of popular movements.
Trump, 69, a billionaire celebrity from New York who has never held political office, has dominated the national Republican race although hardline conservative Cruz, 45, another outsider, appears to have the edge in Iowa. Neither has the endorsement of a single sitting governor or senator.
Sanders, a 74-year-old socialist senator from Vermont, appears well placed to beat Clinton among Democrats in both Iowa and New Hampshire. While she remains the long-term favourite, the former first lady could be forgiven for suffering stomach-knotting flashbacks to her defeat by Barack Obama in 2008.”
Just to make life even more interesting, there is a possibility that there may be a independent challenge for the presidency in the shape of Michael Bloomberg [see here]. Politics is never dull!
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (2)
Who were the world’s first terrorists?
January 23rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The Taliban, al-Qaeda, ISIS … sadly the murderous activities of these groups follow in a long and bloody history of the use of terrorism to advance political and religious aims.
You could make a case that the first modern terrorists were a Russian group called People’s Will. They were formed in 1879 and they assassinated Tsar Alexander II in 1881. You can learn more about People’s Will here.
I came across this group recently when it was mentioned in the third and last episode of the fascinating BBC4 television series “Empire Of The Tsars: Romanov Russia With Lucy Worsley” – see here.
We have been to St Petersburg and seen the site of the assassination of Alexander II which is now marked with an amazing church – see the account of our visit here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
How to think critically
January 22nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In the Life Skills section of my web site, I have “How to …” advice on 31 topics. The most visited of these pages is that on “How to think critically”.
For several years now, two branches of the United States military have used this material on officer training courses. So, if it’s good enough for them, you might like to have a look for yourself here.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Why were the opinion polls so wrong in predicting the result of the British General Election of May 2015?
January 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This week, a report by Professor John Curtice for research agency NatCen was published which essentially concluded that the pollsters failed to obtain a genuinely random sample. As a result, they underestimated support for the Conservative Party.
The problem is that some voters are easier to contact than others.
Those who are easier to contact are:
- those with a landline
- those who answer a phone call from a stranger
- those who have an Internet connection
- those who are willing to sign up to online polling
- those who are at home and not too busy
- those who are politically engaged
Polling is becoming more difficult because fewer homes have a landline, many people do not like to answer unsolicited calls, not everyone is on the Net, volunteers for online polling are somewhat self-selecting, older people are less likely to be contacted by pollsters but more likely to vote, and those who are busy with work are less likely to be available but often more conservative.
You can read the BBC coverage of the report here and the text of the full report here.
I would make two observations:
- The problems for UK political pollsters in obtaining a genuinely random sample is one faced by such organisations in most developed nations. We have seen political pollsters get it wrong in cases in the USA and Israel and I fear that the practical and statistical problems are only going to become greater and the accuracy of political polling is going to become weaker.
- The difficulty that pollsters have in engaging with harder to reach citizens and consumers affects the reliability of polling more generally including that by companies and campaigns. Citizens and consumers who are older, poorer, have a disability, live in isolated circumstances, or do not have the vernacular as a spoken language tend to be under-represented in such polling.
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs, Consumer matters | Comments (0)
A review of the new movie “Creed”
January 19th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This is the seventh film in the “Rocky” franchise but it’s not called “Rocky VII” for a reason. Stallone is far too old to portray a top-class boxer so we have a re-invention of the franchise with a new young, African-American star in the eponymous role. It is surprisingly good and you can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How many of the world’s richest people have the same wealth as half of the globe’s total population?
January 18th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Oxfam has calculated that:
- In 2015, just 62 individuals had the same wealth as 3.6 billion people – the bottom half of humanity. This figure is down from 388 individuals as recently as 2010.
- The wealth of the richest 62 people has risen by 44% in the five years since 2010 – that’s an increase of more than half a trillion dollars ($542bn), to $1.76 trillion.
- Meanwhile, the wealth of the bottom half fell by just over a trillion dollars in the same period – a drop of 41%.
- Since the turn of the century, the poorest half of the world’s population has received just 1% of the total increase in global wealth, while half of that increase has gone to the top 1%.
- The average annual income of the poorest 10% of people in the world has risen by less than $3 each year in almost a quarter of a century. Their daily income has risen by less than a single cent every year.
These figures are contained in a new Oxfam report entitled “An Economy For the 1%: How privilege and power in the economy drive extreme inequality and how this can be stopped” which you can access here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)