A review of the movie “World War Z”
June 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
It’s a blockbuster starring Brad Pitt. What else do you want to know? You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
One of the most serious reasons why being a woman is tough anywhere any time
June 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Physical or sexual violence is a public health problem that affects more than one third of all women globally, according to a new report released this week by WHO in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council.
The report, “Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence”, represents the first systematic study of global data on the prevalence of violence against women – both by partners and non-partners. Some 35% of all women will experience either intimate partner or non-partner violence. The study finds that intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence against women, affecting 30% of women worldwide.
The report’s key findings on the health impacts of violence by an intimate partner were:
- Death and injury – The study found that globally, 38% of all women who were murdered were murdered by their intimate partners, and 42% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner had experienced injuries as a result.
- Depression – Partner violence is a major contributor to women’s mental health problems, with women who have experienced partner violence being almost twice as likely to experience depression compared to women who have not experienced any violence.
- Alcohol use problems – Women experiencing intimate partner violence are almost twice as likely as other women to have alcohol-use problems.
- Sexually transmitted infections – Women who experience physical and/or sexual partner violence are 1.5 times more likely to acquire syphilis infection, chlamydia, or gonorrhoea. In some regions (including sub-Saharan Africa), they are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV.
- Unwanted pregnancy and abortion – Both partner violence and non-partner sexual violence are associated with unwanted pregnancy; the report found that women experiencing physical and/or sexual partner violence are twice as likely to have an abortion than women who do not experience this violence.
- Low birth-weight babies – Women who experience partner violence have a 16% greater chance of having a low birth-weight baby.
You can read the WHO media release here and access the full report here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Word of the day: semiotics
June 20th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
This week, I spent a day at the Annual Conference of the Communications Management Association and indeed I chaired the final half of the event. The subject of the conference was the digital economy and there were some excellent speakers.
One speaker in particular certainly had a way with words and, in the course of talking about the hacking group Anonymous, he used the word ‘semiotics’.
I wondered how many in the audience, including myself, could provide an accurate definition of the word, but you will find an explanation here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
What are the 50 signs of ageing?
June 18th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
MailOnline offers this list.
I reckon that I’m guilty of only about 10 of these, so that – although I’m 65 next week – I still feel young at heart.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The modern face of Arabic music
June 17th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I like to travel – I’ve now visited 60 countries – and I delight in savouring the products of different cultures, whether that is music, cinema or food.
Therefore I have recently enjoyed the haunting music of Lebanese-born Yasmine Hamdan as revealed in her latest CD called “Ya Nass” which apparently translates as “Hey people! Yo!”
In this article in the “Guardian” newspaper, Hamdan is described as “the modern face of Arabic music”.
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A day for two dads and one granddad
June 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Here in the UK, it’s been Father’s Day and Vee and I had lunch with our son Richard and granddaugter Catrin. Catrin had already given her daddy a card at home and, in the restaurant, I received cards from both Richard and Catrin (“Happy Father’s Day to a very special Grandad”).
Catrin was in great spirits, chattering away, eating her meal of fish and ice cream (not together!), and playing with both Vee and me. She is absolutely adorable – don’t you agree?
Vee and Catrin
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
At last, some good news from the Islamic republic of Iran
June 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I’m encouraged by the news that Hassan Rouhani has won the presidential election in Iran. In a tum-out of around 72%, he managed to take over 50% of the votes.
The victory may seem ironic, given that Rouhani was the only cleric among the six candidates, but he appears to be the most committed to reform and has an interesting record as a PhD studnet in Scotland and a former leader of Iran’s nuclear negotations with the international community. He is probably the only political leader in the world who is fluent in English, German, French, Russian and Arabic.
Of course, it remain to be seen just how liberal he behaves in office – and indeed how liberal he is allowed to be by the Supreme Leader and the religious and military establishment. The power structure in Iran is complex and opaque, as I pointed out in my book review.
What is not in doubt, however, is the strong desire for reform from the majority of the Iranian people. I expereienced this when my wife and I were on holiday in Iran shortly fater the last presidential election which was certainly manipulated. You can read my overall assessment of the visit here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (2)
A chance to play the piano in public
June 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
As a Londoner, I use St Pancras railway station quite a lot. These days, it is a terrific venue with a central concourse full of shops and cafes.
Also located in the concourse are a couple of pianos that can be used by anyone at any time. I think that this is a great idea and this week – on the way back from a speaking trip to Nottingham – I took a photo of some children taking advantage of the opportunity to entertain passing train travellers.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of the blockbuster movie “Man Of Steel”
June 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
In an earlier posting, I explained that I was fortunate enough to attend the London premiere of the latest Superman movie “Man Of Steel”.
I have now reviewed the film and you can read my comments here.
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A welcome birthday present and a very sobering conversation
June 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Later this month, I’m 65 (I know – I don’t look old enough!). As a result. the National Health Service invited me to a screening for something called abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) which is a weakening of the main blood vessel that supplies blood to your body. The appointment was this morning.
Not surprisingly for the NHS in London, both the staff who attended to me were foreign-born and, as I always do when I meet such people, i asked them where they were from. The assistant was from Poland, so I practised my half dozen words of Polish. The guy who actually carried out the screening was from Sierra Leone, so I asked him about the civil war in that country from 1991-2002.
He told me that he had lived in the UK for 18 years, so he came her in the middle of the war. I learned that his father had been a member of parliament for the governing party and had been executed by the rebels.
He was immensely grateful to Tony Blair for his political courage as Prime Minister at that time in sending British troops into Sierra Leone to end the civil war. He said that, without such decisive intervention, the war could still be going on.
I found this a very sobering conversation. It was a very personal reminder of the good that can be done by foreign interventions in a war zone when the cause is just, the circumstances are right, and the objectives are thought through.
As for my AAA test, i was advised that my aorta is “perfectly normal” which was a welcome birthday present.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)