10 things most Americans don’t know about America

May 1st, 2013 by Roger Darlington

I have only just come across this lengthy but perceptive blog posting by an American who sets out a lot of truths that will be uncomfortable to many Americans.

The author of the piece, Mark Manson, is clearly an atypical American. We know this because he writes that he has visited over 40 countries – but most Americans don’t even have a passport (don’t believe me? click here).

Posted in American current affairs | Comments (2)

The rise and rise and rise of CO2 in our atmosphere (1)

April 30th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere have been rising inexorably for the last two hundred years. At the start of the industrial revolution, CO2 was around 280 parts per million (ppm) of the atmosphere.

Sometime in the next few weeks, that level could pass the 400 ppm mark – see report here. Global warming and the resultant climate change will have devastating effects on every person on the planet and on generations to come.

We have to act to slow down the growth, halt it, and then reverse it which will take massive efforts by governments, corporations and individuals. The future of humankind depends on it.

Posted in Environment | Comments (2)

How long does it take to form a new government?

April 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Of course, it depends on the country and it depends on the circumstances.

At one extreme, normally a British General Election is held on a Thursday and, in the course of the following day, a new Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen and immediately starts to appoint a ministerial team.

At the other extreme, under the United States Constitution, the presidential election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but he does not take office until his inauguration at noon on the following 20 January, some two and a half months after his actual election.

In fact, circumstances after the last General Election in Britain in May 2010 were exceptional, since no political party won a majority of seats in the House of Commons, and it took a week to negotiate a coalition government.

In Israel. following the General Election in January 2013, it took two months before a new coalition government was agreed.

In Italy. following the General Election in February 2013, it took two months before a coalition government was agreed.

To the best of my knowledge, the world record is held by the Belgians who took a total of 541 days of negotiations to form the current coalition government (the election was held on 13 June 2010 and the new government agreed on 5 December 2011).

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

Why is crime falling? Here’s 15 possible reasons.

April 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Earlier this week, I did a posting about the dramatically falling levels of most crimes across many developed countries. I explained that nobody was sure of the explanation.

In today’s “Observer” newspaper, political columnist Andrew Rawnsley devotes his weekly piece to the subject and floats no less than 15 possible reasons:

The reduction of lead in petrol. (Lead in the atmosphere deforms the brain.)
The proliferation of CCTV. (Criminals know they are much more likely to be watched.)
Car immobilisers and home alarms. (It has got harder to commit a crime.)
The steep decline in the cost of consumer goods such as televisions. (A lot of stuff that used to be stolen really isn’t worth nicking any more.)
The much bigger size of consumer goods such as televisions. (It ain’t easy to get a 40-inch plasma screen through a window.)
More liberal abortion laws. (The controversial theory advanced by the authors of “Freakonomics” who argued that making it easier to get an abortion has diminished the number of children born into the underclass.)
An ageing population. (Most crime is committed by young men and most of their victims are other young men. Fewer young men means less crime.)
Rising numbers of women. (They are much less likely to commit crime than men. The proportion of the population that is female is going up.)
A more feminised society. (Men are becoming less larcenous and dangerous under the moderating influence of the more law-abiding sex.)
A more middle-class society. (The middle classes do commit crime, but it is much more likely to be non-violent.)
More immigrants. (Immigrants are less likely to commit crime than the indigenous population.).
Home computer games. (Give young men an alternative to vandalising, robbing and fighting.)
Easy access to hardcore porn on the internet. (Gives young men another alternative to vandalising, robbing and fighting.)
Cheap gyms. (Give young men somewhere else to work off their surplus testosterone.)
Social media. (It has civilised people and made them more tolerant. If you are reading this online, you can test this proposition by going to the comments section and seeing how civilised that is.)

Posted in Social policy | Comments (5)

A review of the new sci-fi movie “Oblivion”

April 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

I think that Tom Cruise is attracted to a type of science fiction movie because of the very odd sci-fi dimension to his religion Scientology. However, I doubt that “Oblivion” will do a lot for his career. You can read my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

Your protest in support of Bangladeshi textile workers

April 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Hundreds of garment workers were killed and injured when an 8 story building housing five textile factories collapsed on 24 April.

Large structural cracks appeared in the Rana Plaza the day before and an evacuation order was given. The building and factory owners ignored the warning and insisted work continue hours before the building collapsed.

This, the worst ever, industrial accident in Bangladesh comes only months after more than one hundred garment workers died in two factory fires.

Working for a minimum wage of US$38 per month, less than one percent of garment workers in Bangladesh are represented by a union.

The Labour Law leaves workers unable to join a union and fight for safe workplaces, improved working conditions and better wages.

IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriALL Bangladesh Council is calling on the government to take urgent action to guarantee freedom of association and improve building and fire safety and the minimum wage for the more than 3 million garment workers in Bangladesh.

Send your message supporting these demands to the Bangladesh Prime Minister and Minister for Labour and Employment today – click here.

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

At last, some good news: crime is falling

April 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Although I said “at last”, in fact crime has been falling – in both the UK and many other developed nations – for decades and I last blogged about this fascinating, and welcome, trend, about a year ago here.

This week, we have the news that, in England & Wales last year, crime again fell, regardless of whether you measure it just by crime reported to the police or the wider measure of incidents captured in the official crime survey.

And the fall is in all categories of crime: violent as well as non-violent. The only exception is theft from the person, the increase in which category is largely in London because of mobile phone thefts.

Statisticians say the crime rate has halved since it peaked in 1995 and appears to be at its lowest level for more than 30 years.

But nobody is sure why. In this commentary piece, it states:

“There is no shortage of competing explanations for the crime rate falling by half since its peak in 1995 – from the removal of lead from paint and petrol, to smartphones killing teenage boredom. But most criminologists are surprised that the economic downturn has not reversed the long-term trend.”

Posted in British current affairs, Social policy | Comments (0)

The need to test claims – or else

April 23rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington

All the time, people are making claims that are not challenged and tested. Sometimes the results can have life and death consequences, as revealed in this astonishing story of how fake bomb detectors were sold in strife-ridden Iraq.

It is outrageous that someone should sell a device intended to save lives knowing that they did not work. But it is equally amazing that the devices were not tested. When faced with the offer of any such device, any potential purchaser should ask two fundamental questions:

Does it work? Let’s test it.
How does it work? If you can’t explain it to me, I’m going to assume you’re a fraudster.

This approach is valid in a whole variety of situations from homeopathy to economics to social policy. What we all need is to exercise critical thinking and I’ve suggested some tips here.

Posted in British current affairs, Science & technology | Comments (0)