My politics lecture at Xaverian College
December 13th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I mentioned in an earlier posting my visit to Xaverian College in Manchester to give a lecture to politics students on a comparison of the UK and US political systems. The college was where I studied from 1959-1966. took my ‘O’ Levels and ‘A’ Levels, and served as School Captain.
The new issue of the college newsletter features coverage of my lecture and you can check it out on the last page here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Today’s a special date – the like of which we won’t see for another nine decades
December 12th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Today is 12.12.12.
The next time we have this sort of date will be on 1 January 2101.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
White British now a minority in London
December 11th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I have lived and worked in London for more than 40 years now. One of the many things I love about the city is its diversity and tolerance.
Details of the latest census underline the extent of this diversity, since they reveal that only 45% of the capital’s 8.2 million class themselves as white Britons.
Some 18% are Asian, 13% are black, another 13% are ‘white other’ and 5% are mixed race.
You can find more information here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Politics as a Darlington family tradition
December 11th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
In 1974, I was a Labour candidate for the (then) constituency of Wanstead & Woodford in the two General Elections of that year. In the first election, I came third. In the second election, I came second. I never ran for Parliament again.
This weekend, my daughter-in-law Emily Darlington was selected to be the Labour candidate for Milton Keynes North in the General Election expected in 2015 – as reported here. Well done, Emily.
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Which is the best country in the world in which to be born?
December 10th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Well, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit which has looked at 11 indicators for 80 nations, it is not my country: the United Kingdom. This comes in at a mere 27th.
Top nation is Switzerland which arguably is a pretty boring place to live. Eight of the top 10 are small countries which is telling.
Where does your country figure? Check out the list here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Ever heard of the all-black American fighter squadron?
December 8th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Not many people have – but it is a remarkable story.
The Tuskegee Airmen – named after their training base – were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces and fought in the Second World War. Formally, they formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Corps (United States Army Air Forces after June 1941).
The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s and later, P-51s, red, the nickname “Red Tails” was coined.
Their story has been told twice on film: first as “The Tuskegee Airmen”, a 1999 HBO television film [my review here], and this year in “Red Tails”, a George Lucas-funded movie [my review here]. You can find further information on the airmen and their heroic record here.
Posted in History | Comments (1)
Multinationals must pay their fair share of tax
December 7th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Who says so? The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, no less.
In a media statement, the Chair of the Committee Margaret Hodge states:
“Global companies with huge operations in the UK generating significant amounts of income are getting away with paying little or no corporation tax here. This is outrageous and an insult to British businesses and individuals who pay their fair share.
Corporation tax revenues have fallen at a time when securing proper income from taxes is more vital than ever.
There is little credible information about what is going on. The evidence we took from large corporations was unconvincing and, in some cases, evasive. HMRC also lacked clarity when trying to explain its approach to enforcing the corporation tax regime.
The inescapable conclusion is that multinationals are using structures and exploiting current tax legislation to move offshore profits that are clearly generated from economic activity in the UK.”
More information here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Just done most of the Christmas shopping
December 6th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Each Christmas, my sister organises an extended family reunion at her home in Leicester. It used to be the day after Boxing Day, but sometimes people were away visiting other relatives so, in recent years, the event has been convened a couple of weekends before Christmas to maximise attendance. This year, we gather this Saturday.
So, even though this is an incredibly busy week for me workwise, I’ve been in Harrow this morning doing Christmas shopping. Mostly I’ve bought books – I think they are great gifts for young and old. I’ve made the purchases at Waterstone’s – Amazon already makes enough money out of me and doesn’t pay enough tax in the UK.
Off now to a meeting at Ofcom to discuss the problem that 4G mobile will present for viewers of digital terrestrial television. Then, in the evening, I’m attending a private sereening of the new film version of “Les Miserables” wearing one of the six hats I now have with all my various appointments.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
What can’t you say on the Net?
December 4th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I have now been contributing a roughly bimonthly column on Internet issues for the trade union Connect (now part of Prospect) for 10 years and I have just submitted my 75th piece.
This one looks at how the law is beginning to bite on content carried on social media, a feature of the Net which did not exist when I started writing these columns. You can read it here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
Happy 20th birthday to the humble but ubiquitous text message
December 3rd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The first text message was sent 20 years ago today and Ofcom has some interesting facts and figures here.
I’ll always remember my first text message. It was about 15 years ago and my then colleague Beth Lamont – about 30 years younger than me – showed me what to do.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)