Reasons to be cheerful
July 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Most of my personal and professional acquaintances voted – like me – for Britain to remain a member of the European Union and are – like me – deeply troubled by the narrow decision to leave the EU. But there are still many reasons to be cheerful that we live at this special time in history.
I am currently reading a fascinating book called “Age Of Discovery” written by Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna. The theme of the book is that we are living in a time which is in effect a New Renaissance and we should learn some of the lessons from the original Renaissance some 500 years ago.
In the introductory chapter, the authors write:
“For the first time ever, the number of poor people in the world has plummeted (by over one billion people since 1990) and the overall population has swelled (by some two billion) at the same time. Scientists alive today outnumber all scientists who ever lived up to 1980, and – in part thanks to them – average life expectancy has risen more in the past fifty years than in the previous 1,000.”
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The curse of Brexit
July 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
As soon as we knew the result of the referendum on British membership of the European Union, I did a posting arguing that it changed EVERYTHING. It will take months, years, decades before we understand all the implications and consequences but, in the intervening three weeks, the impact on our political leaders has been huge.
Let’s start with the losers.
David Cameron called the referendum because he thought he would win it and that it would resolve the divisions in the Conservative Party on the issue of EU membership. He was wrong on both counts, he immediately announced his resignation as Prime Minister, and this resignation will come into effect tomorrow. His political career is over and his legacy is a terrible one.
As leader of the Labour Party which backed EU membership, Jeremy Corbyn was judged – rightly in my view – to have been lukewarm in his campaign for a Remain vote and shown yet again to lack the leadership skills necessary to win a General Election and occupy No 10. He has suffered massive resignations from his Front Bench, an overwhelmingly vote of no confidence by his MPs, and now the activation of a leadership election in which even his candidature is in doubt. The entire future of the Labour Party is on the line.
So what could be worse than losing the referendum? Winning it.
The most high profile campaigner against EU membership was Boris Johnson. Literally one day, he was the runaway favourite to become leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister and the very next day he was not even a candidate, having (oddly) decided to pull out because Michael Gove had decided to stand.
Michael Gove – the Conservative with the second highest profile in the Leave campaign – wielded the sword that finished Boris’s ambitions but did badly himself in the leadership election and could not make the final two to go before the Conservative Party membership. His reputation is in tatters.
Previously unknown Junior Minister Andrea Leadsome – another major Leave campaigner – surprised everyone by becoming one of the two leadership finalists on the ballot. Yet, within days, she pulled out without even starting to win over Conservative Party members. She has proved to be weak.
And then there’s the leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage. He has achieved his lifetime ambition to put Britain on the unstoppable (?) process to leave the European Union. And now he resigns the leadership of his party (again).
Who needs “House Of Cards” or “Game Of Thrones”? British politics has become a bloodbath with almost a victim a day. And this is just the start of working out the consequences of Brexit …
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
The day that Bruce Springstein met my four year old friend Hope
July 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Four years ago, I did a posting about meeting baby Hope for the first time. Four years on, Hope was with her mother at a Bruce Springstein concert in Oslo when something wonderful happened. You can see the video made by a member of the audience here:
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Muslims and modernity: the road from jihad to Brexit
July 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
As a believer in lifelong learning, I regularly attend short courses at a London further education college called the City Lit. This weekend, I attended a one-day course entitled “Hope And History: A Short Introduction To Contemporary Issues In Muslim Contexts”. Our tutor was Pakistani-born Dr Farid Panjwani, a lecturer at the Institute of Education, who was very informative and balanced.
Dr Panjwani gave a few basic facts about contemporary Islam:
- About 22% or one in five of the world population is Muslim
- Of all Muslims, Sunnis are around 85% and Shias are 15%
- Most Muslims are not Arab but Pakistani or Indonesian
- In the UK, there are 2.7 million Muslims or 4.5% of the population
- The largest component of UK Muslims (40%) are of Pakistani origin
He emphasised that there are huge cultural differences between Muslims around the world and warned against the Western tendency to see Muslim societies as monolithic.
Dr Panjwani explained the major consequences of colonialism and modernity for Muslim nations:
- A displacement from political power with the fall of old, long-standing empires such as the Ottomans
- The marginalisation of the Islamic legal tradition governing largely personal matters (sharia law)
- A challenge to social structures with new modern occupations and new gender roles for women
- Social conditions such as the power of political elites and high levels of unemployment that nurture rage and a sense of injustice
He explained that a key question for most Muslims around the world is: “How does one remain true to one’s religion while living a successful modern life?”
I found it interesting that Dr Panjwani mentioned a book which was published 20 years ago: “Jihad vs McWorld” by Benjamin R Barber. I read this book at the time and reviewed it here.
Today we tend to use the word ‘jihad’ (which actually means ‘struggle’) in the context of Islamic fundamentalist movements like ISIS but, in the sense that Barber used the term, it could be seen as referring to the anti-establishment, anti-globalisation, anti-immigrant movements that we see today in so many European countries and in the support for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders (in different ways) in the United States.
Indeed, on one interpretation, there is even an element of similarity between those Muslims who reject Western values and seek to assert their distinct identity and those British voters who supported Brexit in order to oppose the political and business establishment and express antipathy to immigrants.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (6)
Wonderful new revolving sculpture at London’s St Pancras station
July 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Yesterday, I started and ended the day at St Pancras railway station in central London, meeting my sister from her train from Leicester and then taking her back there for her train home. St Pancras is always an exciting place, but this time I was captivated by a revolving and twisted blade of aluminium hanging over the arrival point for the Eurostar trains.
My sister and I had dinner at a restaurant just opposite the sculpture and it was apparent that everyone loved the simplicity and magic of it. I made a short video and put it on my Facebook page. But I wanted to know more about who created the work and what the artist intended. I found the answers – and you can see a picture – here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Has anyone actually read the Chilcot Report?
July 8th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The Chilcot Report on the invasion of Iraq consists of 12 volumes adding up to some 2.6 million words. Even the Executive Summary runs to 145 pages.
According to an item in the “Guardian” newspaper, on average people read about 250 words a minute so, on that estimate, it would take 10,400 minutes or about 173 hours to read the whole of the Chilcot Report.
Assuming you spent eight hours on it every day and took weekends off, that makes digesting the whole report about a month’s full-time work.
I repeat: has anyone actually read the Chilcot Report?
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the action comedy “Central Intelligence”
July 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Hard day at the office? Want to unwind and laugh a bit? You could do worse than view this new release which pairs The Rock with The Mouth. Check out my review here.
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What Alastair Campbell has to say about the Chilcot Inquiry on the Iraq War
July 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
If ever the word tragedy was appropriate, it applies in spades to the whole experience of the Iraq War. It is too simple to view the actions of British politicians and officials – especially Tony Blair – as the acts of evil men. Enormous mistakes were made but essentially they were made by people who had good intentions – hence the tragedy. I was particularly struck by this blog posting from Blair’s communications chief at the time, Alastair Campbell. In part, he states:
“I was one of the few people who saw the process of his making the decision close up, virtually round the clock, around the world. Far from seeing someone hellbent on war, I saw someone doing all he could to avoid it. Far from seeing someone undermine the UN, I saw him trying his hardest to make it work. Far from seeing someone cavalier about the consequences of war, I saw someone who agonised about them, and I know he still does, as do all who were there, part of his team.
He was of course bombarded by views, from friend and foe. He was acutely aware of protest. He was aware that much could go wrong. He was aware lives would be lost. He was conscious of the possibility of damage to our relationship with the US if we didn’t go with them, and damage to the relationship with other allies if we did.
But here is the difference between him and other ministers and MPs, him and advisors, him and commentators, him and the public who three times elected him, including after the fall of Saddam. He had to decide. One way or the other. With the US or not. Topple Saddam or leave him. Knowing that either way there were consequences which were hard to foresee.”
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
What is blue, green and grey water?
July 6th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
As part of my work as a consumer advocate, for over four years now I’ve been active in the water sector chairing a Customer Challenge Group for South East Water. So I’ve been attending lots of discussions and events about water and trying to keep up with all the acronyms and terminology in the sector.
I was thrown when I first heard references to blue, green and grey water. What on earth is this all about, I thought – and you might too.
The blue water refers to freshwater.
The green water refers to water stored in soil.
The grey water is polluted water.
I understand that globally there is enough freshwater on our planet to support even 10 billion people (not if we all live like in the USA), but grey water can dangerously pollute blue and green water.
In an online discussion of the different types of water, I found this analysis:
“Rain fed agriculture covers 80% of the world’s cultivated land, and is responsible for about 60% of crop production. In rain fed agriculture the soil stores the rain and releases it slowly to the plants. This rainwater used in agriculture is part of what is called ‘green water’ and is a characteristic of the land on which it falls. It is usually not subject to competition from other sectors.
Yields in rain fed agriculture are still far from their potential. In 2005, cereal yields were about 1.1.5 tonnes per hectare in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared with 5 tonnes per hectare in Europe. ‘Green water’ or rain fed agriculture has an important role to play in sustaining populations and securing future food supplies.
By contrast, in irrigation, water is extracted from rivers, lakes and aquifers (which is referred to as ‘blue water’). This ‘blue water’ is applied on land, where most of is consumed by evapo transportation. Irrigation competes with other sectors (including the environment) for ‘blue water.’ Today irrigated agriculture covers about 20% of cultivated land and accounts for 40% of global food production. ’Grey water’ is polluted or waste water, which can be recycled and purified. Grey water will play an important role in securing future global water supplies.”
So, now you know …
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
Was Marx actually a Marxist?
July 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just watched a recording of the BBC 4 profile of Karl Marx, the first programme in a new short series of great thinkers presented by British historian Bettany Hughes.
I’ve always recoiled from most of the ideas in Marxism and, when I read a biography of Marx, I rather recoiled from the man himself. In particular, I felt that this was not a man who lived life according to my own principles of decency and kindness.
You can read my review of this biography here.
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