Which are the most corrupt nations on earth?
May 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
British Prime Minister David Cameron has been caught telling the Queen that Nigera and Afghanistan are “fantastically corrupt” [see story here]. Is he right? Well, yes.
It probably would have been better not to have said this just before hosting an international event on corruption at which these two countries are represented or at least not to have said it near a microphone.
But, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index compiled each year by Transparency International, out of 167 countries which they have ranked in the latest index, Nigeria is 136 and Afghanistan is 166. The UK is rated 10th and the USA is 16th.
You can see the full list here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the novel “Room”
May 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
First, I saw the film; then I had to read the book. The novel by Emma Donoghue is a marvellous work and I’ve reviewed it here.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Will there ever be a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict?
May 8th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In an article in today’s “Observer” newspaper, Dov Waxman and Dahlia Scheindlin consider a two-state solution, a one-state solution, and their recommended confederal approach.
As regards the usual option for a resolution of the conflict, they write:
“The two-state solution – the creation of two separate countries divided by a border roughly along the 1949 armistice lines (with some territorial adjustments) – has long been regarded by diplomats and experts, and for the last two decades by a majority of Israelis and Palestinians, as the best way to resolve the conflict. But it now appears to be in serious jeopardy.
Much of the Israeli government adamantly opposes it, and prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s support for it is rhetorical at best. The Palestinian leadership, split between Fatah and Hamas, is bitterly divided on the issue. Israeli and Palestinian public support is gradually declining.”
They consider briefly an alternative solution of a single state:
“This approach proposes full equality for all the Palestinians now living under Israeli control, with full civil rights, including national voting rights. However, a single, democratic, civic or binational state is highly unlikely to emerge in the foreseeable future. Most Israelis and Palestinians want their own state, to fulfil their collective desires for national self-determination.
A single state is likely to generate a relentless competition for power and control, which could easily turn deadly. Further, given Israel’s superior economic and military power, a single state is more likely to become a Jewish ethnocracy than the secular democracy that its leftwing proponents envisage.”
If both these solutions cannot work, should we just give up and accept the stays quo? They opine:
“With both two-state and one-state solutions seemingly impossible, it is easy to fall into despair. We believe this is dangerous. Such despair fosters passivity and perpetuates the status quo. And the violence is a brutal reminder that the status quo is deadly for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
This leads Waxman & Scheindlin to propose a confederal approach with an open border between the two sovereign states, freedom of movement and residency, and some limited shared governance. Citizenship and residency would be de-linked which would enable a new approach to the issues of Palestinian refuges and Jewish settlers.
They conclude:
“However far-fetched it [the confederal solution] may appear, it is the most realistic approach because it accommodates the demands of Israelis and Palestinians for national self-determination and also accepts the fact that they have become too intermingled and too interdependent to separate from each other, however much they wish to. Anyone truly concerned about the future for Palestinians and Israelis should seriously consider the potential of this approach.”
You can read the full article with more details of the confederal model here.
You might also like to see my book review on the problem.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The great city of London has a mayor who is Muslim and Labour
May 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
On Thursday, I voted for a Hindu Navin Shah for the London Assembly and for a Muslim Sadiq Khan to be the London mayor. Of course, I voted for them because they were the Labour candidates, not because of their religion or ethnicity, but I was proud that my political party is so diverse in its candidates. The turnout was 45%, up 7% on four years ago, which is healthy for our democracy.
Labour won the Assemby election with 12 seats out of 25. And Sadiq Khan won the mayoralty, gaining – after second preferences came into play – 56.8% of the vote compared to Conservative Zac Goldsmith’s tally of 43.2%. In absolute numbers, Khan won 1,310,143 votes – the largest personal mandate of any politician in UK history.
I am so proud of Khan for fighting such an effective and decent campaign; I am so proud of my city for choosing a Muslim mayor; I am so proud to be part of this democratic process.
You can read a fascinating profile of Sadiq Khan here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
How to build a good team
May 6th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
As part of my Friday practice of highlighting advice in the Life Skills section of my web site, today I offer suggestions on “How To Build A Good Team” here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
In praise of multi-culturalism
May 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
My mother was Italian and came to Britain in 1946 when she married my father who was stationed in Italy with the Royal Air Force. My wife’s father was Czech and married her mother in 1942 when he had fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to fly with the wartime RAF. Our son did a degree in International Relations and currently lives and works in Kenya.
We live in London, the most ethnically diverse city on earth. In our road, our immediate neighbours include Irish, Cypriot, Spanish, Polish, Indian, Pakistani, Lebanese and Filipino. A near neighbour was a Kenyan Asian who was expelled from his country of birth.
Our postman is Nepalese, our doctor is Indian, our newsagent is Sri Lankan, our dry cleaner is Pakistani, my dentist is Iranian, my hairdresser is Greek Cypriot, and our local cab company is staffed by Tamils. Our friends include Jews, Muslims and Hindus and even a few Christians. Our closest friends come from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United States, South Africa and China.
I never tire off visiting new countries and experiencing new cultures, So far, I’ve been to 68 other nations and I’d like to visit a few more if I can. It’s a wonderfully diverse world. Let’s celebrate that.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (4)
Word of the day: bloviate
May 4th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
To bloviate is to speak pompously.
I came across this word for the first time in a recent Facebook posting by the political commentator Robert Reich who described Donald Trump as “a bloviating bigot”.
I couldn’t agree more. Let’s hope that American voters understand this in the forthcoming Presidential election.
Posted in American current affairs, Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The vast majority of films still failing the Bechdel Test
May 3rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’ve blogged before about the Bechdel test.
The Bechdel Test was inspired by animator Alison Bechdel’s 1985 tongue-in-cheek comic strip ‘The Rule’. In order for a film to pass The Bechdel Test, it must have at least two named female characters, who have a conversation with each other about something other than a man.
You’d be surprised how few movies meet this test. One that will is the remake of “Ghostbsters” which is due to be released this summer. Astonishingly the film has attracted a massive backlash even before it’s been released. Could this be a case of misogyny?
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Three reasons why Leicester is a great city
May 3rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
- King Richard III is buried there.
- They are Premier League Champions.
- My wonderful sister lives there.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Word of the day: Holodomor
May 2nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I came across this word very early in the film “Child 44” which I have recently viewed [my review here]. Holodomor is a composte of two Ukrainian words and means ‘extermination by hunger’.
It is a reference to the man-made famine in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1932 and 1933 that killed somewhere between 2.5–7.5 million Ukrainians. It was part of the wider disaster, the Soviet famine of 1932–33, which affected the major grain-producing areas of the country and a major feature of Stalin’s terror war on his own citizens.
Since 2006, the Holodomor has been recognized by the independent Ukraine and 14 other countries as a genocide of the Ukrainian people carried out by the Soviet Union.
You can learn more here.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)