Why are Western embassies being attacked around the Muslim world?
September 15th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
“The maelstrom of anti-western violence in the Arab world has little to do with an anti-Islam propaganda film released on YouTube. It has more to do with decades of perceived western imperialism – and the organisational skills of the Salafis, known for their no-compromise, literal interpretation of the faith.”
This is the opening of a short but insightful piece seeking to explain the violence currently bursting out in so many Muslin nations.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
A brilliant critique of the Tea Party or the American Taliban
September 14th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been watching “The Newsroom”, a new series written by Aaron Sorkin for HBO, screened in Britain on Sky Atlantic. It’s not as good as “The West Wing” which Sorkin also created, but it has some great moments. I did a posting about one of those moments which opened the first episode. Now I want to share with you another biting piece from episode 10, the last in this first season.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
Inequality in Britain: extreme and increasing
September 14th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
“In 2010/11, the incomes of the chief executives of the largest 100 companies in the UK increased by nearly 50% while the average pay rise in the private sector was just 2.7%. Because prices increased by 5.2%, most private sector workers actually became poorer and pay freezes meant that many public sector workers did even worse.
If we look at wealth, the picture is even more extreme – the Sunday Times Rich List reported that in a single year, 2010, the wealth of Britain’s 1,000 richest people increased by almost one third to a combined total of £395 billion.
This is all part of a long term trend. In the last thirty years the share of the national income going to wages and salaries fell, while the proportion going to profits rose. If the share had increased at the same rate as national income, incomes in the middle would now be nearly £3,000 higher.
This is not the end of the story. Not only did wage and salary earners receive a smaller share, but the way that share was split up became increasingly uneven. Most of it went to those already well paid. The highest paid 10% received incomes that were eight times higher than the lowest paid 10% in 1985 – by 2008 they were twelve times higher. It is also reported that income inequality has grown faster in the UK than anywhere else4. Now, the best off 10% receive 40% of total UK income, while the poorest 10% get 1%.”
This is an extract from a new pamphlet called “Why Inequality Matters” published by My Fair London in association with The Equality Trust. The pamphlet draws upon the evidence and the arguments in the book “The Spirit Level” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
Who will be the world’s leading power in 20 years?
September 12th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Among many fascinating points in a new survey of international opinion, there are very diffrent views on whether China will take over from the United States as the world’s leading power in 20 years.
30% of American think China will be top dog but 59% of Chinese believe this.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The London 2012 Games: the last hurrah
September 10th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
This afternoon, I attended a meeting at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to discuss a communications programme for when the Government announces a timetable for switchover to digital radio. I was there in my capacity as the Chair of the Consumer Expert Group.
The DCMS is located just off Trafalgar Square so, once the meeting was over, I walked round to the square where a huge screen had been showing the procession of the 21 floats carrying the British Olympiads and Paralymiads on their route from Mansion House to Buckingham Palace. I was just in time to see the fly past which concluded with the spectacular Red Arrows.
Now it really is all over …
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The end of London 2012: a summer like no other
September 10th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Last night, I watched live on television the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games here in London. It featured my favourite band Coldplay and was an exuberant end to six brilliant weeks in which my home city has hosted the Olympics and the Paralympics. Even those who were cynical before – which did not include me – or who were not really interested in sports – and that certainly included me – have been swept up by the sheer excitement and joy of the events.
Both sets of Games were superbly organised and there was a great atmosphere aided by all the volunteers. Even the weather, the notorious British weather, played its part and the last few days have been positively blazing. Once we got over some early ticketing issues, all the venues were packed with the Paralympics selling out for the first time. The audiences spurred on the competitors and gave Team GB a major home advantage.
In the Olympics themselves, Britain won 29 gold medals, 22 silver and 10 bronze – a total of 65 medals. This placed us third in the world with only the United States and China – much, much more populated countries – surpassing us. In the Paralymics, we won 34 gold medals, 43 silver and 43 bronze – a total of 120. Again this placed us third in the world with this time only China and Russia – again much, much larger nations – beating us.
As Lord Coe put it at the closing ceremony last night:
“There are some famous words you can find stamped on the bottom of a product. Words, that when you read them, you know mean high quality, mean skill, mean creativity. We have stamped those words on the Olympic and Paralympic Games of London 2012. London 2012. Made in Britain.”
Now. let’s secure the heritage of the Games …
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Day One with baby Catrin
September 8th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
OK, I’m shattered (I slept for 11 hours last night), but I’ve just spent two fabulous days looking after my darling granddaughter Catrin who is now almost 20 months old. Her parents Rich & Emily managed to obtain tickets for the Paralympic Games here in London on days when Catrin’s nursery was closed for staff training, so I agreed to help out.
As requested, I reported for duty at 8 am. I decided that Day One would be a visit to ZSL London Zoo. This is not a particularly easy journey by public transport. We walked from Catrin’s flat near the Oxo Tower on London’s South Bank to the Underground at Waterloo and took the tube to Regents Park. London may be currently hosting the Paralympics but, only when you have a small child or a disability, do you fully realise how many steps there are on the oldest underground system in the world.
From Regents Park tube station, it’s a really long walk to the London Zoo, but it’s through Regents Park and the weather was glorious and, once at the zoo, we really made the most of our time, spending a full six hours there and still only seeing less than half of what is on offer. We started in the northern corner of the zoo where there is a petting area with a collection of friendly sheep and a splashing section with fountains which switch on and off. Little Catrin loved both so much that we were constantly alternating between one and the other which necessitated much washing of hands after stroking the sheep.
Of course, we saw loads of animals: aardvarks, meerkats, llamas, pigs, all sorts of birds, all sorts of monkeys … The monkeys were especially popular and we even bought a monkey mask in one of the many shops. Also we went to the amphitheatre for a show of various animals including a type of racoon who leap from shelf to shelf retrieving previously hidden food and a beautifully-coloured macaw parrot that swept over us just a couple of inches away.
Naturally Catrin was as excited by the fairground section as by the animals. We went on a merryground together and she rode a mechanical tiger with grins as wide as her little face.
In six hours, Catrin needed feeding and watering often, but I had been provided with suitable provisions by her parents, and she needed changing a couple of times, but the zoo is very parent-friendly in this respect. I knew that, at some point, she would need a sleep and, at what I thought was the appropriate time, I sought to encourage her to go off by walking round and round the pathways. It didn’t work, so we visited some more enclosures and eventually those little eyes snapped shut for 40 minutes.
My legs were aching by the time we had to leave the zoo, so we caught a bus to Camden Town tube station and came home a different way. By the time I left Catrin with Rich, it was 5.20 pm and we’d had almost nine and half hours together. I always wear a pedometer to encourage me to take some exercise. The aim is to reach around 10,000 steps a day but I usually achieve only 6,000-7,000 – today we clocked up almost 21,000.
“Good job you put the brake on the buggy,
granddad. Otherwise i’d be joining the Circus.”
“This Guy looks like you, granddad.””
“Look, froggie! Shooting water.”
“Wonder what will happen if I tread on this?”
“Stay still. I want to stroke you.”
“Why are we going round in circles?”
“Which of us is the cheekiest monkey?”
“Come on, granddad –
put another coin in the slot.”
“Wonder if mom and dad will recognise me
when we go home?”
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Day Two with baby Catrin
September 8th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Day Two with baby Catrin started at 8 am again, necessitating another 6 am alarm. When we left the flat about 10 am, it was another warm and sunny day and I decided that today we would stay on London’s South Bank which is always so vibrant in summer but especially so during this period of the Olympics and Paralympics.
We started at a branch of “EAT” where Catrin had a banana and smoothie. Then we worked our way through the throngs of tourists past the London Eye and towards the Houses of Parliament on the opposite side of the River Thames. Our destination was the Sea Life London Aquarium. Like the London Zoo, this is expensive (£20 for a daily entry) but there is less to see than the zoo, so I bought an annual ticket for £45 so that I can take Catrin back for shorter visits over the next 12 months.
Catrin loved it all, but especially the colourful tropical fish, the huge sharks, and the diving penguins and she took her turn stroking a star fish. In the shop, she chose a furry penguin cuddly toy that she made very clear she just had to have.
Afterwards we had our lunch outside on the terrace area of the Royal Festival Hall. When Catrin heard some music at 1 pm, we had to explore the source, a little further along the Riverside Terrace. It turned out to be a show called “The Garden”, a project which was part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. What thrilled Catrin was that four of the performers were on four-meter-high sway poles and she was mesmerised by these actors speaking, singing and doing acrobatic acts so far up the in the air, but holding her up for 20 minutes so that she could see the performance was hard work for granddad – she is so heavy (what do her parents feed her?).
I decided that it was time for Catrin to have a sleep and a change, so we headed back to her flat. In fact, she fell asleep before we got home, so I let her sleep in the buggy in the flat and changed her – a very smelly nappy – when she woke. Suitably refreshed (well, Catrin anyway), we set off again. Her dad had recommended some fountains at More London. On the way, we stopped at the cafe at Southwark Cathedral where for the first time I bought us an ice cream cornet. I wasn’t sure whether Catrin was supposed to eat ice cream but she absolutely adored it and I was allowed to eat only a few licks of ice cream and none of the cornet.
Now More London is a long way east of Catrin’s flat (almost as far as Tower Bridge) and there are some steep steps along the riverside walk (friendly people helped me with the buggy) and, once we reached More London, we found that the fountains were only operating on minimal power, but Catrin delighted in exploring the sources of water and paddling in a water trough that is supposed to be simply a design feature of the office location. She befriended other kids of different nationalities and stages of dress.
By the time we were back at the flat and Rich, it was around 6 pm so the little girl and I had been together another fun-filled 10 hours. As I moved to leave the flat, Catrin cried and I had to pull a funny face to stop her tears (what do you mean, my face is always funny?). My pedometer had clocked up another 24,000 steps – even harder work when one is pushing a buggy and sometimes carrying a baby girl as well. Boy, do I need a rest. But, wow, what a great time we had.
Catrin is becoming very expressive and developing a vocabulary (favourite words with me: “Eat. Eat. More. More.”). She has a delightfully impish sense of humour and is such a great joy to be with. She has always been such a happy and healthy baby and Rich & Emily are doing a wonderful job as parents. I am always ready to help out if I am free.
“Do you think I look cool in these glasses?
Will you take me on the London Eye one day?”
“Did you really work in Parliament once, granddad?.”
Maybe one day. I’ll go into politics like mummy and daddy.”
“Are the penguins inside the aquarium this big then?”
“They would be good with French fries.”
“I love my new penguin furry toy.”
“Sorry, granddad, but I want it all.”
“Explain to me again why Tower Bridge now
has three agitos instead of five rings.”
“This is fun – thanks for bringing me here.”
“If that kid can go topless, so can I.”
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention
September 8th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
You can view the full 40-minute speech here:
If you’re short of time, you can read the full text here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)
What are the most popular names for Australian babies?
September 5th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Consider the most popular names in Australia in 2011:
| Position | Boys | Girls |
| 1 | Oliver | Chloe |
| 2 | Noah | Sophie |
| 3 | William | Ruby |
| 4 | Lachlan | Charlotte |
| 5 | Ethan | Olivia |
| 6 | Jack | Lily |
| 7 | Lucas | Ava |
| 8 | Charlie | Ella |
| 9 | Joshua | Emily |
| 10 | Thomas | Mia |
What is striking is how similar this list is to the one for England & Wales. For both boys’ and girls’ names, there is a 60% overlap in the top ten. All the most popular Australian names are popular in Britain as well with the exception of Lachlan.
I’m fascinated by the different names and naming practices around the world and I have written a major essay on the subject here.
Posted in Cultural issues, World current affairs | Comments (0)