When 13 March is really 14 March
March 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I am something of a student of politics, current affairs and international relations, but understanding the situation in Lebanon – which I have just visited – is something else. It is so complicated and ultimately politics here is a matter of life and deaths with a devastating civil war from 1975-1990 and more recently targeted political assassinations.
Lebanon operates what is called a confessional system of politics where religion rather than economics is the differentiating factor. The 128 seats in the single-chamber parliament are allocated to 18 designated religious groups.
The members of parliament then align themselves into two broad groups which confusingly have similar names: the 14 March bloc and the 8 March bloc. Membership of these bloc can – and has – changed.
The 8 March bloc takes its name from a huge demonstration called by Hezbollah on that date in 2005. Membership of the bloc includes most of the Shia Muslims community led by Hezbollah of Hasan Nasrallah and Amal plus the Maronite Christians led by Michel Aoun and (now) the Druze led by Walid Jumblatt. The group is supported by Syria and Iran.
The 14 March bloc takes its name from probably an even bigger demonstration which was held on 14 March 2005, exactly one month after the assassination of former Prime Minister and Sunni politician Rafiq Hariri. Membership of the bloc includes the Sunni Muslims led by Rafiq’s son Saad and some of the Maronite Christians. The group is supported by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
A government led by the 14 March group has just fallen because Hezbollah pulled out its ministers from the coalition and a new government has still not been formed. Which is how we come to today …
Each year since the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the 14 March group had held a huge demonstration on that date but this year they are holding it today, one day early, because it is felt that attendance will be higher on a non-working Sunday than on a working Monday. The main objective of this year’s demonstration is to call for the disarming of Hezbollah. This Shia militia claims that it needs weapons to defend Lebanon against any attack from Israel which it did in 2006, but in 2008 it mobilised against the Lebanese state in what was in effect a coup.
See what I mean by complicated?
You can find a report of today’s event here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Back from Syria & Lebanon
March 12th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
If you’re regular reader of NightHawk, you’ll have noticed that I haven’t been blogging for the last week and a half. This is because Vee and I have been on holiday in Syria & Lebanon.
We had a fascinating time and learned so much but, in Syria, Vee had the worst stomach trouble she’s ever had in our 30 years of travelling and, in Lebanon, we had the worst weather that we’ve ever had on holiday (driving rain, bitter cold, some hail and – on the mountains – heavy snow!).
Historically the Levant is such a rich source of archaelogical sites and old buildings from different empires and politically this was a most interesting time to visit because of all the unrest in the Arab world at present.
I’ll be writing up a full account of our trip over the next week on my web site here.
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What’s in a name – and title? (2)
March 1st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
A week ago, I did a posting on a bizarre German political scandal about the Defence Minister who was accused of plagiaring his doctorate. As fun as the issue is his name: Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester, Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg or simply Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg or – as his friends call him – just KT.
In the course of the scandal, the media has dubbed him Baron Cut-and-Paste, Zu Copyberg and Zu Googleberg plus the Minister for Self-Defence. Previously the most popular politician in Germany, now it’s all proved too much – and he’s resigned, as reported here.
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Word of the day: concatenation
February 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I kid you not. I had a conversation today in which the word ‘concatenation’ was used (thanks, Nick).
I had to ask what it means. In this case, it was being used in the context of a computer language (Objective-C, if you must know) where apparently it means ‘to arrange strings of characters into a chained list’.
More generally, concatenation means ‘to connect or link in a series or chain’.
You might be able to slip it into your next conversation …
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
My offer to become a London Ambassador (2)
February 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As I explained in an earlier posting, I have applied to be a London Ambassador for the 2012 Olympics. The closing date for applications is in fact today.
The Mayor is looking for 8,000 London Ambassadors. It was hoped that 25,000 would apply but apparently some 34,000 have done so which shows a wonderful level of enthusiasm in the capital. Statistically therefore I have a one in four chance of being selected. Interviews will be held between April and July.
I’ll keep you posted about my experience.
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“And the winner is …” (2)
February 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
A couple of weeks ago, I did a posting about the British Academy film awards. Last night, it was the turn of the American Academy awards, popularly known as the Oscars. I recorded the highlights on television and will watch the programme this evening. You can see the full list of nominations and winners here.
As with the BAFTAs, I’m pleased to say that I’ve seen – and thoroughly enjoyed – the films that took the majority of the Oscars:
- “The King’s Speech” which won four awards – my review here.
- “Inception” which won four awards – my review here.
- “The Social Network” which won three awards – my review here.
- “Black Swan” which won one award – my review here.
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What (or where) is Cobra?
February 26th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It is reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron has convened meetings of Cobra in order to plan the emergency evacuation of UK citizens out of strife-tern Libya.
Cobra sounds really exciting. It evokes images of a venomous snake or – if you’re a movie fan like me – the 1986 Sylvester Stallone action film of that name.
In fact, the truth is much more prosaic. Cobra is simply an acronym.
It stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. Cobra meetings are held in Downing Street, within Cabinet Office buildings. In most cases, Cobra is convened as part of the Civil Contingencies Committee which plans government responses in times of emergency.
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The importance of resources in international relations
February 25th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I continue to attend my evening class in International Relations led by our lecturer Dr Dale Mineshima-Lowe. Normally we look at particular countries or regions. This week, however, we took a cross-cutting theme and discussed the impact of resources on international relations.
What sort of resources? Obviously oil, gas, and mineral resources (such as uranium) but also water, forestry and arable land.
How do such resources impact international relations?
- Countries which have plentiful resources – such as Russia and Saudi Arabia – obtain international status and bargaining power as a result.
- Countries which need such resources – such as the United States and China – have to develop relationships with those who have the resources.
- Having the resource is not enough; a country needs the capital and expertise to access, refine and transport for instance oil and gas and this may well require dealing with multinational corporations with their own agendas.
- The need for particular resources – especially rare earth metals – can be affected by technological developments such as the advent of computers and mobiles.
- The need for particular resources – especially oil – might be reduced in future by the development of new power technologies.
Interesting stuff …
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
Which democratic nation is launching an assault on collective bargaining by trade unions?
February 25th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It’s the United States – see here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
It’s an international world
February 25th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This evening, Vee (half Welsh and half Czech) and I (half English and half Italian) drove over to Muswell hill in north London to have dinner with close friends. On the way, we stopped off at Brent Cross to buy a rail for the wall carpet that we purchased in Iran.
Our friends are both Jewish – he is American and she is South African. We ate in a Spanish tapas restaurant where none of the staff were in fact Spanish – one was Czech, one was Lithuanian and one was Turkish.
We won’t see our friends now for a few weeks. We are going to Syria and Lebanon; he is going to Turkey and Israel; and she is going to India.
It’s an international world …
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