Archive for September, 2006
Forgotten world (35): Xinjiang
September 15th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Most people have never heard of Xinjiang, an autonomous region of China, but it is the nation’s largest region and takes up about one sixth of its territory (some 1.7M square kilometres). The name literally means ‘New Frontier’ and it is situated in the north-west corner of China, north of Tibet. It is a sparsely […]
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Forgotten world (34): Somalia
September 14th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
All that many people – especially Americans – recall about Somalia is that US forces went in there in 1993 to attempt to restore order among the feuding warlords and suffered losses which soon drove them out and inspired the Hollywood movie “Black Hawk Down” [my review here]. Comprised of a former British protectorate and […]
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Forgotten world (33): Colombia
September 13th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Think of Colombia and most people think of drug barons and Marxist insurgents. There are still plenty of both in the country – but it is changing. The hardline stance of President Alvaro Uribe against leftist rebels and the demobilisation of more than 30,000 rightwing paramilitary fighters have seen kidnappings drop 73% and murders fall […]
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Japanese learning English
September 13th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
The user generating content site YouTube is changing the lives of many young Internet users. A young friend of mine in Vietnam has drawn my attention to this clip which shows an innovative way to teach young Japanese girls a few phrases in English that are clearly regarded as both very difficult and very useful.
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Forgotten world (32): Uganda
September 12th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
In the 1970s and 1980s, the African nation of Uganda was notorious for its human rights abuses, first during the military dictatorship of Idi Amin from 1971-79 and then after the return to power of Milton Obote, who had been ousted by Amin. During this time up to half a million people were killed in […]
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If I were a teacher …
September 11th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
I would put a huge map on one wall of the classroom and I would spend the first five minutes of every school day talking about a different country or part of the world. I would use the section of my web site on “Forgotten World”. If you are a teacher and you try this, […]
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Forgotten world (31): Chechnya
September 11th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
On six occasions now, I’ve had a week-long feature on NightHawk devoted to parts of the world that tend to be under-reported or even forgotten. You can check out the previous 30 entries here. This week, I plan to run a seventh series of postings on this theme. The world forgets about Chechnya until forced […]
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Five years on …
September 11th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
On the fifth anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11, there is really one subject on which I must blog today: the attack on the World Trade Center. I have visted NewYork four times and twice I went to the top of the World Trade Center: 31 August 1980 alone & 11 April 1984 with my […]
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9/11 isn’t over
September 10th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Tomorrow is the fifth anniverary of the Al-Qaida attack on the United States and we will remember the 3,000 who died that day. However, on the eve of this anniversary, let us spare a thought for those who are threatened with ill-health or an early death as a result of having worked on the wreckage […]
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“Party Animals”
September 10th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Now that “The West Wing” is over, I’m looking forward to next year’s series from BBC2 called “Party Animals”. As someone who has worked at both Westminister and Whitehall as a political adviser, I’m sure I’ll find it fun.
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