Archive for March, 2011
Lebanon’s position on Libya
March 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As regular readers of NightHawk will know, I’ve just returned from Lebanon, so I was particularly interested that the country, the only Arab member of the current United Nations Security Council, voted in favour of the resolution imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. A key factor is the issue of continued concern over the fate […]
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Security Council resolution on Libya
March 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
What does it actually say? You can read the text here.
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Word of the day: shufti
March 18th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As in the phrase “have a shufi” which means “have a look”. The word comes from the Arabic šufti ‘have you seen?’ which comes from the Arabic verb šāf to see. The meaning of the word never occurred to me until my recent visit to Syria and Lebanon.
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Happy birthday Italy
March 17th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It may have escaped your notice but today marks the 150th anniversary of the declaration of independence of Italy. In fact, I am half-Italian – my mother came from Naples where my parents met and married. Italy today is a strange country. I have written an explanation of the Italian political system here.
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Should we be worried about a nuclear meltdown? (3)
March 17th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It seems clear that the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is more serious than ever and that the crisis is still far from under control – see here for up-date. I’ve just received the following message from a long-time Japanese friend living in Tokyo: “Dear Brother Roger & Vee: This is just to […]
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How well do countries handle natural disasters?
March 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This interesting posting suggests that democratic countries – like Japan or the USA – handle disasters better than totalitarian regimes – such as North Korea – since a free media makes information more available to citizens and elections provide politicians with an incentive to act effectively. This is probably true as a general rule but, […]
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500 days to the London Olympics
March 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It is now exactly 500 days until the 2012 Olympic Games open in my city of London. A countdown clock has been installed in Trafalgar Square and tickets have now gone on sale here. To be honest, I’m an atypical man and not really interested in sport. But I’m exited about the Olympics because it […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Remembering the Chilean miners
March 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
We can’t do anything to prevent earthquakes and tsunamis but we can do something to minise the risk of mining accidents. Immediately following the successful rescue of 33 copper miners in Chile on 13 October 2010, President Sebastián Piñera proclaimed to the world that within 90 days Chile would reform its mine safety laws. But he […]
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Should we be worried about a nuclear meltdown? (2)
March 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
After a third explosion at the Japanese nuclear plant in Fukushima Daiichi, there is understandably rising concern, but the risk should be kept in proportion. The BBC web site has a helpful question and answer here.
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Should we be worried about a nuclear meltdown? (1)
March 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As if the death and destruction of the Japanese earthquake was not horrific enough, there are media reports that one or more nuclear reactors might suffer a meltdown. What is happening and what is the risk? You’ll find a helpful explanation here.
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