Archive for December, 2020
Joe Biden is creating the most diverse leadership team in American history
December 19th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Joe Biden’s first cabinet as US president is being described as potentially the most diverse ever. Having already chosen a black woman to be his Vice-President, of the 15 cabinet positions, he has announced 10 appointments and only three of them are white straight men. In 2021, America could soon see its first Native American […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the novel “American Spy” by Lauren Wilkinson
December 16th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Two things attracted me to this novel. First, it was a Barack Obama summer reading pick which is quite a recommendation. Second, it features the real-life West African revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara after whom my second granddaughter Kara is named. The work is in the form of an extended account by black female FBI agent […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the new musical movie “The Prom”
December 14th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
I confess that musicals are not my thing, whether on the stage or in the movies, but the year of the global pandemic has meant that there have been so few new films released that I was ready to give this a go. I further confess that I’d never heard of the Broadway musical of […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The case for a wealth tax has never been stronger
December 11th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
One of the most defining characteristics of my political philosophy is that we need to create a society with a fairer distribution of income, wealth and power because current levels of inequality are so damaging to life chances and social outcomes. There is a great deal of evidence to support this position in the book […]
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
I am in mourning. Chuck Yeager has died.
December 9th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
American test pilot Chuck Yeager, who was the first man to break the sound barrier, has died aged 97. He was one of my heroes. Yeager was a fighter ace in World War Two, flying Mustangs with the United States Army Air Force when he became a double ace with 11 ‘kills’. But my admiration for […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
A review of the new movie “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
December 6th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
This is a superb Netflix movie that I was fortunate enough to see at the cinema – such a visit being a rare occurrence in the year of the coronavirus. It tells the story of a recording session in Chicago in 1927 of the legendary African-American Gertrude “Ma’ Rainey who sang from 1899–1933 and was […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the recent independent film “Monsoon”
December 5th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
The story in this film – a search for a sense of cultural identity – is loosely inspired by the experience of writer and director Hong Khaou whose family was forced to flee Cambodia so that he was brought up in Britain. Kit – played by Henry Golding in a more mature role than in […]
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
A review of “Ten Lessons For a Post-Pandemic World” by Fareed Zakaria
December 3rd, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Zakaria is an Indian-American political scientist who hosts CNN’s flagship international affairs show. His book – published in October 2020 with information as recent as July 2020 – is immensely topical, informative and thought-provoking, even if there is nothing terribly original or radical in it and too few proposals for practical change. My effort at […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)