Poly Toynbee

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ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

Awful August, the weather forecasters call this unseasonably cold, wet month, as holiday-makers huddle against intermittent monsoon downpours, reminded that global warming doesn't necessarily mean a Mediterranean Britain.

Every month, reports from climatologists deliver worse predictions of the speed and tipping points for irreversible climate change. A 4C temperature rise is the latest warning: it would bring unimaginable horror in its wake. The time to act gets shorter, but the political will to act lags ever further behind the science that tells politicians they must do so. Latest figures, including air travel, shipping and energy used in our goods manufactured abroad, show no cut in Britain but an 18% growth in emissions.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesDemocracia

It was a moving sight: hundreds of people on rows of long benches under canopies, enthusiastically waiting to register to vote. Kaliakor is a district of Bangladesh preparing for elections, elections no one is entirely certain the military government will call. Many fear a return to democracy will bring political violence. Look what elections did to Kenya - democracy is dangerous. Many query whether imposing late western systems on dirt-poor developing nations is a good idea.

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, was visiting Bangladesh and urging a safe return to democracy. "Clean and effective government," he called for here - as he had in Afghanistan two days earlier - and in Pakistan, whose imminent elections threaten yet more bloodshed.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

"Our enemies have watches, but we have time," boast the Taliban. Waiting for Afghanistan's invaders to give up under relentless harassment worked in the past. Can they wear down the natural impatience of western democracies and drain their ability to commit to years of lost lives and cash in this unforgiving landscape?This has been crisis week, with one authoritative expert report after another warning of imminent failure unless more is done better, right now. The unannounced dash to Kabul by Condoleezza Rice and David Miliband yesterday was designed to repair the damage done on both sides. British newspaper indignation at President Karzai's refusal to accept Paddy Ashdown as the UN envoy and, worse, his contemptuous remarks about British fighting in Helmand seriously risk public willingness to stay in Afghanistan.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

It's been a good week for death. In Iraq, 200 people were blown to bits in what witnesses called "a swimming pool of blood" with "pieces of flesh all over the place". Remember that the dead are only part of the story: add to each of the war's hundreds of thousands of civilian corpses all those burned and crippled survivors, far beyond Iraqi medical facilities' ability to cope, breadwinners and babies lost. Few families are untouched by the sheer scale of slaughter.

But it is hard for news media to find new ways to refresh repeat tales of daily carnage. The pictures and the thoughts tell the same dismal story day after day, raising the same terrible questions: what have we done, what have we unleashed, how can it end?…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión Europea, ,

The religious are rallying by torchlight outside parliament this evening. In the Lords they are trying to strike out regulations in the new equality act that outlaw discrimination and harassment of gays, making it illegal to discriminate in providing any goods and services to anyone, from healthcare to hotel rooms. This is a mighty test of strength between the religious and the secular. Any peers against discrimination, get on down the Lords: the vote is at 7.30pm. Will the Tories prove to be gay-friendly?

Christians, Muslims and Jews are all fighting against the sexual orientation regulations with a wrecking clause that would render them meaningless: "Nothing in these regulations shall force an individual to act against their conscience or strongly held religious beliefs."…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión Europea

New year resolutions may be wildly unrealistic, trying to be nicer, thinner, kinder, fitter, more generous, more patient and every other good thing. But even if experience knows that resolutions are bound to be broken within days, if not hours, that's no reason not to contemplate doing better. So the same is true of politics. Next year will bring regime change at the top. In this low season for an administration that sometimes seems lost in a fog of government, drained of purpose by daily drudgery, here are some optimistic but not wildly unrealistic resolutions it might at least consider:

· Start with acts of contrition for past political sins committed by all parties.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión EuropeaDefensa y Seguridad,

Nuclear weapons are terrifyingly dangerous. The very thought of them sends tremors through the upper ranks of Labour. The fallout caused by nuclear warfare in the party's bad old days has left them radiation-scarred. The sight of CND delivering its alternative white paper to Downing Street yesterday only hardens their resolve to do the wrong thing.Let's get one thing straight. The question of whether to spend £25bn on a new Trident system has nothing to do with defence - and they know it. When I ring round a few cabinet ministers, it is mildly amusing to hear them rolling out the reason why we need a replacement with as sincere a voice as they can manage.…  Seguir leyendo »