News From Elsewhere

  The weather has turned and I am back at the terminal, for now. While I think of something to write about, I will update you on some stories you may have missed while dealing with the death of the Queen.

Let's Start With Leicester

    Leicester is a city in the country where the Queen reigned. Recently it has experienced some riots and those rioting were primarily Muslims and Hindus. It’s not cricket to suggest that the riots were caused by the cricket match between India and Pakistan, but that appears to have been the catalyst for the violence that began on August 28th and which continued into September. Some have blamed the Hindus, some the Muslims and all have blamed the Internet since misinformation can be shared as quickly as a virus. 

  A source-or-two will be provided below, but the headline in this one suggests that even Canadians should be interested in the local Leicester punch-up: "Leicester Riots a Warning That Violence in UK Can Be Sparked by Global Events, Experts Say Calls for New Measures to Prevent Sectarian Troubles in Other Countries Seeping into Neighbourhoods Here," 

Independent, Sept. 22, 2022

And Then There is Sweden

   Even here in Canada, or at least in southern Ontario, we tend to look up to Sweden, so this headline was surprising: "Gun Violence Epidemic Looms Large Over a Swedish Election." The results of the election were even more surprising: "Anti-immigrant Party Helps Defeat Sweden’s Government." 

Giorgia Meloni

And Now There is Italy

   This news has not happened yet, but it likely will as this headline indicates: 

"Italy Election Set to Crown Meloni Head of Most Right-wing Govt Since WW2," By Crispian Balmer, Reuters, Sept. 22, 2022.

ROME, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Italy's parliamentary election on Sunday could make history, giving the country its first female prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two.

What About Canada?

   Although Pierre Poilievre  is now the Leader of the Official Opposition and there is some evidence that Canada is heading in the same direction rightward as the countries mentioned above, the headline attracting my notice was this one: "Worse Air Quality on Earth Recorded in Parts of B.C." which appeared atop the Weather Channel on August 11, and which was followed by this sentence:

"Around 3:00 pm ET on Sunday afternoon Vancouver had an air quality ranking of 199, which is the most severe ranking of all major cities on this day. Lahore, Pakistan came in second with a ranking of 161 and Dubai, United Arab Emirates came in third with a ranking of 158."

The U.S.?

  The only news of note  I could find was this:

The Bonus:

   Climate is of concern everywhere on the planet (except for Texas) and immigration is an issue in most countries. In Canada the focus now is on the potential that immigrants bring, not the potential problems that may come along as baggage.  Perhaps it is worth considering this comment by someone from south of our border, since it may apply here:

"At a time when Americans are already at odds with one another over what we might call core values — the cultural beliefs that glue our country together — it’s reasonable to worry about whether adding newcomers to the mix will complicate the task of forging a common future." From: "The Martha’s Vineyard Migrant Stunt Is Making One Truth About This Country Clear," Farah Stockman,  New York Times,  Sept. 16, 2022.

Sources:

  The headline from LeicestershireLive: 

“What Led to the Ugly Scenes of Violence and Disorder in Leicester?” Adam Moss, Sept. 19, 2022. 

"The issues behind the unrest in the east of the city are far more complex than just a cricket match....

As the country was in a period of official mourning and preparing for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, something very different was going on in one part of Leicester.

Tensions had been rising between different minority communities for quite some time, but were then brought into sharp focus after violence broke out following the India v Pakistan cricket match on Sunday, August 28. Further disorder involving members of Hindu and Muslim communities followed over the next fortnight, leading police to launch a major operation in a bid to restore calm."

Such ugly scenes are undoubtedly a mark of shame for Leicester, which is famed around the world for its diversity and regularly celebrates its multicultural nature as a source of strength and pride.

The tensions then continued into Sunday, when the city was suddenly hitting national and international headlines which had previously been dominated by the passing of the monarch. Police officers even had to be diverted from covering the funeral in London to ensure the force in Leicestershire had enough resources to cope with any situation which came their way.

   For more about the Swedish situation see: "Anti-immigrant Party Helps Defeat Sweden’s Government," David Crouch and Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, Sept. 14, 2022.

"The closely watched election has already reshaped Sweden’s political discourse, pushing anti-immigrant and tough-on-crime rhetoric into the political mainstream and deepening fears here about the polarization — or “Americanization” — of Swedish politics."

  

  The photo above does show a hazy Vancouver back in 2020 and the accompanying headline was, "Air Quality Not a Top Concern For Metro Residents, Says Survey," in the appropriately titled Delta Optimist.

A Library is Lost at Leceister

    I have written about university libraries and noted that many are now getting rid of books and materials since they wish to be seen as much more than storage sites. Space is highly valued on most campuses and one can understand how various areas can be colonized by factions with more prestige and power - those in the administrative wing, for example.  Here is a case to consider. 

   Jillian Becker was born in South Africa and now, almost ninety years later, resides in California. During that period she wrote, Hitler's Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang and The PLO: The Rise and Fall of the Palestine Liberation Organization. She also was a co-founder of the Institute for the Study of Terrorism which became the home of the books, papers and research material which had accumulated over the years. In 1993, the archive was bought by the University of Leicester. More recently when someone inquired about the collection, it could not be found. 

   Ms. Becker raised this question in an essay to which I will provide a link: "How Did the University of Leicester Manage to "Lose" the Institute for the Study of Terrorism's Archive? Her remarks are reasonable as are the replies from Leicester, which basically indicate they don't know what in the hell happened to the material. 

   There is probably no mystery involved. Priorities may have changed or space was needed and a clerk was told to dispose of all those papers in the stacks on the third floor. But, Ms. Becker does raise an interesting point in her concluding paragraph which is bolded below:

The loss of an archive, whether by negligence or decision, is a calamity. To lose it by negligence is barbarously callous. To discard it deliberately is an act of intellectual vandalism, the equivalent of book-burning. If, in either case, a university is responsible, the disgrace must leave a permanent stain on its reputation.

   I would have assumed in the past that such things were lost simply because no one cared much about them. Now one wonders if sometimes people care too much and choose to get rid of items they find distasteful, or which could be 'hurtful' to those who might stumble upon them. Becker also wrote a book about Sylvia Plath. Had she donated Plath material, might it still be around?

Source:
   The essay above is found on the website of  The Freedom Association which is a right-leaning, libertarian-type and Ms. Becker is a member. I don't think that matters in this case, but I thought I should mention it. 
The Bonus:
   Some more cheap advice. If someone from an "Advancement Office" at a university takes your money in exchange for your name being affixed to something on campus, or if a librarian agrees to accept your books, papers or artworks, don't assume they will be there a decade from now.