Is this the sickest man in America?
I refer to Arizona pastor Steve Anderson.
Check out the evidence.
« July 2009 | Main | September 2009 »
August 31, 2009
August 30, 2009
Welcome to the Middle East
This weekend, the travel section of the "Observer" newspaper is mainly about the Middle East and apparently the region one of growing popularity to British travellers. As this piece puts it:
"Once regarded as a dangerous no-go zone, the Middle East is emerging as the hottest travel destination of the year. While many countries are seeing visitor numbers fall as the recession continues to bite, the Middle East is bucking the trend, with big increases in numbers of tourists, alongside major investment in new hotels, attractions and tours."Over the years, I've visited Egypt [my account here], Jordan [my account here] and Israel [my account here] and later this year I'm off to Iran [the "Observer" advice here].
August 29, 2009
The Japanese general election (1)
Tomorrow the Japanese will vote in a general election which is likely to be historic, since it seems certain that the Liberal Democratic Party - which has held power for 53 of the last 54 years - will lose to the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japanese politics is a mystery to most people outside the country, so you might like to read my "Short Guide To The Japanese Political System".
August 28, 2009
My sixth short story
A month ago, I set myself the objective - set out in this posting - to write five short stories this summer. I have now achieved this target but the ideas are still flowing.
So today I publish my sixth short story entitled "A Friend Indeed".
What do you think?
August 27, 2009
Wikipedia's 3 million articles
Has anyone noticed? Wikipedia now has over 3 million articles in English.
In October 2007, I wrote a column entitled "Is Wikipedia the best site on the web?". At the time, there were almost 2 million articles in English.
It is one of the few web sites that I use every day and it's remarkable to note that it is created and edited entirely by volunteers all around the world. It's the web at its very best.
The Battle of Châlons
This evening, I watched a really interesting television programme about the life of Attila, the notorious leader of the Huns.
The programme included detail of the Battle of Châlons in 451 when Attila's forces were defeated by a coalition led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I.
For many historians, this was one of the most decisive battles of Late Antiquity which determined the history of European civilisation.
How old do you feel?
Having read four books of short stories (as inspiration for my own short story writing), I've just read a totally different book called "Counter Clockwise" and subtitled "Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility". As far as I know, it's only been published in the USA so far and I bought it online.
The official promotion for this fascinating work states: "If we could turn back the clock psychologically, could we also turn it back physically? For more than thirty years, award-winning social psychologist Ellen Langer has studied this provocative question, and now has a conclusive answer: opening our minds to what’s possible, instead of clinging to accepted notions about what’s not, can lead to better health at any age."
You'll find my review of the book here.
August 26, 2009
The pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
I've enjoyed watching the six-part BBC television series on the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which went under the title "Desperate Romantics". I'm sure that it took considerable licence with the facts but it told the story of this art movement with verve and colour and some naughtiness.
The BBC web site on the series provides details on six paintings from the Brotherhood which featured in the series.
Perhaps I've led a sheltered life but, until watching this series, I'd never heard of laudanum (my wife had) with which allegedly Elizabeth Siddal committed suicide.
A perfect storm of shortages
"As the world's population grows, competition for food, water and energy will increase. Food prices will rise, more people will go hungry, and migrants will flee the worst-affected regions. That's the simple idea at the heart of the warning from John Beddington, the UK government's chief scientific adviser, of a possible crisis in 2030."
This is how BBC online opens a major examination across the BBC's media outlets of a crisis facing the whole of humanity. More information here.
August 25, 2009
New twist to filesharing debate
In a world in which most copyrighted material takes digital form and most consumers have access to a broadband connection, it is all too easy technically and usually cost-free for users to copy, distribute and adapt copyrighted works.
In a news release and a statement issued by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) today, the Government has clearly signalled that it is changing its mind on the proposals set out as recently as the Digital Britain Final report on how to combat illegal file sharing. Now it wants to move faster, to consider severer measures, and to involve Ministers more.
Consumer organisations will doubt that this is a fair balance between creators and users. Also such organisations seek new legislation to legitimise fair use of copyrighted material such as format shifting. The debate is sure to run.
August 24, 2009
Northern Ireland 40 years ago
Forty years ago, I set off to visit Northern Ireland for the first time. A week before, sectarian rioting had broken out in Belfast and Londonderry and troops moved into the cities. Like most people in the remainder of the UK, I was shocked by the events and could not understand how this could be happening in my country.
I was starting a year as sabbatical president of the students' union at my university at the time, so I took a week off and went over to see for myself what was happening. In both cities, I walked all the streets and districts where there had been violence, talked to lots of people on both sides of the sectarian divide, and took 60 black and white photographs.
I kept a detailed diary and concluded my visit with these words:
"Two weeks after the troops went in, it is impossible to say where Northern Ireland goes from here. The Callaghan [then Home Secretary] package appears to offer genuine hope if all sides are prepared to work for peace. However, one Catholic on the barricades told me; 'It's the lull before the storm'.
Yet renewed conflict need not be violent as the DCDA [Derry Citizens' Defence Association] are certainly considering a rate and rent strike. Unrest in some form, therefore, is likely to continue, as the bitterness of decades if not centuries cannot be wiped out in weeks or even months."
I seriously underestimated the scale and longevity of "the Troubles" which did not come to an end until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 after the passage of three decades and the death of some 3,500 civilians and soldiers. At the time of my visit, I did not know that, three years later, Jim Callaghan would interview me and employ me in the House of Commons and, five years later, I would be a Special Adviser in the Northern Ireland Office working for a Labour Government.
Incidentally, media coverage of this 40th anniversary is almost non-existent. What does this tell us?
August 23, 2009
Watching "The Unit"
While my wife has been away in the Czech Republic, I've been viewing a DVD box set loaned to me by my son. It's the first season of an American series that I'd not heard of before "The Unit". I've now watched all 13 episodes in the first season.
Based on show producer Eric Haney's book, "Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit", "The Unit" was created for television and executive produced by David Mamet and Shawn Ryan. It is unusual in combining in each episode a counter-terrorism operation in various parts of the world with narrative involving the wives back at the base.
The lead character Sergeant Major Jonas Blane is played by Dennis Haysbert whom I saw as the US President in the early seasons of "24".
I've rather enjoyed it "The Unit".
August 22, 2009
The outbreak of war
This week, the Imperial War Museum in London opened a fascinating new exhibition to mark the outbreak of World War Two on 3 September 1939 seventy years ago. The exhibition is called Outbreak 1939 and I visited it on the first day that it was open to the public.
Of course, when you think the Second World War began will probably depend on your nationality. So for the Czechs and Slovaks, effectively the war began in September 1938 which is the theme of one of my short stories entitled "The Edge Of War".
August 21, 2009
My fifth short story
I'm thoroughly enjoying my summertime project of crafting short stories.
Today I've added to my web site my fifth story called "Six Degrees Of Separation".
In some respects it's my most ambitious effort yet, so I hope that you'll give it a go and let me know what you think of it.
August 20, 2009
Message from the Czech Republic
Dear Mr. Roger Darlington.
I am Jitka Dočekalová and I am a "personal guide" of your wife Vee and
her sister Mari.
I must write you and thank you very much for all the things you have
done for the memory of Karel Kuttelwasher. I am so excited about all
these events taking place these days!
As a present I got your book "Night Hawk" and it is excellent! You had
to take you lots of time to find out so much information about "Kut"!
And thanks to you all these activities are happening.
Kut was and is a real hero , a great person and it is very important
to inform people about his brave acts.
Mari and Vee are my friends now and they are great too! After his
father (and mother of course).
I am glad and happy to meet them and spend the lovely week with them
and all the friendly relatives and other people.
Have a nice time in England and I hope I will meet you some time in the
future here in the Czech Republic or elsewhere!
With the best regards.
August 18, 2009
The 10 greatest movie moments
In the August issue of "Empire" magazines, it ventures to identify the 1001 greatest movie moments.
The top ten are:
- The crop-duster attack in "North By Northwest"
- The bicycle crossing the moon in "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial"
- The "Bond, James Bond" introduction in "Dr No"
- Gandalf shouting "You shall not pass" in "The Fellowship Of The Ring"
- The spinning bone sequence early on in "2001: A Space Odyssey"
- The "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" scene in "Apocalypse Now"
- The arrival of Sherif Ali in "Lawrence Of Arabia"
- The "I coulda been a contender" sequence in "The Waterfront"
- The chariot race in "Ben-Hur"
- The "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" comment in "The Wizard Of Oz"
What would be your best movie moment?
August 17, 2009
KK's 50th anniversary
Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Karel Kuttelwascher, my wife's father. He was a Czech pilot who fought with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and became an outstanding night intruder ace who won the Distinguished Flying Cross twice in 42 days. He was only 42 when he died of a heart attack here in Britain.
Today, over in the Czech Republic, my wife Vee and her twin sister Mari will be attending the unveiling of a plaque in the village where their father was born. In the course of the next couple of days, they will give speeches and media interviews to mark the anniversary and I know that this will be a very proud time for them.
During the war, the media dubbed Karel Kuttelwascher 'the Czech Night Hawk' which is the origin of the name of this blog. You can read a summary of his story here.
August 16, 2009
Are you ready for the e-book?
In this piece, Robert McCrum looks at the up-sides and down-sides of the electronic book. Personally I love the feel of books and like to own all the ones I read, so I won't be an early candidate for an e-reader.
But I can see the case for one, especially if one is going on a holiday and doesn't want to take lots of heavy books.
When I read non-fiction, I often come across a person or an event about which I'd like to know more, so I use my PC or iPhone to search the web. When I read fiction, I sometimes come across a word that is new to me, so I go along to my massive dictionary or search on-line. Or sometimes it would be good to picture the person or place in the text.
With electronic books, it would be possible to tag all these words, so that the reader simply has to tap on the term and be advised of the information or image required. I'm sure that the e-book will evolve into something very special.
August 15, 2009
The joy of blogging
In today's "Guardian", there's an article about how some bloggers have become so popular that they have been able to make money from their writing.
I've been blogging now for more than six years and thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to express myself on different issues. However, I've never seen or wanted a commercial dimension to my blogging and don't even use Google Adsense.
Reading the "Guardian" article though, made me think when I saw that one blogger who signed a book deal won the contract on the basis that her blog at one point was receiving 4,000 visits a day. Now my web site and two blogs regularly receive 5,000 visits a day and, in the busiest months of the year, hit 6,000.
My blogging is too personal and eclectic to be publishable but, if someone was interested in publishing the life skills section of my web site or my collection of short stories, I'd be happy to talk.
August 14, 2009
All alone am I
My wife Vee left home today to travel down to her twin sister Mari. Tomorrow the two of them set off to drive to the Czech Republic (I know!).
They are going over there to take part in various events to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of their father Karel Kuttelwascher. He was a night fighter ace with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War and in 1985 I wrote his biography "Night Hawk".
Vee will be away for 11 days in all - the longest that I think we've ever been apart since we married 27 years ago. But, of course, I'm not totally alone. I have our cat Honey and I've suddenly become her new best friend.
Should we live with a nuclear Iran?
"No one should want a nuclear-armed Iran and new sanctions should certainly be tried. But if we calculate correctly that the prospect of an Iranian bomb ultimately comes down to a question of Iranian willpower, then a mature debate needs to be had about how we manage that risk. Instead of threatening military action that will only increase Iran's desire for nuclear weapons while undermining opportunities for democratic change, western powers should focus on developing a robust deterrence framework that provides security guarantees to vulnerable countries and reminds Iran's leaders of what they stand to lose by abusing their nuclear potential. Proliferation is always a risk, but we can live with a nuclear Iran if we have to."This is the conclusion of a cogent case put by David Clark, former Special Adviser to the late Robin Cook when he was Foreign Secretary, in this article.
My fourth short story
My summertime project of short story writing is coming along fine and I'm really enjoying it.
Today I published my fourth story entitled "The Hostage".
Please let me know what you think.
August 13, 2009
My visit to the palace
I may have lived in London almost 40 years but, until today, I'd never visited Buckingham Palace. This is partly because the state rooms have only been open to the public for about a decade and they are still only open for a few months a year. It's partly because we always neglect places on our doorstep and some uncomfortableness about someone with my republican sentiments visiting the home of a hereditary monarch.
It took a good Slovak friend to get me to the palace, but I'm glad I went. Of course, I've visited any palaces around the world but what makes Buckingham Palace different is that it's still very much a place in use where many people live and work. So many palaces have a dusty, anachronistic feel about them, but every room that one can visit in Buckingham Palace sparkles and shines and impresses. In particular, I had no idea that the art collection was so outstanding.
There's a special exhibition on this summer focusing on the Queen's many trips to Commonwealth countries and displaying dresses she wore and gifts she receives. Of course, there's a propaganda sub-text here: look how busy the Queen is on our behalf and these gifts are as much yours as hers.
In the groungs of Buckingham Palace
How the President decides
There's an interesting piece in the "Wall Street Journal" about the decision-making processes of President Barack Obama.
One commentator sums up the style as: "He's thinking big but being cautious."
20 questions - and the answers
August 12, 2009
The Czech Night Hawk
Over three years ago, I did a posting about a British television programme on the life of a wartime night fighter pilot, a Czech called Karel Kuttelwascher. He was my wife's father and we were both interviewed for the programme which has been broadcast several times since then.
Karel Kuttelwascher died - of a heart attack aged just 42 - 50 years ago this month. To mark the occasion, a Czech version of the programme has been produced and will be broadcast on Czech television this evening. We've been sent a copy of the DVD and it's weird to see oneself on television dubbed into Czech.
Karel Kuttelwascher was an amazing character and my biography of him was published in Britain in 1985 and in the Czech Republic in 1993. You can read a summary of his exploits here.
Obama's health care plan (2)
The American debate over health care reform receives front-page treatment in today's "Guardian" newspaper because the bitter opposition to Obama's reform proposals is frequently involving outrageous misrepresentation of the performance of the National Health Service in Britain.
The sickest suggestion - I use the adjective advisedly - is that, if he lived in the UK, Senator Ted Kennedy would not receive treatment for his brain tumour. This and other falsehoods are answered here.
For the record, the UK spends less per head on health care but has a higher life expectancy than the US. The World Health Organisation ranks Britain's health care as 18th in the world, while the US is in 37th place.
August 11, 2009
How not to use Facebook
If this is true, it's a classic. Even if it's a spoof, it's making an excellent point.
August 10, 2009
How to live longer
There's a report today which suggests that many Britons are cutting their lives short by the unhealthy lifestyle that they adopt.
The Government is running a healthy living campaign campaign called "Change4Life" and I have a section on web site called "How To Be Healthy".
August 09, 2009
Are you a fundamentalist Christian?
No - I didn't think so. If you were, you wouldn't like many of my postings.
But, since it's Sunday, let's run with Christian fundamentalism for a moment. What are the ten ten signs that you're a fundamentalist Christian? They're listed here.
August 08, 2009
Older people are happier
The reasons why provide life lessons for us all - see here.
Obama's health care plan (1)
In a country like Britain - where we have had a National Health Service for 61 years and where all the major political parties support the NHS - it's hard to comprehend the level of emotional debate in the United States over President Obama's health care plan.
In this "New York Times" op-ed piece by the Nobel Prize economist Paul Krugman (drawn to my attention by my American friend David Eden), he talks of "congressmen shouted down, congressmen hanged in effigy, congressmen surrounded and followed by taunting crowds" and, no doubt rightly, identifies much of the vilification of the proposals as based on a caricature of the real plan and a reaction to a black man in the White House.
The flu pandemic of 1918
Earlier this week, BBC4 screened a very well-made and rather timely drama documentary on the efforts of Dr James Niven to combat the impact of the second wave of Spanish flu in Manchester in 1918. The programme was called "The Forgotten Fallen" and will be repeated.
As a result of Niven's efforts, only 2,000 of the Manchester's one million population died. In London, 10,000 lost their lives at a rate of 1,500 a week at its peak. But there was an unexpected third wave. The final death toll for the UK was 228,000.
It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people were killed worldwide with the figure of 70 million often quoted. An estimated 500 million people, one third of the world's population (approximately 1.6 billion at the time), became infected.
A recent study in the "New England Journal of Medicine" reports that the current swine flu virus is a fourth generation descendant of the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak and contains the same H1N1 virus. "All human-adapted Influenza A viruses are descendants, direct or indirect, of that founding virus" says Jeffrey Taubenberger, a co-author of the report.
For more information on Spanish flu, see here.
August 07, 2009
Did anything happen?
You probably didn't notice but, earlier today, the time and date was:
12:34:56 7/8/9Some people thought something special would happen - see this story in the "Daily Mirror".
My third short story
My summer time project to become a short story writer is progressing well.
Today I publish my third story entitled "The Edge Of War".
You can read it here.
Please let me know what you think.
August 04, 2009
The boundaries of belief (2)
Yesterday I wrote: "I sometimes think that no belief is too weird that someone somewhere - probably quite thoughtful and intelligent - will hold that belief. I really wonder whether there are any boundaries to some people's belief systems."
Today we have yet another example with the BBC web site's coverage of the ridiculous suggestion that Barack Obama is not eligible to be President of the USA because he is not a US citizen - see here.
I suppose, if Sarah Palin ever became President, someone would query the validity of the sale of Alaska by Russia to the USA in 1867 and claim that she was in fact Russian.
August 03, 2009
An example of toilet humour
I was recently in one of my favourite cafes: "The Doll's House" on Harrow-on-the-Hill. When I used the toilet facilities, I found this delightful piece of advice:
Our aim is to keep this bathroom clean.
Gentlemen: Your aim will help. Stand closer. It's shorter than you think.
Ladies: Please remain seated for the entire performance.
The boundaries of belief (1)
I sometimes think that no belief is too weird that someone somewhere - probably quite thoughtful and intelligent - will hold that belief. I really wonder whether there are any boundaries to some people's belief systems.
I send out an electronic Thought For The Week [if you'd like to receive it e-mail me] and this week's thought is as follows:
“As a culture, we seem to have trouble distinguishing science from pseudoscience, history from pseudohistory, and sense from nonsense.”
“Why People Believe Weird Things” by Michael Shermer (1997)
If you want an example of what I'm thinking about, check out this course.
I'm particularly amazed by this offer:
"After travelling to 43 different countries and sharing healing experiences with many hundreds of healers, complimentary therapists, shamans, medicine people, Michael developed his own style of healing. His unique approach allows the healing to occur without sending healing energy, without touching the client, without ever needing to meet the client (phone consults work well) and which takes only minutes!"
August 01, 2009
Web site story
If you've ever seen "West Side Story" and want a real laugh, click here.