A recommended read: the novel “Elizabeth Is Missing”
June 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I try to alternate my reading between fiction and non-fiction works. My last read was a novel called “Elizabeth Is Missing” by Emma Healey. I really recommend it and you can check out my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to break the sound barrier and how I told the story first to my 10 year old son and then to my four year old granddaughter
June 23rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
My father served in the Royal Air Force and I grew up with a lifelong interest in aviation. So one of my heroes was the American test pilot Chuck Yeager who became the first man to break the sound barrier in 1947.
When my son Richard was ten in 1986, I read Yeager’s biography and, on a long car journey, I entertained my son with tales of Yeager’s exploits. We even wrote to the great man and had a reply from his wife.
Almost three decades later, on a train journey, I found myself telling my four and a half year old granddaughter Catrin the story of how Yeager became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. She loved the story as she sat on my knee and I reproduced the bumping of the heroic flight. Now she likes me to retell the story with as many effects as possible.
So, when I next see Catrin later today, I have two treats for her. One is a plastic construction kit of the Bell X-1 in which Yeager achieved his feat. The other is this clip from one of my favourite films: “The Right Stuff” [my review here] starring Sam Shepherd as Chuck Yeager.
Of course, Yeager’s exceeding of Mach 1 was just the start, as I have explained in this short chronology.
Posted in History, Science & technology | Comments (0)
Gaza conflict of 2014: both sides condemned for possible war crimes and both sides refuse to accept condemnation
June 22nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As reported here, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has concluded an inquiry by finding that both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.
But neither side accepts this. Israel has dismissed the investigation as “politically motivated and morally flawed”, while Hamas said it wrongly equated “the victim and executioner”.
So Israel thinks that it is not a war crime if – in its view – it is morally in the right. And Hamas believes it is not a war crime if – in its view – it is the victim.
So what is the definition of a war crime? This is a complicated matter legally as explained here. But consider these two examples of a war crime:
- “Wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity” – sounds like the air and land attacks on Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force
- “Attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings” – sounds like the rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli towns and villages
The point is that a war crime is not defined by whether it is moral or immoral (see Israeli comment) or by whether one is the agressor or the victim (see Hamas comment).
As the 50-day conflict of 2014 came to an end, I did a blog posting looking at the cost of the conflict and examining what had been achieved. Whether or not war crimes were committed, the cost was massive and the achievement minimal.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
A short guide to how the European Union works
June 21st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
On my web site, I have short guides to the political systems of 13 countries. These are among the most popular pages on my site and I receive appreciative comments from readers around the world.
One of them recently suggested that I do something similar for the European Union although, of course, the EU is not a state. So I have created “A short guide to how the European Union works”.
Like all the essays on my web site, it is a work in progress and I will regularly expand and update it. So feel free to challenge or comment.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
My weekend films could not be more different: reviews of “Jurassic World” and “Mr Holmes”
June 20th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Jurassic World” is the fourth in the franchise and took a staggering $500M in its opening weekend to set a new record. I’ve reviewed it here.
“Mr Holmes” is Sherlock as you’ve never seen him before which will disappoint many but wait for it to come on television. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
An emotional Jon Stewart drops the comedy to talk Charleston: ‘We Still Won’t Do Jackshit’
June 20th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
My 15th short story: “Cinderella Rebooted”
June 19th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The old fairy tales are constantly retold in writing and on television and in film. I decided I would make my own attempt to revisit a familiar story with “Cinderella Rebooted”. You can check it out here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo
June 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the defeat of the Emperor Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington in the bloody Battle of Waterloo. I did a blog posting a couple of weeks ago in which I explained that we would be hearing more about this conflict and today the “Mirror newspaper has a short, but informative, article by historian and former television presenter Peter Snow.
Meanwhile, on BBC2 television, we are two-thirds of the way through a three-part series on Napoleon written and presented by the Right-wing historian Andrew Roberts. He is presenting a very revisionist view of the Frenchman as a noble and progressive leader.
Certainly Napoleon was a brilliant military commander and introduced long-lasting legal and administrative reforms to France, but he was a despot and a megalomanic.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Contrasts between the American and British political systems – you will be amazed how different they are
June 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
On my web site, I have short guides to 13 political systems in different countries around the world. The two most detailed guides are those on the American and British political systems.
Now these two systems are so different that I wrote a separate essay comparing and contrasting them. This has proved to be one of the top five sections of my web site in terms of visits with almost 200 every day.
I’ve recently updated this section, so you might like to check it out here. Comments or questions always welcome.
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs | Comments (0)
Does trickle-down economics work? Guess who says that it doesn’t.
June 16th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The idea that increased income inequality makes economies more dynamic has been rejected by an International Monetary Fund study, which shows the widening income gap between rich and poor is bad for growth.
A report by five IMF economists dismissed “trickle-down” economics, and said that if governments wanted to increase the pace of growth they should concentrate on helping the poorest 20% of citizens.
The study – covering advanced, emerging and developing countries – said technological progress, weaker trade unions, globalisation and tax policies that favoured the wealthy had all played their part in making widening inequality “the defining challenge of our time”.
This is the opening to a short article on a new IMF study that deserves special attention and appropriate action.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)