Bibi or not Bibi? That is the question (for Israelis)
March 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
If you think British political opinion is very fluid at the present time and that the result of the General Election in two months is impossible to forecast, spare a thought for Israeli voters who go to the polls in less than three weeks time.
Incumbent Prime Minister and leader of the Likud Party Binyamin Netanyahu (nickname Bibi) is being seriously challenged by a politician who could not be more different: Labour Parry leaderIsaac Herzog.
As this article explains, the outcome of the Israeli election is still really uncertain. If you want some context to this election, check out my short guide to the Israeli political system.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Almost 90 photos of our holiday in Ethiopia
March 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
A week ago, I put on my web site a detailed account our our two-week holiday in Ethiopia.
Now I have added 89 photographs to the text, You can view them here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
British general election (6): the key could be Scotland
February 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“The evidence suggests that no single party will win an outright majority on 7 May. But with more than two months until voting day, and with the margins between possible government scenarios so tight, there are enough moving parts to yet turn the wheels in favour of either Cameron or Miliband.
At this stage, the most important factor in determining the election outcome is Scotland, and whether Labour can recover votes there. Labour’s win in most Scottish seats in 2010 was so large that even a small movement back to the party would save a significant numbers of those seats. As such, the size of Labour’s loss in Scotland will matter greatly in determining who between Miliband and Cameron emerges atop the largest party in May.”
This is the key point from a new analysis of the likely outcome of the coming General Election which you can read here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
The film “Selma” and the song “Glory”
February 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Earlier this week, I caught up with the film “Selma” which I have reviewed here.
It’s surprising and disappointing that the brilliant central performance was not nominated for an Academy Award but at least the moving song which closes the film won the Oscar for Best Song. You can listen to it here:
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
In the week since our return from Ethiopia …
February 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
- We have had our third and last rabies injection.
- We have had our third and last (for a year) hepatitis B injection.
- We have completed our course of maleria tablets.
- All the clothes have been washed and ironed (mostly at our local dry cleaners).
- Even our dusty, hard working trainers have been cleaned (in our washing machine).
- All the photos have been uploaded onto the computer and a selection now have to be added to my web account of the trip.
- All the photos have been printed and around three-quarters of them will be mounted in albums.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
What do you know about the Internet of things?
February 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
My latest IT column provides a short introduction to this fascinating subject. Check it out here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
10 things we learned from this year’s Academy Awards
February 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Last night, we watched a two-hour programme of the highlights of this year’s Academy Awards. It was good to seen British artists – most notably Eddie Redmayne – do so well.
i have seen four of the eight films which wee nominated for Best Picture, but I have still not viewed the winner “Birdman”.
So, what did we learn from this year’s Oscars? Here’s a list of 10.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
15 + 1 greetings from around the world
February 23rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
View Interactive Version (via Two Little Fleas).
And an extra one from me: in Ethiopia, from where I have just returned, while still holding the right hand of your companion, you touch your right shoulder to your friend’s right shoulder three times.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
“The greatest novel you’ve never read”
February 22nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This is the description given by the “Sunday Times” newspaper to the novel “Stoner” written by the American John Williams and published as long ago as 1965. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
What happened when I spilt my tea
February 22nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
After two weeks away in Ethiopia, I haven’t quite settled into home yet. So somehow I managed to spill a full cup of tea over my computer keyboard. Once I had wiped up the mess, my keyboard looked cleaner than at any the since I bought it, but a number of the letters no longer worked.
So today I had to buy a new keyboard. I went for one without all the numbers on the right since i don’t do any calculations on my computer. Also i switched from a wired keyboard to a wireless one. Another IT crisis over …
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