The weather – like our politics – has gone mad
June 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Technically, today is the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere as explained in this short note. But it seems that nobody told the weather. Here in London, we have grey skies and heavy rain and a temperature of 15C.
On Thursday, the UK holds a referendum to decide whether the country will remain a member of the European Union or leave. Although the overwhelming majority of senior politicians, business leaders, trade union leaders, and economists favour membership – as I do – the result currently looks too close to call.
It’s my birthday two days after the referendum. Boy, it’s going to be quite a week.
Posted in British current affairs, Environment, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
10 of the best films about fathers
June 18th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been a father for 40 years now and a movie fan for around 60 years, so I was attracted to a piece in today’s “Guardian” newspaper headlined “10 of the best films about fathers”. Which of the film characters would I like to think best represented me? No contest: Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird” [my review here].
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Celebrating the life of Jo Cox
June 17th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Today the one subject on the mind of everyone in Britain is the appalling murder of Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox. As we mourn her death, we should celebrate her life and it was a life dedicated with passion to the cause of social justice, as is explained in this profile.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)
One less thing to worry about in this troubled world
June 16th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I drink a lot of coffee – especially cappuccino. Since 1991, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, has classed coffee as “possibly” carcinogenic. But the expert group has now decided there is insufficient evidence to say whether it causes cancer or not. I’ll drink to that.
More information here.
Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
73 thoughtful stories, motivational tales, and pieces of wisdom from around the world
June 14th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I like to collect stories that make you think and my collection is one of the most visited of the 200 or so pages on my web site. I’ve just added a new story titled “The battle of the beetles”, so you might like to check out some of the stories here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
President Barack Obama reacts to the killings in Orlando
June 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For the 15th time in his occupancy of the White House, President Barack Obama has made a statement on a mass shooting and this time the massacre in Orlando is the worst incident of its kind in US history. What can he say that he hasn’t said before? What can he do that he hasn’t already tried to do?
No wonder that he sounded full of resignation and despair and sadness. The key part of his statement is surely this:
“This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that allows them to shoot people at a school, or a movie theater, or a church or a nightclub.
“This could have been any one of our communities … We have to decide whether that’s the kind of country we want to be. To actively do nothing is a decision as well.”
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Where is the ‘Windsor hum’ coming from?
June 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
In the summer of 1966, I was 18 and had just finished secondary school. I was selected, with a group of other British schoolboys, to make an educational tour of eastern Canada. It lasted about month with a week-long sailing from Liverpool to Montreal and a return week-long sailing from Montreal to Southampton.
In Canada, we visited wonderful cities like Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls and Sudbury plus some smaller towns like a place called Windsor in Ontario. Now this week, I learned that the poor citizens of Windsor have been plagued on and off for six years by a mysterious hum. It is believed that the cause of the noise is a US Steel plant on the island of Zug which is American territory.
But so far there is no certainly of the cause and no plan for a remedy.
You can read more here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Elizabeth Warren eviscerates Donald Trump
June 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This contribution to this week’s gathering of the American Constitution Society by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is 30 minutes, but it is worth watching in full as a masterclass in speechmaking – both for what she says and how she says it.
It is a devastating analysis of how Republicans and their business allies are attempting to undermine the judicial arm of American government and half way through she simply eviscerates the bloviating Donald Trump.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the movie “The Nice Guys”
June 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Russell Crowe. Ryan Gosling. Humour. Violence. But how well does it work? You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the film “Money Monster”
June 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
George Clooney. Julia Roberts. A kicking for the financial markets. What’s not to like? You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)