Would contact with extraterrestrials benefit or harm humanity?
August 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As we approach the weekend, when you will have time to ponder on all the troubles facing the world at present, you might want to add this question to your list of concerns. You will, no doubt, be reassured to know that the issue is the subject of a new report from Shawn Domagal-Goldman of Nasa’s Planetary Science Division and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University.
You can read an article on the report here and, if you’re so inclined, you can access the full report here.
I am reminded of one of my short stories entitled “The Day Of Reckoning”.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
A review of “A Tale Of Two Cities” (2)
August 18th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Having read the book, I’ve now seen the film and reviewed it here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Whatever happened to the Soviet Union?
August 18th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Twenty years ago today, there was an attempted coup in the then USSR as the leadership of reformer Mikhail Gorbachev was challenged. The coup did not succeed but set in train events that led months later to the break-up of the Soviet Union into no less than 15 separate states.
How have those states fared in the intervening two decades? You’ll find key data here. Among points to note:
- The three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (which I have visited – see here) – have been success stories with consistently democratic elections, a four-fold increase in the size of the economy, and entry to the European Union.
- The three states in the EU hinterland – Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova – have the weakest economies and both population and life expectancy have fallen seriously.
- In the Caucasus, Azerbaijan has one of the strongest economies because of oil, but Armenia and Georgia have experienced incipient growth and the region has seen serious ethnic conflict.
- Russia itself (which I have visited – see here) has recovered its economic decline and its economy is now twice the size it was, but the population has fallen by 7M and life expectancy has fallen below 70. Only 4 of its 10 elections are judged to have been democratic.
- In Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have grown five-fold economically because of enormous energy reserves, but growth in the other states – Uzbekistan (which I have visited – see here), Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – has been more modest. None of these states has ever held a genuinely fair election.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of “A Tale Of Two Cities” (1)
August 17th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I can’t remember the last time I read an English classic novel so I decided to take the opportunity of a quiet August to tackle a couple. “A Tale Of Two Cities” by Dickens is a delight and I’ve reviewed it here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Should rich Americans pay more tax?
August 16th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Britain is a very unequal society in terms of distribution of income and wealth – and this has to have been a factor (although not the whole story by far) in the recent riots. But the United States is an even more unequal society and (like the UK) becoming more so. So there is a strong case for a more redistributive tax system that would involve the rich paying more.
The meg-rich Warren Buffet has put the case in this “New York Times” op-ed.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Could the Republican candidate be a supporter of Dominionism?
August 16th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As the Republican Party in the United States starts the process of choosing its candidate to oppose Barack Obama in the Presidential election of November 2012, the field is narrowing to such an extent that the eventual candidate might be a supporter of the movement known as Dominionism which has been described as a belief that Christians have a God-given right to rule all earthly institutions.
This is certainly the view of Michelle Goldberg, writing this blog posting.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
A large family gathering in Leicester
August 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
My sister Silvia, who lives in Leicester, is the earth mother cum social secretary of the family and ensures that on regular occasions we all get together at her place. Usually the occasion is Christmas or a birthday with a nought in it. Today though was a special occasion: the celebration of the arrival of three new members of the family. So no less than 24 of us – all related by blood or marriage – travelled from as far south as Hampshire and as far north as Scotland to gather in Leicester.
The first of the newcomers was my granddaughter Catrin – who will be well-known to regular readers of NightHawk – with mum Emily and dad Richard (my son). She is now almost seven months old and was in great form today, gurgling with happiness.
Then there was Daniel – who is just two weeks older than Catrin – with mum Alison and dad Martin. The third and latest newcomer was George – who is just six weeks old – with mum Emma and dad Dominic.
Catrin and Daniel playing happily together
Catrin, Roger and gatecrasher
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Review of “Rise Of Planet Of The Apes”
August 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It’s 10 years since Tim Burton did a reboot of “Planet Of The Apes” [my review here]. But now, after no less than six films in the franchise, we have a sequel – see my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A whole day in the world of the movies
August 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As I’ve explained here, I’m an enormous enthusiast for the cinema. But it was only yesterday that I attended my first all-day movie event accompanied by my young film buddy Spence.
The event was the “Big Screen” organised by “Empire” magazine which I take monthly. The venue was the O2 which I’ve not been to since it was called the Millennium Dome and hosted the millennium exhibition in 2000.
We saw two full-length movies in terrific theatres (the venue has nine): the original “Conan The Barbarian” and the newly-released “Rise Of Planet Of The Apes”. We also attended an interview with rising British actor Dominic Cooper who spoke especially about his latest film “The Devil’s Double”.
Then there were the Imperial stormtroopers from the “Star Wars” series striding around and a full-scale version of the DeLorean car from “Back To The Future”. So, all in all, a really fun day.
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of “Sarah’s Key”
August 11th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
You might feel that you’ve seen enough Holocaust-themed films, but French-language “Sarah’s Key” is different and well-worth viewing. I’ve reviewed it here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)