Archive for November, 2006
Did winning the Senate depend on one word?
November 11th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
There is a plausible suggestion that the Democrats won the US Senate earlier this week on the basis of one word. The word was the derisive nickname ‘Macaca’ and it was used by the incumbent Repubican Senator for Virginia George Allen. You can read the explanation here.
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Earth from space
November 11th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
There’s a new exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington called “Earth From Space” which has a fascinating accompanying web site. One of my favourite pictures is a shot of the earth at night and another shows the Giza pyramids.
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How was I born?
November 10th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
A little boy goes to his father and asks “Daddy, how was I born?” The father answers: “Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and […]
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Forgotten world (45): Uzbekistan
November 10th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Uzbekistan is surrounded by five other ‘-stans’ – Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan (the word ‘stan’ means land) – and more strategically located between the giants of Russia and China. It is one of only two countries in the world that has the dubious honour of being doubly landlocked (that is, goods must pass […]
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Assessing the government’s performance
November 9th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
No, not that of the UK – the Government of South Africa. The Democratic Alliance makes an annual assessment of the performance of the Government’s Cabinet Ministers and it wants voters to rate each Minister on a score card. Ouch!!!
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Forgotten world (44): Botswana
November 9th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
The media never mention Botswana (known as Bechuanaland until 1966), but it is one of Africa’s most stable countries, it has the continent’s longest continuous multi-party democracy, it is relatively free of corruption, and it has a good human rights record. The country is sparsely populated (the population is only 1.8M) because it is so […]
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First socialist Senate member
November 8th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Among all the news from the elections to the US Congress, there is the facinating fact of the return of the first socialist to the Senate in the shape of Bernie Sanders of the small state of Vermont. His web site is here.
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First Muslim Congress member
November 8th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Among a fascinating set of election results from the United States, there is the welcome news of the return of the first Muslim in the Congress. Keith Ellison, a Democrat, won a Minnesota seat in the House of Representatives. Check out his web site here.
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First woman Congressional leader
November 8th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
As the news of the Democratic victory in yesterday’s mid term US elections rolls in, it is clear that the House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi will now become the chamber’s first female Speaker. You can check out her web site here.
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Forgotten world (43): Kazakhstan
November 8th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film “Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan” may not give a totally accurate representation of the country, so what is the situation in Kazakhstan? Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is not a totalitarian dictator; he is only moderately repressive: banning and intimidating opposition parties and jailing […]
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