Archive for May, 2008


How to take a good photograph

May 31st, 2008 by Roger Darlington

I have a section of my web site called Life Skills which is very popular. There’s nothing terribly original there, but the advice is offered in a concise, catchy and friendly form which appears to appeal to readers. Today I’ve created the 25 page in this section. It’s called “How To Take A Good Photograph”. […]

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Don’t forget the Internoughts

May 30th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

“Those gazing towards the sunlit digital uplands must not forget those among our citizens – including three-quarters of socially excluded people and a half of people on low incomes – who have no access to the internet or do not use it. They must not be left behind as the government’s use of the internet […]

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So – how does karma work?

May 30th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

The actress Sharon Stone has rightly been criticised for her utterly insensitive and totally ridiculous suggestion that China’s earthquake was the result of that country’s treatment of the Dalia Lama through the medium of the concept of karma. In this report, it is argued that Stone does not understand how karma works: “None of us […]

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Forgotten World (135): The Gambia

May 30th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa with a size of only 4,361 sq miles and a population of a mere 1.7 million. Unlike many of its West African neighbours, it has enjoyed long spells of stability since independence from Britain in 1965. President Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless coup in […]

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How many Bond books?

May 29th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

I always knew that there were 14 James Bond novels authored by Ian Fleming because I read all of them as a teenager in the 1960s. I always knew that other authors had continued the franchise but, until this week’s publication of “Devil May Care” by Sebastian Faulks, I had no idea just how many […]

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Forgotten World (134): Texas

May 29th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

Texas is the second largest state in the US (after Alaska) at 268,601 square miles and the second most populous (after California) with 24 million residents.The name Texas comes from the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies. It is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation […]

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The republic of Nepal

May 28th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

Five years ago, Vee and I spent a few days in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, at the conclusion of a holiday in the Indian sub-continent [my account here]. At the time of our visit, for six years there had been an insurgency by Maoist rebels which had already claimed almost 8,000 lives, most of […]

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How many gods in Hinduism?

May 28th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

The reason I ask is that I’m currently reading “A History Of God” by Karen Armstrong and this is focussed on Christianity, Islam and Judaism as the three great monotheistic religions. When I was in India [account of my trip here], I heard talk and saw representations of a great many gods and was told […]

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Forgotten World (133): Italy

May 28th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

Italy is the fourth largest European economy and has one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe, but its politics are chaotic and corruption remains endemic. There have been close to 60 governments since the country formed a democratic republic in 1946 following World War II. It has been at the forefront of European […]

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Fox in the garden

May 27th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

I’ve been working at home today – mainly reading more than 250 pages of papers for tomorrow’s meeting of the Board of the New National Consumer Council. This gave me the opportunity to spot an urban fox which occasionally frequents our garden in north-west London. In the past, I’ve seen some pretty mangy foxes in […]

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