Archive for June, 2008
The 10 bestselling books of all time
June 10th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
“The Bible” (about 100 AD) – 5-6 billion “Quotations From Chairman Mao” (Little Red Book) by Mao Zedong (1966) – 900 million “The Koran” (about 610) – 800 million “Don Quixote” by Cervantes (1605) – 500 million “Xinhua Dictionary” by Wei Jiangong (1957) – 400 million “Book Of Common Prayer” by Thomas Cranmer (1549) – […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
The curse of management-speak
June 9th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
There’s an amusing article in one of the “Guardian” supplements today about the terrible habit of management-speak which seems to afflict so many people – especially those in senior positions – at work. Currently the phrase which causes me most anguish is “going forward”. I was at a conference today and decided to note the […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (6)
Be afraid, be very afraid, of the grim Reaper
June 9th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
If I was an al-Qaeda leader, my worst nightmare would be something called the MQ-9 Reaper. The U.S. Air Force proposed the MQ-9 system in response to the Department of Defense request for global war on terrorism initiatives. It is larger and more powerful than the MQ-1 Predator and is designed to go after time-sensitive […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (1)
The oldest cinema in Britain
June 8th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Last night, I went to see a film – “Mongol” [my review here] – at a cinema which could be the oldest in Britain. The Phoenix cinema in north London first opened in 1910 as “The East Finchley Picturedrome”, offering ‘the world’s finest picture plays’. It has been open as a cinema since and is […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (8)
Why are oil prices rising so fast? (1)
June 7th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The BBC web site has a short piece which manages to suggest no less than seven reasons: Rising demand from China, the Middle East and Latin America – but we’ve known this for months and even years Doubts about future demand – which seems to contradict the first reason Israeli threats to strike on Iran […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (2)
The American presidential election (41)
June 5th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
So, now that at last we are sure who the Democratic and Republican candidates are, who will Barack Obama and John McCain choose for their running mates? A review of eight possibilities for the Democrats is here and a look at five possibilities for the Republicans is here. All I know for sure is that […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
How to resolve conflict
June 5th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
If you have a conflict situation in your life (or think that you might do), you could check out this advice or – better still go – on this course.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
What about money?
June 5th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
This is the name for a new web site created by the Financial Services Authority to offer advice to young adults on financial matters. As a consumer advocate, I welcome efforts by regulators to give practical advice to consumers.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The American presidential election (40)
June 4th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It’s taken five months hard campaigning and voting in all 50 states – not to mention 40 postings on this blog – but finally the longest and closest and most expensive primary campaign in US history has resulted in the adoption of the first ever African-American as the candidate of a major party. It is […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The rise in consumer power
June 4th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Today I gave my first speech in my new capacity of Board member of the New National Consumer Council. The event was an conference organised by the Office of Fair Trading to mark the fifth anniversary of the coming into force of the Enterprise Act 2002. I’ve reproduced below the text of the remarks I […]
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)