Archive for November, 2008
What’s happening in Thailand?
November 26th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
A six-month campaign of protests against the Thai government has been led by a movement called PAD which stands for People’s Alliance for Democracy. So how democratic is PAD? The movement: is a loose grouping of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class has called for parliament to be largely appointed supported the military coup […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Computing and blind persons
November 25th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I recently had occasion to visit the London Head Office of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) as a result of an invitation from a colleague of mine on the new Communications Consumer Panel (formerly known as the Ofcom Consumer Panel). Leen Petre works for the RNIB as Principal Manager: Media and Culture. […]
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This is my city …
November 24th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
… by night.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
How the world will change
November 21st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
On the eve of Barack Obama assuming the United States’ presidency, we have the publication of the four yearly assessment of global trends prepared by the National Intelligence Council: “Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World”. On the position of the USA, the report’s executive summary states: “By 2025 the US will find itself as one […]
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Independence for Kurdistan?
November 21st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
When I take a cab, I always sit in the front and I always talk to the driver. Every driver has a story and, here in London, usually it is a story which begins in a foreign land. This morning, I took a cab, engaged the driver in conversation, and asked him where he came […]
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Merry Christmas?!?
November 20th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Today we received our first Christmas card. Can you believe it? And it only came down the road from Hove ….
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
Ever heard of the Internet of things?
November 20th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
One way of looking at the evolution of the Internet is to see it in three stages: first, a fixed Net essentially connecting desktop PCs; second, a mobile Net connecting hand-held mobiles; third, what we call the Internet of things. I’ve explained this next stage in my latest monthly column on Internet issues here.
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Our new roof (3)
November 19th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Bad news and good news on the roofing front. The bad news is that we had so much rain yesterday that the roof sprung a new and more serious leak. Water burst through the spare bedroom ceiling and cascaded into the living room. The good news is that, a week after the scaffolding went up, […]
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Brown bounces back
November 19th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
If a week is a long time in politics (as former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson once famously declared), then – especially in current turbulent financial times – two months is almost an eternity. So, according to the pollster Ipsos/MORI, in September the Conservatives had a lead over Labour of 28% and today that lead […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
“Yes we Cem”
November 18th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
He insists that he is not the German Barack Obama. But, in 1994, he became the first ethnic Turk to be elected to the German parliament. In 2004, he won a seat in the European Parliament. And this week he was elected co-leader of the German Green Party. He is Cem Özdemir. More information here.
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