Archive for March, 2009
What’s the future for divided nations?
March 19th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I recently took a cab in London driven by a Tamil exile from Sri Lanka and we discussed the decades long conflict on that island. He surprised me by suggesting that the war was the result of Britain granting independence to what was then Ceylon as a single nation state in 1948 (it was renamed […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (2)
Back from Gateshead
March 18th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just returned from a short trip to Gateshead in the north-east of England where, on behalf of the Communications Consumer Panel, I made a presentation at a conference on next generation broadband. The event was held in the Gateshead Council Chamber where I found myself sitting in the seat normally occupied by the Leader […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
I’m off to Newcastle …
March 17th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
… to speak at a conference in Gateshead tomorrow. Maybe, while I’m passing through Newcastle, I’ll see a flaming horse, a singing humanoid or fighting machines, all of which can be found at Newcastle’s Maker Faire. Check it out here.
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The scandal of fuel poverty
March 16th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
5 million households in Britain shiver through winter because their homes are so poorly insulated they cannot afford to heat them. Over 1 million older people have to choose between eating and heating. 1 in 3 older people are forced to live in only one room of their home. Britain’s homes leak twice as much […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Has Spring sprung at last?
March 15th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
For the first time this year, it was mild enough for us to have lunch on our terrrace.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Why didn’t they tell us?
March 15th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
It wasn’t just the regulators who failed totally to control the absurdities of the market that led to the credit crunch; financial journalism failed big time and most financial commentators were complicit in the myth making that deluded ordinary borrowers and investors. Over in the United States, Jon Stewart has done a brilliant job on […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)
Are you having a laugh?
March 14th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
These are serious times, but we all need a laugh from time to time, so remember that there’s lots of jokes on my web site here and here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Social networking overtaken e-mail
March 12th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
“Social Networking has been the global consumer phenomenon of 2008. Two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit a social network or blogging site and the sector now accounts for almost 10% of all internet time. ‘Member Communities’ has overtaken personal Email to become the world’s fourth most popular online sector after search, portals and PC […]
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
Illuminating the nonsensical
March 11th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Feeling a bit down or confused in these troubled times? Maybe you need some help from “the Beings of Light in the Realms of Illumined Truth”. Don’t know about them? All will be revealed here. If you think this is nonsensical or even weird, you might ask yourself: why do people believe such weird things? […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Whatever happened to democratic socialism?
March 10th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
A former professor at the London School of Economics has contacted me to ask about a discussion we had when I was Special Adviser to the Home Secretary in 1977. Now I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember details of meetings which I had 32 years ago – but I have kept a […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)