Archive for June, 2011
A review of “The Next Three Days”
June 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Having watched this film, I now know what to do if my wife is accused of murder (unless, of course, it is mine). See my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The world’s most and least peaceful states
June 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The Global Peace Index (GPI), produced annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace, is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. It gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society, and militarisation in 153 countries by taking into account 23 separate indicators. The 2011 report is now available. The most peaceful […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Is Iran really building a bomb?
June 9th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It is widely assumed – and much Western foreign policy is based on this assumption – that Iran is actively and urgently working on the creation of an arsenal of nuclear weapons that would represent an existential threat to its neighbours. most obviously Israel. But is this true? In this article, Six former ambassadors to […]
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The tinderbox that is the Middle East
June 8th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
For anyone remotely interested in international affairs (and I am very interested), events in the Arab world this spring have been both fascinating and exciting. Dictators have been overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt, the leader in Yemen may not return from hospitalisation outside the country, and it should be only a matter of time before […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Is Internet access a human right?
June 7th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Presenting a report to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly, Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue concludes: “While blocking and filtering measures deny users access to specific content on the Internet, States have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from […]
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
A weekend visit to our Czech mates: day 2
June 7th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The reason for our visit to the Czech Republic this time was to attend the second day of an air display at Pardubice where Vee would be awarded a medal to commemorate the wartime exploits of her Czech father Karel Kuttelwascher. Now Pardubice is 58 miles (94 kms) east of Prague and the organisers had […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (5)
A weekend visit to our Czech mates: day 1
June 6th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It’s two years since I’ve been to Prague [my blog posting here], but this weekend I made my 23rd visit in as many years [my notes on city here]. The reason for all these trips is partly that my wife Vee is half Czech and her father was a famous wartime night fighter ace [brief […]
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How many texts do you send each day?
June 2nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
According to this story, a typical UK mobile phone user sends 10 texts a day. It seems that many people use their mobile more to send texts and e-mails than to make calls. I send fewer texts than the average but I’m typical in sending more texts and e-mails from my mobile than making calls […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (2)
A review of “Winter’s Bone”
June 1st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This is not a film that many people would go to the cinema to see, but it’s well worth catching on DVD or television. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)