Archive for April, 2012
A review of “Consent Of The Networked”
April 9th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
American writer Rachel MacKinnon has produced an excellent book on “the worldwide struggle for Internet freedom” entitled “Consent Of The Networked” You can read my review here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
My contribution to a Pesach seder
April 8th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I are not religious, so Easter is nothing special for us, but many of our closest friends are Jewish and this year the Passover or Pesach festival almost coincides with Easter. We were invited to take part in a special meal called a seder to celebrate the festival of Pesach and felt honoured […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
The caging of America
April 7th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
“Mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history is a fundamental fact of our country today—perhaps the fundamental fact, as slavery was the fundamental fact of 1850. In truth, there are more black men in the grip of the criminal-justice system—in prison, on probation, or on parole—than were in slavery then. Over all, there […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)
An update on granddaughter Catrin
April 6th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
My darling granddaughter Catrin is now almost 15 months old and an absolute joy. She is such a cheerful baby and a tribute to her parents Richard and Emily. She is very vocal and playful and lots of fun to be with. I try to see her each week and this week I collected her […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The water shortage in the south-east of England
April 5th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Following two consecutive exceptionally dry winters, seven water companies in London and the South East of England today bring into force a hosepipe ban as the first in what may be a series of measures designed to reduce demand for water when the supply situation is so critical. As well as being affected by the […]
Posted in Consumer matters, Environment | Comments (0)
Remembering the siege of Sarajevo
April 5th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Twenty years ago today, the siege of Sarajevo began. It was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare lasting from from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 – a total of 1,335 days. The siege lasted three times longer than the siege of Stalingrad and a year longer than […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
My personal guide to the state of Iran
April 4th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I was in the British Museum yesterday with my Chinese ‘family’ looking at the Egyptian mummies. When we stopped for refreshments in the main court, I found myself in conversation with an Iranian family – a software engineer, his wife, and their daughter. My Iranian friend was astonished to find a Westerner who had recently […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Ever heard of the International Institute for Finance?
April 3rd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
No, neither had I until today. It is not being paranoid or conspiratorial to acknowledge that the world is run by power elites. It is obvious to anyone who has studied politics or sociology. But it is important that we struggle to have more transparency over the existence of these elites and try all we […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Could you manage on £4.2 million a year?
April 2nd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
In an earlier posting, I invited you to check your income against the average for the UK, and a range of other countries around the world. I doubt whether you earn as much as the chief executive of a top British company. The average annual pay of a FTSE 100 boss now stands at £4.2 million, […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
A review of “The Hunger Games”
April 1st, 2012 by Roger Darlington
It’s already been a big hit at the box office and it is clearly the first in a successful franchise. Read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)