Archive for November, 2014


What do you know about the President of the Czech Republic?

November 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

You probably don’t even know his name. He is Milos Zeman and he is a controversial figure for many things which he is alleged to have done and he has most certainty said – as you can read here.

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Near freezing but warm welcome in Prague

November 28th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Since Vee and I have each been to the Czech Republic more than 20 times, we have seen Prague in all seasons and all weathers and somehow it is a city which looks and feels magical in any circumstance. On this visit, the temperature is just above freezing and I’m glad that I brought a […]

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Another visit to beautiful Prague

November 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

In the late 1980s, Vee (whose father was a Czech pilot in the war) re-established contact with her family – the Kuttelwaschers – in what was then Czechoslovakia and, about the same time, we first met the Czech doctor Pavel whose wife and children – the Horvaths – became as close as family to us. […]

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A few facts about President Theodore Roosevelt

November 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

This autumn, I am doing a six week (five session) evening class at London’s City Lit on the subject of “American Political Institutions” and our lecturer is Malcolm Malcolmson. This week, the third of our lectures looked at the election, responsibilities and powers of the President. As a bit of homework, at the end of […]

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What is the origin of the Teddy Bear?

November 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

The name Teddy Bear comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who was commonly known as “Teddy” (though he loathed being referred to as such). The name originated from an incident on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were […]

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The secret world of passwords

November 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Love them or hate them, we have to have them, lots of them. So this article from the “New York Times” is a fascinating look at this normally secret world. This is an extract from the piece: “Several years ago, I began asking my friends and family to tell me their passwords. I had come […]

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Eight years ago, the hawks wanted to bomb Iran – and they still do

November 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

It’s very disappointing news that agreement has not been reached between Iran and the six Western partners on control of Iran’s nuclear programme, but the parties are still talking and there is a new timetable.  As long as eight years ago, I did a blog posting pointing out that some observers saw the bombing of […]

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How the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the new Arab states

November 24th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Another weekend, another one-day course at London’s City Lit. This was was entitled “From Ottoman Empire To New Arab States” and delivered by Dr James Chiriyankandath. The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and long lasting empires in history. At its peak, it included what today are Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Hungary, […]

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A review of the latest movie in “The Hunger Games” franchise

November 23rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I have read all three novels by Suzanne Collins: “The Hunger Games” – my review here “Catching Fire” – my review here “Mockingjay” – my review here This weekday, I saw the third and latest episode in the movie adaptation of the novels: “The Hunger Games”- my review here “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” – my […]

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Is Barack Obama a dictator?

November 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington

In the United States, the Republicans have lambasted President Barack Obama over his use of an Executive Order to introduce much-needed and long=delayed immigration reform. They have accused him of being a dictator because he has bypassed Congress which has shown itself utterly unable to legislate on the subject. If Obama is a dictator he […]

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