Archive for March, 2015


British general election (8): the first leaflet of the campaign

March 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington

I have just had an exchange on Facebook with Luke Parker, my Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Brent North. I wrote: “Thanks for your election leaflet received today – the first from any party in this election. Twice you refer to “compassionate reform of the benefit system”. I am wondering if this is an oxymoron or […]

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Why we need a DOT EVERYONE (4)

March 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington

In my three previous postings, I have highlighted the Richard Dimbleby Lecture delivered this week by Martha Lane Fox which called for the creation of a new body to promote digital inclusion and debate Internet issues. Somebody who heard the speech live is Lord (Jim) Knight who chairs the Tinder Foundation on whose Board I […]

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Why we need a DOT EVERYONE (3)

March 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington

In my previous posting, I provided a link to the full text of the Richard Dimbleby Lecture given this week by Martha Lane Fox. If you don’t have time to read the speech. you can read a summary of her views in this column in today’s “Guardian” newspaper. She begins her piece: “Britain could be […]

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Why we need a DOT EVERYONE (2)

March 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington

In my previous posting, I linked to a preview by Martha Lane Fox of her planned Richard Dimbleby Lecture. The speech was delivered at the Science Museum and broadcast on the BBC.  It contains much food for though and one big idea: the creation of a new institution called DOT EVERYONE. You can read the […]

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Why we need a DOT EVERYONE (1)

March 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

Martha Lane Fox, formerly the Government’s Champion for Digital Inclusion and now CEO of Go ON UK, is giving the Annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture this evening. She will call for the establishment of a new public body to debate Internet issues which she has dubbed DOT EVERYONE and she has provided a blog preview of […]

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How do the ‘dabbawallas’ of Mumbai deliver more than 350,000 home-cooked lunches to office workers every working day?

March 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

I confess that I had never heard of the ‘dabbawallas’ of Mumbai until I read reviews of the 2013 Indian film “The Lunchbox” and only very recently did I manage to see the film [my review here]. So who are these ‘dabbawallas’ and how do they work? “Mumbai’s committed contingent of 5,000 dabbawallas delivers over […]

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A review of the book “Zone Of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran And Iraq”

March 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

How much do you know about these four countries? You know that they are constantly in the news headlines and are deeply troubled states. but what are the root causes of these troubles and how well have local leaders and the international community tackled the issues? Amin Saikal is an Afghan-born scholar of international affairs […]

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British general election (7): if there is just one difference you need to understand

March 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

“At the last general election, 12% of voters did not support Conservative, Labour or Lib Dem candidates: on average, in the polls during March this year, the number of respondents saying they intended to vote for other parties was 26%.” This is a quote from a piece by David Cowling – someone I knew 45 […]

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Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito acquitted of Meredith Kercher murder

March 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

Like many people around the world, since the appalling murder of Londoner Meredith Kercher in 2007, I’ve read a lot about the case and followed the incredible twists and turns of the Italian judicial process. I never felt that the case against American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito  was sound or fair and I was astonished […]

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The mellow fruitfulness of Diana Krall

March 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

I always try to try out new films, books, or music and I know I’m coming very late to Canadian pianist and singer Diana Krall, but I saw her on a recent Jonathan Ross show and decided to buy her latest CD “Wallflower”. The songs are very familiar, but Krall’s interpretation is wonderfully soothing as […]

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