Archive for December, 2017
Why the UK’s international aid is so important
December 20th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
“UK aid has already done so much to change the lives of the world’s poorest children. British aid has educated 11 million children in the last five years. The UK’s investment in immunisation in the same period ensured 67.1 million children were protected against preventable diseases. That’s more than the population of the UK. This […]
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
Are you sending Christmas cards this year?
December 19th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
According to this short article: The first Christmas card was in 1843 but the idea took some 20 years to become popular. This year, in the UK we will send an estimated 900 million cards – around 100 million fewer than last year. Some 80% of people in a poll said that they would prefer […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Among all the doom and gloom, some good news about our health prospects
December 19th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
It’s called gene editing. As a BBC story puts it: “Scientists are now able to edit genes from organisms. Gene editing has already been used for some devastating illnesses – with great success. However, it is often lengthy and costly. Only five years ago a form of gene editing was discovered with great fanfare. It […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
My review of “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi”
December 17th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The trouble with reviewing the latest episode of a galatic franchise like “Star Wars” is that expectations are so hign. Ever since I saw the first movie four decades ago as a 29 year old who had fairly recently become a father, I have approached each new chapter – usually with my son – with […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Word of the year: youthquake
December 15th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
“Youthquake”, defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”, has been selected by Oxford Dictionaries as the 2017 word of the year. I like young people. I used to be one once. You can see a fuller explanation of the choice, and the shortlist of […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
And the mega rich just become richer and richer
December 15th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The richest 1% of the global population took 27% of the world’s wealth growth between 1980 and 2016, while the richest of the rich increased their wealth by even more. The top 0.1% gained 13% of the world’s wealth, and the top 0.001% – about 76,000 people – collected 4% of all the new wealth […]
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
What images come to mind when you think of the Holocaust?
December 14th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
In this short article, my good friend Art Shostak writes: “For more than 70 years, [the] narrative has been flawed by overreliance on the horror story of the Shoah, a painful focus on atrocious acts perpetrators committed against victims. At the same time, little or no attention has been paid to its inseparable counterpart, what I […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
A review of the Japanese film “Blade Of The Immortal”
December 13th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Apparently Japanese director Takashi Miikwe now has a hundred movies to his credit but I’ve only previously seen one of them: “13 Assassins”. Like “13 Assassins”, “Blade Of The Immortal” is a stylish bloodfest – if that’s not an oxymoron – set in the Edo period of Japanese history (1603-1868), but this film tells a […]
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Some good news from the United States for a change
December 13th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Doug Jones has become the first Democrat to win any statewide office in the state of Alabama in decades after Republican candidate Roy Moore’s campaign for the Senate was marred by sexual assault claims. More news here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Peter Bradshaw’s top ten films of 2017
December 12th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
I have previously done a blog posting on the top 20 films of 2017 as chosen by “Empire” magazine. Now I offer you the top 10 movies of the past year as chosen by the “Guardian” film critic Peter Bradshaw. I’ve seen five of the 10.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)