Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
How happy are people in your country?
May 30th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
If your nation is one of the 36 developed countries that is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), then it has just been ranked according to a Better Life Index which takes into account 11 factors. Of course, this type of index depends crucially on both the factors which make […]
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An interesting perspective on the distribution of population around the globe
May 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
There are more people living inside this circle than outside of it.
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The rise and rise of UKIP – and why it won’t last (1)
May 5th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
British readers will be well aware that, in last week’s local elections in England, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) led by Nigel Farage, did spectacularly well, taking 23% of the vote and winning 147 council seats. Non-British readers may find this a very odd development and wonder what is going on. There are some very […]
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How long does it take to form a new government?
April 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Of course, it depends on the country and it depends on the circumstances. At one extreme, normally a British General Election is held on a Thursday and, in the course of the following day, a new Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen and immediately starts to appoint a ministerial team. At the other extreme, […]
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Your protest in support of Bangladeshi textile workers
April 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Hundreds of garment workers were killed and injured when an 8 story building housing five textile factories collapsed on 24 April. Large structural cracks appeared in the Rana Plaza the day before and an evacuation order was given. The building and factory owners ignored the warning and insisted work continue hours before the building collapsed. […]
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How well treated are children in your country?
April 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
An important measure of how civilised is a country is how well that nation treats its most vulnerable citizens, its children. The UN agency UNICEF periodically publishes league tables on this issue. This week it has published its latest report. The key table – on the frst page of text – ranks 29 developed countries […]
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Comparing North and South Korea
April 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The “Guardian” newspaper today has a fascinating comparison of North Korea and South Korea which you can see here. Two basic tests of how a government delivers for its citizens are the number of years you can expect to live and the standard of living you can expect to enjoy in those years. Life expectancy […]
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The brutal reality of North Korea
April 6th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Is North Korea trying to instigate a war or just attempting some kind of political gamesmanship? We know very little about how and why decisions are made at the top of this brutal and secretive dictatorship. Probably Kim Jong-un is inventing the myth of an imminent American invasion in order to distract his people from the poverty […]
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Why are elections so volatile these days?
February 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
In Israel, we have seen the sudden rise of the party ‘There Is A Future’ and a general election result which is so messy that five weeks later we still do not have a new coalition government. In Italy, we have seen the party of a comedian take a quarter of the vote and a general election […]
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From Israel to Italy, democracy is complicated
February 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Israel has one of the simplest political systems in the democratic world [my explanation here] – a single legislative chamber and a national list method for electing it – and yet the outcome of the recent general election on 22 January was so messy that five weeks later the country does still not have a […]
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