An unusual (and brave) Syrian blogger
May 7th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
A British (presumably) journalist living in Damascus has been writing regularly for the “Guardian” on the recent political turmoil in Syria. She uses the pseudonym Katherine Marsh. There can’t be that many female (presumably) British journalists living in Damascus and I hope that the authorities don’t find her and detain her.
Meanwhile her latest piece is about an unusual blogger in Syria. She is Amina Abdullah and she is female, gay and half-American. You can check out her fascinating blog here. I hope that Amina too will remain safe and able to continue writing.
I was in Syria just before the demonstrations started and you can read my account of my visit here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Should we shift tax from income to wealth?
May 7th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Although the American Right is obsessed about tax, taxation is necessary to fund the programmes and activities that make a civilised society. Depending on how we structure our taxation systems, tax can also have overall social policy objectives such as promoting entrepreneurship or reducing inequality. I am very interested in the consequences for both societies and individuals of substantial inequalities of income and wealth as explored in the seminal work “The Spirit Level” which I have reviewed here.
Broadly speaking one can tax activities (which is why we have value added tax), income (which is why we have income tax) or wealth (which is why we have inheritance tax and why some are advocating a land value tax). I’m interested in the debate about shifting tax from income to wealth as discussed here. This approach has the support of sections of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties as explained here.
Why is this debate important? In the UK, the best paid 1% of the population receives about 8% of the national income, while the wealthiest 1% owns 23% of national wealth. This inequality distorts social outcomes undermines incentive.
One of my short stories revolves around the effort of a politician to introduce a wealth tax. You can read “The PM And The MP” here.
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of “Elvira Madigan”
May 6th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just viewed for the sixth time the 1967 Swedish film “Elvira Madigan” which I’ve reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Baby Catrin: progress report (8)
May 5th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This morning, I had two meetings in central London and then I stayed downtown to spend the afternoon with my adorable granddaughter Catrin who is now almost four months old.
Her dad – my son Richard – takes one day a week off work to look after Catrin and today was one of his ‘daddy days’ so I joined them for three hours. Catrin continues to make excellent progress and has just started to take breast milk expressed in a cup. Therefore I delighted in ‘feeding’ her for the first time.
Three frogs by the River Thames
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A reminder of why the UK needs AV
May 4th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Tomorrow the UK will hold only its second referendum in my lifetime of over 60 years. It is on whether we should replace the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system of election by the alternative vote (AV) in our General Elections.
If we needed a reminder of how FPTP can distort the popular will, look at what happened in the General Election held in Canada on Monday where FPTP was used: the Conservatives won 167 of the 308 electoral districts, earning just 40% of the vote but 54% of the seats in parliament.
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
Election surprises in Canada
May 3rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I did a posting a few days ago warning that the Canadian general election might have a surprise or two for us, but the actual result is astonishing:
- The Conservative Party – which has formed the last two governments on a minority basis – was forced into this election by a vote of no confidence, when it was found to be in contempt of parliament because of a range of public expenditure measures, and yet it managed to win an overall majority of the seats.
- The New Democratic Party – which is a centre-left body – did spectacularly well by increasing the number of its seats from 37 to 102.
- The Liberal Party – which has always previously come first or second – had a disaster with its seats falling from 77 to 34 which put it in third place.
- The Bloc Quebecois – which supports separatism for Quebec – did spectacularly badly when its seats fell from 47 to 4.
More information on the election here.
For background, you might like to read my “Short Guide To The Canadian Political System” which does not include the results of Monday’s election.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Is there a flower with your name?
May 3rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I have just discovered – via an Internet contact in California – that there is one with my surname. It’s called ‘Darlingtonia californica’ and it’s a rare carnivorous plant. How cool is that?
More information here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of “Comrades”
May 2nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just caught up with the 1987 film about the Tolpuddle martyrs called “Comrades” and you can read my review here.
If – like me – you’re interested in films about the labour movement, you can read reviews of 25 such works here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A short guide to the American political system
May 2nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Some of the most visited parts of my web site – which has around 170 sections in all – are my essays on the political systems of various nations (now 11 in all). Given the size of the Internet population in the USA, there are a considerable number of visitors to the one on the USA and, given the complexity and uniqueness of the system, it has proved very popular with readers.
I am constantly up-dating these essays and have just made the latest revision to my guide to the American political system here. One way of gaining more insight into a country’s political system is to compare it with that of another and I’ve done a comparison of the American and British systems here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Who is Grace van Cutsem?
May 1st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
She’s the one with her hands over her ears in this photograph.
Grace, aged three, was a bridesmaid at William & Catherine’s wedding. She is actually the daughter of their close friend Hugh van Cutsem.
Around the world, this picture is one of the defining images of the Royal Wedding.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)