Friday 20 November 2020

 International Trans Day of Remembrance

I would like to start with a confession and one that I have kept secret for a long time. When I was young, I stole a chocolate bar from the local newsagent. I planned it carefully and, as if it would make any difference, I made sure that I had enough pocket-money in my, uh, pocket to pay for it. I ate the bar as soon as I dared and, I have to confess, it was a genuinely guilty act of consumption. Suffice to say, I wasn't caught, but the guilt, the self-reproach that I felt, ensured that I never did it again.         

Why would I mention this ancient crime?  Because it is the only time that I remember feeling empathy with people that set out to break the law. I regard myself as a law-abiding citizen, so while I can try to understand what may drive people to break the law, I cannot empathise with those that choose to do so.

In the case of murder, the premeditated act of extinguishing another person's life, not only do I not empathise, I do not understand. I ask myself why anyone would do that and, try as I might, I cannot come up with an answer. It is beyond my comprehension. Nothing, in my privileged, white life, has given me any insight into what drives someone to take another's life. Yet it happens and for reasons that many of us would think do not warrant such a violent reaction. 

I raise the topic of murder because I would like to focus on those murders that are perpetrated on a small section of the population, for apparently no other reason than they are part of that section of the population. Between 0.5% and 1% of the total population are transgendered individuals. Distressingly, in the year to date, 350 transgender people have been murdered worldwide. The majority of the victims, 342, were trans-women (male-to-female). 28 of these murders were in the United States and the majority of those, 22, were people of colour. The statistics can be found here (https://transrespect.org/en/tmm-update-tdor-2020). 

In comparison, and fortunately for me, none of these were in the UK. However, this does not preclude anyone from empathising (that word again) with members of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK  and around the world. This Friday 20 November is the international Trans Day of Remembrance. On this day we honour the memory of those transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. This week is Transgender Awareness Week which exists to help raise the visibility of transgender people and the issues that they face. 

If you have read this far, then you might be asking "What has this got to do with me?" To which I would respond "Keep on doing what you are doing." The Northrop Grumman community, as far as my experience attests, puts into practice the live-and-let-live principles that enable a diverse community to work together. Since I came out in March of this year, I have not heard any offensive comments nor suffered any discrimination, on the contrary, people have been most supportive. So, more of the same please and thank you to everybody who has shown some basic human kindness to me or any other members of the LGBTQ+ community, I assure you that it does make a difference. And if you could spare a thought on Friday for those that have lost their lives just because of who they were then that would be lovely too.

Sunday 31 January 2016

Corporation Tax

There have been a lot of articles in the press about the lack of tax paid by large multinational corporations in the UK. Quite apart from the fools who don't know the difference between turnover, revenue and profit there is generally a misunderstanding of what corporation tax is meant to be taxing. This article explains it, http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/8132 .
Having digested that, now take a look at this article, http://fullfact.org/economy/google-paying-3-tax/ . To its credit it explains where the figure of 3% comes from. What is depressing is the comment by the Public Accounts Committee that says "Google relies on the deeply unconvincing argument that its sales to UK clients take place in Ireland".  Since you will have now read the first article you will understand how this quote more than adequately demonstrates how disingenuous our politicians can be.

Saturday 15 November 2014

Definitions

There is an article in the Guardian that states
Punitive new penalties will be imposed by a future Labour government on companies and individuals that embark on aggressive and abusive tax avoidance
The problem with this, as is stated elsewhere
Tax avoidance is, by definition, legal. If it is illegal it becomes, by definition, tax evasion.
You can only fine people for things that are illegal.
If it really is tax *avoidance* that they are going to try to fine people for then it will fail at the first court it comes to.
Idiots. 
 

Friday 8 March 2013

Two quotes from this blog:

More than a half – or 56pc – of all income tax is paid by people earning over £50,000 a year, who make up 10pc of taxpayers.

Suppose that once a month, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all of them comes to £100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this;
The first four men – the poorest – would pay nothing. The fifth would pay £1. The sixth would pay £3. The seventh would pay £7. The eighth would pay £12. The ninth would pay £18. And the tenth man – the richest – would pay £59.
So, that’s what they did until the bar owner gave them a loyalty discount, cutting the  cost of their drinks to £80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free but what about the other six men; the paying customers? How could they divide the £20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?
They realised that £20 divided by six is £3.33 but if they subtracted that from everybody’s share then not only would the first four men still be drinking for free but the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So the bar owner suggested a different system. The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing. The sixth man paid £2 instead of £3. The seventh paid £5 instead of £7. The eighth paid £9 instead of £12. The ninth paid £14 instead of £18. And the tenth man now paid £49 instead of £59. Each of the last six was better off than before with the first four continuing to drink for free.
But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got £1 out of the £20 saving,” said the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “He got £10!”
“Yes, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a £1 too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”
“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get £10 back, when I only got £2? The rich get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new system exploits the poor!”
So, the nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. Funnily enough, the next month the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him.
But when it came to pay for their drinks, they discovered something important – they didn’t have enough money between all of them to pay for even half the bill.



Thursday 7 February 2013

Prime Number

The news that a new largest prime has been discovered and its relevance are discussed here.

Saturday 19 January 2013

Swimming at the Olympics

You may not know this but yesterday, Friday 18 January, our Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) released the details of who they bought Olympic tickets for last year. That is, they published a list of all the people who received a free ticket to go to the Olympics. Now I didn't get to go to the Olympics because we were unsuccessful in our application, so there is a little bit of jealousy involved in this blog. We particular wanted to go to see some of the swimming as I and my wife have a lifetime of involvement with swimming at various levels and our daughter is a competitive club swimmer. So, as a taster I will reproduce here the list of people who were given a ticket to go to see the swimming. Take a look and see what you think about why these 160* people were allowed to go for free.

 
RECIPIENTS OF GOVERNMENT-PURCHASED TICKETS FOR SPORT SESSIONS OF THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES

 The information below is set out by the Department that issued the invitation and order by sporting event, value of the ticket, ticket recipient and the organisation that they were representing.

OLYMPIC GAMES

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Swimming
£95
Susan Bowen
Hewlett Packard
Swimming
£95
Victor Zhang
Huawei
Swimming
£95
Athena Wang
Huawei
Swimming
£95
Ed Vaizey
Department for Culture, Media and Sport Host
Swimming
£95
Jon McVeigh
Pact
Swimming
£95
Micheal Van de Bel
Microsoft
Swimming
£95
Vivek Dev
Telefonica Digital
Swimming
£95
Clare Thwaites
Apple
Swimming
£95
Andy Griffiths
Samsung
Swimming
£185
Jonathan Stephens
Department for Culture, Media and Sport Host
Swimming
£185
Tony Stephenson
Quintessientially Exhibitions
Swimming
£185
Colin Matthews
BAA Airport
Swimming
£185
Gary Morrison
Expedia
Swimming
£185
Carey Fletcher
China Holidays
Swimming
£185
Baroness Garden
Ambassadorial Host
Swimming
£185
James Coleman
Gatwick Airport
Swimming
£50
Steve Galpin
CHR Travel
Swimming
£50
Sandie Dawe
VisitBritain
Swimming
£50
Rachel Howes
Booking.com
Swimming
£50
Nigel Horne
Gullivers Travel Associates

 
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

Swimming
£185
Barbara Hearn
National Children's Bureau
Swimming
£185
Debbie Jones
Association of Directors of Children's Services
Swimming
£185
Norman Goodwin
Adoption Matters Northwest
Swimming
£185
Sue Clifford
Adopter
Swimming
£185
Jim Clifford
Adopter
Swimming
£185
Anne Longfield
4 Children
Swimming
£185
Sir Paul Ennals
Former Chief Executive National Children's Bureau
Swimming
£185
Robert Tapsfield
Fostering Network
Swimming
£185
Dr Amanda Gummer
Child Psychologist
Swimming
£185
Oona King
Labour Peer
Swimming
£50
David Holmes
British Association for Adoption and Fostering
Swimming
£50
Tim Loughton
Ambassadorial Host
Swimming
£50
Matt Dunkley
Director of Children's Services Sussex County Council

 

HOME OFFICE

Swimming
£185
Tobias Bergner
Diplomatic Adviser to
German Sports Minister
Swimming
£185
Peter Storr
Home Office

 

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Swimming
£185
Senator David Coltart
Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Zimbabwe
Swimming
£185
Henry Bellingham
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister
Swimming
£185
Barbara Woodward
Foreign and Commonwealth Office host
Swimming
£95
Simon Fraser
Foreign and Commonwealth Office host
Swimming
£95
Bernard Emié
French Ambassador
Swimming
£95
Rebecca Davies
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Swimming
£185
Tom Shreve
US Embassy
Swimming
£185
Tracy Hill
US Embassy

 

UK TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Swimming
£185
S Ramadorai
Tata Consultancy Services
Swimming
£185
Mr Mehta
Essar Global Limited
Swimming
£185
S Ramadorai
Tata Consultancy Services
Swimming
£185
Mr Angel Gurria
OECD
Swimming
£185
Mrs Gurria
OECD
Swimming
£185
Patrice de Vivies
TOTAL SA
Swimming
£185
Mohammed Sharaf
DP World
Swimming
£185
Aurflio Montinolr
Bank of the Philippine Islands
Swimming
£185
Vahya Setiatmaja
Bank of Central Asia, Indonesia
Swimming
£185
Vahya Setiatmaja
Bank of Central Asia, Indonesia
Swimming
£185
Kanit Sukonthaman
Export-Import Bank of Thailand
Swimming
£185
Robert Tan
IGN Corporation Berhad
Swimming
£185
Scott Freidham
Investcorp International
Swimming
£95
Xin Zhang
SOHO China
Swimming
£95
Shiyi Pan
SOHO China
Swimming
£95
Changlin Ouyang
Hunan Broadcasting and Television Station
Swimming
£95
Mei Nie
Hunan Broadcasting and Television Station
Swimming
£95
Danlu Zhu
Sinopec (UK)
Swimming
£185
Ms Patricia Bruscato
Alle Design
Swimming
£185
Caroline Rowland
UKTI Host
Swimming
£185
Mr Trevor Winckworth
In hand Guides Ltd
Swimming
£185
Mr Yi Zhou
s.point design
Swimming
£185
Mr Robert Votiky
Lewis and Hickey Praha
Swimming
£185
Mr Jaymeen Patel
Apple
Swimming
£185
Ms Claire Thwaites
Apple
Swimming
£185
Yo Shitara
BEAMS Co.Ltd.
Swimming
£185
Andrea Casalini
Buongiorno
Swimming
£185
Mrs Casalini
Buongiorno
Swimming
£185
Eddy Sariaatmadja
PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (EMTEK)
Swimming
£185
Ken Ohtake
Sony Music Publishing
Swimming
£185
Ken Ohtake
Sony Music Publishing
Swimming
£185
Andrew Summers
Design Partners – UKTI Host
Swimming
£185
Andrew Summers
Design Partners
Swimming
£185
Mrs Robinson
Electronic Art Ltd.
Swimming
£185
Colin Robinson
Electronic Art Ltd.
Swimming
£185
Peter Hepburn
Activision Blizzard
Swimming
£185
Paul Dainty
Dainty Group
Swimming
£185
Paul Dainty
Dainty Group
Swimming
£185
Bruno Casella
Bernardelli
Swimming
£185
Gilberto Nova
Lunave Multimedios
Swimming
£185
Plum Sykes
American Vogue
Swimming
£185
Roberta Valentini
Penelope
Swimming
£185
Dr Colin Gyles
University of Technology, Jamaica
Swimming
£185
Dr Colin Gyles
University of Technology, Jamaica
Swimming
£185
Amanda Selvaratnam
The Training Gateway
Swimming
£185
Maureen Caruk
Guest of UKTI
Swimming
£185
Rosemary Johnston
University of Technology Sydney
Swimming
£185
Aditya Malkani
H.R. College of Commerce & Economics
Swimming
£185
Indu Shahani
H.R. College of Commerce & Economics
Swimming
£185
Haif Bannayan
Jordan Education Initiative
Swimming
£185
Djoko Wintoro Poetnumo
Prasetiya mulya Business School
Swimming
£185
Professor Victor Lee
The Hong Kong Management Association
Swimming
£185
Fariz Ismailzade
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy
Swimming
£185
Mrs V Lee
The Hong Kong Management Association
Swimming
£185
Professor V Lee
The Hong Kong Management Association
Swimming
£185
SriKrishna Nidigallu
Birla Shloka Edutech Ltd
Swimming
£185
SriKrishna Nidigallu
Birla Shloka Edutech Ltd
Swimming
£185
Kannan Natanajon
Wipro Ltd
Swimming
£185
Professor Seharaj Oyyan
Open University Malaysia
Swimming
£185
Rahul Puri
Whistling Woods International
Swimming
£185
Meghna Ghai Puri
Whistling Woods International
Swimming
£185
Sonia Saleem
SE Trading International LLC
Swimming
£185
Malik Aslam
SE Group

 

WALES OFFICE

Swimming
£185
Richard Kenworthy
Toyota Motor Manufactuing UK Ltd
Swimming
£185
Mark Douglas
General Dynamics
Swimming
£185
Cheryl Gillan
Wales Office Host
Swimming
£185
Stephen Dalzeil
Russo British Chamber of Commerce
Swimming
£185
Shinichi Kiriyama
Japan External Trade Organisation
Swimming
£50
David Jones
Ambassadorial host
Swimming
£50
Vahid Tabatabai
Tomorrow's Energy
Swimming
£50
Edward Tomp
Valero Pembrook Oil Refinery

 

AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME

Swimming
£65
Gregory Barker
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Swimming
£65
Lord McNally
Ministry of Justice
Swimming
£185
Baroness Northover
Department for International Development

 

PARALYMPIC GAMES

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Swimming
£30
Laura  Gander-Howe
Arts Council England
Swimming
£30
Althea Efunshile
Arts Council England
Swimming
£30
Susanna Eastburn
Sound and Music

 

HOME OFFICE

Swimming
£30
Damian Green
Home Office host
Swimming
£30
Clarissa Azkoul
International Organisation for Migration
Swimming
£30
Geoff Williams
Gatwick Airport

 

SCOTLAND OFFICE

Swimming
£30
Roslyn Neeley
Children's Hospice Association Scotland
Swimming
£30
Sarah Thompson
Children's Hospice Association Scotland
Swimming
£30
James MacFarlane
Children's Hospice Association Scotland
Swimming
£30
Alexander McCormick
Children's Hospice Association Scotland

 

UK TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Swimming
£30
Millios Savvahs
Cyprus Paralympic Association
Swimming
£30
Giulo Alteri
Studio Atherispa
Swimming
£30
Ratko Kovacic
Croatian Paralympic Association
Swimming
£30
Rajendra Jadleon
In-Abh
Swimming
£30
Tannpe Chelu
Thailand Paralympic Committee
Swimming
£30
Attarit Srinkapairllaya
Thailand Paralympic Committee
Swimming
£30
K Chawasarirn
ZNPC
Swimming
£30
Michael Muzah
ZNPC
Swimming
£30
K Chawasarirn
ZNPC
Swimming
£30
Michael Phillips
Renfrew Group
Swimming
£30
Michael Phillips
Renfrew Group
Swimming
£30
Janne Avela
University of Jyvaskyli Finland
Swimming
£30
Cosmas Okoli
Maardec
Swimming
£30
Okoli Chukwura
Maardec
Swimming
£30
Carlos Bezerra de Alberquerque
University of Sao Paulo
Swimming
£30
Bill Barrable
University of Sao Paulo
Swimming
£30
Anton Sabo
Fif - Technikun – Wien
Swimming
£30
Rajendra Jadleon
In-Abh
Swimming
£45
Javier Solomire
4 Global
Swimming
£45
Elki Grimsby
Oslo 2022

 

VISIT BRITAIN

Swimming
£45
Emma Wilkinson
Visit Britain
Swimming
£45
Jo Leslie
Visit Britain
Swimming
£45
Evgenia Voskoboynikova
Rain TV online channel, LLC
Swimming
£45
Cathy Stapells
Toronto Sun and Sun Media
Swimming
£45
Barbara Twardowski
AAA Home & Away, QUEST, Global Traveler
Swimming
£0
Jim Twardowski
Photographer (Wheelchair Companion Seat)
Swimming
£20
Wojciech Karpeiszuk
Gazeta Wyborcza
Swimming
£20
Bruna Tiussu
O Estado de S. Paulo
Swimming
£20
Anastasia Dulenkova
Izvestia
Swimming
£20
Jessica Hung
East Week
Swimming
£20
Khulekani Madlela
Gulf News 'Friday' magazine
Swimming
£20
Annette Kogel
Tagesspeigel/Paralympic Post
Swimming
£20
Lorenz Marold
Visit Britain
Swimming
£20
Sarah Miller
Sister PR/Regent St Media Centre
Swimming
£20
Rufus Stone
Sister PR/Regent St Media Centre
Swimming
£20
Phillip Hunt
Sister PR/Regent St Media Centre
Swimming
£20
Rachel Woollen
Royal Collection
Swimming
£20
Tim King
Shropshire Tourism
Swimming
£20
Kerry Francois
Royal Collection
Swimming
£20
Cathy Thompson
Hostelworld

 

WALES OFFICE

Swimming
£30
Phil Jones
Airbus
Wales Office Programme
Swimming
£30
Clive Thomas
Watkins & Gunn Solicitors
Wales Office Programme

 

AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME

Swimming
£30
Edward Garnier
Solicitor General

* There are 170 listings here but a few of them, e.g. Paul Dainty and Dr Colin Gyles, are listed twice.