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Sep 16, 2022

NEW: income inequality in US & UK is so wide that while the richest are very well off, the poorest have a worse standard of living than the poorest in countries like Slovenia ft.com/content/ef2654 Essentially, US & UK are poor societies with some very rich people. A thread:

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Germany grapples with the limits of pacifism

Arash Massoudi

@ArashMassoudi

18h

Here We Go! FT Business of Football Summit is a month away. businessoffootball.live.ft.com w/

#FTFootball

Lot of people saying “nuclear pants” is a typo. Au contraire.

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Chart via this fascinating piece on the history of Germany’s complex and evolving attitude to war and pacifism, by

@hoyer_kat

ft.com

[FREE TO READ] As an adaptation of ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is tipped for Oscars, the country’s long antiwar tradition is being tested by Russian aggression

German public opinion on allowing its tanks to be sent to Ukraine is striking: 75% of Green voters back sending tanks, vs just 6% of AfD. Really shows how the Greens have embraced pragmatism (see also agreeing to keep nuclear pants open), while AfD captured by pro-Russian nuts.

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zeynep tufekci

@zeynep

Feb 3

Not an article I wanted to write. The deadly H5N1 bird flu is spreading widely, including to mammals. For the first time, it's now likely spreading mammal-to-mammal, among minks which are exceptionally well-suited conduits to humans. We must act now. nytimes.com/2023/02/03/opi

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Joey Politano

@JosephPolitano

Feb 3

The US labor market has now nearly made a full recovery from the pandemic The only industries with fewer workers than before 2020 are Leisure and Hospitality—which is getting out-competed on wages—and Government—which mostly reflects public schools' struggles to retain workers.

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How to fix the British economy

Tim Harford

@TimHarford

Feb 3

This week I cover "how to fix the British economy". LOL. With a tweet and a bound, it was free...

ft.com

The right blames red tape, the left inequality. Both are wrong

Stephen Bush

@stephenkb

Jan 31

Good news! You can now subscribe separately to my Inside Politics newsletter (the first *90 days* are free): ft.com/newsletter-sig

Sam Joiner

@samjoiner

Jan 31

New: Our latest visual story maps the supply chains of two weapons that changed the Ukraine war to reveal the complex web of companies being tested as the US defence industry returns to a wartime footing 🇺🇸🚀👇 FT.com/us-defence-ind

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David Sheppard

@OilSheppard

Jan 31

The state of New Mexico (population 2.6 million) is now producing more oil than the country Mexico (population 126.7 million) Mexico is a member of Opec+ and not that long ago relied on oil revenues for a third of federal budget ft.com/content/ce6d6c

@mylesmccormick_

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Our choices have consequences

Na₂Ca(CO₃)₂•5H₂O

@Gaylussite

Feb 1

🪧 500,000 workers are on strike today 👎 We shouldn’t be surprised – strikes, decaying public services and stagnant living standards are the product of our political choices 🥾⛰ The economic fix is simple, but the political challenge is immense 🧵:

himbonomics.substack.com

Britain isn't working

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400,000 people with little or no tax to pay received HMRC penalties

Dan Neidle

@DanNeidle

Jan 27

We've just launched a major report: between 2018 and 2020, almost 400,000 people earning less than £13k received a penalty for filing a tax return late. Very few had any tax to pay. But they were fined at least £100, and often thousands of pounds.

taxpolicy.org.uk

Between 2018 and 2020, almost 400,000 people earning less than £13,000 received a penalty for not filing a tax return on time. Very few of them had any tax to pay, given that the tax-free personal...

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Great, depressing read by

@whippletom

thetimes.co.uk

I have owned 11 bikes. This is how they were stolen

Every year, thieves steal an estimated 200,000 bicycles in England and Wales. Tom Whipple isn’t surprised. Every one he has ever bought has been nicked

Jan 23

Really interesting piece by

@federicacocco

on the worrying trend of declining rates of child adoption in the UK, caused in part by funding cuts and the cost of living crisis. Fewer adoptions -> more children in care -> worse life outcomes enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/b302604

Jan 23

I’m trying to come at this with a blank slate on SF, so I’m as interested in examples of new and interesting solutions as I am in what has gone or is going wrong. Whether under-discussed, misunderstood or glaringly and horrifyingly obvious, I’m all ears 👂

Hey folks, I’m in San Francisco this week, and would love to chat to people for a couple pieces I’m working on. If you work in housing, inequality, homelessness, or any other area you think I should be exploring, please get in touch! DMs open, or john.burn-murdoch@ft.com 🙏

thetimes.co.uk/article/voters

Tom Calver

@tomhcalver

Jan 22

🧵NEW: Who deserves a pay rise the most? They present a united front – but in reality, unions are competing for spoils, esp in the public sector. And as the data shows, those with the best case are not always the ones shouting the loudest...

@thetimes

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Sam Freedman

@Samfr

Jan 16

I'd not seen this before. V clear that the Tories are now perceived as well to the right of the average voter on immigration which is a very recent change. twitter.com/OwenWntr/statu

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This looks like a pretty fantastic job for any data nerds who want to work alongside brilliant colleagues for a vitally important organisation that does genuine good 👇

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Our World in Data

@OurWorldInData

Jan 16

We're hiring! We are looking for a new Data Scientist to join our Data & Research team. They will contribute to the whole chain of collection, transformation, documentation, and dissemination of data on the many topics that we cover on Our World in Data. ourworldindata.org/data-scientist

Jan 15

Hey folks, random Sunday question: I’m getting married this June, and we’re still on the hunt for a London-based wedding photographer. Preferably affordable (lol). If you are one, or have any recommendations, my DMs are open and I would be immensely grateful 😅🙏

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China reports almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths in a month

Financial Times

@FinancialTimes

Jan 14

China reports almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths in a month

ft.com

Beijing releases latest figures after facing earlier criticism for underplaying severity of outbreak

Replying to

Few years back I spent a day in Woodhall Spa, which must be the most intensely English place in the country. Met a chap whose daily attire was khaki head-to-toe, and told me about his time in “Rhodesia”. I felt as foreign there as I have done in many foreign countries.

Jan 11

(I remain out of action for the next couple of weeks but have a couple of pieces of work on the go that will hopefully contribute further when I’m back)

This is the most informative analysis of UK excess deaths out there at the moment. And

@Jean__Fisch

is certainly worth following for all things excess mortality related, whether the UK or elsewhere.

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Jean Fisch

@Jean__Fisch

Jan 11

The 2022 death data for England and Wales is now complete What stands out is that deaths excl covid are fully in line with those expected from - Population evolution expected by ONS - Historic trends of mortality rates by age But covid is not the only factor as you will see

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Lake Cerro Chato Trail [CLOSED]

zeynep tufekci

@zeynep

Jan 8

Updates: US flu trends: sharply down. US RSV hospitalizations: sharply down. US Monkeypox: close to zero. Same in Europe. Remember the claims that widespread post-COVID immunodeficiency had caused their earlier rises? If that were true, cases would have to be going up and up.

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(Bloody autocorrect — alt text in first image should say Cerro Chato, not Cerritos)

Cannot recommend that hike highly enough for anyone who’s ever in Costa Rica. (Ignore the bit saying it’s closed — the warden on the gate waves you through and just emphasises that you proceed at your own risk)

alltrails.com

Bummer, this trail is closed. We'll update this page if and when it reopens.

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As mornings go, hiking up a volcano and swimming in its crater lake has to rank pretty high 👌

Dense rainforest during the hike up to Cerritos Chato crater lake

read image description

ALT

Most the way up, the “path” (really more of a micro-canyon eroded by water) was less than one foot wide

read image description

ALT

After an hour and a half of muddy scrambling, a stunning crater lake! Blanketed by clouds and completely silent. Absolutely amazing experience

read image description

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See here for an illuminating discussion between

@OwenWntr

@robfordmancs

about how the different political party systems in the Anglosphere and Europe constrain the choices available to Millennials, and how that shapes how preferences change over time

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Rob Ford

@robfordmancs

Jan 1

Replying to @OwenWntr and @jburnmurdoch

Indeed! Adapting the argument, PR also enables voters to combine social liberalism with economic conservatism, but in Anglo-Saxon FPP or AV systems where the dominant right wing party is now socially and economically conservative they can't easily have this combo.

If the only pro-redistribution parties in Europe were all stridently progressive, and the economic right was always the cultural right, I suspect we’d see similar (albeit probably less pronounced) patterns in non-Anglo countries.

When you think about it, the phenomenon — American-style progressive youth culture being much more pronounced in Anglosphere countries — is almost certainly related to political party landscapes.

Another good follow-up on Anglophone Millennial exceptionalism, this time by

@j_amesmarriott

I think it’s *slightly* overstated because a lot of Anglo/Euro diff can be explained by multi-party vs 2-party systems, but I’m sure phenomenon described is real

thetimes.co.uk

How America is alienating us from Europe

If you are young, idealistic and anxious to know whether the purity of your left-wing principles will survive the disappointments of middle age, you might pay a

Office for National Statistics (ONS)

stuart mcdonald

@ActuaryByDay

Jan 5

ONS deaths data has been released for week ending 23 Dec. 2,982 more deaths were recorded in-week compared to the 2015-19 average. That’s 26% more, the largest excess we’ve seen all year. Year-to-date there have been 567,379 deaths recorded which is 8% more than 2015-19 avg.

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Not only survived but thrived on a cramped 12 hour flight by sticking to the three golden rules of air travel: • Bring your own food (so you decide both when and what) • Cabin baggage only (speedy exit on other end) • Take your shoes off on the flight (instant 10x comfort)

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Jan 3

Going on a long trip today. What did you read and love in 2022 that should be a last-minute add to my Kindle?

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Jan 2

Another fantastic follow-up piece on what may be driving the growing generation-divides in British politics. Really worth clicking through to the full post.

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Ben Ansell

@benwansell

Jan 2

Following up on @jburnmurdoch's excellent piece on generational political divides, my new Substack post does a deep dive into generational differences in British politics. 1/n benansell.substack.com/p/generation-g

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Jan 1

Absolutely wild statistic from this great

@ShaunLintern

piece on quick ways to relieve pressure on the NHS: 15% of all hospital admissions in England are due to patients suffering from adverse effects after taking a harmful combination of medicines. thetimes.co.uk/article/ten-fa

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Dec 31, 2022

But I’ll be investigating and writing more on this in the new year 🤓

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Without digging deeper into the data, to me this suggests the culture war politics of the last few years (predominantly an Anglophone phenomenon, actively disdained by many European countries) may be playing a bigger role than economics (similar experience in most countries).

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