TrundleAlongJ

I called my recipe book Sabzi – vegetables. But the name was trademarked. And my legal ordeal began The granting of patents and trademarks to foods and words from the global south is part of a long colonial grab. It’s time to realise we share what we cook, and what we call it

An excellent piece by Yasmin Khan in @theguardian.com – and I’m very relieved the preposterous case against her has been dropped. www.theguardian.com/food/comment...

A country condemned to spend the next twenty years trying to relink what has been pulled apart...

Greece is teaching Germany how to get government online A legendary bureaucracy is making Olympian efforts at digitalisation

Do you know which places in Europe are digitalising fast?

#Berlin and Greece. No, seriously. www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

“They learn to ignore instructions and generally become arseholes.” AI can quickly and accidentally turn “evil” when models learn to take shortcuts, Alex Hern tells “The Intelligence” bit.ly/4oCyAyB

Book Talk | Blood and Treasure A discussion of Duncan Weldon's new book.

At a loss as to how to fill an hour in about 40 minutes time? You could listen to me & @rajakorman.bsky.social talk about Blood & Treasure.

quincyinst.org/events/book-...

Brexit’s impact on the UK economy - UK in a changing Europe Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Paul Mizen, Pawel Smietanka, and Gregory Thwaites argue that there is evidence that Brexit has had a large and persistent negative impact on GDP, output and productivity i...

The economic impacts of Brexit: new research from my @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social colleague Paul Mizen et al brings together macro (top-down) and micro (bottom-up) evidence.

They find a large and persistent negative impact on GDP, output and productivity.

ukandeu.ac.uk/brexits-impa...

Why juries matter

Jury trials should not be deleted without properly funding other parts of the criminal justice system

By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Why juries matter Jury trials should not be deleted without properly funding other parts of the criminal justice system

"Simply removing juries without strengthening other parts of the criminal justice system would therefore be a false economy leading to a miscarriage of justice." From an excellent @prospectmagazine.co.uk piece by @davidallengreen.bsky.social:
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

What a wonderful story - and a beautiful illustration of the power of the arts.

Great writing expands our imagination. It helps us to see the world in new ways.

And that has consequences that can never be measured by "average starting salaries" or "contribution to GDP".

The loss of local news reporting really matters
Local reporters can often pick up on something of importance

I was really struck by this chart showing drop off in newspaper circulation just since 2019. Obviously no surprise it's happening but it's stark seeing it visually.

Britain’s largest long-term macro problem is a shortage of *private* investment.
This is not new.

Some charts. bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/u...

It is perfectly possible to believe that the economic costs of the UK leaving the EU and the economic benefits of rejoining are asymmetric.

It's like the incredibly tedious "Rachel from accounts" thing. Misogyny in politics remains a powerful force.

Sefcovic presser now: “Today's proposal shows the EU is shifting into higher gear … Europe will continue to champion open trade and global investment, but our openness must be backed by security,” he added warning that the EU would in future be “more assertive” about its markets.

Good news!

Earlier this year I shared reports that the land around the Cerne Abbas Giant was up for sale

I’m delighted that, after lots of conversations, the land has now been bought by the National Trust (who already own the Giant): www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

bsky.app/profile/guys...

The rise of deepfake pornography in schools: ‘One girl was so horrified she vomited’ The use of ‘nudify’ apps is becoming more and more prevalent, with hundreds of teachers having seen images created by pupils, often of their peers. The fallout is huge – and growing fast

Shocking
Prevention is difficult
“He was stopped because a girl on the same bus had recently had a lesson in school about online safety as part of her PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) curriculum. She recognised what he was doing and told her teachers”
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

Young people these days. Being all sensible and moderate and costing the country a fortune in lost tax revenue.

I see the OECD have gone with ‘person skating on thin ice’ as their forecast cover illustration.
Is that a good thing?

www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Fintech firm Wealthfront seeks up to $2.05 billion valuation in US IPO Automated digital wealth management firm Wealthfront is targeting a valuation of up to $2.05 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, it said on Tuesday, becoming the latest to test a trend of strong investor appetite for fintech listings.

Fintech firm Wealthfront seeks up to $2.05 billion valuation in US IPO reut.rs/3XrfC2R

As I wrote yesterday, my understanding was that the demand of the EU towards Canada for SAFE participation was much lower than towards the UK.

If this report is correct, though, the €10 million agreement is much lower, and rather closer to the UK's proposal for its contribution.

German antitrust watchdog tests Apple's revised app tracking rules Germany's antitrust authority said on Tuesday it is testing Apple's proposed changes to its app tracking rules, seeking feedback from publishers, media groups and regulators to assess whether the new measures address competition concerns.

German antitrust watchdog tests Apple's revised app tracking rules reut.rs/4pomJoX

Very fair summary.

Energy transitions can happen faster than we think:

In 2000 almost 90% of Denmark's electricity was from fossil fuels.

In 2024 less than 10% of Danish electricity was from fossil fuels.

Suez says vapes causing more than one fire a day in its facilities and trucks Six months after disposable vape ban, waste firm calls for stronger measures to control them being disposed of incorrectly.

Negative externalities
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Chart showing Change in annual income in cash terms (left-hand side) and as share of income (righthand side), as a result of tax and benefit policy changes announced since Autumn Budget 2024, by income vigintile: UK, 2029-30

Overall, the combination of tax rises and giveaways since last year’s Budget is progressive.

Incomes for households in the bottom half of the distribution have increased by 1.0 per cent and incomes for households in the top half fell by 0.7 per cent.

For true Stoppard afficiandos, his greatest work will always be the script rewrite of dog comedy Beethoven.

How London’s housing market stagnated The introduction of a so-called mansion tax in this year’s Budget is likely to depress prices in some parts of the capital even further

Good Big Read on a curiously under discussed topic.

on.ft.com/4irWdsc How London’s housing market stagnated

'We have historically high welfare spending.' No we don't.

'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.

'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.