John Peters

Brexit made us poorer and it’s getting worse Economists disagree on the detail but it’s clear that barrier-free trade would be a big boost

Economists who defend Brexit do so in the same way as the hard left used to defend communism. It’s a great idea, which would work in practice if only it were properly implemented. Not a single serious economic paper argues that Britain has benefited from Brexit.
(£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

‘Ordinary' emerges as the Racist Word of the Year following analysis of language used by far-right figures - Voice Online ‘Ordinary’ has been named Racist Word of 2025 as it supports racist tropes when it is used as a synonym for ‘white’

(UK) Racist Word of the Year #WotY2025

www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news...

'Das crazy' has been voted German Youth Word of the Year 2025 Every year, Germany’s youth select their annual "Youth Word of the Year", which is voted for by youngsters around the country.View on euronews

Oh my goodness, it gets earlier every year.
The Word of the Year thread starts here with the

2025 German Youth WotY: das crazy

uk.news.yahoo.com/das-crazy-vo...

Yes, it was very poor.
You shouldn't need to, but I think a wise move if wasn't freely available.

Text: Trump typeface Sir, You report that Marco Rubio has ordered US diplomats to revert to the Times New Roman font in official communications, reversing Antony Blinken’s decision to use Calibri (“Rubio underlines need to change font”, Dec 11). How disappointing that he did not insist on changing it to Trump Mediaeval. Setting aside whether the correct term is font or typeface (letter, Nov 25), this is an “old face font” with characters “suitable for inferior papers”. Presumably it would also be a good fit for whichever is the president’s favourite daily newsheet. Suzie Marwood London SW6

Letter in Times today

Time person of the year cover for 2025

I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork

The aurora borealis is visible as two green stripes over two mountains and a small cluster of buildings

Big fan of small town early mornings, just before the world wakes up

An academic disliked an Oxford Very Short Introduction (145 pages) in his field so much that he wrote a 200 page book review attacking it. www.pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFi...

A simple question

BREAKING: Jakarta has banned the commercial trade, slaughter and sale of dogs and cats for meat after years of advocacy.

This is a major step toward ending Indonesia’s dog and cat meat trade—and we’re so grateful to all of our supporters who stood by our side!

Since others are saying that #MEcfs patients are regularly refused the vaccine, I'll post the reasons why we are eligible.
It may be of interest.

justpaste.it/m08un

@meassociation.org.uk @actionforme.bsky.social @thereforme.bsky.social

Though the individuals in the MBA sample did not take personality assessments themselves, the accuracy of the model was validated on other large datasets. The resulting Photo Big 5 traits were then matched with career data (salary, job title, tenure, and school rank) to identify statistical relationships between personality traits and job outcomes.

And the twist that you knew had to be coming.

Can Your Face Predict Your Salary? Using AI Personality Assessments in Hiring A new study from Wharton faculty explores how AI can extract personality traits from facial images — and what that means for your career.

Computer scientists: "So with machine learning we can extract subtle patterns from massive datasets. What shall we do with it?"

Business school professors, every single time: "You know, I think phrenology got a raw deal in the late 1800s."

Transcript of debate:

record.assembly.wales/Plenary/1547...

Motion, including amendment, carried with no one voting against.

#MEcfs #LongCovid

Quite right too.

Thanks, Keith. Appeciate it.

Thanks. I am looking at it as an opportunity, especially how things do seem to be changing with regards to the illness.

Another really excellent report by Jamal Osman from conflict in Ethiopia and what seems to be an imminent war between the Tigray Peace Force and the ruling Tigray People's Liberation Front. #c4news

That is shocking about your mother. Appalling.

I'm not sure it was the receptionist. The nurse claimed the criteria had changed (as I got one last year). Now they say the receptionist got confused or something but I don't see how they could have done.
Anyway they're looking into a few questions I raised and will get back to me.

Yeah, not that happy about it. Have spoken to the practice manager. 'It wasn't a lie, it was the receptionist what done it,' which was not at all convincing. Am now waiting on a reply to my email. I did say there was no hurry and there isn't, but am interested to know what they're going to say.

I think this is a widespread phenomenon. In a bunch of European countries, the US, and perhaps elsewhere, lots of people who live near-ish cities are scaring themselves silly on Facebook about how dangerous their nearby urban area is, in a way that is impervious to any empirical evidence.

Despite the fact that I have #MEcfs, had flu 12/23, have had Covid 4 times (my immune system obviously weak) & am only 8 months under the age limit, my GP refused to give me the flu vaccine and lied to me about it to do so. Got it in Boots on NHS. #c4news

Trump sees the world as Putin does: a world divided up between a few powerful countries with their own sphere of influence, ruled by strongmen beyond the law. #c4news

Smirk

How Ally Pally became darts mecca — and one of Britain’s greatest exports With an Icelandic butcher at the oche, Germans flocking to join the fancy-dress crowd, and TV coverage in Mongolia, the annual jamboree has gone global

How did we get to this point where Ally Pally has become the golden ticket, the mecca of the sport, a kind of arcadian Christmas sporting destination, the Augusta of darts? How is it that it is available on TV sets around the world?
(£) www.thetimes.com/sport/darts/...

England batsmen lack defensive technique — only option is smarter Bazball Playing like Ben Stokes and Will Jacks against in Brisbane isn’t how touring side can get back into series. They just need to make better decisions at key moments

Don't blame Bazball says @sjamesjourno.bsky.social England's problem is poor technique and judgment.
(£) www.thetimes.com/sport/cricke...

Our five years of terror in Africa’s Islamic State From murder to forced marriages, villagers in Somalia recount the terror of life under Isis and their gradual return to normality

Puntland outpost grew to become one of biggest branches in Isis network. Atrocities many thought consigned to ruins of the last caliphate began to happen. Among Dhaadaar’s pop of about 500, not a single life was untouched by the cruelty of Isis’s reign.
(£) www.thetimes.com/world/africa...

Tale of cats v tigers that should worry us all AI slop can offer a welcome diversion but the tidal wave of online disinformation is designed to detach us from reality

Disinformation doesn’t exist only to fool you. It also exists to bore you, to confuse you, to befuddle you, to make you doubt yourself and everyone else. It exists to detach you from reality.
(£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
By @hugorifkind.bsky.social

Sorry, Ukraine, we’ve treated you shamefully After saying we’d back you for as long as it took, we were cowed by Putin and then grew tired

We encouraged you to fight for freedom, democracy, legality, sovereignty. Then let you down. We dithered & fantasised. Putin’s tinpot dictatorship proved determined & resilient. Russia has not yet beaten Ukraine. But it has beaten us.
(£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
By @edwardlucas.bsky.social