David Fell

America is growthier and techier but fatter, deadlier, drugier, gunnier, crashier and unequaler

www.economist.com/special-repo...
from The Economist

Underbridge, hightide, fullmoon, timelunch

UK Statistics Assembly 2025 Announcing the UK Statistics Assembly The UK Statistics Authority, in partnership with the Royal Statistical Society, is pleased to invite statistical users, producers and regulatory representatives t...

My team at the ONS is organising the first ever UK Statistics Assembly to discuss with users and producers, the country’s priorities and needs for statistics. Visit to register and complete the call for contributions ⬇

uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/uk-statistic...

STOP THE BATS

*some time later* oh no

An unexpected find in one of those boxes you forget about… Miners’ strike just ended, the ‘83 election still reverberating, and some bloke called Gorbachev has just become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union…

Germany’s far right will govern from the sidelines Moderate parties will refuse to form a coalition with the AfD after its success in Thuringia and Saxony. But that doesn’t mean the political centre is equipped to resist it

My take on the triumph of the far right in East Germany, and why far right extremists winning a state election is a dangerous first with far reaching ramifications well beyond Berlin. 👇👇

I made a ring-binder of twenty or so recipes that I knew they’d like and be inclined to make. Did it for both my sons, a few years ago now. They both got well-used, and even amended…

What would happen if we all abandoned Elon Musk’s toxic platform?

Twitter/X has become a cesspit of racism, bullying and unpleasantness. Has the time have come for a mass X-odus and shall we name the date?

By Alan Rusbridger
August 16, 2024

👉 www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he plans for America The presidential election is three months away. What if the billionaire contests the result? What if he decides democracy is over-rated?

A stark warning from @carolecadwalla.bsky.social, someone who knows. 👇👇

Just… genius.

Keir Starmer dodging Tory traps is a sign of good judgment, not timidity | Rafael Behr It is wise to hold back in a political culture that treats even dysfunctional Conservative rule as a benchmark of credibility, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

On the weird state of affairs where opposition expected to prove credibility by replicating failure of an unpopular government. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It unpacks the social psychological factors that increase our appetite for identity-affirming falsehoods, and how the alignment of social identities on America’s political right creates an efficient engine for “identity driven wrongness,” easily exploited by political & media elites.

The Red Road at Cap Martin, near Menton

The Red Road at Cap Martin, near Menton, 1884

https://botfrens.com/collections/41/contents/9992

The Road in Vetheuil in Winter

The Road in Vetheuil in Winter, 1879

https://botfrens.com/collections/41/contents/9275

close up of shells on a beach. a couple of big ones. other smaller ones and some fragments as sand.

It can be such a busy and stressful time of year. Here, if you need a break, is some gentle quiet to escape to. 37 minutes from a shell beach in Essex.

Episode 81. Rising tide in the rock garden - the sea wall near Bradwell-on-Sea
> bit.ly/LenBrad

Ukraine war: How TikTok fakes pushed Russian lies to millions The BBC uncovers a vast Russia-based network of fake TikTok accounts pushing disinformation about Ukraine.

A vast, covert Russian influence operation on TikTok involving 12,800 fake accounts spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine to millions of users in Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Israel and Ukraine, has been uncovered by BBC Verify and @dfrlab.bsky.social.

This is very smart. 👇

It's ORR stats day, and we have a new MOST used ...

🤔 Ever wonder how fireflies are able to find mates while flying in those chaotic clusters?

🔥 A new article from Nature by SFI’s @oritpeleg.bsky.social reveals new insights on the physics of firefly swarms!

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Just a reminder with the holiday season approaching: If you offer someone a drink and they say, "No thanks, I don't drink" the correct response is not, "Why not?" or "Come on, just one!" or anything else like that. The only correct response is, "No worries. Can I get you anything else?"

Ursula K. Le Guin — Ursula on Writing: A Rant about "Techonolgy" Ursula K. Le Guin on the presence of technology in her work

"A Rant About Technology"

The absolutely marvellous Ursula K. LeGuin packs so much into this short piece in terms of how we think about technology (especially what we consider high tech).

www.ursulakleguin.com/a-rant-about...

How can any of us move on from the pandemic in the face of Boris Johnson's contempt? | Rachel Clarke As a doctor, I will never forget those who died during Covid. Seeing Johnson lying to and dodging their families is sickening, says palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke

Rachel Clarke writes better than anyone alive about the Covid pandemic. Here she is on the cowardice and cruelty of our ex Prime Minister. Please read and circulate widely.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Slightly serious thing for a mo: UK primary schools have just 10 days left to apply for 30 free BBC micro:bits, pocket-sized computers that help teach digital creativity and coding. So if you are or know a primary teacher, spread the word! www.bbc.co.uk/teach/microb...

Not only predictable. Predicted.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Britain needs a way out of economic stagnation Without a solution, it will be impossible to solve the country’s other social and political problems

"The UK began the 20th century as Rome and the 21st as Italy" - Martin Wolf casts on an unsparing eye on the stagnant British economy www.ft.com/content/ba5d...