A cartoon from the 1950’s that’s more relevant than ever 💔

Its doubly galling because Starmer and Labour have (and not without reason) spent years insisting Reform curious voters should be respected and taken seriously. Then with the Greens they're all "LOL you've been taken in by those nutters, U morons, don't be daft." Its playground level ignorance.

This recent RCT of an "AI stethoscope" claims the technology "shows promise" for diagnosing cardiovascular conditions.

It does not.

It is a textbook example of the risks of conducting unprincipled 'per protocol analyses'. Once again, peer review at a major medical journal has failed.

🧵 1/

Perhaps because to decision makers public health= healthcare.
Seemingly concrete financial savings fit the accounting way of thinking better than nebulous benefits to health and wellbeing. Sounds more technocratic and gives sense of control. Intangibles harder to sell - a perpetual challenge.

It’s a dark night when you look at the news and are forced to admit that you no longer believe in the power of the FIFA peace prize

The President’s Busy Holiday Donald Trump spent the past few weeks doubling down on foreign interventions.

FIFA peace prize winner Donald Trump may bomb 3 or 4 countries this week: Nigeria for Christmas, Venezuela now, Syria, considering Iran, Somalia
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Horizon, the last of us, god of war, ghost of tsushima. All strong generic ps4 games with worthwhile sequels.

Enjoyed this blog! Chimed with similar issues I've been mulling over.
Something like... precarity causes people to develop heuristics to manage cognitive load which cause sub-optimal health decision making (when cognitive load is high). Might explain some inequalities in engagement with services.

China Can't Win Why Chaos Favors the Strong in the Coming Great Decoupling

Enjoyed that read and then came across this take which refutes the viability some of the propositions made:

open.substack.com/pub/campbell...

The obvious point here, which doesn't seem to have occurred to Jenrick, is that there has been a long history of white people moving out of ethnically mixed neighbourhoods. Refusing to integrate, if you will.

On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight.

The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.)

Direct democracy!

The truth about immigration Ageing societies seeking to preserve living standards will continue to rely on new arrivals — but governments can be clearer about the trade-offs

"Democracies risk falling into a doom loop, in which restrictions on immigration mean ever greater demands on the purse of the native-born population and ever worse services, which in turn deepens opposition towards immigration"

@stephenkb.bsky.social calls for honesty.

www.ft.com/content/43da...

Grug needs to go back to cave
Grug not like present times
Grug preferred it when things were easy
why can't life be normal, asks Grug

Nearly 900 fewer people injured since 20mph introduction in Wales Figures show a 25% reduction in the number of injuries on Wales' roads in the past 18 months.

Almost 900 fewer people have been injured on Welsh roads since the default speed limit was lowered from 30 to 20mph two years ago

Casualties on 20 to 30mph roads between July and September 2024 were the lowest for the three month-period since records began in 1979

👏 Evidence-led policy

UK savers have more than £614bn in excess cash Money that could be channelled into investments earning higher returns jumps by a third since 2022

Take this cash. Put it in "Britbonds" to fund a sovereign wealth fund: housing, infrastructure, enterprise investments. Guarantee a level of interest equal to an instant access saving account. Share returns between savers and taxpayers.

Better than giving it to fund managers.

on.ft.com/42pX45G

Possibly easy to end up in knots because if you say out loud "I want to stop fully-qualified researchers from doing small-scale work that they think is important and doesn't require approval from large funding bodies" it sounds more obviously wrong.

GMC examines doctor’s Reform speech linking vaccines to royal family cancer Medical bodies and prime minister condemn Aseem Malhotra’s ‘pseudo-science’ remarks at party conference

Years too late. Incredible that the GMC - whose entire raison d'être is upholding professional standards in UK medicine - has allowed Aseem Malhotra to spew out his toxic, dangerous, anti-scientific disinformation for so long.

Regulatory failure at its worst.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The Reform party conference has been told that Covid vaccines are the probable cause of cancer for the King and the Princess of Wales

The party chose to platform Dr Aseem Malhotra, a prominent ally of RFK Jr in their dangerous maverick campaigns against vaccines

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

Here it is osf.io/w2qpx

Plus the hot take that, at least above RDA (and based on reanalysis of the Nunes et al. 2022 data), protein intake barely matters for lean mass/muscle adaptation.

On holiday, I notice that there are wind turbines on the shore of Lake Garda, which very much makes me think that residents with a view of some incredibly mid Cotswold or other can put a sock in it.

Art of the Ersatz Deal

Master Plan Podcast · The Lever · A secret plot. A public theft. A democracy corrupted. Discover the truth on Master Plan, winner of the 2024 Signal Awards for News & Politics and Best Writing. Hosted by David S...

As discussed at length in this excellent podcast series
open.spotify.com/show/53PK9UJ... from @thelever.bsky.social

Mark Zuckerberg’s new house has strong “we won a five year planning battle with Alderley Edge council for permission to demolish the bungalow that used to stand here” vibes.

Great job on this programme!

I, Nazgûl Being clear-eyed and full-hearted doesn't mean being passive, weak, or silent. It means resisting every effort to supplant our autonomy of mind with symbols of

@spidermaani.bsky.social great post!

Reminds me of this: www.epsilontheory.com/i-nazgul/