Category Archives: statistics

Criminal Bankers and Their Keep-Out-Of-Jail Card

Posted on April 27, 2023 by odeboyz

“….more than 17,600 other record[s]… allegedly show how senior banking officials allowed fraudsters to move money [£1.5 trillion] between accounts in the knowledge that the funds were being generated or used criminally. Five global banks were named in the investigation: … Continue reading →

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Premium Bonds Ride Again

Posted on April 13, 2023 by odeboyz

Premium Bonds were introduced by Harold MacMillan in 1956.1 His insight was inventing a gamble where you could get your stake back, in full: Neo-gambling, as it were. MacMillan’s Premium – note the word – Bonds had monthly ‘prizes’ instead … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Mike Davis ~ Planet of Slums (2006)

Posted on September 19, 2022 by odeboyz

For a smug Westerner like me this book is a punch in the face. Britain is currently, September 2022, obsessed by massive increases in energy bills. I too whine and demand support from the government to maintain my entitlements. Clearly, … Continue reading →

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Rishi Sunak: Scourge of the Middle Classes

Posted on May 5, 2022 by odeboyz

Chancellor Sunak has increased taxation from income, which will alienate Conservative middle-class voters. Problem? No way. Adroit political footwork and the magic of inflation will square the political circle. Quietly, without fanfare, and with deadly efficiency Sunak created additional income … Continue reading →

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Life Expectancy, Health Care and Lifestyle Choices

Posted on March 31, 2022 by odeboyz

The USA spends the greatest amount of money per capita on health care. This hasn’t translated into the highest life expectancy. Their life expectancy lags behind poorer countries. Pure medical solutions compete with the lifestyles of their population. If a … Continue reading →

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Institutional Police Racism and Section 60 ‘Stop and Search’

Posted on March 24, 2022 by odeboyz

In a bid to help the police tackle knife crime, in 2019 the government relaxed guidance on Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, enabling police to stop and search people without suspicion or ‘reasonable grounds’. … Continue reading →

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Thirteen Ships and Thirty-six Admirals: The Royal Navy, 2022

Posted on March 17, 2022 by odeboyz

“Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves:“Britons never will be slaves.”1 The Royal Navy guaranteed British independence for centuries. The last successful invasion of Britain was in 1688 by the Dutch, who’d made sure they got a good reception when they … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, statistics, War | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

George Osborne, The Age of Austerity and Children

Posted on January 24, 2022 by odeboyz

Osborne, the chancellor, caused alarm and anger when he talked about the unfairness of a “shift-worker” leaving for work early in the morning who looks up and sees “the closed blinds of their next door neighbour sleeping off a life … Continue reading →

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Globalisation and Pandemics

Posted on December 9, 2021 by odeboyz

Globalization, population growth, and urbanization have facilitated the transmission of infectious diseases. The complexity of global travel and global integration mean that any “patient zero” is now but a few degrees of separation from formerly isolated communities. According to medical … Continue reading →

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The Institutional Failure of Disadvantaged Students

Posted on November 18, 2021 by odeboyz

School leaders are best placed to assess their pupils’ needs and use the funding to improve attainment, drawing on evidence of effective practice. It is up to school leaders to decide how to spend the pupil premium.1 ‘Closing the attainment … Continue reading →

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