Brexiteer Andy Wigmore: 1. Is one of the people who fled a compulsory quarantine in Switzerland and boasted about it on social media 2. Is just starting in the business of Covid testing. His company was just approved by the UK government.
Meet the Portuguese Sopranos: a tourist scam, drugs, corrupt cops, a chef, a criminal granny and "Pikachu" (thread) publico.pt/2020/12/28/soc…
A few years ago some international news outlets reported on a restaurant in Lisbon that would propose a "fresh" special not on the menu. When you got the bill you'd discover that a piece of codfish cost you 200 EUR, a beer 25 EUR, etc. english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/08…
"After four years, she was forced to leave Temple University for neighbouring UPenn after a dispute with her boss, who then attempted to have her deported"
A thread on the damages of excel: 1. Rogoff and Reinhart had found that high public debt hampers growth, a finding used to justify austerity cuts. They hadn't selected the entire row to average growth rates. In fact, growth is *higher* at 90% public debt theconversation.com/the-reinhart-r…
Because of a mistake in a spreadsheet, JP Morgan Chase wrongly reported 6 *billion* in losses in 2013, possibly leading to a 600 mio fine google.com/amp/s/qz.com/1…
MI5 bugged 134 telephone numbers that were irrelevant to any investigation because a spreadsheet wrongly formatted the last 3 numbers theguardian.com/government-com…
Daily covid cases in the Netherlands by age group. Data source: RIVM buff.ly/33s9b4j
Based on the same dataset (111'000 obs): probability of hospitalisation of confirmed Covid cases in the Netherlands, by age group and gender. 80+ less likely to go to hospital, either because in care home, or treatment too invasive?
And here the case fatality rate by age group and gender.
Few unscientific observations about the use of face masks in NL after the government issued a "strong recommendation" to wear them:
- Shops, cafés and facilities that are part of large chains either recommend them explicitly or require them
- Small or independent shops don't
Aside: where do I buy a face mask that says "IT'S USELESS IF YOU DON'T WEAR IT OVER YOUR NOSE"
Other unscientific observations: all these arguments about culture/aversion to face masks etc. don't really work. Everybody relies on one actor (the government) to establish rules and guidance. If the the rules change, people change their behaviour.