Denis Sheshko

From age to job title, to the type of cigarette they choose, the latest statistics tell us everything about Britain's smokers. Who are they?

See smoking photos contributed by you on GuardianWitness

People in the UK who aren't in work (but are seeking it) are twice as likely to smoke as those with jobs. New smoking statistics reveal much more than that though. Ever wondered if men are more likely to smoke roll-ups than women? How the number of smokers has changed since the 1970s? If divorcees smoke more than married people? Get all the answers here.

Forty years of fags

Tobacco trends have shown a decline since 1974 (the small blip in 1998 was because the government changed their counting method) so that the overall proportion of Brits that smoke has more than halved from what it was - 45% in 1974 to 20% today.

A few smoking policies might have played a role:

2006: Public smoking ban
2007: Age of sale raised from 16 to 18
2008: Printed warnings on packaging
2012: Tobacco displays banned (Wales)

Unemployed people 2x more likely to smoke

Those UK averages may have dropped, but a closer look at the data reveals how smokers aren't distributed equally throughout British society. 39% of unemployed people smoke, compared to just 21% of the population as a whole. That figure rises higher still for Britain's young unemployed; 1 in 2 jobless 25-34 year olds smoke.

... and single people 2x more likely than married people to smoke

Barack Obama recently said his wife scared him into quitting smoking - today's statistics suggest many British spouses may have had a similar experience.

27% of singletons smoke, compared to just 14% of married people - and those trends are consistent across every age group. But it looks like some people in relationships may take up the habit again once their partner is gone - 22% of widowers, divorcees and separated couples are smokers.

If people still associate smoking with stress-relief, then cohabiting must be an anxious time since 1 in 3 people who live with their partners smoke.

11.5 cigarettes per day

It's not just that fewer people are smoking, the number of cigarettes smoked each day is dropping too. In 1974, men averaged 18 cigarettes a day, while women were smoking 13. Today, that gap has closed as men smoke 12 and for women it's 11.

Recession roll-ups?

The rising price of cigarettes is probably affecting buying habits too. These days, 1 in 3 smokers don't buy ready-made cigarettes in packets. Although there's a big gender difference here - 38% of men who smoke choose roll-ups, compared to just 24% of women.

Age is also important. Maybe older people can't be bothered to use roll-ups or they can afford not to. If they're over 60, 81% of female smokers buy packet cigarettes, compared to 57% of 16 to 24 year olds.

7% of pregnant women still smoke

Despite the health warnings on packets and government awareness campaigns, 7% of women who are expecting a child continue to smoke throughout their pregnancy. Although there is positive news in the fact that 31% of pregnant women describe themselves as ex-smokers (compared to 23% of non-pregnant women).

Heavy smokers

It's a habit that is increasingly stigmatized - so what do we know about Britain's heavy smokers?

They're more likely to be men - 5% of men smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day (the threshold for being defined as a heavy smoker), compared to 3% of women. They're also more likely to be older - most heavy smokers are between 35 and 59 years of age. Just 1% of 16-19 year olds smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day.

People in jobs classed as 'routine and manual' were also likely to smoke 5 extra cigarettes each day than those in 'high managerial' roles (14 compared to 9). Although in 2012 that gap closed to a difference of 3 cigarettes.

Why do these numbers matter?

In England alone, 80,000 people die each year as a result of smoking. The government is keen to understand who smokes to better encourage behaviour change. That's why it's important that they know things like 33% of bar staff and delivery drivers smoke, compared to 14% of teachers.

Do you think these statistics accurately capture the facts about the smokers you know? What do you think smoking trends will look like in another 40 years time? Share your views below

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Чтобы не забыть русский язык, я время от времени перевожу интересные тексты. Текст ниже (via Brad De`Long)) принадлежит сэру Роберту Скудельскому, известному специалисту по истории экономики и политической экономии. Оригинал статьи можно найти тут.

Русский Янус
Роберт Скидельский
Project Synidicate, пятница 20 сентября

Россия показывает миру два противоположных лица: угрожающее и благосклонное. Оба несколько неожиданно объединились, чтобы остановить сползание Соединенных Штатов, а возможно, и других западных держав, в катастрофическое военное вмешательство в Сирии.

Внутренняя ситуация в России остается печальной. После коллапса плановой экономики в 1991 году Россия оказалась не столько развитой, сколько неправильно развитой страной, неспособной продать большую часть своих продуктов на свободном рынке.

Поэтому Россия была отброшена назад в сырьевую экономику, продавая в основном энергию, в то время как ее талантливые ученые и инженеры ищут работу за границей, а ее интеллектуальная жизнь загнивает. Россия также, что неудивительно, поражена коррупцией, которая отталкивает иностранные инвестиции и стоит стране ежегодно миллиарды долларов.

Это системное бессилие было замаскировано высокими ценами на энергоносители, которые за 14 лет правления Президента Владимира Путина позволили России соединять черты клептократии с ростом подушевого дохода, достаточным, чтобы успокоить недовольство и создать рвущийся к потреблению средний класс. Накопления, полученные от нефтегазовой промышленности, могут быть использованы для развития крайне необходимой инфраструктуры. Однако несмотря на разговоры Кремля о диверсификации, Россия остается страной с латиноамериканской, а не западной, структурой экономики.

Российская политика столь же печальна. Если у западной внешней политики есть объединяющий принцип, то это защита прав человека. Этот принцип ни в малейшей степени не влияет на внутреннюю или внешнюю политику российского правительства. Вместо этого Путин под лозунгом "управляемой демократии" установил мягкую диктатуру, в которой закон беззастенчиво используется для политических целей, а когда закона недостаточно, государство идет на убийства.

Что касается прав человека, которые особенно уважаются на Западе: прав несогласных и меньшинств, включая сексуальные меньшинства, - Россия кажется настроенной на совершенно другую волну. Независимые неправительственные организации преследуются и объявляются "иностранными агентами". Путин заигрывает с самыми реакционными силами России, ограничивая права геев законами, от которых западные страны отказались много лет назад.

Решение позволить оппозиционному лидеру Алексею Навальному участвовать в недавних выборах мэра Москвы может приветствоваться как шаг к более открытой системе, но политические расчеты, стоящие за этим решением, а также вероятные махинации с целью не допустить второго тура выборов едва ли свидетельствуют о превращении Путина из Савла в Павла демократии. Режим Путина занимает место между диктатурой и демократией, место, для которого Западная политическая наука еще не нашла подходящего термина.

Но возможно, что безразличие России к правам человека является источником ее силы, а не слабости. Проблема с защитой прав человека в том, что ее сторонники отрываются от действительности, а внешняя политика России демонстрирует консервативную осторожность. Ее реализм, разделяемый Китаем, является поэтому важным противовесом неумеренному стремлению Запада вмешиваться во внутренние дела стран, которые не соответствуют объявленным стандартам.

Хороший пример - ситуация в Сирии. Нет сомнений в том, что 21 августа под Дамаском химическое оружие использовалось для убийства сотен гражданских лиц. Все детали пока неясны - возможно, они никогда не будут выяснены. Вероятно, хотя и не на сто процентов, что зарин использовался режимом Президента Башира аль Ассада.

Однако в недавней газетной статье Путин задал вопрос, который, несомненно, приходил в голову многим: зачем было бы режиму применять химическое оружие на глазах всего мира? Путин предположил, что атака могла быть "провокацией" противников Ассада. Я не утверждаю, что знаю правильный ответ; но, как и в любом уголовном расследовании, всегда полезно начинать с мотивов вероятных подозреваемых. Кому это выгодно?

Верно, что русские склонны подозревать везде заговоры, как это часто бывает в странах с непрозрачной структурой власти. Но также верно, что сирийское государство не настолько подчинено президенту, насколько, например, было египетское государство при Хосни Мубараке. Если даже отбросить предположение Путина о "провокации", возможно, что химическое оружие использовали независимые элементы сирийской армии, чью причастность Ассад вынужден отрицать, чтобы остаться у власти.

Разумеется, Путин может знать, о чем он говорит. Многие россияне убеждены, что взрывы домов в сентябре 1999 года, когда погибло почти 300 человек, были спланированы кем-то внутри российских спецслужб, чтобы спровоцировать реакцию против чеченцев и привести Путина к президентству в результате популярной войны. До сегодняшнего дня неизвестно, кто стоял за этими взрывами.

Дело в том, что при политической системе настолько непрозрачной, как сирийская - или российская - никто по-настоящему не знает, кто что контролирует. Удивительно, что политические наследники тех, кто уверенно начал вторжение в Ирак на основе ложных сведениях о наличии у Саддама Хуссейна оружия массового поражения, оказываются настолько готовыми плюхнуться в новый кровавый водоворот. Они были спасены от этой ошибки, по крайней мере временно, предложением Путина поместить химическое оружие Сирии под международный контроль, а затем уничтожить его. Есть серьезные практические трудности в достижении этого, и российское предложение, с которым согласился Президент Барак Обама, не удовлетворяет требованию Запада о наказании. Но оно остановило сползание к военному вмешательству. Естественно, свою роль в этих маневрах сыграли геополитические соображения. Россия поддерживает шиитские правительства Ирана и Сирии, чтобы обеспечить собственное влияние на Ближнем Востоке в противовес поддерживаемым Соединенными Штатами суннитским правителям Саудовской Аравии и стран Залива, которые меньше угрожают Израилю. Однако похоже, что, что Путин спас Обаму от ошибки, которая угрожала его президентству. Он мог бы ожидать за это политическую награду. Но вряд ли он ее получит.

The biggest loss-making cars in Europe

CARMAKERS in Europe are facing a rough ride, with sales at a 17-year low region-wide. So it seems cruel of Sanford C. Bernstein, a brokerage, to remind them of their biggest commercial wrecks. Most major makers suffered billions in losses. Yet not all cars failed by accidents of poor design, ill-judged technological leaps or wildly optimistic production forecasts. VW knew its Bugatti Veyron, a quick and complex supercar made in tiny numbers, would not make money but hoped it might burnish the brand. Daimler believed it could transfer know-how from its sleek executive saloons to small cars. It did—but it brought the same high costs too: its Smart Fortwo had the biggest loss. Renault produced reasonable cars but was overly optimistic about sales. Fiat failed to compete with the VW Golf. As for tomorrow’s pile-ups? Bernstein reckons that the latest bunch of electric cars could some day join the list.

Буквально на днях картину можно будет увидеть в кинотеатрах IMAX, а со следующей недели выйдет в широкий прокат «Гравитация» Альфонсо Куарона. «Афиша» поговорила с режиссером о его фильме, эволюции Сандры Баллок и любви к русским космонавтам... Читать дальше

British fathers are more likely to be in employment than their childless counterparts. But when it comes to women, having a child reduces your chances of being in work. We look at the data for every age group to see what's happening

We've read plenty of statistics about the persistent pay gap between men and women in the UK - but what about the gap between employees with and without children? The latest findings from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that having children increases the chances of men finding work but has a totally different effect on women.

Men with children 1.4x more likely to work than those without

The Labour Force Survey looked at the percentage of men and women in employment and saw how those rates changed if those individuals were parents. The gaps are striking.

Whether men are 22 or 42, having children means that they are more likely to be in employment - whereas the exact reverse is true for women. That doesn't mean that the gaps are consistent across age groups though. The difference is most visible for men aged 16-24 where not having a child makes it more likely they'll be in education. For women, the differences in employment are clearest between mothers and non-mothers aged 25-34.

Lone mothers are less likely to work than those in couples

Those averages also conceal another important trend - the difference between lone parents and those in couples. There aren't any statistics on lone fathers but for lone mothers, it's clear that the chances of being in employment are lowest when children are younger. The gap closes as children get older, but even when they're at a secondary school age, there's still 5.5 percentage points between women in couples who are working and those who are lone parents.

1 in 2 women in Birmingham are in work

Another caveat here: it's not the same picture across the country. In Northern Ireland, 62% of women are in employment but that figure climbs to 70% in the East of England.

When you drill down to even smaller areas than those regions, the gaps get bigger. The Orkney Islands have the highest proportion of women in work - 79% compared to just 50% of women in Birmingham. With a female employment rate of 61%, inner London is behind the UK average of 66%.

How do we compare to other EU countries?

On average, 1 in 3 senior management roles in the EU is held by a woman. Latvia tops the women power list though, with 45% of employees in the highest jobs being female. Just ahead of the EU average, 34.8% of senior managers in the UK are women - while at the bottom of the list, it's just 18% in Luxembourg and 16% in Cyprus.

Picture so far

It's worth taking a look at the full data release to see just how the employment gap is changing. Here are some other numbers:

SKILLS GAP?
• In 2013, 37% of men were employed in 'upper middle skilled' roles compared with 18% of women. 46% of women were employed in lower middle skilled roles compared with 24% of men.
NO.
• Those gaps persisted, even when the ONS compared male and female graduates with similar qualifications.
TOP EARNERS
• When the ONS looked at the people receiving the highest 10% of salaries, it found that 69% of them were men. But the gap is highest for the older generation - 73% of those getting the best pay who are aged over 40 are men but that figure falls to 55% for those aged 16-24.
A SHRINKING GAP
• In 1971, 92% of men were in work compared to just 53% of women. Over the past 42 years, men's employment has fallen while women's has risen - so today, 76% of men and 67% of women are in work.

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Which words did Ed Miliband mention the most during his speech at the 2013 Labour conference? We've deconstructed the speech to pull out this year's key political terms

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"We're Britain, we're better than this". That phrase or variations of it were repeated 17 times during Ed Miliband's speech. Which other words were worth repeating?

Race to government

Contrasting Miliband's buzzwords to Nick Clegg's last week shows just how the different leaders' speaking styles contrast. The most Clegg repeated any five word phrase was three times "to score points against us".

Milband's had two five word phrase that he used nine times throughout his hour long speech. The first was "win a race to the".

"A race to the what?" You may ask. Well that second phrase used nine times was "a race to the top". Interestingly, that was shortly followed by its converse "a race to the bottom", which was used eight times.

Miliband tended to use both in repeated succession to emphasise that the Tories wanted a race to the bottom and Labour wanted a race to the top. As you can see below:

Now, to make Britain better we have got to win a race to the top, not a race to the bottom. A race to the top which means that other countries will buy our goods the companies will come and invest here and that will create the wealth and jobs we need for the future but we are not going to be able to do it easily.

That's what we will do: the next Labour government will strengthen the minimum wage to make work pay for millions in our country. That's how we win the race to the top. And to win that race to the top we've got to call a halt to the race to the bottom, between workers already here and workers coming here.

Slightly varying a phrase to emphasise a point was also in evidence around "Britain can do better than" and "Britain we are better than..."

When you count the most repeated three-word phrases, one of the ones that sticks out is "the voices of", which appeared eleven times throughout the speech.

Miliband also signaled which voices he sees as important: "millions of ordinary people", "individual working people", "call centre workers", "construction workers", "people that haven't been heard for a long time", "young people demanding a job", "young people who demand we shoulder...our responsibility to the environment", "gay and lesbian young people", "particularly young women".

What got the applause?

Over 15 minutes of Miliband's speech was met with applause from the audience. But it wasn't the repeated phrases which got the Labour audience going, but the key policy moments or statements of intent.

The best-received bit of the speech came about 47 minutes in, when Miliband said the following:

"It's the same old story; we rescue the NHS, they wreck the NHS, and we'll have to rescue it all over again – that is what the next Labour government will do."

Not only did this get the Labour leader a standing ovation it got him 37 seconds of clapping time. The party made Miliband's statement that he would be "the Prime Minister who repeals the bedroom tax" a close runner up with 33 seconds of applause time.

The Labour leader mentioned both the Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and Scottish Labour leader Joanne Lamont. Who came out the best? Jones got 8.1 seconds of applause, which was 0.7 seconds more than Lamont.

People, Britain, Government

Britain, Britain, Britain. When you take commonly used words like 'it', 'there', 'of' and 'a' away from Miliband's speech, the word 'Britain', used 55 times, is the second most popular word after 'people', used 70 times.

In Nick Clegg's speech last week he used 'Britain' 14 times, which is just under a quarter of the rate at which Miliband deployed the word.

Next up was 'government', which was used 37 times and therefore one more time than Clegg used it in his speech. Miliband's "not under my government", repeated five times, attempted to lay out what a country under his leadership would look like.

He said 'David' 12 times throughout the speech but unfortunately for those who wanted to see the flame of Miliband's filial feud kept alive, all were in reference to the Prime Minister David Cameron.

Take a look at the table below to see all words used more than eleven times:

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The leader of the Labour party has just finished delivering his speech at their annual conference. We're setting aside the ongoing debate about his oratory skills to focus on whether his numbers hold up under the spotlight

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As the Labour party conference 2013 reaches its climax, we look at the key speech delivered by the leader Ed Miliband. There have already been a few raised eyebrows - of happy surprise and unhappy scepticism - about the promise to freeze energy prices until 2017.

So we thought we should analyse a different number, one that could also be a big vote-winner in 2015: the availability of housing. Miliband said:

by the end of the parliament Britain will be building 200,000 homes a year, more than at any time in a generation

The online audience immediately seemed curious about this number:

And so were we. This is our initial analysis which we'll be updating as we look into the statistic in more detail.

Most houses a generation has ever seen

We rarely use the word 'generation' on the data team because it's a word with a constantly shifting definition - which is one of the reasons government statistics don't use it either. But for arguments sake, let's just say a generation is 30 years, based on the average age women in the UK give birth to their first child.

We pulled up the latest statistics on completed houses ("permanent dwellings" according to the Department for Communities and Local Government) to see how the past three decades look. We assumed that Miliband was talking about the UK, although regional breakdowns are available.

Their numbers show that the 200,000 new homes a year promise would exceed all records for the past three decades - but only if 'private enterprise' as a type of tenure is excluded from the list. But do the low numbers for housing associations and local authorities - which don't add up to more than 55,000 in any given year - suggest that the policy isn't realistic?

We've reproduced the figures so far - next, we'll look at the potential cost of the policy and whether it seems viable.

Price of construction

This part of the fact check becomes slightly more difficult, partly because the price of constructing a home is not consistent across all areas of the UK and partly because we don't know what those prices will be in 2020, the year that Labour aim to have delivered on this pledge.

What we do know, from DCLG statistics (see sources below) is that when 1,610 new homes were built by housing authorities in England in 2012-13, they spent £3,731m on housing. There's even a breakdown of why that amounts to so much - 'acquisition of land & existing buildings' costs £157m, 'vehicles, plant machinery & equipment' cost local government around £38m but by far the largest chunk was the £2,448m spent on 'new construction, conversion & renovation'. So that doesn't mean it cost £3,731 told build those homes but it's hard to distinguish between the different types of housing costs they've published.

Now we need to do our sums based on data that's virtually non-existent.

Let's say that 1,610 homes cost £2,448m. That works out at the frankly astounding cost of around £1.5m per home. So we looked at another source - the annual construction statistics (also in the source list below).

That showed that 1,300 units of public housing being built in 2012 with a value of £1,776m (note, it's value - not cost). It's a lower figure but still a pretty shocking £1.4m. What's happening here - are we missing something?

If we were to assume that local authorities will be responsible for the construction of all of the 200,000 new homes (they won't) and that prices will be the same in 2020 (they won't) then that would mean that even on a conservative estimate, the government would spend £280bn a year on those new homes. Given that last year the total government spend was £700bn, those sums clearly aren't right.

Do you know of any better sources? We would be particularly keen to hear from any Labour party officials who might be able to tell us what they've based their numbers on - it would be great to update these flaky predictions with facts.

Sources: check Reality Check

Here's where we try to stay transparent about where we got our facts and give you the resources you need to carry on checking them:
• Live tables on house building, DCLG, last updated August 2013
• Construction Statistics - No. 14, 2013 Edition, Office for National Statistics
• Local Authority Capital Expenditure and Receipts, England, DCLG

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Are we asking the right questions? Do you have alternative sources that could improve this piece? We're ready to listen to your views and suggestions - here's how to make them heard:

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Last year the number of local bus journeys in London overtook the figure for the rest of England. While bus travel in the capital continues to stay strong, is the rest of England bored of buses?

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Local bus journeys in London have fallen by 0.6% this year. But the bigger 2.5% drop for the rest of England means that bus journeys in London now make up the majority of bus travel in the country.

The latest figures from the Department for Transport showed that 4.6bn local bus journeys were made in England during 2012/13 with 2.4bn of those taking place within London's borders.

Bus travel in England has declined 6.2% from 2008/9, the year that free concessionary travel was introduced. The joint-report by the Office for National Statistics and the DfT also points out that this was the year the economic downturn began.

Relatively speaking though, bus travel in London has flourished. It has grown by 3.9% since 2008/9 and by 28.4% since 2004/5 when 1.8bn journeys were made in the capital.

Public funding for buses in London was upped considerably in the mid '90s, which started a growth trend that wasn't consistent with the rest of the country.

Local travellers shun buses

While in London there are 279 local bus journeys for every resident, the rest of England has an average of just 51. So it seems bus travel is just not the ticket for residents in many local authorities.

The area with the least bus journeys per head was the tiny county of Rutland, which had just 2.7 journeys for every resident (1/100th of London's rate) although the small population may distort the figures there. The other places with lower proportions of bus travel tended to be rural areas such as Windsor and Maidenhead.

Outside London, Nottingham and Brighton had the highest number of journeys per resident with both coming in around 160 - over three times the average for all authorities outside London.

The low car ownership in both those places and the tendency for bus travel to be lower in rural areas adds weight to the report's argument that there is a noticeable correlation between increased bus travel and lower car ownership.

What's stopping us using buses?

As noted before the report points out that there was a rise in bus transport in 2008/9 following the introduction of free concessionary travel. Also, 2008/9 was the year when the financial crisis really began to take hold.

As it stands, about a third of bus journeys in England are taken by concessionary travelers. However, those that have to pay have been continually hit by fare rises above inflation. That trend continued in 2012/13 with an an average fare rise of 4.7% for Englanders both outside and inside the capital.

Do increased fares mean better service? 82.8% of buses are judged to have been "on time" in regions outside London, which means they arrived between one minute early and 5.59 minutes late. This was a 0.1 percentage point drop drop on last year but a a 3.4 point increase on 2009/10.

Passengers in Darlington faced the most waits for their buses in 2012/13. Over a third of buses in the North East town were judged to have been late.

Bus providers and accessibility

Bus journeys are the only option for some passengers in major cities due to the lack of disabled access on other modes of transport such as the underground.

In London, 97% of buses have been given accessibility certificates, which confirm the bus conforms with anti-discrimination regulations. In the rest of England, only 71% of the bus fleet have got the same certification.

However, the situation is much improved on 2004 when just one in five buses outside of London had accessibility certification.

It is also worth noting that when un-certificated buses with low-floor-access for wheelchairs are added to the total then 91% of buses across England could be deemed wheelchair accessible.

Can you do more with this data?

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The latest national statistics on our professional lives show that from pay to training, we're more satisfied than we were a decade ago. What does a closer look at the numbers tell us?

78.5% of employed people in the UK said they were more satisfied than dissatisfied with their jobs. But in 2005, just 70% of people said the same. Has the rise in unemployment meant that those with jobs are simply more grateful? What else do the numbers tell us about our work-life balance?

82% of Brits never volunteer

In 2010/11, the UK Household Longitudinal Survey asked people how often they volunteered for unpaid work. Over 8 in 10 people said they had never or almost never done any voluntary work.

But that doesn't necessarily suggest an individualistic country - those who do volunteer are likely to do it regularly. 9.1% of people say they do voluntary work at least once a week compared to just 1.7% of people who do it once a year or less.

10% think they have a good work-life balance

Just 1 in 10 employees strongly agree when asked if they've struck the right balance between their professional and personal lives - although that figure is slightly lower for men (0.8 in 10) and higher for women (1.3 in 10).

The sector also makes a difference - reporting a healthy work-life balance is less common in the public sector than the private sector. The voluntary sector has the lowest fraction where just 4% of people strongly agree that they have the right balance.

Bothered by bosses

In a separate survey also released today, people were asked about the things that make them stressed at work. 1 in 3 respondents said "frustration with poor management" - the second highest response for the 1,939 people interviewed was "excessive workload".

Job security falling

So it might seem strange work satisfaction is on the rise, despite those levels of stress. But a closer look reveals that it's a bit more complicated than that. Although the statistics show that overall satisfaction levels are increasing, once you peel away the different types of responses, you'll spot that those who say they are "completely satisfied" make up a much smaller fraction, and a shrinking one. In 2009/10 18.5% of people were wholly satisfied with their jobs, but a year later this had fallen to 16.9%.

More tellingly, there's a breakdown for the different sources of satisfaction. It's there that the statistics indicate the effect of the financial crisis - the only aspect of job satisfaction to have fallen since 2004 is job security. Back then, 64% said they were satisfied with their job security, now it's 59%.

Do you think the latest numbers are a reliable snapshot of our working lives? Share your views and suggest other numbers worth considering.

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It can be difficult to imagine the scale of planets and moons, because (1) they're really big and (2) they're far away. From where we are, the stars look pretty small, but in reality, they shiny objects might be several times larger than our own planet. In this straightforward interactive, Brian Lukis shows how planet and moon sizes compare. Simply select between the apparent view and the absolute to see how perspective seemingly changes size.

The shadow chancellor Ed Balls has delivered his speech at the Labour party conference 2013. We're fact-checking some of the numbers being used to justify their "better way" for the economy - are paid jobs for all too good to be true?

Read the speech in full
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The shadow chancellor Ed Balls has just stepped down from the podium at the Labour Party annual conference where he delivered his speech on the party's economic plans for 2015.

There weren't many numbers cited in the speech. But perhaps that is to be expected when, as Ed Balls admitted "we can't write all the details of our first Budget today – when we don't know the state of the economy and public finances that we will inherit". So what can we say about the viability of promises that were delivered today?

Two pledges stand out as key, not just in winning votes at the next general election but also in terms of the impact they will have on government finances. They were stated like this:

we will introduce a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee for young people and the long-term unemployed

we will guarantee childcare available for all primary school children from 8am to 6pm

For now, we will be taking a look at how feasible those pledges seem, but do suggest others you would like to see checked.

Jobs guarantee

This is not the first time that the Shadow Chancellor has proposed a jobs guarantee. In a speech at Thomson Reuters in June this year, he described the policy as "a paid job for every young person out of work for 12 months or more and over 25 unemployed for over two years – which they will be obliged to take or face losing benefits".

That policy is one of several which the Conservatives claim adds up to a £27.9bn "black hole" of unfunded spending commitments.

So the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Sajid Javid has estimated even before today's speech that a jobs guarantee would cost government £1,540 million - and that a youth jobs guarantee would cost a further £1,040 million. Since they (like us) don't know what unemployment will be in 2015/16, their calculations about the spending "black hole" are based on freedom of information requests to HM Treasury. We'll be reading those in full to see if that costing seems right.

Update 1: Reliable, if selective statistics

When HMT investigated the cost of a jobs guarantee for all, they were fully transparent about how they reached theirs numbers - the problem is that the Conservatives only published some of them.

So, here's how they got to £1.54 bn:
1. To get the "unit cost" of providing a job for someone, they used figures from the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) a government initiative to get unemployed people into work which was introduced in 2009 and scrapped in 2012. Using FJF figures, they put the cost at about £6,850 per person (the person is the unit in this case). That's based on a full-time job at national minimum wage for six months.

2. They then multiplied this by 12,314 - that's the average number of over-25s that reach 2 years on the claimant count each month. Those new additions are known as the 'through flow'. They put the number of people who have already been claiming benefits for two years at 89,750 and call this the 'stock'.

3. Then they basically take the total number of individuals (12,314 x 11 months) + 89,750 and multiply it by the unit cost to get £1,542,647,400.00

It's a similar calculation to work out the cost of getting all young people into work. So is Ed Balls pledge one that will cost the UK government more than it can afford? Maybe, but here's what that Conservative budget analysis failed to mention:

1. The FOI made a "comparison with current system" to work out if the policy will result in extra spending or extra saving. It said: "Over the next five years Government is investing £3-5bn to deliver specialist support to 2.4m of the longer term unemployed and most vulnerable jobseekers through the Work Programme". That means £1.54bn a year is a misleading claim - it should have been an estimate of "an extra £0.54 to £0.94bn per year".

2. More importantly, it made no mention of any possible financial benefits to government of introducing the scheme - those benefits might not even be offset by the costs of the project. Using the same project - the highly contentious Future Jobs Fund - as the basis for working out the cost effectiveness of Ed Balls' proposal today, could result in "a net benefit to society of approximately £7,750 per participant". That was the assessment made by the Department for Work and Pensions in their detailed analysis of FJF in November 2012. They also found a net benefit to participants of approximately £4,000 and that costs to the exchequer of roughly £3,100 per participant.

It's clearly a complicated picture - not least because the most important part, knowing how many people will be eligible for the scheme in 2015, simply isn't known. What is clear though is that the jury is still out on the FJF, making it a very contentious source for calculating the cost of Labour's latest budget plans.

Next, we'll be taking a look at their childcare promises. In the meantime, here's a snipped of the shadow chancellor's speech in Brighton today:

Update 2: Free childcare

What about the proposal to extend free childcare from 15 to 25 hours a week? Well it seems that the shadow chancellor attempted to head off criticism on the "black hole" consequences of that particular policy by mentioning it in the same breath as plans to "increase the bank levy rate to raise an extra £800 million a year".

So, the question is, does the implication (that 10 extra hours of free childcare will cost around £800 million a year) stand up?

The Government already increased this figure from 12.5 hours per week in 2010 to 15 hours per week (for a maximum of 38 weeks) - but those free childcare places are, and would remain, available for 3 and 4 years olds only. We want to find out how much that specific policy costs. So far, we've only been able to find an estimate from the Department for Education (DfE) that the 15-hour policy costs government around £3bn per year.

If costs don't change* when the government increases free childcare, then you would expect an additional 10 hours per week to cost the government an extra £2bn. That would mean that even if government could raise an extra £800 million from upping the bank levy (a claim it's difficult for us to verify), they would still be £1.2bn short of the money needed to make that budget plan a reality.

* But here's that asterisk again: costs often do change with volume. In economics jargon, the "marginal costs" might fall when you supply more - meaning that the £2bn we've estimated above is too high. We'd need much more detailed information than even the DfE appear to have on things like how many parents would to take up the 25 hour offer and whether schools could cope with their existing infrastructure.

Mickey mouse

The full speech has since been published on the Labour party website and we've copied and pasted it here. The warning "check against delivery" shouldn't be ignored - the written text makes no mention of Balls apparently improvised gibe at Prime Minister David Cameron.

Didn't you feel a little sorry for our Prime Minister this summer? Didn't you? Back in August, on the beach, changing into his swimming trunks, behind that Mickey Mouse towel, captured on cameras, unflattering pictures spread across the national press... I just thought for a Prime Minister, it was a surprisingly small towel

We won't be reality checking the apparent insinuation the Shadow Chancellor makes there.

Checking Reality Check

Here's where we try to stay transparent about where we got our facts and give you the resources you need to carry on checking them:

• 'Budget 2015', Sajid Javid, September 2013
• FOI requests, HM Treasury, 20 September 2013
• Impacts and Costs and Benefits of the Future Jobs Fund, DWP, November 2012
• 'The Future Jobs Fund worked. But we shouldn't bring it back – we can do even better', Tony Wilson, 24 November 2012
• 'The Future Jobs Fund: what a waste', National Institute for Economic and Social Research, November 2012
• 'Tax-Free Childcare: consultation on design and operation', HMT and HMRC, August 2013
• 'More great childcare', Department for Education, January 2013

Contribute to this blog

Are we asking the right questions? Do you have alternative sources that could improve this piece? We're ready to listen to your views and suggestions - here's how to make them heard:

• Post a comment below
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Вся моя бригада в швейном цехе работает по 16-17 часов в день. С 7.30 до 0.30. Сон — в лучшем случае часа четыре в день. Выходной случается раз в полтора месяца. Почти все воскресенья — рабочие. Осужденные пишут заявления на выход на работу в выходной с формулировкой «по собственному желанию». На деле, конечно, никакого желания нет. Но эти заявления пишутся в приказном порядке по требованию начальства и зэчек, транслирующих волю начальства.

Это из письма Толоконниковой с зоны. Страшное письмо вообще, так что крепко подумайте, прежде чем идти по ссылке.

Надеюсь, она выживет и не сломается. Мужества ей.

Проезжал мимо и решил заехать.



Как я уже говорил в посте про Нова Скошию, в Мэритаймзах лучше всего перейти на лобстеровую диету. Даже в фастфудницах там продают что-нибудь из лобстера. Вот маклобстер из макдональдса.


На Принс-Эдвард-Айлэнд можно попасть двумя способами. Первый - по старинке на пароме (из Нова Скошии). Или по мосту, построенному не так давно, из Нью-Брансвика. Забавно, что въезд на остров бесплатный, а выезд - платный. Причём паром дороже моста ($70 vs. $50). Поэтому выгоднее въезжать на пароме, а выезжать по мосту.


Провожающие


Отходим от берегов Новой Шотландии


На пароме обнаружилось кафе-мороженое. В витрине висит список лучших морожениц мира. На первом месте, конечно, мороженое из Принс-Эдвард-Айленда. Оно продаётся в даунтауне Шарлотауна - столице провинции - и ещё здесь на пароме. Остальные чемпионы мороженого дела находятся в Италии, Франции, Аляске, Коста Рике и др.


На пароме мужики развлекали народ песнями


Машин помещается в этот паром немеряно, включая трейлеры (RV) и большегрузные траки. Впрочем, примерно так же, как на паромах Британской Колумбии


Встречающие. Обратите внимание на цвет воды


Принс-Эдвард-Айлэнд оказалася небольшим островом. Поперёк остров можно пересечь за 25 мин, а расстояние между двумя самыми удаленными точками - 2 с половиной часа.
Чем удивляет остров:
- краснотой берегов (особенно с внутренней, западной стороны) и
- постриженностью газонов.
Возникает ощущение, что местные жители не занимаются более ничем, лишь только стрижкой газонов. Весь остров гладко выбрит. И ещё весь остров - это сплошные фермы. Народ чрезвычайно расслаблен и невозмутим. По степени вежливости мне напомнило Викторию в Бритиш Коламбии. На перекрестках водитель и пешеход долго расшаркиваются друг перед другом, предлагая пропустить: "только после вас!", "нет, только после вас!"
Столица Charlottetown произносится как по-русски "шарлотАн". Очень удобно.

Пляжи Принца Эдуарда хороши и красноваты. Народу немного. Самые отчаянные даже купаются.


Отдыхающий


Поначалу вода показалась мне весьма прохладной. Потом привык. Если набраться храбрости, то можно было бы окунуться.


Эти пляжи находятся в Prince Edward Island National Park.








По дороге с пляжей повстречался мне симпатичный хряк


Городки здесь хороши. В этом здании всё в одном флаконе: церковь, почта и мэрия - как в старые добрые времена.


К вопросу о постриженных газонах...


...и фермах


Встречаются классные тачки


Типичный дом с типично стриженным газоном


Подъезжаем к знаменитым красным берегам (если правильно помню - в районе городка Victoria)


Красные берега, красный океан





Самое лучшее времяпровождение на Принс-Эдварде





Многие дома на Принце Эдуарде обиты вот такими дощечками / деревянной черепицей / wood shingles.


Например, эта гостиница





А это знаменитый мост Конфедерации, соединяющий Принс Эдвард Айланд с материком. (Кстати, остров ещё славится своей картошкой, произрастание которой мы тут наблюдаем).


По мосту я двинул дальше, в Нью-Брансвик


О чём подробнее в следующей серии.

Ukip's leader Nigel Farage has just delivered his speech at the party conference in London. But even rapt listeners may have been surprised to learn that immigration in 2010 topped a thousand year total. Is it true?

The leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, expressed his desire for a new debate about immigration at his party conference today. He said:

more people came to this country in one year, 2010 than came in the thousand years before it

But does Farage's claim stand up to scrutiny?

Interpretation 1: More immigration than in 1,000 previous years put together

It seems implausible that this was his intended meaning given that when you add the number of immigrants from just two preceding years - 2009 and 2008 - you get a lot more than you did in 2010. Almost double in fact, 1.2 million compared to 591,00 in 2010.

Interpretation 2: More immigration than any single one of the 1,000 previous years

There's an immediate problem here. There are no records dating back to 1110 of immigration. So, Farage certainly can't prove his point. And anyway …

21st century data vs 11th century 'tellan'
Official numbers go back to the 1960s when we first designed the International Passenger Survey. It's deeply flawed, as a House of Lords report concluded in July, but it does make comparisons between years possible. Any back reference to a thousand years ago will undoubtedly involve a margin of error that is considerably wider than most statisticians would be willing to accept.

So was it the most immigration since 1964?
No it's not. Immigration to the UK was higher in 2006 than it was in 2010. Since 1964, the lowest immigration to the UK has been was 153,000 people in 1981. The highest it's been was 596,000 in 2006. The year Nigel Farage used as his reference point was actually the second highest single year - 591,000 long-term migrants arrived in the UK in 2010.

Interpretation 3: Farage confused immigration with net migration

In a way, this was a solid statistical reference. Because 2010 was the highest year for something - net migration - and that is what really counts when it comes to understanding migration in the UK. Net migration (which is basically immigration minus emigration) was 252,000 in 2010.

But here's one convenient fact he missed: net migration was at an all-time high, partly because emigration is falling. It's true that immigration has risen since we started to feel the pinch - there were 0.2% more long-term immigrants in 2010 than there were in 2008. But the number of people emigrating fell over that same period by 20.6%. So overall, net migration has risen steeply. Should immigration be at the centre of a debate that is heating up because more of the UK population is staying put?

Back to 1100AD
Proportionality matters too. If migration figures are rising at a fast rate since the 11th century, that is partly because population numbers are too. There are more of us.

In fact, the population of the British Isles exploded between 1000AD and 1340AD - from 2 million to 5 million people - that's a far more important shift in the make-up of a country. And according to historians, a lot of that is down to immigration as a result of the Norman conquest. One can only imagine what Nigel Farage would have had to say about that.

Летом вместе с сервисом «Амедиатека» запустился канал «Амедиа Премиум», на котором показывают сериалы HBO, Showtime и других видных кабельных сетей, а в ночь на 23 сентября впервые в России можно будет посмотреть прямую трансляцию премии «Эмми». «Афиша» поговорила с главой «Амедиа» Александром Акоповым о платном телевидении, борьбе с пиратством, собственных сериалах компании и о том, чем государство похоже на слона... Читать дальше

Is Ofsted furthering Michael Gove's agenda to convert more primary schools into academies? We examine the evidence

Are Ofsted inspectors following a hidden agenda by harshly penalising primary schools and forcing them to convert to academy status? Guardian columnist John Harris hints he thinks that may be the case in an article headlined: "Why is Ofsted lashing out against primary schools?"

Detailing the experience of King's Stanley Church of England primary school, Harris explains the school had been rated as "outstanding" by Ofsted but after its inspection in May the school was downgraded to "inadequate" and placed in special measures, the worst possible outcome.

Under government policy supported by education secretary Michael Gove, that sets in train a process of forced conversion to academy status, which would remove it from local authority control and replace the school's management.

Harris quotes unnamed teachers and parents from King's Stanley as seeing a conspiracy:

The whole process, says one campaigner, "seems to be engineered to force our school into becoming an academy". It certainly does.

Harris concludes that a meeting of minds between Gove and Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw is at work:

Ofsted and the DfE hold all the cards, and with the government having served notice that it wants to create 400 primary academies, it's pretty obvious why suddenly swingeing inspections have become such a big issue.

Ofsted's response to Harris's article was published as a letter to the editor from Michael Cladingbowl, Ofsted's director of schools:

Ofsted inspects schools independently and there simply isn't any evidence to the contrary. Our inspectors go into schools without fear or favour.

So what is the evidence? Does a claim of "suddenly swingeing inspections" stand up against the data? Ofsted's record of inspections over the four years since King's Stanley was last inspected suggests otherwise: Ofsted inspectors now rate more primary schools as good or outstanding than they did at the start of that period – and fewer as inadequate or requiring improvement.

As can be seen from the chart above, from the start of the 2009/10 academic year – which predates the election of the coalition government, and well before Sir Michael Wilshaw was appointed as chief inspector of schools in 2012 – 53% of maintained primary schools inspected were rated as outstanding or good. Each year since then the proportion has steadily risen, until this year when 63% were rated good or outstanding.

By way of background: King's Stanley is a Church of England voluntary-controlled primary in a village near Stroud in Gloucestershire. Its 2011 and 2012 key stage results can be seen here – and show a mixed record. The school says its 2013 results are better – those results were published after the Ofsted inspection in May.

So why has there been a rash of complaints, that schools previously rated as outstanding are suddenly inadequate? One reason could be the result of changes in the way Ofsted inspects schools, some of which predate Wilshaw's arrival. In 2008-09, Ofsted inspectors were far more generous with their outstanding ratings – that year nearly 19% of maintained primary schools inspected were rated as outstanding. Good and outstanding schools are re-inspected within five years – and 2009's bumper crop is experiencing the new inspection regime. As a result, the proportion of primary schools rated as outstanding is falling.

Inevitably, out of 25,000 primary schools inspections over four years, there will be those schools that go from outstanding to inadequate, just as there will be those that go the other way, from inadequate to outstanding – as in the recent case of Manorfield Primary, not an academy but a community school in Tower Hamlets.

Ever been jealous of that cyclist steaming past your bus? UK housing website Find Properly has used TFL's journey planner and average cycling times to see whether it's quicker to take public transport or cycle to anywhere you want to go in the capital

ONS statistics shows that UK workers produce much less for every hour they work than the G7 average

Get the data

UK employees are far less productive than the average for other G7 nations in 2012, figures released by the ONS reveal.

The statistics show that the UK is on average 16% less productive per hour worked than the other developed nations in the grouping. When measured on a per worker basis, UK output was 19% worse than the average for the rest of the G7.

The only country that fared worse than the UK was Japan, which was 16% less productive than the UK for every hour worked in 2012.

The 2012 figures show the largest productivity gap between the UK and the G7 average since 1994.

UK productivity per hour worked also fell by two percentage points between 2012 and 2011. Although this is a modest decrease it compares to an average rise of one percentage point across other G7 nations.

The fall puts UK productivity per hour worked at its lowest level since 2006.

How the recession has affected productivity

As with other nations, GDP per hour worked in the UK was generally on the rise until the pre-recession year of 2007, after which average productivity across the grouping stalled for a couple of years.

In contrast, UK workers' productivity actually went into decline, dropping three percentage points between 2007 and 2009.

It has got worse since then too. The average for other G7 nations is up by five percentage points since 2007 while the UK's has declined by two percentage points since then.

How productivity is measured

Productivity is measured in this case by plotting GDP against the number of hours worked and number of workers in employment. A calculation has to be made between the latter two to reflect some discrepancies in employment habits - for example the number of part-time workers in each country.

To make the GDP figures comparable they have used both the countries' currency and purchasing power parity statistics, reflecting the cost of living in each country.

The ONS have used GDP here instead of gross value added (GVA), which is what they normally use for the headline UK statistics. This is due to the way figures are collected in the other G7 nations.

The most productive countries

The United States, which has the world's largest economy, has had the world's most productive wokers since 2002. In 2012 it was 29 percentage points more productive per hour worked than the UK, the highest gap between the two nations since 1995.

Our Eurozone partners France and Germany were both 24 percentage points more productive for every hour worked in 2012.

The nation closest to the UK's productivity levels is Canada, which has retained a slim one percentage point lead over the UK since 2007.

Can you do more with this data?

• Download the full spreadsheet
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Мой двухгодичный контракт с провайдером почти вышел, так что я решил себе приобрести новый телефон. Был у меня старый добрый Samsung Galaxy Ace, который был бы окей, если бы он так не тормозил (что можно было бы пережить) и не вопил всё время, что у него кончилось место на "диске" (что реально достало).

Требования у меня были такие:

1. разлоченный - не хочу больше длинных контрактов;
2. с экраном не более 4'' - чтобы из руки не выпадал и в карман помещался;
3. андроидный - желательно версии 4.1 или выше;
4. недорогой - до 150 фунтов.

После основательного поиска и чтения обзоров купил себе на амазоне LG Optimus L5II с 4-дюймовым экраном за 143 фунта. Меньше экранов нынче, похоже, практически нет.

Он оказался всё же больше, чем я думал, но в карман рубашки помещается (just!). Первое впечатление - весьма позитивное. Телефон очень легкий, процессор шустрый, экран яркий, андроид интуитивный, памяти более чем достаточно.

Осталось решить, какую брать к нему симку. Пока что я заказал Giffgaff, но, поскольку телефон пришел раньше, вставил в него симку Three из предыдущего аппарата. Всё заработало без дополнительных настроек.

В общем, если не нужны особые понты, рекомендую.

Which US states have the most homicides in which firearms were used? Where has gun crime fallen? Explore the data in our interactive map

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A report from a team of UN experts has found 'clear and convincing evidence' of the use of chemical weapons in Syria. We look through the numbers

The UN's confirmation that a chemical attack took place in Damascus last month appears almost dated, given how fast diplomatic wrangling has come in the past few weeks. That might be why few have bothered to go as far as reading the data published in the UN's report.

But the appendices provide a fascinating insight into how the UN experts went about verifying the reports and what they deem "clear and convincing evidence".

26 days

It's worth bearing in mind that this report was published 30 days after the date of the alleged attack on 21 August. And, in a way, it shows. Most of the text in the published pdf is a series of scanned images that aren't machine readable. Though all of the numbers are there, it's not exactly open data because we've had to manually retype the main findings.

That said, the numbers themselves reflect how detailed the team's work was. They collected clinical and biomedical tests from 36 survivors in two different locations - Moadamiyah and Zamalka. Blood, urine and hair samples reveal several symptoms consistent with chemical weapons use.

Sarin exposure

Blood samples were also taken and tested in two separate laboratories. The results may have been the most important source of evidence for the experts in reaching their final conclusions. They state that "of the 34 blood samples tested, 91% tested positive for sarin exposure in Laboratory 4 and 85% tested positive in Laboratory 3". Sarin is the lethal nerve agent used in chemical weapons and classified as a weapon of mass destruction according to UN Resolution 687.

Environmental samples

As well as biomedical testing, the UN team collected environmental samples from the sites they visited - Moadmiyah on 26 August and Zamlaka/Ein Tarma two days later. In all, 30 environmental samples were collected with the time and description meticulously logged.

For example:

Sample 8
Taken by Team 2 on 28/08/2013 at 14:34
Soil sample taken near the rocket warhead

The laboratory analyses of each of those samples is also available in the final appendix of the 41-page report. Continuing the example with the same environmental sample described above, the first lab found no chemical weapons agents but the second lab found evidence of sarin and also lists the presence of other chemicals (ethyl isopropyl, methylphosphonate, isopropyl methyl, methylphosphonate and hexamethylentetramine).

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В середине августа побывал с кратким визитом в канадских атлантических провинциях - мэритаймз. В Ньюфике я бывал в прошлом году. В этом - заехал в Нова Скошию, Принс Эдвард Айлэнд и Нью-Брансвик. Если сравнивать, то Ньюфик, конечно, интереснее в смысле суровости природы, климата и безлюдности. А эти три провинции более приспособлены для человеческого существования, а посему и пейзажи менее необычны. Кроме, пожалуй, этого:


Итак, Нова Скошия.

Поездка началась с ночёвки на кладбище. Вернее, в мотеле, окна которого выходят на кладбище. Видимо, поэтому ночью здесь бушевали ветра, лил дождь, бешено стучали окна и двери, зловещий свет луны прорывался сквозь занавески. К утру, как только петух прокукарекал, всё успокоилось.


В североамериканских мотелях меня умиляет традиция ставить стулья у входа. Типа, вечером постояльцы могут сидеть и наслаждаться видом парковки.


Отзавтракав я двинул на северо-восток, на остров Cape Breton. Пока ехал, лил непрекращающийся дождь. Несколько часов подряд. Как только доехал до границы национального парка Cape Breton, дождь немедленно выключили и включили немного солнца. И тут же начались местные красоты.


Это знаменитый Cabot Trail, автомобильная дорога почти по периметру острова Кэйп Бретон. Однозначно одна из самых живописных дорог Канады. Согласно некоторым проплаченным рейтингам даже одна из десяти самых впечатляющих дорог мира (свежий рейтинг от Fox News).


В Мэритаймз всё какое-то немного красное. В том числе берега Нова Скошии.





Маяков тут многие сотни. То ли для дела, то ли для увеселения туристов.


Этими штуками тут ловят крабов или лобстеров.


В прокате досталась мне Мицубиси Лансер. Как и со многими прокатными машинами в первые часы как-то не очень понятно как на ней ездить - катится плохо, рулит неважно и т.п. Но через день машина становится родной, привыкаешь и сливаешься с ней в одно целое.


На некоторых дорогах едешь совсем один. Вот за что люблю Канаду. В раскрученном парке в разгар сезона легко можно оказаться в гордом одиночестве. В Европе такое редко случается, разве что где-нибудь в Норвегии.











Часто попадаются лоси.


О чем вас честно предупреждают


Синее море


А вот ещё лосяра. Справа от машины, убегает в лес. Нерезко вышел. Я еле успел выхватить камеру - это непросто когда ты за рулём. Один такой проскакал как-то раз рядом со мной. Здоровый, мышцастый, нервный. Глыба с мощными рогами. Я подумал, что если с таким встретиться на узкой тропинке, растопчет и мокрого места не останется.


Самый классный хайкинговый трэйл в Кэйп Бретоне называется Skyline. Ступаем на трэйл.


Выходим к морю.


Встречаем птиц


Погода зашибись.


Море - зашибись


Живность - зашибись


Куропатка?


Трэйл длинный. На него надо закладывать часа три.


За что все любят Skyline Trail, так это за крышесносящие виды на океан. Не знаю, удалось ли мне их хоть как-то передать.


Классический вид на Кабот Трэйл со Скайлайн-трэйла





Лестница


Едем дальше


Хватит любоваться видами. Дело клонится к закату. Настало время пожрать.


При посещении Нова Скошии наиболее подходит лобстеровая диета. Это приятный ресторан с хорошим видом - называется Rusty Anchor (ржавый якорь). На тарелке слева лобстер, справа то ли рак, то ли краб, я в них ничего не понимаю.


Хрустим лобстером, смотрим на океан, держим салфетки, чтоб не сдуло ветром.


Сцены местной жизни.


Закат


Пора спать.


С утра заглянул ещё на один трэйл - болотный трэйл (bog trail), посмотреть как тут выглядят местные болота. В столь ранний час тут, конечно, ни души.


Это деревня ШетикАм (если я правильно транскрибирую Cheticamp). Франкоязычное, акадийское наследие. Самые красивые церкви Канады - именно во французских селениях.


Акадийцы - франкоговорящие ребята, которых англичане разогнали в своё время вроде бы за то, что они не желали присягать британской королеве. С тех пор они разбежались по разным регионам. Но особенно много их в Нова Скошии и Нью-Брансвике.








Есть женщины в акадийских селеньях


Церковь


Вэлькам ту Шетикам. Тут я, кстати, планировал откушать в ресторане акадийской кухни. Не знаю, что это за кухня, но звучит заманчиво. В этой деревне как раз имелся такой ресторан под названием Acadien. Там не только соответствующая кухня, но и официанты одеты во что-то фольклорно-национальное. Но увы мне: я прибыл туда рано с утра, ресторан был закрыт на замок. Пришлось отправиться завтракать в Тим Хортонз, где, кстати, в столь ранний час и харчевались местные акадийцы.


За деревней снова начались красоты.


Есть разные мнения о том как лучше ехать по Кабот-Трэйлу. По часовой стрелке или против. Против вроде бы сложнее, поскольку ты всегда на внешней, более опасной стороне. Я поехал как раз против часовой. Никакой особенной сложности не обнаружил. Вообще все путеводители пишут, что ОБЯЗАТЕЛЬНО надо проверить тормоза перед поездкой по трэйлу. Что там крутые горки и склоны. Как всегда канадоамериканские путеводители запугивают сверх меры. Спустя пару недель после Кабот-трэйла мне довелось покататься по альпийским перевалам в Италии и Швейцарии. Вот там тормоза раз в сто нужнее, хотя путеводители по этому поводу скромно помалкивают.


Аревуар, славный городок. Французский флаг со звездой - это акадийский символ.


Кто-то заметил, что пейзажи Кэйп-бретоновского побережья похожи на калифорнийский Биг Сюр, только зеленее.


B&B





Разводной мост между Кейп Бретоном и основной Нова Скошией. Ждём пока пройдёт очередная шхуна.


И напоследок замолвлю слово о местных дорогах. Немало покатался я по на хайвеям. Дороги хорошие, народ ездит культурно. Лучше чем в торонто-монреальских краях. Вообще, здесь тоже "настоящая Канада". В Канаде настоящая Канада находится за пределами Торонто, Монреаля и Ванкувера. С удовольствием поездил и по back roads - второстепенным дорогам. По ним, ясное дело, куда интереснее. Но медленнее. А вот асфальт здесь кладут иногда с красным оттенком. В этих краях почвы какие-то необычные. На снимке виден контраст между обычным покрытием и фирменным нова-скошиевским красноватым.


Дальше моя дорога лежала на PEI - Остров Принца Эдуарда. Об этом в следующей серии.

Compare the Metacritic scores for a sample of games from each PEGI age rating category

The European economic cycle appears to have taken on a new dimension - and it's round. Which countries have seen bike sales outpace those for cars?

The news that Spaniards bought more bikes than cars last year might come as a surprise - but it shouldn't. Sales of bikes exceed those of cars in most countries, although the recession has had an effect in recent years.

Country comparison

We dug up numbers from two sources to compare sales figures: the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association and it's cycling equivalent Coliped.

Bike sales exceeded those for cars in all but 4 of the 23 European countries we looked at (those were Italy, Spain, Belgium and Ireland). The biggest gap was in the UK where in 2011, 1.3 million more new bikes were sold than new cars were registered.

Changes since 2000

And here's the second big surprise - it's not a new trend. New bike sales have exceeded those for cars every year since 2000, it's just that the gap is widening as bike sales increase and new vehicle registrations decline.

The data doesn't take into account second-hand car sales, only new vehicle registrations but the bike data also only refers to sales of new products.

Do you think the data is surprising? Are there other numbers you think we should be looking at? We'll update the article in response to your comments below.

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(отсюда)

Если кто не читает новости, это про вот это.

В Англии женятся по субботам, и поскольку у нас тут за углом нечто вроде местного загса, я часто вижу местное население, готовое вступить в матримониальные отношения. Зрелище это как правило душераздирающее: жених с дебиловатым лицом и невеста, страшная как смертный грех, килограмм под сто. Гости под стать. Типа вот такие пупсики:



Это Манчестер, наш любимый генетический ад.

А вот как это происходит у порядочных:



Это, между прочим, сын Тони Блэра, женится на дочке какого-то (другого) мультимиллионера. Они приятны на вид, отлично устроены, и у них впереди нет ничего, кроме светлого будущего. Им не нужны социальные лифты, они и так уже на топе, по праву рождения.

Единственная проблема новоиспеченных супругов - сын Тони тоже хочет в политику, а с таким буржуйским багажом стать членом парламента от рабочего района в местном мордоре будет непросто. Но я в него верю, он пожмет всем руки и поцелует всех младенцев, которых надо, поест фиш-энд-чипс с пивом на публике, так что сможет приблизительно сойти за своего в пролетарских мозгах, затуманенных алкоголем.

Удачи им.

Use the drop-down menu to compare countries where Nobel science laureates are born and the locations where prizewinning work takes place

The number of international migrants has soared since 1990 as more and more people are leaving their country of origin. So who's migrating and where are they going?

Get the data

The UN keeps track of the number of migrants - and it has been counting more of them since 1990. Back then, there were 150 million international migrants in the world - by their latest reckoning that number has risen to 230 million.

And it's not just wealthy countries that are rapidly changing as a result of incoming migrants, countries that are classed as "less developed" have also seen the number of migrants increase by 25 million since 1990.

Here are six other interesting facts that come out of the data:

The biggest age group is the 65+

There are 18.5 million of them, compared 5.8 million migrants aged 0-4

The region that has the most migrants is Europe

But you might be surprised how close behind Asia is.

The country with the most migrants is the USA

Though the data here doesn't take into account territory size.

The place with the most migrants as a % of the population is the Holy See

Which has little in common with the other places with the highest ratios of international migrants

The country with the least migrants is Tuvalu

In case Tuvalu is new to you, read a dispatch from one of our journalists writing in Funafuti, Tuvalu. I'm told by a contact at the Foreign Office that there is one Brit living in Nauru who meets with the British consulate from time to time for a whisky.

The country where women are the biggest proportion of migrants is Nepal

With 68.3% of its migrants being women, Nepal has the highest concentration of female migrants in the world. The lowest is to be found in Bangladesh, where just 13.4% of migrants are women

Can you do more with this data?

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Ничо такая, да?

За плечами у нее, между прочим, три года андеграда в Принстоне, потом три года и PhD из MIT. Специальность - operational research. Есть статьи, причем одна прилично цитируется. Красота!

Нынче же она и.о. директора НИиПи Генплана. На должность эту ее пристроил, надо думать, папочка - депутат и академик ран. Могла бы ведь, как человек, найти себе постдок (после MIT-то), заниматься наукой... Но нет - Родина-мать позвала своим скрипучим голосом, сделала ей предложение, от которого не откажешься.

А прямо сейчас наша героиня сгоняет подчиненных на завтрашний зомбянинг на Поклонной горе. Хорошая девочка, умница.