Archive for EU
borderline deaths
Posted in Books, Statistics, Travel with tags bad graph, deaths at sea, EU, European Union, Le Monde, Mediterranean Sea, migrants, travel deaths on December 18, 2022 by xi'an
UK vs. Horizon Europe [episode 23]
Posted in Statistics with tags Boris Johnson, British Government, ERC, EU, European Research Council, Horizon Europe, Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Protocol, Stick to Science, The Guardian, UK Government, UK politics on August 29, 2022 by xi'an
Just read in The Guardian that the UK Government or more exactly the PM hopeful Liz Truss (since Boris Johnson has gone AWOL!) is starting a formal procedure against the EU for British scientists being excluded from Horizon Europe funding due to said Government renegading on its former signature of the Northern Ireland Protocol. (After the EU announced last June re-commencing its infringement proceedings against the UK.) Just stick to Science!
hit by Brexit!
Posted in Statistics with tags book cover, book reviews, Brexit, Cambridge University Press, customs, EU, machine learning, probabilistic numerics, taxes, TVA, University of Warwick, VAT on August 17, 2022 by xi'an
After realising while at ISBA²² that Probabilistic Numerics, the book of Philipp Heinig, Michael Osborne, and Hans Kersting, had appeared, I requested a copy for review in CHANCE from Cambridge University Press, which they kindly sent me. However, I received it with a 21€ bill for the novel VAT tax the EU has just (re)established for goods imported from outside the EU. From now on, I will have review books delivered to my Warwick address or sent from within the EU! (I have attempted to complain about paying VAT on free goods, but customs were not at all sympathetic!!!)
Dear President of the European Commission
Posted in Kids, Travel, University life with tags Brexit, Brussels, ETH Zurich, EU, European Commission, European science, European Solidarity, European Union, Horizon Europe, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Royal Society, Stick to Science, UK politics, Welcome Trust on July 12, 2022 by xi'an
BoJo’s return to no-future
Posted in Books, Kids with tags 20 May 1875, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Bureau international des poids et mesures, EU, European Union, French Revolution, imperial measures, innumeracy, Mars Climate Orbiter, metric units, NASA, UK politics on June 13, 2022 by xi'an
The [harebrained] proposal of Boris Johnson to return to so-called imperial measurements or units illustrates [beyond his usual flair for spinning out of yet-another-scandal] an all-too-common innumeracy of politicians (and possibly a lingering anti-French sentiment as metric units were introduced by the French Revolution), preferring to cater to their Brexit voters rather than realising the drawbacks and costs of a parallel system of measurements, as illustrated by the 1999 Orbiter crash. Does he plan to exit the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures as well?! Or does he expect an improvement in numeracy with the public using different bases (other than 10) at ounce once?!
Xi'an's Og 