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Dave T-W boosted
Emeritus Prof Christopher May

If crime is falling but our perceptions are that its just as bad, if not worse... what's behind this misperception.

Unsurprisingly, the news media is skewing our perceptions; as crime gets (relatively) rarer, so of course, it becomes more note-worthy, and we see more stories about criminal activity (and the relentless crime-based dramas cannot be helping).

The key problem is policy seems to be driven by voters' perceptions not what's actually happening?

#crime #media
theconversation.com/most-crime

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Dave T-W boosted
Thiago Carvalho

'The poll of 75 institutions by the British Universities’ International Liaison Association found that nine out of 10 had fewer international applications for the next academic year, and there had been a 27% fall in total applications for taught postgraduate courses compared with last year.'

theguardian.com/education/arti

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Dave T-W boosted
Thiago Carvalho

"Facing an increasingly hostile environment, the smartest students will look elsewhere for university places, notably the US, where they often receive more generous financial support for postgraduate degrees. Some international students are already turning away. According to Financial Times analysis of Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data, a third of UK universities saw fewer overseas non-EU applicants in 2023."

ft.com/content/0191f95d-299e-4

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Dave T-W boosted
Sarah Brown
I think the "1936 Olympics" vibe was maybe putting people off a bit. theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/a…
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Dave T-W boosted
Tommaths (he/him)

The sign advertising "hot food and pizza counter" in my local Sainsbury's implies one of three things and I'm not sure which:

1. The pizza is not hot.
2. The pizza is not food.
3. The opportunity to buy hot food and the opportunity to have pre-existing pizza counted are entirely separate services offered in-store.

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Dave T-W boosted
Joan Westenberg

Politicians and pundits are in the business of building reality tunnels.

They tell stories and promote narratives that, if repeated often enough, feel like the capital-T Truth to their followers.

Step outside their tunnel, and suddenly, that worldview seems crazy.

joanwestenberg.com/blog/on-rea

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Dave T-W

Weekend visit to reminds me of the city's continued ability to absolutely screw up urban planning. I knew a few years back they'd squandered the opportunity to revive the centre with yet another boring Westfield shopping centre development, plonked right in the way. They could have made a pedestrian friendly space linking the City Hall in the middle to the Cathedral and Alhambra at north and south.

There are some absolutely beautiful buildings from the Victorian era, and more modern ones that came from a time before the government shut down regional development. Realistically, some of both might have needed to be demolished, and there's been times over the past 40 years when that would have had minimal impact. But now a set of motorways surrounds the best parts, and impractical blobs of ill conceived, cheap blocks are spread around. Nottingham, Sheffield and Coventry did this so much better.

Whilst they keep doing this, the centre will continue to be a rough place. Anyone who wants an enjoyable night out and a nice meal has dozens of towns and villages in this distributed metropolis.

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Dave T-W

John Krasinksi's new movie "If" looks like a fairly routine kids movie, but in fact it's an absolutely beautiful blub fest, pushed over the edge by Giacchino's music (remember "Up"?).
youtu.be/H-Lp5ygQLoA

TBF, it's got Sam Rockwell and Fiona Shaw in it so you know it's going to be good.

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Dave T-W boosted
Astro Dad

Had some spare time on a cross-country trip so visited the excellent UK National Space Centre, in Leicester. Great value, free upgrade to annual membership, and loads of great educational interactive exhibits included. In that sense far better value than Kennedy Space Centre.

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Dave T-W

Yeah, Jaklin is my new spirit animal. For me that's the best thing about , that amongst the votebait and silliness there's some great new music I'd never have found.
youtu.be/_6xfmW0Fc40?si=pkbc17

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Dave T-W boosted
clacke: inhibited exhausted pixie dream boy 🇸🇪🇭🇰💙💛
Also just encountered: "could I have the number to your yoga instructor, because that was an incredible stretch"
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Dave T-W boosted
clacke: inhibited exhausted pixie dream boy 🇸🇪🇭🇰💙💛
"rectally sourced statistics" is a wonderful phrase that I just came across.
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Dave T-W

I haven't been to the Abba voyage thing but I think they've definitely taken some technical aspects from Ye Pan's PhD work on immersion, that I helped with about 10 years ago. But the CGI avatars are awful.

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Dave T-W

I'm afraid I have been away from home and phone, my chums.
But I am watching the final now and breathless with anticipation for the scores. Crossing my fingers for , or . A couple of faves never made the final.

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Dave T-W

In fact, I think it was on netflix until only recently, because I remember having it dubbed in French, for reasons. It was quite effective actually.

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Dave T-W

I was telling my brother about this movie the other day, who was a toddler when it came out. I can't remember when I last saw Shallow Grave but so many of the lines are embedded (I think I may have the book with the script in). And on the last rewatch it was still perfect.

theguardian.com/film/article/2

Definitely going to see this.

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Dave T-W

The voting record of Natalie Elphicke speaks for itself:
theyworkforyou.com/mp/25831/na

And here's the moment the Dover MP thought it would be a good idea to confront a protest about Hire & Fire of P&O ferry staff. Forgetting that she'd voted to allow that sort of practice.
youtu.be/NAOZcUbmEds

For non UK people, Dover is the main port for connections to the continent. A fact that was news to Brexit minister Dominic Raab:
youtube.com/watch?v=J5m7_JrLND

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Dave T-W

Normally a Tory MP defecting to Labour might be a positive development, but sometimes you wish they'd just quit politics.
theguardian.com/politics/2021/

Couldn't recall why I knew she was a wrong'un but the internet remembers.

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Dave T-W boosted
sidereal

@rustoleumlove @seachanger As just one tiny example, I personally witnessed Seattle Police officers shoot a tear gas grenade directly at a reporter on live TV. It hit & injured her.

Went home afterwards. Found out the news channel said it was a firework thrown by a protestor.

The reporter was thanking the cops for protecting her.

It sounds like 1984 fanfiction but I couldn't make this stuff up. This is too on the nose, I'm a more creative author than this.

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Dave T-W

I mean I might be showing my age, and maybe that was the year I unlocked music big time, but there's also Prince's Batman soundtrack, Simple Minds, NIN, Beautiful South, RHCP, Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Erasure.

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