h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

Our detailed report is now out, with evidence that we believe shows Douglas Barrowman's businesses committed fraud. https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/01/18/barrowman_fraud/

Today is a good day to make sure you are on the electoral register 🗳️

https://www.danlynch.org/blog/2024/01/arrowesound-hospital-radio/ - I blogged about my show on Arrowesound Hospital Radio with a bit of background about the station and more info. #radio #music

Are you bored? Would you like to play with an interactive map showing all the 38,590 overseas entities holding English/Welsh real estate? With clickable thingies that let you identify where someone has unlawfully hidden their ownership...

https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/01/16/overseas/

“Spot the Danger Mouse Blue Plaque at Baker Street” https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/spot-the-danger-mouse-blue-plaque-at-baker-street-69173/ /by @ianvisits

I can’t tell you how awesome this is.

#London

A bit of Johnny Cash on the turntable this morning. It goes well with my coffee. #vinyl

My latest post on what is happening with Covid in England right now:

https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/latest-covid-situation-in-england

Flash emulation has finally reached a point where we can accurately restore some of the most important cultural sites from the early days of the web, and its only going to get better.

I proudly present: https://welcometozombo.com

What makes a good prophecy?

A couple of years ago, taking questions on stage in front of a live audience, I was asked to do my duty as an economist and make an economic forecast. But the questioner had a demanding benchmark for what made a good prediction, informing me that the previous keynote speaker at this conference had been a prominent scientist, who warned of a deadly global pandemic. That was i

https://timharford.com/2024/01/what-makes-a-good-prophecy/

#UndercoverEconomist

We've a new report: the Post Office claimed £934m tax relief for its compensation payments to the postmasters it persecuted. That's outrageous. It's also unlawful - so the Post Office now faces an unexpected £100m tax bill. It may be insolvent. https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/01/12/934m/

The UK government is consulting on "Street vote development orders". The proposal is to introduce a local #referendum mechanism when certain planning proposals are made for a "street area".

You can view and respond to the consultation using the link below. The consultation closes on 2 February.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/street-vote-development-orders-consultation

Two weeks left to have your say on how #Southend council is elected - continue with 1 of 3 councillors being elected most years, or all 3 elected once every 4 years? https://www.southend.gov.uk/news/article/3027/have-your-say-on-how-your-council-is-elected

https://www.danlynch.org/blog/2024/01/floss-weekly-is-reborn/ - I blogged about the fate of Floss Weekly. Should you have any interest in the podcast it might be worth a read. #podcast #flossweekly

DNA Lounge Update, Wherein we have had a second ATM stolen
https://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2024/01/09.html

Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain. 🥳 So what does that mean for our shared culture? Free-range archivist Jason Scott takes readers on an enlightening tour of copyright, the creative ecosystem & film preservation in a thoughtful new post: https://blog.archive.org/2024/01/05/mickeys-bad-day-or-the-ecosystem/

I finally got my proof-of-concept (and world wide first open source) SM-DP+ for consumer eSIM to work. This is the component from which the eUICC (chip in phone) downloads encrypted eSIM profiles. Code at https://gerrit.osmocom.org/c/pysim/+/35461 - will be merged to pysim master soon. #GSMA #3gpp

Everyone's talking about the mouse, but dozens of classic films moved into the public domain this year:
🎬 The Cameraman (Buster Keaton)
🎞️ Easy Virtue (Alfred Hitchcock)
🌆 The Lights of New York (Bryan Foy)
⚔️The Passion of Joan Of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer) ⬇️
Explore the newly unlocked works of art in our curated list: https://blog.archive.org/2024/01/04/the-worlds-most-famous-mouse-joins-the-public-domain/