“There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns. The ones we don't know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld, 12 February 2002 At the time, Rumsfeld’s quote, made in response to a reporter’s question about evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, was seen as a gaffe or else a
Around 2 million students are studying at UK universities in the hope of developing their knowledge, gaining life experience and broadening their horizons, while, perhaps, partaking of one or two alcoholic beverages along the way. Many parents wish this for their children, the idea being that if they invest in their child’s future now, there will be substantial gains in the longer term. The majority of parents, depending on their income threshold, have to support their children financially throughout these
It is customary, late on a Friday afternoon, for Fathom to offer its staff a complimentary alcoholic beverage from the company fridge. Collectively, we have a taste for imported wine and beer, as indeed do many people across the UK. Unfortunately, such luxuries have risen substantially in price over the past few months. Fathom's management, in a textbook case, has responded to the price change accordingly. During the three months to August, the total amount spent on alcohol by the
What is the primary challenge facing UK PLC at present? If you thought Brexit, think again. The correct answer, as regular readers will be aware, is the economy's dismal productivity performance. Data released earlier this week showed that output per hour fell in the second quarter, and is now back below its pre-crisis peak. That is an unprecedented postwar decade of near-zero productivity growth. But there is one shining beacon of hope. The Premier League (PL), celebrating its 25th birthday
One member of Fathom’s staff yesterday found his journey into work delayed by a swan. The offending fowl had found its way onto the train track and, in the high-and-mighty, supercilious manner of swans the world over, refused to move. With apologies to Her Majesty, it’s enough to make one reconsider the relative merits of roast swan, compared to turkey or chicken, or other more ‘normal’ poultry options. This being the tenth anniversary of the start of the great financial
Economists, and this author is one, regularly score well below average on surveys of public opinion in relation to their trustworthiness – below both lawyers and pollsters in one recent survey in the UK, for example. This is humbling, and causes us to consider how we can do our jobs better. And it reflects, I think, a view of economists that all we care about is money. As the saying goes, we know the price of everything but the value
Here’s a bit of Friday afternoon trivia for you: ATLANTA FALCONS: 2017 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS #Fakenews news headline from an Atlanta-based news organisation or slogan emblazoned on the T-shirt of an African villager? It’s the African villager, of course. The Atlanta Falcons are not the 2017 NFL Champions – they lost to the New England Patriots 34-28 in the final earlier this year, despite leading that match by 28 points to 3 at one point. One cruel reminder of their
We Brits love to make fun of the French. It's close to a national pastime. Back in 2008, inspired by news that a trader at Société Générale, Jérôme Kerviel, was suspected of running up losses totalling $7 billion in unauthorised deals, the Daily Mash published a brilliant piece of satire: 'French trader was forced to work 30 hours a week'. It encapsulates, neatly, everything that we in this country find irritating about our neighbours to the south. Miraculously, not all
Last Saturday saw 2017's Pride in London parade, uniting over a million people to celebrate the LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and others) community and make a stand against discrimination. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK and the third since same-sex marriage was legalised. But other places around the world haven't made as much progress. The results of a recent Gallup poll show that in only 25% of nations did a
In the film-within-a-film ‘Strike’ (from The Comic Strip Presents…), the UK miners’ strike of 1984 is given the Hollywood treatment, with Al Pacino (or, rather, a brilliant Peter Richardson playing Al Pacino) as Arthur Scargill, and Meryl Streep (played by an equally brilliant Jennifer Saunders) as his wife. Scargill is interpreted as brooding and sentimental, with dark undertones of violence, emphasised by his penchant for endlessly cleaning and loading his revolver. His wife is neurotic and icily distant, and prone