Links

[redfiona99]

News:

Plastic bag charge: Shoppers in England have to pay 5p - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34438030 To which I say finally. A friend has taken me to task for supporting a flat task. My response was that much of Europe has done this for years and hoping that people will reduce their plastic bag use (and I am as guilty as most people) without a stick has been shown not to work.

Language:

Graphing the distribution of English letters towards the beginning, middle or end of words http://www.prooffreader.com/2014/05/graphing-distribution-of-english.html Interesting stuff.

Miscellaneous:

What's my place in the world population? How long will I live? - http://population.io/ Given I'm only 30, a quite frankly terrifying percentage of the world's population was born after me. Also, the UK has a much lower life expectancy than Austria. Which given, you know, Austrian food loves its fat and cream is worrying.

The lost rivers that lie beneath London - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29551351

Oregon shooting: The mass killing 'contagion effect' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34385059

How to explain the KGB’s amazing success identifying CIA agents in the field? -http://www.salon.com/2015/09/26/how_to_explain_the_kgbs_amazing_success_identifying_cia_agents_in_the_field/ I want to believe this is the truth but it seems almost too simple and elegant to be true.

New here? Welcome to Brussels 0 A guide of the best way to beat the bubble babble. http://www.politico.eu/article/new-here-welcome-to-brussels-intern-europass-concour-summit-bubbble/ via nwhyte

Nottingham surgeon renowned for 'mid-air operation' retires - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-34428383 He also developed the UK's air crash brace position.

Science:

Nobel Prize for anti-parasite drug discoveries - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34441744 This year there really is a good case for saying that the chemistry and physiology prizes have accidentally been switched.

Sport:

Football:

WATCH: Celtic keeper Craig Gordon enjoys kick-about with young fans after match - http://lebuzz.eurosport.co.uk/viral/watch-celtic-keeper-craig-gordon-enjoys-kick-about-with-young-fans-after-match-4343/

Formula 1:

Formula 1: Teams call in EU over 'unfair' finances and rules - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/34388544 Now this could get interesting, because Sauber and Force India have a point. I presume the counter-argument is going to be 'they knew what they were signing up for'. This could change things a lot. Or mean that there'll be no EU-located races as Bernie avoids people who are after him. Which he has been known to do.

Rugby:

Frankie Fredericks lends support to Namibia at Rugby World Cup - http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/13772269/athletics-legend-frankie-fredericks-lends-support-namibia-rugby-world-cup Because Frankie is love. No, literally, he is the only athlete that has ever caused my grandmother to cheer for a non-Brit over a Brit, that was how badly she wanted him to win things.

England v Australia: David Pocock a campaigner on and off the field - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/34415808 It also contains the most wonderful description of England vs Australian sporting feelings, "How do the English feel about Australian sports stars? Usually it follows what we might call the Hayden-Ponting Curve: peak of playing career, significant antipathy; later career, grudging respect; retirement, actually, they're not a bad bloke, are they?"

Comments

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

My very small town has been plastic-bag free for over a decade now, and you have to pay for a paper bag (at the supermarket you can get a used box for free). Many other towns have done it since and now a whole state, South Australia. It works very well, and about five years ago, platypuses came back to our local creek now that it wasn't filled with plastic bags.

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

Yay! for the platypuses. I suspect it's that (or other water-animals) and general untidiness that they're trying to do with the ban over here.