Russia Fires: Why You Can’t Trust the Numbers

As you must have read, scorching weather has ignited peat fires across 35 regions in Russia. At its height last week, smog produced from the raging fires meant visibilty in Moscow was just 300 metres. The fire emergency status has been cancelled in three regions but the scale of the disaster can be guaged somewhat from this Goolge Earth [...]

Cancer Countdown

For spinning data, ‘Lifestyle’ articles are the worst. I was sorry to see such an article in The Guardian today (09/08/10). The headline: “British breast cancer rates ‘four times higher than eastern Africa’, says report”. The subheading: “World Cancer Research Fund survey cites lifestyle as reason for difference”. This article is taken straight from a [...]