“The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) notes with concern the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer as Commissioner of Labor Statistics by US President, Donald Trump, at a time when the global economy is experiencing significant disturbance.
The United Nations’ Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics establishes international professional and scientific standards for the production of official statistics. The RSS, as one of the world’s leading statistical societies and with a membership that includes official statisticians from many countries, is keenly interested in the adherence to these standards across the world to ensure quality and integrity.
Any concerns regarding data or methodology should be independently evaluated to ensure credibility is maintained. The dismissal undermines international trust in US statistics, which has ramifications well beyond policy decisions within the US, with impacts on global confidence in the world economy.
The RSS is against all forms of political interference in the production of official statistics and urges President Trump to ensure that the nonpartisan integrity of the position is retained. Furthermore, reassurance is needed to ensure that statisticians working for federal agencies have confidence to continue producing the objective statistical information that enables those in power to gain the trust of their communities.
These actions are essential to ensure a healthy democracy in the US, and to maintain international credibility in its statistics.”
Archive for Britain
A statement from the Royal Statistical Society on the dismissal of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Dr Erika McEntarfer
Posted in Books, Statistics, University life, Wines with tags @ScientistTrump, academic integrity, Britain, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Donald Trump, federal agencies, official statistics, political interference, Royal Statistical Society, RSS, Trump administration, United Nations, US economy, US politics on August 7, 2025 by xi'ana passage to India [book review]
Posted in Books, Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags book review, Britain, British Raj, Chennai, Chennai Mathematical Institute, E.M. Forster, imperialism, India, Indian independence, Penguin Classics, religions, systemic racism, tea, Victorian society, Walt Whitman on July 16, 2025 by xi'an
Feeling I had missed a classic of English literature and curious to see Forster’s views on colonial India, I started this book on a plane to India and finished it before I returned. The writing style is excellent, the characters are complex and, for the most multifaceted, the setting is inspired by Forster’s visits to India and hence realistic, the story timeline is well-set, for the most (ie except for the last part), and the scenario is engaging and realistic, but, obviously, what makes the book a masterpiece is its depiction of the British Raj from many perspectives, from British enforcers of its colonialism to British critics of said colonialism, to Indians trained in Britain, to completely local Indians, with the clash of multiple cultures and religions. Victorian prudery mixes with racial prejudices, resentment against discriminations leads to early (?) germs of fighting for independence, and the characteristic reaction of such a discriminatory and racist society to a claim of sexual impropriety on a British woman from a native man. This central event of the book is brought in both very subtly and unexpectedly (for those like me who had no initial idea of the story), with an equally subtle uncertainty about what really happened that remains till the end. If anything, the book may be delivering a pessimistic message on the impossible friendship between individuals from the ruling and oppressed groups, despite it being scandalous at the time for even suggesting such a friendship was conceivable. (The attached cover of the Penguin Classic edition is amazingly close to the excursion episode!)
Shiragawa-go snapshot [jatp]
Posted in Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel with tags Britain, Gasshō-zukuri house, Gifu, Japan, jatp, mass tourism, miscanthus reed, Normandy, Shiragawa-go, Shogawa river, snow pack, thatched roof, traditional housing, Unesco World Heritage List on March 11, 2025 by xi'an
Warwickshire honey fungus [by Birmingham]
Posted in Books, pictures, Travel with tags BBC, Birmingham, Britain, Coventry, fungus, gardening, honey fungus, International Garden Photographer of the Year, International Garden Photographer of the Year competition 2023, landscape photography, Midlands, Monks Park Wood, picture, University of Warwick, Warwickshire on April 9, 2024 by xi'an
Lapsang madness
Posted in Travel, Wines with tags black tea, Brexit, Britain, British culture, Chinese tea, EU, European Union, Lapsang Souchong, smoked tea, tea-bag, The Guardian, The Telegraph, UK on January 30, 2024 by xi'an
