Ministry of Truth

Statistics Laundering, Online Pornography and the Daily Mail

Unity — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:17:34 +0000

For this article I'm going to return to a subject I covered yesterday, that of 'porn statistics' or, to be more precise, statistics published widely on both the internet and by newspapers and other media organisation which purport to show that large numbers of children and young people are encountering or accessing pornography via the internet. To quickly recap where we are with this issue so far, yesterday I showed that a 'statistic' cited by the Daily Mail while reporting a survey of parents conducted by the National Association of Head Teachers, which found that 90% wanted some sort of default setting on computers and smartphones that would block access to 'adult material', actually originated from pretty much nowhere in 2001 in... Read more »

Daily Mail in Bullshit Mormon Zombie Porn Stats Shock

Unity — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:36:04 +0000

The Daily Mail are back on the trail of mandatory internet porn blocking, courtesy of a survey by the National Association of Head Teachers which claims that 90% of parents want a default setting on computers and smartphones which prevents the viewing of adult material. And at the very end of the article, the Daily Mail provides a few statistics and a quote from Floella Benjamin, who's now a Lib Dem Peer:

Research has shown that 90 per cent of children aged eight to 16 have viewed porn online, often unintentionally. The average age a child first sees inappropriate images is 11 and around 80 per cent of teenagers regularly access porn. Younger children are also at risk, as studies have shown that they now... Read more »

Marriage Equality, Conservative Politics and the Religious Right

Unity — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:05:01 +0000

Ahead of today's House of Commons debate on the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill and the raft of wrecking amendments tabled, for the most part, by Tory MPs, I think that it's well worth reflecting on exactly where opposition to equal marriage is coming from and, particularly, how that opposition is being organised. As far as public opinion is concerned, YouGov President Peter Kellner lays out the actual position with admirable clarity:

The passions of grass-roots Tories who are bitterly opposed to same-sex marriage are not shared by the wider electorate. Most voters back a change in the law – and very few opponents are willing to switch their votes because of this issue. Overall, YouGov’s latest poll for the Sunday... Read more »

Step Away from the Statistics, Harriet…

Unity — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:43:20 +0000

In just the last week or so we've seen Iain Duncan Smith publicly rebuked by the UK Statistics Authority for making claims about the government's policy of capping benefits that were "unsupported by the official statistics published by the department" and Michael Gove caught using unscientific polls commissioned by UKTV Gold and Premier Inn in an effort to dismiss serious criticism of his new National Curriculum by leading academics. One should not, therefore, be surprised to discover that a poll conducted by Ipsos Mori on behalf of the Royal Statistics Society and Kings College London shows that just 9% of the general public believe that politicians use figures accurately when talking about their policies while just 7% place any kind of trust... Read more »

Nadine Dorries: Self Preservation Society

Unity — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:24:02 +0000

You would normally expect an MP who has only just had their party whip reinstated after a six month suspension to lie low for a while but not Nadine Dorries:

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has suggested she might run as a joint Tory-UK Independence Party candidate at the next general election. She told the Spectator magazine she would be "having very much that kind of conversation" with activists in her Mid-Bedfordshire constituency. Ms Dorries also said many Conservatives had "huge empathy" with UKIP, whose poll ratings have risen recently. But Downing Street said a two-party candidacy was against Tory rules. Ms Dorries returned to the Conservative Party last week after a six-month suspension. She had the whip withdrawn last November... Read more »

Daft Idea #1 – Screaming Traffic Cones

Unity — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:49:52 +0000

Via the BBC I I've learned of a new health and safety measure that I fully expect to be doomed to be a dismal failure:

"Screaming" traffic cones are to be used on motorways across England to protect road crews. The cones are fitted with an alarm that "will literally scream" when the cone is struck, the Highways Agency said. The yellow-topped, "lighthouse" style wailers alert road workers to the danger of vehicles coming too close. The agency said they will mainly be used on motorways, meaning students or other traditional cone nemeses are likely to be kept at bay. The cones were unveiled by the agency near Perry Barr in Birmingham. "We will only use them at certain localities,... Read more »

Nadine Dorries: Swallow the Money (Updated)

Unity — Wed, 08 May 2013 09:42:03 +0000

Would you be surprised if I told you that, almost six months on from her all-too-public appearance on 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here', Nadine Dorries still hasn't registered her income from appearing on the show with the House of Commons authorities? In fact, according to the most recent edition of the House of Commons Register of Members' Interests she hasn't declared any outside interests or earnings since June 2012, although she did register a gift in kind from Conservative Home in October 2012, which consisted of a Conference Pass, accommodation and travel for last year's Conservative Party Conference, valued at £700. That's a little odd isn't? Between August 2011 and May 2012, the Register of Members' Interests shows that Dorries was paid:... Read more »

ComRes Polls – an inbuilt conservative bias?

Unity — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:29:46 +0000

Yesterday, the chairman of the polling organisation ComRes, Andrew Hawkins, was busily touting a local election poll commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage on Twitter, the headline figures for which were as follows:

Conservative 31%, Labour 24%, Liberal Democrat 12%, UKIP 22%, Other 10%

Okay, so those figures look rather different to current national polling but that's hardly surprising as this is primarily a Shire counties election in which you'd expect to see Labour, in particular, running behind the national figures because so much of the party's electoral support is centred on urban areas where there are no local elections this year. Nevertheless, the figures still looked a little odd to me, so I took a look at the data and then ended up having... Read more »

Suicide, Hyundai Adverts and Ben Goldacre

Unity — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:23:02 +0000

Another week, another internet generated furore to pick over, this time in regards to a now with drawn viral advert by the Korean car company Hyundai, albeit one that puts me in the rather unusual position of having to criticise Ben Goldacre for pushing a bit of dodgy science. You probably saw it for yourself but if you didn't the back story here is that Hyundai released a rather clever if highly unusual viral video advert to promote the environmental credentials of one of their cars which depicted a man trying, and failing completely, to commit to suicide by piping the car's exhaust through in the passenger cabin. The punchline of the ad is, of course, that the car's exhaust... Read more »

What the CPS aren’t telling you about Rape Convictions

Unity — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:01:15 +0000

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, rape convictions have hit an all -time high:

The Crown Prosecution Service has today published new figures that show the conviction rate for rape and domestic violence prosecutions increased once again last year. The statistics show that the conviction rate for rape prosecutions has continued to rise to the highest on record, from 58% in 2007/08 to 63% in 2012/13. CPS recorded data on rape prosecutions includes all cases initially charged and flagged as rape, including those cases where a conviction was obtained for alternative sexual offences or serious offences of homicide or offences against the person.

Ah, but have you noticed the caveat in paragraph 2? In the parallel universe that bureaucrats inhabit a 'rape conviction' is not... Read more »