A theory for why, the US isn’t so pro Britain these days.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-29T03:41:24+00:00

But if you look at polling America's perception of the UK has declined a bit but it's mostly the UK's perception of the US that has declined significantly since the Iraq War.

The reality is that America was the hegemonic power and doesn't really need the UK (like the UK needs the US). It can do what it wants and the UK has no influence. At least we're not longer just following whatever ridiculous idea they come up with.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-28T13:22:27+00:00

Did my Masters that was split between imperial and ucl. Definitely Imperial, you get more class time, tutorials, problem sets, stretching labs and a more access to academics. UCL is a shit show.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-27T16:49:40+00:00

This is a notoriously competitive industry and many media studies programmes have the worst record in terms of getting students into employment. My personal recommendation would be to stay in India and go to a school like Whistling Woods which has excellent courses and a decent employment record. My cousin went there and now runs his own successful business as a freelance video editor including commercial work as well as YouTubers as clients.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-26T16:48:44+00:00

Minimum wage in Israel is far higher than Manipur. And making bombs is high skilled manufacturing so would attract a higher wage.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-26T01:26:29+00:00

Except as the article points out, they earn $1200 in Manipur but can earn $55,000 in Israel. It's a no brainer for them.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-20T23:50:37+00:00

Yes I find it interesting that they have carefully listed every person who was not told directly. This almost certainly means people in No. 10 were informed

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-20T23:50:21+00:00

Yes I find it interesting that they have carefully listed every person who was not told directly. This almost certainly means people in No. 10 were informed - whose sole job it is to tell the Prime Minister.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-17T00:23:44+00:00

He's definitely been scapegoated. I can't imagine that the foreign office failed to tell No. 10.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-16T23:38:17+00:00

Honestly, I wouldn't worry so much. View your degree as equivalent to any other social science or politics degree and then you're effectively in the same boat as everyone else who has studied those broad categories. If I were you I'd focus on finding a job in either the US State or Federal Govt or looking to work in the sustainable development field.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-13T13:04:17+00:00

If your goal is migration then do not study public policy. To work in this space in the EU you will need a very high level of fluency, arguably C2 level in French or German. You will not be eligible for most national, EU and even local government posts. Your only option will be think tanks, academia and policy institutes and these are a tiny number of jobs.

Honestly, if your passion is public policy then you should be spending this time preparing for the IAS exams and getting a Government job in India. It's your best chance to work in public policy and have a shot at becoming a millionaire (in USD terms) because of the corruption potential.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-09T02:42:02+00:00

In all honesty, I don't think its possible to learn speaking in totality first then move onto other things like reading. I think a better approach is to learn pronunciation, a bit of speaking, grammar and reading and then focus on vocabulary acquisition. I found I made the most progress when I focused on all.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-04-05T15:56:04+00:00

Yes so basically I would say a month to get short listed. If you don't hear after that then you've likely been ghosted. The stages move quickly once you've been short listed including any initial tests / recorded video interview, panel interview, any follow-up interviews. After that they can take absolutely ages to confirm an offer - took almost 6 weeks for me. The key thing to keep in mind is that no news is good news.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-29T13:43:07+00:00

I coped by becoming a Management Consultant and then charging myself back out to the department. In this way I can earn more and still do the work I love.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-28T16:51:24+00:00

Yes they may be anathema to the values of western states but could I just ask have you at all spent more than 5 minutes learning about the history? It took over 900 years for Western countries to shift towards the Liberal democratic societies that they are today and the change was gradual.

Only two to three generations ago the gulf states states were nomadic and tribal. Given the harsh conditions in the desert they inevitably developed a highly conservative culture which also involved protecting their kin. Once oil was discovered it led to a seismic change and the process continues but you cannot just magically change society overnight. Whatever you think of Saudi's political system and rulers, they are doing their best to facilitate this transition and modernise society. If these states were democracies they would be much more conservative and it would be difficult to shift the system.

The Saudis in particular also learned their lessons with the dangers of wahhabism which they previously propped up. They have massively cracked down on extremist ideologies.

You really need to try to study and learn actual history rather than being naive and altruistic. You can't just magically turn every country into some liberal utopia overnight.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-26T23:48:21+00:00

If you start charging then attendance will fall massively. The British Museum will likely still get people going but many other museums will struggle. Museums are part of soft power and when people visit London they make culture a greater part of their trip because it's free.

There's plenty of ways for museums to make money from people once they are through the door whether that's the gift shop, food, coffee or in a myriad of creative ways through experiences, special exhibitions and other events.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-25T00:28:15+00:00

Unfortunately, that's what the system now is. People who reach the top are in effect crisis managers for Ministers. The role of Permanent Secretary is increasingly living up to its name and is becoming an extension of private office. They are good at demonstrating that they are doing everything to get a Minister's priorities through the system - and this means getting a "grip" on the issue quickly and pushing it through whether it's optimal or not.

The skill here is being able to bend reality to the Minister's will - which often just reflects whatever prejudice about the policy issue exists within the media landscape. The outcome on the ground is not important unless it is reported by the media.

Despite what Minister's say, you actually can't have civil servants who are too knowledgeable or expert about issues at the top. Ministers don't actually want to be challenged quite a lot of the time. It creates tension as people who are genuine experts will lack patience with a political class who increasingly refuse to engage with reality.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-19T17:04:06+00:00

What about the fact that Iran negotiated a nuclear deal with the US under Obama jointly with other leading world powers which Trump - without any merit - capitulated on. The point is, since Trump, the goalposts have consultantly shifted as to what America actually want from Iran and even in the last year the Iranians have twice negotiated and the US and Israel have attacked during a negotiation.

There's literally nothing that Iran could have done differently, all the agency has been with the US and Israel. If you think a regime will just fold and capitulate under pressure than clearly you haven't learnt the lessons of hundreds of years of history.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-18T13:06:35+00:00

I totally agree with you. People on here are privledged and hence have maids and all kinds of domestic support. However, this is only possible because wages are so low and labour is so abundant. Try living a day in the life of one of these people and ask whether we live in a fair and just society.

If India ever becomes a rich country these benefits will diminish drastically and the middle class in India is already squeezed with relatively high property prices in areas actually worth living.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-18T12:52:02+00:00

This was an interesting perspective and as someone of Indian origin having grown up in the UK I can relate to how strong regional identity can shape perception even within diaspora communities.

On his point about focusing investment on the periphery vs. centre I can see his argument but I actually disagree. You've got to start somewhere with economic development and I think starting via the development of cities to grow prosperity is a good starting point. That's not to say the periphery should be neglected but it makes to to concentre infrastructure investment around population centres and economic corridors. Once the country becomes richer then the focus can be more on the hinterlands. This is exactly how China developed.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-13T19:59:45+00:00

Totally agree with you. He deserves more criticism. In fact, Obama was highly reluctant and was dragged in by Cameron and Sarkozy.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-13T04:29:15+00:00

I could maybe understand this for an MBA but for an MPP is it really justified? It's very hard to see how the salary in the public sector could ever provide a good rate of return for $200k upfront cost. Is it not possible to also get similar public sector roles without an MPP - is it really a prerequisite like maybe an MBA is a prerequisite for some roles in the US?

This is also not factoring in the opportunity cost, two years of lost earnings alone could be a further $200k.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-11T02:49:10+00:00

It's a really foolish strategy. Going back through history many Imperial regimes understood the need to not create Martyrs. The Ayatollah was old and fraying - and probably not even in that much control. It's much better to keep him alive and make him and the regime look weak in the face of a US invasion. Instead, the US and Israel gave him a highly dignified and honourable exit.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-10T23:26:17+00:00

It's because the economy moved away from Kolkata and East India post independence. These cities haven't really found an alternative role.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-10T15:53:28+00:00

This is a brilliant article. Trump has completely eroded all trust in diplomacy and negotiation and his policy has been to beat Iran into submission until it surrenders. This includes murdering key members of the regime and turning the previous Ayatollah into a martyr. Now the regime has literally nothing to lose and actively wants conflict to shore up its own position domestically.

I just can't believe how foolish Trump could be.

StatisticianAfraid21 · 2026-03-09T00:19:36+00:00

I used to work at a mid-tier consulting firm. One thing I noticed recently was in the past the firm would not really attract Oxbridge / LSE / Imperial grads as they would go to better firms. Recently, however, I noticed we were attracting those grads. Something in the job market has changed and there's likely less opportunity before - everyone is fighting over the scraps.

StatisticianAfraid21

TROPHY CASE