A slight diversion today, to bring news of an interesting website: gapminder. Those with an interest in development issues will find much of interest in the 'gapminder world 2006' database.

Plotting life expectancy against fertility and playing it over time is particularly interesting - giving a view of China's astonishing development and the impact of the AIDS pandemic in Africa (the blue countries). Tracking individual countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and Rwanda gives a dramatic visual representation of their recent histories.

Those with an interest in sword swallowing swedish statisticians (admittedly a niche market) will also find much of interest in watching Hans Rosling present his lecture. Fast forward to near the end for the good stuff.

Elsewhere, there's an interesting article in the Times about the potential next Vice President.

My thoughts on the matter are that, for McCain, Crist is a no-go because of persistent rumours that he's gay, Lieberman because he would leave a vacant Senate seat in Connecticut which the Democrats would almost certainly win, and Rice because of her proximity to Bush. I suspect Mitt Romney, despite the personal antipathy between them, best offers McCain the fiscally conservative, 'obviously qualified to be president' candidate that he needs.

For Clinton, Wes Clark and Evan Bayh are probably the two favourites. For Obama, Clark might also be an option depending on the extent to which his relationship with the Clintons (to whom Clark is VERY close) has degraded by the time he wins the nomination. Otherwise, Joe Biden, Kathleen Sebelius, Bill Richardson or Tim Kaine are all distinct possibilities, with Biden offering the foreign policy experience and Sebelius and Kaine offering the executive experience; both of which Obama lacks. Bill Richardson potentially offers both, and a truly historic African American-Latino ticket. Watch this space...