Nina Cried Power

By Kitty Riley Mark Zuckerberg has resigned as Meta CEO with immediate effect.  Mark, (40), said he has decided to use his huge fortune to promote world peace, fight hunger and poverty, and bring and end to inequality. 'Zucks' final act as Meta CEO was to initiate a policy of contrition by funding the legal team for Luigi Mangione.  As a gesture of good will Zuckerberg has donated his prize stallion to Pedigree Foods. When pressed if his decision had anything to do with President Elect, Don Trump, entering the White House shortly he said he had not discussed this decision with The Don and hadn't been made an offer he couldn't refuse. Incoming CEO, Lisa Simpson, was unavailable for comment but probably said, "I welcome Marks decision and wish him good luck in his new venture. He's going to need it".

The economics for people to take a job as a Farm Picker just don't work if you live in a wealthy country like the UK. It's expensive to live here. Property is expensive. Rents are high. These and the high cost of living means seasonal work doesn't cover the months where there is no work. On top of that the cost of transport means low paid work in remote areas takes a big piece of whatever you earn. You're unlikely to be able to move closer as you will have family commitments or a partner working elsewhere, and you won't be making enough to have two homes. On the other hand, for people who live in countries where property is cheap and rents are low you can make a good income by working here for the picking season. Temporary accommodation only has to be paid for during the season you are here. Farms can provide this nearby. And after the picking season you can take several months off back in your own country, where the weather is warmer and what would be a...

The thing about the Harry Potters books is that they are... okay. That's it. Not bad, not amazing, but okay. Written for a younger reader they made lots of strong morals points, but they also made use of quite a few lazy archetypes, to keep the stories easy to follow and understand. The obvious one is the Goblins similarity to how Jews were depicted, but others are more subtle. The 'thing' that made Harry Potter so successful was the movies, and the 'thing' that made the movies so great was the casting. JK Rowling insisting a Britsh cast, to fit the writing, was her contribution to the world, (although Great Britain in particular), and something I will always be grateful for. The subsequent buzz about her Trans views was probably more of a reflection on how Social Media works to stir up hatred. Rather than accept one unfortunate comment as ill judged it became a line where sides could be taken, division sown, battles fought, and advertising revenue reaped. By the ti...

As I was watching the news a report came on about a very sad event in Rotterdam, and this sparked a chain of thought about AI writing stories.  On the screen was a picture of somewhere in Rotterdam where the tragedy had taken place, and I thought, that could be anywhere. It could be Liverpool, or Rome. Now I'm guessing that about half of you will get that reference, and please accept my apologies for the ear worm.  But an AI reading that won't get it and will learn nothing about writing from reading it. And even if it were explained to the AI, the AI has no life experiences to draw on to write anything original. And the difference between good writing and great writing, (which doesn't include my humble ranting), is that so much of it is not understood by every reader. Indeed very few readers will get all the connections the author makes. You can read the same book years later and have a very different understanding of it. You can enjoy the book without getting any of the re...

Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Sinnerman where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run to? All on that day We got to run to the rock Please hide me, I run to the rock Please hide me, run to the rock Please hide here All on that day But the rock cried out I can't hide you, the rock cried out I can't hide you, the rock cried out I ain't gonna hide you there All on that day I said rock What's the matter with you rock? Don't you see I need you, rock? Good Lord, Lord All on that day So I run to the river It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', all on that day So I run to the river It was boilin', I run to the sea It was boilin', I run to the sea It was boilin', all on that day So I run to the Lord Please hide me, Lord Don't you see me prayin'? Don't you see me down here prayin'? But the Lord said Go to the Devil, the Lord said Go to the Devil He said go to the Devil All on that day...

I think the argument to pay higher wages is a trick that actually makes people worse off because it shifts the balance of society towards greater personal responsibility. This sounds like a positive step but where previously there was collective responsibility in that taxes were paid and spent in ways that benefitted the country, personal responsibility is a way for people to pay less tax for the benefit of themselves.  Problem one is fewer people acting in ways that benefit the country. Problem two is that people need higher wages to pay for those things that have now become their personal responsibility. And that is the trick. People are given back less than they gain, and told asking for more will be inflationary. Meanwhile, somebody else pockets the difference, either for their own greed, or to delay the collapse of capitalism a little longer in a void of ideas for a better system.