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“The Writers Guild of America is seeking to restrict the use of artificial intelligence in writing film and television scripts. Hollywood studios, battling to make streaming services profitable and dealing with shrinking ad revenues, have rejected that idea.” – Reuters

Four Bathrooms and a Urinal

Dirk runs up to Daphne, a human woman who wears sexiness like a coat made of teen models.

DIRK: Here are flowers. They are not a secret anymore.

Dirk is tall.

DAPHNE (giggles three times): Not like my other secret flowers.

Daphne winks. Her mascara is spidery.

DAPHNE: Why are you here, Dirk? Is it the bathroom problem again?

DIRK: No, I have a toilet this week, thank you.

Dirk puts one foot on a chair like a sports guy giving a speech about winning.

Erin Kissane wrote a great essay on the differences between Mastodon and Bluesky (two very different decentralized social networks/Twitter alternatives). Read it! I too joined Bluesky a few days ago (no – I don’t have any invites), and I’ve some of the same impressions as she did, but not being a real tech person, I […]

Not bloody likely. But it’s probably all we’ve got. The Court has gone rogues and the entire GOP supports it. It seems as though the press is dropping a new Clarence Thomas corruption scandal every day. Yesterday we got two. First, Pro-Publica published yet another story about Thomas’ wealthy benefactor Harlan Crow passing on a lavish gift to his pal which Thomas once again failed to report. This time, it was private school tuition for the grand-nephew Thomas and his wife Ginni have said they raised like he was their own son since he was 6 years old. By evening, we found out that Federalist Society guru Leonard Leo instructed longtime GOP operative Kellyanne Conway back in 2012 to have her polling firm bill his nonprofit group “another $25,000” but give the money to Ginni Thomas — adding, with “no mention of Ginni, of course.” What the hell is going on here? It’s bad enough that Ginni Thomas is a hardcore far-right Republican activist who even participated in the coup attempt of 2020 and spouted QAnon conspiracy theories.

Jonathan Groff (Glee, Mindhunter) will be joining Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson, appearing in Doctor Who Series 14 in a guest-starring role.

Baroness Jenny Jones explores how reform of the monarchy could work better for our democracy

As the three-year anniversary of George Floyd's death nears, David Miller investigates the campaign to silence critics of Israel's role in training American police on the violent tactics of suppression meted out on Black Americans.

The post George Floyd’s Murder Reminds Us: Israel’s Knee Sits on the Neck of Black America appeared first on MintPress News.

Socialism means plenty for all. We do not preach a gospel of want and scarcity, but of abundance. Our desire is not to make poor those who to-day are rich, in order to put the poor in the place where the rich now are. Our desire is not to pull down the present rulers to […]

Join us on Callin to ask us questions in real time!

by Gary Gardner

The looks I get are familiar at this point: the blank stare screaming What do you mean, a no-growth economy? The frown of doubt that silently demands, Are you crazy? This is how skepticism about degrowth and steady-state economics manifests in my own life.

The work of a steady-state proponent is not for the faint of heart, to be sure. Steady state economies are sorely needed today but are far from being widely understood,

The post Selling the Steady State Economy appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Introducing an electoral system of proportional representation should take priority over conversations about the future nature of Britain's head of state, writes AC Grayling

RW Eeyores will downplay this They’re ba-ack. Jobs, that is. I know, the Market is not the average American’s lived experience. But damned if Republicans don’t treat it that way when it’s going their way. Except under a Democratic president. Investor’s Business Daily: Dow Jones Surges 450 Points On Strong Jobs Report. AAPL Stock Jumps On Earnings. Barron’s: The Jobs Data Were Hotter Than Expected. Why the Stock Market Is Celebrating. Washington Post: In March 2021, more than 4 million workers were “missing” from the job market as a result of early retirements, a lack of child care, covid illness and death, and slowdowns in immigration. More than 75 percent of that shortfall has been filled, according to a Washington Post analysis, as new and returning workers help boost labor-force participation back to pre-pandemic levels. The share of adults who have a job or are looking for one is back to where it was in March 2020. Watch for the negative spin from the right’s Eeyores. And from “labor participation truthers,” cautions Carolina Forward. “They won’t care” is right.

King Charles' Coronation is a missed opportunity to move monarchy into the modern era, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall

Leaked documents reviewed by MintPress reveal how The British Home Office has been clandestinely spying on refugees' smartphones under the guise of "combatting human trafficking."

The post Project INVICTUS: Inside the UK’s Human Rights Busting Campaign to Spy on Refugees appeared first on MintPress News.

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Reform Political Advertising campaign report reveals scale of deceptive literature in the runup to the May local elections, as Green Party calls for greater regulation

Stumbled across this interesting rabbit hole on twitter.

Paranoia strikes deep The strangulation homicide of Jordan Neely, Michael Jackson impersonator, on a New York City subway has prompted a flurry of commentary. Neely’s race and that of his killer is familiar. What’s out of the ordinary is that his assailant was not a cop and did not use a gun. Also familiar is the judgment by law enforcement officials (for now) that a homicide of a black man is not necessarily a murder. The assailant has not been charged. “Barack freaking Obama would not be allowed to walk away after choking a homeless white man to death on the subway,” rages Elie Mystal at The Nation. Poverty, homelessness and mental illness in the richest nation on earth are all accomplices, as are the bystanders who remained bystanders as they watched (reportedly) a former Marine choke the life out of Neely for behaving erratically. There is a forest here, not just trees. The string of Americans killed lately over mundane, nonthreatening actions, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, should unsettle us all. But it is the outgrowth of paranoia that’s been cultivated.

Robert Tressell, the author of the classic socialist novel, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, was one of the most influential writers in twentieth-century England. Yet, for decades after his death, hardly anyone knew who he was. He died 3 February 1911 in Liverpool Royal Infirmary, and was buried a week later in a pauper’s grave. The […]

The labor force includes working age people who are employed and some who are not employed. What factors can affect the labor force participation rate? And what effect does LFP have on the economy?

1. Many dishes are served in a deconstructed manner, with no components touching each other.

2. There is a lot of concern over one tiny drop of sauce on a plate.

3. The basic counter seating has some fancy name like “Chef’s Counter” or “Dad’s Emporium of Dinosaur-Shaped Chicken Nuggets.”

4. If the carrots are not cut correctly, someone might start yelling.

5. You do a lot of deep breathing and counting to ten.

6. Throughout the meal, crumbs must be periodically cleared from the table.

7. The diners are unusually obsessed with smells and textures.

8. No matter how absurd their requests are, you’ve learned it’s better not to argue with the diners.

9. You frequently question what you are doing with your life.

10. Certain foods are disguised to look like something they are not.

11. There are sometimes a lot of questions about where the meat comes from.

12. Someone might be wearing a sequined romper.

13. Someone might be wearing on your nerves.

14. At least once a day, the food will bring someone to tears.

När tankesmedjan Katalys nu firar tioårsjubileum har man passande nog valt att bjuda in författaren till en av årtiondet största megahits inom ekonomiområdet — Underskottsmyten — Stephanie Kelton. Har ni vägarna förbi Stockholm i morgon tycker jag definitivt ni ska lägga ett par timmar på att besöka ABF-huset! Yours truly har under flera års tid […]