Today’s headlines .........

[MyNameIsTerry]

The Naked Fact....

Pornography, whichever way you dress it up, is the representation of sexual behaviour in books, pictures, films etcetera, specifically intended to cause sexual excitement and arousal. So, no matter if it’s a suggestively nude person or an “... AI powered tool[!]...”, it’s pornography.

“Can AI porn be ethical?”

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...ethics-ai-porn

As all pornography can be considered [s]exploitative to some extent, maybe that question should be: can any porn be ethical?... Now, maybe some folks will only need to look at pornography for a moment or two to come to a quick conclusion, whereas others perhaps couldn’t give a toss one way or the other....


PS: At posh-ish school, woe betide anyone caught ‘lobbing’ – shorthand for “engaging in lewd and obscene behaviour unbefitting a young gentleman” – which encompassed all malarkey from looking at dirty books to more serious comings and goings. Nowadays, there’s probably a compulsory instruction manual with pictures.

It's just not realistic unless your AI GF tries to change you, experiences some headache nights, etc

It's a strange debate to have now when cartoon porn has been around for ages. But deep fake seems a bit different, it's like asking a sex toy company to mold a person's bits for you.

If you've seen the AI GF apps there is another worrying element in that they seem to follow the Japanese fascination with young girls and uniforms. Since the hentai porn debate is a big grey area this will only remind lawmakers they need to pull their finger out and make a decision.

[Lencoboy]

Speaking On Behalf Of The Labour Party...

Did Sir Lindsay Hoyle (in his supposedly impartial yet powerful role as House of Commons Speaker) aid and abet Sir Keir Starmer out of a very tricky and politically damaging situation?

‘Sir Lindsay's decision meant Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer avoided another potential rebellion over the party's position on Gaza as Labour MPs were able to show their support for a ceasefire without voting for an SNP motion.’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68366512

What was it some MP shouted out during the furore... “Bring back John Bercow!”...? Things must be bad!

‘After a dramatic day in parliament, the speaker’s standing, at least on the government’s benches, had been left badly damaged. Starmer, however, had pulled off a political coup, eventually avoiding any rebellion at all after the government decided to pull out entirely from the evening’s votes. [...] “We came minutes away from disaster,” said one senior Labour official. “Thank God for Lindsay Hoyle.”’

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...re-vote-crisis

Least said, soonest mended...? Too late!

Cue the inevitable further shoehorning of anti-Semitism into all of this plus further anti-Labour poison spewed out by the media and certain elements of the general public.

Is 'Partygate' now all 'water under the bridge' and forgiven and forgotten?

[Pain]

... Is 'Partygate' now all 'water under the bridge' and forgiven and forgotten?

What the dickens has partygate got to do with this? I mean, former PM Harold Wilson once said “a week in politics is a long time”, and it’s been many, many weeks since partygate had any immediate relevance to anything in politics. No, it hasn’t been forgotten or forgiven – no doubt it’ll be raked up time and time again by folks wanting to divert attention from some current concern or to score political points – but at the moment, in the here and now, there really are more important matters going on in the world.

[Lencoboy]

Cool As A Mountain Stream*...

Has smoking gone out of fashion? Apparently not....

‘... this is the year that smoking has officially become “cool” again.’

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-b2504079.html

‘... the recent romanticisation of smoking on our screens and runways coincides with rising rates of smoking among young people.’

Which is great news for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who’s quite likely to be increasing the duty on fags and tobacco next week.... Strike a light! I mean, for a while it looked like that source of revenue was dying out....

Butt on a lighter note *Consulate menthol cigarettes – the finest taste in smoking.... You’ve got to be of a certain age to remember that advert.... Hmmm, I wonder if you can still get them? Ahhh, yes, the power of nostalgia, nicotine and advertising.

Good god, if that's the case it sounds like the 90s all over again!

I'm really flummoxed as to how a lot of them can even afford it in this day and age as a typical packet of ciggies reportedly costs a bomb, coupled with many youngsters frequently purporting to be increasingly skint.

Also the price is soon expected to reach £16 per packet according to the article on the front page of yesterday's Metro, which I couldn't resist reading while I was sat waiting for my train to Burton, and not a dickie bird about this current 'increase' in young smokers.

I'm also flummoxed as to how many people still manage to spare the dosh for holidays abroad every year (sometimes more than one), in spite of the current financial climate, which in turn a lot of people just seem to be taking on the chin, unlike the last GFC and almost all 'recessions' that came before it, that far more people seemed to be far more vocal and angry about; at least that's how I personally seem to remember it.

[Lencoboy]

Good god, if that's the case it sounds like the 90s all over again!

I'm really flummoxed as to how a lot of them can even afford it in this day and age as a typical packet of ciggies reportedly costs a bomb, coupled with many youngsters frequently purporting to be increasingly skint.

Also the price is soon expected to reach £16 per packet according to the article on the front page of yesterday's Metro, which I couldn't resist reading while I was sat waiting for my train to Burton, and not a dickie bird about this current 'increase' in young smokers.

I also wonder as to how and where many teen smokers still manage to obtain their cigs, especially as not only are they hidden from view in all stores these days, you have to ask for them and have to be at least 18 to legally purchase and be served them, plus there's no longer any vending machines selling cigs either.

My only possible explanations are they must get them from over 18s and/or some shops sell cigs to them 'on the sly' in order to 'keep the peace' and of course to chase profits.

Funnily enough I remember someone I know telling me last year that in certain parts of mainland Europe both the authorities and the general public at large still have far more lax and lenient attitudes towards smokers defying smoking-related restrictions than we seem to here in this country, plus they also have more permissive attitudes towards underage smoking (and alcohol consumption).

In fact, Austria even scrapped their indoor smoking ban in 2018.

[Lencoboy]

Regarding the thing about more youngsters smoking, I actually looked it up on the BBC site this evening and the only (and most recent) mention of it on said site was in December, stating that the number of youngsters smoking has edged up a bit since the start of the Covid pandemic, and is largely believed to be attributed to all the stresses caused by the pandemic, but the stats only covered the period spanning from April 2020 through mid 2022, so might already be slightly out-of-date.

Also said article from the BBC site didn't mention anything about copycat smoking among youngsters influenced by scenes in films, TV dramas, etc, allegedly glamorising smoking once again, as the linked Independent article a couple of threads back suggests.

[Lencoboy]

Bellowing Belted Galloway* Wins Top Prize...

for pedigree bull...

‘Addressing Starmer from the podium, Galloway said: “This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates, a score of parliamentary constituencies, beginning here in the north-west, in the West Midlands, in London, from Ilford to Bethnal Green & Bow.’

... but gives Labour something to beef about.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...ale-byelection

By George! Has Mr Starmer found himself tossed on the horns of a dilemma?


* Explanatory.... https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/george-galloway-released-from-hospital-after-vicious-london-street-attack-as-respect-party-posts-picture-of-his-injuries-9701345.html

and... https://www.beltedgalloways.co.uk/

While Galloway is certainly a charmer in his own right, both the Tories and Reform UK basically bombed in yesterday's by-election in Rochdale.

I know Labour technically bombed too, but in this particular instance they were already written off anyway following their candidate's anti-Israeli debacle and his subequent dismissal from the Labour Party as a consequence.

[Lencoboy]

Laughing In The Face Of Adversity....

‘Mr Sunak burst out laughing [...] before Ms Oakden pressed him to “give us a date” [...] A frustrated Ms Oakden said: “Why not? Why is that funny? Why are you laughing about that?”’

Oh come on! The bloke’s married, for goodness sake!... Ah, hang on, this refers to that other funny business of when our Prime Minister will call a general election.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b2521976.html

Mr Sunak, being game for a laugh (remember his migrants to Rwanda bet?), could wait until this Government’s term of office came to an end – 28^th January, 2025 – or, if he wanted to cause a right royal ruction, he could refuse to call one at all. Of course, that would cause a ‘constitutional crisis’ –– whatever one of those is –– which would be really weird, because the UK doesn’t actually have a codified constitution. Funny old country, isn’t it?

Well Mr Sunak certainly seems intent on dragging his heels right now and waiting until the very last moment to call the forthcoming GE.

Obviously hoping and praying in vain that his (Tory) party makes a dramatic bounce-back and that Labour makes some kind of epic screw-up between now and then!

[Scissel]

Joyous NYC Coffee Shop Hires and Trains People with Autism and Down Syndrome to Work There

By
Andy Corbley -

Apr 5, 2024

credit – Cafe Joyeux, Facebook While a cup of joe from Cafe Joyeux is a normal experience in European cities, this radical and tremendous coffee chain just opened its doors in the Big Apple.
Located at 599 Lexington Avenue, East 52nd Street, the first American Cafe Joyeux employs crew members with intellectual and developmental disabilities, empowering them through meaningful training and employment.
With Autism Awareness Day having just passed, it’s the perfect time to go for a coffee there.


It’s a beautiful thing to see the average Joe helping out his neuro-divergent neighbors, but as humans are a communal species of social primates, few things can empower a person as much as the vote of confidence that they are worthy and capable of performing gainful, meaningful employment.
To that end, and whether it’s broad-spectrum autism or Down Syndrome, the staff at Cafe Joyeux are trained and expected to perform like any other employee, something which Rachael Barcelona told CBS News “changed her life.”
“I’ve been rejected so many times and told I was a burden because of my autism,” she said, describing the shock she had when someone offered her a job, “and I was going to get paid too!”
Founded by a French social entrepreneur, there are 20 Cafe Joyeux across the Old World, a number most Americans will agree would be joyeux to see here Stateside.
WATCH the story from CBS’ ‘Heart of America’…

[Lencoboy]

Joyous NYC Coffee Shop Hires and Trains People with Autism and Down Syndrome to Work There

By
Andy Corbley -

Apr 5, 2024

credit – Cafe Joyeux, Facebook While a cup of joe from Cafe Joyeux is a normal experience in European cities, this radical and tremendous coffee chain just opened its doors in the Big Apple.
Located at 599 Lexington Avenue, East 52nd Street, the first American Cafe Joyeux employs crew members with intellectual and developmental disabilities, empowering them through meaningful training and employment.
With Autism Awareness Day having just passed, it’s the perfect time to go for a coffee there.


It’s a beautiful thing to see the average Joe helping out his neuro-divergent neighbors, but as humans are a communal species of social primates, few things can empower a person as much as the vote of confidence that they are worthy and capable of performing gainful, meaningful employment.
To that end, and whether it’s broad-spectrum autism or Down Syndrome, the staff at Cafe Joyeux are trained and expected to perform like any other employee, something which Rachael Barcelona told CBS News “changed her life.”
“I’ve been rejected so many times and told I was a burden because of my autism,” she said, describing the shock she had when someone offered her a job, “and I was going to get paid too!”
Founded by a French social entrepreneur, there are 20 Cafe Joyeux across the Old World, a number most Americans will agree would be joyeux to see here Stateside.
WATCH the story from CBS’ ‘Heart of America’…

Wow, that's really heartening and indeed encouraging Scissel. And in one of the most influential global settlements too!

Would have no doubt been virtually unthinkable some 20+ years ago.