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Thursday, July 18, 2024

With Rents Soaring And Property Developers Circling, Can Artists Afford Studios Anymore?

"What does the money machine eat? It eats youth, spontaneity, life, beauty, and, above all, it eats creativity. It eats quality and shits quantity."
~ William S. Burroughs

 

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With Rents Soaring And Property Developers Circling, Can Artists Afford Studios Anymore?

British artists are suffering: “Nearly one in three artists doubted that they would be able to continue working professionally in five years’ time, and 40% said they could not afford to have savings or contribute to a pension.” - The Guardian (UK)


Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement

The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) leads the fight against international tax crime and money laundering.

Last updated 17 July 2024


 Sorkin interviews Peter Thiel.  That this has become such a normal event  and dialogue shows something significant about how the world is evolving?

Coca-Cola v. Commissioner: A Major IRS International Transfer Pricing Win




AI In Finance and Banking – July 15, 2024

AI In Finance and Banking – July 15, 2024 – This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacificihighlights news, government documents, papers by NGO/IGO organizations and economists, speeches, and industry white papers on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. 

The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. 

Six highlights from this post: We need bold minds to challenge AI, not lazy prompt writers, bank CIO says; Managing AI in banking: are we ready to cooperate?; The gen AI gender gap; Will User-Contributed AI Training Data Eat Its Own Tail?; Demand for Artificial Intelligence in Settlement Negotiations; and Artificial intelligence – a central bank’s view.




“A lot of academic writing is formulaic and routine. Rarely does anything break out of the conservative mold of traditional article structures” — John Danaher (Galway) on how academics might benefit from John McPhee’s “elaborate and playful approach” to writing


Opinion | Editorials blast Trump while questions about Biden remain

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times published editorials saying Trump is unfit to be president.

July 12, 2024
  

Labour could stop charging interest on student loans


Rise Of The Efficiency Gurus

We flaunt long workweeks and disdain anyone working less than full-time. But we’re likewise seduced by get-rich-quick schemes and “labor-saving” gimmicks. The rich may work long hours, but much of their income is passive, the fruit of asset appreciation and other people’s labor. - Commonweal


The Future Of Streaming

Profitability depends on how many paying subscribers are needed. There was a time when industry executives hoped that number might be as low as 100 million. But now the consensus among many of the executives interviewed is that the number is at least 200 million, and possibly more. - The New York Times

Biden has to go

Ageing comes to us all. It is to me, although since I am still in good health and very active at 66, I am reluctant to admit it.

However, I do appreciate that I am finite and that I have many more years behind me now than there are to come. It makes me think about how I want to use my time more carefully.

I also know that this whole process of ageing inevitably means that, at some point, I will slow down, and my energy and mental acuity will decline. Only a fool would deny the fact.

The USA is currently afflicted by two such fools. One is Trump. The other is Biden.

Questions about whether Trump has the mental capacity to be President could have been asked for a long time. It would seem from his speeches that his capacity to concentrate is declining, and the level of his rambling incoherence is growing. Why this is not the subject of a lot of debate is hard to work out.

Biden is subject to that debate. It is clear that he still has the mastery of detail on many issues. It is also clear that all the signs of ageing are becoming more apparent. We all make mistakes and forget names or just what we went upstairs for. That's life. But Biden is doing it too often to ignore.

I do not want to be ageist, but being President of the USA in your 80s is not a good idea, either for the person holding office or for that country.  It is physically too much to ask. It is mentally too much to ask. And the risks are too big for the country to take.

The US has an appalling choice in the coming election, but there is at least a chance that Biden might stand down. He should. He is already not up to the job he is doing, and it would be absurd to ask him to do it for another four years.

The trouble is, the Republicans also need to recognise this with Trump. They probably will not, but the Democrats should. Biden has to go. He is simply no longer able to do the job.