Glass Wings Blog

The Glass Wings mailing list and blog is for general idle chit-chat about things we find interesting, especially humor, animation or other subjects relevant to the Glass Wings web site.

Harlan Crow Sure Isn’t Paying for Your Kid’s School

Mon, 29 May 2023 14:33:48 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/harlan-crow-school-payments-insult-injury.html>

"In 1969, Justice Abe Fortas resigned his seat at the Supreme Court for
accepting $15,000 in exchange for a series of paid lectures at American
University. Part of the Fortas scandal also involved news of him accepting a

Don't replace your people with ChatGPT or other AI services

Mon, 29 May 2023 14:31:54 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.computerworld.com/article/3695734/dont-replace-your-people-with-chatgpt-or-other-a-i-services.html>

'Goldman Sachs predicts generative A.I. will replace 300 million full-time jobs
because it can "generate content that is indistinguishable from human-created
output." Meanwhile, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has paused hiring because A.I.

As Platforms Decay, Let’s Put Users First

Mon, 29 May 2023 14:30:23 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first>

"The net’s long decline into “five giant websites, each filled with screenshots
of the other four” isn’t a mystery. Nor was it by any means a forgone
conclusion. Instead, we got here through a series of conscious actions by big

Suddenly, the US is a climate policy trendsetter

Mon, 29 May 2023 14:28:37 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufacturing/suddenly-the-us-is-a-climate-policy-trendsetter>

"It wasn’t long ago that Europeans were lamenting the United States’ lack of
progress on climate. Now they’re racing to keep up.

Australia now has its own grand mosque: a brief history of how these buildings fold into the urban landscape

Mon, 29 May 2023 14:27:11 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/australia-now-has-its-own-grand-mosque-a-brief-history-of-how-these-buildings-fold-into-the-urban-landscape-189554>

"A referee’s whistle pierces the air. A player dribbles a ball across a court;
goal! Cheers erupt.

Almost Half The Planet Predicted to Enter New Climate Zones by 2100

Mon, 29 May 2023 06:35:47 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.sciencealert.com/almost-half-the-planet-predicted-to-enter-new-climate-zones-by-2100>

'Our planet is teetering on the edge of several tipping points that once
passed, will topple into a cascade of ecological changes.

Ed Sheeran, Once Again, Demonstrates How Modern Copyright Is Destroying, Rather Than Helping Musicians

Mon, 29 May 2023 06:34:07 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/08/ed-sheeran-once-again-demonstrates-how-modern-copyright-is-destroying-rather-than-helping-musicians/>

"To hear the recording industry tell the story, copyright is the only thing
protecting musicians from poverty and despair. Of course, that’s always been
a myth. Copyright was designed to benefit the middlemen and gatekeepers, such

Our tropical fruits are vulnerable to climate change. Can we make them resilient in time?

Mon, 29 May 2023 06:32:45 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/our-tropical-fruits-are-vulnerable-to-climate-change-can-we-make-them-resilient-in-time-199978>

"Plants provide almost every calorie of food we eat. Grains like rice, wheat
and corn make civilisation possible. For millennia, farmers have bred grains,
fruit and vegetable varieties to get larger harvests and plants better able to

Hollywood is the single best example of mature labor power in America

Mon, 29 May 2023 06:31:22 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://doctorow.medium.com/hollywood-is-the-single-best-example-of-mature-labor-power-in-america-2f691e6bad08>

"The Writers Guild is on strike. Hollywood is closed for business. The union’s
bargaining documents reveal a cartel of studios that refused to negotiate on a
single position. This could go on for a long-ass time:

A cancer centre is the latest victim of cyber attacks. Why health data hacks keep happening

Mon, 29 May 2023 06:30:07 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

<https://theconversation.com/a-cancer-centre-is-the-latest-victim-of-cyber-attacks-why-health-data-hacks-keep-happening-205131>

"It seems hardly a day goes by without another report of a cyber crime
incident. With Medibank still fresh in our minds, the latest attack is on a
Sydney-based cancer treatment facility, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre in