Interesting Links for 25-09-2022

[andrewducker]

1. How 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' Finally, After 43 Years, Got Completed

(tags:StarTrek movies )

2. James Earl Jones Signs Off on Using Recordings to Recreate Voice with AI

(tags:ai voice StarWars )

3. Voters do not know what Keir Starmer stands for, poll finds on eve of Labour conference

(tags:labour )

4. How They Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss

(tags:chocolate weight fraud journalism research )

5. Warhammer 40k meets Toy Story!

(tags:toys warhammer funny )

6. Keir Starmer scraps pledge to end NHS private sector outsourcing

(tags:labour NHS privatisation )

Comments

[jack]

Keir Starmer scraps pledge to end NHS private sector outsourcing

I felt like I must be missing something. After a little googling, it seems these were pledges he made campaigning to be labour leader (I think?). Now I'm rather torn:

1. Whatever the reason why on earth would he say that? Or do that? If he wants to drop it can't he just say "we'll do everything we can to reverse the shameful Tory sabotaging of the NHS" rather than be pinned down to specifics. Does that sound better to anyone? Even if he plans to finish off hollowing out, does he gain anything by saying so??

2. The reporting seems... questionable. Even though I don't like this, I think it's reasonable that someone's pledges to become leader might not reflect the pledges they make on behalf of their party for a specific election. I don't think that's necessarily "scrapping" the pledge. I wonder if the interview ambushed him on this or something, although I can't imagine exactly what.

3. I think "outsourcing" is one of these broad terms which obscures what's bad. I think the NHS negotiating with existing commercial companies to buy buildings, medication, stationary, specific services, etc, is entirely reasonable, but can sometimes be described as "outsourcing" depending what is outsourced. It usually works well for anything where there *is* any competition. But "outsourcing" can also mean "outsourcing a particular offering completely, with no controls over how well or badly its done" when if you say "company X, please provide treatment for Y type conditions in county Z" they can just half-arse it and keep the money, which is one way the health system is being undermined (or possibly a symptom of lack of funding).

[andrewducker]

Starmer has broken many of his pledges:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/31/boris-johnson-dishonesty-keir-starmer-labour-abandoned-pledges

A lot of Labour members are deeply unhappy about having voted for him only to have him abandon his promises.

But as it seems to be working many of them feel unable to challenge too much on them.

[calimac]

1. You mean "Star Trek: The Motionless Picture," as we called it, might not actually be as boring as we experienced it? Somehow I'm not willing to sit through it again to find out. I rather doubt they've scrapped the entire scene where Kirk and gang from a shuttle gaze lovingly and interminably on the plastic model outlines of the new Enterprise before they take it out.

[ckd]

No, but i think it was trimmed a bit.

OTOH, the best bit of ST:TMP trivia is the footnote in Roddenberry's novelization where James Kirk in character addresses K/S.

[andrewducker]

I may watch it at some point to see how much less it drags!