Interesting Links for 20-01-2025

[andrewducker]

1. Julia Donaldson supplants JK Rowling to become the UK's all-time top author by volume

(tags:uk publishing books )

2. Under new law, cops bust famous cartoonist for AI-generated child sex abuse images

(tags:sex children ai law USA )

3. Don't fly with Lufthansa

(tags:flying customerservice fail )

4. US police are arresting the wrong people because a facial recognition program picked them off a list.

(tags:faces recognition police OhForFucksSake )

5. The Undocumented Immigrant Offending Rate Is Lower Than The U.S.-Born Citizen Rate

(tags:usa crime immigration )

6. The Gaza war has nurtured more hate than any conflict since 1945

(tags:gaza palestine usa israel )

7. Hulu is now making people answer a question from an advertisement to continue watching.

(tags:tv advertising OhForFucksSake )

Comments

[juan_gandhi]

I loved this part:

"If you really want to annoy Lufthansa I would recommend writing to them under the Freedom of Information Act and requesting all audio and electronic communications that involve you so you can take the emails and transcripts of your phone calls as your evidence to an Alternative Dispute Resolution service, and see what they think."

[nancylebov]

1. I hadn't heard of the Gruffalo, but I'm adding Donaldson to the list of author's last names where it's necessary to mention the first name.

I listened to the Gruffalo, and I'm not sure it rises about pleasant, but it's good that it isn't using a highly restricted vocabulary.

[andrewducker]

It's marvellous for 4 years olds.

I also recommend the TV movie. It's about 20 minutes long and really well done.

[fanf]

Julia Donaldson is lovely to read out loud, and Axel Scheffler’s illustrations are great too.

(Also great fun are Lynley Dodd’s books featuring Hairy Maclary the dog and his friends.)

[cmcmck]

1. And hopefully she isn't a transphobe!

[andrewducker]

Fingers crossed!

[redbird]

It's worth reminding people that immigrants, and specifically undocumented immigrants, are less likely to be arrested than U.S.-born citizens.

I'm putting it that way because this keeps being pointed out in various contexts, and then ignored by people who expect the opposite. Also, one of the things that "sanctuary city" means is that undocumented residents who are witnesses to, or victims of, crimes won't be deported just for talking to the police.

[bens_dad]

5. I wonder how the racial mix of native-born citizens and illegal immigrants compare ?

If a significantly lower proportion of illegals are black and black people are significantly more likely to be arrested that might have an influence on these numbers.

[andrewducker]

That would make it even better news that fewer undocumented immigrants commit offences!

[bens_dad]

????
This study is about arrest rates, isn't it ?

[andrewducker]

Sorry, yes - even better news that fewer undocumented immigrants are *arrested* for committing offences.

[movingfinger]

3. People book plane flights with an airline directly over the phone? I don't think I've done that since... 2004? Likely even earlier. Air travel bookings were one of the earliest practical commerce implementations on the web.

[andrewducker]

I don't.

But some (largely older) people clearly do. And it's a service that the airlines make available, so there must be some appetite for it.