Society

  • Meta, xAI, find comfort in competition

    The AI race is advancing. Facebook giant Meta is rolling out its new app Meta AI. It allows users to query and share answers with others. It rivals xAI’s Grok, and X, which have similar features.

    Together, American social media giants are reshaping digital device use. Its portent is clear. The universal use of such referencing suites is a boon for knowledge industries.

    It means people study in cleverer ways. The sharing networks that exist elsewhere benefit from increased engagement. It enhances the interest in, and reach of, credible news.

  • The UK is not in a peaceful state

    The UK is a union of four nations, but it’s not in a peaceful state. There are plagues in cities. There’s incivility in towns. There are strains in villages. There is much in-between besides.

    We have a state of affairs that is lacking peace. The Dover Crossings has exacerbated the difficulties we face. All sincere Civil Servants find it a burden. It’s put us in a tough position.

  • A lack of identity is a religious problem

    The societal breakdown caused by some criminals is not helped by a confusion in peopling churches that evangelicals have.

    In America, and increasingly here, there’s a growth zone for unidentifiable religion, and likewise, for those without ID who turn up without justification.

    The possibilities for the crooked are endless, but this is how our malaise sets in. The lack of clarity – even in a normal year – tells us a lot is amiss we cannot understand.

    There is no greater sign that the UK needs to reign itself in than the sprawling yet amateur enthusiasm for community-centred new expressions in religion.

    It’s not likely, but some criminals even find their home in it. However, it’s more of a neighbourhood in which to live than find a permanent place for our adversaries.

  • Long Report: The EU’s madness

    The long trajectory of the EU is a marvel in some parts of the world. It’s like a monument rising up into the sky, but it’s not about someone that’s dead but about something that’s living. The European project isn’t a score to settle or a futuristic idea but a new way to deal with realities as they present themselves. It seeks to avoid the breakdown of the past and forge common understanding today.

    The effort has not been without its problems. The recent past of the sixth largest continent in the world is fraught with history. The intricacies of its inhabited land area – as well as its definition as a political bloc -are personal and private to its people. However it draws attention due to the interest in histories that many have in other more exotic parts of the world.

    The way Europeans interact with each other has been a source of interest for a long time too. This is why the EU is a project in madness because it’s such a difficult task to assume to take. The World Wars are no more suggestive of problems in Europe than others before. They each colour the act of the characters in each definitive age. Yet today is no exception to this problem of cohabitation that Europeans find themselves in.

    The European mindset

    In the mindset of Europeans is an indelible sense of self. It doesn’t shape, shift, or change according to passing whims at all. It’s set in place like a stone. The way of most Europeans is local and only informed by their national life if there’s something going wrong. It isn’t true to say that policy shapes the everyday conduct of each and every citizen. It’s more true to see it as a drama that plays out and moves people as they feel it in their place.

    There is a strong sense of social order but it’s rarely defined so that it can be definitively seen. There’s no point in trying to tear it down because most of it isn’t really there in any real sense. It’s assumed in meetings and has its place at particular times. In most instance life just goes on as it should and people make their decisions accordingly. It erupts in anger because this isn’t liked by some, but the majority of Europeans hate revolution.

    They prefer peace in the higher echelons of the EU because war has had such a terrible effect. Its citizenry is depleted and its institutions take a long time to recover beyond it. The point is life comes back into its own but the scars are held deep in the soil of the European soul. The hurt, or the damage, never really goes away and even minute actions are taken to put things right.

    Its economic way

    The way of economics in Europe is a hot potato. Much of the reason for Adolf Hitler leading his Nazi’s into Europe beyond Germany is because of his economic ideology. His strong views on economy that shaped his plan to restructure Europe – and the world – included hatred of Jews, other Germans, and minorities. He wanted his super pact to be at the prosperous centre of a new world order. In the end he failed.

    This impedes the progress of Europe. In economics a lot of arguments are had and it’s difficult to shake the past. The way ahead is for Europe to get out of this rut. It has to build a new future based on a shared vision and a better outlook for its people. This isn’t easy to do. It takes a lot of planning, agreement, and inter-regional diplomacy to make sure it can be put right. If it isn’t there is more at stake than just one people group.

    It can threaten everyone if Europe gets it wrong. The way of the world order is to work out all its differences. The contradiction is each seeks its own. The reality is it’s only achieved as we recognise each other. The problems come up as we do it. This is where a strong leadership model is needed as well as a significant support base. The joining together of Europe is such a move in this direction. It sets it up for a fall or a prosperous future.

  • Long Report: A state’s long decline

    The way of finding out what the real problem is can be long and winding. It also takes many twists and turns in its plot line to tell the story. The situation one agent found himself in was just such a situation. However, it had to do with a more difficult task than usual.

    The target of investigation was the UK government, a behemoth of an institution that has grown and grown in recent times. Its many millions of staff, interested parties, and stakeholders rightly stretch across the country, yet its problems also tend to do so, too.

    Credibility decline

    Due to crisis after crisis amongst inexperienced MP’s, civil servants hidden away from public view, and a lot of other strange and unknown characters moving in and out of government circles, a more intrusive form of research was needed to establish what was going on.

    An intelligence officer was sent to look into the matter. In the years that followed he was thrown into a trial of perseverance and hard work that led to disillusionment with corrupt, liberal business figures who also intervened and created a huge deal of confusion.

    These aforementioned characters used their friends and allies as armour bearers. In the sense of using them to rough people up and intimidate people to make sure they got what they wanted. The reason they did this is that their goals were unrelated to their work.

    Cold sets in

    The officer was unpaid for 20 years, even though he was a key intelligence worker. There were departments of state that refused to pay, and dishonest employees tried to draw it. There were payments stopped, ended, and prosecutions attempted to take more.

    He was harassed by state-backed media, government employees, and scrounging royalty who embarrassed us in front of overseas dignitaries in their open attempt to denigrate him. It became clear they have a policy of denying dignity, human rights, and integrity.

    It wasn’t helped by a feeling of misguided political bearing by senior royal figures, whose untimely interventions meant that important work was put aside to deal with later on. It meant that some missions were nearly missed, and facts were nearly overlooked.

    Headless chickens

    There were also complications due to bankrupt policies of the nations only formalised religious group, the Church of England. Their worded attempts at changing the direction and form of government also meant people were distracted from key work.

    In this situation, too much emphasis is put on personal position. It means overreach is a more frequent problem than people imagine. It means personalities gain importance and contributions to discussions are diminished as a result. It distorts ethics overall.

    The officer witnessed a decline into irrelevance. There were erroneous acts carried out by senior government staff, and a lack of preparedness became clear across all government functions. In some, a legacy of unpaid bills built up in staffed government buildings.

    Turning soil

    A tendency in newer governments is to overshoot an actual position, to make assertions that are unscientific in the sense of political science, and to run very muddled payroll departments. It’s the outcome of a misguided, can-do mentality which neglects reality.

    The intelligence officer reported a core problem was a belief in unlimited potential. He was also targeted as a way to do and get more. He heard people reasoning they just needed to have the power to do more even though they already had work to do.

    Maybe it was just boring for them to begin with, but the agent was struggling hugely and didn’t have the power to improve their productivity anyway. It was also apparent that volunteers brought in to help began to make the same mistakes as they did, too.

    Ending well

    The agent looked for help, but members of the public close to the action also failed in their basic civic duties. He found they didn’t want to handle other people’s problems, and they attempted to tame, reason with, or put off those that asked for help.

    In his attempt to keep morale, and to achieve the mission, the agent carried on and followed through with every duty he got. He also ignored not getting paid. The situation was brought under control, and order was restored into the state of things.

  • Society weddings get a boost

    The Duke of Westminster – a poorly known chap – is due to get married shortly, to the woman of his choice.

    They’ve visited a church in Chester – aptly named Chester Cathedral – and plan to tie the knot in June. It looks set to be a happy affair.

    The only trouble of course is that it seems so irrelevant. I for one have been to numerous weddings of far greater importance than a Duke who’s worth is in the billions.

    I am being sarcastic, of course.

    As much as the diehards among us want to believe it’s all over (‘and it is now’, etc., etc.), it’s clearly still going ahead for society in the UK, where weddings and some funerals have passed without a hiccup of late.

    It’s a good sign that there’s faith still in its institution (even if we see through the cracks). There’s purpose in all those weddings, I assume, that happen as much as in hotel’s as fuck ups in youth hostels.

    There’s a general sense that here we still want to do things but with a little less impression attached to it.

    I mean that in saying the Duke of Westminster is known as a reserved, retiring sort of a guy. He likes to be around people but not get up to much at the same time.

    This isn’t personal knowledge per se, but it gets around what people are really like and it seems a marriage in his war chest is just another shield to hang on a wall as well. It keeps him – and his family – going fairly nicely.

    It’s the way marriages are, these days, a bit of a day and a few children to boot – then the rest is life, as it is.