If Musk and X claim it is too difficult to prevent Grok sexualising images, (and I'd say ALL of them are inappropriate since they're not done with permission, just that some are even more innappropriate than others) then - have they tried training an AI to prevent it?

How many people is the US allowed to kill to capture an alleged criminal? Who answers for the crime of killing security staff? Does it matter if they are foreigners, or US nationals? Military, or civilians? How innured are we to "airstrikes" on foreign countries, that we don't ask these questions?

How is it a criminal offence to possess machine guns presumably in a foreign country, when you're that country's president? Is Trump trumping up charges? And - heck - is Trump liable to be kidnapped and arrested for "possessing nuclear weapons"? (which have been banned by the UN).

I get it: it's exhausting. It takes time to respond, time to react, time to do legal due process. But the consequence is that you're constantly wrong-footed, by shifts and u-turns and unexpected actions. To resist, you don't have to guard against every inanity. But you do have to take a solid stand.

Trump must be wetting himself with excitement over the lame the response to his Venezuelan incursion and multiple murders. Even if there was an international arrest warrant out for Maduro (there wasn't) killing his security team is straight out murder. And yet the US, and world, mostly shrugs.

Last day - last hours! - of the @northodoxpress.bsky.social Xmas #booksale! Get in before it ends - browsing books is MUCH better than taking down the decorations! (Especially if you have any mincepies or other goodies left to consume...). Don't forget that coupon code - NORTHODOXMAS!

First publication of the year: Fighting Fire, at Anomaly (editor: @ericfomley.bsky.social) www.patreon.com/posts/fighti... An eco-microfiction, with shades of Fahrenheit 451...

If you need "new powers" to do this, then you're screwed. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... "New powers allowing mobile phones to be seized from illegal migrants without arresting them have come into force."

When you elect a clown, expect a circus. When you elect a crook... expect grand larceny, murder, corruption and ceaseless cruelty.

I write female protagonists. I write gay protagonists. I do this not because of wokeness, (though I don't NOT do it, because of... whatever the opposite of wokeness is). But because I do whatever I (think I) need to to make the story better. I also write alien and dragon protagonists. Same reasons

It should be clear and obvious to the BBC that asking the opinions of Venezuelan exiles, now living in a country which is doing the "regime change", is unlikely to give unbiased or representative views. Even then, there is concern over the US messaging. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Our EX & NEXT Valentine’s theme closes tomorrow, Sun 4 Jan! Send your sexy/romantic/lovelorn 800-2000w story, flash or excerpt to [email protected] by 11.59pm UK time liarsleague.com/2008/04/03/f...

NB we are not too proud to use a well-worn meme in the pursuit of more stories. Sue us (actually, submit to us!)

Ever wondered what the future might look like? Authors do it all the time! In this Big Indie Weekend panel, we talked 'predicting the future' with @jcmberne.bsky.social, @emilyinkpen.bsky.social, @nicksnapeauthor.bsky.social and @liamjhogan.bsky.social. Watch here: youtu.be/H5arzzW5wgk

Contains lots of me (six dark moment drabbles and one short story) and even more of OTHER writers, in case you don't actually like mine...

If bombing a foreign country and kidnapping their elected president isn't an act of war, what is it? EVEN if they held a trial and found a foreign president guilty, they clearly DON'T have jurisdiction.

This is your writerly klaxon KLAXON! Just the weekend left to hone those #Shortstories (or, gulp, start them) and send them to the first @liarsleague.bsky.social event of 2026! (I know, I know, the stores are full of Easter eggs, you might be forgiven for imagining #Valentines has come and gone!)

As Northodox elegantly zigs (and therefore zags away from Short form #Sci-Fi) a reminder that their sale ALSO includes all their last year's titles, including my retro-themed collection A Short History of the Future! Last chance to get it on sale? Quite possibly! www.northodox.co.uk/product-page...

There are few things less helpful than a "your content breaches community guidelines" which doesn't tell you exactly what breach there is. One half imagines that they simply send that because someone has whinged, and then revoke it if you ask them to review. I'm none the wiser.

Here's the #CoverReveal for our #queer #love #anthology! Available for preorder now! books2read.com/u/47aB1A #BookSky @olipie.bsky.social @liamjhogan.bsky.social

You don't have to go to the theatre, if going to the theatre makes you feel dirty. But heck, there are a LOT of (smaller) theatres out there that don't and won't, and would be very happy to see an influx of patrons. Cheaper tickets, smaller audiences. What's not to like?

EVERY TIME Starmer "needs" something, this is what Trump demands in return. Access to the NHS, to our supermarkets, to our military procurement, etc, etc. And every time Trump, and his cronies, looks to profit. This is not a "special relationship". This is strongarm tactics by a mobster.

Hey writer! Are you in a pre-Christmas meh-slump, wishing you had a 2026 #submissiondeadline to write a story for? 🤩 WE HAVE SIX! 🤩 #1 is EX & NEXT on Sun 4 Jan 2026 for our Valentine’s show, & the rest are all open NOW, so get your 800-2000w stories in! Details: liarsleague.com/2008/04/03/f...

'I like writing about women making terrible decisions' Novelist @cdelull.bsky.social is on the final episode of Northern Voices for 2025 talking about writing bisexuality, her book Cacoethes and sassy, female-led fiction. on.soundcloud.com/GkbhsBZagkm5...

Who knows what day it is? But what I DO know is you have about a week left of the @northodoxpress.bsky.social Xmas #sale! So, if you DIDN'T get that book-shaped present you wanted, maybe now is the time to treat yourself? I can recommend retro #SciFi #ShortStories "A Short History of the Future"!

Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page: Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.” Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

You can disagree with US military policy, and still respect the men and women in the military. You can disagree with US immigrant policy, and still... no. No you can't. They're ALL unprincipled, racist shits, doing a cruel and stupid job, and relishing it for the petty power over the helpless.

Ft. my flash fiction "Life Choices" and other short #Horror stories!

Missed opportunity by Jesse Romero. Should have told the Pope to "pray in his lane."... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Who knew the Pope would be against (checks notes) incarcerating and deporting foreigners, including children; for spreading fear and beating up protestors?

There are only three classes: Earns less than an MP. Earns what an MP earns. (£93,904) Earns more than an MP. (This is why tax changes are always pitched above MP basic salary. Otherwise none of them would vote for it, of course.)

100 year old Pooh... Happy Birthday/Publication day! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Might useful. Confirms I'm probably right not to vote Labour next time around. It's a coin toss between LibDems and Green. MPs are likely to reflect voters views - that's their job, after all.

1) The tax on multimillion earnings should be higher - at LEAST 50%. 2) He won't. His tax accountant (that you and I can't afford) will save him millions, so that he actually pays a tax rate LOWER than you or I. 3) Boo hoo hoo.

Come for the dragons. Stay for the... well, dragons, really. I mean, they're freakin' DRAGONS! C'mon! (Ft my dragons at Fort Knox story, TALES FROM THE BULLION BAR)

"I Support Palestine Action" is an arrestible offense. "I Support Palestine Action Prisoners" is ALSO an arrestible offense. "I Support Palestine Action Sign Holders Right to Protest Both Against Genocide, and Against a Government that seems Determined to Quash Peaceful Protest"- is that arrestible?

Looks like a cheap Sci-Fi, sycophantic pen-pushing villain and - oh, he is! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Plus, the Hail Hydra badges come in more than one design. Who knew!?!

Naively, I might expect gamers to be tolerant of genAI - Games are big, unwieldly things, there's a LOT of graphics in them, and if you want something to respond to whatever the user says (say), a LLM AI is probably your tool. But that damages games long term, by losing the artists behind them.

2025 writing summary? That's just my biblioblography! happyendingnotguaranteed.blogspot.com/p/2025.html Highlights include #SciFi Collection, A Short History of the Future (@northodoxpress.bsky.social) and stories at @thedailytomorrow.bsky.social, @theslabpress.bsky.social, @factorfourmagazine.com

Make America Gross-out Again...

Turning a street scene into Lego is not art, it's AI. If you don't know the difference, ask yourself: how long did it take? Was the process, in any way, uplifting? Was it something you might get better at, over time? Is is something where you can look at someone else's version, and be amazed?

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Israel does not deserve the respect the international community seems to bend over backwards to give it, until it respects the international community - and Palestine.

That the Epstein victims should be redacted is right and proper. That the Trump administration thinks it is the rich old white dudes who were the victims, is not.

Getting upset with a paint company for choosing the "wrong" colour of the year, when blatantly it's a self-promo gimmick, suggests there isn't much news right now. But there is. Maybe this tone-deaf choice seems more tractable than... waves hand at everything else.

I’ve made clear to the Secretary of State how shocked and disappointed I am. I’ll keep fighting for fair funding because Shropshire deserves better than this cynical deal.

Well! Who saw THAT coming? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (I did. Didn't we all? Merry Christmas, taxpayers and NHS workers put at risk by government incompetence and Mone's repugnant greed.) Anyone - anyone at all - shown to have profited from this needs to be forced to return their illgotten gains.

Putin vows no more wars if Ukraine - and then the rest of Europe - rolls over and gives him everything he wants. Hmm... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"We’ve done our checks and your last like-for-like shop cost you less from Ocado than it would have from tesco – you saved 7p." Wow. THANKS so much for letting me know. Now, can I bill you for the time taken to open an email, and then delete it?

Penultimate Publication of the year? ko-fi.com/s/07893ba5ba (Members: ko-fi.com/s/92dc02e2a8 ) "Exorschism" (yes, you read that right) appears in Sometimes Hilarious Horror (from @wednesfri.bsky.social ). Your head may indeed spin!

WHAT an incredible honour it is! To sack the board of an organisation, fill it with your cronies, bung them a load of tax payer money, mute any and all opposition, and then have them rename the whole thing (partly) after you! How very PROUD Trump must be! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...