Copyright – and copy wrong!

NO APOLOGIES for returning to the vexed question of copyright theft, as amazingly. apparently being condoned by our government.

As we go to press there are the beginnings of a glimmer of hope that sanity might be beginning to prevail.

In the face of what could be called an onslaught of criticism from all branches of the creative "industry" there are signs of a re-think. But hold on. Sections of the present government seem to be besotted with Big Tech and seem to be determined to ingratiate themslves with its leaders.

It is almost pathetic to behold the awe in which they seem to hold the principal practitioners and to witness the faith they seem to be placing in the Great God AI.

There is a parallel here in the almost totally uncritical reliance being placed in the so-called green energy revolution to solve all our woes.

Huge numbers of jobs will be created – exactky how is never stated – and energy bills will somehow go into free fall. Those with the benefits of long memory may recall a parallel here. In the early days of nuclear power, we were told electricity would be so cheap there would be no point in turning our appliances off, or the heating down!

Tell that to the brave folk building the latest nuclear power stations as they face bills of the order of £50 billions or more after never ending, costly delays in contruction.

Big Tech needs to be approached with the greatest caution. They managed to pull the wool over our eyes with the corruption of the once highly idealistic world wide web, doing anything to grub money.

It will be the same with AI if, as is happening at the moment, we allow them to gobble up all copyrighted material for their own grubby ends.

Copyright exists for a reason: to protect the work of writers, artists, musicians and thinkers.

Big Tech will chuckle all the way to the bank of we roll over again and let them have their way.

It is time to say a Big No to Big Tech.

Too many buildings at risk

ALONGSIDE THIS column attention is rightly drawn to what can only be called the scandalous state of the fire-wrecked iconic Charles Rennie Mackintosh Glasgow School of Art building.

The situation is one that begins to induce a feeling of despair: will a solution ever be found?

Heart breaking though it is, the plight of the Mack building is not the only architectural challenge facing the city.

Attention is being drawn to the parlous state of many other highly regarded Glasgow buildings of historical note.

In particular the work of the celebrated Alexander 'Greek' Thomson is cited - with buildings such as his Egyptian Halls, lying empty and unloved over a long period of time.

Other endangered buildings such as the Lion Chambers and Mackintosh's first public commission in Glasgow, the, Lighthouse are also flagged up as being at risk.

Over 50 buildings considered as being of special architectural or historic interest have been demolished in Glasgow in recent years and a further 150 find themselves on the buildings at risk register.

Not a pretty picture.

Getting the message across

THE BBC FINDS itself in the firing line once more over its coverage of the very fraught situation in Gaza.

A recent documentary which went out on BBC2 highlighting the plight of Gaza's youngsters has been roundly condemned after it emrged that a principal young actor in the programme was the son of a Hamas agricultural adviser.

As a result, the programme was pulled from the iPlayer and has become the subject of intense political scrutiny.

Sadly the controversy surrounding the programme has had the effect of obscuring any artistic or journalistic merits it might hsve had.

Anyone fortunate enough to have seen the programme before its total withdrawal could not have failed to admire the precocious talents of the young man at the centre of the storm.

He was a very persuasive advocate for the plight of Gazan youth.

The task faced by the BBC – and all outside journalists denied access to the territory – is an appallingly difficult one.

There is, however one strong, indepedent voice that can and should be listened to – that of Israel's oldest established newspaper al-Haarez, a fierce critic of Mr Netanyahu for one!