Brief bits of blue sky. Some thoughts about influencers. Fierce squirrels. And Gaza hospitals.

Briefly this morning it looked as though today was going to be brighter than the last few days have been. You could actually see the sun trying to get to work, attempting to push its way through the clouds. It didn’t last long, the fog may have dissipated somewhat - you can now see the tops of the hills, at least some of the time - but it’s not really gone and the outside world is still predominantly grey! The bits of blue in the sky have disappeared. So it goes

Here’s a definition: The job of an Amazon influencer, let me explain – let me quickly explain – for those of you who just see letters here, smudged together without thought or meaning, is to buy things from Amazon – luggage, jewellery, a handbag in the shape of a conch – then recommend it to their online followers. If someone else purchases it by clicking on their link, they get up to 10% commission on the sale. It’s a whole job – it’s a whole life.

This comes from an article I skimmed about two influencers arguing over who has the right to which ideas about life style. One alleges that the other copied her “neutral, beige, and cream aesthetic”, and that her “uncannily similar content” has cut into her earnings – she claims she’s owed up to £117,000 in damages for mental anguish and lost sales commission from Amazon.

What a strange place the modern world has become, a world where some children respond to questions about their ambitions in life by saying they want to be influencers or media personalities - not famous for a skill but just for existing! 

There have always been people who almost religiously did the football pools, later replaced with buying lottery tickets, in the hopes of winning enough money to give up their day job. But the day job was almost always there still, in the background. Being an influencer has become a full-time occupation in itself, an extension of being famous for being famous! Odd! 

Here’s another oddity. We tend to think of squirrels as cute and funny vegetarians, eating nuts and storing them away in hiding places for later consumption. I’m convinced that that is how I ended up with a lone bluebell in the middle of the grass on the side garden - a bluebell bulb buried by a local squirrel! Even though some people object to the grey variety, foreign interlopers who have pushed out red squirrels from many places, on the whole we still like to see them scampering along the tops of walls and running vertically up tree trunks. Now it seems, according to this article, that they also eat small animals such as voles! Well, at any rates, Californian squirrels do so. I still believe our local squirrels remain cute and funny vegetarians. 

More serious things are still going on in the world. Here’s a link to an article about the World Health Organisation’s reaction to the destruction of the last functioning hospital in Gaza.

Jeremy Corbyn posted this photo and commentary today!:

“The last photo of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, detained after refusing to abandon his colleagues and patients.

In just one image, we see both the power of Palestinian humanity and the moral weakness of all those complicit in genocide.

End all arms sales to Israel, now.”

The article about the WHO tells us that all the action is claimed still to be defensive, targeting Hamas operatives. It ends like this: 

“In an interview with the Jerusalem Post published on Saturday, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, denied that the government intended to build settlements in Gaza, insisting “the goals set by the cabinet do not include such plans”. However, Sa’ar said he envisioned a long term Israeli military presence in the territory.

“My working assumption is that in the foreseeable future, only we can ensure our security,” he said, rejecting the possibility of a foreign peacekeeping force. “I doubt there will be an effective entity that can provide security in Gaza, which is why I believe Israel will need to remain the controlling force from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, west of the river,” Sa’ar said.”

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!