Issue #39
Hi Page Turners,
Hostages are being released from both Israel and Palestine as a four day pause continues. This offensive started because Hamas took Israelis as hostages but the question here is what about the Palestinian hostages that were detained for years including women and children? The question about the four day pause is also a warning because its not an 'end' to this horrible cycle. 14000 people have already been killed and thousands injured and traumatised and so much has been inflicted upon them. It is going to be interesting to see how it is all going to play out over the next few days and I pray and hope that this vicious cycle ends quickly rather than later.
Comment below on what you have been up to this week and don't forget to donate as much or as little as you can.
More humanitarian aid is allowed into Palestine but donations still are the matter of life and death so please donate as much as you can with the link below.
Donate as much as you can here-
Books 📚
I read She Will Build Him a City by Raj Kamal Jha and I really enjoyed it. It was written in second person and it included magical realism so wasn't an easy read but I loved the characters (especially Orphan) and the ending broke my heart. I would definitely recommend it.
Opinion piece 📰
Sam Altman was fired as CEO of AI and rehired to Microsoft. This article details what happend. I found it an easy read to get my head around it all. Read it here- https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2023/11/20/openai/
Bill Gates has published his holiday notes in which he recommends his books/series/ and other stuff. I am always interested and love reading other's lists of recommendations (if you have any of your own comment below) but you can read Bill Gates' list here.- https://www.gatesnotes.com/Holiday-list-2023
It is that time of year again. I don't celebrate Christmas but the vibes, the movies, the Nutcracker and pantos need I say anymore. I love watching the Nutcracker and especially behind the scenes:
Further reading 📑
An article in The Guardian was...revealing because it wasn't shocking as I expected the richest 10% of people being the cause of more climate-heating carbon emissions than the poorest 10%. It is important to consider this when making policies because policies favour the rich rather than the poor. Taxing the rich could be a place to start.- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2023/nov/21/working-class-people-climate-crisis-policy
The BBC's impartiality rule and of course in this day and age saying something or even liking and following people that are deemed 'controversial' or become 'cancelled' you can be scrutinized for and people even question where your morals and values lie. But how do we know when sometimes the lines are blurred or there is unwritten rules we can't figure out. This article written by
writes about this issue in amazing detail. Read the full article here- https://www.readtpa.com/p/on-war-and-speechAs the tennis year ends with the last matches it looks like Djokovic and Swiatek will remain on top.
I loved watching this BTS of the women in the WTA tour:
I loved reading this article of the Songwriter roundtable a very interesting read- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/billie-eilish-olivia-rodrigo-dua-lipa-songwriter-roundtable-1235646836/
💭 My 3 am thoughts 🕒
The BBC have released the official '100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2023'. I always look forward to read the list it is empowering and inspirational. Read the full list here- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-02d9060e-15dc-426c-bfe0-86a6437e5234
Quote of the week ✏
'We can change the story because we are the story. This is freedom. It is also responsibility. What story shall we tell about who humans are? Warlike, violent, dishonest, wasteful? That’s part of us, certainly. It’s not the whole story – and I don’t want it to be the story that ends life on Earth.' - Jeanette Winterson:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/11/chatgpt-needs-to-be-tamed-bernardine-evaristo-jeanette-winterson-put-ai-to-the-test
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With Love and Dua's
Fiz @