Feddit UK

My American daughter in Morrison's today. She didn't know what a kilt was. She said it very loudly because she thought it was super progressive.

Archived

MPs and peers have launched an inquiry into the UK’s ability to protect undersea internet cables that link the country with the rest of the world, following heightened threats of sabotage from Russia, China and other hostile states.

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, which scrutinises government decision-making on national security, aims to assess the UK’s readiness for potential attacks on critical underseas communication cables.

[...]

According to the parliamentary committee’s chairman, Matt Western, 99% of the country’s data passes through underseas internet cables, making them a soft target for action by foreign states seeking to covertly damage the UK.

[...]

The UK relies on about 60 cables to connect it with the rest of the world that provide resilience if one or two are deliberately or accidentally damaged. However, MPs and peers have raised concerns that a simultaneous attack on multiple cables, particularly during times of heightened tension or conflict, could cause significant disruption.

According to the UK’s 2025 National Risk Register, in a reasonable worst-case scenario, the loss of transatlantic subsea cables linking to the UK would cause “considerable disruption” to essential services, including financial services, that rely on offshore datacentres and offshore service providers.

[...]

He had been given his first mobile phone for his 18th birthday and had just discovered text messaging.

He made up a random number and sent off a message saying "hello", to which his future wife Kirsty wrote back "hi".

They said: "That single moment led to over 20 years of love, laughter, and partnership."

Out of several messages to unknown numbers he sent from the Coventry pub where he was working that night, Kirsty in Cleethorpes was the only one to reply.

In 2002, the couple got married in Scotland, where Kirsty is from, and now have two children, aged six and nine.

US President Donald Trump has said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has done a "very good job thus far" and that the pair have a "very good relationship".

Asked by the BBC on board Air Force One about his relationship with Sir Keir, Trump added that they would be having a call "over the next 24 hours".

Trump and the Labour leader have met on a number of occasions, including a visit by Sir Keir to Trump Tower in New York during the presidential campaign.

Tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, however, has been strongly critical of Sir Keir and has repeatedly called for his removal from office.

"I get along with him well. I like him a lot," Trump said of Sir Keir.

"He's liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he's a very good person and I think he's done a very good job thus far.

"He's represented his country in terms of philosophy.

"I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him."

...

[Foreign Secretary] Lammy has described his own criticism of the president, made when he was a backbencher, as "old news".

In 2018 he described Trump as a "tyrant" and "a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath" but the foreign secretary has since had dinner with him alongside the prime minister.

Ministers have seen off a bill that would have made the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding, after promising Labour backbenchers that they would have input into environmental legislation.

The deal avoids an internal row over the bill, which was introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage but had support from dozens of Labour MPs.

Before Friday’s debate on the legislation, ministers insisted on the removal of clauses that would have required the UK to meet the targets it agreed to at Cop and other international summits. A Labour source said the bill as it stood would have forced the government to renegotiate its international climate change agreements.

The paper titled "An Agenda for UK-China Climate Cooperation: Why Joint Action Can and Should Transcend Political Challenges" was released on Jan 16 by Chatham House, an independent London-based policy institute.

Women were at the centre of early Iron Age British communities, a new analysis of 2,000-year-old DNA reveals.

The research, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, found that British Celtic societies were matrilocal with married women staying in their ancestral communities.

Human societies have often been shaped by where married couples choose to reside culturally.

For instance, in patrilocal communities partners mainly reside with or near the families of the male, whereas in matrilocal societies, couples live near the female’s parents.

Previous studies confirm that patrilocality was widely followed in the European Neolithic, Copper and Bronze ages.

However, earlier research hinted that in the case of Celtic societies, women had higher status.

Romans documented their astonishment at finding women occupying positions of power, writing about queens – Boudica and Cartimandua – who commanded armies and finding the empowerment of Celtic women remarkable.

...

Scientists analysed the genomes of 57 individuals buried in Iron Age cemeteries associated with Durotrigian communities in southern Britain.

They found that most individuals were related through the maternal line.

Unrelated individuals found in the cemetery were also found to be predominantly male, indicating they migrated to the area after marriage.

“This tells us that husbands moved to join their wives’ communities upon marriage, with land potentially passed down through the female line,” study co-author Lara Cassidy said.

“This is the first time this type of system has been documented in European prehistory and it predicts female social and political empowerment,” Dr Cassidy said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24678556

Dr. Rulearman

A new initiative, encouraging every household in the Island to take action to support biodiversity and create habitats for wildlife, has been launched by Manx Wildlife Trust as part of their ‘Make Space for Nature’ campaign.

The project, which has been made possible by support from Ørsted, aims to inspire residents to transform outdoor spaces, at their homes and in the wider community, into havens for wildlife.

Working towards the Isle of Man’s goal to see 30% of the Island’s land and sea managed for nature by 2030, the campaign aims to mobilise community wide action in different ways, inspired and enabled by a series of newsletters which will provide practical guidance and free resources over six weeks.

Everyone, whether they have large gardens, small balconies or no outdoor space of their own, can get involved and collectively make a real difference. For those who want to widen their scope and create more ambitious community projects there will be ongoing support from Manx Wildlife Trust through online and in person meet ups, plus access to tailored project by project advice and information.

A new project that will restore and connect vital wildlife sites surrounding one of North Yorkshire’s most scenic roads is now underway along the southern edge of the North York Moors National Park.

Linking Thirsk to Scarborough, the busy A170 winds its way through market towns and quaint villages and passes stunning woodland, pasture and farmland. Now, in a drive to connect these spaces not just for people, but for nature and wildlife too, new ‘insect super-highways’ will be created and cared for as part of GrubsUp!

The two-year project has received funding from Santander UK as part of the bank’s continued support of the UK’s protected landscapes and collaboration with National Parks Partnerships (NPP).

The UK Government has said that it has "no plans to ban driven grouse shooting" after a petition on the subject surged towards 50,000 signatures.

The petition response said that the government "recognises well-managed grouse shooting can be an important part of a local rural economy", adding that "well-managed shooting activities can bring benefits to the rural economy and can be beneficial for wildlife and habitat conservation."

The petition was started in late November by Wild Justice – a non-profit environmental organisation run by Chris Packham, Dr Ruth Tingay and Dr Mark Avery. As of 22 January, it had garnered almost 48,000 signatures.

The decision to withdraw plans for the £274m Norwich Western Link road has been welcomed by two wildlife charities.

The Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust said they were pleased that Norfolk County Council had pulled its own planning application for the 3.9-mile road.

Leaders at the Conservative-controlled council said they had made the "difficult decision" to withdraw the proposal after objections triggered by rare, protected bats.

The world’s weirdest creatures do silly things in this fun show. Plus: a hopeful film about Rachel Ward’s regenerative farm Here’s what to watch this evening

7pm, Sky Nature

Continue reading...

A stubborn grandfather had a motorway built around his house in China after refusing to move, despite being offered £180,000 in compensation.

Huang Ping’s two-storey home in Jinxi, China, is now surrounded by a construction site with constant dust, noisy builders and vibrating walls.

He says he now regrets not taking the Chinese government’s money and fears what living in his property will be like once the expressway opens in Spring.

“If I could turn back time, I would agree to the demolition conditions they offered. Now it feels like I lost a big bet,” he said.

Mini painter and model builder Michael Patterson, of YouTuber channel Nat 1 Videos, has successfully launched a Warhammer 40k Space Marine miniature into low orbit. He tells us how he achieved this feat using a weather balloon, help from his engineer brother Stephen, and a lot of messages to the British Civil Aviation Authority.

Stephen and Michael are “both nerds, but very different kinds of nerds”: while Michael builds DnD terrain, Lord of the Rings dioramas, and Warhammer 40k cosplay props for his YouTube channel, Stephen has a PhD from Imperial College and teaches engineering in London.

Stephen “runs a programme for his students where they launch small satellites called ‘can sats’ by using large weather balloons”, Michael says. The project to send a Space Marine into space “came about as a way for my brother and I to spend time together”, he explains, an activity that combined his “love of the miniature-based hobby” and his brother’s love “of sending stuff into the stratosphere”.

You can watch the project’s diaries, and the incredible footage of the Space Marine floating at the very limits of earth’s atmosphere, in the video below.

Video below

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/95793

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23212942

When Criterion announced that it would celebrate its 40th anniversary by replicating the Closet with a portable Closet van, cinephiles across the country started planning their visits when the tour reached their home cities. To have a movie in the Criterion Collection is a great honor. Still, there are a few misconceptions regarding what the Criterion Collection actually is, what purpose it serves in our culture, and how decisions are made regarding the films that "get in." Coming from a physical media obsessive, consider this your crash-course history lesson and guide to all things Criterion.

Founded by Robert Stein, Aleen Stein, and Joe Medjuck in 1984, Criterion is a pioneering home media distribution company that focuses on restoring, preserving, and publishing important cinematic works — classic and contemporary — across all genres and from around the world. The films that Criterion distributes on physical media are considered part of the Criterion Collection, including its early days of LaserDisc and out-of-print DVDs. Criterion was truly the first of its kind to include restorations and supplemental special features to encourage repeat viewings with its releases, essentially providing buyers the ultimate viewing experience that included film enjoyment and film education. For over 40 years, Criterion has worked in tandem with filmmakers and film scholars to put out the best release possible of any given title.

As far as the films that are selected to be a part of the collection, despite the "arthouse" or "snobby" accusations often lobbied at Criterion, the collection has a little bit of everything. An intimate, black and white micro-budget queer film like "Go Fish" exists alongside an exercise in depravity like "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom," Chantal Akerman's French masterpiece "Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles," and an explosive blockbuster like Michael Bay's "Armageddon." But Criterion doesn't have carte blanche to obtain any title it wants, including films it's previously released. Criterion is also at the mercy of the movie's rightsholders. For example, Criterion released John Woo's action classic "Hard Boiled" on DVD and it has been out of print for many years, but we likely won't see a re-release anytime soon as Shout! Factory recently obtained the rights to 156 films in the Golden Princess Library of Hong Kong cinema, including "Hard Boiled."

They are:

• Kusama: Polka Dot Queen.
• Low: Bowie’s Berlin Days
• The Compleat Angler: A Graphic Adaptation

Here's the original post by 3lau:

And apparently he didn't even get paid and covered his own travel costs:

TW: violence and drug-taking, although for comedy effect

More? Try "GTHC" or "Get in the Skip You Prick".

Context: Who are Pintglass? Geezacore! What Do They Want? Stella!

I'm glad at least one decent person made it through, but the other one, christ.

Also:

• I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT THAT YOU WERE IN THE ARMY. It clearly didn't make you stronger.
• I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT THAT YOU'RE (FAKING) WELSH. It was unnoticeable and had no effect.
• I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT THAT YOU ARE A MOTHER/PRIEST. Anyone who uses that as a basis of trust is genuinely twisted in the head.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23213051

Mini painter and model builder Michael Patterson, of YouTuber channel Nat 1 Videos, has successfully launched a Warhammer 40k Space Marine miniature into low orbit. He tells us how he achieved this feat using a weather balloon, help from his engineer brother Stephen, and a lot of messages to the British Civil Aviation Authority.

Stephen and Michael are “both nerds, but very different kinds of nerds”: while Michael builds DnD terrain, Lord of the Rings dioramas, and Warhammer 40k cosplay props for his YouTube channel, Stephen has a PhD from Imperial College and teaches engineering in London.

Stephen “runs a programme for his students where they launch small satellites called ‘can sats’ by using large weather balloons”, Michael says. The project to send a Space Marine into space “came about as a way for my brother and I to spend time together”, he explains, an activity that combined his “love of the miniature-based hobby” and his brother’s love “of sending stuff into the stratosphere”.

You can watch the project’s diaries, and the incredible footage of the Space Marine floating at the very limits of earth’s atmosphere, in the video below.

Video below

We got here (Blackburn) on Tuesday, but we are only here temporarily while I look for work. Right now, she is talking to her U.S. friends online until after midnight, which means she will not get used to the time change at all and isn't really finding a way to learn about cultural norms, so I want her to find people here to talk to in order to make those less of a problem. Since we're only here temporarily, her making local friends might not be the best plan, so I'm hoping people here might have kids that would be interested in getting in touch online.

My daughter is gay and autistic (but very high-functioning). Both of those issues complicate things a little in terms of adjusting to UK culture in various ways and having other teens help her adjust would also be great. We are going to check the local youth centre, but as I said, she is also a bit shy, so I don't know really how to get her to talk to kids there. That's why I'm trying to take the initiative here on her behalf.

She is way into Japanese stuff, but the Japanese stuff she's into is a less popular stuff than, say, Fullmetal Alchemist anime. She does like anime, but she says she only likes "obscure" anime for the most part. Other Japanese things: she is addicted to Japanese electronic music from the 70s and 80s, especially Yellow Magic Orchestra, and loves Sanrio. She's trying to learn the language as well.

She also is kind of a punk rocker, but not in a get in the mosh pit way, just in an enjoy the music and dress punky way.

Other big interests: lost media, classic animation (we're talking 1930s here), abandoned buildings and urban exploration, cult movies, and really anything odd or obscure she learns about that she can do a deep dive into. Oddly, despite not playing video games anymore, she is still very interested in learning and talking about them, especially ones from the early days.

What can I say? She's an eccentric kid and she will talk your ear off about any of those things if you let her. Anyone got a kid that might be into talking with her over Discord or some other way of getting in touch?