The headline here is a bit misleading, what he actually said was:

"Who's to know? [Technology firms] are spending trillions and trillions on AI and maybe it's going to produce the next War and Peace.

"And if people want to read that book, AI-generated or not, we will be selling it - as long as it doesn't pretend to [be] something that it isn't.

"We as booksellers would certainly naturally and instinctively disdain it," Daunt said.

Readers value a connection with the author "that does require a real person", he added. Any AI-generated book would always be clearly labelled as such.

My revised headline is:

Waterstones boss would rather not sell books generated by AI, but might if they are correctly labelled.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43057031

The partnership is designed to protect undersea oil and gas pipelines, as well as cables for data traffic.

Both navies will operate as one – sharing maintenance facilities, technology and equipment to create truly interchangeable forces able to deploy rapidly wherever needed, the British Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

This is the most comprehensive defence agreement in modern times, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence added as the deal was sign by Defence Secretary John Healey and his Norwegian counterpart Tore O. Sandvik at 10 Downing Street on December 4.

"The British presence in the High North plays a crucial role in safeguarding Norwegian and European security," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said after he met his British colleague Keir Starmer in London.

The two prime ministers then flew north to the Royal Airforce base Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. It is from here British P-8 maritime patrol aircraft are operating when flying missions over the North Sea or further north over the Norwegian and Barents Seas.

...

Commenting on the government’s North Sea Future Plan, in which it has confirmed that no more licences for new oil and gas will be issued, Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, said:

“Britain has just made history. Closing the door to new exploration marks the beginning of the end of oil and gas in this country. By standing firm on its manifesto promise, the government has shown genuine global climate leadership, making the UK the world’s largest economy to call time on new fossil fuel exploration. This is a major milestone.

“Oil and gas production has driven both the climate and energy price crises, leaving us all paying through the nose while fossil fuel giants have pocketed billions. But the winds are changing. The future of Britain’s energy is and needs to be clean, stable, home-grown renewables – not expensive, volatile, climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

“However, the current plan – and the cash – to support North Sea workers doesn’t go far enough. It’s vital they are at the heart of Britain’s transition to a clean-energy superpower, not left behind by it – but a £20mn jobs package doesn’t cut the mustard. A fair transition will create thousands of new jobs, strengthen communities, and prove that climate leadership and economic security can go hand in hand.”

Britain’s energy watchdog gives go-ahead to initial £28bn of investment to upgrade UK energy infrastructure but reveals move will push up network charges

Archive

Several crisis pregnancy helplines covertly run by anti-abortion groups have been given free ads throughout 2025 via Google Ad Grants – a scheme which gives nonprofits up to £7000 per month of free search advertising.

One of the most active recipients was Pregnancy Crisis Helpline, which is running a series of ads that look like real search results claiming to offer ⁦a “safe” and “confidential place” if you’re considering an abortion.

“Wanting to end your pregnancy? We’re here to talk,” another advert – which was shown throughout this week – stated.

But the helpline was actually co-launched with Christian Concern, a right-wing evangelical organisation that wants abortion to be banned. One of its trustees, according to its latest accounts, is Christian Clive Copus, a former director of anti-abortion group ProLife Alliance.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/30972598

The attendees were told that we as a society must put an immediate end to fossil fuels

suicidal but do what you want I guess...

Not sure if this is the right spot to ask questions, as the sub info says nothing about them, but hopefully this is still considered relevant.

I am about to travel to my home country, Hungary, in a few weeks. Haven't been back in years, and there's one thing I really miss: horse sausage. This is a somewhat traditional dry sausage (closer to a salami really), made of 100% horse meat, from horses reared specifically this purpose.

Horse meat is not listed on any of the banned lists, and most articles related to the topic on gov.uk do specify that horses are NOT susceptible to FMD.

However most of the info related to the ban does begin with "you're not allowed to import meat and dairy products" before specifying the banned species list - again, horse meat is NOT included on these lists.

Overall the bans are quite confusingly worded and aren't straightforward.

There's also mention of commercial documents needed - but only for non-human-consumption meat products (e.g. dog food).

So my question is, ultimately, can I bring 3-4kg of this sausage into the country, and if yes, what paperwork would I need? Most EU certifications are out of the question as these sausages are made by small local farms who don't really label or package the products much since it's not meant for export. Some more commercial options do have the label, but only in Hungarian.

I have sent a message to gov.uk with the relevant page linked however I'm yet to hear back and given I'm about to travel... I'd like to have some definitive answers before I get some £50-60 worth of meat confiscated at the airport.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/42997092

Web archived link

The UK government and prosecutors have been heavily criticised over the collapse of a China spying case in an official report that described some of their actions as “shambolic”.

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, which has been reviewing the collapse of the case against two British men accused of spying on MPs for China, said its investigation had found that “systemic failures” contributed to the failure in bringing a prosecution.

The report found the process between the government and the Crown Prosecution Service was “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations”. It added: “Some aspects are best described as shambolic.”

The report said, however, that it “did not find evidence” of “a co-ordinated high-level effort to collapse the prosecution, nor of deliberate efforts to obstruct it.” This, in effect, cleared the government of the most serious charge laid by critics.

The case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry collapsed in September after the government was unwilling or unable to define China as an “enemy” or “national security threat” in evidence for the CPS. Both men have always denied any wrongdoing.

The case was brought under the Official Secrets Act of 1911, which has since been superseded by the National Security Act due to inherent flaws in the old legislation, such as the need to define a country as an enemy that would enable a prosecution.

The case’s collapse led to allegations that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government had undermined the prosecution as it tried to build trade ties with Beijing, something Downing Street has always denied.

...

[The chair of the joint committee Matt] Western said the government “must show the public that it is confident in standing up to adversaries when required: failing to do so will corrode public trust in our institutions”.

The report said the “episode reflects poorly on the otherwise commendable efforts across public servants to keep this country safe.”

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/30924029

Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects

archived (Wayback Machine)

Big Brother Watch have warned that this facial recognition drive "affects everyone with a passport" — threatening rights and civil liberties