By turning the novel into just a corset-heaving love story, the director has stripped it of what made it so boundary-pushing It’s difficult, when watching Emerald Fennell’s “ Wuthering Heights ”, not to imagine what Emily Brontë would have made of it. Before I get into it, I feel obliged to state that although I love the book I am not a purist. I often relish creative reinterpretations of classics...
By turning the novel into just a corset-heaving love story, the director has stripped it of what made it so boundary-pushing It’s difficult, when watching Emerald Fennell’s “ Wuthering Heights ”, not to imagine what Emily Brontë would have made of it. Before I get into it, I feel obliged to state that although I love the book I am not a purist. I often relish creative reinterpretations of classics. Admittedly, this one came with a fair few red flags, from the casting of Margot Robbie (simply too old, Cathy is a teenager) and Jacob Elordi (simply too white, Heathcliff, while his origins are uncertain, is described as darker skinned) to the unhinged marketing and crass brand tie-ins . Nevertheless, I was still excited to see it. So why did I leave the cinema not only bored, but feeling a little bit sad? Fennell said she wanted to make the film she imagined at 14, the age at which many of us read the novel in English class. Fennell focuses almost entirely on the “love story” at the expense of almost all of the novel’s other themes. Of course, if you’re a teenager in love, the doomed connection between Cathy and Heathcliff does captivate, although as an abuser who hangs a dog, Heathcliff is not exactly fanciable. I do understand the impulse behind Fennell’s fan-fictiony desire to have them consummate their love, when Brontë, who probably never touched a man her entire life, left all that desire unrealised. Horniness at the expense of all else, however, can feel terribly hollow. Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
US undercover investigator Greg Squire can spend 18 hours a day befriending child sex abusers, to try to identify them and get justice for victims. He reveals the toll the work has taken on him Greg Squire can never forget the video that opened his eyes to what child sexual abuse could mean. It was a Sunday and he was at his home in New Hampshire, sitting out on his deck, his two young children ru...
US undercover investigator Greg Squire can spend 18 hours a day befriending child sex abusers, to try to identify them and get justice for victims. He reveals the toll the work has taken on him Greg Squire can never forget the video that opened his eyes to what child sexual abuse could mean. It was a Sunday and he was at his home in New Hampshire, sitting out on his deck, his two young children running around, playing. This was 2008, about a year into Squire’s career as an agent for Homeland Security – he’d been a postman before this – and he reached for his laptop, checked his inbox and saw that the results of an email search warrant for a suspect had come in. He clicked on a video. A girl was sitting in an adult bed, a child’s picture book beside her. Squire watched as a man came into the frame and began reading it to her. For a moment, it could have been a normal scene – maybe it would be – until the man proceeded to remove the girl’s clothing. Then he raped her. Squire watched her “endure” it – “it looked like her soul left,” he says. Continue reading...
They are hardly essential, but can act as useful teachers The problem Lots of houseplants fail because they aren’t getting enough light. But what does “bright, indirect light” really mean in practice? Light meters and apps promise to turn guesswork into numbers, but are they useful, or just kit for professionals and plant nerds? The hack Light meters measure the amount of light hitting a spot. Som...
They are hardly essential, but can act as useful teachers The problem Lots of houseplants fail because they aren’t getting enough light. But what does “bright, indirect light” really mean in practice? Light meters and apps promise to turn guesswork into numbers, but are they useful, or just kit for professionals and plant nerds? The hack Light meters measure the amount of light hitting a spot. Some are dedicated devices; others are phone apps that use the camera sensor. Instead of guessing whether a corner is bright enough, you measure it and then find the right plant for that spot with more confidence. Continue reading...
Indonesia is trying to engineer a Ramadan spending boost, rolling out transport fare cuts and food handouts to shore up consumption during its busiest shopping season, but economists question how far the temporary support can go in lifting growth. The 12.83 trillion rupiah (US$762 million) stimulus package unveiled ahead of the Muslim fasting month, which culminates in Eid ul-Fitr, is meant to kee...
Indonesia is trying to engineer a Ramadan spending boost, rolling out transport fare cuts and food handouts to shore up consumption during its busiest shopping season, but economists question how far the temporary support can go in lifting growth. The 12.83 trillion rupiah (US$762 million) stimulus package unveiled ahead of the Muslim fasting month, which culminates in Eid ul-Fitr, is meant to keep people travelling and shopping despite rising food prices and softer purchasing power. In a...
In 1994, Richard Leiter, a South African entrepreneur, took a gamble on the then unknown Chinese commercial truck maker FAW with the introduction of the first Jiefang CA141 truck into the South African market. Two decades later, he had transitioned from importer to industrialist, with a sprawling assembly plant in the Coega special economic zone in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. FAW now outsells maj...
In 1994, Richard Leiter, a South African entrepreneur, took a gamble on the then unknown Chinese commercial truck maker FAW with the introduction of the first Jiefang CA141 truck into the South African market. Two decades later, he had transitioned from importer to industrialist, with a sprawling assembly plant in the Coega special economic zone in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. FAW now outsells major brands like Toyota, Daimler and Isuzu in the heavy truck sector in South Africa, driven by...
As demand for integrated IT and cyber security services continues to rise across the UK, Littlefish Group has announced its acquisition of Stripe OLT, a rapidly growing leader (scale up) in managed IT and cyber security with a proven track record in Microsoft–led solutions, enabling Littlefish to further solidify its position in an expanding market.
As demand for integrated IT and cyber security services continues to rise across the UK, Littlefish Group has announced its acquisition of Stripe OLT, a rapidly growing leader (scale up) in managed IT and cyber security with a proven track record in Microsoft–led solutions, enabling Littlefish to further solidify its position in an expanding market.
The Trump administration is proposing massive changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We asked disaster experts to weigh in. (Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt)
The Trump administration is proposing massive changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We asked disaster experts to weigh in. (Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt)
President Trump's immigration policy is complicating Republicans' attempts to maintain control of Congress. A recent crackdown in Maine, for instance, put the focus on GOP Sen. Susan Collins. (Image credit: Joseph Prezioso)
President Trump's immigration policy is complicating Republicans' attempts to maintain control of Congress. A recent crackdown in Maine, for instance, put the focus on GOP Sen. Susan Collins. (Image credit: Joseph Prezioso)
Partnerships between ICE and local law enforcement agencies has expanded widely, under the second Trump administration, data analyzed by NPR shows. (Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Partnerships between ICE and local law enforcement agencies has expanded widely, under the second Trump administration, data analyzed by NPR shows. (Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Minnesota Republicans say they were right to invite social media influencers into the state to highlight social service fraud, though Democrats blame Republicans for paving the way for the ICE surge. (Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)
Minnesota Republicans say they were right to invite social media influencers into the state to highlight social service fraud, though Democrats blame Republicans for paving the way for the ICE surge. (Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)
Wandering, and "elopement," are frightening and dangerous behaviors by people with dementia. For some families, it is the point when they begin to seek institutional care for their loved one.
Wandering, and "elopement," are frightening and dangerous behaviors by people with dementia. For some families, it is the point when they begin to seek institutional care for their loved one.
As prediction markets boom, competition is heating up. So traders go the extra mile for a fraction-of-a-second advantage or to sleuth out information nobody else has. It can lead to a huge payday. (Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon)
As prediction markets boom, competition is heating up. So traders go the extra mile for a fraction-of-a-second advantage or to sleuth out information nobody else has. It can lead to a huge payday. (Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon)
Germany's Climate Policy Has Moved From Politics To The Courts... And The Economy Is Paying The Price Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Germany is the political engine of the Green Deal, yet it continues to fall short of its own CO₂ reduction targets. Now Germany’s Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has ordered the federal government to tighten its climate targets by the end of March. The ruling foll...
Germany's Climate Policy Has Moved From Politics To The Courts... And The Economy Is Paying The Price Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Germany is the political engine of the Green Deal, yet it continues to fall short of its own CO₂ reduction targets. Now Germany’s Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has ordered the federal government to tighten its climate targets by the end of March. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the German Environmental Aid ( Deutsche Umwelthilfe ), aimed explicitly at increasing political pressure. Germany is tightening the screws on its own catastrophe. Germany in 2026: the economy has entered its eighth consecutive year of industrial decline. Companies are shutting down, and hundreds of thousands of jobs have already been lost in the core sectors of the country’s former prosperity—chemicals, mechanical engineering, and above all the automotive industry. Climate change has struck—or rather, the ideologically skewed and socially unprecedented self-destructive frenzy of German politics has begun to shred any remaining hope of a return to normal economic conditions. The attempt to free the country from conventional energy sources such as oil, gas, and coal through a rapid transition to CO₂-free energy—politically and psychologically inflated into a moral crusade to “save the planet”—has failed. Given the devastating competitive position of the German economy, which now pays energy prices roughly three times higher than competitors in reference locations such as France or the United States , any rational observer would urgently recommend consigning the entire transformation agenda to the dustbin of failed political hubris and collective delusion. What remains is damage control: a rapid return to a market-based energy system, an end to destructive environmental and social experiments, and an unavoidable restructuring of the welfare state to reflect new economic realities. Germany is getting poorer, productivity is falling, and GDP per capita is ...
One company seems to be building a big lead in the U.S. market for robotaxis, and it might not be for a reason that most investors know about. Waymo , a subsidiary of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) , uses LiDAR technology, along with cameras and radar, to build its autonomous capabilities, while its competitor Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) primarily uses computer vision with digital cameras. LiDAR...
One company seems to be building a big lead in the U.S. market for robotaxis, and it might not be for a reason that most investors know about. Waymo , a subsidiary of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) , uses LiDAR technology, along with cameras and radar, to build its autonomous capabilities, while its competitor Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) primarily uses computer vision with digital cameras. LiDAR (light detection and ranging) uses laser beams and digital sensors to measure movement and exact distances in real life, in real time. It helps autonomous cars build a dynamic 3D model of the world around it -- watching out for traffic, roadblocks, pedestrians, and more. LiDAR is more costly than a camera-only approach to autonomous driving. Bloomberg Intelligence says that Waymo's per-vehicle costs might be two or three times higher than Tesla's robotaxis . But proponents of LiDAR say it's a more detail-oriented, capable way of building self-driving cars that can drive safely and respond to fast-changing conditions on the road. Continue reading
Belgium summoned the US ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post where he accused the country of antisemitic persecution of Jewish Belgians, the kingdom’s foreign minister said. “Labelling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it’s dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hatred,” Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot said in a social media post on Monday. The sum...
Belgium summoned the US ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post where he accused the country of antisemitic persecution of Jewish Belgians, the kingdom’s foreign minister said. “Labelling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it’s dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hatred,” Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot said in a social media post on Monday. The summons is a rare move between staunch allies. “An ambassador accredited to Belgium has a...