Communick News

NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday urged New Yorkers to vote Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, giving the Democratic nominee one of his most significant endorsements to date in the contest to lead the nation’s biggest city.

Writing in the New York Times’ opinion section, Hochul said that while she and Mamdani diverged on some issues, they came together on the importance of addressing the affordability crisis in the city and across the state.

“But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family,” wrote Hochul, a Democrat. “I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.”

The stunning success of Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist, in the race for New York City mayor has exposed divisions within the Democratic Party as it struggles to repair its brand more than half a year into Donald Trump’s presidency. Hochul’s endorsement is the latest sign that Democratic leaders who had been skeptical of Mamdani’s liberal views are beginning to consolidate around him.

Mamdani thanked Hochul for the boost, saying it’s a sign “our movement is growing stronger.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/42302795

Archived

China’s Salt Typhoon hacking campaign has taken on new urgency with revelations it may have compromised the data of millions of Australians. This demonstrates how cyber operations have evolved beyond merely gathering intelligence.

[...]

The campaign by the Salt Typhoon group was assessed as a targeted espionage effort against US and allied government systems. It involved stealthy intrusions, selective data theft and probing of networks in a handful of countries. At the time, the effect was thought to be limited and largely confined to government targets.

But August 2025 disclosures have shown just how broad the campaign truly has been. The Australian Signals Directorate, working with 20 foreign partners, has publicly attributed the operation to Beijing’s Ministry of State Security and People’s Liberation Army. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation now assesses that Salt Typhoon has struck dozens of countries, sweeping up telecommunications, transport, lodging and civilian data on a massive scale.These operations may have reached virtually every Australian household and millions more across partner nations.

Cyber operations now function as tools for coercion and competition, influencing the balance of power across the Indo-Pacific. They are central to rivalry. Even as governments invest in resilience and attempt to set boundaries, the persistent tension between the United States and China ensures that new vulnerabilities and threats will continue to emerge.

The Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of 21st-century competition. China and the US vie for influence, while South Korea, India, Japan and Southeast Asian countries all face mounting digital vulnerabilities. With the digital economy of Southeast Asian nations expected to surpass US$1 trillion by 2030, growth is driving their prosperity but also compounding risk.

Chinese-sponsored hackers have been targeting critical infrastructure for a long time. Suspected Chinese hackers disrupted India’s port logistics in 2020, and repeated intrusions have targeted Japanese, South Korean and Australian energy grids, telecom systems and government networks. Cyber operations are applied to traditional hotspots—such as the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait—by threatening disruption without any shots being fired.

[...]

Not at all surprised, the demo for this was really solid.

Hochul endorsed Mamdani in a New York Times opinion essay published Sunday evening.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayor's election.

Hochul, a Democrat, backed Mamdani in a New York Times opinion essay published Sunday evening.

"In the past few months, I've had frank conversations with him," Hochul said in the essay. "We've had our disagreements. But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family."

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tamas-Vicsek/publication/268045079/figure/fig4/AS:668511730925589@1536397025732/Maxwells-demon-1-allows-the-fast-gas-molecules-to-go-from-the-left-side-to-the-right.png

Where I live, Germany, it is very common to spend weeks, sometimes even months, trying to slowly get a child used to going to day care. In my home country, the Netherlands, this wasn't really a thing when I was younger and, from what I've learned from people with young children there, isn't common even today. That got me thinking.

Are there many differences between countries when it comes to day care and specifically getting your children to go to day care in the first place?

We're currently getting our second child used to day care. For our first child the entire process took six weeks and represented the Idea trajectory - nobody was ill, she liked going there, she liked eating there and she didn't make a fuss when it was time to sleep there. Still, this represents a significant investment of time (and therefore money) for any working parent. Sometimes it seems really absurd and impractical. I get the impression that the entire day care system in Germany revolves around the idea that mothers don't work or, if they do, it's only ever part time.

How does this look like in other countries? I've linked an article (in German, but translation services are available) about the system we're stuck with here, if anyone wants to dive deeper.

This post uses a gift link which may have a view count limit. If it runs out, there is an archived copy of the article

Crossposted from https://lemmings.world/post/33956380

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues demanded a big-screen viewing, so I rushed my family out to see it yesterday.

IMAX, no less. Because when Spinal Tap decides to rise from the grave, you don’t watch it on a laptop. You pay for the big screen.

The original This Is Spinal Tap is still the gold standard. Not just the greatest music movie ever made, but the spark that lit an entire genre. Without it, there’s no The Office. No Parks and Rec. Certainly no Modern Family either. Every mockumentary owes its existence to three clueless blokes whose amps went to eleven.

And sure, this is Rob Reiner’s baby. But you can’t talk Tap without mentioning Christopher Guest’s side projects: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind. Those are basically cousins to Spinal Tap. All deadpan, all savage, all hilarious.

For years I swore there was already a sequel. I remember seeing A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out at the video store—packed with Robin Williams, Jeff Beck, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kenny Rogers, Mel Tormé. But that wasn’t a "true sequel". Just a concert. My brain invented a sequel that never existed. Until now.

So how does it hold up? Honestly, I went in skeptical. Sequels to all-time classics rarely work. Lightning usually doesn’t strike twice. But within minutes, I realized they’d pulled it off. Not only is it funny—it’s damn near as sharp as the original.

The fan service is there, sure. You get callbacks, iconic gags, and performances of Tap standards. You get celebrity cameos stacked like pancakes—Paul McCartney, Elton John, Questlove, Garth Brooks. But that’s not the heart of it. Those are garnish. What matters are the jokes, and Tap has always known where to aim.

We start with a “where are they now?” rundown. Nigel Tufnel has left music behind to open a combined guitar and cheese shop—two of his great loves under one roof. David St. Hubbins, naturally, has reinvented himself as a “serious” composer of corporate hold music. And Derek Smalls? He’s curating a glue museum. That’s right. A glue museum.

These men have gone from rock gods to professional eccentrics. And yet, thanks to one last contract buried in their late manager’s files, they’re dragged out of comfortable obscurity to play a final gig in New Orleans.

The premise alone sets up the comedy. These are men too old for the grind, too bitter to get along, and too proud to say no. They argue, they sulk, they fall back into old habits. And still, there’s a spark of that chaotic brilliance that makes them Spinal Tap.

The cameos don’t overshadow them either. A lesser movie would roll out Paul McCartney and bow down in reverence. Not Tap. These guys don’t care if you’re an ex-Beatle. Their egos are too inflated. In their world, they are the headliners—always have been, always will be. That arrogance is what keeps the comedy alive.

And the jokes land. They land hard. Modern updates to old gags—tech failures, music trends they don’t understand, clashes with younger acts—keep the material fresh. The infamous “goes to 11” gag finds new life in a pedal-board bit that had the audience howling. And yes, the Stonehenge fiasco gets its nod, this time bigger and stranger than before.

What really makes it work, though, is the self-awareness. These men know they’re relics. They know the world has passed them by. And the comedy comes from the sheer refusal to let go. They’re not chasing glory anymore. They’re just compelled—by ego, by nostalgia, by stubbornness—to stumble back on stage one last time.

This is why Spinal Tap II is so damn funny. It’s not about reliving past glories or bathing in fan worship. It’s about the futility of holding onto youth, and the absurdity of grown men still squabbling like teenagers in a van. The music is loud, the jokes are sharp, and the band is still a disaster.

Sting once said he’d watched the original film almost fifty times, and each time he wanted to cry because it was too accurate. That’s the legacy of Tap: it’s satire so close to reality it hurts. And the sequel keeps that tradition alive.

So yes—The End Continues delivers. Against all odds, it’s a worthy encore. Maybe the last one. Maybe not. With Spinal Tap, you never really know.

@movies@piefed.social

Men could face terrorism-related and weapons charges after officials say explosive ‘had been lit but failed to function’

Authorities in Utah say two men have been arrested on suspicion of placing an incendiary device under a news media vehicle in Salt Lake City. The bomb didn’t go off.

Police and fire department bomb squads responded on Friday when a suspicious device was found under the vehicle parked near an occupied building.

Investigators determined the bomb “had been lit but failed to function as designed”, according to court records cited by CBS affiliate KUTV.

(btw I'm not a bot, I made a new acc)