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China’s $1 flu shots show price squeeze for vaccine makers


cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/54166876

in reply to return2ozma

i searched this topic a little bit to see what could be the worst consequences at ground level and the worst I found
((much smaller than what was described by another user @givesomefucks here)) was this :

::: spoiler spoiler
Ground-induced electric fields

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_we…

Magnetic storm activity can induce geoelectric fields in the Earth's conducting lithosphere.[26] Corresponding voltage differentials can find their way into electric power grids through ground connections, driving uncontrolled electric currents that interfere with grid operation, damage transformers, trip protective relays, and sometimes cause blackouts.[27] This complicated chain of causes and effects was demonstrated during the magnetic storm of March 1989,[28] which caused the complete collapse of the Hydro-Québec electric-power grid in Canada, temporarily leaving nine million people without electricity. The possible occurrence of an even more intense storm[29] led to operational standards intended to mitigate induction-hazard risks, while reinsurance companies commissioned revised risk assessments.
[30]:::

Here, the collapse of the power grid was not caused by terribly energetic phenomena(s) but rather, lack of oversight about ground fault protection devices ... that has been corrected since then.

in reply to return2ozma

Yay! More Auroras!

Fuck, I love the sun. I hope it kills us all.

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)




Deloitte allegedly cited AI-generated research in a million-dollar report for a Canadian provincial government


Not the first time they were caught.
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to themachinestops

Too hard to make up bullshit for report so we will have AI make up the bullshit for us.
in reply to themachinestops

Newfoundland and Labrador is the province involved.

Had to read far too deep into the poorly written article to find that important bit of context.


in reply to vextuu

Are you looking for a VPN or are you looking for an IPv6 tunnel broker like Hurricane Electric?
in reply to vextuu

From what I've read, he primary concern with VPNs that do not support IPv6 is leakage. If a user’s device tries to access an IPv6 resource while connected to a VPN that only routes IPv4 traffic, the IPv6 packets can escape the VPN tunnel. This exposes the user's real IP address to external servers, undermining the privacy that the VPN is supposed to provide. Some servers have moved to strictly IPv6. Some servers only accept IPv4.

Some of you networking gods set me straight.


in reply to Hubi

Paywalling the API and therefore killing 3rd party apps killed reddit.. banning anyone with an opinion killed reddit..
in reply to Hubi

Nazi sympathizing has already ruined Reddit.

That shithole has been sanitized for advertisers, which means banning anyone who talks about resisting the fascist slide America is currently in but allows /r/conservative to exist for foreign actors to spread misinformation from.

Fuck Reddit, fuck Spez, those Nazi fucks will get what’s coming to them if we’re lucky.




After a teddy bear talked about kink, AI watchdogs are warning parents against smart toys


Advocates are fighting against the $16.7bn global smart-toy market, decrying surveillance and a lack of regulation
Advocates are fighting against the $16.7bn global smart-toy market, decrying surveillance and a lack of regulation
in reply to LadyButterfly she/her

Oh my god I want one.
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Plebbit is the the most decentralized selfhosted social media protocol And why development slowed Down


Why did development slow down?


We spent a long time debugging and stabilizing IPFS-related issues that affected content reliability.
These fixes were essential before building new features otherwise the protocol wouldn’t scale.

Is the team big?


No, the project is small, and the current budget only allows paying two developers.
Progress is steady but slower because everything is done properly instead of rushed.

How does anti-spam work?


Each community chooses its own challenge: captcha, crypto ENS, SMS, email OTP, or custom rules.
This keeps spam protection decentralized instead of relying on a global, platform-wide filter.

Why not use Mastodon/ActivityPub/Bluesky/Nostr/Farcaster/Steemit/Blockchain


mastodon / lemmy / activitypub
Instance admins can delete user accounts and communities. Instance admins can block other instances.

Bluesky instances cannot delete user accounts and communities (as long as they are backed up somewhere else), but they can block user accounts and communities.

plebbit solves each problem:


instances/hubs/rpcs cannot block a user account or community, because there are no instances, it's directly peer to peer. a community node can be run from home on consumer internet, no server, domain name, SSL, sync time, etc. it's as easy as running a bittorrent client.

it can scale infinitely because there are no historical ledger like a blockchain or hub, it's like bittorrent, if a community no longer has any seeds, it stops existing. (this is also a downside of plebbit, but scaling is more important, not scaling makes the system useless)
it has no cost to publish, like bittorrent, because is has no historical ledger that each node must sync. users seed their communities for free while they use it, like bittorrent.

a community node can communicate a challenge to a user to post to his community (like a minimum user account age, or karma, or a captcha, whitelist, etc), because it's directly peer to peer, the community node is the instance, so it can gatekeep it however it wants. (this is also a downside of plebbit, a community node must be online 24/7, but it's also possible to delegate running a node to an RPC/instance/hub, you just lose some censorship resistance, so it's not inferior in this regards, it's strictly superior because of the optionality).

Is this running on ETH?


the plebbit protocol itself it not a blockchain, it's a content addressed network like Bittorrent, built using IPFS/libp2p.

in reply to Esteban Abaroa

Until Plebbit fixes how god awful slow it is, I won't be interested in it. Lemmy is decentralized enough for me.
in reply to chronicledmonocle

Yes that's a problem on the web (working on it atm), but desktop apps should be much faster since it's pure p2p. Try out Seedit, github.com/plebbit/seedit
in reply to Esteban Abaroa

How is the hosting changed when needed (e.g., a different IPFS address)? What happens in a coordinated attack by someone with 51% of the seeds, can they overwrite all of the content? Is there any cryptographic way to ensure the content hasn’t been maliciously altered?

in reply to Damage

But now you have Meloni the actual fascist. Great job.
in reply to ohulancutash

Eh, until next election. We're still scheduled to have those here.


Veronica Explains why she doesn't stream (from Netflix etc) #algorithmic_helplessness_sucks


I'm one of those hipsters who doesn't use streaming services.

I did, a while ago, but I quit using them because the experience is kind of awful, and I'm happier now for it. I collect physical media and watch it using Jellyfin on my Linux-based home theater PC, and I'm completely satisfied with how it works.

I'm making this video because I am really troubled by algorithmic helplessness, and I feel like corporate-centralized streaming media makes that worse. Maybe this video will encourage someone else to cut the cord and rediscover an appreciation for owning your media and being choosy about what to "watch next". Or maybe I'm just wasting time. Who knows? I suppose, you know, you're reading this description, right?

If you read the description, say "algorithmic helplessness sucks" in the comments. That'll make me feel better.



I stream nothing, and I am happy.


I'm one of those hipsters who doesn't use streaming services.

I did, a while ago, but I quit using them because the experience is kind of awful, and I'm happier now for it. I collect physical media and watch it using Jellyfin on my Linux-based home theater PC, and I'm completely satisfied with how it works.

I'm making this video because I am really troubled by algorithmic helplessness, and I feel like corporate-centralized streaming media makes that worse. Maybe this video will encourage someone else to cut the cord and rediscover an appreciation for owning your media and being choosy about what to "watch next". Or maybe I'm just wasting time. Who knows? I suppose, you know, you're reading this description, right?

If you read the description, say "algorithmic helplessness sucks" in the comments. That'll make me feel better.

Oh right, I need to tell you about the things I mentioned in the video.

Software:
- MakeMKV: makemkv.com/
- To support MakeMKV and get all the advanced features: makemkv.com/buy/
- That LibreDrive forum post on the MakeMKV website which is hard to find (contains list of LibreDrive compatible drives): forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewto…
- Handbrake: handbrake.fr/
- Asunder: littlesvr.ca/asunder/
- Jellyfin: jellyfin.org/
- Kodi: kodi.tv
- Finamp (via GitHub): github.com/jmshrv/finamp

Hardware I mentioned - not sponsored and no affiliate links.
(These drives might not be currently available at Micro Center, but I'm providing these links as they're probably the most helpful if you want to find one yourself.)
- My LG portable Blu-Ray drive, a BP60NB10: microcenter.com/product/607144…
- And my internal Asus BW-16D1HT drive: microcenter.com/product/435513…
- FLIRC receiver (I don't remember if I bought it here but maybe): pishop.us/product/flirc-rpi-us…

Other links of note:
- 13 minutes of videotaped footage of the Wii Netflix app:
- Video about smart TVs by @[url=https://indieweb.social/users/lonseidman]Lon Seidman / Lon.TV ☑️[/url] :
- My PeerTube (watch this video without ads or tracking): tinkerbetter.tube/c/veronicaex…
- My blog post about how I use Handbrake: vkc.sh/handbrake-2025/

Lastly, links to support my very unsponsored videos:
- Patreon: patreon.com/VeronicaExplains
- Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains
- Bandcamp: thestopbits.bandcamp.com

Chapters:
0:00 My motivation for ditching streaming
3:21 Physical media is awesome
4:05 Ripping media
5:59 Serving with Jellyfin
7:09 Bookstores and libraries are lit (get it?)
8:10 I don't want an algorithm programming us.


Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to bluemoon

I'm all for this, but acquiring the media outside of streaming services in the first place is difficult, likely by design. There's no GOG for movies and TV; there's not even a Steam. My wife is basically permanently subscribed to Peacock because she loves Law and Order: SVU, to the point that she basically has the whole series on loop while she knits. I started looking this time last year into how to self-host all that, but I didn't even get to the point of finding out what Jellyfin is before I realized that it was impossible to legally acquire all the seasons on Blu Ray or even DVD. They want me to either subscribe to Peacock or buy a "digital copy", which is just rental streaming by another name. I'm not a skilled enough pirate to know that my ISP isn't going to mind my activity, and being a skilled pirate isn't even something I'm interested in being. Plus, my past experiences with piracy is that beggars can't be choosers, and the bit rate could be awful, or it would have huge watermarks from whatever Canadian channel the pirate recorded from, and that's not a great experience when it's supposed to be a gift anyway.

Unlike the video author, I'm not even bothered by algorithmic recommendations for media. I actually like it. The main reason I want to self host my media is because I don't watch so much of it that a subscription price makes sense very often. If my wife and I are just watching the same couple of things over and over again, why do I need a buffet of content I'm not going to watch at monthly subscription prices?

in reply to ampersandrew

You have to be really careful trying to buy physical copies nowadays, too, since bootlegs are absolutely everywhere. Especially on Ebay.
in reply to DigDoug

Oh, I forgot the other part of my rant when it comes to acquiring the content. Brick and mortar doesn't carry Blu Rays anymore. Maybe Walmart does, but I don't have one near me. Target and Best Buy stopped. I have a functional mall near me, but not one store in it sells movies, and when I asked, they looked at me like I had two heads.
in reply to ampersandrew

yeah okay well your watchparties are increasingly going to get worse until you too hit your threshold: such is the business.

the rest of the world uses a VPN like MullvadVPN and qBittorrent to "digitally back up media we've already bought". without ads, in better quality, without telemetry, without serfdom-subscriptions. you may like AI offloading your decisionmaking, but keep doing it and you will be codependent on authority for choosing anything in life. what do you want in a cozy moment away from work? it frustrates me to read people are too anxioys to begin to do otherwise and accept the way things are. that's a rant in return

have a nice day, i won't make this into a chain of replies.

in reply to bluemoon

My watch parties already basically dried up. The movie industry is crumbling in front of us for not being able to adapt to what their audience actually wants, and I end up just spending my time in other ways, because they're offering me poor value and too much friction (VPNs and torrents) to get what I want, and that's what my rant is. They'll adapt or die. Right now, it's looking like the movie industry will die. You're making a lot of assumptions there about offloading my decision making to AI though...
in reply to BeeegScaaawyCripple

Some friends and I got together and watched Weapons for Halloween (on a friend's jellyfin server) and we had a great time
in reply to ampersandrew

Steam attempted to distribute movies between 2014 and 2019.
GOG gave up at the beginning of 2025.
in reply to Kilgore Trout

Yeah, I'm aware. This is a problem that the movie and TV industry don't appear to be interested in solving. And they seemingly operate as a massive cartel, so one studio isn't about to break out on its own and innovate with a DRM free movie store.
in reply to ampersandrew

This is why the seedbox SaaS market exists. Providing turn key hosted solutions, the only heavy lifting is the configuration which takes some reading to understand.

Check out the Servarr Wiki, Ombi, Syncthing as a starting point for media discovery and curration tooling.

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to ampersandrew

So bizarrely the best experience is to self host and pirate. That's what you get when the entire entertainment industry is hostile to consumers.

When Netflix first became big, it was popular because it was a one-stop shop for almost all your content. It was like a big library of content in one place, you pay a reasonable monthly fee and it's all there. Piracy dipped as a result.

Now all the content is fragmented into numerous walled gardens you have to pay separate fees to access. People can only consume the same amount but now they have to pay 4 or 5 fees as the content is spread out.

Unsurprisingly piracy is booming again.

in reply to BananaTrifleViolin

I don't even mind that there are so many different streaming services. It's still a far better version of cable, where I can opt into ad-free for a few more dollars and sign up for or cancel a given service at will without having to have all of them. What sucks is when it's the only legal distribution channel and I can't make the choice that's right for me based on my consumption, like buying just the movies and shows I want and playing them how I want. Demonstrated in the video, we still need what can most accurately be categorized as a workaround or a hack to even rip our own Blu Rays. All that plus the streaming services have raised their prices beyond the point where it's an attractive deal.


Threads alternative


Threads have been gaining traction recently and I’m actually enjoying the atmosphere there. However it’s clearly on a growth phase where they don’t show any ads or paid content. This obviously won’t last, so I’m wondering if there’s a platform which I could recommend?

I tried Mastodon a couple of years ago but it felt a bit too technical even for me, so I’m a bit hesitant to explore that. Thanks for any input and my apologies if this has been asked too many times already.

in reply to ptu

I prefer Iceshrimp and Sharkey to Mastodon, antennas can help to find content
in reply to ptu

you don't even need mastodon; you can also try wafrn, which is more like tumblr, misskey/sharkey, which is more like blogger or livejournal, or even piefed/lemmy.

they all talk to each other.



WHO recommends GLP-1 drugs for obesity


in reply to return2ozma

That's a very sensible recommendation, especially since the evidence of the benefits regarding helping prevent diseases like diabetes, heart attack and stroke that follow from obesity is overwhelming.
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in reply to return2ozma

I wish they would just give the answer in the headline instead of burying it in the article. I want to know who recommends it without having to follow the link, but no!



in reply to Lee Duna

Canada sells weapons to Israel and still their citizens get treated like this. Maybe stop giving them guns?
in reply to FordBeeblebrox

Our “liberal” government is indistinguishable from 80s/90s conservatives.

in reply to essell

LLMs are based in computing hardware that does not engage in sexual reproduction and is thus not subject to evolution by natural selection.
in reply to brendansimms

I thought old Elen Musty added that function for the horny anime fans?


Hong Kong’s Response to Deadly Fire Is Squeezed by China’s Firm Hand


cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/42837641

Web archived link

...

On Sunday, thousands of people had gathered outside the charred buildings in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district to lay flowers and leave mementos and messages such as “rest in peace” and “Hong Kong be strong.” At a plaza at the complex, people manning a local relief effort collected donations and distributed essentials such as clothing, bedding, diapers and food to residents displaced by the fire.

By Sunday evening, the donation booths were gone, replaced by police command tents.

Government authorities have stepped in with official relief measures and sanctioned mourning activities, such as flying flags at half-staff and the establishment of designated condolence sites.

Beijing’s national-security office in Hong Kong warned that any attempt to exploit the fire to create disorder would be punished by law. The office said anti‑China groups and individuals were spreading false information, undermining relief efforts and inciting resentment toward the government and its leaders.

Alleged rabble-rousers are “attempting to use the victims’ grief to advance their political ambitions, pushing Hong Kong back into the turmoil of the extradition-bill unrest and reviving the darkest days of violent unrest,” the security office said.

“Darkest days” refers to the months of protests and violent unrest in Hong Kong in 2019 that were sparked by a proposed law that would allow the extradition of suspects for prosecution in mainland China.

...

A petition circulated online by activists demanded an independent investigation of the fire that goes beyond construction materials and addresses how Hong Kong is run. The list of demands in the petition echoed the protest chants of 2019.

The Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights, a group of rights advocates, said that the national-security laws may keep people from expressing opinions about what happened. “They fear questions regarding the cause and handling of the disaster could be deemed as sedition,” the group said.

...

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/hong-kongs-response-to-deadly-fire-is-squeezed-by-chinas-firm-hand-ea01b5a2




Hakboard - Home Assistant Integration for Kanboard


cross-posted from: discuss.online/post/31434838

Reddit post

HAKboard, a comprehensive Home Assistant integration for Kanboard, a free and open source Kanban project management tool.
- Roadmap
- Repo
- Screenshots

Features:

Interactive Lovelace cards

Integrates project, task and people data into sensor entities

Documented entity schema aids in dashboard and automation development

Supports multiple instances, enabling blue/green deployment

Configurable replication and project filtering settings per Kanboard instance

Zero YAML editing required

Functionality:

In this initial release, it is a one-way sync of Kanboard data into HA, with deep-linking to Kanboard projects from the HA dashboard. It will create an entity for every project that provides aggregate data for tasks, task status, assignees, columns etc.. giving you an excellent birds eye view of your environment, as well as the ability to create automations from the sensor data.

A very near release (see Roadmap in the repo) will introduce the creation of entities for each task and person, and likely others. We wanted to ensure the core entity generation system is rock-solid before opening it up to potentially thousands of new entities and thought it prudent to stagger this functionality.

If you use Kanboard (or want to try it), this turns your HA dashboard into a real-time project hub.

Repo & Docs: github.com/aktive/hakboard

⚠️ IMPORTANT INSTALL NOTES: I'm still working through the HACS repo approval process. In the meantime, please follow these instructions if you would like to install (existing Kanboard server required):

HACS > ⚙️ (Top right) > Custom Repositories > Add: https://github.com/aktive/hakboard as type Integration

Configure your Kanboard instance via Settings (Bottom left) > Devices & services > Add (Bottom right) > Search for HAKboard

NOTE: If HAKboard does not appear (either as an integration or a dashboard card), please refresh your browser or restart HA.


Thinkpad Yoga X1 gen 6 pen not functioning


I need to aggregate a lot of details on what I've tried so far, but I figured I'd make this post now since I have time over lunch.

I purchased a used Thinkpad Yoga X1 gen 6 from a university surplus sale. Intending to move away from the data hoarder that is Microsoft I of course installed Linux. I decided on Linux Mint since I haven't touched Linux in about a decade and I've forgotten everything.

Everything that I need to use correctly for job applications, printing, etc is working just fine, but much of the reason I bought the yoga is to use the Wacom stylus pen for drawing and taking notes.

It was working in Windows, but now does not seem to be recognized in Linux. It's odd since the touchscreen does work.

I did find this post which I will try to follow tonight:
reddit.com/r/LinuxOnThinkpad/c…

If anyone has had experience with this or has some advice for a new newbie, I'd very much appreciate it!


in reply to ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆

Bro you can’t beat Ukraine. What makes you think you can beat Ukraine + NATO allied countries?
in reply to hddsx

Russia is currently beating Ukraine + NATO support, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.
in reply to hddsx

Bro, the fact that you think this is a war between Russia and Ukraine as opposed to a proxy war between Russia and NATO shows how detached from reality you are.


Thousands protest in Philippines against flood control fraud


Thousands marched in the Philippine capital on Sunday (Nov 30) demanding jail time for scores of officials, lawmakers and construction firm owners accused of pocketing billions of taxpayer dollars in a sweeping corruption scandal.


Israeli president concerned over proposed renaming of park


cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/54134551

The Office of the President of Israel has expressed concern over the proposed renaming of Herzog Park in south Dublin.




Airbus faces new quality problem on dozens of A320 jets: Sources


Airbus has discovered an industrial quality issue affecting fuselage panels of several dozen A320-family aircraft, industry sources said on Monday (Dec 1).
in reply to schizoidman

Airbus: None of them have escaped the manufacturer without remedies to correct them, it's just causing delays to our customers.

Boeing: Just release them anyways and kill the whistleblower(s).

in reply to Lasherz

Yep. World of difference.

One incident of something strange happening resulted in full diagnosis, and a software update that could be applied with about 3 hours downtime for most craft.


in reply to MicroWave

I think this should be for UK pensioners but for EU pensioners there should be some cost exchange mechanism between the countries that covers it.
in reply to realitista

I suggest you read the article. Your questions will be answered.
in reply to MicroWave

My father is an European retirée in France, he pays a solidarity surplus for healthcare. So it's not free. Nor should it be.
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EU tells Trump: You can’t pardon Putin for war crimes in Ukraine


Any move to “wipe the slate clean” for Russia in a peace deal would be “a historic mistake of huge proportions,” the EU justice commissioner tells POLITICO.

Donald Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Vladimir Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a top EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal.

In an interview with POLITICO, Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia escaping prosecution.

His comments reflect concerns widely held in European capitals that the original American blueprint for a deal included the promise of a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” alongside plans to reintegrate Russia into the world economy.

in reply to MicroWave

Yes he can. Trump can do whatever he wants. Like rape children. Or, pretend to be the king of the world. Or commit war crimes. Or take naps during meetings.



Rising levels of hate forcing women out of Swedish public life, says equality agency


Country seen as champion of equal rights faces reckoning after senior politician says she felt compelled to quit

Increasing hate, threats and harassment against female politicians are scaring women away from public life and forcing them to censor themselves, the Swedish government’s equality agency has said, warning that this poses a “big threat to democracy.”

Women’s safety in politics has come under heightened scrutiny in the Scandinavian country since October, when Anna-Karin Hatt resigned as leader of the Centre party after only five months in office, citing hate and threats.

“To constantly feel like you need to look over your shoulder and [to] not feel completely safe, not even at home … I am affected by it much more deeply than I thought I would [be],” she said at the time.

in reply to MicroWave

I wonder why women and LGBTQ+ people would be so uncomfortable in Sweden.
in reply to Yeather

Out of curiosity, what does the diagram represent? I wonder what value has increased to about two thirds of 18% (and what is the 18%) between 1945 and 2015?

1945 - I can tell what happened over here on that year. Tens of thousands of Estonians took boats and sailed to Sweden, because they knew that Stalin's regime had extremely unpleasant surprises waiting for them. Without a clue about the context, I would guess that's the blue bar in 1945.

Also, I think your graph is missing the point. Lööf was sure as hell unsettled when psychiatrist Ing-Marie Wieselgren was killed at a political festival, by a guy who arguably intended to kill Lööf.

reuters.com/world/europe/swedi…

Wikipedia tells us a bit more:

After stabbing Wieselgren, the attacker was tackled by a pensioner and was shortly thereafter arrested by police.[5] The arrested perpetrator was a 33-year-old man who had previously participated in events organized by the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement and had written for the neo-Nazi newspaper Nordfront.


So, apparently the motive was political, but I don't think you expected it was this one.

Polarization is really stupid, it makes people talk, campaign and vote about identity issues (parties start to have ultrafans who want to beat each other up), when their best interest would be served by discussing other topics. Fortunately the Swedish electoral system does not support unhinged levels of polarization.

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to perestroika

The graph represents the proportion of Swedish population not of Swedish descent. As you allow people with such a different culture and outlook on women and LGBTQ+ peoples into the country, you begin to see the same patterns of violence and hate from their home countries.
in reply to Yeather

this was always the argument in the US when taking with people regarding all the cool things Sweden instituted - "but they are culturally contiguous, and that's what makes it work."

..in a melting pot, you have to account for the existence of all these extreme viewpoints, and have some kind of response. Those things that aren't accounted for simply spill out into the populous, and become everyone's problem.

in reply to bastion

The Swedish system is unfortunately collapsing under it’s own weight partially due to immigrants taking more than they put in. The rapid influx of people has put a strain on all factors of public services from healthcare to school.
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to Yeather

Yeah.. ..I really love some of the core Swedish ideals, and it's sad to see this happening. I really hope that Sweden is able to generate an effective response to the incoming ideologies without sacrificing their own ideals.

When people get too soft, times get hard (bullies win when people are too soft). A genuine balance needs to be struck, which requires a lot of personal processing by many people, as well as time for the resultant answers to spread through the culture. Sweden may need to limit immigration in the mean time to give time for that to occur.

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to Yeather

I would put it differently.

The graph represents immigration. That is another topic, if you read the title carefully (see: "public life").

Recent / notable incidents of violence against women in politics, in Sweden, can be fairly blamed on far-right actors who are (perhaps by coincidence or perhaps not) also failing to discuss immigration normally, because discussing things rationally is not their slice of bread. Some parties' ultra-fans have a culture of threatening and intimidation.

I know it first hand without being in Sweden. Here in Estonia, we also have a party of that sort, with all the bells and whistles (anti-vaxx, pro-Kremlin, anti-immigration¹ and of course pro-authoritarianism). And their supporters can't argue with a person much more often than an ordinary party's supporters. I sincerely hope that party goes below the election threshold soon. They already split because of internal culture (failure to tolerate disagreements).

¹ anti accepting Ukrainian refugees, since there is nearly no other immigration coming here, unlike Sweden which has been considered an attractive destination

P.S. I should note that Sweden has its share of integration problems (which they try to solve, and will likely pull the brakes if they cannot), but as a result of immigration, Sweden experiences less of the demographic problems which press Eastern Europe (read: our population pyramids in Eastern Europe are top-heavy, predicting serious issues with financing of public services in future, their population pyramid in Sweden is relatively square).

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to Yeather

Quit your bullshit. The person who murdered Ing-Marie Wieselgren (national coordinator for psychiatry) in front of Annie Lööf (leader of Centerpartiet) in 2022 was Theodor Engström. This article is news because Anna-Karin Hatt (leader of Centerpartiet) quit a couple of weeks back, in response to online threats.

If you look at the incidence of violence against women in Europe, there is no correlation with immigration. Sure, Sweden is ranked as number 2, which seems bad and you might infer that it has something to do with demographics. Just one problem - Finland is number 1, with 1/10th of Sweden's immigration. Denmark and Hungary are also really high up. You can try to draw your own conclusions but a clear correlation to immigration is a hard sell.

in reply to mirshafie

Nearly 63% of all rapists in Sweden are immigrants or children of immigrants. In Finland, Immigrants are three times more likely to rape a woman that Finnish people. In Finland, second generation migrants are labeled as Finnish, so I bet the statistic is even higher. These are also only rape statistics and not sexual harassment, which has much less data, but we can see would follow this trend.
in reply to Yeather

Right. So you just outed your specialized interest in a fringe issue. The thread is about female politicians leaving the limelight, and you just had to force a connection to your pet theory of how the world works, didn't you.

Nevermind that the reason they leave is almost always threats from far-right nutjobs.

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 settimane fa)
in reply to mirshafie

The strong correlation between an increase in non-western immigration, crime, and now prejudice against women, is strong. Your second paragraph was about violence against women, and does not have a breakdown by immigration status. Importing a culture with regressive views on women leads to this.
in reply to Yeather

Immigration leads to far-right nutjobs threatening politicians so they leave their positions?
in reply to Yeather

Could be bit of both. Sweden has always been more right wing than their Scandinavian brethren. Their far right was strong during World War 2, and they have a far right in a coalition government at the moment. But on the one hand, Sweden allowed too many immigrants who share the same attitude as their own far right.

Two things can both be true at the same time.

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in reply to MicroWave

Is this a disparity in treatment or response?

The 2025 politicians’ security survey, carried out by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, found that 26.3% of female elected representatives reported being exposed to threats and harassment last year because of their position. The equivalent figure for men was 23.6%.


About the same levels: the difference could be random noise.

When it came to feeling vulnerable, the gender gap was markedly larger, at 32.7% of women reporting such feelings compared with 24% of men.


That indicates a stronger response.

Maybe this concerns right-wing extremist threatening everyone more than inequality?
- Republican lawmakers are leaving office out of fear of the party’s base
- At least 11 Indiana Republicans were targeted with threats or swatting attacks
- Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to resign after MAGA threats

Everyone's getting heat from far-right dickheads.


Republican lawmakers are leaving office out of fear of the party’s base, report claims: ‘I’d rather my house not get firebombed’


Another report noted that 41 U.S. lawmakers announced they won't seek reelection at the end of their terms and more are expected to follow

The Atlantic described the feeling among Indiana Republicans, especially as members of the GOP block a redistricting plan that would allow the party to get more seats.

The lawmaker told the outlet he is leaving office but not out of fear of retaliation from Trump, but political violence. "I'd rather my house not get firebombed," the lawmaker said.

The outlet noted that fears are not far-fetched given the wave of political violence that has taken place over the past years. Indiana Republicans have faced "swatting" incidents for not endorsing the redistricting plan.


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Honduras election on a knife edge as Trump-backed man slightly ahead


Early results from the general election in Honduras show Nasry Asfura, leader of the right-wing National Party, has a very narrow lead.

With more than 40% of the votes counted, the conservative candidate was just ahead of former TV host and Vice-President Salvador Nasralla, according to preliminary results published by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

Asfura has been backed by Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut financial aid to the Central American nation if his preferred candidate does not win.

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in reply to MicroWave

Weird that I don't see nearly as much screeching about foreigners interfering on elections when the US does it openly
in reply to ShinkanTrain

Well, if what you want is a little more screeching, then SCREEEEEEAAAAACH!
in reply to ShinkanTrain

In all seriousness, though, I doubt there is a single person alive who would condemn Russian election interference and excuse US election interference.
in reply to etuomaala

I commend you for not looking at american news rags or social media.


Calls for accountability over deadly Hong Kong fire silenced


cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46524461

Archived

Not long before he was reportedly detained, Miles Kwan approached commuters outside a Hong Kong train station, urging them to demand accountability for the deadly inferno that tore through nearby apartment blocks.

"We all feel unhappy that (Hong Kong) has come to this and we want things to improve," the 24-year-old student said Friday, while handing out flyers that called for an independent probe into the blaze, which killed at least 128 people last week, with another 150 still missing.
"We need to be frank about how today's Hong Kong is riddled with holes, inside and out."

Kwan and other organizers' demands turned into an online petition that gained more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day.

A second petition with the same demands has been launched by a Tai Po resident who is now living overseas.

“Hongkongers demand the truth and justice,” read one note in the comment section of the new online petition.

But local media reported Saturday night that Kwan was arrested on suspicion of sedition by national security police and the text of the online petition had been deleted, showing how under Beijing's watchful eye, dissenting voices in Hong Kong can vanish as quickly as they appear.

[...]

Reporters' attempts to reach Kwan by phone Sunday morning went unanswered.

[...]

Kwan was reportedly detained not long after Beijing's national security arm in Hong Kong publicly condemned "anti-China forces" for exploiting the disaster and "inciting social division and stirring hatred against authorities."

Asked on Friday if he feared being arrested, Kwan said he was only "proposing very basic demands."

"If these ideas are deemed seditious or 'crossing the line,' then I feel I can't predict the consequences of anything anymore, and I can only do what I truly believe."

Kwan and a handful of activists gave out flyers at the train station near the charred residential estate Friday, demanding government accountability, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents and a review of construction oversight.

The demands reflected a belief that the fire was "not an accident" but a human-made disaster, he said.

[...]

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year they faced "relatively low fire risks" after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovation, the city's Labour Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors used to cover the bamboo scaffolding, a department spokesperson said.

[...]

When Britain was grappling with public fury over the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people, the government announced a public inquiry.

Lawyer Imran Khan, who represented the bereaved and survivors in the inquiry, said "the lessons from Grenfell apply around the world" as all governments need to ensure high-rise residential buildings are safe.

Khan said a public inquiry with court-like powers was a better option for the situation in Hong Kong because "an internal investigation will not get to the truth and there will be no faith in it by the bereaved, survivors and residents."

Based on his experience with Grenfell residents, he said, "without justice they cannot grieve."

[...]

Near the site of the blaze a short walk away, a long queue snaked through a park as mourners brought flowers and handwritten notes of remembrance.

One unsigned note left on the ground read, "This is not just an accident, it is the evil fruit of an unjust system, which landed on you. It's not right."


Addition:

Reporting on the the deadly fires, Australia's ABC says that Hong Kong residents are asking hard questions about safety following last week's deadly high-rise tower blaze (video, 7 min).

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in reply to Hotznplotzn

Honesty, China only recently regained control of Hong Kong. Having not heard much about what ultimately caused it. Outside the complete lack of sensors and alarms. I could have dismissed it as a possible pre existing situation. But as always, the CCP continues to bully and behave guilty.

I mean, Jesus fucking Christ, this is a horrible tragedy. And right now, everyone's heart is going out to all the victims and those who've lost. But the CCP and local related governments are so incompetent and oppressive. They can't even take what could be a reasonable win for them and actually help the people they're supposed to be serving. Attacking the victims more instead. Really makes you wonder how many more tall ticking time bombs there might be. Throughout Hong Kong or the rest of China.

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Hong Kong fire: Faulty netting blamed as death toll hits 151


Some of the netting used by contractors at Wang Fuk Court has been found to not meet fire-safety code. Police continue to search the rubble, with more than 40 people still missing.
in reply to MicroWave

Residents of the complex had complained last year of the netting used by the contractors to cover the scaffolding while renovation was underway. They were told by authorities that there were "relatively low fire risks."


what does this mean? did the residents know about the nets' fire proofing? how??

sloppy reporting



China’s Missing Housing Data Sparks Fresh Fears After Vanke Bond Extension


cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46523973

Archived

China’s already fragile property market took another blow this week as two of its largest private housing data agencies, China Real Estate Information Corp. and China Index Academy, failed to release monthly sales figures for the top 100 developers as expected on Sunday. This data blackout came shortly after China Vanke Co. a developer long perceived as relatively stable requested a delay in repaying a local bond, its first such move.

The agencies did not provide explanations for the delay, a rare deviation from routine reporting schedules that has triggered widespread speculation. The timing suggests a correlation between Vanke’s distress signal and the withholding of market data, reinforcing concerns that the November sales figures may be significantly worse than anticipated.

[...]

The absence of November figures adds opacity to an already uncertain environment. According to Kristy Hung, senior real estate analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, withholding the data “could increase uncertainty about the struggling sector’s condition” and likely reflects “steeper declines” in sales performance across the board.

The lack of transparency is particularly troubling as it undermines efforts by regulators to stabilize market sentiment. Investors are now left to interpret silence as a negative signal, which may accelerate capital flight and further impair refinancing efforts for developers already teetering on the edge of default.

[...]

Vanke’s request to delay bond repayment marks a critical turning point. As one of the few firms previously seen as weathering the crisis, its need for restructuring signals that even stronger developers are now succumbing to funding constraints and weakening sales. This suggests a causal deterioration of sector-wide liquidity, as refinancing options dwindle and investor confidence erodes.

While Evergrande and Country Garden have already defaulted or restructured, Vanke’s case sends a new signal to markets: no developer is immune. The Vanke episode has also likely prompted data providers to pause release to avoid further market panic, underscoring the depth of sentiment fragility.

[...]

China’s housing sector risks sliding further into a protracted downturn marked by fear, opacity, and investor disengagement. The Vanke episode may be just the beginning of a broader reckoning for an industry long seen as a pillar of China’s economic engine.




New party founded by Corbyn adopts Your Party as name


in reply to xc2215x

Joke of a name for a joke of a party. Corbyn et al have already lost all credibility after the launch debacle.

Thankfully, the UK has more than one alternative to choose from, both the Greens and LibDems are shaping up to be strong left-challenges to the Uniparty and Reform.

in reply to Zombie-Mantis

You're gonna sit there and tell me UK isn't a joke of a country? At least politics wise? And yes, I get the irony in this coming from someone who's president is Trump, but I'm on record as saying the country is a joke, our government a circus, and our president is a clown.
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in reply to DaMummy

Im also from the US, but I can see all the parallels to the UK government. Both have been pretty aligned with one another for decades now.
in reply to DaMummy

I didn't say it wasn't? I just said the new party and it's leadership are a joke. I didn't say anything about the UK, itself.


Landmine casualties globally hit 4-year high as states exit ban treaty


Deaths and injuries from landmines and unexploded ordnance hit a four-year high in 2024, driven by conflicts in Syria and Myanmar as well as European countries moving to withdraw from the treaty banning their use, a new report showed on Dec 1.



EU exports of banned chemical sparks outcry in South African vineyards


cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/54121431

cyanamide, used in products such as the plant-growth regulator Dormex, commonly applied in vineyards, has been banned in the EU since 2009 due to its toxicity, including links to carcinogenicity and infertility.

German chemical giant BASF, Europe’s largest exporter of EU-banned pesticides last year

In 2020, the European Commission pledged to “lead by example” and ban exports of toxic pesticides to third countries. Five years later, no concrete measure has been taken.


https://www.euractiv.com/news/eu-exports-of-banned-chemical-sparks-outcry-in-south-african-vineyards/