UniLang

Super impressed by this guy. I think he might be the Bernie of this election cycle (but hopefully with a better outcome).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9say1jGFFQ

Yasna wrote:Super impressed by this guy. I think he might be the Bernie of this election cycle (but hopefully with a better outcome).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9say1jGFFQ

From my perspective, as a Swedish person and member of the Pirate Party, he's pretty much spot-on. Automation will end more jobs than can be created, although some things will definitely still require a bit of human touch.

About something else he said: Here in Sweden you can already get some money for acting as caretakers for a family member. Or could anyway, it's become really difficult and there is a huge fight going on about it in parliament, but I expect the American-like line to win.

Apparently, Sweden has strict censorship laws when it comes to political news that prevent this sort of thing from being discussed, but so far this year, 93 bombs have gone off there. This is apparently not an increase from last year. Even Wikipedia seems to suggest that gang violence is an increasingly deadly problem in Sweden. At least at first glance, the perpetrators of gang violence in Sweden don't seem to be especially different from gangsters in the US; some of the gangs are made up of immigrants, some are made up of white people, some are a mix, and some are international.

We have censorship laws, now?! Those must be really strict then, since they are apparently so well-enforced that only the alt-right has ever heard of them!

It's not like we have the oldest unbroken tradition of freedom of the press on the planet, not at all Yeah, I know, standards were a little different in the 1700's than today, so it wouldn't be called that today probably, but since then, regulations have only gotten looser.

Yeah, there have been some bombs, some of them by right-wing extremists attacking their enemies, like refugee centers and the mainstream political left, mostly by criminals attacking their enemies other criminals. Though, the criminals usually prefer grenades to actual bombs, it's just that there was a particularly spectacular one in the middle of Linköping recently. No one got hurt but quite a high number of apartments now need repairs to their balconies and windows, not to mention they need to be cleared of glass, so it affected more regular people than usual.

And yeah, gang violence is gang violence no matter where you are. The non-white gangs are usually not made up of immigrants though, unless you count the international ones with ties to Eastern Europe (so, white according to American standards), but the children of immigrants who grew up poor.

Johanna wrote:We have censorship laws, now?! Those must be really strict then, since they are apparently so well-enforced that only the alt-right has ever heard of them!

My Swedish friend says the news is censored more in Sweden than in the US and that people can get suspended from Facebook for writing things that are considered too right-wing. She also says news regarding the mafia in Malmö is suddenly removed from news outlets after being published in them.

It's not like we have the oldest unbroken tradition of freedom of the press on the planet, not at all Yeah, I know, standards were a little different in the 1700's than today, so it wouldn't be called that today probably, but since then, regulations have only gotten looser.

Oldest tradition, yes, but I'm not sure "unbroken" is an accurate assessment. Just eight years after freedom of the press was written into the Constitution, King Gustav III published a new press law requiring the king to authorize what got printed, and it seems that there were indeed censorship laws in Sweden in the 1940s.

No one got hurt but quite a high number of apartments now need repairs

What I read is that the bomb took out two whole apartment buildings, 17 people had to be sent to the emergency room with life-threatening injuries, and more people would have been injured if most people didn't happen to be at work at the time.

linguoboy wrote:

france-eesti wrote:hi there,
yes, French-speakingin French I know but I found it quite easy to read:
https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/ar ... 55770.html

I'm very happy with the Spanish results. Vox was held to only three seats and the ruling Socialists came out clearly in front.

You're happy! Here we are all pissed as usual!

I have like five large generalists parties to vote that would get representation, of which only one block is left-wing, and markedly anti-trans for some in-party reason and a with an anti-nuclear tradition. And I have to vote that. So I'm pissed forever.

It’s Time for Sweden to Admit Explosions Are a National Emergency

"Sweden has experienced a sharp rise in explosions in recent years, predominantly related to conflicts between warring criminal gangs. The use of explosives in the Nordic country is now at a level that is unique in the world for a state not at war, according to police. In response, the government issued a first-ever ”amnesty for explosives” in the fall of 2018, allowing people in possession of such weapons to hand them over to police with immunity. But this didn’t stem the tide: some 50 explosions were reported in the first three months of 2019 alone—an average of more than one every other day and an increase over the same period in 2018, a year that saw a record number of more than three blasts per week."

"The rise in gang violence and other types of crime—including sexual offenses and a wave of robberies against children—has had far-reaching implications for Swedish society. In a country which boasts ”the world’s first feminist government,” a third of young women now report feeling unsafe going out at night. A recent survey in the country’s three largest cities showed that safety is now the main priority for Swedes who are looking to buy homes. Crime emerged as a top priority among voters ahead of the election to the European Parliament in May."

"According to the prevailing ideology of the Swedish political establishment, this wave of violence, which is baffling to many European neighbours, should not be happening. A longstanding cornerstone of the country’s political conversation dictates that crime must be understood in socio-economic terms, and that welfare provisions are a cure-all against violence and social unrest. Yet Sweden is one of Europe’s most generous welfare states."

It's alarming, isn't it?

My understanding is that many Swedes think it's a good thing that the number of explosions per year has not increased and so that's something to be happy about. I mean, yeah, it's good that it hasn't increased, but I don't see what's good about nearly a hundred explosions (bombs?) in half a year.

I don't have much time and I'm not going to reply to the rest, but this stood out to me.

Yasna wrote:a third of young women now report feeling unsafe going out at night.

You think that is more than in the US? Or in so many other countries?

I have a feeling this has been discussed on this forum before, but apparently, the legal definition of rape in Sweden was broadened considerably about a decade ago, resulting in the number of reported rapes rising drastically.

Aurinĭa wrote:

Yasna wrote:a third of young women now report feeling unsafe going out at night.

You think that is more than in the US? Or in so many other countries?

I found this Gallup poll from 2012: https://news.gallup.com/poll/155402/women-feel-less-safe-men-developed-countries.aspx

Sweden comes in slightly behind Germany and the Netherlands and slightly ahead of the US and the UK. Interestingly, though, it isn't even in the top 30 worldwide. #1 in the list of countries where women feel safe walking home alone at night is Georgia (90%), followed by Rwanda (89%) and Singapore (88%).

vijayjohn wrote:

Johanna wrote:We have censorship laws, now?! Those must be really strict then, since they are apparently so well-enforced that only the alt-right has ever heard of them!

My Swedish friend says the news is censored more in Sweden than in the US and that people can get suspended from Facebook for writing things that are considered too right-wing. She also says news regarding the mafia in Malmö is suddenly removed from news outlets after being published in them.

Your Swedish friend is the kind of person that takes Breitbart as gospel then. Or Avpixlat, Fria tider etc.

The kind of person that thinks that just because the New York Times or Dagens nyheter won't publish something they submitted, they are being censored.

About Facebook, it's an American site.

vijayjohn wrote:

Johanna wrote:It's not like we have the oldest unbroken tradition of freedom of the press on the planet, not at all Yeah, I know, standards were a little different in the 1700's than today, so it wouldn't be called that today probably, but since then, regulations have only gotten looser.

Oldest tradition, yes, but I'm not sure "unbroken" is an accurate assessment. Just eight years after freedom of the press was written into the Constitution, King Gustav III published a new press law requiring the king to authorize what got printed, and it seems that there were indeed censorship laws in Sweden in the 1940s

As far as laws go, yes. As far as tradition goes, we got a taste and never really let go.

vijayjohn wrote:

Johanna wrote:No one got hurt but quite a high number of apartments now need repairs

What I read is that the bomb took out two whole apartment buildings, 17 people had to be sent to the emergency room with life-threatening injuries, and more people would have been injured if most people didn't happen to be at work at the time.

My mistake, I read "no causalities", and yeah... Still, no dead so far from the largest explosion yet. Reputable Swedish sources say "25 with cuts and bruises, and the odd broken bone, 2 still in the hospital". It's a little iffy, since most local papers love their paywalls, but the evening press loves their headlines, so if someone dies, it will be announced at once.

I think it won't be long before have some developments towards a two-state (dis)solution in Cyprus
It seems like the RoC president is conspiring with a powerful TRNC minister to prepare the ground.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/06/18/anas ... -the-dark/
Anastasiades-Ozersay meeting comes to light, Akinci in the dark (update 2)
A meeting between President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot ‘Foreign Minister’ Kudret Ozersay without leader Mustafa Akinci knowing about it has caused a rift between the two Turkish Cypriot politicians, reports said on Tuesday.

[Context: Greek Cypriot negotiator (and RoC president) Anastasiades' equal is Turkish Cypriot negotiator (and TRNC president) Akıncı. Özersay is just a minister, but he is considered a TRNC president-in-waiting though. Akıncı is committed to the UN-approved one-state federalisation solution we have all accepted since 1977. Özersay is not committed to it. Anastasiadis bypassing Akıncı to talk with a minister is a serious breach of protocol - Anastasiadis preferring to have secret discussions with the guy who supports a two-state solution is even more suspicious]


https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2019/ ... settlement
Northern Cyprus opens 'ghost town' Varosha for settlement
[...]The city is protected by a 1984 U.N. Security Council resolution, stating that the the empty town can only be resettled by its original inhabitants.[...]

[Context: Varosha was never settled by TRNC after being captured by the Turkish Army because it received protected status from the UN. It was always a given that it will return under Greek Cypriot administration in the event of reunification, and it's the only territory that, as far as the UN is concerned, should be immediately returned to Greek Cypriots even if there's no comprehensive solution. The prospect of Varosha opening for settlement under TRNC administration signals departure from the UN-approved framework]

vijayjohn wrote:I have a feeling this has been discussed on this forum before, but apparently, the legal definition of rape in Sweden was broadened considerably about a decade ago, resulting in the number of reported rapes rising drastically.

Yep, and it increased even more this year, since we now require consent. In other words, if you buy "services" from someone forcibly trafficked, you may not get away with simply "buying sex" anymore, but have to stand trial for rape unless the person gave clear signals that they wanted it and there were no other signs that they were coerced.

In the last 10 days since Facebook adopted a "hate speech" policy "against" the local neonazi party (ELAM), I've seen at least two leftist individuals being temporarily banned from Facebook for mentioning ELAM by name, two centrist progressive types experiencing the same, one leftist news page having to remove all their posts that were critical against ELAM, and one fairly mainstreamer news aggegrator being unpublished for re-sharting news agency articles with topics such as "ELAM announces European Parliament candidacy".

Who's really benefiting from this "hate speech" policy, and why are some antifascists stupid enough to support it?

My mom has been watching the Democratic Party debates. I think she loves Kamala Harris now. (Big surprise, I know).

Suspected missile strikes Northern Cyprus, according to local officials
Safest speculation atm has it that it's a stray S-200 launched from Assad's Syria to respond to Israeli fire but missed its target.

The spread of the wreck is immense, as two parts landed near the northern coast, and one in the southeast coast. No casualties fortunately, but 6+ armies in Cyprus, including 4 NATO ones with cutting edge war technology, and none of them noticed this was heading our direction, let alone intercept it.

How come they didn't notice that? Did they not expect that at all? I wonder what would have happened if one of the army locations had been hit.

NZZ has an interesting article how in the US, commercial DNA tests lead to identification of criminals (among other things), even if only some distant relative uploaded their data to sites like GedMatch and talks about the many consequences it has and questions that are raised by it. Several of the links in the article are in English, BTW.

Car wrote:How come they didn't notice that? Did they not expect that at all? I wonder what would have happened if one of the army locations had been hit.

As far as the Greek Cypriot militia is concerned, the answer they gave is that they run their missile radars on low-power mode during peacetime, so the reaction time is 15 minutes, but it takes less than 2 minutes for a missile from Syria to reach Cyprus. "We could have intercepted it if we knew it was coming", was their stance.
If that's the case, then why run the radars at all? Turkey, the supposed threat, is even closer than Syria is, so it wouldn't even take a minute for a missile to reach. Also, they have a bizarre definition of peacetime.

But to be fair, the Greek Cypriot militia is a joke, the biggest question is what the Turkish, British, Greek, Israeli, and American armies in Cyprus were doing during all of this. Brits and Americans operate in Syria from the British bases in Cyprus, and Turkey is involved in the Syrian war. Supposedly, they are in high alert.
The Israelis appear to have used Cypriot airspace for their Syria bombing in the past two days, they could give us a courtesy heads-up that they are making us a target.
Greeks are not directly involved, but they have better technology (biggest NATO spender after the US and all) and supposedly they want to protect us.

So many armies, yet no-one was able to even positively confirm where the rocket came from, let alone do anything to intercept it.

Thanks for the explanation. That really doesn't sound good at all.