#Finland farmers

[isawthismeme]

[dangkst]

[plantaffinity]

if they care so much that astrid is played by a dark skinned person and doesn't "look scandinavian" then why don't they care that the rest of the cast aren't scandinavian? can you really claim that a person who ISN'T scandinavian looks scandinavian? Just cause you have a misconception that all vikings had long beards and were big and brawly (except conveniently for the of course skinny below avarege height brown haired american boy thats always the protagonist in all american movies) doesn't mean it's true. the people who look most like how vikings would've looked are the people who live in scandinavia right now, so why are they being played by americans? Could it be that an american can portray a viking in a movie because it's fiction? could it be that in modern culture we look different and therefore can portray fantasy settings the way we look nowadays? Can you look at scandinavia, and see that we are now a modern and diverse place, and that a white scandinavian can be THE EXACT SAME amount of viking as an asian looking scandinavian? Because asian looking scandinavians could have one scandinavian parent and one asian parent, and a white scandinavian could have one scandinavian parent and one parent from greece or spain or italy or fucking brazil or usa or wherever the fuck else white people live!

when I watch httyd - or any other american movie about "vikings" for that matter - I don't see myself. I don't relate to anything they do or say. Because they're extremely inaccurate to our culture, and are obviously set in some kind of americanized fantasy version of scandinavia, not a place that could exist in real life. If I see a dark skinned person in these stories, I don't care at all because the rest of the story is already clearly not set in scandinavia during the viking age or any other age so why would it matter. This is why it baffles me that americans care so much about whether the actors look "scandinavian" or whether the animation has dark skinned characters. they will say that scandinavians didn't look like that. but like it's the least they should be worried about?? also actually swedish vikings sailed east and brought people (some were slaves, or they were poor-ish and ended up as slaves because they couldnt afford otherwise. slaves were given free food and shelter) with them back from the east, so its honestly not that unlikely that they brought asian and african people from the east

[stillunusual]

The word "Nazi" has a specific meaning to normal people, but to vatniks and tankies it has five basic meanings…. "anybody I don't like" "anybody who disagrees with me" "anybody who's a citizen of a country that Russia wants to invade" "anybody who opposed or simply didn't want to live in one of the tyrannical regimes I simp for" "anybody who was oppressed or killed by one of my favourite mass murderers" EDITED TO ADD: a tankie clown reblogged this post and made some typically asinine comments, so I thought I'd elaborate a little bit…. Tankie clown: @well1x is either referring to the fact that a lot of the "deaths under communism" listed in "the black book of communism" (which gives us the 10 million number or whatever) are quite literally Nazis in WWII, or they're referring to the fact that the only people who have been made to deliberately suffer under communism have been literal Nazis and fascists (generally speaking)

Joining the tankie cult requires you to live in a delusional clown world and believe in a shit ton of made up (and often contradictory) nonsense that requires a considerable repertoire of mental gymnastics (and lies) to maintain….

@well1x is literally trying to claim that all victims of communism are "nazis and facists" (sic), which - back in the real world - is a very obvious lie. It's also a blatant example of victim blaming. For example, most of the millions of men, women and children who were robbed, raped, imprisoned, sent to the gulags, tortured, starved to death, executed or ethnically cleansed by Stalin's henchmen were not Nazis or fascists, and many were innocent of any crime. The vast majority of the population in Stalin's Soviet Union also had to put up with crippling poverty and backwardness, the brutal suppression of their religious and community life and the total lack of freedom.

Based on his comment, I doubt if the tankie clown has ever read "the black book of communism" and I'm also not sure why he mentions this book in particular, when there are thousands of others that thoroughly document the numerous crimes of the regimes tankies insist on being the useful idiots for, and I think it's safe to assume that he hasn't read any of those books either (in fact, I doubt if he's ever read any book whatsoever)…. Tankie clown: Karina then shows an image of (presumably) some kids in the Ukraine famine. This is completely unrelated though because this famine was not manufactured by the USSR as say the Irish famine was by the English. Can't really attribute natural disaster to "muh communism"

Again - a typical genocide-denying tankie lie.

Tankies generally start by saying that the holodomor was Nazi propaganda, and when you debunk that they claim it was just a natural disaster, and when that doesn't work they make up some bullshit about how millions of farmers who barely had enough to live on were wealthy kulaks who burned crops and slaughtered cattle (and therefore deserved to die). And when you point out that the red army actually broke into their homes and confiscated all their grain, every cow or chicken or any other food they had, and that the Soviet authorities blacklisted villages, sometimes purely for containing relatives of Ukrainian independence fighters, and prevented the villagers from leaving, shot them for even collecting ears of grain from the fields, and watched them starve to death - tankies will just deny it, or laugh, or pretend that millions of holodomor victims were all rich landlords (and therefore deserved to die) etc etc….

I've also never seen English people pretending that the Irish famine never happened, or claiming that the victims deserved it, or that it was a good thing, or that Britain should re-conquer Ireland. On the other hand, it's difficult not to notice Stalin's smooth-brained groupies swarming all over social media every day denying or justifying the holodomor and other crimes of Russia and the USSR, and hoping that Russia not only re-conquers Ukraine but also Finland, the Baltics, Poland and other countries it has invaded and occupied in the past.

There's no point trying to reason with tankies using facts, logic or common sense - and appealing to their sense of decency while they're simping for their favourite mass murderers is a complete waste of time. Tankie clown: Karina then says @well1x is defending imperialism(???), defending ethnic cleansing (which …what??), dreaming about labour camps and mass shootings (for Nazis yes plz), and does not do any praxis (based on?).

Yep - most tankie clowns claim to be communists while simultaneously embracing Russian fascism, supporting the imperialism of Russia’s mega-rich ruling class, mindlessly repeating the Kremlin's propaganda and cheerleading their war crimes. These morons seem to have no idea that the Russian Federation is an empire made up of many conquered states that Russia invaded, occupied and colonised in the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, or that Russia's war against Ukraine is a brutal attempt to reassert control over one of its former colonies. Russia's history of imperialism is at least as bad as that of any western country - and they're still doing it in the 21st century.

And I have seen countless examples of tankies speaking openly of wanting to mass murder their ideological enemies (or people they don't like) - because they also delude themselves into believing that if their revolutionary dreams ever came true, they'd be the ones doing the arresting and killing, despite the fact that in a real revolution they'd be about as much use as a fart in a spacesuit. They also have no idea how their small dick energy is somehow going to bring capitalism to its knees, which they'd inevitably end up crying about if it ever actually happened in reality.

Most of them are complete losers who spend the majority of their time sitting in their bedrooms huffing their own farts while reading tankie fan fiction online. Tankie clowns also claim to be against western imperialism and capitalism, despite living comfortable lives in western capitalist countries and owing everything they have to capitalism, including the freedom to use their capitalist smartphones or laptops to post anti-capitalist tantrums on social media platforms owned by western capitalists (thus helping these western capitalists to maximise their profits).

This is generally the sum total of a typical tankie's - ahem - "revolutionary" activity.

The vast majority of tankie clowns wouldn't dream of ever giving up the comforts of capitalism to move to one of the authoritarian shitholes they stupidly simp for, because then they might not be able to play their favourite capitalist video games anymore….

It's also a fact that Russia and the USSR have ethnically cleansed millions of people. Tankie clown: OP takes this insane train all the way to the station, and says @well1x is talking about anyone they don't like which… no. They're talking about the traditional Nazis.

No - they're falsely claiming that all victims of communism are Nazis and fascists. Learn to read…. Tankie clown: But also let's break this down. Who does OP think is being called a Nazi? "anyone I don't like" I mean I don't like Nazis, but I don't think everyone I don't like is one lmao. Funny tho, dude throws around the word tankie until it has no meaning.

In my experience, if you disagree with tankies about anything, they will pretty soon call you a fascist or a Nazi. It's they who throw around words like "fascist" and "Nazi" until they have no meaning (and most of them hilariously claim to be opposed to fascism while simultaneously supporting it - if it happens to be Russian). Tankie clown: - "anyone who disagrees with me" if you disagree that all human beings deserve to live a dignified life regardless of race/sex/gender identity/sexual orientation/age/disability/whatever then yeah you probably are a Nazi

Straw man. See above….

It's also amusing to observe the doublethink of somebody who apparently believes that "all human beings deserve to live a dignified life" while simultaneously thinking that when his favourite mass murderers oppressed and/or killed huge numbers of people it was perfectly OK…. Tankie clown: - "anyone who's a citizen of a country that Russia wants to invade" why the fuck are we talking about Russia? Believe it or not OP, USSR does not stand for "United Soviet States of Russia" lmaoooo

We're talking about Russia because most tankie clowns support Russian imperialism and mindlessly parrot the Kremlin's propaganda about how Russia's latest invasion of Ukraine is some sort of special de-nazification operation (see above). Tankies are generally so ignorant, gullible and stupid that they will literally believe anything the Kremlin tells them…. Tankie clown: - "anyone opposed or simply didn't want to live in one of the tyrannical regimes I simp for" tyrannical regimes lmao. These were only "tyrannical regimes" for people who actually were in fact Nazis.

Again - this is the kind of reality-denying nonsense I'd expect to hear from a tankie clown. One thing that really appalls people in the central and eastern European countries that experienced the reality of being occupied by the USSR and/or Russia, is the staggering ignorance and stupidity of western useful idiots who have no idea what it was actually like, and are not only dumb enough to join the tankie cult, but insist on westsplaining to the victims and their descendants about how the horrors they and their families suffered (usually for doing literally nothing) either didn't happen ("cuz the CIA made it all up") or claiming that they somehow deserved it ("cuz they were all Nazis/fascists/kulaks/slave owners").

Back in the real world, these were tyrannical regimes for tens of millions of ordinary people who had done nothing to deserve being subjected to tyranny…. Tankie clown: - "anyone who was oppressed or killed by one of my favourite mass murderers" yeah basically that's what I've been saying.

Thanks for proving my point….

And please note that smoking weed on your mum's sofa isn't actually going to bring the world revolution closer.

That was just a joke…. 🤣😂

[doctor-rosch]

Bit of a personal question but-

Do you remember your family? Your parents, siblings, uncles, do you remember them? If you do, how were they like?

Oh yes, I remember. That’s one thing I can always count on. Relationships. Many things in my mind fade with time, disappear. I’m thankful that at least- …. ah well. You get the gist.

My father’s name was Lars and my mother’s name was Chalott. Although I always called them mor and far. Born in 1775 and 1776 respectively.

I am an only child! But my mother had siblings. We spent time with her side mostly.

My grandmother on my fathers side immigrated to Sweden from Finland before he was born. You may have picked that up from my last name. Kakkelakka.

Dad was a hard worker. A real handy man. The strongest man in our whole town! But um- don’t fact check that.

He worked on digging Göta Canal, a man-made canal that runs through Sweden still today! Beautiful route, if you ever visit Sweden you should go see it..!

My beautiful mother was a seamstress. She wasn’t allowed to run her own shop, being a woman. But she made money by sewing from home and helped out in a general store where she sold sewing equipment.

Mor also worked quite a lot for our neighbor who was a farmer! Repairing clothes, milking cows, collecting eggs. I even got to help out there as well! I would often accompany her and we’d get some produce in return. Sometimes even fabrics or meat!

The farmer and his wife didn’t have any children of their own. I think they spoiled me a little because of it.

One year one of their piglets was stillborn, and they- heh- they gave it to me! I ran home so fast! We roasted that thing. Such a delicious meal. I remember I was a bit sad for the piglet however…

Hm. Far never really understood it when I took to books and science. He was a man who worked with his hands, although I don’t doubt he was an intelligent man who would have done well as a scholar.

He was worried about me I suppose. Never seemed to quite grasp what my field was. I told him I grew plants, but never had any to show for it. Plants- to him- were supposed to feed a family.

When I finally took him to my acres, and showed him the vast landscape of tomatoes that could withstand frost, potatoes that always grew large and those sweet, big strawberries…. He smiled at me and patted my shoulder. Telling me in the only way a father can, he was proud of me.

[wolveswolves]

Sweden’s biggest, controversial endangered wolf cull has started but campaigners fight on 

February 2023 - Hunters have already shot dead 54 wolves in Sweden’s largest ever cull, while scientists warn that wolf numbers are not large enough to sustain a healthy population

Hunters have shot dead 54 wolves in a month in Sweden’s largest and most controversial cull of the animals yet, prompting fury from conservationists and satisfaction among farmers who consider the predators a threat to their livelihoods.

The Stockholm government has authorised the shooting of 75 wolves in its 2023 cull, more than twice last year’s figure, despite warnings from scientists that wolf numbers are not large enough to sustain a healthy population.

“Wolves are a threat for those of us who live in rural areas,” said Kjell-Arne Ottosson, a Christian Democrat MP and vice-president of the parliament’s environment and agriculture committee. “We have to manage that. We have to take this seriously.”

Farmers say more than 340 sheep were killed in 2021 by a Swedish wolf population estimated at about 460. The predators, which in the 1960s were thought to be extinct in Sweden, are also resented by hunters, who say the dogs they use to track and drive deer and elk are regularly attacked.

“This cull is absolutely necessary to slow the growth of wolves. Sweden’s wolf population is the largest we have had in modern times,” Gunnar Glöersen, predator manager at the Swedish Hunters’ Association, told public broadcaster SVT.

However, the scale of this year’s planned cull – only 203 wolves have been shot in total in Sweden in the 12 years since authorised hunting resumed – has alarmed conservationists. “It’s tragic,” said Daniel Ekblom of the Nature Conservation Society. “It could have consequences for a long time to come.”

Scientists have said that to sustain a healthy population, the wolf population roaming Sweden and Finland should not fall below 500, and Sweden’s Environmental Protection Agency has said at least 300 are necessary to avoid harmful inbreeding.

Led by centre- and far-right parties, however, Sweden’s parliament voted two years ago to cap the wolf population at 270, while the Swedish Hunters’ Association wants to go even further and lower the limit to 150 animals.

Wolf numbers fell steeply in Sweden after 1789, when a law was passed allowing commoners to hunt. That led to the decimation of the deer and elk populations, prompting wolves to prey more on livestock – and the state to pay a bounty for every wolf killed.

The population shrank to the brink of extinction and the predator was declared a protected species in the 1960s. Numbers began growing again 20 years later, however, when three wolves from the Russian-Finnish population migrated to central Sweden.

Conservation organizations in the country have attempted to overturn the wolf hunting mandate but have been unsuccessful.

Groups used the Bern Convention as their main argument. An international treaty agreed upon in 1979, the convention seeks to protect both wildlife and their habitats. Actions to do so are taken in the name of conservation.

“Wolves as top predators in the food chain are a prerequisite for biodiversity. Killing a quarter of the population through hunting has negative consequences for animals and nature,” Marie Stegard, president of Swedish anti-hunting group Jaktkritikerna told the Guardian.

“It’s disastrous for the entire ecosystem. The existence of wolves contributes to a richer animal and plant life. Human survival depends on healthy ecosystems.”

The European Commission has previously opened infringement proceedings against Sweden, warning that the annual cull falls foul of the EU’s habitats directive since “the wolf population has not reached a level that guarantees its conservation”.

“It’s astonishing that Sweden keeps on making these decisions,” said Marie Stegard Lind of the anti-hunting group Jaktkritikerna. “The commission has been very clear about its opinion that these hunts are, in fact, illegal,” Lind told AFP.

This year’s cull began in early January and ends on 15 February, although several regional authorities have already called it off having reached their quota. Experts have said the government’s planned national total of 75 wolves may not be reached.

Under pressure from farmers and hunters, the government authorised limited annual culls again in 2010. Since then, the wolf “has become a symbol of the conflict between the city and rural areas”, Johanna Sandahl of the Nature Conservation Society told AFP.

Sources: [x], [x]

[ifindus]

unpopular opinions (in terms of the hetalia fandom) from the perspective of a norwegian:

1. the way norway treats/talks to Iceland should be directed towards sweden instead, our countries have a tighter bond and we consider ourselves brothers in real life, often when referring to sweden, norwegians tend to say "we're going on a trip to our sweet brother"

2. Sweden and finland should switch personalities, or at least make finland the more qiet one

The way Europeans see Finland and the way Japan sees Finland is vastly different, and the Hetalia version is def based on the Japanese stereotype of Finnish people. Also, I know we have the stereotype of a party-swede, but Swedish people are true nerds still 👀 Hetalia Sweden reminds me of those Stockholm Swedes.

I've touched upon the Norway and Iceland relationship several times as well, along with how Norway and Sweden should be closer. Sweden is definitively the nation Norway is the closest to in the Nordics, and both bully and tease each other all the time.

Recently saw a picture where someone in Trøndelag (region in Norway) had put up an official looking sign by the Swedish border to Jämtland with "East-Trøndelag" on it instead. Also some farmers in Trøndelag keeps moving the border stones one meter east every year to "reclaim" Jämtland and Härjedalen 😅

[stargazing-sapphire2]

Full Name: Gunnar Akseli Pääkkönen

Date of Birth: June 16th, 1905. Lapland, Finland

Date of Death: February 1st, 1947.

Nationality: Finnish

Occupation: Finnish Defense Forces

Rank(s): Captain

Age: 42 years old (at time of death)

Family / Relatives:

-Unnamed father (Deceased)

-Unnamed mother (Deceased)

-Svetlana Attila - Wife (Deceased)

-Lars Pääkkönen - Son (Alive)

-Aleksi and Sveta Pääkkönen - Grandchildren (Alive)

Appearance:

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Brown

Height: 6'5 / 195 cm

Scars/ Beauty marks / blemishes: A scar across the bridge of his nose; his nose is somewhat crooked due to it having been broken when he was 15 and it never healed properly.

Faceclaim: Clive Standen

Personality:

To all those that know him, Gunnar is a closed book, metaphorically speaking. He is not one to be open with his emotions and wishing to keep them under wrap, nor is he someone you would seek comfort for. Due to his trauma from childhood, he has difficulty trusting people and opening up to them, but give him a good reason to trust you, and he will watch your back until the very end.

Background:

Gunnar was born on June 16th, 1905 in Lapland, Finland. By the time of his birth, Finland had still been under the control of Imperial Russia. His father was a soldier in the imperial Navy, while his mother was a sex worker whom his father had laid with for one night, and never saw the other again, the man being unaware of his son's existence. By the time the first World War engulfed Europe, his father would later die in combat, while his mother passed on due to illness, leaving him orphaned. He would later be brought into an orphanage with other children, of which various forms of abuse by the caretakers would take place. At age 14, Gunnar eventually ran away in the dead of night to start a new life for himself, although he would forever be left with the scars and painful memories of that place.

At age 18, Gunnar joined the Finnish Army.

In 1929, Gunnar married his wife Svetlana Attilan, a farmer's daughter who had been sweet on in their late teens. They had a happy marriage, and in 1935, they had a son, whom Gunnar would name Lars, his father's pride and joy.

In 1939, the Soviets invaded Finland, kick-starting what would be known as the Winter War, with Gunnar bidding his family goodbye to answer the call to defend his country. Into the conflict, Gunnar was captured during an ambush and sent to a POW camp in Russia, where he underwent physical and psychological torture. When the League of Nations had expelled Russian forces from the country, Gunnar was released alongside several other of his comrades, however, he would never be the same, following the Lapland War and watching many of his friends die in battle.

By the time Gunnar returned home, he was but a shell of his former self, broken and scarred from war. This dark cloud would overshadow the joy of his family, and would subsequently effect them negatively.

To cope with the grief and pain, Gunnar turned to alcohol, as a way to drown his sorrows and escape the nightmares, only for it to fuel the pain. There were times that Gunnar would become so drunk that he wouldn't recognize Svetlana's face, much less Lars'. There were times that he would also turn violent, and while Svetlana did her best to shield her son from it, Lars would still catch glimpses of it all, of his mother's tears, of his father's rage and pain. Something that would haunt him for years to come.

On February 1st, 1947, Gunnar's body would eventually be found in an old chapel a few miles away from his home, having been found by a passing hunter. The cause of his death is undetermined to this day, whether he drank himself to death, froze on the steps in the frigid air, or took his own life, but Lars speculates that his father had simply allowed himself to die, either out of guilt for what he had done or to finally rid himself of the torment.

Years after his passing, Lars looks back on his last years of his father's life, and only hopes that whatever afterlife there is, that Gunnar found peace after a lifetime of suffering.

[portraitsofsaints]

St. Eric IX, King of Sweden 1120-25 - 1160 Feast Day: May 18 Patronage: Sweden, Farmers

Saint Eric IX (Erik) was born to nobility yet kept his virtue by fasting and prayer. He was a father and servant to his people by codifying the laws called King Eric Laws (Code of Uppland). Eric defended his kingdom against a Finnish invasion, then persuaded St. Henry, Bishop of England to evangelize Finland. On the feast of the Ascension, anti-Christian nobles beheaded Eric after Mass. In 2014, at the Cathedral of Uppsala,  his reliquary was opened to do tests on his remains to learn more about him.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[mybeingthere]

More about Enni Id (1904–1992) who was born in Finland, to a tenant farmer family and had numerous step-sisters and step-brothers. When she was young, she ran away to learn animal husbandry, then went on to work in her aunt’s dressmaker’s shop in Helsinki. She married twice but had no children, her husbands died.

At last the widow had the freedom to paint day and, particularly, night on hardboard ordered from the local co-op. Her brush also worked over the entire house, doors, floors, furniture, jars and baskets included. She would sit in the decorated rocking chair and, holding the board on her lap, paint pictures of various harvest chores as well as illustrations of the local legends.

Enni became a local legend, although even many of those closest to her thought she was odd. She changed her image with the cunning of a proper countrywoman, depending on who she was with.

She only became known to wider audiences at the age of 70 when her work was chosen to be displayed in an exhibition of naïve art at the Kunsthalle Helsinki in 1973.

Enni Id’s paintings were exhibited well into the 1980s. She spent her last years until her death in 1992 in a old-age home and remained active and cheerful, and she continued painting even in those circumstances. She bequeathed her ornate house to the local council; the house is now open to the public during the summer months.

http://spacesarchives.org/.../search-the-online.../enni-id/

[nicegaai]

im drawing lesbian nordic 5s again ahhgjghnfjfjdjdndjdjfjfn... nothing good enough to share yet but the lesbian womyns land au is startibg to be less of a joke (started as a plot device to have a bunch of adult wlw from all walks of life hanging out w no men around)... heres some of the things on my mind

sweden is a long flowy skirts+dresses farmers market type. half her head is shaved and she has a sleeve of tattoos. used to be a serious businesswoman in stockholm (or portland but dont think about the setting too hard) but now she just wants to live in the woods (she fell for the cottagecore pintrest aesthetic and blew up her life to have it). shes the pov main character in my imagination bc shes relatively new to the land

finland is a SHORT FAT BUTCH !!!!!!!!!!!! she is ADORABLE and SOOOO NICE and HELPFUL TO EVERYONE!!!!! shes got practical skills for running life off the grid and is an excellent handywoman and ms sweden is head over heels for her on sight. finland might b a permanent resident / own the land. running this low tech summer camp for wayward lesbians is her lifelong dream and SHES LIVIN IT BABY

Denmark is obv a basketball shorts + growing out a buzzcut messy type. loud, rubs people the wrong way easily but is well intentioned. brings practical skills to the land too (shes a tradeswoman). literally just canon denmark but with more lesbian swag. shes here bc she loves women but started coming to support her ex-wife/current gf eternal situationship ->

norway is a dianic mother goddess earth worshipper type and the land's high priestess. (everyone else buys into the lesbian religion stuff at different levels ex. fin thinks its important, den doesnt quite get it). other than that shes a millennial skinny jeans sidepart collects way too many plushies type. still says heccin doggo and such. super skinny very pretty not very expressive (she is possibly tripping at any given time. its a religious practice ok she Needs more weed shrooms lsd Right Now). her brain is a little fried but maybe she was always like this. outside this she struggles to keep employment or not maybe shes doing something or has a witchcraft etsy shop i dont know tbh. she can do whatever she wants bc shes a trust fund baby.

iceland is 16 and the result of norways teen pregnancy. shes been coming to the land as long as she can remember, may or may not even be gay, and is going through a Euphoric Atheist phase both genuinely and because it pisses mom off (ice is one of the few who can even tell when nor is pissed off). shes in online high school and her only friends her age are also online. den is her stepmom kind of and the only one who Gets Her... ugh... flips hair

other notes: everyone looks way more like normal hetalia chrs than they do the nyo counterparts. and the other priestesses are england and romania

[corvid-language-library]

I saw your tags about having to use apps in Norway. And honestly same in Finland. I did not have a smartphone until last October and still refuse to download apps. While I enjoy not having things be too easy and having a sense of adventure, it actually costs more to, for example, have a bank account without the mobile app. Non-mobile tickets for public transport are a hassle as well. They're trying to eliminate the use of cash and I do think it is a bad idea on multiple levels.

Anyway, I was actually curious about the app and mobile culture in Japan. Can you survive without downloading tons of apps and reading QR-codes?

Hey there! Yeah apps are a fucking pain in the ass and I cba with them. I think the UK's going the same way with trying to force everyone to use card/apps etc too.

As far as Japan goes, I've never personally been in a situation here where I've had to scan a QR code or download an app just to use a service. And asides from paying a direct debit for my internet service and buying flight tickets, I've never even had to use my debit card. I absolutely love it! I'm sure in Tokyo and Osaka and other big cities there might be more businesses that use apps/QR codes, but I live out in farmer-land and we don't do that new-fangled nonsense thankyouverymuch. If I didn't need GT to help me read/find the right train, I'd be able to live here smartphone-free very easily.

[warningsine]

European Union environmental ministers on Monday approved a contested conservation law that seeks to restore habitats to their natural condition.

The Nature Restoration Law aims to regrow forests, re-wet moors and return rivers to their natural, free-flowing states.

The law has proven controversial, due to concern over the heavy restrictions that could be placed on farmers. It was passed by the European Parliament earlier in the year.

Environment ministers of EU member states backed the policy at a meeting in Luxembourg, meaning it can now pass into law.

Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said on X, "We are still on track to reverse the biodiversity loss, let's now start work together and show that EU is still leading the way." 

Austrian climate minister breaks with Vienna to pass law

Austria's environment minister, Leonore Gewessler of the Greens, went against her conservative coalition partners by pledging to back the policy — giving it the majority needed to pass.

"I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I am convinced that this is the time to adopt this law," Gewessler told reporters.

Gewessler called it "a victory for nature" in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 

On Monday, Austria's center-right chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said it was "unlawful" of his climate minister to vote in favor of the nature restoration law.

"Austria should stick with its already-agreed vote" against the law, Nehammer's office said. 

"Last night, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer informed the Belgian Council Presidency (of the EU) that federal minister Gewessler's approval of EU renaturation would be unlawful."

The country's governing Austrian People's Party (OVP) said that Gewessler would face legal action for her decision to back the law.

The party's general secretary Christian Stocker said that a charge of abuse of office would be laid against Gewessler.

Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke meanwhile said on X that the adoption of the law was "a clear signal of trust in Europe's ability to compromise and its responsibility to protect the environment and nature." 

Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden voted against. Belgium, which is responsible for chairing talks among member states, abstained.

What is included in the law?

The law sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

It aims to reverse the decline of Europe's natural habitats, of which 81% are determined to be in poor health.

The legislation also sets specific targets such as peatlands that can soak up CO2 emissions and help curb climate change. Other ecosystems explicitly covered by the law include forests, grasslands, and wetlands, as well as rivers, lakes, and coral beds.

Member states must restore at least 30% of habitats specifically covered by the new law from a poor to a good condition by 2030.

That target would increase to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.

[nanoa1foryou]

The postcards from when Finland hosted are forever stuck in my head btw.

That lady losing her flowers amd walking down the isle with a bunch of carrots from the farmer’s market? Santa Claus and Moomin Mamma playing chess in the middle of the night? A group of girls pulling off some cheerleading stunts to turn of christmas lights? The librarian shushing people in the library before fumbling and ending up as the noisy one? The lan party? The metal festival clip?

It’s all so finnish and all so heartfelt!

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.10

Holidays

Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)

Army Day (Albania)

Battle of Britain Anniversary Day

Battle of Poltava Day (Russia)

Beatles Day (Liverpool, Hamburg)

Capybara Appreciation Day

Chronic Disease Awareness Day

Clerihew Day

Cumin Day (French Republic)

Don't Step On A Bee Day (UK)

Flag Day (Mongolia)

Global Energy Independence Day

Gospel Day (Kiribati)

His Masters Voice Day

International Glut1 Awareness Day

International Safewords Day

Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta (National Day of Commemoration; Ireland)

Lady Godiva Day

London Bridge Falling Down Day

Merchant’s Festival (Elder Scrolls)

Minion Day

Naadam Day (Mongolia)

National All American Pet Photo Day

National Caleb Day

National Contour Day

National Fish Farmers Day (India)

National Kitten Day

National Lineworker Appreciation Day (Canada)

National Stella Day

National Transplant Financial Coordinator Day

Natto Day (Japan)

Nikola Tesla Day

Oils and Concentrates Day

Police Radio Day

Protogeneia Asteroid Day

Rhodes Day (Rhodesia)

710 Day

Silence Day (Meher Baba)

Srebrenica Memorial Day

Stay Away From Bees Day

Teddy Bear's Picnic Day

Telstar Day

Uniwaine (Senior Citizens’ Day; Kiribati)

U.S. Energy Independence Day

World Airway Disorders Day

World Miniature Golf Day

World Shuvit Cancer Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Beer Distributors Day

National Piña Colada Day

National Pizza Day (Brazil)

Pick Blueberries Day

Independence & Related Days

Bahamas (from UK, 1973)

Federal Republic of New Potato Land (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Wyoming Statehood Day (#44; 1890)

2nd Wednesday in July

National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving (Montserrat) [2nd Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning July 10 (2nd Week of July)

Sweetheart Days Festival (Minnesota) [2nd Wednesday; thru Friday]

Festivals Beginning July 10, 2024

American Cheese Society Annual Conference (Buffalo, New York) [thru 7.13]

European Balloon Festival (Igualada, Spain) [thru 7.14]

EXIT (Novi Sad, Serbia) [thru 7.14]

Love International Festival (Tins, Croatia) [thru 7.16]

Mad Cool Festival (Madrid, Spain) [thru 7.13]

Ossipee Valley Fair (South Hiram, Maine) [thru 7.14]

Riddu Riđđu (Manndalen, Norway) [thru 7.13]

Sandcastle Contest (Belmar, New Jersey)

Tangomarkkinat (Seinäjoki, Finland) [thru 7.14]

Vegan Summerfest (Johnstown, Pennsylvania) [thru 7.14]

Winona County Fair (St. Charles, Minnesota) [thru 7.14]

Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (Okemah, Oklahoma) [thru 7.14]

Feast Days

Alice Munro (Writerism)

Amalberga of Maubeuge (Christian; Saint & Widow)

Amalburga (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Antony and Theodosius Pechersky (Christian; Saints)

St. Bathilda (Positivist; Saint)

Camille Pissarro (Artology)

Canute IV of Denmark (Christian; Saint)

David Teniers III (Artology)

Day of Holda (Goddess of the Underworld; Anglo-Saxon, Norse)

Feast Day of Knut the Reaper, Hela, Holda and Skadi (Norse)

Feast of Translation of Saint Maclovius, Bishop of Saint-Malo (Christian; Confessor)

Feast of The Seven Brothers (Januarius, Felix, Philip, Silvanus, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis; Christian; Martyrs)

Felicitas of Rome (Christian; Martyr)

The First Sermon of Lord Buddha (Buddhism; Bhutan)

Giorgio de Chirico (Artology)

Hela’s Day (Pagan)

Joe Shuster (Artology)

Kanute IV, King of Denmark (Christian; Martyr)

Knut the Reaper's Day (Norse; Scotland)

Marcel Proust (Writerism)

Mel Blanc Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Millennial Fairy Olympics, Day 5 (Shamanism)

New Robe for Athena Day (Ancient Greece)

Otto Freundlich (Artology)

Pina Colada Day (Pastafarian)

Reach Out and Touch a Green Leaf Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Reg Smythe (Artology)

Ronnie Cutrone (Artology)

Rufina and Secunda (Christian; Martyrs & Virgins)

Rusty (Muppetism)

Septic Bralu Diena (Ancient Latvia)

Seth Godin (Writerism)

Seven Brothers (Christian; Martyrs)

Sixto Rodriguez (Humanism,)

Tita or Tatata Ita (Muppetism)

U Festinu (a.k.a. Feast of St. Rosalia; Palermo, Italy) [thru 7.15]

Viaticum of Llefoed Wynebglawr (Celtic Book of Days)

Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax (Christian; Saints)

Wickerwork Giants Parade & Festival (Douai, France)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [13 of 24]

Prime Number Day: 191 [43 of 72]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [39 of 57]

Premieres

Ball Four, by Jim Bouton (Sports Memoir; 1970)

The Brave Little Toaster (Animated Film; 1987)

Cocky Cock Roach (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Cool World (Animated Film; 1992)

The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham (Novel; 1951)

Do Way Diddy Diddy, by Manfred Mann (Song; 1964)

Escape from New York (Film; 1981)

The Fox and the Hound (Animated Disney Film; 1981)

Greyhound (Film; 2020)

A Hard Day’s Night, by The Beatles (Album; 1964)

Heat Wave, by Martha and the Vandellas (Song; 1963)

Homesteader Droopy (Tex Avery MGM Cartoon; 1954)

The Hot Spell, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Lethal Weapon 4 (Film; 1998)

I Got You Babe, by Sonny and Cher (Song; 1965)

I Love You Beth Cooper (Film; 2009)

In Search of Lost Time, by Marcel Proust (Novel; 1927)

In the Midnight Hour, by Wilson Pickett (Song; 1965)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Film; 1985)

Minions (Animated Film; 2015)

Moon (Film; 2009)

Mother Necessity (America Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1976)

New Maps of Hell, by Bad Religion (Album; 2007)

Ode to Billie Joe, by Bobbie Gentry (Song; 1967)

The Oily American (WB MM Cartoon; 1954)

The Old Guard (Film; 2020)

Once Upon a Mouse (Disney Cartoon Documentary; 1981)

The Outpost (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Palm Springs (Film; 2020)

Parachutes, by Coldplay (Album; 2000)

Pi (Film; 1998)

Pink Valiant (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

She Wolf, by Shakira (Album; 2009)

Small Soldiers (Animated Film; 1998)

Smoke Signal (Animated Film; 2018)

Son of Schmilsson, by Harry Nilsson (Album; 1972)

Summertime, recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (Song; 1936)

Tempted, by Squeeze (Song; 1981)

Trouble with Lichen, by John Wyndham (Novel; 1960)

Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers (Novel; 1927) [Peter Wimsey #3]

Up N’ Atom (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1947)

The Wayward Pups (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1937)

We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, by Queen (UK Song; 1977)

Your Hit Parade (TV Series; 1950)

Today’s Name Days

Engelbert, Knud, Raphael (Austria)

Feliks, Srećko, Viktorija (Croatia)

Amálie, Libuše (Czech Republic)

Knud (Denmark)

Saima, Saime, Saimi (Estonia)

Saima, Saimi (Finland)

Ulrich (France)

Knud, Engelbert, Raphael, Sascha (Germany)

Amália (Greece)

Amália (Hungary)

Armando, Marziale, Pietro, Rufina (Italy)

Lielvardis, Lija, Olīvija, Uve (Latvia)

Amalija, Eirimė, Gilvainas (Lithuania)

Anita, Anja (Norway)

Aleksander, Amelia, Aniela, Filip, January, Radziwoj, Rufina, Samson, Sylwan, Sylwana, Witalis (Poland)

Amália (Slovakia)

Cristóbal (Spain)

André, Andrea, Anund (Sweden)

Anthony (Ukraine)

Emanuel, Emmanuel, Gage, Immanuel, Manuel, Manuela (USA)

Emanuel, Immanuel, Maos, Manuela, Ulla, Ulrich, Ulrika, Ulrike (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 192 of 2024; 174 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 28 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 4 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 5 (Yi-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 4 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 3 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 12 Red; Foursday [12 of 30]

Julian: 27 June 2024

Moon: 21%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 23 Charlemagne (7th Month) [St. Bathilda]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 21 of 94)

Week: 2nd Week of July

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 20 of 31)