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Cake day: 2025年3月4日

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  • The main reasons to not buy an electric vehicle are higher initial costs, range, and charging infrastructure. The first can be tackled by lower or no tax to buy, the last by public investment and good regulation.

    Charging stations across the EU should have been standardized, also with regards to payment a decade ago already. Or make it mandatory to build charging ports in parking and garages.

    European car makers had decent electric vehicles early on like the BMW i3 and Citroën Zero. Consumers weren’t buying them was the big hurdle.

    Of course manufacturers also didn’t want to be their own competitors and didn’t push their electric cars. Lots of inertia and lazyness in the industry.

    Tesla was the iPhone to the industry‘s Nokia. BYD is the cheap android smartphone.

    Norway had a high number of electric vehicles early on. The rest of Europe failed to copy them.

    Europe has dropped the ball in lots of areas for decades. We have lots of smart and highly educated people, even some excellent research. However there’s a failure to execute and turn it into successful businesses.







  • Fauda

    Might be the best and most realistic show about the Israel-Palestine conflict. It’s focused on an IDF Mista’arvim unit, that specializes in operating covertly among Palestinians to capture terrorists. That means not only speaking Arabic, but knowing and living the culture. The soldiers are shown as determined, brutal, human, and conflicted. Palestinians, including Hamas terrorists and their families, are shown as human with feelings, interests, and so on. Cooperation between IDF and Palestinian Authority security forces is a recurring topic, as is political structures inside Palestinian society. Espionage, action, personal drama, political issues all get screen time.

    For anyone interested in the conflict, regardless of what side you support, this could expand your horizon. It’s also simply a great show. It’s also popular among Palestinians and in Arab countries. Netflix

    Watch the original with Hebrew and Arabic with subtitles. A dub removes this layer with the two languages.

    Teheran

    Mossad operating in Iran. An Israeli woman speaking Persian is recruited by Mossad and sent to Iran. Shows the Iranian system and how it works, without demonization. Other topics: Iranian opposition, counterculture, decadence of rich elites, dirty business of espionage.

    Great show with contemporary relevance by Apple TV.


  • I will take this as an opportunity to list a couple of great war and military shows. Listed more or less in order of recommendation.

    Catch-22

    In contrast to the above, this is more of a satire, dark comedy, that highlights absurdities of warfare, perverse incentives, systems following their logic. It’s set with American bomber crews during the Italian campaign in WW2. The most anti-war, thoughtful, and fun watch of these listed here. Based on a fantastic book of the same name.

    Das Boot (miniseries)

    The famous movie about the German submarine U-96 in WW2 has a longer version as a miniseries. It adds a lot of smaller scenes providing more submariner culture, political commentary, etc. Highly recommend as the best submarine show.

    Generation Kill

    US Reconnaissance Marines riding Humvees during the Iraq invasion of 2003. Lots of fantastic characters and moments. Displays well what it’s like to fight for the US military. Based on a book from an embedded journalist. Excellent show.

    Valley of Tears

    Miniseries about the 1973 Yom Kippur war focusing on an IDF tank unit on the front with Syria and the Golan. It also displays political and social issues in Israeli society at the time like marginalization of Mizrahi Jews, trauma, etc. You also get a good insight into the strategic significance of the Golan heights, Israel’s lack of strategic depth, and fear of being annihilated by their neighbors. If you like tanks or IDF soldiers suffering, watch it.

    Band of Brothers

    The best show about WW2 in Europe from the American soldiers’ perspective, specifically paratroopers from the 101st Airborne. It’s based on real experiences and includes documentary snippets from veterans. Thin Red Line or Saving Private Ryan as TV series. It’s short and every episode is great.

    SAS: Rogue Heroes

    Follows a bunch of daring misfits and insubordinates forming the British SAS commando units eliminating Axis forces with raids behind enemy lines across the desert in North Africa and later Italy. Not super realistic or historically accurate, but fun, humorous, brutal, and action packed. Lots of fascinating characters demonstrating determination. Music is British punk rock and similar genres.

    The Pacific

    It’s Band of Brothers but for the campaign in the Pacific Ocean in WW2, and the Marine Corps. It doesn’t quite reach the level of the original, but is still excellent.

    Masters of the Air

    American aviators fighting in WW2 in Europe, specifically 100th Bomb Group flying B-17. Not quite as good as the first shows mentioned, but still very good.