If you have to go three towns over in rural NL the car may be the best option, but going by bike is a very close second.
The busses in the NL are often mainly for transporting you to and from the city, though some provinces also offer halfway decent local connections.
I can't point out where it went wrong without breaking rule 2
The dumbphones being released now should all work on modern networks. The connection being 4G / 5G doesn't mean the phone must have an internet browser and an app store.
It's not that there is a shortage of sand in general. There is a shortage for the correct kind of sand needed to make a sufficiently strong concrete mix, in the places where that concrete is needed
At least if the styrofoam falls down it can't kill someone by hitting them on the head. Maybe it was for safety reasons? /s
Which, if it works well, is a big deal as the headline claims.
The world is slowly but surely running out of sand which has the right consistency and courseness to be used as an ingredient for concrete. Manufacturing that sand artificially so that it is suitable for concrete is rather tricky, from what I understand.
That said.. I've seen the weak-ass concrete mixes used in some Chinese tofu-dreg buildings. Let's hope that the artificial sand is not the culprit there.
We know the US basically depleted their stockpile in the war with Iran.
This is a promise the US made to Ukraine after that to allow them to manufacture the missiles domestically, which Trump is now seemingly reneging on.
Both Qwant and Ecosia have been working on this European Search Index together, but thusfar I've only seen Ecosia say that they went live with the search index in Germany.
Hoping that they will release it in the Netherlands soon as well.
That's when you acknowledge that you are both walking in the same direction and that it's a bit silly. And then you say goodbye again when you split ways
That's why he's starting now, so that he can actually ride his work elephant by the time he is able to get his elephant licence.
Luckily software like Teams has noise cancellation, so keyboard sounds generally get filtered out.
Strijp-S, Eindhoven, NL
23 May 2026
Cosina CSM, Kodak UltraMax 400
Eindhoven Central Station
23 May 2026
Cosina CSM, Kodak UltraMax 400
Eindhoven University of Technology
23 May 2026
Cosina CSM, Kodak UltraMax 400
Markt, 's-Hertogenbosch, NL
9 May 2025
Cosina CSM, Kodak Gold 200
Christophstraße
Cologne, Germany
3 June 2025
Cosina CSM, Kodak ColorPlus 200
This is a follow up to my other post on the referendum from a few days ago: https://lemmy.world/post/46542512
Again.. translated using (mostly) machine translation
Berlin not car-free for the foreseeable future, referendum doesn't get green light
In Berlin there will be no referendum on largely making the city car-free. The plan of lawyers, traffic experts and green activists didn't make it due to lack of support. The initiators announced that only 140,000 of the required 175,000 signatures had been collected.
They wanted to significantly limit car traffic in the German capital within the ring railway, an area where about 30 percent of the nearly 4 million Berliners live. With 88 square kilometers, the area is about the size of Eindhoven.
Residents would be allowed to drive a car in this area for twelve days a year. There would also be exceptions; for emergency services, taxis, people with disabilities, freight traffic and people with crucial professions. The rest would be dependent on the public transport, the bicycle or has to walk.
The plan had to deal with resistance from the start, right-wing parties have been actively campaigning against it recently. For example, opponents pointed to a higher traffic burden in surrounding neighborhoods and economic damage, because companies would leave and shops would become less accessible.
Doel, Belgium
27 January 2026
Cosina CSM, Kodak Gold 200
The article is in Dutch, so I've put a (mostly) machine translation below.
Berlin car free? Plan for referendum leads to fierce resistance
The Berlin state elections are not until September, but already the German capital is full of campaign posters. The topic is perhaps the most radical traffic plan in the world: a virtually car-free Berlin. Activists want to force a referendum on this, right-wing parties are actively campaigning against.
It is a bill that a group of lawyers, traffic experts and green activists have worked on for years. The idea is to significantly restrict car traffic within the ring railway line, an area where about 30 percent of the nearly four million Berliners live. With no less than 88 square kilometers, the area is about the size of Eindhoven.
People would only be allowed to drive a car in this area twelve days a year. There will be exceptions for emergency services, taxis, people with disabilities, freight traffic and people with crucial occupations. The rest will have to go on public transport, by bike or on foot.
It would lead to fewer traffic accidents, nuisance and emissions. The space that is opened up can be used for cycle paths, greenery and seating. "Or playgrounds... or urban libraries," Marie Wagner, one of the initiators, daydreams. "And finally, kids can cycle safely to school."
Opponents point to higher traffic burden on surrounding neighborhoods and economic damage, as businesses would leave and shops would become less accessible. Wagner dismisses those claims. "Only 9 percent of shop revenue within the ring comes from people who travel by car," she says.
"Moreover, research has shown that more attractive streets lead to more consumption, because people stay there longer." Whoever has to and should be allowed to use the car, such as handymen, can move through the city more easily, is the idea.
Colleague Gerald Stefani insists the activists are not against the car itself. “We don’t want to abolish car use, we want to regulate it. Also, with twelve car days a year, much remains possible, such as large grocery trips and moving house." He is not worried about the implementation. "For each ride you could request a QR code online."
Resistance in car city
Berlin is a car city. In the growth period around 1900, the Gründerzeit, the distinctive Berlin rental blocks were set up wide along wide streets. The car was later easy to fit in. Destruction by World War II, the construction of the Berlin Wall and demolition drive of post-war city planners paved the way for wide motorways.
The initiative encounters fierce resistance from local politics. Right-wing parties like CDU, FDP and AfD have filled the city with posters with 'Autofrei? Nein!' (Car free? No!) and 'Car verbieten verboten' (Car ban forbidden). CDU Mayor Wegner speaks of a "well-intentioned dream of an urban idyll, but which will lead to a nightmare."
His party is at a loss in the upcoming state election and is being polled as equally large as the Greens and Die Linke, as well as the AfD. The image of "the left" who wants to take your car is a campaign gift. Therefore, the left parties are likely to keep their distance on this theme; they have not put up posters for the traffic referendum.
The anti-campaign is helpful, Stefani says. It raises awareness: "There are people who come to sign because of the CDU posters." According to Wagner, almost all parties want to reduce car use, but they do not dare to take big steps.
"The car is deep in the German psyche," Stefani says. "It has been so important for German economic development that changes on the area of cars automatically provoke resistance. We also see that with the discussion about a maximum speed."
The activists are in the final stage to force a referendum in September: the collection of 174,000 signatures. That was difficult in the winter months, but now there is a catch-up sprint. With one more day to go, it looks like a toss up whether they will make it, says Marie Wagner. "It's more exciting than a krimi."
At Alexanderplatz, the activists ask Berliners for their signature. One signs directly ("It's certainly not radical, the current pollution is radical!"), the other dismisses the proposal ("Fewer cars fine, but not mine").
A woman doubts. She lives inside the ring and has a car. "It's useful for groceries." Still, she finds the idea exciting. After some persuasion from the activists, she signs. "Maybe good, then I'll finally be forced to cycle."
Station Geldrop, NL
18 June 2025
Cosina CSM, Kodak ColorPlus 200
Strijp-S, Eindhoven
28 October 2018
Canon EOS 500D
New facade of the LaPlace building
Eindhoven University of Technology
1 June 2025
Canon EOS 500D
Keyboard and Coffee Mug
23 October 2024
Sony HVR-HD1000E
No, your interpretation is correct.
The EU courts ruled that registered partnerships from other countries must be recognised in all EU member states, but the Slovakian government isn't listening to that and actively opposing it.
Judging by the video the only opposing voices to that are from the LGBT community themselves, which doesn't constitute much of a debate in my eyes.