The Xmas tree probably originates from the Nordic" Tree of life ". I remember reading it was used to celebrate life and the return of light during the dark cold winters in the north

To celebrate and remember the return of the sun in the dark Winter, lights were used to chase away the dark; green as a symbol of returning life, like vegetation and plants, and red probably symbolises fruit and harvest.

There are several versions and interpretations, so it probably depends on the country or region the tree was used, and in which century.

Santa Claus ( yes, created in USA by Coca-Cola), was /is originally Saint Nicolaus, which in turn was probably merged with Wodan This is the same God as in Wednes-day ( was originally Wodan’s day, a Nordic God; just like Thursday, was originally Thor’s day ).

Many old Germanic/Nordic religions ( they were very similar) were integrated with Christian symbolism and rituals by the Roman Catholic Church.

Check this link for more general info.

Also because of the ancient Dark versus Light theme, there is definitely an association with the Wild Hunt

In the Norse myths, the original leader of the hunt was the god Odin, known in Germanic myth as Wodan. Odin rode his eight-legged horse, called Sleipnir. His company of hunters were the Valkyries and the dead warriors who resided with him in Valhalla.

The gifts placed in the Christmas trees have also an association as an offering / gift " to forefathers who fell as warriors, and or offering to “the wild hunt” and it’s phantoms, as a sort of guarantee you wouldn’t invoke their wrath and be taken by them to the phantom realm.

Saint Nicolaus in it’s older manifestation had a stronger dark and light side. His demons where probably black or dark, like we see in Austria, Kruppe and Black Pete in the Netherlands/ Flanders region.

A better term would be “developing nations” . The term " third world" refers to not being part of NATO (or not aligned to NATO), and is outdated. Also, there are various sorts of developing countries, richer, poorer, and some are war or conflict zones.

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should be a push to public transport.

Don’t know where you are from, but most of Europe has had good public transport. Though it can always be better, so Europe is pushing further with for example the TEN project, and check some vids on YT.

Also, imo, there is no " one" right answer. No holy grail nor whatever. Most choices are incrementel.Usuallly It’s a shift of awareness, technology ( in a form) and culture, which hopefully leads to a better tomorrow. The difference is that the majority of the problems we face have no precedent. 8 bn humans worldwide is a first since for ever.

That doesn’t seem very much at all.

This article is also 3 three years old; Germany allocated € 5 bn and UK 3 bn for EVs.

If I see this correct, it was a 44-56 % split three years ago.

I couldn’t find any proper comprehensive and comparable studies for subsidies and investments in ICE and EV.

Also there is a difference between subsidies like incentives, tax cuts, and investments

Thx! And, to clarify the situation I copied this comment from @Sarah link.

It’s not a “plug type door”. It’s a plugged door. They’re different things. This isn’t a door at all. It doesn’t open.

Indeed it’s NOT part of the fuselage (plane frame), it was built as an empty socket for the placement of an eventual (extra) emergency door, depanding the seat configuration. In this plane they did a faulty install of a " plug-in "instead.

exit door plug, which are installed as “blanking plates”.

Do you have some more info? I can’t find any new detailed info and I’m no airplane mechanic.Afaik, blanking plates are usually cosmetic, and the problem occured due to cabin pressure loss. Also, the plane was supposedly certified, recently.

over the past 60 years the West

I reckon the writer is saying this about the West because that’s the only data he had access to. And, that this techno-pessimism should be a worldwide phenomena.

On the other hand, I wonder whether other cultures, apart from the West, have adopted a similar risk averse mindset. I mean, “the Haves” (and not the Have- Nots) are the only ones prone to be afraid to loose their accumulated wealth & lifestyle. But probably other affluent groups in the Non- Western world, might have adopted similar tendencies.

Or, they might have not. And this risk averse mindset, is exclusively a Western post-industrial cultural element. It would be very interesting to find out what the cultural & regional differences actually are world-wide.

For those interested: since there’s been a huge gas exctraction scandal in Groningen, (gas) mining has become a sensitive political subject in the Netherlands.

Also the Zuidwal volcano they are talking about is 2 km deep.

Geothermal energy is an interesting additional “green” option, if the mining risk can be minimised.

So I am not giving that clickbait title a view. Anyone have a summary? What is new here?

Here is the abstract in nature

Spoiler alert: “However, unexpectedly, cracks were also observed to heal by a process that can be described as crack flank cold welding (etc…)”.

Hope so too. Here’s the (only) movie poster afaik.

Add.Note at the end of the article are some impressions: One fan who had just watched the film at a cinema in Tokyo said the film was the “culmination” of Miyazaki’s anime output.

“I couldn’t digest it all by just watching it once … I feel like I want to watch it again immediately,”