I can’t follow you. Where is the connection between lockdowns (I assume you mean the Covid19 lockdowns?) and the war in Ukraine?

I’m by no means an expert in international relations. However, with respect to your last paragraph, I do think that China monitors the development carefully. I would even go so far and assume that they won’t act on Taiwan until the situation in the Ukraine is decided. Not because the cases are so similar, but because China and Russia seem to be important partners for each other. Right now, China is supporting Russia financially by buying resources from them (if I’m not mistaken) and also supporting them with equipment embargoed by the EU/US. China will probably know what it’s risking when they attack Taiwan and I doubt that they want to create that sort of situation while one of their most important partners (might be mistaken here) is in a war that binds their resources and weakens their support for China.

On the other hand, they could also try to start the war on Taiwan soon, hoping that NATO/US stretch their support too thin.

Tl;Dr: I don’t know either.

I definitely do not want to defend Tesla here, but other manufacturers are unfortunately following the same path. It’s ridiculous. BMW is putting most of the extra features into the car on a technical level, but lock them down so you can’t use them unless you pay a fucking monthly subscription for e.g. the seat heaters. What the actual fuck has gotten into manufacturers?

And the touchscreens? I’m soooo glad that the German equivalent to road and safety announced that the safety rating of cars will go down in the future if there are no haptic controls. I definitely like a sleek appearance, but form follows function for fucks sake.

/rant

What bugged me and ultimately drove me to leave Instagram was the wording. In the prompt, they said something along the lines of “we will not use your data for advertising”. And I thought, wtf, I don’t want you to collect my data in the first place.

Paywalled :(

Ummm… What water filter?

I mostly second this. I have a mantra “Embrace the uncomfortable”. Not in a “work yourself to death for some number” kind of way, but in a “go outside, even if its raining” kind of way. It helps me to appreciate small comforts afterwards and reduces the amount of energy needed to do stuff.

Don’t remember if it was a short-time thing, but Lidl did promise once to match the prices between plant-based and non-plant-based products.

“We need a new propulsion system.” “Nah, just slap a blender on it and we’re fine.”

And that’s why a “shelter” isn’t enough. Heating, water and electricity should be covered as well, as long as necessary.