That’s the time for the surprised Pikachu face I guess … Farage has also been openly admiring Putin, and even claimed that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

I posted this in response to a similar comment in another thread:

It’s hard to get reliable numbers. One study I could find is a review published by the World Bank in 2024 that analyzes the long-term development of cyber incidents and their economic costs. Among others, it says:

According to the UK Cabinet Office, in 2011, the UK government estimated that the costs of cybercrime was USD 33.67 billion or about 1.3% of the country’s GDP, with the largest share posed to businesses—about 77.78%. Grant Thornton (2021) shows that in 2014, the total cost of cybercrime in Ireland was USD 695.5 million, and then, in 2020, it increased dramatically to USD 10.5 billion, or 2.5% of the country’s GDP.

Source (pdf)

Note that the 1.3% of UK’s GDP and Ireland’s 2.5% relate to 2011 and 2014, respectively. So we may reasonably assume it’s much higher. Although the numbers in this review are probably not fully comparable with Bitkom’s survey, it provides useful insights, and the 5% don’t seem so far-fetched.

It’s hard to get reliable numbers. One study I could find is a review published by the World Bank in 2024 that analyzes the long-term development of cyber incidents and their economic costs. Among others, it says:

According to the UK Cabinet Office, in 2011, the UK government estimated that the costs of cybercrime was USD 33.67 billion or about 1.3% of the country’s GDP, with the largest share posed to businesses—about 77.78%. Grant Thornton (2021) shows that in 2014, the total cost of cybercrime in Ireland was USD 695.5 million, and then, in 2020, it increased dramatically to USD 10.5 billion, or 2.5% of the country’s GDP.

Source (pdf)

Note that the 1.3% of UK’s GDP and Ireland’s 2.5% relate to 2011 and 2014, respectively. So we may reasonably assume it’s much higher. Although the numbers in this review are probably not fully comparable with Bitkom’s survey, it provides useful insights, and the 5% don’t seem so far-fetched.

Yeah, and there are also a lot who think the same of China.

Es war damit zu rechnen, dass es hier nicht lange bis zum ersten Whataboutism dauert … Russland und China intensivieren offenbar ihre Angriffe auf deutsche Unternehmen in allen Bereichen. Welche ‘Systeme’ wer und wann und wie nutzt, tut hier nichts zur Sache.

Yeah, the EU climate actions are insufficient, and the US climate actions are insufficient as well.

The sad news is that almost no country is on track, especially no larger country and large emitter. Even worse than in Europe, China’s climate actions are highly insufficient, Russian climate actions critically insufficient.

What makes things worse: China, India and Saudi Arabia rejected a COP30 dialogue on an upcoming UN review of climate plans, as a report says

Rich nations, least developed countries (LDCs), small island states, Latin American nations and the United Arab Emirates spoke in favour of a COP30 decision that acknowledges the progress and remaining gaps in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and lays out a pathway for accelerating climate action in the years ahead.

But a group of high-income emerging countries – including China, Saudi Arabia and India – voiced strong opposition to that plan. They argued that discussions of those NDCs and the UN “synthesis report” assessing them are not on the summit’s agenda […]

Only a sixth of countries have presented their updated NDCs so far, including an emissions-cutting target for 2035, with those from many major economies including the European Union (EU), China and India still missing. A flurry of submissions is expected in the coming weeks ahead of an end-of-September deadline for their inclusion in the synthesis report.

I would welcome all necessary sanctions to stop Israel in Gaza, but I am wondering how much of Mr. Sanchez’ ongoing focus on this issue is owed to his own fight for political survival. He contracted China’s Huawei for Spain’s wiretap system. In August, his government started to investigate the judge who charged Mr. Sanchez’ wife with corruption, while Mr. Sanchez’ government has been facing another corruption scandal implicating senior figures in his own party since the start of this year.

As much as I agree with him regarding Israel, I don’t buy into his moral stand.

[Edit typo.]

Es ist schwer, einen Tip abzugeben, wenn man jemanden nicht kennt, aber vielleicht ist eine Linux-Distro in diesem Fall die einfachste Lösung? Da hat an zumindest schon mal das ganze Libre-Office-Paket.

The really weird thing is that you appear to really mean it. You really think this is an issue.

Russian drones violate Romanian airspace almost every week, defense minister says

Romanian Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu stated that foreign drones violate the country’s airspace almost every week, local outlet Aktual 24 reports.

“We face challenges from Russia almost every week. We issue statements every time we see them at Romania’s border. The frequency of sightings is increasing: there are drone attacks at Romania’s border, at the northern border of Dobruja. Almost every week we have aircraft in the air, either ours or those of our German partners, who have an advanced air policing mission here.”

Moșteanu added that the troops continue to patrol by helicopter in order to check whether any drones have fallen on Romanian territory.

Seems Putin and the rest of the Kremlin group is playing with fire.

Smaller vehicles …

Europe has been producing such cars for a very long time.

There is ample evidence for China linked to repression of Uyghurs aids Israeli surveillance in West Bank

You’ll find very good independent research reports.

Are Chinese SUVs as bad as those from the US?

That’s not simply about technology.

China’s Ties With Israel Are Hindering the Palestinian Struggle for Freedom

China is pushing a flawed peace process while deepening economic ties with Israel […] Indeed, the Chinese state has prohibited basic demonstrations of solidarity with Palestine, confiscating Palestinian flags displayed publicly and preventing mobilizations in support of Gaza […]

China […] supplying censorship and surveillance technology to governments in Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, and others linked to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Addition:

There is at least one more (officially known) country that is a decisive partner regarding surveillance: Israel.

Between Chinese Surveillance and Israeli Settler Colonialism

[…] China and Israel collaborate to enforce settler-colonialism—through surveillance technology. […] Chinese surveillance technology, through state-backed companies like Hikvision, targets West Bank Palestinians in everyday life and maintains a dehumanizing environment for them. These CCTV cameras […] are often embedded in a larger network of physical infrastructure, software, and data systems. For example, Hikvision cameras feed information into 狼群 (Wolf Pack), a database exclusively of Palestinians from the West Bank used by Israel, including data on permits, family members, addresses, license plates, and whether they are wanted by the authorities or not.

To understand how Hikvision and other Chinese surveillance companies developed their operations, we must look at the role Hikvision plays in maintaining surveillance and policing in the “Xinjiang” region of Northwestern China. […] Hikvision’s parent company is the China Electronics Technology Corporation (CETC, 中国电子科技集团公司), a significant player among China’s central state-owned enterprises and a prominent military contractor […]

According to the files, their reach spreads outside China’s borders, supplying censorship and surveillance technology to governments in Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, and others linked to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Poland has long said it doesn’t want to send troops to Ukraine, focusing on supporting Kyiv militarily and economically instead.

Other countries have a different stance. France and the UK appear to be at the forefront of European countries’ plans to send troops to secure peace in a post-war Ukraine.

It’s a bit more in that story than what the headline suggests.

[Edit typo.]

Number of Russian firms planning to hire more staff halves in nine months, survey shows

The survey, conducted among over 300 professionals across Russia by job sites Rabota .ru and SberPodbor, both owned by Russia’s largest lender Sberbank, showed that a quarter of respondents were planning to expand headcount from September, down from 56% at the end of last year.

The survey also showed that around 12% of Russian companies were planning layoffs this autumn, up 4 percentage points from the end of last year.

Meanwhile, Russia will borrow more than planned in 2025, finance minister says

@Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz @alcoholicorn@hexbear.net

the structure of any communist party (Hint: its democratic)

Which communist party is or was democratic?

Yes, but we must not forget that foreign influence by autocratic states also plays a decisive role.