tal

I'd go further than that. I remember smoking being pretty common everywhere in the 1980s, and cigarette butts being common anywhere outdoors in a public setting.

I rarely see anyone smoking anymore, and rarely see a single cigarette butt.

That being said, where you are in the US is gonna be a factor, and there are some countries that do still see a fair bit of smoking.

Neither were the people in Germany.

The court sent the former head of diesel engine development behind bars for four years and six months, and the former head of powertrain electronics to two years and seven months. Two others — Volkswagen’s former development director and a former department head — received suspended sentences, according to Der Spiegel and Deutsche Welle reports from the Braunschweig courtroom.

The (now ex-) CEO of VW, Winterkorn, is a fugitive from justice in US -- the reason he isn't in prison in the US is because he's hiding in Germany, and Germany doesn't extradite its nationals. IIRC from memory back during the incident, he's facing a total of over two hundred years in potential sentence from the charges, though some of that would probably run in parallel, were he convicted, and I assume that in practice, there'd be some sort of plea deal.

EDIT: Maybe it was over one hundred, not two hundred. I distinctly remember trying to figure out whether the sentences could run in parallel when reading an article about it at the time. In practice, he'd probably plea bargain it down, but there also is no parole for federal sentences in the US, so he wouldn't be getting out early, either.

EDIT2: Also, because he's a fugitive and it's a federal crime:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3290

18 U.S. Code § 3290 - Fugitives from justice

No statute of limitations shall extend to any person fleeing from justice.

So I expect that he's probably going to stay in Germany for the rest of his life, unless he can find some other location that wouldn't extradite him (Russia?)

I long for the day that ANYTHING close to this happens in the USA

I guess you've good news, then.

Across the Atlantic, two former VW engineers — Oliver Schmidt and James Robert Liang — are already serving prison sentences in the U.S. Schmidt, who once led VW’s environmental office in the U.S., was sentenced to seven years after initially denying guilt but later reaching a plea deal. Liang received 40 months after cooperating with prosecutors.

If you're using mobile data rather than WiFi off a home network, I suppose.

I avoid getting Google accounts; if I don't sign in, no cookies.

The potential for chain reactions on mass transit or in sports stadiums seems unpleasant.

yt-dlp can download playlists.

My experience has been that if you download absolutely massive amounts, Google will ban your IP for anonymous access for some weeks.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/geneva-convention-relative-protection-civilian-persons-time-war

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War

If protected persons are of enemy nationality, they may only be compelled to do work which is normally necessary to ensure the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transport and health of human beings and which is not directly related to the conduct of military operations.

The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to work unless they are over eighteen years of age...

Blade Runner was made in 1982 and set in 2019 Los Angeles. I think that in most ways, real life 2019 was closer to 1982 than Blade Runner 2019.

That's especially concerning because South Korea's population is aging at an extremely rapid rate, and they need what incoming workforce they have to be participating.

They had a TFR of 0.75 in 2024. A woman was averaging having three-quarters of a kid in her lifetime. A level necessary to sustain the population is about 2.1.

“If I could vote, I would have voted for Trump,” he says. “He’s the strongest president when it comes to Cuba.”

To be fair, that's probably accurate; my guess is that Trump probably takes a harder line on Cuba than Harris would. If someone has strongly anti-Cuban-government positions, then, yeah, I can see why that'd be an concern for them.

kagis

This is from prior to the general election, comparing Cuba positions:

https://www.firstpost.com/world/harris-trump-offer-little-hope-for-us-cuba-detente-as-election-looms-13829936.html

For decades, the United States has enforced a trade embargo against the island that complicates Cuba’s global financial transactions. Trump’s designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and reinstatement of other restrictions during his 2017-2021 presidency snuffed out an historic rapprochement under former President Barack Obama, under whom President Joe Biden served as vice president.

Both candidates said in brief statements they would continue to draw a hard line on Cuba.

“Cuba is not prepared, nor will it be prepared to resist any more pressure (from the United States),” said Carlos Alzugaray, a former Cuban diplomat who is now an independent political analyst.

Alzugaray said a second Trump presidency “does not bode well.” He had more hope for a Harris presidency, which he said could ease sanctions to avoid another potential international conflict so close to US shores.

But he said there were no guarantees.

Yeah.

The point the article makes, that Trump is taking an unfriendly position towards political refugees from Cuba, is also valid, though. If you're someone who is opposed to the Cuban government and wants pressure on it...but also someone who fled to the US, you're going to have to be balancing those positions.

They seem to be adapting to modern society pretty well.