u/trisul-108

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/05/europe-air-conditioning-culture-wars-heat-up

I have been asking myself for days why the current obsession with AC in reddit and social media. I was inundated with articles about Europeans not having AC and I kept asking myself "why such incredible volume of noise" on this issue.

Obviously, the heat wave played a role, but reading this article, I see that simply AfD, Le Pen and presumably their Russian and MAGA amplifiers have entered the discussion. Their capability to create narratives in the EU is simply unmatched by anything else.

Europeans have only one option for responding effectively to these dual threats: they must complete the project of European integration. The way forward is to connect the reform proposals of Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and former president of the European Central Bank, with German leadership. Draghi argues for accelerating integration by crafting a common EU policy on artificial intelligence, defense, and energy. Germany is the only country with the political strength to push the bloc in such a direction, and its leaders understand the urgency of the moment: at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged the unraveling of the international order and highlighted the importance of increasing EU unity and competitiveness in response.

Article:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/only-way-save-europe

Un paywalled:
https://archive.ph/8V4Fe

https://www.powerelectronicsnews.com/imec-explores-the-future-of-ai-hardware/

In superconductors, imec is exploring a platform based on niobium-titanium-nitride (NbTiN) for single-flux-quantum circuits, in which bits are represented by extremely short pulses. According to imec’s researchers, this technology could potentially shrink a whole data center into a fridge.

This is such a terrible idea because Putin's goal was never just take some territory. So, how can the solution be to give him some territory? It will not stop there, it is an open invitation to Putin to launch another war after securing what is on offer.

Germany is setting up the EU for an all-out war with Russia in the future while at the same time demolishing the UN Charter and all pretense at applying international law. This move legitimises territorial grabs in Europe and it will trigger more and more of those which will need to be answered with wars.

Instead of achieving peace, this proposal signals weakness to Putin and invites a series of future wars ... from a weaker position than today because Russia will get ready for them.