Timeline
Every post and feed across this instance
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📝 2026-07-24 11:20: I think if I had my time again, I would have become a software developer....
I think if I had my time again, I would have become a software developer. I just so much fun - coming up with ways to solve a problem in an elegant way is very satisfying.
Then people emailing saying they enjoy the tools I'm creating. Very rewarding!
Mind you, would it still be as fun if it was my job? I don't know. 🤔
Thanks for reading this post via RSS. RSS is ace, and so are you. ❤️
You can reply to this post by email, or leave a comment.
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What happened to thenumbers.com ?
I wish we had the full story here…this article is interesting but there is definitely something missing on what happened…
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Madonna lilies
Testing with an image
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Hungary launches probe into controversial €1 billion loan to North Macedonia
Hungary’s new government is intensifying its scrutiny of a major financial deal struck by the previous administration, shining a spotlight on a €1 billion loan extended to North Macedonia under unusually generous terms.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced a sweeping investigation into the transaction, which was facilitated through the state-owned Hungarian Export-Import Bank (Eximbank). The move forms part of a broader effort to examine potential mismanagement of public funds during Viktor Orbán’s long tenure.
The loan, granted at a fixed interest rate of just 3.25 percent with a full 100 percent Hungarian state guarantee, has raised eyebrows due to its favorable conditions compared to domestic borrowing rates. Magyar highlighted that Hungarian companies, citizens, and even the state itself typically face significantly higher interest rates on loans, including for major infrastructure projects like the Paks nuclear power plant expansion. This discrepancy has fueled suspicions that funds intended to bolster Hungarian exporters were instead redirected to support foreign political allies and associated business interests.
According to the Prime Minister, the arrangement may represent a misuse of public resources. “There are suspicions that the previous government used public funds intended for Hungarian business to support foreign policy allies and friendly trade structures,” Magyar stated. The investigation, referred to police by the Ministry of Economy and Energy, examines possible abuse of office, mismanagement, and financial crimes. This case is one of four major Eximbank transactions now under review, collectively involving financing worth over €2.7 billion.
Eximbank under the microscope: multiple high-risk deals qestioned
The North Macedonia loan is not an isolated incident. Hungarian authorities have filed criminal complaints regarding several other substantial Eximbank operations that share common red flags: high financial exposure, elevated risk classifications, and what officials describe as insufficient safeguards or collateral.
One case involves a €162 million loan approved in June 2025 for redeveloping Budapest’s former Sofitel Chain Bridge hotel and adjacent buildings. The project reportedly received a high-risk rating, yet the bank’s board had only two days to review a lengthy proposal before granting approval, with several internal requirements waived. Media reports have linked the investment to business circles close to Orbán’s family.
Another transaction concerns €346 million in bond financing for a major infrastructure project in Africa, led by Hungarian firm Duna Aszfalt. The funds supported the construction of a 184-kilometer motorway, a border bridge, and related facilities connecting Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite both African nations carrying Eximbank’s highest risk rating, the Hungarian state backed 80 percent of the financing. Authorities are now assessing whether such generous support was justified given the evident country, legal, and project risks.
A third case centers on a massive €1.58 billion loan to Egyptian National Railways for the purchase of Hungarian-manufactured railway carriages. The deal, originally involving Russian partners, faced major disruptions following sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. Delays mounted, with hundreds of carriages undelivered by the contractual deadline, and the associated Hungarian companies entered liquidation. The state now bears the risk of non-performance, prompting questions about oversight and potential irregularities, including large dividend payouts prior to bankruptcy.
These investigations underscore deeper concerns about Eximbank’s operations. Originally established to support Hungarian exporters, the bank’s asset base had grown substantially to around €10.9 billion by the end of 2024. Critics argue it increasingly functioned more like a private financing vehicle for politically connected interests than a tool for genuine economic diplomacy.
Anti-corruption reforms and fiscal discipline
The loan controversy emerges against a backdrop of ambitious reforms by Magyar’s Tisza government, which assumed power following elections in 2026. Magyar has positioned the investigations as part of a commitment to transparency and accountability, emphasizing that the government seeks facts rather than premature judgments. “We will provide every necessary assistance to determine whether crimes were committed and where the taxpayers’ money is,” he affirmed.
In parallel with the financial probes, the government is advancing institutional changes. A bill to establish an independent anti-corruption office has been submitted, and Hungary is taking steps toward joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Broader fiscal tightening measures include slashing parliamentary expenses, reducing the size and remuneration of boards at state-owned companies, and capping salaries for top executives. Magyar, who earns significantly less than his predecessor, highlighted these moves as essential to curbing what he described as “payment outlets” for political loyalists under the prior regime.
The North Macedonia loan itself traces back to diplomatic overtures in 2024. The initial agreement was signed in Washington during the NATO Summit shortly after Hristijan Mickoski’s government took office in Skopje. Subsequent parliamentary approvals followed, with the first €500 million tranche disbursed in October 2024. Investigative reporting has suggested the funds originated from a larger €1 billion borrowing by Hungary from China earlier that year, raising questions about indirect Chinese geopolitical influence in the Balkans via Hungarian intermediaries.
Magyar’s government inherited what it calls a “catastrophic” budgetary situation. By pursuing these cases vigorously while implementing spending cuts, the new leadership aims to signal a decisive break from past practices. The Prime Minister has stressed the importance of European cooperation, including on extradition matters, and criticized previous decisions granting asylum to certain foreign politicians facing legal troubles.
For many Hungarians, the probe into the North Macedonia deal represents more than a financial review – it symbolizes a broader reckoning with opaque decision-making that allegedly prioritized political alliances over national economic interests.
Sources: Budapest Times, Daily News Hungary, BGNES, Vijesti
Caption: A handout photo made available by the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office General Department of Communication shows Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) shaking hands with North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski at his office in Budapest, Hungary, 30 May 2025. EPA/ZOLTAN FISCHER
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Le voyage rapide à FeedLand s'est bien passé!
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Are technical questions, bug reports, and feature suggestions welcome here, or is there another place for them?
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Spain coach slams Argentina's World Cup final behaviour as 'unacceptable’
Argentina’s antics following the final whistle in the World Cup final have prompted FIFA to launch a disciplinary investigation.
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Ireland pushes for breakthrough on EU capital markets reform
Also in this newsletter: Trump reshapes Iceland’s EU referendum
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La nécessaire bienveillance
On pouvait alors entendre des « Il m’est venu à penser que… ».
S’agissait-il d’une réflexion née d’un flux… d’un reflux ?
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Will Europe warm to Britain's new Prime Minister?
He’s the seventh British prime minister to walk through the famous black door of Number 10 Downing Street since the Brexit vote 10 years ago. Can Andy Burnham refresh relations with Europe and rescue a reset with Brussels that feels like it has been kicked into the long grass? Host Anne McElvoy talks to two guests who know the knotty relationship between Britain and the European Union. Sylvie Boulard was France’s defense minister in 2017. She was previously an MEP who joined Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche party and advised him on the fallout from Brexit. Sir Simon Fraser led Britain’s Foreign Office between 2010 and 2015. He knows his way around Brussels, having served as Peter Mandelson’s chef du Cabinet when he was EU trade commissioner and held a senior position at the British Embassy in Paris. Now he leads the business consultancy Flint Global, where he worked with James Purnell — who’s just become Andy Burnham’s chief of staff. Send us a voice note or message us on WhatsApp here, or at +32 491 05 06 29. You can also email us at podcast@politico.eu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicestraffic.megaphone.fm -
Time to Buy, Time to Sell. – Asymco https://asymco.com/2026/07/23/time-to-buy-time-to-sell/
+apple +AAPL +WallStreet +Analysts
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How to maintain a Sell rating on Apple – Asymco
https://asymco.com/2026/07/20/how-to-maintain-a-sell-rating-on-apple/ +apple +AAPL +WallStreet +Analysts -
Congress proposes an AI kill switch
As more details emerge about OpenAI's cyberattack against Hugging Face, lawmakers are taking an interest. PLUS: Meta's cynical new ad + "pervert glasses" damage control -
People and Blogs: Andy
People and Blogs is a series by Manuel Moreale featuring the people behind personal blogs and the stories of their corners of the web. This conversation is with Andy. Do go visit his blog and say hell... -
The Return key stopped breaking paragraphs at the wrong spot
A bug DW reported earlier but couldn't reproduce finally showed itself: paste a chunk of text that includes a link, put the cursor somewhere later in the text, press Return -- and the break landed at the link instead of the cursor, tearing the link out onto its own line. The trick to reproducing it: it only ever happened on the first Return after that kind of paste, never again in the same post -- which is exactly what made it so slippery. Now the break lands where the cursor is, and links stay in their sentences. (Theme v0.5.339.)
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New orca behavior unlocked. They’ve been known to sink...
New orca behavior unlocked. They’ve been known to sink boats and wear salmon for hats; now they’re ramming fish so hard they explode. “Orcas were observed to hold sunfish in their jaws while a second whale smashed into the target at high speed…”
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It’s our ethical duty to understand large numbers ....
It’s our ethical duty to understand large numbers. “Our world is increasingly moving towards extreme values: Damages from climate change, deaths due to genocide, wealth that knows no bounds. We can’t tackle them if we can’t wrap our heads around [them].”
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Hello world!
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A Court Reporter Submitted AI-Generated Errors in Official Court Transcript, Judge Says
A judge in Indiana warns a court reporter that it's their job to proofread their work, after catching errors likely made by AI transcription services. -
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the...
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out. “Once everyone was back at school on Tuesday, the high schoolers lawyered up during their lunch hour.”
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“A beloved, useful, free website, run carefully by...
“A beloved, useful, free website, run carefully by a competent, honest person for nearly thirty years, was crushed between two features of the new AI economy.” (AI bots and prediction market dipshits.)
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Hey all :) This looks like a blast!
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Flock's CEO Says its ALPRs Don't Do Video After Repeatedly Announcing They Can
Flock's CEO Garrett Langley says people don't understand the capabilities of its ALPR system, but they do. -
“In extreme cases, it can create a phantom...
“In extreme cases, it can create a phantom homeland, for the sake of which one is ready to die or kill. Unreflective nostalgia can breed monsters.” On the good and bad types of nostalgia.
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I'm trying out the API calls via curl. So far, so good. The prior post (saying "This is the post") was done entirely with curl.
- This is the post
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Rebecca Solnit on the Tate brothers, The Odyssey, and...
Rebecca Solnit on the Tate brothers, The Odyssey, and the misogyny of classical literature & the contemporary world. “Classical culture is a lot of things including, literally, rape culture.”
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New test
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Just a test
Is the firehose on?
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What’s On the Sandwich Named After You at the Local Deli?
Following a prompt from Joanna at Cup of Jo… The local deli or sandwich shop names a sandwich after you. What would be on it? Perhaps another way of asking the question: what’s your favorite sandwich that’s a little bit unusual?
I love a classic BLT, banh mi, or jambon beurre, but a sandwich that is fairly unique to me is tuna salad (made with pickles, pickle juice, and scallions), havarti, lettuce, and tomatoes on good white bread or a kaiser roll. I think that would be The Kottke at the local deli. Either that or something chopped?
Tags: food · sandwiches
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Your RSS Reader Is Robbing You
Your RSS Reader Is Robbing You
by Antonio Santos
Antonio opines that by using RSS feeds instead of visiting people's sites, we're robbing ourselves of enjoying the design many site owners have put a lot of work into.
On the other side of the argument is this post by Christian Cleberg where he argues that using RSS allows us to consume many different sites with typography that we prefer.
Maybe the site's font isn't that nice, or it's too bright, too dark, too small. Using RSS normalises the design across all sites and allows readers to have the same experience across all the sites we read.
I lean more to Christian's way of thinking, but I do regularly visit people's sites too, just to see the design and how it may have changed over time. It's a simple click of the post title on my RSS reader, Miniflux, so it's simple for me to get the best of both worlds.
So I don't think our RSS readers our robbing us - we can have our cake and eat it.
Thanks for reading this post via RSS. RSS is ace, and so are you. ❤️
You can reply to this post by email, or leave a comment.
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Hello World ...
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Sat06Nov2004 - BloggerCon III -Jing Jing Podcast dinner - 7 blurry spicy noodles André Radke inspired of course :-) #BloggerCon #2004 #JingJing
Uploading image…
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Why are American ambulances so expensive? In part...
Why are American ambulances so expensive? In part because Medicare pays only a fraction of the actual cost of an ambulance ride and the uninsured often don’t pay at all, so the privately insured get bills of $13,000 for a $2600 ride.
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A New “Movement Class” Is Emerging - by Oana Leonte
https://oanaleonteofficial.substack.com/p/a-new-movement-class-is-emerging +link +business +wellness -
Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and Alan Watts All Discovered the Same 5 Rules for Living—Almost Nobody Lives by Them https://scienceandsoul.substack.com/p/viktor-frankl-carl-jung-and-alan +links
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Apple Is the King of AI and Nobody Knows It https://open.substack.com/pub/limitededitionjonathan/p/apple-is-the-king-of-ai-and-nobody +links +apple +ai
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From Our Correspondent in Wisconsin - TPM – Talking Points Memo
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/from-our-correspondent-in-wisconsin
+links +pefl
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Who needs silos?
I love the idea of RSS.chat
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We’re Squandering LEDs’ Potential to Save Our Night...
We’re Squandering LEDs’ Potential to Save Our Night Skies. “Our main failure isn’t a technical one. It’s that we have yet to revise our thinking about lighting at night. We use LED technology just as we did the old sources of light.”
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blamouche/browsidian: Browser interface for your local Obsidian vaults
https://github.com/blamouche/browsidian +links +markdown +obsidian +web +editor
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ToDo
- Run an instance of rss.chat in oevl.info (rss.oevl.info)
- Run an instance of browsidian in oevl.info (md.oevl.info)
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scripting/rss.chat: A simple chat network, client and server, based on RSS 2.0 feeds and websockets. https://github.com/scripting/rss.chat/tree/main +links +rss
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El modelo Costco: Cuando pagar bien es una estrategia de rentabilidad - America Malls & Retail https://americaretail-malls.com/opinion/el-modelo-costco-cuando-pagar-bien-es-una-estrategia-de-rentabilidad/ +links +sbi
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RSS Chat
Article URL: https://johnjohnston.info/blog/rss-chat/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49023374
Points: 1
# Comments: 0
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A Matter of Form (1984)
In addition to leading the animation studio at the National Film Board of Canada, René Jodoin made several animated films that explored geometric forms and motion, including the one above, A Matter of Form from 1984.
Set to the rousing notes of Schubert’s Military March, this animation film is an ingenious example of how a single point can be the building-block for a multiplicity of shapes and configurations. Lines and forms grow out of the point, eventually covering the entire screen in splashes of colour. This is geometric wizardry at its colourful best. A film without words.
I’m not saying my affinity for such animations is because I watched so much Sesame Street as a kid, but I’m not not saying it either.
Here’s another of Jodoin’s films, Dance Squared:
You can watch more of Jodoin’s work in this YouTube playlist. (via the kid should see this)
Tags: geometry · René Jodoin · video
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Patreon Lays Off 20 Percent of Its Workforce
In an internal email shared with creators, CEO Jack Conte wrote that AI doesn’t replace human creativity — but it does affect how the company operates. -
Amyloo, a longtime friend from the early days of podcasting, has made an appearance on demo.rss.chat. So happy to see her. Here's one of the bits we did, back then in the very early days of podcasting in 2005. A duet of Green Acres. Ten seconds of dead air at the beginning, it was pretty common in those days. But I think the spirit of it is lovely. BTW fwiw I cracked my voice on purpose. 😄
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A new feature on rss.chat, images. Up to 2MB per. User interface couldn't be simpler, get the image on your clipboard, start editing your post, put the cursor where you want the image, paste. Prior art was GitHub and Slack. It was driving me crazy not having this feature. I think perhaps I should add this to textcasting. It's a feature I needed to be reminded is essential. The first browser to support inline images came from Univ of Illinois in 1993, NCSA Mosaic. It didn't come from TBL, but it is most definitely a standard feature of the web.
