Infrastructure.

I have a 90% car free commute of 15 km to my work.

Tax incentives. I’m using my end of the year bonus’ taxes and social contribution for a premium e bike lease. R&M Multicharger2 GT rohloff. It costs me like 1200 euros per year. (3 year lease) While I get paid 10 euros (untaxed) per day of commuting.

So basically… 2300 euros income, 1200 costs… 1100 euros per year extra income + bike lease (includes insurances). After 3 years I can buy the bike for 1450 euros. So that will be 1850 euros extra + a bike in 3 years time.

Incentivised. Sold my car cuz this thing can do grocery shopping and carrying people.

At the start I was 93 kg, now I’m 89 kg after 2 months. Which is a good bonus because cardio is damn time consuming to do it in your free time without any functionality.

Tldr;

As an EU citizen, the “ProtectEU” strategy presents several potential benefits and challenges. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Enhanced Security: The strategy aims to improve the overall security environment, which could lead to a safer living experience with reduced threats from terrorism, organized crime, and cyberattacks.

2. Better Coordination: Strengthened cooperation and information sharing among EU member states and agencies could result in more effective responses to cross-border threats.

3. Investment in Technology: Emphasis on technological innovation and digital security could enhance protection against cyber threats and ensure that EU citizens benefit from advanced security measures.

4. Focus on Prevention: Efforts to address the root causes of crime and terrorism, including education and social programs, could lead to a more stable and secure society.

5. Global Cooperation: Enhanced partnerships with other regions and international organizations could help mitigate threats originating from outside the EU.

Cons:

1. Potential Privacy Concerns: Increased surveillance and data sharing might raise concerns about privacy and data protection, potentially infringing on civil liberties.

2. Cost Implications: Significant investments in security infrastructure and technology could lead to higher public spending, potentially impacting other areas of public service.

3. Over-reliance on Technology: While technology can enhance security, over-reliance could lead to vulnerabilities if systems are compromised or fail.

4. Potential Overreach: There is a risk of security measures being overly intrusive or disproportionate, which could affect everyday life and freedoms.

5. Implementation Challenges: Coordinating such a comprehensive strategy across diverse EU member states could face practical and political challenges, potentially slowing down its effectiveness.

Overall, while the strategy has the potential to significantly enhance security for EU citizens, it is important to balance these benefits with considerations for privacy, cost, and the potential impact on civil liberties.

Why’s this removed, bruv

Aight, let’s continue. You’re tougher than the other fella. You literally see the video of a Chinese speaking fella beating two scared submissive kids. Nah, it ain’t going to take it with ya.

Bring it on buddy, I’ll crack ya.

I’m curious which countries you folks live in tho

You actually admitted that a Chinese citizen did something bad, for Chinese gain.

That’s all I wanted. Good day to you, sir.

https://zeenews.india.com/video/news/viral-video-of-chinese-employers-assault-on-african-workers-sparks-racism-and-slavery-allegations-2746407.html

Ah don’t worry, just some fun stuff. I’ve seen a lot of the world, not as naive as you. Have you seen what they do in Brazil? I have, it ain’t that nice.

The video is pretty soft core.

Congo is still using Belgian railroads and trains, we sell old trucks to there. We buy oil from Nigeria which funds their economy. We help east Congo against Rwanda.

you wish to be at both sides of the argument and win twice.

You know what 1850s Belgium was? Well lil buddy, it’s where Marx wrote communist manifesto.

Look at us now, rich and not communist.

EU gives 20 billion euros in aid to Africa every year.

Showing me that china forgave 3,4 billion USD in interest between 2000 and 2019 is peanuts.

See, so easily baited.

China owns majority stake in the cobalt mines in Congo. Controlling 80% of their cobalt in order to have influence in the battery market. Which they use for dominance in smartphone and electric vehicle markets. The government subsidises this as well with tax payer money, which is good for the shareholders of Xiaomi, BYD, …

At the height of Belgian Congo, wallonia was wealthier than flanders. Now wallonia is quite poorer than flanders because their mines ran down. The industrialisation moved away.

We have a great economy because of services that we provide. We have a highly educated population.

We don’t depend on resources from Africa, south east Asia, etc. Why? We don’t do those industries.

That’s all delegated to China. China is our bitch, they do the child labour, the bad ethics, exploiting poor countries, and then sell us the products cheaply. We buy it, they do the dirty deed.

It’s almost as if raw materials are important to the economy that wants to turn them into a product.

And not important to an economy that basically just sells services?

What the fuck? Using brain? Logic? In a tankie sub?!

https://www.cecc.gov/events/hearings/from-cobalt-to-cars-how-china-exploits-child-and-forced-labor-in-the-congo

Go find some other sources, from various parts of the world.

Russia is invading Ukraine literally for resources for their industry, or rather to sell them to us with an extra price.

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Real Belgium? These oldies have been on strike and they haven’t seen a tank. Welcome to democracy. The NVA has the most votes, they were voted for in order to increase the work force.

Major amount of people on sick leave for more than 5 years. People were on unemployment benefits for more than 2 years. People used to retire at age 55. While barely having children.

For example my mate is in Germany now, his gf worked one year and now she’s relaxing 2 years on sick leave for “burnout”.

They are reducing taxes for people that work.

The minimum wage in Belgium is high. Education is free or cheap.

If you want to work, you have work. Social mobility is high in Belgium.

if we correct for purchasing power then the net wealths would be.

Belgium 333k euros. China 54k euros. Russia 28k euros. (Compared to USA)

With a year’s savings I can buy a 100 sq meters house in Indonesia. A Chinese or Russian cannot do that.

Not only is my internal purchasing power far higher, so is my external purchasing power.

The median net worth of an adult Belgian is 250k euros.

In china it’s 27k euros.

Those damn oligarchs :(

In Russia median net worth is 8,5k euros.

Those damn oligarchs :(

If only I had 200 billion USD net worth Putin at my side

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I’ll do it for you.

China censors the shit out of their population. And if you want to be part of the 0,1% immigrants in china, you cannot afford to criticise a government of 1,4 billion people.

Because you are nothing compared to the government.

Go to china, so that I can’t read your comments anymore because of the great firewall.

Say something bad about china :)

Europe lacks independence. There’s far right movements, infiltrated by foreign interest. There’s racism here.

USA is going totalitarian.

Now, say something bad about china :) you might get banned though by your homies

The 20% is there because we had the financial crisis due to people buying houses that they couldn’t afford.

Using the bank in order to get money for a purchase is a good idea, as long as you invest the money.

Even if you can buy the house outright, it’s better to borrow money with the house as collateral and invest the rest in market weighted ETFs.

You cannot be a refugee there, you need a job.

EU has 10% immigrants. China has 0,1% immigrants.

1,3 million Syrians took refuge in the EU while barely any could go to china.

China isn’t poor, they are unwilling.

China doesn’t take refugees

Yeah they need some improvements, but they are far less subsidised so it makes sense in my area at least.

Nah, like for an e-motorbike there’s like 5 KW needed as battery and it lasts like 60 km. (The vehicle weighs like 120 kg) and goes usually like 75 km/h.

While my e-bike only has a 0,75 KW battery and lasts 90-100 km.

The pedalling lowers the amount of energy needed by quite a bit.

It says I burn 450 calories a day for 28,7 km. So when I ordered the bike, I started going to work with a manual bike just to get used to it.

The difference is clear. My knees hurt for 2 weeks, my quads were lightly sore the whole time. When I arrived, my back would be wet from sweat.

But I would be a lot slower, I’d be taking a lot of breaks between pedalling. The hills would take a lot of energy, like it’s a squatting set.

When doing cardio, it’s important to be consistent.

The bike I’m using, never tried any other e-bike, is the R&M Multicharger2 GT Rohloff.

I’m always on the automatic mode. With the system that it has, it adjusts how much power it assists with.

The bike weighs like 30 kg.

Going up hill is very easy, it automatically shifts to a lot of assistance. Then it stops doing so.

Braking doesn’t feel like a pain in the ass anymore, so it’s a lot safer for pedestrians. On a manual bike you’d hate braking because getting started is a huge waste of energy. With this thing, you just shoot ahead quickly and then it stops assisting until you get in higher gears.

You can handle the bike quite well, as you can use your pedalling to adjust the speed. You can easily go at walking speed and you easily can go to max assisted speed or in-between.

It’s a lot easier to choose your own speed than my wife’s la souris scooter.

For the burning calories part, I asked yesterday le chat mistral why. It said that because it helps you stay at top speed for the whole ride, you take no breaks, it just keeps you consistently into the same burning mode.

I often go at 26 to 29 km per hour. It only assists to 25 km per hour. If it’s a flat road, it will minimally assist. The bike is 30 kg, I’m 90 kg. It’s still a good workout. When I get tired, I can keep pedalling, I just go to 25 km per hour at minimal assistance. Until I can go faster again.

With a manual bike I would have to really just lower the gears and rest up for a while, dramatically lowering my intensity and speed.

Hope this helps