annamm

@anmle

Hungarian, fan of post-Orban era. Dutch by residence. American by marriage.

231 Folgt323 Follower1.624 Posts

Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir anmle.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

annamm@anmle· 2d

Meanwhile, Aug 4, 2026 Guardian analysis revealed that Eight biggest oil companies amassed more than $90bn (£67bn) profit in just 3 months as the Iran conflict sent energy prices soaring and the emissions-fuelled climate crisis caused deadly heatwaves. www.theguardian.com/business/ng-...

the Guardian, 2026 Aug 4.
title
Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis

Cover image: A giant firefighter figure stands amid wildfire smoke and flames beside a rising stock chart arrow, symbolizing oil profits

The impacts this summer include Europe’s worst ever heatwave, the latest to be categorised by scientists as ‘impossible’ without human-caused global heating.

Iran conflict windfall over three months reignites calls for companies ‘cashing in on human misery’ to pay for environmental damage

annamm@anmle· 2d

But if they ignore upstream and downstream decisions on probation staffing (pay, schedule, training) and local support networks, the result is at risk of fearmongering again. 😔😒 www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

In a worrying development for the government, the union is threatening to launch industrial action in three months’ time unless members receive increased support and pay.

The motion comes at a crucial time for the government’s plans to relieve pressure on the criminal justice system. From September, ministers will embark on the biggest expansion of tagging in British history so that up to 40,000 former offenders will be monitored by tags and overseen by probation officers – a 40% increase from the 28,000 currently on tags.

Last year, an official watchdog warned that the probation service had too few staff with too little experience and training, which it said left members of the public at risk. The public accounts committee found that longstanding staff shortages had left probation staff dealing with “excessive and unmanageable workloads”, with officers working at 126% of capacity for several years in some areas.

Tania Bassett, a Napo national official, said probation officers were unable to cope with the growing number of ex-offenders they were being asked to supervise, and many more people were ending up on the street.

“Excessive workloads and staff burnout poses a direct risk to the public with staff being unable to effectively manage the risk of their clients in the community,”

annamm@anmle· 7d

I found an additional reference via a prolific LinkedIn OP: an internal all-hands meeting.

Paul Walsh on Linkedin.

"Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told employees in a recent all hands meeting that the company risks becoming a place people join for the paycheck rather than the mission.

This isn't a hiring problem. It's a mission problem. When corporate strategy relies on aggressive legal shortcuts and fear tactics, high pay becomes the only reason people want to join or stay.

Anthropic pays some of the highest salaries in AI, but keeping talent focused on a mission requires a mission they believe in, and genuine ethics. Staff can see the difference between the company's public claims about AI safety and its actual behaviour.

To train its AI model Claude, Anthropic first downloaded millions of pirated books from illegal repositories. Later, it bought physical books, cut off their bindings, scanned the pages, and destroyed the paper copies to claim format shifting rights. I wrote a post about this recently.

In June 2025, Judge William Alsup ruled that buying and scanning physical books was fair use, but downloading pirated files wasn't. A federal judge then approved a 1.5 billion dollar settlement covering nearly half a million books and ordered Anthropic to destroy the pirated data.

Anthropic also uses scare tactics for public relations. Leadership continually warns about existential AI risks, using those fears to lobby the government for restrictive regulations that hurt competitors. Anthropic is the only major frontier lab that refused to sign the Open Weights and American AI Leadership pledge backed by Meta, Google, SpaceX, OpenAI, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. White House AI adviser David Sacks called Anthropic's stance a regulatory capture strategy based on fear mongering, while investor Bill Gurley said the company is just protecting its market position.

When founders build a company on data hoarding, legal loopholes, and market protectionism, they shouldn't be surprised when employees treat their work as just a job. Anthropic will keep losing the missio…

annamm@anmle· 8d

Also reminded me of this post on r/Anthropic: “but the top take away from me is: • ⁠everyone’s a workaholic. • ⁠tons of huge egos. The guy who ran my “culture” interview literally compared himself to Oppenheimer.”

“I interviewed there earlier this year and what I learned about the culture during that process was a huge turn off for me. I could write a lot, but the top take away from me is:

• ⁠everyone’s a workaholic.
• ⁠tons of huge egos. The guy who ran my “culture” interview literally compared himself to Oppenheimer.
• ⁠there’s a giant vat of Kool Aid that you must drink from.
• ⁠it’s super chaotic and no one knows what to prioritize.

It reminded me why I got out of Silicon Valley in the first place.”

annamm@anmle· 8d

Reminded me of this post on r/Antropic: “the top take away from me is: • ⁠everyone’s a workaholic. • ⁠tons of huge egos. The guy who ran my “culture” interview literally compared himself to Oppenheimer.”

annamm@anmle· 13d

Besides labour exploitation, this is also fucked up. “Company also expected franchisees to produce more sushi than customers were likely to purchase, requiring at least 25% of each day’s production to remain unsold at closing. Franchisees were penalized if inspectors found too few boxes left over”

The company also expected franchisees to produce more sushi than customers were likely to purchase, requiring at least 25% of each day’s production to remain unsold at closing, according to Mar. Franchisees were penalized if inspectors found too few boxes left over.

“Sometimes we sold almost everything, and only had a few boxes left at the end of the day,” Mar recalled. “That was actually bad news because we had to make more sushi to meet the quota.”

annamm@anmle· 18d

Just came to add this, not fully integrated but a separate ring lock seamlessly placed on the rear tyre, the most common lock in the Netherlands too.

Dutch bike part, ring lock on the rear tyre.

annamm@anmle· 22d

Crazy considering thrift shop pricing on Abebooks.

Dictionary of Fairies by Katherine M Briggs, at AbeBooks’ secondhand bookstore platform. The cost of the 1977 edition ranges from $88 to $721.

annamm@anmle· 27d

Teddy successfully tackled the end of June heatwave in the Northeast, when a heat dome brought temperatures (over 100°F real feel) unlike anything seen in Philadelphia, hotter than in the Greater Atlanta area.

Dark grey cat on his light grey wool blanket, riding in a car to his holiday destination from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Teddy is 14, unsure if it's his first time travelling long-distance. But after some anxiety, he did settle for sightseeing and naps.

Dark grey cat sleeping on a car floor mat, curled up next to some bags. Later on, he stretched under the driver's seat in a more comfortable position. While riding in a car to his holiday destination from Pennsylvania to Georgia, he got up to use his litter box, drink water, and eat knibbles. Teddy is 14 and has thyroid issues, so his comfort was our utmost priority.

Teddy is settling into his vacation home by Lake Lanier.

annamm@anmle· Jul 10

Scott_from_Seattle Seattle · July 9 “I was surprised that nowhere in this reporting was there any mention about the legality or ethics of the President's profiteering.” Classic NYT The Daily.

Comment on the podcast’s NYT page

Scott_from_Seattle
Seattle ·
July 9
I was surprised that nowhere in this reporting was there any mention about the legality or ethics of the President's profiteering.

annamm@anmle· Jul 6

More importantly, UEFA describes the wider subversion of the rule of law, but in football terms. “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined.”

When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.

Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.

We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.

annamm@anmle· Jun 27

Example from Haarlem, the Netherlands. 2026 is the 3rd year of greening with municipality funds: green spaces, redirected parking to public garages, limited daytime traffic load. Old Town (city center) gates allow free access between 6-11am; then only permit & for those with close parking options.

Jansstraat, in Haarlem, the Netherlands, a street that leads to the old city center, the Grote Mark and Bavo church. Although the city center is usually permit limited for car traffic, this section is accessible and was also overcrowded. The image is a google streetview from 2028, no green space.

image of Jansstraat of Haarlem the Netherlands, from 2025. In cooperation between the municipality, the residents and Sweco, the parking spaces were replaced by green strips, packed with native pollinator-friendly plants and trees.
the pavement structure was redesigned upon consultation with disability advocates for maximum accessibility.

annamm@anmle· Jun 23

This is the full post.

annamm@anmle· Jun 15

That’s a bit. Someone makes up “Japanese go to America” content, here is another one on Costco rotisserie chicken. These are clickbait, feeding a stereotypical way of thinking.

A fake Japanese amazement at Costco rotisserie chicken.

annamm@anmle· Jun 15

Yeah, sounds like a stereotypical bit for clicks, or what a foreigner’s idea of what Japanese people might think. Here is another one on Costco rotisserie chicken.

Seemingly fake Japanese amazement at the chicken rotisserie in Costco

annamm@anmle· Jun 13

unless I am misreading this: regardless where you are, it's straightforward to get out of any regular ikea store, through the shortcuts, so don't follow the arrows but find the above head signs. cheers, a former ikea staff

A standard IKEA store layout map and people flow. notice the shortcuts.

annamm@anmle· May 8

New AI data center in Utah will generate & consume more than twice the amount of power the entire state uses. Kevin O'Leary's 9 Gigawatt Utah data center campus approved despite locals’ opposition 2.5 times the size of Manhattan. The 40,000-acre project will run entirely off-grid using natural gas.

The off-grid approach places Stratos alongside a growing list of AI-era data center projects that are building their own power generation rather than waiting years for utility connections. SoftBank's planned Ohio campus targets 10 GW using a fleet of gas turbines, while Meta recently committed to funding seven new natural gas plants for a 7 GW facility in Louisiana. O'Leary's project would sit squarely between the two in terms of its raw capacity.

The project, dubbed Stratos, is being developed by O'Leary Digital, the infrastructure arm of Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary, and would span 40,000 acres of private land plus 1,200 acres of military and state-owned property.

Fucker.

annamm@anmle· May 7

Ad and marketing leaders on Balásy: "The greatest sin is the immeasurable damage to the soul and mind of Hungarian society. These inciting, lying, war psychosis-enhancing, and sometimes anti-gay, racist, and anti-Semitic propaganda materials caused the greatest damage," telex.hu/belfold/2026...

"The greatest sin is the immeasurable damage to the soul and mind of Hungarian society. These inciting, lying, war psychosis-enhancing, and sometimes anti-gay, racist, and anti-Semitic propaganda materials caused the greatest damage," said Gergely Marosi, creative director of the Mito agency, in our program 2026 about the advertising materials produced and placed by Balásy Gulya's companies.

Another guest on the show, Krisztián Szabados, head of the Flow PR agency, pointed out that [Balásy and his company the Lounge] should have known where they would place the hateful war posters. “They knew exactly that children would see this.”

annamm@anmle· May 7

Corruption Flash Report 2026-02 on Hungarian kleptocracy under Orbán by the Corruption Research Centre Budapest. The case of companies formally owned by Balásy. www.crcb.eu/wp-content/u...

. State Organizations and State-owned Companies
4.1. It is important to analyze corruption trends and the functioning of the
kleptocratic system, particularly in relation to public procurement contracts issued by
government organizations and state-owned enterprises. In this study, we examine
contracts issued by 374 such contracting authorities over the period 1999–2025.
These contracting authorities account for 10-20 percent of total contracts from 2005
to 2025 (See Fig. 25 and Fig. 26).
4.2. The corruption risk of contracts issued by these institutions is substantially higher
than that of all contracts (See Fig. 27), and political favoritism is concentrated within
them: companies affiliated with top actors typically win public procurement contracts
issued by these institutions. The share of net contract value from contracts won by
top actors was between 22 and 55 percent since 2016 (See Fig. 28).
4.3. The companies affiliated with top actors won contracts with the substantially
highest corruption risk issued by state institutions, as is the case with public
procurement in general (see Fig. 29). The level of corruption risk for those contracts
exceeded a record 0.9 in 2024 and 2025. It means that in 90 percent of the contracts
awarded to companies affiliated with top actors, there was no competition.
4.4. The destructive effect of Orbán’s kleptocratic regime on the intensity of
competition and corruption risk is particularly strong in this subsample: the odds of
winning and the corruption risk were higher in 2011-2025 than in 1999-2010 (See
Fig. 30).
4.5. Besides this general destructive effect, there are large differences among state
institutions: a significant gap emerged in 2024-2025 between the best and the worst
group. This heterogeneity points out that not all state institutions are captive to the
kleptocratic system; furthermore, after 2023, as the system began to decline—a
trend fueled in part by the freezing of EU subsidies—several institutions were able to…

5. The Case of Companies of Gyula Balásy
5.1. In the following section, we briefly analyze the public procurement activities of
two companies (New Land Media Ltd. and Lounge Design Ltd.) that are affiliated with
one of the top actors (Gyula Balásy). These companies are examples of extreme
behavior, the highest corruption risk, and the odds of winning during the Orbán
regime. They have strong ties to the National Communication Office (NCO), one of
the important offices of the Orbán government, which is dedicated to organizing the
Orbán Government’s hate propaganda (see Annex 6). The propaganda is one of
essential tool to maintain the power of the informational autocracy (Guriev &
Treisman, 2019; Guriev & Treisman, 2020). The Orbán regime shows a perfect
example of such autocracy and the actors behavior. The links between the
propaganda machine and the level of corruption risk are well documented by the
contracts awarded by the Hungarian National Communication Office to Balásy’s
companies during the Orbán regime.
5.2. The number of contracts won by Balásy’s companies has risen significantly, from
0 to 150 per year in the Orbán regime, between 2012 and 2025 (Fig. 33a).
5.3. Balásy’s companies (New Land Media Ltd. and Lounge Design Ltd.) almost
exclusively won contracts awarded by the NCO (Fig. 33a).
5.4. The corruption risk of contracts awarded by NCO and won by these companies
is extremely high (with absurd maximum or close to the maximum level). These high
levels are unique in the EU, and perhaps worldwide (Fig. 33b).
5.5. The level of odds of winning of these companies is also absurdly high (30-50
while the companies with market competition, without political ties, achieve only a
0.6 median value of odds of winning, i.e., they won six contracts and lost 9 bids. The
Balásy’s companies reach the highest odds of winning for contracts awarded by NCO;
for instance, in 2024, this level was 140, which is 233 times higher than the median
odds of winning for competitive comp…

annamm@anmle· May 7

Magyar seems to have drafted a plan to show evidence of legal resolution or voluntary surrender to get the massive EU funds, some that expires in Aug 2026. Balásy has been Rogán's footsy, a vessel of brazen overpriced event and advertisement contracts, executing Rogán' eye-popping price list.

researchers highlighted four companies – Visual Europe Production Ltd., Lounge Design Ltd., Lounge Event Ltd. and New Land Media Ltd. – which
Between 2011 and 2025, they received public funding of 1,135 billion forints in Hungary,
mainly through public procurements of the National Communications Office (NKH) under the direction of Antal Rogán . The explanation for this is that in 2014 the government decided to centralize state communication. Although three companies were allowed to participate in the first tenders of the National Communications Office, from 2018 onwards, framework agreements were concluded exclusively with the Gyula Balásy group of companies.

annamm@anmle· Apr 21

Smallpox was reversed; British troops & German mercenaries had immunity, while American troops & Native American tribes were shattered. See Pox Americana by Fenn. That pox epidemic probably came from infected material or people from New Orleans started in Mexico City in 1779, likely by a colonist.

Great book about the history of the Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-1782, which overran the American Revolution and presented the first example of public health responses on the continent (right or wrong)

annamm@anmle· Apr 15

I should update my bio to reflect the change that took place across Hungary. Including in my hometown, Eger (Heves 1 OEVK), the seat of an Archbishop, which voted overwhelmingly against Orbán and his minions who robbed the region dry over 20 years.

Election results from municipality seat Eger and many rural areas with people living under close Orban-party control.

annamm@anmle· Apr 14

The day after in Hungary and PM Orban’s defeat. Orbán price-fixed fuel (to combat the Iranian crisis started by his buddies) depleted national reserves to a critical level. The domestic safety fuel reserve has been depleted: 80% of gasoline and 75% of diesel were used up telex.hu/g7/adat/2026...

Hungarian PM Orbán price-fixed fuel ahead of the election (to combat the Iranian crisis started by his buddies, Trump and Netanyahu, and to sweeten people’s vote on April 12). His action had known consequences as it drained national reserves to a critical level.

annamm@anmle· Apr 14

@maddow.bsky.social on Hungary, Orbán election loss and the rampant corruption. "I don't know how to pronounced the name of Orban's son-in-law. ISTVÁN TIBORCZ. But I think it's pronounced as Jaa-red. Jared." 😆😆😆😆

annamm@anmle· Apr 13

Over the past 10+ years, apathy was probably the one thing that united us Hungarians the most. People stopped expecting anything to change for the better under PM Orbán’s autocracy project, and that feeling settled in everywhere. #Hungary #election #2026 #Elections #Tisza #inclusion #belonging

Moments after Péter Magyar's victory speech, with a Hungarian flag in front of the Parliament, which houses the General Assembly (Hungary's legislative branch).

annamm@anmle· Apr 12

Plenty of my university classmates served Orbán’s system, full-throated lying about anything and everything. They can eat 💩. Unable to milk a system and have to find an actual job, bruuhuuh. Magyar won his district with an overwhelming majority, and I could not be happier to see my classmate lose

One of my university classmates (and his classmate's wife) was placed in opposition to Magyar. Their racism and bigotry were palpable; the district result (with highest voter turnout in Budapest) matches the country’s enthusiasm for Fidesz/Orbán.

annamm@anmle· Apr 12

Frankly, Vance did not matter. Nobody knows his name or face, plus the fire was already too big against Orbán to influence any educated voter who moved en bloc against Fidesz/Orbán. I grew up in a conservative epicentre in the countryside. The opposition candidate swept Fidesz away, by a lot.

Voting district of Eger in Heves county. Typical conservative epicentre and a network of traditional small villages where Fidesz party leaders could decide about your livelihood or demise based on who you voted for or criticised. Most of the land in these districts was sold to party-affiliated oligarchs, recreating feuds.

annamm@anmle· Apr 8

Subtle but powerful. Reminds me of Pink Saturday of 2012 in my city Haarlem, the Netherlands. Pink knitting was on every possible place: lamposts, bridge rails, and even statues. (Roze Zaterdag: the Dutch national annual pride event that travels around the country) ihlia.nl/en/programme...

In 2012, the national annual pride parade chose my city, Haarlem, as its centre, and the city responded with much love and creativity, dressing every public space in pink knitting and similar decorations.

annamm@anmle· Apr 7

It cites Al Jazeera. Unsure rn where video is from, but Al Jazeera's Live updates in Iran has this one.

15m ago (20:25 GMT)
Iranian residents under ‘lots of pressure’ hours before deadline

By Ali Hashem
Reporting from Tehran, Iran
We are getting closer and closer to the deadline.

At the same time, there have been attacks on different areas in Iran, including the capital, Tehran.

People are under a lot of pressure, facing attacks on vital infrastructure.

They have taken to the streets in several parts of Tehran. They are chanting, showing solidarity with their country, showing that they are standing firm, resilient.

In parallel, the lights on Milad Tower – one of Tehran’s major landmarks – have been shut off. Power was shut down as a precaution, according to the municipality of Tehran.

annamm@anmle· Apr 6

Cherry blossoms in Chanticleer Garden, Pennsylvania. #magnificent #sakura