Dave Besseling
@davebesseling.bsky.social
Currently burrowed in Hong Kong, previous dens in Johannesburg, Berlin, Bombay, Madrid, New Delhi, Chiang Mai, Amsterdam, Tokyo, unearthed from the Mighty Patch of Peter Ontario.
Eh? The bamboo is all that’s left.
Hong Kong inferno puts spotlight on risky bamboo scaffolding reut.rs/3M0VwKg
Hong Kong inferno puts spotlight on risky bamboo scaffolding
Hong Kong's deadliest fire in three decades has spotlighted its risky use of flammable bamboo scaffolding and mesh for building work in a tradition dating back centuries to mainland China.
reut.rs
November 27, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Eh? The bamboo is all that’s left.
Reposted by Dave Besseling
Control of HIV, TB and malaria at risk after global health fund donations fall
Control of HIV, TB and malaria at risk after global health fund donations fall
Leading past donors including France, Japan and European Commission fail to contribute at pledging summit
Control of the deadly infectious diseases HIV, tuberculosis and malaria “hangs in the balance” after a shortfall in donations to a leading global health fund, advocates have warned.
Only $11.3bn of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria’s $18bn (£14bn) targeted budget for 2026 to 2028 has been confirmed so far. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Control of HIV, TB and malaria at risk after global health fund donations fall
Lifting millions out of poverty etc.
The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.
![Excerpt from a BBC article: ""We usually work, 10, 11 or 12 hours a day," says a 49-year-old woman from Jiangxi unwilling to give her name. "On Sundays we work around three hours less."
She is in an alleyway, where a dozen people are huddled around a row of bulletin boards.
They are reading the job ads on the board, while examining the stitching on a pair of chinos draped over it.
This is Shein's supply chain. The factories are contracted to make clothes on order - some small, some big. If the chinos are a hit, orders will ramp up and so must production. Factories then hire temporary workers to meet the demand their permanent staff cannot fulfil.
The migrant worker from Jiangxi is looking for a short-term contract - and the chinos are an option.
"We earn so little. The cost of living is now so high," she says, adding that she hopes to make enough to send back to her two children who are living with their grandparents.
"We get paid per piece," she explains. "It depends how difficult the item is. Something simple like a t-shirt is one-two yuan [less than a dollar] per piece and I can make around a dozen in an hour.""](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreiber7g4o5pujmzmjjzsp5dkz7blfexburuwjispfpv6dki7akjb7a@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Lifting millions out of poverty etc.
You mean he didn’t just like images of battleships silhouetted in a crimson twilight?
Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks review – the sheer number of pornographic drawings is a big shock
Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks review – the sheer number of pornographic drawings is a big shock
JMW Turner left behind some 37,000 sketches when he died, many of which have rarely been seen. Do they – including a huge collection of explicit sketches – reveal truths about the elusive man?
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:35 AM
You mean he didn’t just like images of battleships silhouetted in a crimson twilight?
Wait until they hear about “cousin brother”…
i cannot believe that “mamdani calls a close adult relative an ‘aunt’ even if they are not literally their parent’s sister” is what counts as a “scandal” these days
October 28, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Wait until they hear about “cousin brother”…
The Medvedev Moment
Q: One theory on how you might try to serve a 3rd term is that you could run at the vice president
TRUMP: Yeah, I'd be allowed to do that. But I would rule that out because it's too cute.
TRUMP: Yeah, I'd be allowed to do that. But I would rule that out because it's too cute.
October 28, 2025 at 12:52 AM
The Medvedev Moment
Haha. “Biographer” as a subgroup of the “sexy librarian”. For Andrew it makes sense.
People kvetch about the chaos-inducing serial comma, but you can also do a lot with a colon! Beware, biographers!!
October 25, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Haha. “Biographer” as a subgroup of the “sexy librarian”. For Andrew it makes sense.
“Long-planned”.
Foreign Office chief to visit China after collapse of high-profile espionage case
Foreign Office chief to visit China after collapse of high-profile espionage case
Exclusive: Oliver Robbins to visit China next week on ‘long-planned’ government business after collapse of trial of two men over spying charges
The head of the Foreign Office will travel to China next week as ministers come under pressure over the collapse of a high-profile espionage case, the Guardian can disclose.
Oliver Robbins, who as permanent secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is its most senior civil servant, will visit China on “long-planned” government business. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:34 AM
“Long-planned”.
One Reichstag Fire After Another.
CNN: Isn't that hyperbolic to call them terrorists?
STEPHEN MILLER: No. If anything I'm understating the severity of the situation
STEPHEN MILLER: No. If anything I'm understating the severity of the situation
October 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM
One Reichstag Fire After Another.
Clearly they made the change on the heels of the new PT Anderson film to avoid any Christmas-Adventurer jokes.
October 7, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Clearly they made the change on the heels of the new PT Anderson film to avoid any Christmas-Adventurer jokes.
Punishment Soup.
Trying to watch the new Alan Partridge.
The only way I can describe it is: Alan Partridge has turned into, well, Alan Partridge.
The only way I can describe it is: Alan Partridge has turned into, well, Alan Partridge.
October 4, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Punishment Soup.
Comedy has, indeed, been legalised.
September 27, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Comedy has, indeed, been legalised.
“Booked hotels near the office”. Get a fucking life.
Hong Kong’s bankers and traders hunkered down at home or booked hotels near the office as Super Typhoon Ragasa descended on the Asian financial hub.
Hong Kong Bankers Pack Luxury Hotels Near Offices for Typhoon Trading
Hong Kong’s bankers and traders hunkered down at home or booked hotels near the office as Super Typhoon Ragasa descended on the Asian financial hub.
bloom.bg
September 24, 2025 at 1:21 AM
“Booked hotels near the office”. Get a fucking life.
It was an honour to publish Jerome’s last piece for the paper a couple of years ago. From such a gigantic mind came much kindness, understanding, and frankly, a couple of times during editing, I needed a couple of things explained. He did so with grace.
www.scmp.com/news/china/d...
www.scmp.com/news/china/d...
Legendary China scholar, Jerome Cohen, dies at 95
US expert on the Chinese legal system was an early advocate of engagement with China, and one of the few who also dared to point out its shortfalls.
www.scmp.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:45 AM
It was an honour to publish Jerome’s last piece for the paper a couple of years ago. From such a gigantic mind came much kindness, understanding, and frankly, a couple of times during editing, I needed a couple of things explained. He did so with grace.
www.scmp.com/news/china/d...
www.scmp.com/news/china/d...
😝
JD Vance is doing the Reichstag Fire the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
September 15, 2025 at 11:38 PM
😝
Also I believe it was Falwell whom Hitchens described as being so full of shit that if you gave him an enema he’d fit in a matchbox.
"I'm not going to be conscripted into saying... how sorry I am for him and his family" - Hitchens on Falwell on Fox
I'm reminded of how the late Christopher Hitchens reacted to Jerry Falwell's death, by lambasting his political legacy, with Sean Hannity on Fox at the time.
I'm reminded of how the late Christopher Hitchens reacted to Jerry Falwell's death, by lambasting his political legacy, with Sean Hannity on Fox at the time.
Christopher Hitchens on Hannity & Colmes about Rev. Falwell's Death
YouTube video by William Fischer
www.youtube.com
September 14, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Also I believe it was Falwell whom Hitchens described as being so full of shit that if you gave him an enema he’d fit in a matchbox.
Reposted by Dave Besseling
Robert Munsch wrote such beloved books as “The Paper Bag Princess” and “Love You Forever” by performing them to audiences of children. Now dementia is causing his tales to slip away. nyti.ms/4mc35tT
September 14, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Robert Munsch wrote such beloved books as “The Paper Bag Princess” and “Love You Forever” by performing them to audiences of children. Now dementia is causing his tales to slip away. nyti.ms/4mc35tT
Reposted by Dave Besseling
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new government agency responsible for building affordable homes as he aims to boost the pace of construction over the next decade
Carney Unveils $9.4 Billion Plan to Build Affordable Homes
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new government agency responsible for building affordable homes as he aims to boost the pace of construction over the next decade.
bloom.bg
September 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new government agency responsible for building affordable homes as he aims to boost the pace of construction over the next decade
AI sucks pickled donkey balls.
False AI 'fact-checks' stir online chaos.
Amid a fire hose of misinformation after the Kirk assassination, Grok falsely claimed a Utah Democrat had been identified as the shooter, wrongly attributing the information to major news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times
u.afp.com/SP3W
Amid a fire hose of misinformation after the Kirk assassination, Grok falsely claimed a Utah Democrat had been identified as the shooter, wrongly attributing the information to major news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times
u.afp.com/SP3W
September 12, 2025 at 1:01 AM
AI sucks pickled donkey balls.
Reposted by Dave Besseling
Who among us has ever called
the stamp a “passport mark”?
the stamp a “passport mark”?
Switzerland Joins US, Iceland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and More to Make Passport Marks a Thing of the Past with New Digital Entry Systems
https://www.europesays.com/2401577/
Home » America Travel News » Switzerland Joins US, Iceland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and More to Make…
https://www.europesays.com/2401577/
Home » America Travel News » Switzerland Joins US, Iceland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and More to Make…
Switzerland Joins US, Iceland, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and More to Make Passport Marks a Thing of the Past with New Digital Entry Systems - EUROPE SAYS
By: Rana Pratap
www.europesays.com
September 11, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Who among us has ever called
the stamp a “passport mark”?
the stamp a “passport mark”?
Never a dull moment.
🇹🇭 Thailand's Supreme Court has ordered the country's most powerful and polarising politician Thaksin Shinawatra to be jailed for one year, ruling that he improperly served a 2023 prison term in hospital.
➡️ u.afp.com/SdEe
➡️ u.afp.com/SdEe
September 9, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Never a dull moment.
Reposted by Dave Besseling
Probably one of the best explainers I've read so far on the protests in Nepal in English here from @globalvoices.org
Well worth a read.
Well worth a read.
September 9, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Probably one of the best explainers I've read so far on the protests in Nepal in English here from @globalvoices.org
Well worth a read.
Well worth a read.
“Fighting”?
President Donald Trump said Hamas needs to accept his terms to end its war with Israel as he continues to press for an end to the fighting
Trump Issues a ‘Last Warning’ to Hamas to Accept His Terms
President Donald Trump said Hamas needs to accept his terms to end its war with Israel as he continues to press for an end to the fighting.
bloom.bg
September 7, 2025 at 11:24 PM
“Fighting”?