So what is happening in those barely populated areas linked to the North Atlantic ocean?

Yes, it must be a miracle, because the newspiece says they have not identified what the exact issue was. So they don't really know the cause.

The annual Södertälje Science Week is replaced with a livestream this year. Sad for us locals, but it also means that anyone can watch. These events are in English: https://sscp.se/scienceweek/english/

https://estonianworld.com/security/russia-puts-estonia-on-the-unfriendly-countries-list/

Russia puts Estonia on the "unfriendly" countries' list

The Russian authorities have started compiling a list of countries that are deemed "unfriendly" towards it - and Estonia is one of them.

Interesting reading @ estoniaworld, and I was somewhat surprised that the article has garnered no comments this far...

Estonianworld will never generate any comments. I know who Estonianworld is. Nobody wants anything to do with him.

Estonia (and pretty much all Russia's neighbouring countries) has all along been on a different list, the list of "close abroad countries". It's basically the post-USSR countries. With "close abroad countries" Russia's policy is that those countries should belong to Russia.

Not only Russia's Near Abroad. The Baltic Sea is kind of the EU Mare Nostrum.

Nobody wants anything to do with him.

I think it was Dorothy Parker who once said, "If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come sit next to me..."

https://youtu.be/eM4otIAZIps

https://youtu.be/eM4otIAZIps

Cannot be done as long as the Baltic Sea remains under Nord Stream. Nord Stream means the EU gave the Baltic Sea away, possibly irrevocably, and nothing sustainable can be done there.

I am no great fan of the Nord Streams, the one that is built or the one that is practically built, but neither am I concerned about them. They pose no significant threat strategically, environmentally, or for the climate. Being built, they are no different from other fossil gas pipelines from Russia to the EU, like e.g. Yamal. Sure, it would not be great if the methane leaks, but if that happened in the Baltic Sea, it would not stay in the Baltic Sea, unlike most other things that happens to it.

It is for the most part effectively a shallow lake, with little circulation, a huge water catchment, and the Danish waterways as an easily blocked drain. 

Spoiler alert: The short answer is - no.

Incidentally Giesecke is a local resident, like many other Swedes of influence. The Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces for instance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRFXo6wqVqA

Local resident of Södertälje? Isn't Danderyd an even greater concentration of powerful people?

Yep, we are near the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum, while Danderyd is on the top. Södertälje is a more gritty industrial/immigration town. But there is a dynamic to this place, I have high expectations for 2030. We might not rate very high on culture and music.


We do have a very tenuous Eurovision link though. Will Ferrell lives in the neighbouring municipality, while Greta Thunberg, the daughter of an opera singer and Eurovision contestant, went to school here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6Co-nd0lM

There is a tradition for opera in Eurovision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxFXfg3HYuE

Arte.tv toured the Baltic sea and they discovered Estonia https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/082179-004-A/une-croisiere-estivale-sur-la-baltique/

Thread on Baltic rail,

You ask your local government about that. The European routes themselves predate the EU, but the EU part-funds infrastructure projects through cohesion funds, and TEN-T road/rail/sea routes, including the North Sea-Baltic Corridor, are priority routes. But it is the member countries that actually build them (ot procure tenders).

Rail Baltica is different, in that it is managed by RB Rail AS, equally shared by the three Baltic rails. That isn't all that unusual for transnational projects, e.g. the Øresund Bridge is 50% owned each by Swedish and Danish state companies.  It is unusual in the degree of EU funding. Normally the EU funds maybe 20%, but with Rail Baltica the percentage is far higher. Indeed according to the this article Rail Baltica just got 90% of EU total extra funding. Not bad for three countries comprising 1.3% of the EU population. (5.6% of total CEF transport budget, plus whatever was the regular Rail Baltica funding, still pretty good).

1.56 billion of CEF funding to railways, Rail Baltica included



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auoFY5sULM8

If the Estonian government doesn't want to fund a fairly small and cheap upgrade to the Pärnu branch, that indicates that they don't value it highly, not that they have been bamboozled by the EU.

So what is happening in those barely populated areas linked to the North Atlantic ocean?

The Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting has been going on in Reykjavik. Next time in Russia.

Arctic Council Adopts First-Ever Strategic Plan

During the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland, the Council approved its first-ever strategic plan, which lays out a framework for the Council's work in the next decade.

With U.S. climate drama behind them, can the Arctic Council turn the page in Reykjavik?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bye_RXcuAKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2aCVi4ekps