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2·11 小时前I thought this is as much about climate change as it is about Europe. It’s fair to say the community is on Europe, though. My point just is that there are so many whataboutisms here in this comm when you criticize China or Russia, but this is worth a complaint?
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund - the Norges Bank Investment Management, a subsidiary of Norwegian central bank Norges - is the fund this article is about.
They now do also all their Israeli-related investment in-house, btw, meaning that all investments that have been managed by external managers in Israel are now managed by Norges’ internal portfolio managers (additon: they are terminating contracts with external managers in Israel. So this is a process, but the decision has been made).
Thank you for your sophisticated and informed opinion.
Europe? Climate change is everywhere.
You said they divested only from those who are doing ‘poorly’. Which firms are they?
The 11 that are doing poorly. It makes very much sense if you pay attention
Can you enlighten us how you paid attention? Which companies are these?
Norges has publicly divested and excluded more than 100 companies from its investment because their products or conduct violate fundamental ethical norms. The list comprises companies from around the globe.
Such exclusion lists exist for practically all similar funds, at least in democratic countries (before the tankies go mad: yes, it’s not perfect, we know). As you can see, in case of Norges, the list includes companies from a wide range of countries and regions, notably from the EU, the US, and China.
The 11 Israeli companies are not yet listed on the Norges website (as far as I can tell from quickly reading through the list).
Additon: The fund writes on its website:
Since 2020, we have been in contact with more than 60 companies to raise this issue [of war and conflict zones]. Of these, 39 dialogues were related to the West Bank and Gaza. In the autumn of 2024, we further intensified the monitoring of our investments in Israeli companies. As a result, we have sold our investments in several Israeli companies.
The only thing I don’t support with this petition is the VAT exemptions for building renovations as companies are unlikely to pass these reductions on to consumer prices. Many investigations have shown that the prices can even be higher in the long-term as companies increase prices once the VAT exemption is over, passing the increase on to consumers.
The intentions go in the right direction, though, as avoiding the use of new materials in buildings can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
So this is not about ‘landlords vs renters’, but an environmental issue that is absolutely necessary.
The European Environmental Agency published a briefing a couple of years ago for those who want to dig deeper into that.
Our Dutch friends are not alone with this problem. Dutch intel warned in April this year of Russia ramping up hybrid attacks against the Netherlands and the rest of Europe.
Another reminder why Europe needs to wake up, and that a substantial part of Nato countries’ defense spending is dedicated to non-military defense such exactly these bombings, arson attacks, inflammable parcels, and similar violence against the population.
I just posted some reports in another thread, and it fits also here:
In May 2025, a report titled, “Testing the waters: Suspected Russian activity challenges Europe’s support for Ukraine”, listed 190 events since 2022 across Europe (you’ll find tables and map in the article), ranging from arson to cyber attacks, form jamming to vandalism, from flammable parcels to drone overflights, and form physical attacks to spying. The report states that the real number is probably higher than the reported 190.
Another investigation in the UK released just in July 2025 shows a massive surge in arson attacks in London neighbourhoods in 3 years as arson offences across the city have increased by 28 per cent, from 1,894 incidents reported in 2022 to 2,430 recorded in 2024, according to data published by the London Assembly. A quarter of those involved people aged 17 and under, according to the London Fire Brigade.
In April this year, Chinese officials have implicitly acknowledged responsibility for a series of sophisticated cyber intrusions targeting critical U.S. infrastructure as representatives from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs indirectly linked years of computer network breaches at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports, and other critical targets to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan.
This is just a start. You’ll find much more across many independent sources.
I would really like to know what EXACTLY they are doing, this is so vaguely written, that I couldn’t even judge whether this exists at all or not
In May 2025, a report titled, “Testing the waters: Suspected Russian activity challenges Europe’s support for Ukraine”, listed 190 events since 2022 across Europe (you’ll find tables and map in the article), ranging from arson to cyber attacks, form jamming to vandalism, from flammable parcels to drone overflights, and form physical attacks to spying. The report states that the real number is probably higher than the reported 190.
Another investigation in the UK released just in July 2025 shows a massive surge in arson attacks in London neighbourhoods in 3 years as arson offences across the city have increased by 28 per cent, from 1,894 incidents reported in 2022 to 2,430 recorded in 2024, according to data published by the London Assembly. A quarter of those involved people aged 17 and under, according to the London Fire Brigade.
In April this year, Chinese officials have implicitly acknowledged responsibility for a series of sophisticated cyber intrusions targeting critical U.S. infrastructure as representatives from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs indirectly linked years of computer network breaches at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports, and other critical targets to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan.
This is just a start. You’ll find much more across many independent sources.
At the same time, Ukrainians are “skeptical of seeing an end to active fighting soon.” They didn’t ask what the negotiation results should be.
You will certainly get very different results over time in such surveys, especially when the situation changes quickly (for example, that “Ukrainians sour on Washington” is something I would have predicted, because it is a safe bet that Ukrainians are not alone here), and in addition such political polling faces numerous hurdles that can skew results (e.g., non-response bias, sampling errors).
This headline is another one followed by a weak content whose only purpose is to convey a certain narrative imo. Maybe it is me, but I feel such posts increase here of late.
The full story of Viktoriia Roshchyna’s death can be read here.
“Numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on [Viktoriia Roshchyna] victim’s body, including abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on the feet. However, due to the condition of the body, experts have not yet been able to establish the cause of death." …
The body was missing some organs: the eyeballs, the brain, part of the larynx, and the hyoid bone was broken, said a source close to the investigation into Viktoriia Roshchyna’s death.
A forensic expert … suggested … that the removal of specific organs could be an attempt to conceal strangulation: “Removing the larynx during an autopsy is not standard practice. The larynx can be good evidence of strangulation. When a person is strangled, the hyoid bone is most often broken. In cases of strangulation, bleeding can be found in the whites of the eyes, and a lack of oxygen in the brain.”
“One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.”
There is a thread about that already: https://feddit.org/post/16866226
For Nato’s second supply line: Norway, Sweden and Denmark to finance €430m military package for Ukraine that includes support for Ukraine’s ‘air defence, ammunition and other essential equipment’, says Norwegian government as per live Stream
By “our way of living”, are you referring to the dystopian capitalism, rise of fascism and democratic backsliding?
The threat of a “dystopian capitalism, rise of fascism and democratic backsliding” you are talking about is real in the West, but in China it isn’t a threat anymore but sad reality already. The Chinese government is far ahead in that respect, and the linked report represents one more proof of that.
We have a lot of problems to defend and improve our Western democracies, but all those who say that China offers an alternative and better system have no idea what they are talking about.
Norges Bank Investment Management: The fund - www.nbim.no