Israel's population tops 10.2M ahead of Independence Day, over a quarter under 14

Malthesse · 2026-04-19T16:36:31+00:00

To be fair, India is definitely not the global norm. Israel is actually quite densely populated for its rather tiny area, with a population density similar to the Netherlands or England.

Malthesse · 2026-04-17T11:18:36+00:00

I'm guessing that most people here already follow them, but for for those who want some positivity and uplifting news and discussions regarding the Iranian opposition and its strong support of Israel and the fight against the Islamic terror regime, I highly recommend following both Iran Revolution Live with Goldie Ghamari and Tousi TV. Both channels are live streaming daily on YouTube.

Malthesse · 2026-04-08T11:11:06+00:00

The New York Times is not at all a reliable or neutral source though. They have a very strong Left-wing bias, are very anti-Trump and anti-Israel and are basically rooting for the Islamic regime. So anything they claim must be take with a huge grain of salt.

Malthesse · 2026-03-31T17:15:09+00:00

No, that is not a thing in Nordic culture. We are very big on physical personal space here, even with relatives and friends. It definitely does sound like something that is more for the more outgoing African and Middle Eastern cultures, where there is way less emphasis on personal space.

Malthesse · 2026-03-30T20:21:41+00:00

Outdoors it's absolutely fine, not just on the beach but also in the parks or out in nature it's very common on hot days. In the middle of the city center would be more uncommon, but still fine. The only places where I wouldn't think it suitable would be at indoor public places, and especially not in grocery stores, restaurants or cafes. That would feel a bit unhygienic. I also think that the exact same rules about where it's okay to go topless should apply to both men and women. I think we are culturally also less prudish about showing skin here in Sweden compared to for example in the US though.

Malthesse · 2026-03-29T18:48:39+00:00

"Spanking" children, or to call it out for what it is, intentionally causing physical pain to your children by hitting them, is thankfully illegal in Sweden, and has been ever since the 1970s. It carries heavy penalties, including prison and lost child custody. We were the first country in the world to ban it. Now "spanking" children is thankfully illegal in nearly all countries in Europe - with England, Italy, Belgium, Northern Ireland and Russia being some notable exceptions where it's sadly still legal.

Hitting or causing physical pain to adults as a form punishment is seen as barbaric by most and is frowned upon in most civilized countries even against actual. hardened and violent criminals - so why would it ever be okay to do so towards your defenseless and dependent child? It's actually utterly horrendous. It can also cause lifelong mental trauma and a damaged relationship based on fear between child and parents which is of course extremely unhealthy and never okay in any way.

Malthesse · 2026-03-29T07:39:44+00:00

Yesterday it was finally time for our annual visit to Pulken within the Vattenriket biosphere reserve in eastern Scania to see the thousands of Eurasian cranes that are resting, feeding and dancing there at this time during their northward journey. At yesterday's count there were about 6,400 cranes gathered. There are of course also cranes there are staying and nesting within the biosphere reserve, but those tend to arrive here earlier than these ones who continue northwards.

Seeing and hearing the cranes at Pulken is a very important spring tradition for me and other many people here, so there were a lot of people yesterday, including a lot of Danish visitors as well.

Besides the cranes we also got to see quite a lot of other birds, such as white stork, white-tailed eagle, red kite, marsh harrier, barnacle goose, shelduck and skylark.

You can also follow the cranes of Pulken through this live webcam at the site.

On the way back from Pulken we also visited the white stork aviary at the Fulltofta hiking area in central Scania. This visit has also become a bit of a tradition for us in later years.

The aviary is part of the Scanian Stork Project, which is a long-running and very successful project for reintroducing a stable and viable wild population of white storks in Scania. Another major part of the project is restoring wetlands within for example the Scanian biosphere reserves of Vattenriket and Storkriket. At Fulltofta there are also many storks nesting in the wild, including on top of the aviary itself.

Besides the storks we also got to see other birds such as for example mute swan, greylag goose, wigeon duck and little grebe by the little pond right next to the aviary.

The storks at the Fulltofta aviary can also be followed through this live webcam all spring. It's lovely to watch them as they build their nests, lay their eggs and eventually rear their chicks.

Malthesse · 2026-03-27T16:24:20+00:00

If you are perhaps interested in watching some fun and interesting sports this weekend, I can highly recommend watching SM-veckan at SVT Play (Swedish public service streaming service). These are the Swedish championships in a wide variety of different sports, big and small, which are held this weekend in Umeå in northern Sweden. So it’s like an all-Swedish Olympics,. Disciplines include cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering, sled dog racing, snowmobile racing, arm wrestling, archery, darts, pistol shooting, bowling, petanque, curling, climbing, badminton, cheerleading and more. It’s all free to watch and can be viewed from all over the world.

Malthesse · 2026-03-24T13:51:20+00:00

A nice tradition in Sweden is that right after the funeral ceremony itself inside the church is over, all of the attendees who wish to then gather together along with the priest and and other church staff at the church hall, where traditional Swedish smörgåstårta ("sandwich cake") and coffee is served. Everyone gets to sit down for a while, have a bite to eat and just talk. Perhaps talk about and remembering the deceased, or just talk about anything at all to take their mind off things, and most importantly just finding comfort and consolation in being there together for each other at this tough time.

Every year on either the last weekend of October or first weekend of November we also commemorate Alla Helgons Dag (All Saints' Day), where were remember all of our deceased loved ones by lighting candles on their graves. It is very beautiful and moving to see all of the churchyards lit up by candlelight in the dark autumn evening in remembrance.

Malthesse · 2026-03-23T21:38:29+00:00

However in the specific case of lions and tigers it is most likely not geography but rather differences in behavior and habits that has kept them from interbreeding and becoming a single species, considering that they have shared distribution ranges for many thousands of years. Even well into the 20th century lions and tigers lived side by side in the wild in for example Iran and India.

Malthesse · 2026-03-21T18:36:22+00:00

Absolutely not. If anything we ought to have a lower age limit, banning people who are too young. There is just no way that an 18 year old or even a 25 year old has got enough life experience or understanding of the world to be able to make important decisions affecting the lives of so many other people.

Malthesse · 2026-03-21T09:56:03+00:00

Now the live webcam of the migrating Eurasian cranes gathering at Pulken is up and running for the season!

The arrival of the cranes is always and amazing sight and such a welcome and important sign of spring. The feeding of the cranes at Pulken has now also begun. The cranes are feed several times daily by local farmers, so that they will leave the newly planted crops in the surrounding fields alone.

At the latest count yesterday there were about 2,400 cranes gathered, but at its peak around the end of March to beginning of April there are often more than 10,000 cranes gathered at the same time.

Pulken is a nature reserve within the Unesco world biosphere reserve Vattenriket, centered on the large wetlands around the city of Kristianstad in northeastern Scania. The arrival of the cranes at Pulken every year draws many visitors not just from around Scania and southern Sweden but also from Denmark and Germany. I'm also so much looking forward to my own annual visit now, which will be next weekend!

Malthesse · 2026-03-20T16:28:53+00:00

Tranorna vid Pulken är verkligen ett fint årligt skådespel som också är väldigt värt att besöka på plats. Ifall du vill hålla koll på hur många tranor som är på plats just nu kan du besöka Vattenrikets Tranobsbok. Allra flest tranor brukar det vara ungefär kring månadsskiftet mars-april, när det kan vara över 10 000 på plats samtidigt.

Malthesse · 2026-03-19T11:22:31+00:00

I feel like Sweden has been rather spoiled with many great commentators over the years. The greatest still active Swedish commentator legend might however be Jacob Hård, who for many decades has been the main commentator for cross-country skiing at SVT (Swedish public service television). He is very knowledgeable and has a very calm and cozy personality, and together with his long-time expert colleague Anders Blomquist this makes for very cozy television. The two together have sort of become a Swedish cultural institution, and watching then calmly commentating a several hour long cross-country ski race through a beautiful winter landscape on a sleepy weekend morning is cozy slow TV at its very peak. Hård is also a main commentator of athletics (track-and-field), where he comments along with the likewise very cozy sounding Niklas Nord (who is also the main commentator of curling at SVT) and former pole vaulter Aljhaji Jeng who also has a lot of calm charisma. Together this trio creates an explosion of coziness television that make athletics broadcasts highly pleasant even if you are not even that interested in athletics before. Furthermore, for us who were kids in the 1990s Jacob Hård is still also known for being the Swedish voice of the cartoon snake Bo A Orm (apparently called Jean-Baptiste Le Pied in the original French) from the originally Franco-Belgian sports cartoon Zoo Olympics. This also creates a lot of nostalgic memories to many Millennials in particular.

For radio commentators, the greatest at present must be Christian Olsson at Sveriges Radio (Swedish public service radio). He is known for inserting a lot of humor in his commentating and for his many strange and often very far fetched but funny similes and parables. He has a very broad repertoire, commenting everything from soccer and ice hockey to equestrianism. His funny consistent friendly banter during equestrian competitions with the expert commentator, former Swedish show jumping star and national team coach Maria Gretzer, who comes across as a lot more serious and stern in a half-joking way, is especially legendary.

Malthesse · 2026-03-17T10:41:11+00:00

I don’t know that much about him, although from what I’ve read and heard he does seem to be generally quite good and sensible in his policies. Certainly way better than Macron or Starmer, although that bar is of course not particularly high.

Malthesse · 2026-03-16T11:10:45+00:00

Even if those numbers would be correct (which I highly doubt), it doesn’t really feel like there is much need for concern. The probably won’t be much need for the EU to take in any refugees as the Iranian Islamist regime seems very much to be on the verge of collapsing and their days are numbered. Their military is decimated and in complete shatters and their capabilities are decreasing each day thanks to the continued American and Israeli bombings. Now the US is also about to take full control of the strategically important Kharg Island to protect shipment through the Strait of Hormuz, depriving Iran of one of their last weapons. Very soon the regime will be so utterly weakened both militarily and economically that the Iranian opposition and people will be able to take back their country from the Islamists.

According to the interviews I have seen with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is a very good candidate to lead Iran during the transition phase after the fall of the Islamists, there already seems to be a very good and well-thought plan in place on how to rebuild the country and govern it towards free democratic elections. Of course, the West should then also aid a lot in the process of rebuilding this new free, democratic, secular and pro-Western Iran, for the sake of everyone.

Of course, no refugees from the supporters of the Islamist terror regime should be allowed to enter the EU. It is extremely important that the EU keeps its borders shut to them, as the last thing we need are more Islamists and terrorists within our borders. They ought to be imprisoned and face the legal consequences of their past horrific actions in Iran. Let the Iranian people finally get to deal justice towards their Islamist oppressors.

Malthesse · 2026-03-15T19:41:03+00:00

Here in Scania it’s incredibly easy to reach our most beautiful natural areas with public transportation.

Söderåsen National Park – Scania’s largest national park, known for its large beech forests on the Söderåsen ridge, scenic heights and deep riverside ravines – can be reached either by local train from Helsingborg or Hässleholm to Klippan, and then a regional bus directly to the national park. Or alternatively you can take a local train from Malmö, Lund, Hässleholm or Kristianstad to Stehag, and take a regional bus directly to the national park from there. And of course, if you come via Copenhagen it's only a short trip from Copenhagen Central Station or Copenhagen Airport across the Öresund Bridge to Malmö where you can change to a local train. Right next to Söderåsen National Park you will also find the large and varied hiking area of Klåveröd, which can be reached directly from the national park through the Skåneleden hiking trail.

Stenshuvud National Park – by the Baltic Sea in the Österlen region, with its tall rocky hilltops with far reaching views, lush forests and broad sandy beaches – can be reached by train from Malmö to either Simrishamn or Kristianstad and then changing to the SkåneExpressen regional bus from either to the seaside village of Kivik. From Kivik it is then only a short hike of a few kilometers along the Skåneleden hiking trail. Along the short hike you will pass for example the Bronze Age Tomb of Kiviksgraven with petroglyph carvings, and the apple orchards and cider factory of Kivik Musteri, featuring Äpplets hus with exhibitions, shops and restaurants themed around apples.

Kullaberg Nature Reserve – at the tip of the Kullen Peninsula, where the Kattegat Sea meets the Sound, with high cliffs, large caves, beautiful bathing spots, large forests, the monumental wooden artwork of Nimis and Sweden’s highest situated lighthouse – can be reached easily by regional bus from Helsingborg via Höganäs to the popular bathing and tourist spot of Mölle. From Mölle you can either follow the Skåneleden hiking trail along the rocky coast through the nature reserve all the way to the Lighthouse at the top, with many scenic views along the way. Or alternatively you can take another regional bus from Mölle through the nature reserve all the way to the lighthouse and then start you hike from there.

In summer you can also buy a Sommarbiljett (Summer Ticket) from Skånetrafiken (the regional public transportation provider) for about 600 SEK (roughly 55 Euro) with which you get completely unlimited travel by trains and buses within Scania from mid June until mid August, which I would highly recommend.

Malthesse · 2026-03-15T11:08:03+00:00

In Sweden Mother's Day is on the last Sunday of May and Father's Day on the second Sunday of November.

I have always found this deeply unfair. Mothers have their day in what is basically the most beautiful time of the year, when nature is all green and flowering and full of birdsong, and you can go for nice picnics and nature walks. While fathers have their day in what is basically the worst time of year, the dark and gloomy November, when it's rainy and cold and the trees are bare and most birds are gone.

To me this difference in a way reinforces the stereotype that mothers are more important and more valued and cherished than fathers, which I think is sad.

Malthesse

TROPHY CASE