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Xander ✺

@spectralcodex.com
1K followers 1.3K following 1.2K posts

Front-end developer (React/TypeScript/Astro), biogeography grad, history and map enthusiast, leftoid/anti-fascist, Wikipedia supporter. Non-American resident of Taichung, Taiwan 🐙 🕸 spectralcodex.com

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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 21/09/2026
The Eighteen Arhats Cave was a folk religious attraction established around 1971 in what was likely a derelict WW2 bunker in the hills overlooking the Port of Keelung, Taiwan. It was bricked up after suffering damage during Typhoon Herb in 1996. Let's go inside... spectralcodex.com/keelung-eigh...
spectralcodex.com
Eighteen Arhats Cave (十八羅漢洞) - Spectral Codex
A cave temple damaged in a typhoon, sealed with bricks, and abandoned. In the early 2020s it was broken open and it became popular with urban explorers. The interior is dangerous and appropriate preca...
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 13/09/2026
An impressive Japanese colonial era monument from 1925 wedged between houses in Dongshi, Taichung. It honored Japanese who perished in the line of duty and was re-dedicated to ROC martyrs in the post-war period only to end up completely invisible from the street. spectralcodex.com/dongshi-loya...
spectralcodex.com
Dongshi Loyalty Monument (東勢表忠碑) - Spectral Codex
A monument lost in the spaces between houses in Dongshi. Dongshi Loyalty Monument (東勢表忠碑) is a hidden monument in Dongshi, Taichung, dating back to the Japanese colonial era. It was inaugurated Octobe...
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Min Chao @wordsfromtaiwan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Today would've been Nylon Cheng's 80th birthday, if he had not died for his values in 1989. The publisher and free press advocate made the ultimate stand by self-immolation when KMT police led by Hou Yu-ih, his party's 2024 president candidate, stormed Nylon's office to arrest him for insurrection.
RIP Cheng Nan-jung (12 September 1947 – 7 April 1989) Cheng Nan-jung Liberty Museum, Nylon's old office that he set ablaze.
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Brian Hioe @brianhioe.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Here's me on that Simon Shuster piece in The Atlantic. The reason why I think it struck a nerve is his sympathies are quite transparent. He spends two paragraphs at the start fawning over the grandeur of CCP state ceremonies
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 28/08/2026
I'm splitting this account, which will remain focused on living in Taiwan, history/culture/politics of the region, and little hints of science and urbex here and there. For webdev/tech stuff I'll move things over to @synapticism.com so my interests aren't so tangled up in the same account.
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Brian Hioe @brianhioe.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Appeared on @aljazeera.com to discuss what could occur in the event of an invasion. You see a lot of Daybreak in here a lot as well! Thanks again @mikg.bsky.social
youtube.com
Is China seeking to copy Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade around Taiwan? | 101 East Documentary
YouTube video by Al Jazeera English
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dan @danabra.mov · 30/06/2026
criiiiiiiiiinge
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 13/08/2026
Threads accounts for approximately 22% of inbound traffic to some of my projects. Something like 20% of global traffic on Threads is from Taiwan (where I live). Meta has a lock on Taiwanese social media.
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Jeff/傑夫 @jayfutw.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Just learned some of Taiwan’s talented chefs & bakers are creating interesting new recipes using jute leaves (麻芛) as gourmet ingredient. Wish Lin Bakery (林金生香) in Taichung has jute chiffon cake, jute cheesecake, jute sun cakes (太陽餅) & jute scholar cakes (狀元糕) to just name a few examples!
1866.com.tw
輕妝糕點 麻芛戚風蛋糕|林金生香WISH LIN
一年又過去了。 年節特有的風景,穿梭於餐桌與賭桌上。年度的寒暄與盛裝,搭配著先禮後兵、高抬貴手的招式和眼神。那一年之間誤以為不可承受之重,盡在年節寧可輕鬆笑鬧的姿態,琢一口輕妝糕點,輕盈化解。 綿延百年的年節風景,由見證百年風華的林金生香,優雅演繹。
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 22/06/2026
This site commemorates Eguchi Ryōzaburō for his contributions to developing the Port of Hualien, ignoring his brutal subjugation of Taiwanese Indigenous peoples. The county restored the discarded stele in 2008 and added a torii that might have never been there. spectralcodex.com/hualien-eguc...
spectralcodex.com
Eguchi Ryōzaburō Monument (江口氏紀念碑) - Spectral Codex
A newly-manufactured (and already weatherworn) torii stands in front of the reinstalled monument. Along the waterfront in the Port of Hualien stands a monument dedicated to the memory of Eguchi Ryōzab...
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pl 🎸 @leisuretime.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Taiwanese stamps from the late 90s
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The Asian Feminist @theasianfeminist.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan has risen to 54.3%, up 12 percentage points from 7 years ago, when it became legalized, according to a survey by a non-profit civic group.
focustaiwan.tw
Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan rises to 54.3%: Survey - Focus Taiwan
Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan has risen to 54.3 percent, up 12 percentage points from seven years ago, when it became legalized, according to a survey released Friday by a non-profit civic g...
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Photography by Alfie Goodrich @alfie.photography · 03/06/2026
Great news. It was a great honour and pleasure to be there in February of 2024, to photograph some of the process and the craftspeople involved in the restoration. See some of my shots from that assignment, here: blog.alfiegoodrich.com/portfolio/co... www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/06...
japantimes.co.jp
Ceremony set for November will mark Shuri Castle’s main hall being restored
Restoration work for the main hall began in November 2022 following a fire in October 2019.
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Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Guy who grew up in the Pacific Northwest: Oh, shit, it’s May 18th. I wonder where my childhood jar of volcanic ash is now.
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Human Traces @humantraces.net · 09/04/2026
El tiempo no borra: transforma. Spectral Codex: un viaje por las huellas invisibles de Taiwán. humantraces.net/spectral-codex #spectralcodex #taiwan @spectralcodex.com
humantraces.net
Spectral Codex: un viaje por las huellas invisibles de Taiwán. | Human Traces
El tiempo se deposita en cada capa de polvo. El deterioro se siente en un cine abandonado, una fachada descascarillada, un cartel que aún promete un estreno que nunca llegará. Esos rastros del pasado permanecen allí, en silencio, esperando a que alguien vuelva a mirarlos. Alexander Synaptic es una de esas personas que todavía las […]
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 03/04/2026
🧵 I'm experimenting with Threads a little more these days since it's way more Taiwan-centric and generally better vibes than some other places. For anyone also using the service you can find me there with my IG handle: www.threads.com/@synapticx
An abandoned Taiwanese courtyard house in Tainan County, 2014. The courtyard is partially submerged due to subsidence and there is green algal scum everywhere. The reflection of the main hall can be seen in the reflection.
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The Kimono Gallery @roger1952.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Boys Day with “koinobori” (traditional carp windsocks). Early 20th century, Japan. The carp is a central symbol in this celebration, representing strength, courage, and the determination to overcome obstacles—qualities inspired by the legend of the carp swimming upstream to become a dragon.
This early 20th-century photograph captures the vibrant tradition of koinobori (carp windsocks) flown in Japan to celebrate Boys' Day (Tango no Sekku), now known as Children's Day. The image shows several large windsocks attached to a tall bamboo pole, billowing in the breeze above a village landscape.

The carp is a central symbol in this celebration, representing strength, courage, and the determination to overcome obstacles—qualities inspired by the legend of the carp swimming upstream to become a dragon. Traditionally, the black carp (magoi) represented the father, the red carp (higoi) the eldest son, and additional smaller carp for younger brothers. In the background, children and adults walk along a path near thatched-roof houses, providing a glimpse into the communal and festive atmosphere of rural Japan during the Meiji or Taishō eras.
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振康 Zhen-Kang @taiwanquest.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Inside the dictator’s bedroom: A judgmental jaunt through Chiang Kai-Shek’s winter residence in Kaohsiung, Taiwan… #台灣 #高雄 #部落格 #taiwan #blog www.taiwanquest.com/chiang-kai-s...
taiwanquest.com
Inside the dictator’s bedroom
A judgmental jaunt through Chiang Kai-Shek’s winter residence in Kaohsiung, Taiwan…
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 20/03/2026
Another sign of the apocalypse 🍃 focustaiwan.tw/society/2026...
focustaiwan.tw
Sugar-coated, flavored betel nuts prompt calls for regulation - Focus Taiwan
Sugar-coated and flavored betel nuts have been sold in Taiwan since last year, the Taiwan Betel Nut and Oral Cancer Prevention Association said Friday, calling for the early passage of a bill to regul...
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 19/03/2026
It would be pretty funny if Taiwan went around making up pet names for every country that gives in to Chinese irredentism.
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KK @kk-maker.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Hinamatsuri, brought to you by the Fukui Dinosaur Museum.
Two human-sized figures in colorful traditional Hinamatsuri doll wear--but they both have dinosaur heads and hands.
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Taiwan Maps and Dataviz @alexkunztaipei.com · 02/03/2026
Taiwan relies heavily on imported energy. In 2024, about 95% of its fossil fuels were imported. Around 70.3% of Taiwan’s crude oil comes from Middle Eastern countries. Developments in and around the Strait of Hormuz are therefore closely monitored, as disruption affect global supply chains.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 26/02/2026
INBOX: South Korea's birth rate increased(!) for a second straight year(!!), with the highest year-over-year growth rate since 2007(!!!) For the first time since 1981 (!!!!), both monthly births and marriages increased for all 12 months: www.chosun.com/english/mark...
chosun.com
South Korea Birth Rate Rises 6.8%
South Korea Birth Rate Rises 6.8% Largest Increase in 18 Years as Fertility Rate Reaches 0.80
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 20/02/2026
I've been documenting the locations and conditions of former Shinto shrines in Taiwan for several years by now. This map now shows 464 sites... and I'm sure there are dozens more to uncover! ⛩ spectralcodex.com/themes/taiwa...
spectralcodex.com
Shinto Shrines in Taiwan (台灣神社) - Spectral Codex
Documenting the original locations and remaining relics of the hundreds of Shinto shrines built in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, most of which were destroyed following the end of colonial r...
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Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Workers make the world, including the Dragon Horse statue. Poster courtesy of Kaohsiung Museum of Labor
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Ben Young Landis @younglandis.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
"The transformation of a dark remnant of Taiwan's authoritarian past into a venue for human rights education began in 2009, with the discovery of dozens of formalin jars containing human body parts inside an abandoned building in New Taipei's Xindian district." (CNA) focustaiwan.tw/culture/2026... 🧋
focustaiwan.tw
How a site of White Terror persecution became a human rights venue - Focus Taiwan
The transformation of a dark remnant of Taiwan's authoritarian past into a venue for human rights education began in 2009, with the discovery of dozens of formalin jars containing human body parts ins...
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 12/02/2026
Facebook really feels like a retirement home for aging millennials.
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 09/02/2026
It's pretty sad that so many of these ruined townhouse complexes you find around #Taiwan are the result of developers swindling people who are then stuck holding the bag. Anyway, here's another #urbex post from a recent bike ride... spectralcodex.com/dahu-little-...
spectralcodex.com
Dahu Little Tianmu Villas (大湖小天母別墅) - Spectral Codex
An unfinished townhouse complex on the edge of central Dahu that became a symbol of developer fraud in rural Taiwan. Construction began in 1993 but the 54 units were never completed; buyers were left ...
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Seismological Society of America @seismosocam.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Surface Ruptures of the 2022 Guanshan–Chihshang Earthquake Sequence, Eastern Taiwan: Implications for Fault Behavior and Recurrence Available #BSSA⚒️ Satellites, photos and field observations help scientists map surface ruptures in Taiwan. buff.ly/Pt25VXK
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#BruceSterling @bruces.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Cyberpunk's not "dead," but it's old-fashioned, even tenderly nostalgic, like being a poetic '50s beatnik rebel in 1985 Countercultures get assimilated. The very fact that ChatGPT can slop-out a cyberpunk with such chatbotty confident-wrongness... it's not "electronic frontier" here in 2026
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Seismological Society of America @seismosocam.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
In a new #BSSA paper, scientists discuss Taiwan’s response to earthquakes and how it has evolved from 1999 to 2024. ⚒️ pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/art...
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CEIAS: Central European Institute of Asian Studies @ceias-eu.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
The handbook you hope never to use: What Taiwan’s civil defense manual reveals about democratic resilience Jozef Huljak unpacks 🇹🇼’s national civil defense 📙 & contrasts it with 🇪🇺 preparedness handbooks, showing how threat perception shapes preparedness & public messaging. ceias.eu/the-handbook...
ceias.eu
The handbook you hope never to use: What Taiwan's civil defense manual reveals about democratic resilience - CEIAS
On the opening pages of Taiwan’s national civil defense manual, citizens are confronted with a stark question: “In the event of aggression, are you aware that adversaries will flood the internet with ...
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hikikomorphism @hikikomorphism.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
If you can substitute "hungry ghost trapped in a jar" for "AI" in a sentence it's probably a valid use case for LLMs. Take "I have a bunch of hungry ghosts in jars, they mainly write SQL queries for me". Sure. Reasonable use case. "My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 09/01/2026
Built around 1962 in central Taichung, Nanye Dance Hall (南夜大舞廳) first opened as Coffee Honolulu and was later renamed Honolulu Club. It was designed by local multidisciplinary artist Wang Shui-ho (王水河) and features an unusually expressive façade. spectralcodex.com/taichung-nan...
spectralcodex.com
Taichung Nanye Dance Hall (台中南夜大舞廳) - Spectral Codex
Established in the early post-war era as Coffee Honolulu (南夜咖啡), it was converted into a bar, nightclub, restaurant, and concert hall in the early 1960s. It was abandoned for much of the 2000s and 201...
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nixCraft @cyberciti.biz · 04/01/2026
This chart shows the total number of Stack Overflow questions asked each month. As you can see, AI summaries in Google and AI coding tools have nearly killed the site. It is only a matter of time before the site shuts down completely. The golden age of independent web is over.
This result shows s the total number of Stack Overflow questions asked each month. THE SQL query is https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/1926661#graph:
```
SELECT
DATEFROMPARTS(YEAR(CreationDate), MONTH(CreationDate), 1) AS [Month],
COUNT(*) AS [Questions]
FROM Posts
WHERE
PostTypeId = 1
GROUP BY
DATEFROMPARTS(YEAR(CreationDate), MONTH(CreationDate), 1)
ORDER BY
[Month] ASC
```
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Year Progress Bot @yearprogress.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0.75%
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henry ✷ @strange.website · 01/01/2026
you’re right! it feels mostly awful to Go Online™, these days. the internet in a sad state, for reason after reason after reason. but there is a way to fix it; to trade the voidful howling for a quiet & joyful song. here’s how to win the war for the soul of the internet, and build the Web We Want.
henry.codes
A Website To End All Websites | Henry From Online
How to win the war for the soul of the internet, and build the Web We Want.
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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
In Chinese #mythology, Lady Taizhen Wang, born Zhi, daughter of the Queen Mother of the West, moves through the world with an ease few immortals match. She rides a white dragon across mountains and seas, unbound and fearless. Her zither playing is said to summon flocks of birds 1/2 #art #painting
據《列仙全傳 》記載,“太真王夫人,王母少女王卮也,每彈一絃琴,即百禽飛集,時乘白龍,週遊四海。”
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 27/12/2025
Received the presidential alert a good 15 seconds before the waves hit here in Taichung. Maybe the biggest I've experienced since the 403 quake in 2024!
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Cooper Lund @cooperlund.online · 25/12/2025
Din Tai Fung in Times Square is closed today, which seems like a MBA case study in an international company lacking local cultural competence
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Captain Mark Kelly @captmarkkelly.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
On Christmas Eve 1968, in Lunar orbit, the Apollo 8 crew took this photo: “Earthrise." I'll never forget how inspiring the Apollo missions were to my brother and me as kids. They showed us what our country and humanity can accomplish when we work together toward a common goal.
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Xander ✺ @spectralcodex.com · 25/12/2025
YouBike users rotate seats 180 degrees to communicate to other users that a bike is dysfunctional. It's essentially a workaround for the docks not having a "fix me" button. www.mirrormedia.mg/story/202512...
mirrormedia.mg
YouBike座墊為何被180度反轉?官方揭「通關密語」 一堆人竟騎走了 - 鏡週刊 Mirror Media
由於各縣市陸續建置YouBike租賃站,開始有愈來愈多人騎乘代步,但你可能不一定知道,為什麼有些單車的座墊是180度反轉?YouBike小編近日在社群發文解答,原來這代表車輛可能有問題待維修。貼文引發熱議,不少網友表示,「我都轉回來騎走欸」、「借完發現『落鏈』結果一路嚕回家」;也有網友氣著說,「有人會故意這樣,為了讓自...
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Taiwan Trails and Tales @taiwantrailsandtales.com · 25/12/2025
Yesterday, I took my parents on another of my favourite Taipei day trips (well, near enough, we did it in reverse but all the ingredients were the same). We started off by taking a train to Shuangxi where we mooched around the old houses, got coffee, green bean cakes and triple peanut shaved ice.
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Ai-Men Lau 劉羿雯 @aimenlau.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
One of the cooler churches I’ve checked out in Taiwan. A church shaped like a ship! Jhangyuan Presbyterian Church in Changbin Township, Taitung
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𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℙ𝕠𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥 @thoc.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
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Citizen Platano 🇵🇷 @daniloc.xyz · 19/12/2025
This is such a crux of the problem. The AI Denialist echo chamber has built a purity complex around not using the technology and so is blindsided by the fact that this is one of the fastest growing consumer products in history I mean the growth of this stuff is truly wild
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Chhiū-ông-kong 樹王公 @shuwanggong.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
The Sage of Nangang speaks! Is Taiwan now having a constitutional crisis? This: 'On a side note, one of the strangest things about this whole episode is how blasé society seems to be about it.' frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/c...
frozengarlic.wordpress.com
Constitutional crisis
For all the hand-wringing about the controversial recall efforts in early 2025, there was never any question about their legality. The procedures for our recalls were clearly laid out in the electi…
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Chad Loder @chadloder.dev · 18/12/2025
So the plan is Don Jr. and Eric Trump corner the market to become the biggest drug cartel in the Western hemisphere. CIA controls production, the US military kills the competition with Hellfire missiles, CBP controls drug routes into and out of the US, and ICE raids the local distributors?
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Armin Ronacher @mitsuhiko.at · 14/12/2025
This year I make a conscious decision to write more. Writing is how I deal with the world around me. Much of what I wrote is not for sharing, some is though and does not fit my blog. So I created a new place for it. dark.ronacher.eu/2025/12/13/w...
dark.ronacher.eu
War
I’m grappling with the deterioration of international relations and lust for war.
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Chhiū-ông-kong 樹王公 @shuwanggong.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Taiwan’s population fell by nearly 97,000 YoY as of the end of November. November saw just 7,946 births—another record low. With only 98,785 births in the first 11 months, Taiwan will fall far short of the 134,856 births recorded in 2024 (a Dragon Year). www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/20...
cna.com.tw
11月新生兒7946人再創新低 老年人口占19.99%逼近超高齡社會 | 政治 | 中央社 CNA
內政部統計,截至今年11月底台灣人口數為2330萬6085人,已連續23個月負成長;此外,11月出生數7946人,是繼今年4月、5月出生數接連創下史上新低後,再度探底。另外,65歲以上人口數已突破465萬人,占總人口比率19.99%,逼近超高齡社會所訂老年人口數20%大關。
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