Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty sure it’s the law everywhere
All violence sounds pretty extreme to me by most standards. For instance, boxing would be illegal, and toddlers would be in jail if seen hitting their parents/siblings. In practice I imagine it means something like "no violence from someone larger to someone smaller." Most places no one really gives a shit if it goes the other way around, like young kid hitting parent or wife hitting husband.
Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
51–60 of 92 posts
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#52When I was there in the winter, the locals still brought their children to kindergarten by bicycle with -30C! So much for weather as an excuse not to cycle!
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
All violence sounds pretty extreme to me by most standards. For instance, boxing would be illegal, and toddlers would be in jail if seen hitting their parents/siblings. In practice I imagine it means something like "no violence from someone larger to someone smaller." Most places no one really gives a shit if it goes the other way around, like young kid hitting parent or wife hitting husband.
https://www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/2021/04/20/victims-of-d...
This is an incredibly deceptive article. It makes it sound like DV victims are singled out. All it says is DV victims have to follow the same rule as other immigrants on Svalbard -- i.e. they may be deported when they can't support themselves.
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#54Related: Svalbard – where the sun don’t shine (for 5 months) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33577717 - Nov 2022 (1 comment) Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago that anyone can call home - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29865861 - Jan 2022 (5 comments) Bearing Witness to Svalbard’s Fragile Splendor - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29463405 - Dec 2021 (3 comments) Editor of world's northernmost Engl…
Related: Newcomer's Welcome Package: Thule Air Base, Greenland - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30408226
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is why virtually all Nordic households have blackout curtains.
I lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
In Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana) installed. They completely block the passage of light and are a perfectly adequate solution to this problem. It's a mystery to me why no other country in Europe seems to know or care. So much so that there's no English version of the above Wikipedia page.
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#56Long winter-night and extreme cold accounted for, I bet that living there is far more enjoyable than living in certain "tropical paradises," like Cuba. In that regard, the Governor of Svalbard has more power than planetary weather.
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#57> The use of all violence is prohibited in Norway. You are not allowed to abuse children or use any other kind of corporeal punishment when bringing up children. Severe penalties may be applied to anyone who has physically abused a child. Never saw that before. This should be standard everywhere.
Pretty sure it’s the law everywhere
No, it surely isn't.
In the US, it is generally legal to spank a child. Or do things like make them do physical labour or write the same sentence 100 times, knowing it makes hands cramp. The elementary and middle schools I went to technically could spank you with a paddle too. I'm only 44. I know similar things happen in other countries: Another commenter has a link with a map.
I live in Norway now. If you spank your child, even if it obviously doesn't hurt them, you can get child services visiting your home.
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#58When I was there in the winter, the locals still brought their children to kindergarten by bicycle with -30C! So much for weather as an excuse not to cycle!
The tell folks, "There isn't bad weather, only bad clothes" - in no small part because folks walk in the winter as well. I had winter in Indiana, but I had to change the way I dealt with it when I moved to Norway.
And those bikes probably have studs in the tires, but admittedly, those folks riding are braver than I am.
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#59As well as being a stunningly surreal environment, there’s a really, really good whisky bar there too: https://www.karlsbergerpub.no/ . The walk there in -30C is worth it.
Knowing Norway, the price of a drink is?
Re: Information for foreign citizens in Longyearbyen [pdf]
#60Hah! I was just there. It’s very fascinating, I found where GitHubs Arctic Code Vault is, and saw the Soviet mines! https://twitter.com/elamje/status/1575524944506605573?s=20&t...
And the Svalbard Seed bank [0] - arguably more important than a github backup :)
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault