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‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2026
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So I assume just a minor fine and some angry words?
Knowing Finland's governments, it won't be even those. They'll more likely take Google's side and tell the population how it's a price we must pay for being competitive, and how we need these foreign corporations raping Finnish nature to create jobs and shit. No European bougie gives a shit about the countries they lead or the populations they claim to represent.
There's a datacentre being planned in Skellefteå I think and this is exactly what's being said. "It'll bring 4000 jobs" like fucking what? Will they have 4000 people standing there caressing the circuits or something? Get fucking real. 🙃
Yeah, they're building one in my home town atm. They talk a big talk how this shit is beneficial for everyone, how our electrical grid is "one of the most stable in Europe", how this shit will bring more jobs. Lies, lies, more lies. That's all the bougies know how to do. They just fucking lie.
Yeah. It's the same here. They're building it in the north because the electricity is cheaper and there are fewer people that'll complain. It's the same reasoning why they're building them out in the desert in the U.S., fewer people and a local government that's easier to bribe.
The proponents are all "we're going to need this compute power in the EU too!" right so let's buy it when it's hideously inflated in the middle of a bubble. Fucking fivehead.
Yeah it's absurd. A horribly flawed, inefficient attempt by the politicians to claw back some semblance of relevance on a global stage, while serving their own class interests. Just throw more money at the problem, that should fix it. What do you mean the energy grid collapsed?
Well, the current government is run by corporate puppets and right wing nutters that were willing to do anything just to be called ministers.
Not very hard to guess how this is gonna go.
Yup, that's true. For me it seems that even the nominally leftist and ""socialist"" seem to be of like minds with the corporate stooges.
Shocking... You can't vote in socialism. Unfortunately, people jerk the Nordic countries so hard they can't see they're run off imperialism, resource extraction, and the same awful capitalist system.
I'm not directing this at you BTW, I can assume you're probably a socialist or communist based on your instance. It's just sad to see libs continue to think that Europe is somehow this wonderland utopia. But it's still run by the Epstein class, many of the families there of far older influence than in the Western hemisphere.
Old money, new money... the problem is capitalism, the answer is proletariat organizing. It's true though, many people in Europe see the problems of unfettered capitalism in America, but somehow seem to fail to consider that it could, will and is happening here also.
"Petteri Orpo, said attracting investment was a 'top priority' and 'the value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment'" Bull. Shit. Unless they have a plan to tax the snot out of this DC they'll get nothing but resource drain and a handful, maybe two handfuls, of jobs.
I think what happens is that governments look at the plans and their brains light up thinking it's like an old-time factory. The AI company then shows how many people will be employed in construction and let's the official go on and think that work will continue.
They do have that spreding fine system that scales to income. We can hope...
Oh, dagsböter is for normal people. Companies don't pay them. Here in Sweden there's also a limit both in amount of days and the value for them. I think the max is 150 days and the value is 1000 crowns (~$100).
So for a rich person, getting 150 dagsböter would be paying a fine of ~$15000, not a huge deal for people with several million available. Dagsböter exist for us regular workers, my friend.
Don’t the ai data centers run at a loss? A negative fine would be called subvention then…
/s (hopefully)
No that's just for the poors and proles. The corporations will never face repercussions because the politicians are in their C-suite
Each tree is probably more than $10,000+. Doing the math, they'll probably pay a fine of about $100, give or take $100
Even if they were charged a $10b fine, that's a miniscule percentage of their profits each year and corporations that big always look at them as operating expenses
Prime example: Verizon
Nah just some rage click farming as a distraction from telling everyone only America is this pathetic.