ciferecaNinjo

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1
(Belgium) Senate website is in Cloudflare (fedia.io)
 

senate.be is configured to push a broken CAPTCHA to Tor users.

1
(Belgium) The Chamber of Representatives website blocks Tor users and also blocks archive.org. Also the “open” data website is blocked to Tor users (fedia.io)
 

The Chamber of Representatives website is hard to find with a search. The first several pages are wikis and various pages talking about the chamber of reps, but not www.dekamer.be which was well buried, at least for me. This means it’s an unpopular website. Which suggests efforts to block access is less justified. Tor users are ignored and browsers time out. Also notable that the chamber of reps treats archive.org badly. This leads to a broken CAPTCHA:

http://web.archive.org/web/20250124121819/https://www.dekamer.be/

When people can’t even see an archive of the site, it’s an extra dose of disservice and non-transparency.

Belgium’s “open” data website is also closed to Tor users (timeouts).

FWIW the France’s open data website is open to Tor users, thus probably all users.

1
Do healthcare mutuals impose forced banking? How does Belgian cheque cashing work? (fedia.io)
 

As the world quietly and non-transparently removes the cash option, I try to keep an eye on whether I am a boiling frog in that pot.

Mutuals for healthcare do not accept cash payment for their administrative fees, and yet their service is mandatory. Though I wonder if the bPost cash payment service would work for this. I believe bPost’s service is restricted to only certain kinds of bills like utility bills.

Mutual staff told me if they need to reimburse a patient who gave them no bank info, they send a Belgian “circular cheque”. Many people erroneously believe cheques to be non-existent, even some bankers!

It’s a bit off because generally (in the commercial sector) when you pay for something using a certain payment instrument, any refunds should use the same payment instrument. If you paid cash, you should get cash back. If you paid by a bank card, the reimbursement should go back to that same card. It’s important for accounting and avoids shenanigans like a consumer asking the bank for a chargeback when the refund was already given through a different means.

Anyway, it’s understandable that a mutual would not have that degree of precision. But isn’t someone who is unbanked essentially screwed in this case? What can an unbanked person do with a Belgian circular cheque? In some countries they would in the very least be able to cash the cheque at the issuing bank. According to Belfius, a circular cheque cannot be cashed and must be deposited on an account. This seems to impose forced-banking, correct?

Product returns

BTW, I paid cash for something in a shop which I later returned. The shop was “incapable” of refunding cash and they insisted on reimbursing to a bank card. I could not work out how that could be legal. Consumers are entitled to refunds in certain situations, so if a merchant refuses a refund due to a consumer not having a bank account, they are essentially violating the consumer protection law, no?

As a test, I insisted on cash reimbursement. It was under €10 yet still a big hassle for them. Even though they had a cash register holding cash from inbound payments, they had to discuss with management in order to make an exception and reimburse cash.

1
(Belgium) Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications blocks Tor at the firewall (web.archive.org)
 

To Tor visitors the BIPT just looks like an offline/dead website. But it is reachable on archive.org. The 12ft.io service also reaches BIPT but PDFs are broken.

They claim to support “open data”. They have a separate website for that and it’s actually open to Tor users.

2
This butternut squash from a street market had TWO cavities. And it was sold per piece, not by weight. I feel ripped off. (fedia.io)
 

Anyone see this before? I have only ever seen a cavity in the bottom near base where it balloons out. The top has always been solid edible flesh in every butternut squash I have worked with until this point.

(edit) I should mention that the street market is surprisingly fair. Prices tend to be lower on lower quality produce. Avacado pricing is all over the place, as is the qualty, which is hard to know in advance. But I’ve never felt ripped off on the avacados. It’s possible that the price of €2 per butternut squash factored in the reduced flesh. It’s just something to be aware of.

1
Passport-free travel for Belgians /overseas/, not just Schengen! (www.worldvisaguide.com)
 

Of course it’s well-known that Belgians do not need a passport to move freely in the Schengen area +2 nearby countries, but I thought it was interesting that some overseas countries allow Belgian tourists without even a passport:

“3. Bilateral Agreements: Some non-European countries have bilateral agreements with Belgium allowing Belgian citizens to enter without a passport. For example, Belgian citizens can visit certain countries in South America and the Caribbean with just their their national ID cards.”

That was just a vague and incomplete blurb in the linked article. Does anyone have more details? Which parts of S.America?

This page also mentions Netherlands in the Americas, presumably the Dutch Caribbean. So then the question is, is just the Dutch regions of the Caribbean accessible without a passport, or rest of the Caribbean?

I also wonder: what if a Belgian re-enters Belgium from abroad, e.g. Africa, with just a national ID card. I that allowed? I mean, Belgium obviously recognises their own ID card and there’s no reason for citizens to need a stamp. So if they can re-enter Belgium on an ID card from the Caribbean, why not from anywhere?

🇦🇹 Austria
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇨🇾 Cyprus (non-Schengen; must show the card)
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
🇩🇰 Denmark
🇪🇪 Estonia
🇫🇮 Finland
🇫🇷 France (in Regions of France))
🇩🇪 Germany
🇬🇷 Greece
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇮🇸 Iceland (non-EU)
🇬🇧 Ireland (non-Schengen; must show the card)
🇮🇹 Italy
🇱🇻 Latvia
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein (non-EU)
🇱🇹 Lithuania
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
🇲🇹 Malta
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇳🇴 Norway (non-EU)
🇵🇱 Poland
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇷🇴 Romania
🇸🇰 Slovakia
🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇪🇸 Spain
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇨🇭 Switzerland (non-EU)

^ That list is well published all over, but excludes S.America and the Caribbean. Can we get a complete list for Belgium?

1
National day of strikes. Fire fighters vs. Police. And the military strikes? Really? (www.brusselstimes.com)
 

Same old same old. Every year. There are always unmet demands.

Fire fighters vs police

Perhaps the interesting episode this time around was firefighters were protesting and a small group of firefighters broke off from the rest and blocked a round about, then attacked some cops there.

Military

It’s also weird when the military strikes. The military is not generally a democratic institution internally AFAIK. And the service people are theoretically not there for personal gain but to serve their country. So it’s unclear how the country and voluntary servants thereto would be out of alignment.

Are the service people trapped in long contracts, perhaps? In principle I would think they would simply bounce at the end of the contract. If recruiting becomes a problem then there would be natural pressure to make service more enticing.

1
Looking for sporty corrective eyeglasses in Brussels (fedia.io)
 

When traveling outside Belgium, I found an optrician who was able to make corrective lenses and install them into the kind of frames that wraps around the head with no space between the face, forehead, temples, and the frame. This is good for cycling and motorsports because the tight fit prevents them falling off and also the lack of air gap protects the eyes from wind and debris.

The frames were not intended for corrective lenses.. they were normal non-corrective sunglasses. The problem is that corrective lenses cannot tolerate much of a curve, so the curve of the frames makes it difficult to install lenses. In my case I got lucky. My prescription did not require overly thick lenses so they just barely tolerated the curved frames. The optrician who produced them was actually uncertain they would be able to pull it off.

Anyway, I need an update. When I visit arbitrary optricians and ask them to replicate my sporty glasses, they say they cannot.

So, does anyone know of an optrician in Brussels who might be more skilled or specialised in this kind of requirement?

2
Brussels Police: No Help Unless You Open an Account at Facebook (techrights.org)
 

update: https://techrights.org/n/2025/05/24/If/_Your/_Bicycle/_Got/_Stolen/_Then/_Open/_a/_Facebook/_Account/_and/_Sen.shtml

2
Registered letters delivered without signature requirement. And email is considered legally equivalent to registered letters. (fedia.io)
 

The last couple registered letters (par recommandee) were simply dropped into my unmarked mailbox. My name is not even displayed on the box or doorbell, though I think the postal worker has come to learn my name.

Nonetheless, it seems dicey. There are any number of reasons a letter might not reach me but the sender is led to believe I have definitively received their letter to the extent of me being legally responsible for having been informed of the contents.

Email is even more strangely treated in this way. Email is generally unreliable. Email to me in particular is like a crap shoot where some messages get blackholed (no error yet ultimately no delivery). Yet Belgium gives email the same legal status as registered letters. How can this not lead to disaster and injustice?

A murderer might as well send a forged confession from someone else via email to the police.

2
Do you make a separate copy of signed outbound letters for evidence? (fedia.io)
 

Like anyone who sends postal mail, I compose my letters electronically, print, sign, and mail. Of course I keep a copy of the original unsigned letter.

But after signing I never scan the signed version because it’s inconvenient and a raster version of the whole page is mostly redundant while consuming much more space.

Is this a bad practice that could burn me? Would a court reject my letter as evidence if it does not include my own hand-written signature exactly as it was mailed?

If yes, would it generally be sufficient to keep a log of letters I sign, which could perhaps be used as evidence to the fact that I signed a letter?

1
VOIP and SMS service in Belgium (fedia.io)
 

Anyone using a PYG¹ SIP trunking service to call Belgian numbers? Or a service that sends SMS messages?

Prices are all over the place:

For comparison, Orange prepaid costs: 0,15 €/min - 0,06 €/SMS - 0,24 €/MMS

Orange prepaid is high enough to justify voip and an SMS service. €10 only buys 67 minutes or 167 SMS msgs.. wtf, that’s crazy. Anyone know of any other PYG SIP service for under 2¢/min?

Or an SMS service for under 6¢/msg? Not sure what causes Twilio to charge over 10¢/msg in Belgium but less than a penny in the US for an SMS. In principle it should cost more to send an SMS to the US than to Belgium because the US has a much lower population density (thus fewer people reachable per tower).

¹pay as you go

Do human rights protect vegans and other forms of boycott? Art.18 perhaps? in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (6 children)

That sounds bizarre because boycotting produces no expression whatsoever. Boycotting is simply the absence of an action which leaves no trace of expression, written, verbal, or as art. Can you elaborate?

Different fees for different libraries within Brussels in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I’m a little surprised¹ but not really bothered.

In fact the inconsistency is important in some cases. Most libraries block me from using wi-fi because they force SMS verfication (thus excluding people who do not carry a subscribed phone -- thus excluding those who need wifi the most). In cases where SMS is not a barrier, the captive portals are typically broken on my devices. But there are some exceptional branches which do not impose that garbage and they serve as my refuge for access. So I am grateful for the inconsistency.

¹ It’s surprising because the info system is the same for the whole network as it would be too costly to develop separate copies of the overhead. There is only one French membership card that works across the board. So it means that they had to design an info system that could cater for the wishes of each commune. The differences seem to have side-effects. E.g. I don’t think you can return something to a different branch than you picked it up from.

Le Belgian Beer World est temporairement gratuit pour tous les Bruxellois in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

I think there is a beer festival every year in Grand Place. Is this that one or is this something new?

After 10 years of discussion we still do not have a right to repair. And I cannot simply get a service manual for a Beko washing machine in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Codified right to repair means different things in different jurisdictions. It started in some states in the U.S., where the policy is narrowly true to the title. Thus artificial hinderances to repair are prohibited there.

The EU’s policy is much broader because it comes under the green initiative. It not only gives consumers a right to repair but also creates mfr obligations to facilitate the exercise of that right. People without the skills to repair are served by a rule that ensures they can get something repaired at a reasonable price. But it doesn’t stop there.. the law is also expected to give consumers the info they need to make a repair (documentation and where to buy parts [which must be reasonably priced]). If it were true that the law only intended to serve unskilled consumers who would have someone else do the work, then there would be no reason to obligate suppliers to sell parts alone at a reasonable price.

My question remains: exactly what info & docs will consumers be entitled to? I found one source mentioning user manuals, which is nearly useless. Though it was speculative. Perhaps I need to track down whatever latest version of the legal text is being worked. I’ve read many summaries over what to expect but they are all too vague on doc requirements.

I would encourage you to get in touch with Beko directly and see what help they can offer. And if you really want to find a service manual, try other websites such as www.manualslib.com or beko.co.uk, and even possibly archive.org.

One of my expectations is that when manufacturers have an obligation to provide docs, I will no longer be forced to traverse the enshitified profit-driven 3rd party distributors manuals who make you dance and go through various hoops like solving captchas, and disclosing email address. I gave up on Beko’s website. I had to enable a shit ton of nested cascading javascript just to navigate, only to find they want to impose a broken chat room. I might give it another go. Otherwise getting their Belgian address might require going through moniteur belge or something.

(Europe) Bank shut down its website and forced everyone to use its app in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Love that you are keeping tabs on the gradual decline of tech. Could be useful to build an enshitification timeline. We really need an observatory of garbage tech which then needs to be cross referenced with search results. Imagine if your bank came up in a search with a blurb next to it (sensible and functional in 2013, shitshow thereafter).

How do I find the current version of law (not just changes)? in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Thanks for the info! I guess I need to focus more on the opening first line.

Legal citations are often given by a date. E.g. ”the law of 10 June 2014”. Drives me nuts. This makes searching for the law extremely tedious because a search on dates return both laws originally enacted on that day as well as many other laws that were updated in small ways on that same day. Parliament is busy!

You say the first law seems complete, which was my intuition as well. But how do I know if I am looking at the original complete version, or the most current complete version with all amendments taken into account?

I did not post all links I found that refer to the date of 10 june 2014. Several were certainly just amendments. I got some big PDFs from Moniteur Belge expecting to see the full law. But it’s often just a collection of everything that happened on that day (or time period). Does Moniteur Belge ever publish the complete current law? I thought they did but I just struggle to understand what I am looking at.

(amateur) collage illustrating the EU’s unsuccessful attempt to deploy wi-fi in an inclusive privacy-respecting way (Wifi4EU) in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

was finally able to reach that video. Love it! Indeed the song showcases hypocrisy which is what the collage tries to expose.

[EU] ~~Wifi4EU makes a network of public-funded Wi-Fi APs exclusive, only for Playstore and Apple store patrons~~ I was wrong! in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I’m uncertain. The EU’s words 3 weeks ago were:

“Now, with the #WiFi4EU app, enjoy free, high-speed WiFi in public spaces across Europe.”

That seems to imply that it is. A few replies seem to suggest opposition to a smartphone app requirement:

https://freesoftwareextremist.com/objects/0f42d401-7c57-4f78-a73c-c42278ffb0ed https://piaille.fr/@aaribaud/113260758404320106 https://sns.neonka.info/@nk/113261087148349618 https://westergaard.social/objects/8d4873c1-e674-4403-9f0a-b0adb5dd4246

But this post comes from someone who apparently believes the app is purely for finding the hotspots, not using them:

https://wetdry.world/@cyrus/113264605839060934

If you find something solid let me know. I’ll correct the post if needed. The branch started by @aaribaud seems to have the most insight, implying that the EU is distrusting WPA and using an app to do TLS.

(update) I think you are right. I just heard from someone saying it’s a regular hotspot with captive portal. Still not good but not as bad as an app mandate (like we see with eduroam).

When a cashless bank refuses to allow you to withdraw your money, does that violate article 17? in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

But you don't have a human right to have it converted into cash at your leisure (and the bank's effort) whenever you please.

When a consumer opts to close their account, the banking relationship can only be ended when the balance is zero (when neither party owes the other). You seem to be saying the UDHR does not entitle people to end the banking relationship at a time of their choosing, correct? In which case the banking relationship continues until the service fees eat away at the remaining balance, against the will of the customer. This is just another way to separate someone from their property.

Your argument is like buying gold for $20 and then complaining about human rights violations if the seller doesn't buy it back for $20 whenever you wish.

Banking customers who open an account in the national currency have a reasonable expectation that the value of their account remain pinned to the value of the national currency. Exchanging that for a precious metal and having an expectation that value not decline would be absurd and I do not see how this analogy makes any sense.

(Europe) Bank shut down its website and forced everyone to use its app in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I’m with you there.

But to be clear, the website banking web access is also an app. I don’t think any banking websites function with static HTML anymore -- always JavaScript required. So forced execution of non-free software had already taken hold in banking. But now it’s much worse because phone apps are more exclusive, more intrusive, and more imposing.

(Europe) Bank shut down its website and forced everyone to use its app in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I’ve not tested a banking app on a rooted phone but what I care about is escaping the ecocidal practice of designed obsolescence whereby people are needlessly forced to buy more new hardware to update their software. So I tried running a banking app on an Android emulator and it refused to run.

So there are 2 show-stoppers for banking apps for me:

  • forced patronage of Google -- no escape from Playstore (not sure if I’m okay with the Huawei store as an alternative)
  • ecocidal designed obsolescence -- emulators rejected

If a bank were competent enough to eliminate those two factors, I would also likely demand the app be open source.

(Europe) Bank shut down its website and forced everyone to use its app in c/[email protected]
[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

My question was more about denominations. I do not know if cashback services allow odd amounts. Most people ask for €20.

But regarding limits, different stores have different limits. Generous stores will let you pull out as much as €150, but often the limit is €20.

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