Location: Germany, France. The usual rioting, burning cars (in France) and attacking first responders and police with (sometimes illegal and dangerous) fireworks on the new year's night (Germany). Several hundreds arrests, more of it in France. No reporting of mass attacks on women this year, at least so far.

Farmers spraying political buildings with manure. Likely farmer blockades forthcoming starting on 8th January in Germany.

Lots of austerity budget cuts forthcoming in 2024 in Germany due to budget having been declared unconstitutional. Energy announced to become even more expensive. Lots more hospitals closing down. Unemployment figures are starting to creep up. Dismal economic prospects, deindustrialization is picking up pace.

No real MSM backpedalling in the NATO-Russia proxy conflict yet. Propaganda is still at deafening volume, but the general public is showing first signs of becoming weary of it.

Infrastructure

Public services - especially regarding persons with disabilities (PwD) - are being increasingly starved.

In Poland, effectively 1st of January, the caretaker support (for people not employed due to taking full time care of their disabled relatives) has been replaced with "supportive money", much harder to obtain and in lower amount. New parliament is promising substantial rises, but there is no money in sight to back them up.

In UK, as almost 20% of municipalities warns about imminent bankruptcy, an old idea to "warehouse" PwD looms again.

Daffodils blooming in Northern California, USA (which usually wait until spring).

Previous thread https://lemmy.ml/post/8735700

In the Upper Midwestern USA, we have had an unprecedented warm spell this winter, with almost no snow in December, and the mildest winter on record thus far. The only blip was a minor cold snap of below-zero wind chills for just over a week, and that just ended in the past couple of days. Now we are in a January thaw that looks to cause an entire melting off of the snow cover, which I don't recall ever happening before during January in my life. This pattern is the result of a combination of overall warming and a "Super El Nino" pattern in the Pacific this year.