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Pieter Omtzigt referred to a piece he wrote together with Danielle Jansen. In it, they asked for whom Groningen and Drenthe wanted to build tens of thousands of houses and stated that with a shrinking population, only migrants remained as new residents. https://t.co/RuXk6GWz6H #Migratie #Woningnood #Groningen (translated)

Carine Knapen wrote that in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, billions of euros worth of gas and oil were purchased from Russia, sometimes through indirect means. According to her, the EU publicly complained about the sanctions against Russia while prices continued to rise for its own population. Knapen stated that people were being seriously misled by this. https://t.co/K9VkWCv9gi #Rusland #EU #Energieprijzen (translated)

Geert Noels stated that the richest 20% of the Belgian population paid 65% of wage taxes, compared to 7% by the lower half. According to him, those taxes financed social benefits and transfers that went back to the lower incomes. He wrote that the tax burden on the highest incomes could not rise further and noted that they had little time and organization to take to the streets. #belasting #socialeongelijkheid #economischbeleid (translated)

Geert Noels wrote that he understood why parties stood up for the majority of the population who, according to him, contributed little. He called it immoral that they defended social abuses in his opinion with an appeal to solidarity and social arguments. #solidariteit #maatschappij #ethiek (translated)

In the Netherlands, more and more large-scale reception locations for labor migrants are emerging, with an example being a new complex in Tilburg that houses seven hundred migrant workers, where they have access to facilities such as shared bicycles and sports fields, but which also provokes opposition from the local population. #arbeidsmigranten #huisvesting #Westland (translated)

The recent intensification of Russian airstrikes on civilian targets in Ukraine has resulted in at least 97 deaths among the population and increased fears of a winter filled with terror, while the mayor of Kyiv is advising residents to seek refuge elsewhere. #Oekraïne #oorlog #bombardementen (translated)

Ahmed Aboutaleb reflects in an interview on his fifty-year stay in the Netherlands, his political career, and the challenges of current politics, in which he observes a lack of unifying leaders and increasing dissatisfaction among the population. #AhmedAboutaleb #politiek #migratie (translated)

Els van Veen wrote that she found the increasing resistance against Purple Friday recognizable. According to her, her children had long since stopped going to school. She stated that the problem was not that everyone could be themselves, but the pressure to wear purple at school and the government interference she saw in this matter. Years ago, she claimed, nearly no one came to school in purple anymore, not even an openly gay classmate. Van Veen compared this pressure to the coronaperiod. She wrote that people were told they were getting vaccinated for others, and that those who did not do so were labeled as antisocial and excluded. She also claimed that doctors expressing concerns were publicly ridiculed and lost their jobs. Many people, according to her, are now silent about this, including those who had contributed to the exclusion of unvaccinated individuals at the time. She argued that the boundary of coercion, pressure, and propaganda had been reached for more and more people. Van Veen criticized politicians who, in her view, wanted to dictate how people behaved and did not respect the right to self-determination. She also expressed criticism of what she described as moral superiority and the spending of public money on causes that did not benefit the population. Finally, she wrote that doctors treated everyone equally in the consulting room, regardless of gender, sexuality, or vaccination status. https://t.co/5EmgfuiUho #PaarseVrijdag #Tolerantie #Vrijheid (translated)

A recent report from the Climate Impact Lab predicts that warming from the El Niño phenomenon will lead to an additional 451,000 deaths by March, thereby highlighting the direct consequences of climate change on public health. #Klimaatverandering #ElNiño #Sterftecijfers (translated)

Sander Sassen addressed Henri Bontenbal and wrote that he had been little visible for months, despite an earlier column by Sassen about his absence. According to Sassen, Bontenbal had published a long thread on October 7, in which he labeled Hamas a terrorist organization and reflected on the victims and the Jewish community. Sassen felt that Bontenbal had subsequently blurred the responsibility for the violence by talking about a chain of violence, the Israeli response, and civilian casualties. He also believed that Bontenbal had pointed to Benjamin Netanyahu's settlement policy as an obstacle to a two-state solution. Sassen argued that this approach equated Hamas's attack and kidnappings with Israel's response, thereby fueling antisemitism. Sassen also criticized Bontenbal's reference to an article in Trouw about Maoz Inon, who lost his parents to Hamas, and Aziz Abu Sarah, whose brother died in an Israeli prison. Sassen described their pursuit of reconciliation as hopeful but felt that Bontenbal presented this initiative as a serious way forward without giving sufficient attention to Hamas's persistence and objectives, according to him. He also stated that Hamas deliberately saddled Palestinian children with hatred for Jews. Sassen wrote that, in his opinion, Bontenbal offered false hope and insufficiently placed responsibility for Hamas's violence on the perpetrators. He claimed that Hamas and its supporters aimed for the destruction of Israel and stated that disarmament by Palestinians, in his view, would bring peace, while Israel's disarmament would lead to a new attack like the one on October 7. #Israël #Hamas #Antisemitisme (translated)

Pepijn van Houwelingen stated that, in his opinion, Dutch democracy no longer revolved around the population, but around the European Union and Brussels. He called a Nexit necessary and said that the Netherlands could thereby restore control, sovereignty, and democracy. #Nexit #soevereiniteit #democratie (translated)

Sander Sassen reflected on the legacy of October 7. He wrote that three years earlier he had watched livestreams filled with rage and disgust in which, according to him, Palestinians were killing Jewish civilians while the Palestinian population celebrated the murders. Sassen stated that he commemorated the victims and argued that Israel was still being attacked from all sides and that Jews worldwide had to fear for their lives. According to him, October 7 had shown that civilization was an illusion for many and that antisemitism had returned in 2026. He said that his support for Israel and the Jewish people remained unwavering and called for speaking out against antisemitism, which, according to him, had also reached institutions, governments, politicians, and policymakers. Sassen referred to antisemitism as a "canary in the coal mine" and a measure of the tolerance and freedom of a society. In the Netherlands, he claimed that things had been declining over the past three years: propaganda was dominant, antisemitism had once again become socially acceptable, dialogue was often made impossible, and ideology drove many Dutch people. He wrote that the Netherlands had completely ignored the warning of the "deceased" canary. #antisemitisme #Israël #solidariteit (translated)

Simone Juffermans quoted Julian Assange, who stated that almost every war that had begun in the past 50 years was the result of media lies. According to him, the media could have prevented those wars by conducting more thorough investigations and not taking over government propaganda. He also said that populations had to be deceived to go to war and called ignorance the greatest enemy. #media #oorlog #waarheid (translated)

The trauma of the attack on October 7 and the ongoing fear of new threats continue to play a central role in the lives of the Israeli population, especially among the families of victims and freed hostages, while Prime Minister Netanyahu manipulates this situation to maintain his political power. #Israël #Netanyahu #trauma (translated)

LVSV Gent wrote that Flemish people made up 60% of the population, paid 70% of the taxes, and accounted for 80% of the exports. According to the organization, 86% of all social benefits went to Francophones or non-Belgians. It stated that Flanders bore the burden but did not enjoy the benefits, and advocated for shielding the social security system. https://t.co/88dUPgOHXO #Vlaanderen #België #SocialeZekerheid #BE (translated)