Search

Sander Sassen wrote that alderman Zita Pels of the municipality of Amsterdam, in his opinion, lived in a reality that was far removed from the facts. He doubted that strict climate policy and CO₂ reduction would have an effect on the climate worldwide and called that incomprehensible. https://t.co/tbOEjfvmAN #Klimaatbeleid #CO2reductie #Amsterdam (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)

Mona Keijzer wrote that fuel, groceries, and energy became more expensive and that people also had to take into account €6,000 for a heat pump. According to her, many could barely make ends meet, and the Jetten cabinet had lost touch with reality. https://t.co/D2HYeClHj9 https://t.co/C3gX1M4pSg #kosten #duurzaamheid #energieprijzen (translated)

"There will never be anyone like him again. A very emotional and also sad day, because he will no longer play for this shirt. Eternal gratitude for everything he has given us, for defending this shirt like no one else.' 'For me, it was a dream to coach him, and that dream has now come true. I told him that with the little energy I had left. A dream I was able to realize, because I never thought I would be able to become his coach: the best footballer of all time.' National coach Lionel Scaloni was also full of praise after the match." #LionelMessi #Afscheid #Voetbal (translated)

Maurits Vande Reyde wrote that "unreliability" was the word he heard most often from people about their governments. He stated that it had been promised to lower inheritance tax by thousands of euros in 2024, but that promise was not fulfilled and was revoked just two years later. Additionally, the registration fees were supposed to be lowered in 2024, only to increase by 5,000 euros per home less than two years later. Vande Reyde said that a budget was presented as "balanced," while the debt, according to him, had risen sharply in recent years and would continue to do so in the coming years. He also referred to a long list of taxes for entrepreneurs, which he claimed was too extensive to enumerate. Not Trump, Putin, or the global economy, but what he deemed a completely unreliable government was the biggest source of mass discontent and anger among people, he wrote. #onbetrouwbaarheid #regering #belasting (translated)

Pepijn van Houwelingen wrote that the cabinet, according to him, had confirmed the existence of a "prescribed reality" and had refused to answer parliamentary questions. As a result, the cabinet, according to him, spread propaganda itself. He described an article by Mayke Wijnen that appeared that week in De Andere Krant as beautiful and important. https://t.co/Q1SvfDbbHf #Nederland #Politiek #Media (translated)

A former woke teacher wrote that Nausicaa Marbe described Rob Jetten's performance in her column as staged and lacking authority. According to the teacher, Marbe argued that Jetten's polished "Team Netherlands" rhetoric clashed with a reality that he preferred to keep out of sight. She also supposedly wrote that he emphasized freedom and tolerance mainly when it was politically convenient, and otherwise fell back on slogans, moral self-aggrandizement, and rehearsed brotherhood. #politiek #opinie #maatschappij (translated)

If I'm not mistaken, most military vehicles also run on diesel. If you want to fight a nice war with Russia as @SecGenNATO, the fuel is out. And then? Solar panels on the tanks? Sails? No? Can't be done? Then push? Can @jpaternotte, @rubenbrekelmans, and @RobJetten do that? Jan shouldn't nibble too much on the Ozempic or else he will blow away. And then with @DefensieMin as a siren on the bow? No? Can't do that? So electric then? With the engineers who install the charging stations? Although, for that, we don't have enough natural gas again. And if I'm not mistaken, the scarcity in diesel is closely related to the scarcity in kerosene. If you want to bomb Russia with your mighty F35s, your tank is already empty above Germany. You have to go the rest flying. Do we maybe still have the F35PG* variant in our collection? Can we fly that towards Russia from the Vaalserberg with favorable winds? Can that be done with all the bombs and grenades? We don't have the latter either? Jesus... Or can we let that F35 fly on LPG? That would be nice. The price of LPG usually doesn’t go up that fast. There is another problem: you can only bomb during the day if you want to refuel everywhere. At night, that’s only possible along the highway. But then you do have a runway. But even this isn't without problems: I have a Mercedes R500L, an eight-cylinder. With a small LPG tank. In no time, you find yourself at the pump with that thing. And you get cramps in your thumb because you have to hold that button for so long. With such an F35, you would have to land and take off about 20 times quickly to get to Russia. The return journey is less problematic. #Putin has enough gas. Although, I’m not sure he has the right tank connection. And I think you have to press the installation button for a very long time before the tank of such an F35 is full. Who is going to do that? @DefensieStas? He can probably handle it. Then he can still press his mustache somewhere (against something). Can we maybe send the navy? We still have a few frigates, right? What do you say? Cannon broken? You don't need that at all: you can't hit anything with it anyway. Just ask the Americans. They have experience with that by now. Well. All quite tricky. But our leaders will surely find a solution. One of the recurring themes in the decline of superpowers throughout history is that the powers that be increasingly disconnected from reality in the (dozens of) years leading up to it and then suddenly realized that the (military) power they thought they had was no longer there at all. Does that seem familiar to you? I think #Putin is pouring himself an extra glass of vodka tonight. And that Xi Jin Ping is having a lavish dinner tonight with Peking duck, babi pang pang, and Bam Goreng. *Paraglider. #militair #energie #diesel (translated)

Typerend. This is the director of Avansa VZW. His organization, linked to the Catholic union, receives 13.6 million euros in subsidies each year. What do they do with it? Organize forest walks. With a left-activist approach. And as he aptly explains here: "doing things for people". Like "writing a book about the elderly" and then "touring schools with it and making a theater presentation". The man risks losing a maximum of 5% of subsidies with this government agreement. That means: instead of 13.6 million euros, he will now receive "only" 13 million euros per year (it is likely to be around 13.4 million in reality). According to the public broadcaster, this is "cold, bleak" almost inhumane. Those not invited to discuss this: working dual-income earners who struggle to save a little money. They will continue to pay the 13.4 million euros to Avansa. In this country, you are already seen as cold and bleak when you question that. Abolish the entire subsidy pot of 80 million euros. If there are a few organizations that could use some support, that can perfectly be done through a regular subsidy. #subsidies #maatschappij #vakbond (translated)

More than ever, I have the feeling that a huge gap has arisen between the reality as it is presented to us daily and what you hear when you talk directly to people. That the media - and by extension its celebrities - try to convince us that "the majority of the population" agrees with a certain narrative. That the population collectively believes in climate madness. That toy drones pose a real threat to Europe. That everyone is for more weapons, more escalation, and an expansion of the war. And so on. But… when you talk to people themselves… on the street, in a café, at work, among friends. Just, outside the media and social media bubble, I find something completely different. Of the people I speak to, the vast majority does not agree with that madness at all. On the contrary. And then I begin to wonder: Is this really "public opinion"? Or are we mainly hearing what public opinion is supposed to be? Or do people no longer dare to speak out of fear, thinking that their opinion is that of a small minority? #PubliekeOpinie #Media #Klimaatdebat (translated)

In the D66 commercials, all landlords are millionaires who can afford to pay more. In the real world, they also rent out social and affordable housing. Bricks are not money in the bank. If renting no longer pays off, rental homes disappear and the tenant suffers. D66 prefers to keep that reality out of sight. #box3 #woningmarkt #huurwoningen #D66 (translated)

"Rot op! Dat is van het CIDI!" Volgens deze mevrouw sta ik op de loonlijst van het CIDI. Was het maar waar: een vast contract met royale secundaire arbeidsvoorwaarden zou op straat best een uitkomst zijn. In de werkelijkheid is deze verslaggeving 100% onafhankelijk en uitsluitend mogelijk dankzij de steun van kijkers. Steun Eppo's werk via: https://t.co/N9v7s2rrbS #journalistiek #onafhankelijkheid #steunjournalistiek

„Lublin was één grote chaos en improvisatie. Het is beangstigend om te bedenken wat er zou gebeuren als de dreiging werkelijkheid zou worden.”„De procedures werkten niet”, zei fractievoorzitter Robert Derewenda, bij het indienen van schriftelijke vragen aan het stadsbestuur. #Polen #veiligheid #luchtaanval

"Slip of the tongue" maak je geen fysieke gebaren bij. Iets wat Jetten wel deed. Een boksgebaar zelfs. Jetten is op zijn vingers getikt dus verzint hij een smoes. In werkelijkheid denkt hij echt zo. Anders had hij dit niet gezegd #politiek #communicatie #tongval

Het verschil tussen de mooie praatjes van @MinPres @RobJetten van het 'optimistische' en 'redelijke' @D66 en de werkelijkheid van de Grote Bek. Waar vervolgens ook nog eens niets van terechtkomt. Nu mag @jpaternotte het weer aan elkaar spinnen met metafoor-gelul. Wat een nare hypocriete, ook nog eens roomblanke (want diversiteit is voor anderen) club is dat. 🤮 #Politiek #Hypocrisie #Diversiteit

Gerard had nog één grote wens: nog één keer ezels zien, voelen en dicht bij ze zijn. Dankzij Stichting Ambulance Wens werd die wens werkelijkheid. En eenmaal tussen de ezels kreeg hij meteen alle aandacht. Vooral van Liv, die eerst zijn kussen wilde hebben en daarna besloot dat ze de brancard ook zelf wel kon bedienen. Een bijzondere dag voor Gerard en zijn vrouw, en een dag waar wij met een warm gevoel op terugkijken. Dank aan Stichting Ambulance Wens voor het mogelijk maken hiervan. #LaVieEstBelle als een langgekoesterde wens ineens werkelijkheid wordt #WensenVerwezenlijken #BijzondereMomenten #StichtingAmbulanceWens

Niemand gelooft toch dat hier nog iets deftig gaat uitkomen? We gaan morgen ongetwijfeld nog een keer lyrische woorden horen van de regering over een "historisch akkoord". In werkelijkheid is er gewoon geen akkoord. Hier kan je je geld opzetten: verlaging erfbelasting wordt ingetrokken. Dienstencheques worden duurder maar het systeem (1,7 miljard euro en stijgend) blijft gewoon bestaan. Voor de rest heel veel vage voornemens over "efficiënte overheid", "aftoppen groeipaden", "uitstellen nieuw beleid" en natuurlijk "schrappen subsidies", zonder concrete invulling. Ik neem aan dat onze media Belgapress heeft: dat zijn dezelfde evergeens die elk half jaar terugkeren. De noodstop van de Vlaamse regering. Zes maanden later blijkt het een lege doos en wordt het nog eens herhaald. En eerlijk: er wordt ook nooit kritisch over doorgevraagd. Zelfs wanneer zes maanden later blijkt dat het begrotingstekort verdubbeld is en de schuld verder door het dak gaat, is dat voor de openbare omroep en andere media zelfs geen melding waard. Intussen weten ministers dat natuurlijk ook. Nul risico. #Belgium #politiek #regering