Spotted: spring! #nature #resilience #hope

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact & fiction and the distinction between true & false no longer exist.” Hannah Arendt - The Origins of Totalitarianism #WorldFactBook #DefendDemocracy

Kicking off the EU Tech Stars Summit! "Technology has become a weapon in the hands of autocrats. Fortunately, we have our own alternatives in Europe."* #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 #FoShure😎 * www.greens-efa.eu/en/article/e...

PM Tusk on Epstein: it is very likely that this was a planned operation by the Russian KGB. More and more leads are pointing to suspicions that this unprecedented pedophilia scandal was co-organized by Russian intelligence services.

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” Hannah Arendt

BREAKING: Europol & Paris cybercrime unit raid Musk X office in France. "Investigations range from sexually explicit deepfakes, aiding the distribution of child sexual abuse material to the dissemination of Holocaust-denial content." #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU www.politico.eu/article/poli...

I was a White House ethics lawyer. I used to advise people not to even accept a free cup of coffee from someone who had interests before them. And staff followed those rules. I can’t even find the words to describe the scale of Trump’s corruption here.

Mooi interview over @defenddemocracy.bsky.social ! Dit voorjaar geef ik voor WeerbaarNL een Brusselse Masterclass ‘Internationale lessen resilience’, voor de weerbaarheid en veerkracht van Nederland. Zin in! weerbaarnl.nl/nieuws/32043...

Tech sovereignty is an inherent right of democratic states, not a subscription model provided at the mercy of foreign entities. Decisions about true value of sovereignty will determine whether countries retain meaningful autonomy or become clients of foreign imperialism. www.ft.com/content/8fc2...

In October, Netherlands' intelligence agencies said they would stop sharing certain information with their U.S. counterparts, citing political interference and human rights concerns. Now, Netherlands’ incoming govt proposes to create a European equivalent of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance 🕵️🕵️🕵️

13/ If Europe wants to build systems that are independent of US big tech it should promote interoperable open source infrastructure rather than specific companies. This open source infra can then also be used by the rest of the world and Americans who don’t like big tech either

PALANTIR is "Like Uber for authoritarians." Any time the Trump regime says "AI", what you should hear is "repression as a service": 1. AI as an excuse to consolidate data 2. AI to execute orders that humans would refuse "Europe, do me a favour and don't contribute to a worldwide tyranny machine."

France, Austria and now the Netherlands…

Ever scrolled through a social media debate and felt like someone was pulling the strings? Dozens of different profiles, different tones, different identities — all converging on the same narrative, as if it were self-evident. Some of this noise can now be generated by AI swarms. 1/7

Netherlands' coalition accord ticks a lot of boxes, including strengthening democracy, digital sovereignty, and resilience against hybrid threats. Will they walk the talk? Support our work; it is more needed than ever. Donate: defenddemocracy.eu/get-involved... #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU 🇪🇺

BREAKING: Netherlands to ban 'addictive, polarising & anti-democratic algorithms' Govt wants 'enforceable EU minimum age of 15 for social media with privacy-friendly age verification as long as social media are not sufficiently secure.' #coalitieakkoord www.kabinetsformatie2025.nl/documenten/2...

EU, stop falling for Trump's geopolitical clickbait. 'Attention wars are not won by reacting faster. They are won by deciding what deserves focus. Europe does not need to out-post Trump on social media. It needs to outplan him.' #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

How the world can end. Pentagon insists on deploying AI tech for autonomous weapons without guardrails. www.reuters.com/business/pen...

Where do I sign up?

Still relevant today: one of my first interviews in Brussels (by the great @davekeating.substack.com), from back in 2014. For EUrope's security & resilience, we must cut our dependence on fossil fuels — be they from Russia or from the US. #GreenDeal #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mhy...

Pay attention to this. The purpose of these investigations is not just to manufacture evidence to support Trump’s 2020 “voter fraud” accusations, but also to set the stage for another round of efforts to suppress votes and delegitimize election results in 2026 (which the GOP is likely to lose).

After 3 years working under Putin’s missiles and drones as our Ambassador to Ukraine, I resigned when Trump kept appeasing Putin. The America I proudly served for 28 years does not bow to dictators. It’s not who we are. But the Trump Admin keeps doing exactly that. 1/3

EU tech chief sounds alarm over dependence on foreign tech. Welcome to the party, Executive VP @hennavirkkunen.bsky.social #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.politico.eu/article/henn...

Yeah it’s called Russia in the period 2005-2010

Hey @politico.eu, here is an idea: Instead of linking to non-consensual pornhub X/Twitter by default, when citing EU Commissioners, MEPs and EU political parties, first have a look if they say it on BlueSky or Mastodon. Many do! You know, as a Europe-based news media, you can lead by example 😊

BREAKING: EU Commission launches investigation into: * Grok spreading illegal content in the EU (including fake sexual images and child abuse material) * X's recommender systems as systemic risks ec.europa.eu/commission/p... #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺

“Clean energy is Europe’s only route to security and prosperity.” Let’s add tech sovereignty 💪 #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.politico.eu/article/clea...

Let’s be clear about what the Trump regime is saying to Minnesota: “We will continue murdering your citizens unless you help us rig your election.”

So important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.

Don’t waste a good crisis: the EU must prepare strategic autonomy. “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.” #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.politico.eu/article/dona...

A beautiful day in my native Lowlands🇳🇱 to discuss the role of civil society in building societal resilience 🌻 #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺

Who would’ve thought that threatening to annex a European country’s sovereign territory wouldn’t go down well with nationalist European parties. Good luck with the ”civilisational agenda”

See you there! #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEurope🇪🇺

US State Department veteran: “The jewel in the crown of our power and of our role in the world has always been our alliance system.” “Moving from our trusted methods to Putin’s methods is worse than a crime,” he said. “It’s an idiocy.” www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Big tech and antitrust, a key concern for a well functioning market, not only in Europe. “US regulator appeals Meta’s antitrust win” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The @ec.europa.eu can decide provisional application of the agreement. If @europarl.europa.eu can table a motion of censure if it disagrees.

Renewed calls for independent, powerful EU tech regulator. #DefendDemocracy #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.politico.eu/article/us-p...

“What’s inspiring is the genuine sense that people will carry on and keep the country running — even though there’s no end in sight to sub-zero terror. Just do your job, pay your rent, pay your taxes, keep the country afloat. That’s the mission.” #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 www.politico.eu/article/ukra...

The @GoodGod has had enough. #Davos #WEF #StandWithGreenland🇬🇱 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺

Russia has worked for decades on ideologically subverting the U.S.. — and continues to this day. Don't let the Tr*mp-M*sk regime accomplish Russian victory over the U.S.! Interview with a Soviet KGB defector in 1984 (!): bigthink.com/the-present/... Visual describing the process of subversion:

China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among Allies. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. (1/2)

There's no reasoning with unreasonable people That said, European diplomacy can only be successful if it persuades Congress to get their act together

Europeans deserve safer digital spaces and real alternatives to US-based platforms. We urge the Commission to: - Invest in European tech initiatives. - Support the development of user-focused, European-owned networks. - Guarantee robust data portability rights for all users.

That Orbán and Babiš are trying to undermine the EU and NATO right now is no surprise. Orbán's corrupt, authoritarian government will always support corrupt authoritarians like Putin and Trump. It's what they do. Babiš would give Trump the Sudetenland if Trump asked for it.

A source confirms to me that this disturbing letter from Trump to the Norwegian PM is real.

Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff. Game on.

BREAKING: emergency EU Summit on Greenland with the EU's 27 Heads of State & Government in the coming days. "Readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion." #StandWithGreenland🇬🇱 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺 www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...

The real Trump whisperer is of course not Rutte but Putin. As Timothy Snyder says: “It is worth asking whether [owning Greenland] was a Russian idea.” #StandWithGreenland🇬🇱 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺

#StandWithGreenland🇬🇱 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 #HandsOffOurEU🇪🇺

Iratxe García Pérez, leader of the Socialist group: "Trump’s 25% tariffs on allies supporting Greenland against his imperialist threats are unacceptable. We must act now: suspend negotiations on the EU-US trade deal and activate the Anti-Coercion Instrument. The EU will not bow to intimidation."