Joris Luyendijk
@jorisluyendijk.bsky.social
Writer. Amsterdam.
Pinned
Not only bringing in some much-needed (and well-supported) optimism, but also lots of interesting aspects on how #Trump might yet get a place in history, as the guy who managed to unite quite the range of Europeans...
If you think that Europe is doomed, you’re not paying attention.
Wrote a recap of the latest developments and call me a hopeless Europtimist but I think Europe+ (including Canada) isn’t doing too bad in terms of offering Ukraine an actual perspective for the future. With or without the US.
Wrote a recap of the latest developments and call me a hopeless Europtimist but I think Europe+ (including Canada) isn’t doing too bad in terms of offering Ukraine an actual perspective for the future. With or without the US.
US administrations have always played a double game. Exhorting Europe to take more responsibility for its own defense... but always making sure Europe stayed sufficiently divided not to become a unified rival. Trump has blown up this game, presenting us with a unique opportunity.
Rice and flowers.
I frankly think it's pretty clear that the Trump admin, being fundamentally stupid, thought that Venezuelan people and institutions would all turn around as one and say 'thank you, what do you want us to do next'
January 3, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Rice and flowers.
And is on a whim that he will invade Greenland, without a plan, without thinking through the consequences, while the increasingly gleichgeschaltete American media will cheer him on.
Trump's actions in Venezuela shows why it was wrong to dismiss his threats to Greenland. If he's willing to do this, he will be willing to do anything
January 3, 2026 at 6:46 PM
And is on a whim that he will invade Greenland, without a plan, without thinking through the consequences, while the increasingly gleichgeschaltete American media will cheer him on.
Very true. Shockingly sensible response from Bardella.
Weil das Viele hier sicher nicht mitkriegen: Marine Le Pen verteidigt (auf X) die Souveränität Venezuelas, und Jordan Bardella zieht die Konsequenzen aus Frankreichs strategischer Vulnerabilität.
Ich sage es ungern, aber das sind bessere Statements als die von Kaja Kallas und Ursula von der Leyen.
Ich sage es ungern, aber das sind bessere Statements als die von Kaja Kallas und Ursula von der Leyen.
January 3, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Very true. Shockingly sensible response from Bardella.
The leader of the Democratic party in the Senate. Apparently the Democratic party has even worse approval ratings than Trump.
The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans. The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.
January 3, 2026 at 6:37 PM
The leader of the Democratic party in the Senate. Apparently the Democratic party has even worse approval ratings than Trump.
I share the frustration but it the EU was simply not built for geopolitics of that kind. Also, we are SO dependent on US military protection and tech that, at least for now, our options are really very very limited. We should decry that dependency rather than the pathetic behavior it engenders.
The most worrying thing for me right now is watching EU leaders react to events not only as passive spectators, but as passive spectators who apparently have every intention of remaining so. Stolidly determined to do nothing about facts on the ground except watch more of them being made.
January 3, 2026 at 4:52 PM
I share the frustration but it the EU was simply not built for geopolitics of that kind. Also, we are SO dependent on US military protection and tech that, at least for now, our options are really very very limited. We should decry that dependency rather than the pathetic behavior it engenders.
Imagine, just for a moment, being him.
Would he be thinking, even for a moment: maybe this all a dream?
Would he be thinking, even for a moment: maybe this all a dream?
First picture of arrested Nicolas Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima. The picture distributed by the White House.
January 3, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Imagine, just for a moment, being him.
Would he be thinking, even for a moment: maybe this all a dream?
Would he be thinking, even for a moment: maybe this all a dream?
Europe Was Once a Close US Ally. What Went Wrong?
Venezuela Was Once a Close U.S. Ally. What Went Wrong? www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...
Venezuela Was Once a Close U.S. Ally. What Went Wrong?
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Europe Was Once a Close US Ally. What Went Wrong?
If I were the Kremlin, I'd order my asset in the White House to invade Greenland in 2026. Really efficient way to destroy NATO and rip up Europe.
Trump's audacious and probably illegal capture of a Venezuelan leader of doubtful legality suggests he believes he has the right to intervene, i.e. grab what he wants, anywhere in the western hemisphere. Europe, already worried by Trump's Greenland rhetoric, has been warned
January 3, 2026 at 3:43 PM
If I were the Kremlin, I'd order my asset in the White House to invade Greenland in 2026. Really efficient way to destroy NATO and rip up Europe.
Reposted by Joris Luyendijk
Joris Luyendijk breekt een lans.
Dit ‘elite’ gesprek is ook heel zeer de moeite waard voor mensen die kansongelijk door sociale achtergrond wél zelf hebben ervaren. Neem hier de tijd voor.
‘Zolang het leuk is.’
Dit ‘elite’ gesprek is ook heel zeer de moeite waard voor mensen die kansongelijk door sociale achtergrond wél zelf hebben ervaren. Neem hier de tijd voor.
‘Zolang het leuk is.’
Joris Luyendijk: 'Wat was de laatste keer dat de PvdA een geloofwaardige leider had?'
YouTube video by BNR
youtube.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Joris Luyendijk breekt een lans.
Dit ‘elite’ gesprek is ook heel zeer de moeite waard voor mensen die kansongelijk door sociale achtergrond wél zelf hebben ervaren. Neem hier de tijd voor.
‘Zolang het leuk is.’
Dit ‘elite’ gesprek is ook heel zeer de moeite waard voor mensen die kansongelijk door sociale achtergrond wél zelf hebben ervaren. Neem hier de tijd voor.
‘Zolang het leuk is.’
Before the years is out this may well be a mainstream position, at least among academics, pundits and policy elites.
I am currently being radicalized into the idea that Europe should NEVER AGAIN put its security in the hands of any third party
Trusting the United States increasingly seems like a historical mistake of epic proportions
Trusting the United States increasingly seems like a historical mistake of epic proportions
January 3, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Before the years is out this may well be a mainstream position, at least among academics, pundits and policy elites.
Reposted by Joris Luyendijk
@jorisluyendijk.bsky.social in gesprek met @dolfjansen.bsky.social over de tricky tijden waarin we leven.
youtu.be/w-jnJr1sm6c
youtu.be/w-jnJr1sm6c
Joris Luyendijk: ‘Onze vrijheid staat op het spel’ | Diepte-interview met Dolf Jansen
YouTube video by Human Dimensions
youtu.be
January 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM
@jorisluyendijk.bsky.social in gesprek met @dolfjansen.bsky.social over de tricky tijden waarin we leven.
youtu.be/w-jnJr1sm6c
youtu.be/w-jnJr1sm6c
Reposted by Joris Luyendijk
Rosanne Herzberger is terug bij de @nrc.nl als 'opiniemaker' en stookt meteen schaamteloos de Europahaat op.
Aanleiding is de 'Pharma Package': "Maar stel dat het mislukt was, had niemand kunnen uitleggen waarom of wanneer of door wie dat is besloten."
Klopt dat? Nee natuurlijk niet. 🧵
Aanleiding is de 'Pharma Package': "Maar stel dat het mislukt was, had niemand kunnen uitleggen waarom of wanneer of door wie dat is besloten."
Klopt dat? Nee natuurlijk niet. 🧵
Column | In de luwte van het Europees Parlement kan veel gebeuren
Ergens zou ik toch een keer een gedegen analyse moeten maken van wat er nu eigenlijk allemaal gebeurd is. Van welke achtbaan ik onderdeel was. Waarom het begon, waarom het eindigde. Feit is dat het po...
www.nrc.nl
January 2, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Rosanne Herzberger is terug bij de @nrc.nl als 'opiniemaker' en stookt meteen schaamteloos de Europahaat op.
Aanleiding is de 'Pharma Package': "Maar stel dat het mislukt was, had niemand kunnen uitleggen waarom of wanneer of door wie dat is besloten."
Klopt dat? Nee natuurlijk niet. 🧵
Aanleiding is de 'Pharma Package': "Maar stel dat het mislukt was, had niemand kunnen uitleggen waarom of wanneer of door wie dat is besloten."
Klopt dat? Nee natuurlijk niet. 🧵
I absorb everything Anders Puck Nielsen has to say and if you're interested in European defense, you should too.
I hooked up with @siliconcurtain.bsky.social and @ukrainematters.bsky.social at a café in Copenhagen for a talk about the Ukraine war and our expectations for 2026. I think it was a really good conversation. You can watch it here.
Is Putin Set for Failure in 2026? With @anderspuck and @UkraineMatters
YouTube video by Silicon Curtain
youtu.be
January 2, 2026 at 4:50 PM
I absorb everything Anders Puck Nielsen has to say and if you're interested in European defense, you should too.
This. A hundred times.
Trump may be extreme in all sorts of ways, but looking at the last 30 years of US politics, there’s no reason to think of Trump as an anomaly.
January 2, 2026 at 12:51 PM
This. A hundred times.
One more way that European countries now join the single market without joining the EU. And the UK... Ah well, the English need some time alone to work through their Former Empire Withdrawal Symptoms or FEWS.
It’s crazy the UK has not yet rejoined the EU's roaming area. Another example of us being left behind
January 2, 2026 at 11:11 AM
One more way that European countries now join the single market without joining the EU. And the UK... Ah well, the English need some time alone to work through their Former Empire Withdrawal Symptoms or FEWS.
Moeten we veel en veel vaker gaan doen. Niet spreken over 'de politiek' maar heel precies, met namen en rugnummers, duidelijk maken wie de klootzakken zijn. En wie niet. Lekker trouwens, SP, in zo'n rijtje staan.
January 1, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Moeten we veel en veel vaker gaan doen. Niet spreken over 'de politiek' maar heel precies, met namen en rugnummers, duidelijk maken wie de klootzakken zijn. En wie niet. Lekker trouwens, SP, in zo'n rijtje staan.
Reposted by Joris Luyendijk
The most brutal Dutch insult I’ve come across (taught to me recently on here) is toen je jouw wijsvinger had gebroken kon je zeker weken niet meer lezen. It means “if you broke your index finger you wouldn’t be able to read for weeks.”
December 19, 2025 at 1:58 PM
The most brutal Dutch insult I’ve come across (taught to me recently on here) is toen je jouw wijsvinger had gebroken kon je zeker weken niet meer lezen. It means “if you broke your index finger you wouldn’t be able to read for weeks.”
Europeans need to ask ourselves: how could we trust a regime to respect a treaty with us if said regime does not even respect its own people? In other words: What makes us think that Putin would ever treat us better than he treats his own people?
More than 6,000 confidential complaints about the war reviewed by The Times show that anger and discontent simmer beneath the surface against the russian military leadership methods for sustaining the war
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Russia’s War Machine Brutalizes and Exploits Its Own Soldiers (Gift Article)
Confidential complaints filed by troops and their families reveal patterns of wrongdoing in the ranks that are hidden from the Russian public.
www.nytimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Europeans need to ask ourselves: how could we trust a regime to respect a treaty with us if said regime does not even respect its own people? In other words: What makes us think that Putin would ever treat us better than he treats his own people?
Reposted by Joris Luyendijk
Worried that changing over to Proton Pass would be a lot of work? We've got you.
Start 2026 off right by heading to Settings > Import and switch to the end-to-end encrypted password manager trusted by millions.
Start 2026 off right by heading to Settings > Import and switch to the end-to-end encrypted password manager trusted by millions.
January 1, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Worried that changing over to Proton Pass would be a lot of work? We've got you.
Start 2026 off right by heading to Settings > Import and switch to the end-to-end encrypted password manager trusted by millions.
Start 2026 off right by heading to Settings > Import and switch to the end-to-end encrypted password manager trusted by millions.
Given that his replacement is not so much mad as evil this is bad.
Finally, Trump's diet! Oh my god. The piece closes with RNC Chair Joe Gruters saying he was "shocked" to witness Trump eat "french fries, a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburger, a Big Mac and a Filet-O-Fish" in one sitting (5/6)
January 1, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Given that his replacement is not so much mad as evil this is bad.
Taking 'be brave be like the Ukrainians' to a whole new level. I remember seeing the earlier message and feeling so sad.
Ukraine’s GUR staged the death of Russian Volunteer Corps commander Denis Kapustin, duping Russian intelligence into paying $500,000 for his “elimination.” The money will now fund Ukrainian special forces. The month-long operation identified both the Russian planners and hired executors.
January 1, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Taking 'be brave be like the Ukrainians' to a whole new level. I remember seeing the earlier message and feeling so sad.
After Modi backed up the Russian claim. What a time to have a pulse.
⚡️ Trump shared an article casting doubt on Russia’s claim of an attack on Putin and accusing Moscow of being the one standing in the way of peace.
December 31, 2025 at 7:52 PM
After Modi backed up the Russian claim. What a time to have a pulse.
God this looks bleak. Even when here the good guys.
December 31, 2025 at 7:32 PM
God this looks bleak. Even when here the good guys.
Nu alweer ruim 163k ofwel weer 5 generatoren. Het is een ANBI stichting dus doneer vandaag voor middernacht en je kunt het dit fiscaal jaar nog aftrekken van de belasting.
Voor iedereen die heeft gedoneerd: echt super! Amerika laat Ukraine in de steek, maar wij in Europa niet. De teller staat twee uur later alweer op € 162.000, dat zijn opnieuw 10 generatoren: vvodiel.nl/doneren/
December 31, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Nu alweer ruim 163k ofwel weer 5 generatoren. Het is een ANBI stichting dus doneer vandaag voor middernacht en je kunt het dit fiscaal jaar nog aftrekken van de belasting.
Bulgaria joins the euro tonight as the Brexit press still insists that after Brexit Britain had to be given "a bad deal" because otherwise other EU-nations would of course follow Britain's example out of the door. No, you fools.
The takeaway is not that journalists make absurd predictions. This was a blunt, but reasonable headline in 1996. It's that outcomes that seem highly unlikely/wildly optimistic do happen occasionally due to agency. Bulgarians and Europeans took forks in the road over the yrs that made today reality.
An article from December 1996 warns that Bulgaria has no chance of joining Europe and the euro would replace the lev only after the second coming of Christ. Brace yourselves, the euro replaces the lev tonight at midnight! 🤣(and, of course, Bulgaria did join the EU in 2007).
December 31, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Bulgaria joins the euro tonight as the Brexit press still insists that after Brexit Britain had to be given "a bad deal" because otherwise other EU-nations would of course follow Britain's example out of the door. No, you fools.