Sjaak van 't Kruis

"Maar met een vroom sausje''. Wat bedoelt bedoelt Trouw daarmee? trouw.nl/buitenland/james-ta…

On November 4, 1956, Soviet forces invaded Hungary to crush popular uprising against Moscow’s rule. Hungarians demanding freedom and the right to determine their own future were met with Soviet tanks and troops. Thousands were killed in the name of “liberation.” Seventy years later, Russia is using the same justification for its invasion of Ukraine.

Nearly half of all Lutheran communities in Belarus have disappeared — new findings revealed We previously reported on the dissolution of individual Lutheran organizations in Belarus; however, by synthesizing data from various state registries, we have developed a more comprehensive picture of the situation. In the Vitebsk region, authorities have dissolved six Lutheran communities. Four of them ceased to exist on the same day—December 22, 2025: the congregations of Saints Peter and Paul and Saint Peter in Polatsk, the Resurrection of Christ in Orsha, and John the Baptist in the village of Mazolava (Vitebsk district). Two other congregations, both named after Martin Luther and based in Vitebsk, were dissolved on April 15 and July 2, 2024. In the Homiel region, the Holy Communion congregation in Khoiniki was dissolved on October 13, 2025, followed by the congregation in Homiel on December 31 of the same year. In total, 13 Lutheran religious organizations—comprising 2 associations and 11 communities—have been identified as having been dissolved or removed from the official registry between 2024 and 2026. As of the beginning of 2024, there were 24 officially active Lutheran congregations in Belarus; nearly half of them have now been dissolved.

⚡️⚡️⚡️ A complete U-turn! Zelenskyy is planning to conquer Poland, Romania and Hungary At least, that's what Russian propagandist Solovyov believes. According to his version of events, Ukrainian forces will then seize Moldova and push further into Europe — and no one will be able to stop 800,000 Ukrainian infantry troops. What do you think of the plan? 😅

Europe’s history gives me hope for Belarus. Countries once divided by war and dictatorship can build a prosperous future together. I want our children to grow up in a free and democratic Belarus, at peace with its neighbours and at home in Europe. This is where we belong.

Although people all over the world are happy to see Trump and MAGA becoming unpopular in the USA, the reason behind it is far less encouraging. Trump could support Putin and Russia all he wanted. He could continue to let Ukrainians get slaughtered, treat Canada like shit, threaten Denmark with war, steal from Venezuela to line his own pockets, support Israel's brutality, and insult allies day after day. The American public doesn't support these things, but they don't seem to care very much about them either. The only reason people are now turning against Trump is because — of all unimportant things — gas has become a little bit more expensive in in a country wealthier than any other in world history. THAT is what infuriates the average voter and makes them turn against Trump The rest of the world is lucky that this is happening, as it weakens Trump. But that doesn't mean we should assume that the USA will act morally on the world stage in the future. Deep down, they simply don't care very much.

A true story. A human story. From The 7 Skills Blog. Stallone would rather have buried the Rocky script than let someone else play the lead. Hollywood didn't want him. What drove him to risk everything?

Since Trump’s election: -Musk got $617 billion richer -Bezos got $144 billion richer -Page got $127 billion richer -Dell got $123 billion richer -Brin got $116 billion richer How are you doing? Let’s stop oligarchy. We must create an economy that works for all.

Yesterday, Putin revealed that Russian authorities are "in close touch" with Elon Musk about the technology Ukraine needs to defend itself. Our new report @TheAtlantic investigates how @elonmusk went from supporting Ukraine to coordinating with Moscow. theatlantic.com/national-sec…

Waarom is een dag van rust zo onbespreekbaar? volkskrant.nl/columns-van-de…

Brazil's Federal Police are opening an investigation into possible illegal collusion between the Thiel/Vance associated Rockbridge Network, Meta corporation and the Bolsonaro campaign. At stake: facilitated tech bro access to Brazil's rare earth minerals panamericandispatch.org/p/fe…