Alice Stollmeyer

Declaring a fake emergency as an excuse to deploy the military to police civilians is one of the most canonical examples of authoritarian takeovers.

Overseas, people see clearly what Trump is doing. Here in America most people — especially those with power or influence — are in denial.

Important for Europe to recognise that the current strategy isn't working

Months of private lobbying and glowing praise hasn't brought Trump on side. It took Putin only days to kill the prospect of US sanctions

Let's not spend another six months wishing for an America that doesn't exist

No deal. And no sanctions. Vladimir Putin had a great day. Donald Trump not so much. Ukraine is bearing the brunt of this calamity. It’s hard to think of how this could have turned out any worse.

Europe: Stop Being Shocked by Trump. Start Stopping Russia. Trump’s incompetence on Russia is matched only by Europe’s incompetence on Trump.

🔥 "Trump’s incompetence on Russia is matched only by Europe’s incompetence on Trump."

Fully agree, @berlinbridge.bsky.social

berlinbridge.substack.com/p/europe-sto...

Europeans have come to detest immigrants and can no longer explain why in any rational fashion. Islamist terrorism has declined to nearly nothing. Crime is low. Immigrants have jobs and so do locals. Only remaining one is blaming them for the housing shortage which is gibberish

No shame. No future.

Applebaum on Autocracy Anne Applebaum warns that Sudan’s descent into chaos shows what happens when institutions fail—and why a free press is essential to prevent America from following the same path.

Anne Applebaum: "If American media can’t convey how dangerous this behavior is—for our prosperity, for our health, for our democracy—then American media will eventually cease to exist."

More from our convo in @status.news: www.status.news/p/anne-apple...

Incredible perversion of the purpose and the standing interpretation of the act

The world is watching. And so is Defend Democracy.

#HandsOff #DefendDemocracy #PeopleVsBigTech

This is exactly the point. The Commission played its cards terribly but only because this is what members states pushed it to do, with neither demonstrating vision of a strong and united Europe and the courage to defend it

Would normally regard this as conflict of interest.

Congrats! Liubov Tsybulska is also on @defenddemocracy.bsky.social 's Advisory Board.

Found at Utrecht train station: a book from the radio host my grandfather listened to every Sunday at lunch time.

I was too young to understand a thing, but “The State of the World” must have been my first encounter with geopolitics.

It will always be linked to my grandmother’s tomato soup.

How China Outsmarted the Trump Administration While the U.S. is distracted, China is rewriting the rules of the global order.

The US withdrawal from UNESCO, like the January withdrawal from WHO, will help China consolidate its hold over the language and practices of the UN system.
I wrote about China's UN strategy back in 2020
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Leading with hope, not fear 💚

#HoldTheLine

Here is #DefendDemocracy 's July newsletter!

📰 Read this edition: crm.defenddemocracy.eu/civicrm/?civ...

✏️ Sign up for future editions: defenddemocracy.eu/newsletters/

✅ Join our democracy defenders & stay tuned!

Civilians cannot be targets. Never.

The images from Gaza are unbearable.

The EU reiterates its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid.

And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law.

Looking forward to my last event before summer recess 😊

visegradinsight.eu/online-event...

U.S. to Curtail Practice of Assessing Fairness of Foreign Elections The order says the U.S. will only comment if “there is a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest to do so.”

There was a time when the US would stand tall in the defense of freedom and democracy. No more. We will now congratulate the winner but “avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process, its legitimacy.” Putin will love it!
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Does the EU have the courage to take and enforce adequate structural measures to defend democracy against the weaponisation of digital platforms?

@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu
@hennavirkkunen.bsky.social
@michaelmcgratheu.bsky.social

Digital engineering creates not just far-right voters; it manufactures far-right candidates.

Does the EU have the courage to take and enforce adequate structural measures to defend democracy against the weaponisation of digital platforms?

New analysis:

defenddemocracy.eu/poland-2025-...

Justice is not optional – it's essential.

On #InternationalJusticeDay, we recall @ECHR_CEDH’s recent ruling: Russia is responsible for widespread, flagrant human rights abuses in Ukraine since 2014.

Peace begins with truth and accountability.

I've had this headline rattling around in my brain since January and I finally wrote it. Been hearing too many people in the startup world buying into the neoractionary nonsense that maybe a little light fascism is good for silicon valley. It's not. It's very, very bad.

Russia responsible for downing flight MH17 and violating international law, court rules The Strasbourg court called out Russia’s flagrant disregard for the international legal order established after the Second World War.

11 years ago today, Russia murdered 298 people on flight MH17.

196 of them were my compatriots 😢

MH17 is Netherlands' 9/11.

Putin blamed it on Ukraine & never showed regret.

11 years later, it remains our duty to seek justice & to stop Russian aggression.

www.politico.eu/article/russ...

I'm not a fan of Yanis Varoufakis, but this is an interesting take on his book Technofeudalism:

"Convincing and helping comrades to quit the capitalist [digital] platforms and join the Fediverse is an important form of revolutionary political organisation."

simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technof...

Trump is working on regime change in Europe — fact, not conspiracy theory On 27 May, an official document, The Need for Civilizational Allies in Europe, calling for regime change in European countries was published, written by a senior adviser for the Bureau for Democracy, ...

Trump is working on regime change in Europe.

"Politicians should .. prevent Europe from turning into a copy or a colony of the United States."

by @carolinedegruyter.bsky.social

euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...

A new era calls for a new strategy.

#DefendDemocracy Board & Director meet to discuss the future of democracy.

Where else than in Brussels, the heart of EUrope, leader of the Free World? 🇪🇺💫

(But how long can the EU hold the line if we obey the US in advance & don’t invest in democratic security?)

We have asked @ec.europa.eu for detailed explanations on why a series of procedural steps - foreseen under internal rules - were not followed when preparing the #omnibus legislative package to simplify EU sustainability rules for businesses.

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bsky.app/profile/stol...

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by @billbramhall.bsky.social