Nina Zeelen

Fury as Marco Rubio admits Israel forced US into war with Iran After learning that Israel would strike Iran , posing an 'imminent threat' to US soldiers in the region due to retaliatory strikes, the US chose to 'act preemptively,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Fury as Marco Rubio admits Israel forced US into war with Iran: 'The worst possible thing' trib.al/oCLxBFA

Putin to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:

What nonsense is he saying? I'd really like to ask him: Listen, what are you saying about a war with Russia?

You can read, right? Then read the new US National Security strategy. The USA is the key player in NATO, the main sponsor of NATO.

Bizar interview met Berendsen. Hij voert uit zichzelf een aantal onbewezen propagandapunten aan om de Amerikaanse agressie goed te praten en noemt vervolgens het internationaal recht optioneel

Interesting analysis of the power rivalries within EU institutions over foreign policy. What is most noteworthy to me is that while von der Leyen is reaching out to the world - with a questionable mandate - Costa and Kallas are mostly trying to coordinate inwards between the member states.

Tom Stevenson on X: "Completely divorced from reality." / X Completely divorced from reality.

2)

"Six American families are grieving tonight their lives changed forever because an American President without Congressional approval against wishes of the majority of the American people launched a war of his choice based on false and unproven justifications." - Aaron David Miller

"The first line of the British government statement is, 'Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon', which the US itself says Iran wasn't attempting. Pure propaganda." - @tomstevenson.bsky.social

"The term 'preemptive' is pure propaganda. The U.S. once again used the veneer of negotiations as a cover to bomb Iran. Tehran had just offered terms that went far beyond the 2015 nuclear deal. What was preempted was diplomacy. The same propaganda tactics used in 2003 Iraq war." - @jeremyscahill.com

Sometimes daddy has to use strong language

Trump zet bondgenootschap op scherp tijdens de Navo-top De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump is woensdag op de Navo-top hard in botsing gekomen met de Europese bondgenoten. Hij zette een tweedaagse top van het bondgenootschap op scherp met een aanval op d...

MAGA world order

“Trump is het oneens met het Parijs-akkoord, Iran-deal, WTO, 🇷🇺gas en stelt een nieuwe NAVO-eis van 4%, gebaseerd op 🇺🇸defensie uitgeven. Rutte was er laconiek onder. ‘Trump heeft zijn eigen stijl. Maar zijn druk is wel effectief’. Rutte zei Trump ermee te hebben ‘gecomplimenteerd.’“

Neoliberalism: the deep story that lies beneath Donald Trump’s triumph | George Monbiot How a ruthless network of super-rich ideologues killed choice and destroyed people’s faith in politics

"Their massive tax cuts for the rich, crushing of trade unions, reduction in public housing, deregulation & privatisation were all proposed by Hayek & his disciples..The disenfranchised turn instead to a virulent anti-politics in which facts & arguments are replaced by slogans, symbols & sensation."

“Flood the zone with shit”: How misinformation overwhelmed our democracy The impeachment trial didn’t change any minds. Here’s why.

Flooding the zone

"If you short-circuit that process by saturating the ecosystem with misinformation & overwhelm the media’s ability to mediate, then you can disrupt the democratic process. We’re facing a new form of propaganda that works by muddying the waters so that consensus isn’t achievable."

Als je een leugen vaak genoeg herhaalt, gaan mensen het geloven.

Moscow gloats over potential oil price spike from Iran war Putin may have lost an ally with the death of Khamenei but an oil price shock is good news for the Kremlin.

The 🇺🇸🇮🇱 attack on Iran may leave Europe no choice but to resume energy purchases from Russia, energy experts tell Politico.

🇪🇺 is now particularly vulnerable because it's been cutting back climate legislation over the past year (partly as a result of 🇺🇸pressure) and investors have reacted accordingly.

All Europeans will pay the price for their leaders' reaction to the 🇺🇸🇮🇱 attack on Iran this weekend.

European leaders (all except Pedro Sanchez) have now accepted the end of international law.

The consequences of this will be felt not for weeks, not for years, but for decades

The EU president does not lift a finger to condemn the attack by Miliei - Argentine on workers' rights

Those attacks seek a competitive advantage at expense of workers in both Argentina and the EU

#solidarity with workers and unions in Argentina

@epsu.bsky.social
@psiglobalunion.bsky.social

US says EU ambition to cut reliance on American gas is ‘unfortunate’ Trump’s energy chief Chris Wright said the U.S. was a “rock-solid” energy supplier.

Donald Trump's energy chief slammed his EU counterpart over suggestions Europe should reduce its dependence on American liquefied natural gas, insisting Washington would “never” weaponize energy exports.

Nato, Canada step up support for US vs Iran, Trump hailed as 'leader of the free world' - Bytes Europe Trump is the 'leader of the free world': Rutte

Nato, Canada step up support for US vs Iran, Trump hailed as ‘leader of the free world’

https://www.byteseu.com/1842684/

Trump is the ‘leader of the free world’: Rutte Rutte hailed Trump as the “leader of the free world,” commending the strikes that eliminated Supreme Leader Khamenei. ‘Epic …

Trump’s Iran strikes are textbook diversionary war: when approval ratings fall, bombs fall too.

But this time the bombs blew open fault lines everywhere:

🇺🇸 MAGA splits
🫏 Democrats fracture

🇪🇺 Europe divides

🌐 The ‘West’ fractures

It’s a diversion war

Punt is ook dat Brekelmans rekent op een journalistiek die zulke duidelijk propagandistische drogredeneringen laat passeren. En dat hij daar *terecht* op rekent. Alleen de ingehuurde deskundoloog geeft weerwoord, niet de journalist zelf. Zo wordt internationaal recht gereduceerd tot een opinie.

Here we go again and our paper with @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social shows likely result - fat profits for the rich and increasing #inequality

NATO Chief Calls on European Allies To Support War Against Iran NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview that the United States’ and Israel’s war against Iran is crucial for security in Europe. He said the allies could support the effort even without direct involvement in military operations, through logistics and access.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview that the United States’ and Israel’s war against Iran is crucial for security in Europe. He said the allies could support the effort even without direct involvement in military operations, through logistics and access.

Quote from Guardian: "Senior Labour figures are urging Keir Starmer to take a leaf out of Donald Trump’s book and make more frequent media appearances in an attempt to dominate the political agenda as the US president does. MPs told the Guardian they want the prime minister to act more like Trump, who has upended political convention by televising large parts of his cabinet, holding long bilateral meetings on camera and calling in to live television shows." https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/apr/19/labour-mps-urge-starmer-to-get-out-there-with-trump-style-media-strategy

Trump has found ways of communicating that serve his politics brilliantly: that stoke division, intimidate opponents, spread lies & corrupt institutions.

His methods cannot be used to ease division, rebuild trust, oppose "simplism" & uphold democracy.

We have to beat Trump's methods, not ape them.

Europe prepares for higher energy prices after US attack on Iran The EU imports nearly all its fossil fuels, leaving it vulnerable to geopolitical conflict.

Had European governments made different choices over the past year, the EU might be more resilient to the energy shock now coming as a result of the 🇺🇸🇮🇱 attack on 🇮🇷.

Now, faced with a slew of bad options after gutting climate laws, some may go hat in hand back to Russia.

Mark Ames en X: "Europe leaders support this war, even though it’s transfering wealth from their hurting economies into Trump’s donors’ pockets, empowering Trump to further abuse & carve up Europe—and boost Trump’s far-right European allies. Bonus: also transfers wealth to Russia’s budget." / X […]

Blijft bijzonder hoe VVD fractievoorzitter Brekelmans en oud-VVD-er en "toponderhandelaar" van Rossum bij #Jinek aanval op #Iran mogen duiden. Je krijgt twee keer hetzelfde: internationaal recht is niks, geweld is realistisch, Europa telt niet mee plus wat dubieuze claims over het nucleaire gevaar.

Trump’s Case for War With Iran Faces Growing Scrutiny U.S. intelligence showed threats from Iran loomed, as they had for years. But they were not imminent.

"U.S. officials and lawmakers with access to classified information ... say the administration’s assertions are incomplete, unsubstantiated, or flat-out wrong."

- Wall Street Journal

LRB Blog Europe’s leading magazine of ideas, published twice a month. Book reviews and essays (and much more online) renowned for their fearlessness, range and elegance.

On the myth of the post-Cold War "peace dividend" (in Britain) www.lrb.co.uk/blog/

The Century-Long Capture of U.S. Media | On the Media | WNYC Studios As media empires, from The Washington Post to CBS News, continue to be dealt significant blows, uncertainties abound about the remaining strength of a once robust American press lands...

From @onthemedia.bsky.social A rocking interview about media capture from mid-19th century to now. Clear, detailed, with helpful comparison to systems other than ours. Can't say enough about it. With @victorpickard.bsky.social, a brilliantly accessible expert.

www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...