Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
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berthubert.bsky.social
Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
@berthubert.bsky.social
Software developer, entrepreneur, former government regulator, current government advisor, amateur scientist, publicist. https://berthub.eu/ More active on Mastodon -> @[email protected] -> Nederlandse BlueSky @berthub.eu
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(sorry to spam you with this) - voor mijn Nederlandstalige volgers, weet dat mijn dingen over Nederland, politiek etc te vinden zijn op mijn andere account: @berthub.eu
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
2024: can Europe defend itself ALONGSIDE America?

2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?

2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
January 18, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Keir Starmer often takes 2-3 days to issue very mild criticism of US actions. This is both direct and issued fast.

I think there is a serious risk that the US miscalculated quite what a big deal the Greenland thing is to Europe (and in Europe).
NEW - Starmer says US "completely wrong" in threatening tariffs over Greenland
January 17, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
What Europe could do is threaten to boycott the World Cup. It won't. But that might actually work. Trump wants his big show.
January 17, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Trump: "Starting Feb 1, all above mentioned Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, & Finland), will be charged a 10% Tariff. On June 1, it will be increased to 25%. It will be due until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland."
January 17, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
This is it, Europe. It's now or never.

Do you want to be vassal states of America, or do you want to be sovereign?

The choices you make at this moment will determine your future for decades.
January 17, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
President Trump announces that from Feb. 1, there'll be a 10% tariff on all goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands and Finland, increasing to 25% on June 1, until a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland by the US.
January 17, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Look, I would have said it’s impossible to goad the Europeans out of their pro-American stupor.

But Trump is giving it his best shot.
Trump says he'll impose a 10% tariff (rising to 25% in June) on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, because they've sent people to Greenland, until the US can buy Greenland.
January 17, 2026 at 4:35 PM
This is very good advice in general. If you are happy something is confirming what you'd love to believe, be extra suspicious. And the reverse goes as well, if an article bears news you'd love to reject based on superficialities, do give it a skim anyhow.
One of the core rules of doing what I do is that if something confirms my bias in check it harder. His single citation for these claims is a dodgy website which looks like it’s using AI generated copy

maarthandam.com/2025/12/25/s...
January 17, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
One of the core rules of doing what I do is that if something confirms my bias in check it harder. His single citation for these claims is a dodgy website which looks like it’s using AI generated copy

maarthandam.com/2025/12/25/s...
January 17, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Via @berthubert.bsky.social een waarschuwing dat de Nederlandse Overheid de risico's van buitenlandse software en providers niet moeten negeren

berthub.eu/articles/pos...
Nee je kan niet meer je overheid en maatschappij verhuizen naar Amerikaanse servers - Bert Hubert
De hele korte versie: het is waanzin om onze maatschappij en overheid over te zetten op Amerikaanse clouds. Niet alleen is het een dom idee gezien wat de “Koning van Amerika” allemaal roept, de juridi...
berthub.eu
January 17, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Very strange Economist leader.
Not sure ‘bad things also happened in the 18th and 19th centuries’ is an especially reassuring argument.

America has coped with worse things than Donald Trump
economist.com/leaders/2026...
America has coped with worse things than Donald Trump
Lessons from history for the next three years
economist.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Ik kan gewoon niet meer - net gehoord dat een van de grootste verwerkers van privégegevens binnen de overheid druk bezig is met zijn totale migratie naar Microsoft Azure. En de mensen die het tegen zouden kunnen houden worden buitengesloten & hebben het opgegeven. Stukje: berthub.eu/articles/pos...
January 16, 2026 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
First Ariane 64 (with 4 boosters) VA267 will launch from CSG on the 12th of February for Amazon Leo (LE-01)

Source: newsroom.arianespace.com/arianespace-...
January 15, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Holy hell. The description of death row in apartheid South Africa was one of the most harrowing things I've ever read.

Also.

This guy wasn't fucking around.
January 15, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Case in point, this image widely used to report an (apparently legit) story appears to be an AI fake.
January 14, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
The FT got is architecture critic Edwin Heathcote to write about data centres and it's wonderful. www.ft.com/content/7692...
January 14, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Scott Adams Takes Own Advice To “Get The Hell Away From Black People”
January 13, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
Spent the last few days in Ukraine where the security forces are heavily armed, but polite and under control. I never had the slightest worry that they would shoot an unarmed person at close distance and celebrate it.
January 13, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
January 9, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
January 12, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
I do appreciate the US state department strengthening my case here with their sanctions on former EU officials & other supporters of EU digital safety acts just now: berthub.eu/articles/pos...
It is no longer safe to move our governments and societies to US clouds - Bert Hubert
The very short version: it is madness to continue transferring the running of European societies and governments to American clouds. Not only is it a terrible idea given the kind of things the “King o...
berthub.eu
December 23, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Interestingly, a number of people have called me naive that I blame this on a lack of skills. Various folks think this stuff happens through active or passive corruption & US lobbying. berthub.eu/articles/pos... "Europe's executives need to skill up to solve our total US cloud dependency"
Europe
Europe is experiencing a crisis of digital autonomy. Our dependence on US big tech has been growing for decades and is now nearly total, at a time when worries about our former ally are no longer theo...
berthub.eu
January 11, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
What EU doing?
January 5, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Reposted by Bert Hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦
This. Also: Europe does not do visionary speeches the way the Americans do. Our public sphere works in fundamentally different ways. Just because we don't do change like you do doesn't mean we do not do change. Brexiteers got this wrong too.
The thing I think folks struggle to appreciate with this stuff tho is however hard it is to wean Europe off US tech is *at least as hard* as it will be for US tech to get back into Europe after that type of transition kicks into high gear
January 11, 2026 at 2:51 PM