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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 4d

I thought of a paradox: the most Kremlin-friendly populists (soon) seem to rule Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. All countries that resisted and suffered from the Kremlin's iron fist in postwar central Europe. Am I right here? Any central Europe experts have an explanation?

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 7d

One major challenge in understanding the lives of homeless people, is the lack of reliable and encompassing data. One source that is underexploited are the data produced by outreach organisations. Grateful to Diogenes for the collaboration!
doi.org/10.4000/14tnx

The role of begging in the survival strategies of Brussels street p...

Introduction A good thirty years ago, on 1 March 1993, begging and homelessness were decriminalised after many centuries. Although the phenomenon of begging is no longer a criminal offence, it has ...

doi.org

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 9d

Sure, I come from elsewhere. But isn't the hopeful thing that contradicts the 'nothing changes' that these guys actually got suspended?

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 12d

Every monolingual that thinks the other guy is stupid, should go and learn a language (mostly they don't).
Sounding silly is at best a phase 2 concern. It starts with 'weird' grammar rules, words to memorise, combinations that are unacceptable. Bref, the first obstacle is not being understood.

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 18d

Geweld, ja, maar terrorisme?Ik zou toch wat uitkijken met het gebruik van 'terroristische acties'. Die inflatie in het gebruik van het concept wordt op dit eigenste moment gebruikt in de VS om andere stemmen te criminaliseren.

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 21d

Once bitten, twice shy? The country that invented appeasement does it again.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/s...

ABC barred from Trump’s UK press conference after his clash with Australian journalist John Lyons

Exclusive: London bureau of Australia’s national broadcaster informed accreditation removed for ‘logistical reasons’

www.theguardian.com

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 26d

Any academic plebiscite on the death penalty for reviewer 2 would win by a landslide.

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 27d

The odds that I have a coherent worldview may not be high, but it is immeasurably higher than me being coherent in the textiles that happen to meet me.

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · 28d

Wow...

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 28d

These are calls for mass political violence, against all Democrats. They openly call for the bombing of "Democrat" cities and for the jailing or killing of Democratic politicians. They are from some of the most influential voices in right-wing politics. Will anyone say anything?

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Sep 1

Soms is het leven gemakkelijk. Wat voor België opgaat, geldt ook voor Nederland: klein land, veel buitenland. Materiaal genoeg om over te kankeren. Goed voor hen!

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 28

Great observation from Noah Hawley in the first podcast accompanying the series.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFLJ...

Episode 1 - Neverland | Alien: Earth – The Official Podcast

YouTube video by FX Networks

www.youtube.com

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 28

"The Dunning-Kruger effect applies to smart people also. It's not just that stupid people don't know they're stupid; smart people don't know they're stupid. What happens at a certain level of wealth is, you start to believe that the genius that made you rich applies to everything."

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 20

Wow....
Reading for pleasure falls by 40% in the US - on.ft.com/4lBx9yG via @FT

Reading for pleasure falls by 40% in the US

Decline over two decades ‘deeply concerning’, say researchers of study into daily habits of Americans

on.ft.com

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 20

For the foodies: palate action.
For friends of the police: porcine action.
For melomaniacs: plagal action.
For the zoanthropes: plushy action.

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 20

You have to give it to them Americans: irritate your EU and Ukrainian 'allies', give a thumbs up to your kindred spirit, and kiss up to the bully. All of that with choosing a location. Faut le faire.

WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · Aug 20

According to Politico, the U.S. Secret Service has begun preparing Trump’s visit to Budapest, where a possible trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy, and Putin may take place.
www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 15

Waiting for a strange press conference, my train of thoughts drives me from Munich to Canossa.
But hey, he didn't have to go to the dictator's crib, and no ashes to see in the POTUS coiffure. So there's hope.

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 13

Strange that "across the Atlantic" just means the anglophone mother country across the pond. Could it be related to monolingualism?
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/o...

Opinion | A Warning From Across the Atlantic for Both Democrats and Republicans

www.nytimes.com

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 12

What a progress. The 19th century saying was 'open a school now, close a prison in 20 years". (Or at least, the French said so.)

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 11

Like the smell of two-stroke oil: instant saudade 😃

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 11

Long time ago, we drove through Morocco by car. Panhandling in every town, except for the capital. We imagined the king could not bear the sight of misery, hence the Maghreb-style Potemkin town of Rabat.
Now another prospective king plans the same ..
share.google/wBM7WtByk2py...

Trump demands homeless people 'immediately' move out of Washington DC

Trump says homeless people must go "far" from the nation's capital, as part of his anti-crime plan, but the mayor pushes back.

share.google

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 11

The very reliable fiscal law is: if the taxman asks for more money and taxpayers can see it, they will complain. This law works for all people in all classes. No rocket science.

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 11

Pretty straightforward, almost elegant, especially for a man not known for being a wordsmith.

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Aug 2

...presuming that Tigranes would react more effectively when knowing he's attacked. I am not sure this is the case for this 21st-century version.

Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Jul 24

Kavanaugh and Behan, both larger than life. Thanks for reminding me!

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Stef Adriaenssens @stefa3.bsky.social · Jul 19

"Free speech for me, but not for thee" sums it up nicely.

Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · Jul 19

Remember, just recently UATX let go of a faculty member for posting an innocuous thing on LinkedIn about having respectful discussions about DEI initiatives, and UATX people told her that a major funder told them she had to be fired.

www.techdirt.com/2025/05/19/w...