« In zijn boek ‘De laatste dagen van het oude normaal’ maakt Peter Mertens de balans op van de nieuwe wereldorde. Hij hekelt ‘de testosteronmannetjes die graag soldaatje spelen’, waarschuwt voor de Duitse expansiedrift en laat Karl Marx oordelen over AI. ‘Het is te simplistisch de toestand in de VS helemaal toe te schrijven aan één malloot.’ » Interview over mijn nieuw boek nu online bij @Humo: humo.be/nieuws/peter-mertens…

The reactions of Belgian Foreign Minister @prevotmaxime of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, @kajakallas, to the US aggression against Venezuela are highly revealing. The thing is: Trump can only do what he is doing because political leaders like Prévot and Kallas systematically refuse to condemn Washington’s war crimes. They do not dare to raise even a finger against Trump. In doing so, Belgium and Europe make themselves irrelevant. Today we see Washington’s new security strategy in action: Trump wants full and exclusive control over the Western Hemisphere, starting with what the US sees as its strategic “backyard” - Latin America. Trump claims the exclusive right to intervene wherever he wants: to plunder oil and other resources, support allies, overthrow regimes that want to chart their own course, kidnap presidents, bomb infrastructure, and seize oil tankers. This is the #Donroe Doctrine unfolding before our eyes: Trump reactivating the old and disastrous legacy of the #Monroe Doctrine, but adding an extra layer of aggression. To control oil and other resources. To push China, Russia, and other rivals out of his “backyard”. And by attacking Venezuela, Trump also aims to strike Cuba. Once again, Europe goes down on its knees. By remaining silent every time international law is flagrantly violated, it normalizes impunity. It is high time for this to stop. Because the question becomes ever more urgent: what is left of international law if it is not even invoked against the most powerful aggressors in the world? When will Europe finally take a clear position? Not by dancing around the issue, not by repeating Trump-style talk about a so-called “war on drugs”, but by clearly breaking with the neo-colonial logic - wherever it comes from. Solidarity with the Venezuelan people and with the people of the Caribbean as a whole, who bear the direct consequences of this new US aggression. It is time to stand firmly with the peace movements, trade unions, social organizations, solidarity committees, and academics who oppose this war and the madness of US-imperialism.

Er gebeurt hier iets uitzonderlijk. Meer dan 120.000 mensen op straat, uit alle hoeken van het land, uit alle sectoren. Al die gezichten samen hier in Brussel, dat is het België dat opstaat. Het België dat zegt: “Nu is het genoeg.” Samen kunnen we de regering doen terugdeinzen.

In Britain, @zarahsultana & @jeremycorbyn launched an initiative to build a new party based on social justice and peace, to oppose a rigged system. In only a few days, near half a million people signed up. That's massive! People have had enough. Good luck and all our solidarity!

Von der Leyen completely crumbled and agreed to essentially everything Trump demanded. The US forced Brussels to accept 15% tariffs, while they themselves pay 0% on the $100B in weapons and $750B in energy they will supply to Europe. This is no deal, this is a rip-off.

Het gegoochel met woorden van sommige regeringspartijen ten spijt: neen, de superrijken zullen de Arizona-meerwaardetaks niet betalen. Wie aandelen via vennootschappen aanhoudt - zoals rijkste 1% vaak doet - kan immers volledig vrijgesteld worden. (1/4)

Tekst en uitleg door @JanJambon: Een meerwaardebelasting die allerrijksten ontziet, met beperkte en onzekere opbrengst… in ruil voor sociale afbraak van pensioenen en arbeidsrechten én elk jaar extra miljarden voor oorlog. Een woordje daarover @cdenv @vooruit_nu @LesEngages_be?