Forum | Arjan Dirkse | Activity https://thecarrier.net/members/arjandirkse/activity/ Activity feed for Arjan Dirkse. Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:50:35 +0000 https://buddypress.org/?v= en-US 30 hourly 2 999099068886cafe6554aa097c72007d Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-147083 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:48:14 +0000 Replacement migration is going pretty well though. The Netherlands grew from 16 to 18 million in the last two decades and that isn’t due to births.

]]> ce2abc013fbbecd04479e934b1e5b081 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-147076 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:28:54 +0000 It’s a conundrum. But Gar is probably right, at its core it’s just capitalism at work probably. Babies don’t make sense economically. That’s the hard truth, and it probably accounts for most of the decline. You can say you should counter that by spreading the conservative message that childbearing is an essential part of life, but many people just…Read more

]]> 58fbfbd5d95e3ce01e8b2e8b8f3873bc Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic News thread in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/news-thread/page/8/#post-147074 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:27:09 +0000 There is a bit of a backlash against metoo stuff here in the Netherlands. A Dutch singer, Marco Borsato, who was on trial for sexual assault of a minor and who was acquitted was on tv again for the first time in years, trying to do a come back. Some people firmly believe he did nothing wrng, this despite certain clear established facts, like he…Read more

]]> ae39ec643fac287a4b945a9f8f0b5857 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-147066 Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:33:15 +0000 I still don’t really understand why this is happening. It’s really happening everywhere except a fe African countries.

 

I think increased wealth is one factor probably, people don’t need kids anymore to look after them when they’re old, because the state takes care of that.

]]> 99660c64242c2063a8d5369d33b8257e Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic What Is Going On In Your Life? in the forum Treehousery https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/what-is-going-on-in-your-life/page/6/#post-147056 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:40:51 +0000 Things are going very well right now. Very happy with my volunteer work which I’m now doing 3 days a week.

 

I was reminded of a quote from Shawshank Redemption, you either get busy living or you get busy dying. I realized I had been busy dying for a long time. Now I’m trying living.

]]> 81061ff42e788d38378a6302f7dae9ca Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Funny pictures, images and the like in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/funny-pictures-images-and-the-like/page/25/#post-147035 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:23:17 +0000

]]> be3e1ff6cf94fcd6b5094a5f888a4b2e Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Funny pictures, images and the like in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/funny-pictures-images-and-the-like/page/25/#post-147026 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:42:09 +0000 Yeah ads are really a plague.

]]> ea0a8c187707663f716d3addbd77aefd Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-147016 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:54:33 +0000 Really it just comes down to fairness…I think you can condemn anyone, Jew or not Jew, who does something bad or has horrible opinions. But you can’t attack someone for their group identity. That doesn’t make sense.

]]> b01a4e6c9b1349eb132549fcf444039d Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146999 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:50:55 +0000 I watched a podcast with Dutch philosopher Haroon Sheikh about the sinister ideas in Silicon Valley about AI, where society is heading, and how they intermingle with politics. It’s all pretty upsetting.

 

Many of them believe in radically changing human nature, getting rid of empathy, letting the weak perish. Like what Nietzsche says, that which…Read more

]]> e6f8c3e5d94ef63501e0aa0a384858c6 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic News thread in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/news-thread/page/8/#post-146998 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:07:36 +0000 I kinda like Ossoff, but I don’t know very much about him.

]]> 86f0cad2eb484033faef17d2e6d09358 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146990 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 20:34:12 +0000 Hopefully…

 

I have my problems with parties that are on the left, but the right is just evil. Sucking up to Trump and Netanyahu and using all foreigners as scapegoats. It’s pretty bad

 

Our King Willem Alexander and PM Jetten are having a meeting with Trump this week. Weird timing.

]]> ec9e68e9520c09bb091a315d1d41cab4 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146987 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:31:23 +0000 Orban has conceded. It’s over.

]]> 6434e3c4ec5865b7d2149a73e8959117 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146986 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:09:17 +0000 Looks like a huge win for the opposition in Hungary! Nice.

]]> ac2e895501fe3007b170262f8ac914f3 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic News thread in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/news-thread/page/8/#post-146965 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 08:58:50 +0000 If Harris or Buttigieg is the candidate, I think the dems will probably lose. They just don’t have the right charisma. They look wimpy.

 

 

 

 

]]> 8aeeaddcc5ba8d3eede8b5ddd343c981 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic The Random Thread Of Randomosity in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/the-random-thread-of-randomosity/page/11/#post-146949 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:13:11 +0000 My current avatar is an enso, a hand drawn circle which is a symbol in Zen Buddhism.

]]> d8ae7fd5c409c36bf6afab8009b8634d Arjan Dirkse changed their profile picture https://thecarrier.net/activity/p/132124/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:10:59 +0000 0 c55961ee55c5c46aae48b549885e8b78 Arjan Dirkse changed their profile picture https://thecarrier.net/activity/p/132121/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 18:32:08 +0000 0 e45001daa0a0927b1f94950b8472185a Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146944 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:15:45 +0000 The Dutch Voedingscentrum (food centre) in its new guidelines said we should ideally eat no more than 300 grams of meat a week, of which 100 grams of red meat. That’s about the amount of meat people eat in countries like Togo and Niger. I don’t think people there are healthier than us.

 

The suspicion many have is that it’s not about health,…Read more

]]> e31f39bb6d52e793670bc58544a1e797 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Funny pictures, images and the like in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/funny-pictures-images-and-the-like/page/25/#post-146940 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 12:57:11 +0000

]]> d7a394e0a60054675cafcf82785d5399 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146937 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:31:50 +0000 It might seems like a good thing that there is so much infighting now in MAGA circles but there is a big shift towards what is pure antisemitism happening. Tucker Carlson is instrumental in this, getting people like Darryl Cooper on his show who is a huge antisemite. And he also had Nick Fuentes on I think.

 

Criticizing Israel is one thing, but…Read more

]]> 36de5a13742314d097fcffab22ee6f10 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Funny pictures, images and the like in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/funny-pictures-images-and-the-like/page/25/#post-146933 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:14:10 +0000

]]> 7f4c2b46b2f623731a25b188ebe0b830 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146931 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:57:46 +0000  

People can say about the Vatican what they want but I think their stance on these wars that have been going on, in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran (there are other wars as well but I haven’t heard the pope comment on them) has been very consistently on the side of peace.

 

]]> cec10577e9ecf64cd35e91d5bbfe15aa Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146926 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:51:16 +0000 Israel is calling their current actions in Lebanon “Operation Eternal Darkness”. They’re really as crazy as the nazis were.

]]> a0609342f3e41a6c9cadb74d167dee95 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146922 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:39:23 +0000 All the misinformation around this war in Iran has been amazing. Of course from Trump, but the pro-Iranian side also made up incredible lies. Claiming all of Tel Aviv was reduced to rubble.

]]> 6604605887f053587471e3e4ff1747e3 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146903 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:32:48 +0000 Apparently the Pentagon threatened the pope. That seems in line with this administration. It’s all very antichristian.

 

https://newrepublic.com/post/208820/pentagon-threatened-pope-criticized-donald-trump

]]> a198cc83f92563a3fd3ae8bdd72cf963 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146882 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:11:33 +0000 You have to remember who the people were that were all in favor when Trump openly threatened to genocide the Iranians but who are now back to saying “we have to save the Persian people from the evil Islamist regime”.

]]> c93bde439a2194d77e827715aefcb89d Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/31/#post-146881 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:41:03 +0000 Crazy thing that Alex Jones is calling for the 25th amendment to remove Trump and my own government in the Netherlands is saying, well we shouldn’t demonize Trump, we have to work together.

]]> a56d4d2ed28052994506c4f0364befae Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146827 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 21:45:21 +0000 Yeah it’s the same in the Netherlands. People blame Labor party PvdA for screwing the country, but they haven’t been in power for 15 years or so. VVD, Rutte’s party, is the real devil of Dutch politics. They’re “conservative liberals”, but they’re really worse than Wilders in how they fuck things up.

 

VVD is also the party that fellates the US…Read more

]]> 8ee5bf5775d7bc56efed8d76740c6d27 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146823 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:31:59 +0000 Well I think people vote for what they think is best for the country, but that doesn’t mean they’re right. They think Musk etc are good for the country but obiously they’re wrong.

]]> 7e5f6b08b31b977e97bc2096d4a87bea Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146818 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:34:41 +0000 I guess you can be mad at people voting out of malice, to hurt people, usually minorities. Or liek when they vote for a candidate who threatens to attack some peaceful neighboring country. But I really believe that’s rare. Most people vote for the candidate they think is best for the country.

 

Maybe happening more than it used to though. I am…Read more

]]> adb3bc544fce18215ab9dc551f6c1f41 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146816 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:48:51 +0000 It’s also a question of an individual’s responsibility versus the responsibility of society. We can blame the individual voter for voting wrong, but that’s kind of like the neoliberal “bootstraps” ideology where everything that happens in your life is your own fault. Isn’t it also the fault of the larger community as well? It’s the responsibility…Read more

]]> 205c2cca760545025cab29a5c4aa86d0 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146808 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:35:52 +0000 Well there’s a lot of propaganda ot there influencing how people vote, and that is outside of the voting individual’s control. (As well as other factor’s outside of our control, like what religion one is born in, one’s education, how parents and friends and loved ones influence them etc)

 

For instance in Russia, which is saturated with…Read more

]]> 57a4f469406f3f9f784e3daa2eccad50 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146804 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:08:55 +0000  

I also think the “social distancing” during covid is damaging because of this. We lost some of the skills we use in communicating and having social connections.

 

It is actually cruel, especially to kids who are still acquiring those skills, to do social distancing. In a time of trouble, as corona was, you should encourage people being more…Read more

]]> d18a3a1db95f7b91aa0f187aa4910b67 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146802 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:08:23 +0000 I think there is a connection with modernity and capitalism. People seem to be losing, I dunno, nuance. Everything is about short term gratification of desires. Getting a quick dopamine hit. Concern for others, for mutual benefit, the building of societal trust and the overall good, are dropped to some extent. It blunts the skills we use for such…Read more

]]> 30ec605ddc5053904ce02758723d8f5e Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146796 Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:48:28 +0000 I think it’s also a kind of cultural degeneration. The IQ in Western countries is dropping. It’s not really clear what is causing this. But if you look at the level of discourse in talk shows, political debates etc, the stuff delivered by the mass media, it’s clear things are getting dumber. This is not just true for the right wing of the…Read more

]]> 9b235ccfcee6e7829f7db70bb18ca9c1 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146792 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 20:49:44 +0000 Honestly it’s tough to blame people for their votes. People are often raised in a bubble and influenced in ways that make them vote some way, like evangelical Christians. To some extent it overrides free will.

 

There are also voters who focus on one issue, and don’t have the capacity to see the broader picture. For instance they vote Republican…Read more

]]> 612a9e10cbf5e6f1970253325e2e1216 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146775 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:14:44 +0000 Yeah they can be bigoted. I am not excusing that of course. I just think for some voters voting right wing somehow mitigates some sexual insecurities.

 

Maybe it’s similar to how some religious people might pray for forgiveness after some perceived sin.

]]> c0137daa1ae942ffa8225e9be2f292da Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146772 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 06:43:46 +0000 I believe that a significant part of right wing voting men have some secret sexual thing, like being gay or having some fetish, something that they feel they can exorcise, cleanse themselves from by voting right wing.

 

Umm Kamala has some good points…but if I vote for her…I might be homosexual!

]]> a96f15b4887ee3bee72de562d780b780 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146768 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 19:03:09 +0000 Only since the Union of Arras in 1579! One day we’ll get it back.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Arras

]]> f106915522f64abc4ea2f19360563d97 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146761 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 10:09:53 +0000 That seems to be a technical issue, some fatbikes can be hacked to make them go faster. Officially they have to be limited to 25 km/h but it’s easy to make them faster. I think they can do it with their smartphone even. I have no idea how it works.

 

I think the EU is trying to fight that, they made some fatbikes illegal. I have to be honest and…Read more

]]> 3483bc7dfcfd5a295347c4ca75f31530 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146753 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:14:23 +0000 A speaker at a small pro-Palestinian demonstration by an Islamic organization in Amsterdam said it was a shame Hitler didn’t finish the Holocaust. I’m pretty sure the large majority of pro-Palestinian protesters are not anti-semitic, but some definitely are.

]]> 59cb1837287fd6ff474d0126f3d86d0c Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic The Random Thread Of Randomosity in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/the-random-thread-of-randomosity/page/11/#post-146752 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:32:24 +0000 The cane sugar in Mexican coke is broken down by the acid in the coke into the same molecules that are in high fructose corn syrup. There may be some difference in taste, but that is not because of the sugar. And for health it is just the same stuff.

]]> caffded43099cfaa5cb30fae1827f6ee Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146746 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:53:14 +0000 That seems great. The problem in the Netherlands is that politicians want to make a difference between “decent” electric bikes that look like normal bikes, and so called fatbikes that look like this:

 

 

And that’s legally pretty much impossible. They’re just normal electrical bikes but a bit more macho looking and with thick…Read more

]]> 624aa6e6453098ad934e0aeac7415147 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146744 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:36:27 +0000 They seem to attract antisocial folks, somehow. They look big and tough, like a motorbike kind of, so I think that’s why the teenagers who are prone to being a bit antisocial get them

 

But if you just keep to the rules and behave politely in traffic there’s nothing wrong with fatbikes.

]]> 7d1ab86930684f243ac9b7346edbee43 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146742 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:32:21 +0000 Honestly it is kinda amusing the weird circles politicians talk themselves into with fatbikes. It is not the fatbikes that hurt people, it’s the antisocial scum that rides on them, in an antisocial manner. That’s who you have to get off the street. It’s not the fatbikes, stupid.

]]> f26d52871afcb07af3079dab0b0a85fe Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146739 Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:12:53 +0000 Ah OK I didn’t know about that one, thanks for pointing that out.

]]> a4bc33728f8e737c723a3f0e41b0155c Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146738 Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:10:29 +0000 Right that’s true…I was thinking about DW, but I wasn’t sure it was anglophone. The Netheralnds doesn’t have anything comparable to this. I think France has a similar thing too, France 24. But I think DW and F24 are focused on Germany and France rather than the EU as a whole.

 

Still I am not sure they make such a big impact as RT and Al…Read more

]]> ae7c60dedf2ee8488436900e73fbd087 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic The Random Thread Of Randomosity in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/the-random-thread-of-randomosity/page/11/#post-146713 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:08:42 +0000 Ads are totally fucking insane. I got an ad on twitter asking me to invest in the South Chinese power grid and I just got an ad on youtube for real estate in Monaco, specifically a 5 million euro apartment…

]]> 4cac73479f429e076126ced251a90557 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Politics and Current Affairs in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/politics-and-current-affairs/page/30/#post-146712 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:48:03 +0000 Of course state media and private media could coexist, as well as social media etc. I’m not saying the state should have a news monopoly.

 

I also believe the EU needs an anglophone media platform to represent itself to the rest of the world. Al Jazeera kind of does that for part of the Arab world.

]]> ade3b0142d8c9efc5048eebbbbb31976 Arjan Dirkse replied to the topic Funny pictures, images and the like in the forum The Loveland Arms - pub chat https://thecarrier.net/forums/topic/funny-pictures-images-and-the-like/page/25/#post-146707 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:53:20 +0000

]]>