Ben Coates

(From the Noordbrabants Museum, which is worth a visit, especially if you like van Gogh)

In Den Bosch, a ‘schandhuik’, or shame cloak, from 1688, decorated with rats and toads. Women who committed adultery or worked as prostitutes would be chained into it and paraded through Den Bosch before being expelled from the city forever. (There was no equivalent punishment for men, obviously)

Ok, it seems there was a defence statement saying they tried to shoot them down at Volkel (although not I think Eindhoven). Shouldn’t conflate the two

bsky.app/profile/prof...

Ok, but that’s not Eindhoven?

That sounds clearer. But not the first paragraph I see on NOS?

“Weapons used” against drones is really not the same as “shooting them down” IMO
The standard and more likely response is jamming

Ha! Written two years ago… life comes at you fast

Odd that the BBC keeps prominently reporting that the Dutch military tried to shoot down drones in Eindhoven. Unless I missed something this was not necessarily the case - the defence minister has made a point of not saying what measures they took

Literally.

Shopping for gifts this weekend?
You know what to do 👇

Yes, it should be there!

A nice review of my new book from @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social

“Coates joins a Keti Koti parade, smokes weed, visits synagogues and revisits the site of the Bijlmermeer plane crash… he is a warm and witty guide, and it is easy to feel you are out walking with him”

www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/the-...

Apologies, in future if I’m going to post that I think something deserves more coverage I will be sure to check that unpleasant people who don’t follow me have not heard of it first

Not if you’re outside the UK

Someones Touchy Today Amelia Jones GIF ALT: Someones Touchy Today Amelia Jones GIF

@johnbloorprint.bsky.social
You blocked me for a polite answer to your question?

Not for me. 17th a few minutes ago.

🧐

Incredible not just that this happened, but that it’s not even a second or third tier news story, let alone something Farage will actually be held accountable for. Doesn’t make the top 15 stories on either the BBC or the Guardian! Filed under “Wales”.

Particularly wild that this is happening while the PM is literally the country’s former top intelligence official!

Zorgen in de Tweede Kamer over Amerikaanse overname van DigiD-partner Het van oorsprong Nederlandse cloud-bedrijf Solvinity komt mogelijk in Amerikaanse handen.

The Netherlands talks a big game about tech sovereignty, but is now about to allow the domestic cloud provider that underpins its national digital identity system and several other critical government services to be sold off to a new American owner.

Incomprehensible.

nos.nl/artikel/2591...

A nice review of my new book from @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social

“Coates joins a Keti Koti parade, smokes weed, visits synagogues and revisits the site of the Bijlmermeer plane crash… he is a warm and witty guide, and it is easy to feel you are out walking with him”

www.dutchnews.nl/2025/11/the-...

Fire Breaks Out at COP30 Climate Talks in Brazil

not the onion

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/c...

this thread is unbelievable

Covid lockdown and 20,000 deaths could have been avoided, says damning report Covid Inquiry report finds Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings presided over ‘toxic and chaotic culture’ at heart of Number 10

Running a government during Covid was almost impossibly difficult.
But I think it’s pretty indisputable that if someone else - Cameron, Sunak, May, Hunt, Stewart, Starmer - had been in Downing Street in 2020-21, tens of thousands of Brits would still be alive

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

It’s terribly disappointing to see a genocide denier stoop so low ☹️

I’m reading (again) about Stalin’s cult of personality but I think even he would have considered this a bit much

I think my views are clear. You don’t have to share them, of course. But if you find it lame then it’s probably not worth spending more time on. Have a nice day!

#NoFilter

Gelukkig had ons scheepsrampverhaal, in tegenstelling tot de echte Titanic, een happy end Velen van ons zijn opgegroeid met verhalen over de grootste scheepsrampen uit de geschiedenis. De Titanic. De Lusitania. De Batavia. De Costa Concordia. En deze week is er een nieuwe aan de lijst toe ...

Velen van ons zijn opgegroeid met verhalen over de grootste scheepsrampen uit de geschiedenis. De Titanic. De Lusitania. De Batavia. De Costa Concordia. En deze week is er een nieuwe aan de lijst toe te voegen. De Goudse Pietenbootramp van 2025.

www.ad.nl/gouda/gelukk...