Joost
@almodozo.bsky.social
Holland > Hungary > Spain
Same @almodozo as on Twitter, just without the Országház. Worked at OSF and CEU, but that's a long while ago. Studied East-European History, but that's even longer ago. Now, somehow, I ended up in Extremadura.
Same @almodozo as on Twitter, just without the Országház. Worked at OSF and CEU, but that's a long while ago. Studied East-European History, but that's even longer ago. Now, somehow, I ended up in Extremadura.
Pinned
Joost
@almodozo.bsky.social
· Sep 21
Not going to update my ancient Twitter bio, but I mostly post about:
— Elections and polls
— Central/East-European politics
— The war in Ukraine
— Maps and charts
— Dutch and Spanish politics
— Budapest memories, life in Extremadura
— The left, a love/hate relationship
— Media, archiving, minorities
— Elections and polls
— Central/East-European politics
— The war in Ukraine
— Maps and charts
— Dutch and Spanish politics
— Budapest memories, life in Extremadura
— The left, a love/hate relationship
— Media, archiving, minorities
Er waren vroeger natuurlijk ook volksbuurten waar de staat/overheid/politie als vijand werd gezien, of in ieder geval met een gezonde dosis weerzin en wantrouwen werd bejegend. Zou wel een stuk willen lezen over hoe vaak dat toen tot opstootjes enz leidde en hoe dat zich vergeleek met nu.
Stukje traditie in Amsterdam Noord. Politie beschieten met vuurwerk.
January 1, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Er waren vroeger natuurlijk ook volksbuurten waar de staat/overheid/politie als vijand werd gezien, of in ieder geval met een gezonde dosis weerzin en wantrouwen werd bejegend. Zou wel een stuk willen lezen over hoe vaak dat toen tot opstootjes enz leidde en hoe dat zich vergeleek met nu.
I'm not good at picking favourites, but from the top of my head this is the first one that comes to mind:
youtu.be/KfDoPEN7n5k?...
youtu.be/KfDoPEN7n5k?...
December 31, 2025 at 7:36 PM
I'm not good at picking favourites, but from the top of my head this is the first one that comes to mind:
youtu.be/KfDoPEN7n5k?...
youtu.be/KfDoPEN7n5k?...
My dad's greatgrandfather looked like he was straight from Jane Eyre or something. His wife looked a little more... stern.
December 31, 2025 at 2:00 PM
My dad's greatgrandfather looked like he was straight from Jane Eyre or something. His wife looked a little more... stern.
She was a great actor, but Brigitte Bardot had some great songs too, especially this one:
youtu.be/1SE_K7SSDKg?...
youtu.be/1SE_K7SSDKg?...
Brigitte Bardot - Contact ! - 1968
YouTube video by Phil41
youtu.be
December 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
She was a great actor, but Brigitte Bardot had some great songs too, especially this one:
youtu.be/1SE_K7SSDKg?...
youtu.be/1SE_K7SSDKg?...
A striking result in the Extremadura village of La Coronada, where local anger about the massive expansion of a mega-landfill triggered a political earthquake: the Podemos-IU list surged from 4% to 30% and a second place, while PSOE halved from 68% to 34%.
www.eldiario.es/extremadura/...
www.eldiario.es/extremadura/...
December 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
A striking result in the Extremadura village of La Coronada, where local anger about the massive expansion of a mega-landfill triggered a political earthquake: the Podemos-IU list surged from 4% to 30% and a second place, while PSOE halved from 68% to 34%.
www.eldiario.es/extremadura/...
www.eldiario.es/extremadura/...
Spain's next regional election will take place in Aragon. Will "the left of the left" have a joint list again, following the successful example of the Podemos-IU list in Extremadura? Yeah, probably not.
arainfo.org/cha-primaria...
arainfo.org/cha-primaria...
CHA convoca primarias para el 28 de diciembre y aleja la posibilidad de una candidatura unitaria
La secretaria general, Isabel Lasobras, ha denunciado “vetos cruzados” y ha dicho que “Chunta Aragonesista va a seguir trabajando para facilitar acuerdos y ofrecer al electorado aragonés la posibilida...
arainfo.org
December 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Spain's next regional election will take place in Aragon. Will "the left of the left" have a joint list again, following the successful example of the Podemos-IU list in Extremadura? Yeah, probably not.
arainfo.org/cha-primaria...
arainfo.org/cha-primaria...
Passing through Portugal I noticed that Chega doesn't even bother with dog whistles in the presidential election campaign. Their billboards just say: "Immigrants can't live on subsidies". And: "Gypsies have to conform to the law"
December 23, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Passing through Portugal I noticed that Chega doesn't even bother with dog whistles in the presidential election campaign. Their billboards just say: "Immigrants can't live on subsidies". And: "Gypsies have to conform to the law"
Spoiler: it really isn't
December 23, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Spoiler: it really isn't
Just in case you thought that the success of the joint Podemos/IU list in Extremadura (in my town, for example, that's pretty much still just IU) would stimulate greater unity on the left, de Miguel has had no contact with Diaz and called her "a fraud against the left" during the campaign
Unidas por Extremadura se reivindica como la “esperanza” para la izquierda con tres escaños más
Irene de Miguel logra el 10,15% de los votos y rentabiliza la caída del PSOE con una lista que aúna todo el espacio
elpais.com
December 22, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Just in case you thought that the success of the joint Podemos/IU list in Extremadura (in my town, for example, that's pretty much still just IU) would stimulate greater unity on the left, de Miguel has had no contact with Diaz and called her "a fraud against the left" during the campaign
Updated with actual results: the accelerating decline of PSOE in Extremadura, and the corresponding surge for right-wing parties. Both processes that have been underway since 2007 (or 1991, if you squint), but it's only now that things completely fell apart
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
December 22, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Updated with actual results: the accelerating decline of PSOE in Extremadura, and the corresponding surge for right-wing parties. Both processes that have been underway since 2007 (or 1991, if you squint), but it's only now that things completely fell apart
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
Extremadura election results even worse than predicted, according to exit poll: 60% for the right, 36% for the left. Earthquake.
December 21, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Extremadura election results even worse than predicted, according to exit poll: 60% for the right, 36% for the left. Earthquake.
Legacies of depopulation: in two Extremadura villages, more than half of registered voters live abroad. Goes back to the waves of emigration last century which peaked in the 1960s.
www.hoy.es/elecciones/e...
www.hoy.es/elecciones/e...
Dos pueblos extremeños tienen más votantes en el extranjero que en su propio municipio | Hoy
Campillo de Deleitosa y Mesas de Ibor cuenta con más censados fuera de España que en su localidad fruto de la migración en los sesenta
www.hoy.es
December 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Legacies of depopulation: in two Extremadura villages, more than half of registered voters live abroad. Goes back to the waves of emigration last century which peaked in the 1960s.
www.hoy.es/elecciones/e...
www.hoy.es/elecciones/e...
Turnout in Extremadura regional elections was 5 points down on 2023 at 2 pm. And it has cratered especially in leftwing neighborhoods of Badajoz and Caceres. "Our voters stayed home"
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
Elecciones en Extremadura 21-D, en directo | La participación ronda el 36% a las 14.00, más de cinco puntos menos que en 2023
Los principales candidatos han votado y han llamado a la movilización
elpais.com
December 21, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Turnout in Extremadura regional elections was 5 points down on 2023 at 2 pm. And it has cratered especially in leftwing neighborhoods of Badajoz and Caceres. "Our voters stayed home"
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
elpais.com/espana/elecc...
The day before regional elections in Extremadura, two charts to place current polling in historical context.
This used to be PSOE heartland: 18 years ago the socialists still got an absolute majority here. Now they'll be lucky to get the 32% shown here, not much more than nationally.
This used to be PSOE heartland: 18 years ago the socialists still got an absolute majority here. Now they'll be lucky to get the 32% shown here, not much more than nationally.
December 20, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The day before regional elections in Extremadura, two charts to place current polling in historical context.
This used to be PSOE heartland: 18 years ago the socialists still got an absolute majority here. Now they'll be lucky to get the 32% shown here, not much more than nationally.
This used to be PSOE heartland: 18 years ago the socialists still got an absolute majority here. Now they'll be lucky to get the 32% shown here, not much more than nationally.
Two days before elections in Extremadura, the vox populi in my coffeeshop is: they all suck. "One day there's a scandal with Juan from this side, the next day it's Juanita from the other side". A client says she won't vote; the older woman working the counter says she doesn't like any of them either
December 19, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Two days before elections in Extremadura, the vox populi in my coffeeshop is: they all suck. "One day there's a scandal with Juan from this side, the next day it's Juanita from the other side". A client says she won't vote; the older woman working the counter says she doesn't like any of them either
"als studenten hem nu vragen wat híj ergens van vindt, dan zegt Mudde regelmatig: begrijp je dat ik ontslagen kan worden als ik hier eerlijk op antwoord? „Maar dan kijken ze me aan van: waar héb je het over? Het ontgaat ze volledig. Het is vervreemdend.”"
December 19, 2025 at 2:32 PM
"als studenten hem nu vragen wat híj ergens van vindt, dan zegt Mudde regelmatig: begrijp je dat ik ontslagen kan worden als ik hier eerlijk op antwoord? „Maar dan kijken ze me aan van: waar héb je het over? Het ontgaat ze volledig. Het is vervreemdend.”"
Very amusing tale of the WSJ adopting an AI vending machine — and then, an AI boss for the AI vending machine. "Profits collapsed. Newsroom morale soared."
So maybe there's still some hope for the WSJ
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
Anthropic’s Claude ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish
archive.ph/rTZgw
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
Anthropic’s Claude ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish
archive.ph/rTZgw
archive.ph
December 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Very amusing tale of the WSJ adopting an AI vending machine — and then, an AI boss for the AI vending machine. "Profits collapsed. Newsroom morale soared."
Ah, de nieuwsbrief van het Nederlands Dagblad. Altijd... bijzonder.
December 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Ah, de nieuwsbrief van het Nederlands Dagblad. Altijd... bijzonder.
19 because I never used AOL. I got my student email address in '92 and otherwise bounced around between such mature choices as easyskanking@animail.net, joost@jamaicans.com and a yahoo address I still faithfully log into every few months to prevent it from being wiped that had "habibi" in it
Show your age
17 (have never used a fax machine, a record player, or a phone booth)
17 (have never used a fax machine, a record player, or a phone booth)
December 17, 2025 at 7:52 PM
19 because I never used AOL. I got my student email address in '92 and otherwise bounced around between such mature choices as easyskanking@animail.net, joost@jamaicans.com and a yahoo address I still faithfully log into every few months to prevent it from being wiped that had "habibi" in it
When my local coffeeshop/pastryshop started calling these "muffins," I did not speak out, because I was not a muffin.
December 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
When my local coffeeshop/pastryshop started calling these "muffins," I did not speak out, because I was not a muffin.
Reposted by Joost
The hero who stopped one of the gunmen at Bondi beach is called Ahmad al Ahmad
bsky.app/profile/katz...
bsky.app/profile/katz...
Australian news reporting that the hero bystander here is named Ahmed al Ahmed. Muslim, father of two.
WATCH: Bystander disarms active shooter at Bondi Beach in Sydney
December 14, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The hero who stopped one of the gunmen at Bondi beach is called Ahmad al Ahmad
bsky.app/profile/katz...
bsky.app/profile/katz...
Unsurprisingly, the latest scandal in Hungary about horrific physical and sexual child abuse at care facilities involves (but is not limited to) institutions with mainly Roma children
💥Orbán’s gov't is again engulfed in an uncontrollable scandal as a document listing 3,300+ cases of sexual and physical abuse in Hungary’s child care system, along with video footage, has emerged — even as Orbán claimed everything was “fine”, “acceptable." Context: balkaninsight.com/2025/09/26/h...
December 12, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Unsurprisingly, the latest scandal in Hungary about horrific physical and sexual child abuse at care facilities involves (but is not limited to) institutions with mainly Roma children
Least surprising Chomsky surprise
Well, there's a photo I never expected to see in my life. Noam Chomsky palling around with Steve Bannon.
December 12, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Least surprising Chomsky surprise
A gay Romani teacher in Hungary is being prosecuted for having organised the Pécs Pride, which attracted 8,000 people (including several MEPs). Could face a 3-year suspended sentence and being permanently barred from returning to teaching (he was already fired)
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Teacher in Hungary facing criminal charges for organising Pride event
As Viktor Orbán tightens his grip in the country, rights organisations have called for the EU to intervene
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM
A gay Romani teacher in Hungary is being prosecuted for having organised the Pécs Pride, which attracted 8,000 people (including several MEPs). Could face a 3-year suspended sentence and being permanently barred from returning to teaching (he was already fired)
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
I gotta say, I do love that elections here still involve vans slowly driving around town blasting their campaign message from the loudspeakers they've got mounted on the roof. Old school!
December 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I gotta say, I do love that elections here still involve vans slowly driving around town blasting their campaign message from the loudspeakers they've got mounted on the roof. Old school!