Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
@landofrob.bsky.social
Retired teacher, History, particularly military history. Master of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Researching. Learning to grow food. Dog lover. Proud Dad and Pop. Anti fascist Anti Rascist
Pinned
When I was young, like in the 60s, and I would see someone in a public place, animated and talking out loud, I would think mmmm mental health issue.
In 2025 the same thought slips into my mind until quickly realising they are on the phone.
I find this discombobulating.
In 2025 the same thought slips into my mind until quickly realising they are on the phone.
I find this discombobulating.
November 12, 2025 at 12:37 PM
When I was young, like in the 60s, and I would see someone in a public place, animated and talking out loud, I would think mmmm mental health issue.
In 2025 the same thought slips into my mind until quickly realising they are on the phone.
I find this discombobulating.
In 2025 the same thought slips into my mind until quickly realising they are on the phone.
I find this discombobulating.
The Napoleonic Wars is my historical period. However I see parallels with Napoleon's use of manpower, through conscription a.d that of Putin's. I am not saying the outcome will be the same just that it crossed mybmind.
I have just published my weekly update on modern war and strategic competition. This week: the Battle of Pokrovsk, Russian casualties, deep-strike campaigns, China's 3rd aircraft carrier commissions, as well as my recommended war and national security reads.
mickryan.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
mickryan.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
Russian Casualties Rise, Ukraine Strikes Russian Power Facilities and the Battle of Pokrovsk Continues - The Big Five, 9 November edition
My regular update on global conflict. This week: the Battle of Pokrovsk, Russian casualties and China's 3rd aircraft carrier commissions, as well as my recommended war and national security reads
mickryan.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:58 PM
The Napoleonic Wars is my historical period. However I see parallels with Napoleon's use of manpower, through conscription a.d that of Putin's. I am not saying the outcome will be the same just that it crossed mybmind.
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
I have just published my weekly update on modern war and strategic competition. This week: the Battle of Pokrovsk, Russian casualties, deep-strike campaigns, China's 3rd aircraft carrier commissions, as well as my recommended war and national security reads.
mickryan.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
mickryan.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
Russian Casualties Rise, Ukraine Strikes Russian Power Facilities and the Battle of Pokrovsk Continues - The Big Five, 9 November edition
My regular update on global conflict. This week: the Battle of Pokrovsk, Russian casualties and China's 3rd aircraft carrier commissions, as well as my recommended war and national security reads
mickryan.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I have just published my weekly update on modern war and strategic competition. This week: the Battle of Pokrovsk, Russian casualties, deep-strike campaigns, China's 3rd aircraft carrier commissions, as well as my recommended war and national security reads.
mickryan.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
mickryan.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
Glad I brought my kids up to question authority, even their parents. Ask questions. You will get respect by giving a straight answer.
"I promise to question everything my leaders tell me. I promise to use my critical faculties. I promise to develop my independence of thought. I promise to educate myself so I can make my own judgements."
-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
November 5, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Glad I brought my kids up to question authority, even their parents. Ask questions. You will get respect by giving a straight answer.
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
Congratulations to the young teenagers of the world, 67 has surpassed 69 in global Google Search Popularity. Source: buff.ly/4ysqZgP
November 4, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Congratulations to the young teenagers of the world, 67 has surpassed 69 in global Google Search Popularity. Source: buff.ly/4ysqZgP
Bloody fascists
4 November 1939 | A Dutch Jewish girl, Anne Marjorie de Vries, was born in Amsterdam.
In September 1944, she was deported to #Theresienstadt ghetto with her mother Berta, and her sister Marianne Anne. From there, they were deported to #Auschwitz on 4 October. All were killed in a gas chamber.
In September 1944, she was deported to #Theresienstadt ghetto with her mother Berta, and her sister Marianne Anne. From there, they were deported to #Auschwitz on 4 October. All were killed in a gas chamber.
November 5, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Bloody fascists
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
5 November 1899 | Czech Jewish woman Olga Albertová was born in Prague.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Theresienstadt ghetto on 6 September 1943. She did not survive.
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Video about the history of Auschwitz: https://youtu.be/Fxnl5HTygrs
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Theresienstadt ghetto on 6 September 1943. She did not survive.
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Video about the history of Auschwitz: https://youtu.be/Fxnl5HTygrs
November 5, 2025 at 12:00 AM
5 November 1899 | Czech Jewish woman Olga Albertová was born in Prague.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Theresienstadt ghetto on 6 September 1943. She did not survive.
---
Video about the history of Auschwitz: https://youtu.be/Fxnl5HTygrs
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Theresienstadt ghetto on 6 September 1943. She did not survive.
---
Video about the history of Auschwitz: https://youtu.be/Fxnl5HTygrs
A must read
Confrontation with authoritarians is not new for democracies. But how do we shake our societies out of strategic lethargy and complacency about the nature and scale of the threat? My latest at Futura Doctrina.
mickryan.substack.com/p/confrontin...
mickryan.substack.com/p/confrontin...
Confronting Complacency
Confrontation with authoritarians is not new for democracies. But how do we shake our societies out of strategic lethargy and complacency about the nature and scale of the threat?
mickryan.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:28 AM
A must read
I have said before but will shout it again. The Australian Electoral Commission is at the forefront of what makes us a strong democracy and why we Australians can trust election results.
Let this map of the congressional districts of Illinois be a reminder that gerrymandering is total BS and must be stopped as it makes a mockery of democratic principles. Source: www.reddit.com/user/simonge...
November 5, 2025 at 7:27 AM
I have said before but will shout it again. The Australian Electoral Commission is at the forefront of what makes us a strong democracy and why we Australians can trust election results.
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
NATO countries to allocate $60 бillion to support Ukraine in 2026
NATO countries to allocate $60 бillion to support Ukraine in 2026
In 2026, NATO countries will allocate $60 billion to support Ukraine in addition to the ...
eualive.net
November 5, 2025 at 6:02 AM
NATO countries to allocate $60 бillion to support Ukraine in 2026
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
November 5, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
In 1910, Armand Viguier built a pedal-powered aeroplane in his village church. When war broke out in 1914, he served successively as cavalryman, bomber pilot and fighter pilot. Learn more about his extraordinary career. #Frhistory #aviation www.colinduncantaylor.com/blog/astonis...
Astonishing tales from the earliest days of French aviation
Péchaudier in the south of France is blessed with a pretty little church. For no obvious reason, it stands alone in open fields a kilometre outside its village. Viewed against the backdrop of the...
www.colinduncantaylor.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:33 AM
In 1910, Armand Viguier built a pedal-powered aeroplane in his village church. When war broke out in 1914, he served successively as cavalryman, bomber pilot and fighter pilot. Learn more about his extraordinary career. #Frhistory #aviation www.colinduncantaylor.com/blog/astonis...
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
Oscar Wilde had two sons who hit 30 just as #WW1 started. Find out all about the impact of his downfall on them, and their participation in the Great War achurchill.substack.com/p/full-featu...
November 5, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
For #caturday a #Greek terracotta dinos, ca. 630–615 BCE.
🦁 🐐 This dinos - a bowl used for wine diluted w/ water consumed at symposia - is decorated w/ panthers & sphinxes (top row) & below are goats & lions between sphinxes.
🏺 #archaeology 🗃️ #arthistory #skystorians #cats #goat #catsofbluesky
🦁 🐐 This dinos - a bowl used for wine diluted w/ water consumed at symposia - is decorated w/ panthers & sphinxes (top row) & below are goats & lions between sphinxes.
🏺 #archaeology 🗃️ #arthistory #skystorians #cats #goat #catsofbluesky
November 2, 2025 at 10:28 AM
For #caturday a #Greek terracotta dinos, ca. 630–615 BCE.
🦁 🐐 This dinos - a bowl used for wine diluted w/ water consumed at symposia - is decorated w/ panthers & sphinxes (top row) & below are goats & lions between sphinxes.
🏺 #archaeology 🗃️ #arthistory #skystorians #cats #goat #catsofbluesky
🦁 🐐 This dinos - a bowl used for wine diluted w/ water consumed at symposia - is decorated w/ panthers & sphinxes (top row) & below are goats & lions between sphinxes.
🏺 #archaeology 🗃️ #arthistory #skystorians #cats #goat #catsofbluesky
Definitely. I have along list of books waiting to be shelved.
Remember to spay and neuter your books, or you'll wind up like me. #earlymodern 🗃️
November 2, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Definitely. I have along list of books waiting to be shelved.
Imagine what they tvought
Can you imagine what our ancestors thought of these? Pure magic.
Something lovely for the weekend!
Magical amber animals from the Mesolithic. Carved between 10,000-7,000 years ago.
Amber can generate static electricity⚡️ For their ancient owners, these small animals could give off sparks in the dark and make hair stand on end, as if by magic✨
📷 me
#Archaeology
Magical amber animals from the Mesolithic. Carved between 10,000-7,000 years ago.
Amber can generate static electricity⚡️ For their ancient owners, these small animals could give off sparks in the dark and make hair stand on end, as if by magic✨
📷 me
#Archaeology
November 2, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Imagine what they tvought
This article is spot.
“With 94 seats, its largest majority since 1943, Labor governs with the courage of a bunny caught in the headlights, terrified of using its power. Keating would have reshaped the country with these numbers.”
theaimn.net/the-governme...
theaimn.net/the-governme...
The Government That Isn’t: Labor’s Masterclass in Looking Busy
Let’s be kind. Just sitting in the driver’s seat is enough for some. Then there’s the Competence Trap: the myth that good administration is an end in itself. Of course, we can’t rule out stage [...]
theaimn.net
November 1, 2025 at 12:41 AM
This article is spot.
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
“The measure of a nation lies not in how much it builds, earns or appeases superpowers, but in whether it frees its people from the grind of just getting by.
Whether it can make space for everyone to live with purpose, dignity, and the chance to dream beyond survival.”
#AusPol
Whether it can make space for everyone to live with purpose, dignity, and the chance to dream beyond survival.”
#AusPol
Australia’s biggest problem isn’t the next crisis — it’s the growing gap between those who sail through it and those who drown in it. If we can afford inequity, we can afford to fix it. www.thespencerstreetend.com.au/p/built-for-...
Built for Inequity
How Australia’s quiet architecture of policy and profit sustains disadvantage
www.thespencerstreetend.com.au
October 31, 2025 at 10:47 PM
“The measure of a nation lies not in how much it builds, earns or appeases superpowers, but in whether it frees its people from the grind of just getting by.
Whether it can make space for everyone to live with purpose, dignity, and the chance to dream beyond survival.”
#AusPol
Whether it can make space for everyone to live with purpose, dignity, and the chance to dream beyond survival.”
#AusPol
My 3 y o grandson after one of my dogs chewed his plastic skeleton...his actual words
'Louis is bad. That was my ghoul. I feel frustrated with him'. Just beautiful.
'Louis is bad. That was my ghoul. I feel frustrated with him'. Just beautiful.
October 31, 2025 at 1:02 AM
My 3 y o grandson after one of my dogs chewed his plastic skeleton...his actual words
'Louis is bad. That was my ghoul. I feel frustrated with him'. Just beautiful.
'Louis is bad. That was my ghoul. I feel frustrated with him'. Just beautiful.
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
This #FragmentFriday is found in De Thiende (1585), a groundbreaking #mathematical book by Simon Stevin, introducing the decimal separator (now , or . ) for fractions. It has a 19th century library binding, but retains the medieval parchment wrappers it was originally bound in.
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October 24, 2025 at 9:29 AM
This #FragmentFriday is found in De Thiende (1585), a groundbreaking #mathematical book by Simon Stevin, introducing the decimal separator (now , or . ) for fractions. It has a 19th century library binding, but retains the medieval parchment wrappers it was originally bound in.
📚💙
📜
📚💙
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Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
The Duopoly is not genuinely committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Arsonists cosplaying as firemen!
#auspol
Arsonists cosplaying as firemen!
#auspol
Seems to explain our lack of #ClimateAction AND our continuing alliance with #US.
Not is national interest. #auspol
Not is national interest. #auspol
Since signing the Paris Agreement, Australia’s gas & oil production surged 77% - the biggest relative increase among the top 15 producers - driven by a doubling of gas.
Meanwhile, it’s bidding to host next year's UN climate talks. Make it make sense. oilchange.org/publications...
Meanwhile, it’s bidding to host next year's UN climate talks. Make it make sense. oilchange.org/publications...
October 31, 2025 at 12:48 AM
The Duopoly is not genuinely committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Arsonists cosplaying as firemen!
#auspol
Arsonists cosplaying as firemen!
#auspol
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
#TIL one of the last Lafayettes was killed as a cavalry platoon leader in 1945.
#WW2
Here is Marie Xavier Jean Bureaux de Pusy Dumottier de Lafayette, holding the sword of his ancestor, the Marquis de Lafayette. When he died near Saint-Nazaire he was serving as a lieutenant in the 8ème Cuirassiers.
#WW2
Here is Marie Xavier Jean Bureaux de Pusy Dumottier de Lafayette, holding the sword of his ancestor, the Marquis de Lafayette. When he died near Saint-Nazaire he was serving as a lieutenant in the 8ème Cuirassiers.
October 30, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
Rampart remains of Bewcastle Roman Fort, located some six miles north of Hadrian’s Wall in Cumbria. Hexagonal in shape, the fort was built around 122 AD, and occupied until 343 AD. 📸 My own. #RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain #Bewcastle #Cumbria
October 30, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Rampart remains of Bewcastle Roman Fort, located some six miles north of Hadrian’s Wall in Cumbria. Hexagonal in shape, the fort was built around 122 AD, and occupied until 343 AD. 📸 My own. #RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain #Bewcastle #Cumbria
Reposted by Rob Coughlan 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇲🇫🇪🇺🇱🇦🇬🇪
Æthelwald Moll, king of the Northumbrians, was driven from the kingdom at Pincanheale #OTD in 765. His reign had witnessed the hard winter of 763-4 when ‘deep snow hardened into ice... trees and shrubs for the most part perished’, according to Symeon of Durham. 📸Rosa-Maria Rinkl #medievalsky
October 30, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Æthelwald Moll, king of the Northumbrians, was driven from the kingdom at Pincanheale #OTD in 765. His reign had witnessed the hard winter of 763-4 when ‘deep snow hardened into ice... trees and shrubs for the most part perished’, according to Symeon of Durham. 📸Rosa-Maria Rinkl #medievalsky