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Joost

@almodozo.bsky.social
1.6K followers 837 following 6.1K posts

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.

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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 9h
Uh, not great but not too bad www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
From my childhood, when my parents were in "the party," I remember May Day celebrations, my mom's "struggle choir," sundry immigrant/solidarity events, holidays with the lefty "friends of nature," endless protests. Generations before that, socialist parties and unions had marches, festivals, clubs..
nytimes.com
Opinion | Young Democrats Are Putting the Party Back in Politics. It’s Working.
Fun, free events communicate a larger goal: that everyday people should be able to afford a joyful life.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In Spain, the parties which make up the core of Sánchez's tenuous majority continue to break apart www.eldiario.es/catalunya/co...
eldiario.es
Colau pide a los Comuns salir del Gobierno si no se actúa contra los fondos buitre: "No podemos ser cómplices de la cobardía del PSOE"
La exalcaldesa de Barcelona acusa al presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, de "bloquear cualquier iniciativa para parar los pies" a los especuladores con el derecho a la vivienda
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In 2019-2023, the net zero law enjoyed around 60% approval. That dropped to 54% in 2024, 52% in 2025 and just 46% approval this summer, "the first and only time in eight years that less than a majority have approved". This happened despite belief in human-driven climate change holding up at 60-61%.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"The Dutch reading score has plunged by more than 60 points over the last decade, meaning today’s 15-year-olds are effectively reading at the level that 12-year-olds achieved 10 years ago." www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
European education powerhouses rocked by falling scores in global study
France and Germany among countries with low Pisa scores, which show how well 15-year-olds use school learning in life
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“The entire debate about whether the cordon sanitaire .. contributes to strengthening the far right completely misses the point. Far-right politics and policies already constantly take centre stage, whether or not [it] is in power. There is no cordon around their ideas.” — @gabrielagreilinger.com
theguardian.com
Europe’s centre fears nationalist wave after AfD victory but only has itself to blame
Saxony-Anhalt win part of wider trend driven by mainstream policy failures and gradual normalisation of far right ideas
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I don't have a TV; haven't had one in decades. But I'm at my dad's, and he watches it a lot. Swedish series dubbed in German and such, and a lot of news shows on public TV. And it's crazy. I'm a news addict, so I read about politics copiously; but I cannot *stand* watching talk shows. It's visceral.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
In Meck'burg-Vorpommern, the AfD and BSW slightly overperform the polls and the SPD cashes in on the last-week gains the polls had shown; CDU and especially Die Linke underperform. In Berlin, on the other hand, it's Die Linke which overperforms the polls and the AfD underperforms.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"only"
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"I spent over five years as a product designer at the Boiling People Alive Factory. However, as I was developing the big pots, it became abundantly clear that they could be used to boil people alive" www.instagram.com/reel/DdJzHVR...
instagram.com
Vinny Thomas on Instagram: "I just quit my job at the BPAF and things are not looking good you guys"
484K likes, 5,685 comments - vinn_ayy on September 11, 2026: "I just quit my job at the BPAF and things are not looking good you guys".
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In Sweden, voters with a "non-European background" were predictably left-wing. (Via @janprygoda.bsky.social)
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The Centre party said it will strive for a government with a “clear centre-right character” in coalition talks (www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...), which is a tall order when negotiating with V or MP. But it's unlikely to switch camps: its voters loathe the far right.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
On Stockholm's political segregation
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Looks like one seat switched and the left-of-centre camp in Sweden went from a 1-seat lead to a 3-seat lead. Would still love to read more about what happened in the campaign that made the right catch up this much, though resultat.val.se/val2026/RD?r=P
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The Green party is now considerably better liked than Polanski personally. He's a clear exception in that regard, too. (Farage is also less liked than his party, but only narrowly so; the other leaders are better liked than their parties.) H/t @charliemansell.bsky.social
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Can't find back my long-running thread on polling about the youth vote across Europe, but here's how Sweden's young voters plan to vote, vs all voters. Leftists and Greens do better, the far right worse. Overall, the right does clearly worse with the young (37%) than overall (47%)
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
In Sweden, unemployed voters have soured tremendously on the right wing parties after these past 4 years (38%, -19), but blue collar workers are sticking with them (51%, +1)
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It's Moldova's turn to be dubbed a "tiny country" by the Mericans
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Mijn vader was er ook bij! Achtentachtig jaar oud, bijna twee uur reistijd, maar hij kon niet wegblijven.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
First time I hear the Molchat Doma song that's in all the Eastern Europe memes being played in a cafe
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Opinium and Savanta don't come off well here — and JL Partners looks terrible. "Farage donor scandal turns spotlight on UK polling industry": www.politico.eu/article/nige...
politico.eu
Farage donor scandal turns spotlight on UK polling industry
Former employees and clients of JL Partners say there have been other instances of funders not being declared.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Typical French* police officers TW: slurs * not only French police officers.. elpais.com/internaciona...
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Am I dumb? Because I don't get the reasoning here. Even if Anthropic gets there first, it'll be by a hair width, and others with (purportedly) fewer scruples will still get there soon after. So how is this supposed to be a failsafe? mashable.com/tech/anthrop...
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Relieved about the top 5. Pleasantly surprised about Italian and Polish, neither of which I ever tried to learn; but I'd hoped to guess more of the Czech. Humiliated by my score for Russian, which I did try to learn, once upon a time, albeit in another life decades ago. taketest.xyz/multilang-vo...
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt will try to cancel the license of public broadcaster MDR. It might not be easy, so in the meantime they'll go after community media. The passionate volunteers of Radio Corax (@radiocorax.social.anoxinon.de.ap.brid.gy) will abide, but require support. taz.de/AfD-Sachsen-...
taz.de
AfD Sachsen-Anhalt gegen Rundfunk: Radio Corax dreht weiter auf
Zu links und voller „Genderismus“: Die AfD möchte Geld beim Freien Radio Corax streichen. Wie geht der Sender damit um? Es gibt schon eine Strategie.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Birds of a feather, not sticking together. Austria's FPO, Italy's Lega and FN, and Zemmour in Frnce cheer on the AfD's victory; but Fratelli d’Italia and Le Pen's RN try to ignore it the hardest they can taz.de/Reaktionen-a...
taz.de
Reaktionen auf Sachsen-Anhalt: Begeisterungsstürme, Schockstarre und tiefe Besorgnis
Die internationalen Reaktionen auf den AfD-Sieg könnten unterschiedlicher kaum ausfallen. Linke und De­mo­kra­t:in­nen sind besorgt, die Rechte reagiert gespalten.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Is it just me or does this op-ed use a weirdly narrow definition of "brainrot"? Made me doubt myself, but its actual usage is much more broad, no? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Truth About Brain Rot: It’s a Cry for Help
Maybe consuming meaningless content is the only way to be free online.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
“Feel-good populism” in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD has shed its angry image and embraced an almost 1968-like slogan: “Everything is possible”. How was the extreme right able to seize this banner, and become the party of joy and optimism? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
In Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) today, the extreme-right AfD did best with the age groups in the middle, from 30 to 60 year old. Left-of-centre parties did best (or least badly) among young voters.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The difference a popular local leader can make: SPD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern edition. Interesting that the additional support they get in the state elections comes from literally all corners
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
14 years ago in Budapest: these kids wanted to be in a photo
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
There seems to be some basic confusion at @politico.eu about which continent Britain's in
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"Last year, mentions of Pride on social media by the UK's 10 biggest listed or headquartered companies had fallen by 92% compared with 2023." An Ipsos survey "found that the share of British adults who want companies and brands to promote LGBT rights dipped from 52% in 2021 to 44% this year."
bbc.com
The backlash Pride faces from inside and outside the LGBT community
Big companies used to go out of their way to support Pride. Now, there's a nervousness in the air, Darren Milby writes
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I don't believe in heaven, but sometimes I wish I did youtu.be/mfIvRKR3OHw?...
youtu.be
Dolly Parton - Coat of many colors
YouTube video by ir0bc
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Data centers: "The residents .. were virtually unanimous in opposition: A Democratic statehouse candidate wearing a Pride pin railed against the process, her criticisms later echoed by an Air Force veteran wearing a “Don’t Tread on Me” shirt with an Infowars logo." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...
nytimes.com
Angry Ohio Voters Could Turn Their State Purple Again
A governor’s race, a Senate contest and enough congressional contests to swing control of the House are all in play in Ohio, where voters of all stripes express a deep sense of powerlessness.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Cofnas's own views on academic freedom <-> the academic freedom arguments made in defense of Cofnas.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
"We know that the Left is just as vulnerable to paranoia as the Right": how the digital universe fans conspiracy thinking
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I confess: I'm absolutely smitten
Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Political consensus alert! On the question whether the U.S. should come to South Korea's aid if North Korea attacks, Republicans, Democrats and Independents all answer roughly the same way. But by how much might that change, say, a month from now?
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Een FB Memory over #DenHaag
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
My girlfriend's village was right in the path of the eclipse. She was skeptical beforehand but impressed by the actual event. And afterward the whole village, 100 people, had a communal dinner 🇪🇸
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
#nocontextdutch
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New research of data from 32 countries and 372 elections between 1945 and 2025 finds "support for parties on the left is overestimated, while support for parties on the right is underestimated" in opinion polls. Only by 1.4% on average, but it's structural and includes key misses of larger scope.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
The kids were a̶l̶l̶-̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ confused
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I haven't read enough about the Hong race in Wisconsin to express any opinion more broadly, but explaining away old social media posts, in 2026, because they were written "back in the 2020s" is objectively funny
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Health, home and cooking sites always bring out the relative precarity we apparently live in. "Lay back on a pile of pillows" - my man, we have exactly as many pillows as we need to lay our heads on, we don't have a reserve pile of pillows stashed somewhere.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Sat on my dad's balcony. Mid-sized Dutch city. Overlooking a cycle path. Bored young guy down there is scrolling Tik Tok or Insta reels. I know this because he has the speakers on, loud. Snippets of music as he flits through the memes. Pop song, pop song, Soviet national anthem, pop song, pop song.
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Népszava hasn't been printed or distributed for a month. On the other end of the political spectrum, Magyar Nemzet is turning into a weekly. And with that, Hungary becomes the only European country without a printed political daily. Others will soon follow. balkaninsight.com/2026/07/30/h...
balkaninsight.com
Hungary Enters Post-Print Age as Political Dailies Disappear
Hungary will become the only country in Europe without a printed political daily when Magyar Nemzet switches to a weekly publication on August 1. Other smaller European media markets are likely to go ...
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I put you on a pedestal, you put me on the pill
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Joost @almodozo.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Labour factoid posting: Burnham leads the first Labour Cabinet without a member of the Benn family
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