Ben Coates
@bencoates1.bsky.social
Author - 'THE INVENTION OF AMSTERDAM' out now! (https://amzn.to/2QJx3bh). Writer, aid worker, speechwriter, recovering Tory. Columnist @ADnl; articles NYT, Telegraph, New Statesman, Groene Amsterdammer etc. Buy my new book, it’s good!
Public Service Announcement:
If, like me, you had forgotten it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, there is still time to shout Fuck! and quickly run to the shops before everything closes
If, like me, you had forgotten it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, there is still time to shout Fuck! and quickly run to the shops before everything closes
February 13, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Public Service Announcement:
If, like me, you had forgotten it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, there is still time to shout Fuck! and quickly run to the shops before everything closes
If, like me, you had forgotten it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, there is still time to shout Fuck! and quickly run to the shops before everything closes
It’s security theatre, perfectly pitched at a level which is hugely inconvenient for ordinary drivers and truckers, but does nothing to significantly cut illegal migration
February 13, 2026 at 1:40 PM
It’s security theatre, perfectly pitched at a level which is hugely inconvenient for ordinary drivers and truckers, but does nothing to significantly cut illegal migration
Exactly as predicted, the bill for Trump’s tariffs is being paid by Americans
Nearly 90% of the economic burden from tariffs in 2025 was borne by US companies and consumers, according to a new study by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found
US Firms Paid Nearly 90% of 2025 Tariff Costs, NY Fed Study Says
Nearly 90% of the economic burden from tariffs in 2025 was borne by US companies and consumers, according to a new study by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found.
bloom.bg
February 13, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Exactly as predicted, the bill for Trump’s tariffs is being paid by Americans
Still one of the coolest buildings in Europe
(the Boijmans Depot art gallery in Rotterdam)
(the Boijmans Depot art gallery in Rotterdam)
February 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Painting of the day:
De pannenkoekenbakkerij (the pancake bakery) by Pieter Aertsen, 1560
De pannenkoekenbakkerij (the pancake bakery) by Pieter Aertsen, 1560
February 13, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Painting of the day:
De pannenkoekenbakkerij (the pancake bakery) by Pieter Aertsen, 1560
De pannenkoekenbakkerij (the pancake bakery) by Pieter Aertsen, 1560
If nothing else, I think we can say that giving power to people who say the country’s problems are easy to fix has provided conclusively that the country’s problems are not in fact easy to fix - and that those people couldn’t arrange a mess in a kindergarten
February 13, 2026 at 10:11 AM
If nothing else, I think we can say that giving power to people who say the country’s problems are easy to fix has provided conclusively that the country’s problems are not in fact easy to fix - and that those people couldn’t arrange a mess in a kindergarten
Today is the Schoof government’s last cabinet meeting.
What have they achieved in 1.5 years in power?
Speed limits raised to 130 on three short motorways. Some border checks. Steady support for Ukraine. Plans for a new train line. And taxes on hotels.
Its not much, is it?
www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...
What have they achieved in 1.5 years in power?
Speed limits raised to 130 on three short motorways. Some border checks. Steady support for Ukraine. Plans for a new train line. And taxes on hotels.
Its not much, is it?
www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...
a man in a colorful shirt is talking to another man while sitting at a table .
ALT: a man in a colorful shirt is talking to another man while sitting at a table .
media.tenor.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Today is the Schoof government’s last cabinet meeting.
What have they achieved in 1.5 years in power?
Speed limits raised to 130 on three short motorways. Some border checks. Steady support for Ukraine. Plans for a new train line. And taxes on hotels.
Its not much, is it?
www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...
What have they achieved in 1.5 years in power?
Speed limits raised to 130 on three short motorways. Some border checks. Steady support for Ukraine. Plans for a new train line. And taxes on hotels.
Its not much, is it?
www.rtl.nl/nieuws/polit...
wat vreselijk. Sterkte
February 13, 2026 at 8:46 AM
wat vreselijk. Sterkte
February 13, 2026 at 8:22 AM
bad news for anyone who likes not having deadly diseases
February 13, 2026 at 8:11 AM
bad news for anyone who likes not having deadly diseases
Reposted by Ben Coates
There are probably important ways in which this is different to what the Dutch government keeps trying to to do to dual nationals but the differences do not feel particularly meaningful to me
February 12, 2026 at 10:41 PM
There are probably important ways in which this is different to what the Dutch government keeps trying to to do to dual nationals but the differences do not feel particularly meaningful to me
Trumpism in Kent
A pretty bleak threat from the Reform party on Kent county council...
Reform threatens to pull funding for Margate’s Turner Gallery as ‘naked retribution for local MP exposing Kent savings lies' - via Polly Billington MP
Reform threatens to pull funding for Margate’s Turner Gallery as ‘naked retribution for local MP exposing Kent savings lies' - via Polly Billington MP
February 12, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Trumpism in Kent
There are probably important ways in which this is different to what the Dutch government keeps trying to to do to dual nationals but the differences do not feel particularly meaningful to me
February 12, 2026 at 10:41 PM
There are probably important ways in which this is different to what the Dutch government keeps trying to to do to dual nationals but the differences do not feel particularly meaningful to me
in some of the most important areas, Starmer’s government is still doing admirable stuff
The United Kingdom is allocating the largest support package in its history to Ukraine - £500 million (over $680 million) to strengthen air defense capabilities.
This was announced by UK Defence Secretary John Healey at a meeting of the Ramstein-format Contact Group.
This was announced by UK Defence Secretary John Healey at a meeting of the Ramstein-format Contact Group.
February 12, 2026 at 8:29 PM
in some of the most important areas, Starmer’s government is still doing admirable stuff
I helped arrange for a friend in her 40s, from a landlocked part of Africa, visit the sea for the first time a couple of months ago. A cold North Sea beach on a grey, windy morning, and it blew her mind. She said it was even better than she’d been dreaming.
I think ALL THE TIME about people who've never seen the sea. If you grew up in a tiny country like Britain it's difficult to imagine. However poor your family was, you'll have been dragged to a lovably shit seafront before you were 15.
I vastly envy folks who grew up near the ocean. I am 23 years old and have never seen the ocean. It's 1000 miles away.
February 12, 2026 at 6:34 PM
I helped arrange for a friend in her 40s, from a landlocked part of Africa, visit the sea for the first time a couple of months ago. A cold North Sea beach on a grey, windy morning, and it blew her mind. She said it was even better than she’d been dreaming.
the first list on Dutch google actually includes 61 genders. But that’s if you count “Non-Binary” as different from “Non-binary”
February 12, 2026 at 6:16 PM
the first list on Dutch google actually includes 61 genders. But that’s if you count “Non-Binary” as different from “Non-binary”
“You can continue to smoke marijuana and recognise 70 genders. That is your business. But threatening another country with punishment for its sovereignty crosses a red line” -Slovak PM Robert Fico today, after the new Dutch govt pledged action on EU authoritarians
www.euractiv.com/news/weed-an...
www.euractiv.com/news/weed-an...
Weed and gender: Slovak PM lashes out over Dutch threat on EU funding | Euractiv
"You can continue to smoke marijuana and recognise 70 genders. That is your business", Fico said
www.euractiv.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:08 PM
“You can continue to smoke marijuana and recognise 70 genders. That is your business. But threatening another country with punishment for its sovereignty crosses a red line” -Slovak PM Robert Fico today, after the new Dutch govt pledged action on EU authoritarians
www.euractiv.com/news/weed-an...
www.euractiv.com/news/weed-an...
And I think his mum was a UUP
MP too. Quite a family.
MP too. Quite a family.
February 12, 2026 at 3:08 PM
And I think his mum was a UUP
MP too. Quite a family.
MP too. Quite a family.
Bear Grylls’ father was a Tory MP, whose career imploded after he was accused of taking cash for questions
This piece in The Spectator by @shippersunbound.bsky.social has an absolutely mad detail that I was not previously aware of spectator.com/article/auth...
February 12, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Bear Grylls’ father was a Tory MP, whose career imploded after he was accused of taking cash for questions
It is an entirely plausible symptom.
The majority of people with a brain tumor don’t go deaf in their left ear, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. This is not how medicine works.
The majority of people with a brain tumor don’t go deaf in their left ear, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. This is not how medicine works.
February 12, 2026 at 9:56 AM
It is an entirely plausible symptom.
The majority of people with a brain tumor don’t go deaf in their left ear, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. This is not how medicine works.
The majority of people with a brain tumor don’t go deaf in their left ear, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. This is not how medicine works.
No, he says in the statement he was initially misdiagnosed with autism, which is not uncommon
February 12, 2026 at 9:18 AM
No, he says in the statement he was initially misdiagnosed with autism, which is not uncommon