Journalist, immigrant, solo parent. Ik rot niet op naar mijn eigen land puur om jou te pesten. Podcast: http://soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnlhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkukwnrbfc23This week's @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast: massive bush fires raise questions about army training exercises, a nest-hopping owl turns heads, and could smarter train driving save the groaning electricity network? https://on.soundcloud.com/fvlsBbYlGf0JI4pXv8 https://soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/ready-aim-wildfire-edition-week-18-202602 May 2026 11:44 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkukwnrbfc23https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkrnqo6z2s2vThe Dutch army are all about “shoot first, ask questions later” these days. The questions being: “Is it really sensible to fire live ammunition on bone-dry heathland?” and “Could you please send a few extra fire trucks to help us put out this massive blaze?” https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/05/germany-france-and-belgium-send-help-to-put-out-wildfires-in-nl/01 May 2026 07:57 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkrnqo6z2s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkq4fn75ns2jJimmy Kimmel says he can't be held responsible for a joke he made before the failed shooting, but all he had to do was borrow a crystal ball from one of those Trump cronies who are laying bets on Polymarket. They seem to be infallible.30 Apr 2026 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkq4fn75ns2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkpoxhsrsc2lA huge fire that broke out on a Dutch military shooting range yesterday began during an exercise, the military police have confirmed. This in the same week that the fire service warned of a high risk of bush fires because there's been so little rain this year. https://nos.nl/artikel/2612515-grote-brand-op-militair-terrein-oirschotse-heide-ontstaan-tijdens-oefening30 Apr 2026 13:13 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpoxhsrsc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkmsza7fns2rHe managed to use sophisticated and underhand seduction techniques to realise his cunning plan. To wit: to woo. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Apr 2026 09:48 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkmsza7fns2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkms3httv22rTeenagers as young as 13 or 14 are being recruited online by criminal gangs for jobs such as explosions, stabbings and shootings across European borders. The youngsters are promised cash they never receive and their videos are used to lure the next batch of recruits. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/04/teenagers-being-recruited-by-gangs-for-cross-border-hit-jobs/29 Apr 2026 09:31 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkms3httv22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkkqqvrmtk2jAnd nobody ever got shot there. [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Apr 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkkqqvrmtk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkk5cxnhlk2cWindows smashed in at a disused town hall in Loosdrecht earmarked as a temporary shelter for 70 asylum seekers, which has been the focus of protests and riots for the last week. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/04/site-of-planned-loosdrecht-asylum-shelter-targeted-by-vandals/28 Apr 2026 08:14 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkk5cxnhlk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkiyvl2cik22Trump's been comprehensively outplayed by an Iranian. #snooker27 Apr 2026 21:22 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkiyvl2cik22https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkhuykm6pc2aAI is creativity for people with no imagination, as this stomach-churning recruitment video by the extremist anti-immigration network Defend Netherlands makes painfully clear. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Apr 2026 10:40 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhuykm6pc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkhusekaas2aGeert Wilders’ election victory in November 2023 turned out to be a poisoned chalice: it saddled him with a party he could no longer control. Seven MPs broke away to form a new group in a coup orchestrated by his one-time close friend, Gidi Markuszower. https://wordsforpress.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/geert-wilders-may-be-running-out-of-road-but-the-dutch-far-right-is-thriving/27 Apr 2026 10:36 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhusekaas2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkhujwlcws2aLocal councillors in Loosdrecht insist they haven't given in to violence after cutting the number of places for refugees at an emergency shelter from 110 to 70. This follows four nights of protests in which riot police were pelted with stones and fireworks. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/04/loosdrecht-reduces-capacity-of-refugee-shelter-after-riots/27 Apr 2026 10:31 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhujwlcws2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkhsi574rs2aA court has banned anti-monarchy protesters from taking a 10 metre-high inflatable dinosaur called Wim to the Frisian town of Dokkum, where the Dutch king Willem-Alexander is holding his annual birthday visit today. https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/republikeinen-mogen-niet-met-opblaasdino-langs-route-in-dokkum-staan-wim-is-gemuilkorfd~a7fed306/27 Apr 2026 09:55 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhsi574rs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkhofwbzqk2aUtrecht's becoming a ghost town: no new electricity connections, tourists turned away on Koningsnacht … [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Apr 2026 08:42 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhofwbzqk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkf6bytlqs2nMika Godts' goal for Ajax against NAC Breda has been widely compared to Ibrahimovich's strike against the same opponents 22 years ago, but the difference in class is that Zlatan scored his with his laces undone. https://youtu.be/q2WsVHbD7zg?is=aoZh91cVBiue4trg26 Apr 2026 08:48 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkf6bytlqs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkcyxajrcc22Blog on how the Dutch far right manages to be volatile and stable at the same time. https://wordsforpress.wordpress.com/2026/04/25/geert-wilders-may-be-running-out-of-road-but-the-dutch-far-right-is-thriving/25 Apr 2026 12:07 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkcyxajrcc22https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkculmyvas25It can't be a coincidence that Spain, where millions of people still remember what living under a fascist dictatorship was like, is the country pushing back hardest against Trump's cosplay tyranny. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj40r2gw24wo25 Apr 2026 10:49 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkculmyvas25https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkcpvjuae222Our latest bonus @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social episode for patrons dives into the history of Piet Hein, who captured the Spanish silver fleet during the Eighty Years’ War. He was also an epic rage-quitter, once walking overland from Venice to Rotterdam to get out of a job. https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-episode-of-156358616?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link25 Apr 2026 09:25 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkcpvjuae222https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mkcpck5rak22In this week's @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast we try to unpick the events that led to the latest asylum debacle in the Dutch parliament: the PVV sabotaged their own bill for cynical reasons, while D66 made a botched attempt to salvage it, also for cynical reasons. https://soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/the-marjolein-fabers-legacy-of-chaos-edition-week-17-2026?si=a8cf69cc4bcd43ee9fdb6aa4a7c56828&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing25 Apr 2026 09:15 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkcpck5rak22https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mk36vt5dr22aUkraine reportedly wants to rename the part of Donetsk that Russia has failed to annexe “Donnyland” after Donald Trump, hoping that the US president will be less willing to order the Ukrainians to hand it over to Russia. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/us/politics/donnyland-ukraine-donbas-trump.html22 Apr 2026 09:32 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk36vt5dr22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjxerkyjdc27Dutch government is stubbornly holding out on cutting fuel duty even though the Netherlands has the highest pump prices in Europe, but for how much longer? The minority government will come under pressure when parliament debates the spring budget update on Thursday. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/04/cabinet-spends-e1bn-on-energy-measures-but-no-cut-to-fuel-prices/20 Apr 2026 21:07 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjxerkyjdc27https://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mju55kiyr22zLooking forward to the takes from the AI evangelists explaining why we should all stop training our bodies to run marathons now that the bots can do it better. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2026/apr/19/humanoid-robots-race-past-humans-in-beijing-half-marathon-video19 Apr 2026 14:12 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mju55kiyr22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjrdm7hlu22wYour regular @dutchnewsnl.bsky.social podcast hosts were unavoidably detained across the Strait of Calais this week, but luckily Robin and Senay stepped in to discuss the war, the royal sleepover in Washington and the unintended consequences of the new asylum rules. https://soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/the-women-take-over-edition-week-16-2026?si=164cd1680faf435eb33548e52a7ad212&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing18 Apr 2026 11:30 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrdm7hlu22whttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjpj3g7wtk2vIf Ajax don't finish in the top four this season, they'll have to play their Conference League play-off matches away from home. The Johan Cruyff Arena is already booked by Harry Styles. https://nos.nl/artikel/2610783-harry-styles-dwingt-ajax-tot-uitwijkplan-voor-play-offs-om-europees-voetbal17 Apr 2026 18:03 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpj3g7wtk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjpivbfyns2vThe Dutch defence ministry has tightened security around the military postal service after a newspaper located its frigate in the Gulf by sending a Bluetooth tracker attached to a postcard. https://www.gld.nl/nieuws/8463135/marineschip-van-500-miljoen-euro-gevonden-met-gadget-van-5-euro17 Apr 2026 17:59 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpivbfyns2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjowsbvktc2zKLM has started cancelling short-haul flights to mitigate the high cost of kerosene, mainly to destinations such as London and Düsseldorf. Other airlines are likely to follow suit if the Strait of Hormuz stays blocked. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/04/klm-scraps-160-uneconomic-flights-in-coming-month/17 Apr 2026 12:35 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjowsbvktc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjjz6meudc2gThe sun came out for five minutes today. Then realised it was in Glasgow and concluded it must have taken a wrong turn.15 Apr 2026 13:35 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjjz6meudc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/gordondarroch.bsky.social/post/3mjeeqayqds2mSo Trump has failed to overthrow the Iranian regime, failed to get shipping moving in the Strait, failed to take Greenland, failed to force his Nato allies to join him on his little crusade and failed to keep Orbán in power. Is it too early to say this new world order isn't working out as planned?13 Apr 2026 07:45 +0000at://did:plc:ppc27pzemewo26mb7jivbr66/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjeeqayqds2m