Rumsfeld is a really sympathetic and warm guy

I mean, having obituary letters signed by a machine is extremely thoughtful when you compare it to the actions of our secretary of domestic affairs, Johan Remkes. Mr. Remkes has been on a holiday in Thailand since Boxing Day, when the earthquake struck. This puts him in the perfect position to visit Dutch survivors in the country, since he's there already. But alas. Mr. Remkes is staying in a nice, comfy, private cabin on a remote island 250 kilometers from Phuket, and he damn well intends to remain there.

Well, he was going to, anyway. It was just announced he will visit Dutch victim identification crews who are doing a well-needed but gruesome job over there. Still, this is too little, too late, for the members of those teams are used to hardship. Mr. Remkes should have visited the people that aren't: the Dutch tourists, of whom more than 200 are still missing, making this potentially the worst disaster for the Netherlands in several decades. The Bijlmer accident, in which an El Al Boeing ploughed through some flats in Amsterdam, cost 43 lives. Mr. Remkes could have made some effort to console some of the families of the missing. Alas, most of the survivors are back home already.

At least Mr. Rumsfeld had the decency to send a letter.

Update 21.49: Turns out this is the 'international flights' terminal of the island Mr. Remkes is staying. Must be the Thai equivalent of Hoogeveen Airport.

19:54

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