Speelgoed voor sadisten (recensie Antworks, Eldohm)

Het is jammer dat het cliché van de over lijken gaande zakenman meestal niet meer is dan dat. Anders was nu het perfecte relatiegeschenk voor hem gevonden: de AntWorks. Dat is een fraaie container gevuld met een futuristisch uitziende gel, waarin mieren zouden moeten gedijen. In de praktijk valt dat tegen.

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18:10

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Rather sods off

Good riddance.

11:34

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Finally, a Dutch victory for freedom of speech

It's about time we had one after the dismal excuse for integrity Dutch film makers displayed at the Rotterdam Film Festival, where a screening of Van Gogh's Submission was canceled due to security concerns.

The Dutch Gerechtshof (court of appeals) of Amsterdam has ruled in favour of columnist Luuk Koelman, who wrote a scathing article about Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of Wim Duisenberg, former head of the European Central Bank. Mrs. Duisenberg is well known for sympathizing with Yasser Arafat. Mr. Koelman's article describes Mrs. Duisenberg taking the concept 'human shield' one step further: by crawling on top of Mr. Arafat.

A lower court initially ruled the article to be unlawful. Fortunately, there are still some sane people higher in the ranks of our judiciary, for the Gerechtshof makes it very clear that anyone with half a brain should be able to recognize that the article is meant to be ironic. Read Koelman's press release here.

10:34

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About Giuliana Sgrena (2)

Some of you have emailed me for a complete translation of the article. However, all the juicy bits are already below, plus it's kinda illegal for me to post a full English version of an article of which I don't own the publishing rights.

Meanwhile, Rogier sent me this link which allegedly contains pictures of Sgrena's car. Ever since since hearing her story, I couldn't stop myself from thinking: "Ma'am, if the Americans had wanted you dead, you bloody well would be just that." The pictures seem to corroborate that assessment. There's only a single bullet hole in the windshield. That's very consistent with measured use of force and an attempt to take out the driver and/or the engine (mind you, it was dark). It is absolutely not consistent with an attempt to murder to Sgrena or firing 300-400 bullets.

Oh, and Rome? Could this article about you having paid a ransom for Sgrena please not be true? I'm fast running out of places in Europe where I still want to go on holidays (France, Germany and Spain were already off the list), and the weather in the UK really sucks.

Peaktalk also has a roundup on Sgrena, and offers a link to this gem, a quote of Sgrena in Corriere della Sera:

I have not said that the Americans wanted to kill me, I have only said that the mechanics of this fact is the mechanics of an ambush.

Hand me some of that magic toad, will you?

9:00

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