Yes, that's what I was talking about

Finally the Bush administration becomes a bit more straightforward:

"The insurgency could go on for any number of years," Rumsfeld said in a U.S. television interview. "Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years."

This is the kind of honesty I was referring to below. A step in the right direction.

(BTW: A note to my colleagues at CNN. In Dutch journalism schools we learn to make a choice. Either you use words for numbers in a sentence, or you don't. And yes, I am grumpy.)

11:23

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

What's that about "Stockholm Syndrome"?

Swede Ulf Hjertstrom, who was kidnapped in Iraq and got threatened with being murdered, doesn't seem to display any unwarranted empathy towards his former captors:

'I have now put some people to work to find these bastards. I invested about $50,000 so far and we will get them one by one.'

Since the article is in an Australian paper we are probably talking Ozzie dollars, which would be about 5 euros if the ECB sticks to its current policies, or half a glass of beer in Sweden. (Which is fine by me, by the way, as I am considering buying a second house in Perth.)

Still, never again let it be said that the only war the Swedes could possibly win would have to be a civil one.

(Via Tim Blair, who also mentions that The Age would rather have invested those 50k in flowers and Hallmark cards.)

15:05

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Sign this petition (Dutch citizens, too)

A graveyard should not be used to make political points.

So just as much as I would oppose a museum at Ground Zero hailing the glory of neo-conservatism, or a hall full of paintings portraying 'America's triumphant march to Baghdad', I think the International Freedom Center (IFC) should not be build there. Although I was sceptical of IFC criticism at first, it now definitely looks like the IFC is going to be used to criticize American foreign policy.

That's just wrong.

Not the uttering of such criticisms. The place.

You don't drag corpses through a street to make your point.

Well, at least civilized people don't.

Ground Zero is a place of sadness and death, of love forlorn and mourning.

It is not the place to stage a campaign rally.

Sign this petition to stop the IFC from being build there.

Build it somewhere else.

(I've just tried it, the site accepts non-American signatures as well. If you go here, and select 'Other' for country, you can find several other Dutch people who've put their names up. Also, if you don't mind shivers going down your spine, deselect everything except 'family member'. Chilling.)

13:28

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Google screws up, announces Google Video prematurely (?)

I just posted a Dutch entry on BlogNoot, but you might be able to figure out the accompanying illustration, which is a screenshot resulting from a possible screwup at Google. Either that, or it's a hoax.

Basically, the screenshot was taken from my RSS reader. It's from Google's blog newsfeed and states Google Video has gone live. (You may need to scroll down a bit for the screenshot.) That's 'live' with real, moving images rather than the stills and transcripts that can be seen now. There's something odd with the date, though. And checking out video.google.com I found nothing had changed yet.

I've already emailed the supposed author at Google but haven't received a reply yet.

Further updates as we get them ;-)

0:20

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

L'histoire, se répète

Franklin Roosevelt, 1942:
'Your government has unmistakable confidence in your ability to hear the worst, without flinching or losing heart. You must, in turn, have complete confidence that your government is keeping nothing from you except information that will help the enemy in his attempt to destroy us.'

The Economist, 2005:
'Iraq is no Vietnam, but the sooner Mr Bush spells out the truth bluntly, the sooner he will recover his reputation as a straight-shooter with the American people and Congress.'

I support the war in Iraq, but if I hear one more administration official claiming that victory is just around the corner without anything tangible backing up that statement, I am going to murder a chicken. (This one, perhaps.)

The war on terror is not for the faint of heart. Nor do those supporting it, i.e. voters, deserve to be treated as such.

15:50

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

A line in the sand (of the nude beach)

OK, they just went too far.
Immigrants in Rotterdam have demanded that a statue of a woman with uncovered breasts be removed.
Their wish was granted.
Now I can live with a big 'Allah is Great' streamer above the halal section in my local supermarket, although I really wonder why there's no 'JHWH da bomb' banner above the shelves with matzes, or one saying 'Jesus thought it smelled alright' near the fish fridge.
I can also live with people who buy their wives black hazmat suits, although personally I like to date women that I can show off with, because I'm a male chauvinist pig halal animal and proud of it.
But I draw the line at other people infringing on my God given right to stare at nudity.
So henceforth Friday will be semi-nude day on Zacht Ei (R rated, not XXX) and I invite all readers to submit links to me.
Here's the first one, my special courtesy to all immigrants in Rotterdam.

DISCLAIMER: Readers who are offended are kindly requested to develop a sense a humor, or to go stick their head in a pig (or any other animal of their preference).

(Via GeenStijl, who also have a link to some Dutch beach pictures under ''HIERRR' (NSFW)'.)

13:30

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

On Aruba

Yes, the Van der Sloot case is in the news here, but it's not wall to wall, as apparently it is in the USA.

The sad fact of the matter is that Aruba is a former Dutch colony, one we would very much like to get rid off, but despite their political secession in 1986 they have chosen to remain part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The only good that comes from that is that we can have interesting weather forecasts in winter ('Black ice in the entire country, Aruba excepted').

Aruba is probably somewhat comparable to Puerto Rico. They want the advantages of an alliance with the Netherlands (i.e. huge economic benefits), but not the obligations. Only their Supreme Court is still in The Hague. Their local judiciary is very much an Aruban affair.

I've been trying to look up some things about the Aruban way of justice, but have been woefully unsuccesful. I do want to make a few remarks about claims set forth by some 'expert' on CNN. He said that in the Dutch legal system people can be jailed without probable cause (which is bullshit) and that in your first trial you are always tried by just one judge (which is horse dung by the truck load, at least in the Netherlands). It may all be true in the Aruba situation, which I seriously doubt, but from what I remember of my criminal law lessons, in the Netherlands (under *Dutch* law, not the Aruban version!) being busted goes something like this.

The police arrest you, for which they *do* need to have a reason, both legally and practically speaking. If not, lawyers will have a field day with them afterwards. As in the USA, the amount of revenge you can exact on the police is quite dependent on the amount of money you can spend on your attorney.

Basically, the 'Miranda' rights apply in the Netherlands as well: you can't be forced to answer questions, you are not obligated to incriminate yourself, and you have the right to an attorney (courtesy of the government if you're broke).

There is a time limit as to how long you can be held without a judge having reviewed your case. They can hold you for six hours for questioning. The time in-between 0000 and 0900 (night) isn't included, so theoretically you could be held from 0000 to 1500. That's the max.

Then, police need to get permission from the assistant D.A. to hold you for an additional three days. After that, the D.A. gets involved, who can further extend this period by yet another three days, but his decision will be reviewed by a judge. This is why they will usually bypass the D.A. and go straight to the judge after those initial three days and 6 hours. This has the added advantage that the judge can give a ten day extension, rather than a second extension of three days. Further extensions can be given after those ten days, to a maximum of 106 days and 6 hours for all extensions combined. After that, you *have* to be tried.

It is noteworthy to mention that a judge in this phase can only jail you if there is probable cause that you may have committed a crime which warrants four years of jail time or more (incidentally, 'simple theft' such as shoplifting already has a maximum penalty of four years).

When it comes to a trial (if it doesn't, people tend to sue the government for renumeration for time wasted in a holding cell) you are tried by either one or three judges. This is determined by the charges against you. If you are suspected of committing a misdemeanour (not a Dutch legal term, but offences which only warrant a maximum of 6 months jail time or 240 hours community service) you are tried by the 'Enkelvoudige Kamer', or one judge. In all other cases, three judges have to come to an agreement about you being guilty (or not). They also have to provide reasons for their determination (unlike jurors, I might add).

Also, both the D.A. and the defendant can appeal the verdict, first to a circuit court, then to the Supreme Court (which, somewhat like SCOTUS, is supposed only to review the proper application of law, with the exception that the Dutch SC cannot rule on constitutionality - then again, our Head of State doesn't get to appoint SC judges). The doctrine of 'double jeopardy' is something that will probably enter Dutch law in the next few decades or so, as EU regulations tend to move in that direction.

Now, I agree it's not a perfect system, I do see some merits to a jury trial, I am not proud of the fact that it borrows quite a bit from the French legal system (since I hate everything French) -

BUT:

That doesn't warrant the numerous ignorant forum postings on American websites which pretend Dutch law is something of a third world sham.

(It's old world sham, in Rummy speak ;))e

10:23

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Hofstad group members arrested

In other words, fewer Jihadis roaming the streets of Amsterdam (and London). One of them was carrying a machine pistol, which (to our beloved visitors from Georgia) is not legal in the Netherlands.

23:02

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Weltherrschaft!

Ran 16,15 kilometres today in 1 hour, 26 minutes. Not bad for a guy who couldn't do the 1 mile run in high school without needing CPR.

Fellow morons who also want to participate in the Damloop, which is a 10 mile run from Amsterdam to Zaandam, are welcome to drop me a line.

21:52

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Glad someone else notices

I really love going to America - but I hate going through immigration. Not just because the people there generally act like jerks - the USA has, without exaggeration, the rudest immigration officials in the western world - but also because it nowadays is harder to get into the USA when you need a visa (read: nearly impossible). Which is not only pissing off foreigners, it is also hurting America, argues Steve Forbes.

10:28

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Terrorists are fun

These sick fucks run an ad agency. They have two very peculiar notions of fun.

One, that it is humorous to film a mock terrorist hijacking, probably figuring the people that got decapitated in the Middle East had it coming anyway.

Two, that it is hilarious to throw a chicken into a blender as part of said terrorist hijacking.

You read that right. Of course, the whole thing turned out to be a hoax, which is a pity in a way. I would have had a pretty good excuse to go over there and kick their asses. The judge would probably have let me off with 40 hours community service.

Cruelty against humans is awful, but in a way, it is what the good lord put us on earth to do. (I mean, no one does it better.) Cruelty against animals, however, is beyond depravity, and it takes away jobs from good, honest, hard-working chicken trying to peck themselves a living.

(I am past 30 now and thus legally allowed under the Dutch Code of Senior Citizen Behaviour to engage in extreme cynicism.)

Never mind that I really don't like it when people try to use gruesome murders to sell something.

So if you know any Americans who really had a good time when Nick Berg got his head severed, you might wanna give them this phone number.

18:41

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Just got home: will the reader that is bound for Amsterdam please contact me again?

Just got home from a business trip and am swamped with email and the paper kind as well.

However, whilst cleaning out my inbox I accidentally deleted an email of a reader that contacted me about his pending visit to Amsterdam. Could you please resend it?

9:47

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

At least he did something right

Gerrit Zalm, the Dutch secretary of finance, today received praise from his American colleague John Snow for helping to combat terrorism by cutting off funding. Zalm is not too popular at the moment because it recently turned out he had traded in the guilder too cheaply for the euro to please the Germans. But honor to whom it's due: it's good to hear he occasionally manages to do something right.

18:11

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Officialy old now

Hitting 30 today.

Please, no flowers.

The cat and I are resting between 12 and 2 AM.

1:19

permalink comment(s) (4) trackback(s) (0)

Mom, can I hit them please?

A guy who wanted to kill himself was encouraged to do so by a rowdy crowd in the Dutch town of Deventer. Fortunately, police nevertheless managed to talk him out of it. Their excuse was that they were drunk. They had better be completely shitfaced if I ever run into one of them. As I understand it, alcohol can be a powerful analgesic.

19:29

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Attempting to pigeonhole Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Turns out she < push > < grunt > doesn't fit.

10:29

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

And that's the second tag list

EU Rota, thanks a bundle. Remind me to back up and give it another go after I've run you over.

1) Number of books I own:

Honest to God, I don't know. I'm guessing in-between 1,000 and 1,500. Most of them are in storage.

2) The last book I bought:

The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch. Yeah, I'm a fun guy to hang with. It's a good thing hookers are cheap in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, they don't know shit about quantum mechanics.

3) Last book read:

Boy and Going Solo - Roald Dahl

4) On deck soon:

Rational Mysticism - John Horgan

5) Five books that meant a lot to me:

Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card: got me into journalism, in a way. Read it when I was 12.
Ecclesiastes: I'm an agnost, but this sometimes makes me at peace with the universe for, say, about five seconds.
The Red Queen - Matt Ridley: makes you not want to have sex for about a week (ok, an hour). Great after breakups.
Miss Wyoming - Douglas Coupland: a properly written love story with a literary undercurrent, but without an author who is constantly trying to prove how amazingly 'literary' he can be (yes, I am talking about you, Mr. Eggers).
Saying Yes - Jacob Sullum: come on now, a conservative American propagating drugs legalization, using sane arguments? No Dutchman could be expected to resist that!

6) Tag five people and have them put this in their journal:

Rogier
Sirpa (yes, she got the previous one as well, but she's got plenty of time anyway)
Lucas
Bas
Myrtus

23:41

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

OK, let's get rid of these tag lists

They are starting to pile up, EU Rota sent me one as well, but this one was in my to do list for quite some time already.

Here we go.

Britt is playing tag and I'm it!

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video:

That would be somewhere around 300, not counting the videos. I don't watch those anyway since my VCR fell down from a 2 meter high storage shelf. Surprisingly, it did not survive.

2) The last film I bought:

The Scent of Green Papayas. Still have to view it though.

3) The last film I watched:

Tora! Tora! Tora! Unless you're asking about cinema, in case the answer would be Sideways (which wasn't released in the Netherlands until this year).

4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no
particular order):

The 25th Hour - impressive, not just because of the haunting shots of Ground Zero, but also because it manages to convey in images what I like about America/Americans: their optimism, their (sometimes quite irritating) belief you can always start over, their sense of community, even (or especially) when home is very far away in a physical sense. (Of course, you Yanks (Southern states included) are still a bunch of arrogant twats, but I love you anyway ;).)

Black Hawk Down - after seeing this movie, I also wanted to be a Ranger and be gored in an African country! I'm kidding, of course, but this movie made me admire the guys who literally put their balls on the line. Making the world safe for democracy turns out to be rather unsafe.

Lost in Translation - lost for words. Let this be my life from now on, please.

Good Will Hunting - that's personal.

Karakter - Definitely the best Dutch movie ever made (not that there's much competition). If you see one foreign language film in your life, let this be the one.

5) Tag 5 people and have them put this in their journal:

EU Rota (hey, he tagged me, only fair to return the favor)
Pieter
Sirpa
Edwin
Michiel

22:33

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Welcome, GeenStijl visitors

Never judge a book by its cover the questions you read about it on a website (ok, not quite as catchy).

Those of you who have actually read my book, which was published only about a year ago (!), know that chapter 8 critizes WebWereld, not GeenStijl.

I've already asked my publisher to send you a review copy. (The rest of you can order it here, and take out a mortgage to pay for it here, in order to prevent financial hardship.)

(God, all this generosity makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Might even be promoted to the second layer of hell if I keep this up.)

13:40

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Are Iraqi insurgents plotting their bomb attacks from within the Netherlands?

Today it became known that two guys of Iraqi ancestry, one of them with a Dutch passport, were arrested earlier. They allegedly helped Iraqi insurgents blow up Americans. Kudos for busting the guys, but what the hell is wrong at the immigration office? Guess I shouldn't be surprised. Last year, Dutch police arrested Afghan war criminals who had pretended to be asylum seekers. The former head of Afghan intelligence was among them.

21:19

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Oet de tied ekomn

Exactly one year ago my grandmother passed away. To say that she was special to me is a huge understatement. To say that she still is would be more appropriate.

So I had a bit of a drive today to drop off some roses at her current residence. She used to like those, as long as they weren't yellow. Now that they are just withering away, they'll probably end up having the same color as Jiang Zemin (or me after a night out on the town) anyway, but at least they were white when I left them.

Give 'em hell up there, gran.

'Wat wusn wiej nog, dat op n keer
ik der nog wean zol en dow nich meer?'
(Willem Wilmink)

20:42

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

Sensible guys, them Germans

Via GeenStijl.

10:13

permalink comment(s) (3) trackback(s) (0)

War between the Netherlands and Belgium

Now I understand why the government wanted us to support the EU constitution. That 500 pages long document is probably the only thing that could have kept them from regressing into atavistic behaviour such as displayed in the current row between Belgium and the Netherlands.
Mr. Karel De Gucht, the Belgian secretary of foreign affairs, yesterday was quoted in the equally Belgian newspaper 'Het Laatste Nieuws' as having said that Mr. Balkenende waged a terrible 'YES' campaign (true), that Mr. Balkenende looks like Harry Potter (wrong, and an insult to Harry Potter - just ask yourself, who do you consider 'Most likely to be invited by Michael Jackson'?), that Mr. Balkenende has no charm (very true), that Mr. Balkenende is a bourgeouis stiff (only too true), and that he would have done better when there had been a plebiscite in Belgium (completely apocryphal, especially since the 'NO' voters are even on the rise in Luxembourg, which is a very rich and very pro-EU country).
De Gucht first tried to weasel his way out of the ensuing bickering by denying he'd said anything of the kind. However, since Mr. De Gucht is equally well known for making controversial statements as well as his habit of trying to cop out afterwards, the journalist who interviewed him had been smart enough to record the conversation.
So Mr. De Gucht first apologized through the media, and when that turned out to be insufficient, he also sent a letter to the Dutch secretary of foreign affairs. The later, Mr. Ben Bot, received it earlier tonight, but still isn't satisfied and wants to have an urgent meeting with the Belgian ambassador first thing in the morning.
Meanwhile, some people in France, Germany and Italy are talking about getting out of the euro. This is rich. France and Germany bent the eurozone budget rules into a Moebius ring; Italy should never even have been admitted. (By the way: no, you're not getting out of the euro, you bunch of tossers. You'll bloody well stay in and pay us our 10 percent back first before you even get to bring up the subject again. Then you can run with your tail between your legs, because God knows there are no balls to get in the way.)
To summarize, I'm beginning to think they were right about that whole Holocaust and World War III prediction. It's what might happen if we don't send this bunch of adolescents who are supposed to be our leaders home pronto.

21:37

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

Why the 'NO' vote

Christopher Caldwell of the Weekly Standard gets it right by quoting a French teacher:

1. A constitution has to be readable to permit a popular vote; this text is unreadable.
2. A constitution doesn't impose a political ideology; this text is partisan.
3. A constitution is revisable; this text is locked in . . .
4. A constitution protects people from tyranny through separation of powers; this one doesn't have real checks and balances and separation of powers.
5. A constitution is not handed down by the powerful; it is established by the people themselves, to protect them from arbitrary power, through an independent constitutional assembly elected for the purpose and disbanded afterwards; this text entrenches European institutions designed 50 years ago by the men in power.

Exactly. Dutch PBS is tirelessly endeavouring to spin the 'NO' vote as the result of Dutch xenophobia and (just a few moments ago) our alleged fear of cheap Polish labour (which was a French concern, and by the way, my bathroom really needs new tiles. Bring 'em on).

Quite ironic it takes an American journal to get it right.

< self-indulgence mode >
Good thing there's blogs.
< /self-indulgence mode >

1:50

permalink comment(s) (2) trackback(s) (0)

Behold the economical miracle of Europe

Reynolds has a depressing press roundup:

'If the E.U. was treated as a single American state, it would rank fifth from the bottom, topping only Arkansas, Montana, West Virginia and Mississippi.'

Gee, I can't imagine how this came to be.

The Dutch idea of 'privatizing' state services such as health care is forcing everyone to take part in a collective insurance policy, with income dependent premiums. In my case, from next year onwards I will be paying about 3000 euros (3600 dollars) a year just for basic health care. (Additional coverage available at extra cost.) All the money will go to the Dutch HMO's, which will create a new monopoly since there's no price competition on premiums. Instead, HMO's are supposed to compete on quality of care. As opposed to any real place, in the Netherlands this will not lead to further price hikes, but instead bring about the miracle of efficiency that only a free market can bring, even though in this case it's about as free as a sand flea in Guantanamo Bay.

All this with a so-called 'free market party' VVD secretary of Health.

In other words, fuck you, VVD, for not understanding the concept of economic liberalisation.

20:31

permalink comment(s) (6) trackback(s) (0)

Someone said she'd like more cat pictures

Well, there ya go. (Ripped it from Fark.)

20:20

permalink comment(s) (4) trackback(s) (0)

I thought the 'YES' campaign was over

'Death, despair, darkness, captivity, destruction, pain and lies.'

Oh wait, it's a heavy metal festival.

(Via GeenStijl. Picture from the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI), depicting the current weather.)

17:36

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

On the other hand

Some parties may think they're doing too well in the polls, such as the allegedly somewhat libertarian VVD. Let's listen in on VVD secretary Zalm of Finance:

'I respect the results of the plebiscite, but the people aren't always right.'

Please mom, can I have a second amendment and a hunting license? It's turkey season.

11:32

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

Group think

For a country so prone to tolerance and compromise, it seems odd that such a large number of MP's held similar opinions about the EU constitution without even so much as intense internal political debate within parties. In a nation with a huge bandwidth for differing points of view, 85 percent of Parliament managed to hold on to the same one: all hail the constitution. But when 62 percent of all voters reject a proposal of such a huge magnitude - we're not talking relatively minor issues such as alternative power sources or even economic policy here - it seems obvious that there's a bit of a gap between the elected representatives and those whom they represent.

Now it's true that if new elections were held right now, the parties that supported the treaty would still hold a majority. (BTW: Thank God. I don't want either Geert Wilders or the Maoist Socialist Party running the country. And neither would I like to see Mr. Rouvoet as prime minister, however much I respect him as a person.)

But parties aren't monolithic entities. Ideas can change, even party identities can. Blair managed to reform a considerable part of his Labour Party. Why? Because he was capable of (1) selling new ideas about how to be a socially conscious democrat after the old perceptions had become obsolete in post-Thatcher Britain to (2) a party which desperately needed new legitimacy with the voters.

Sounds familiar?

The EU until now wasn't much of an issue with Dutch voters: partly because citizens could hardly affect the process anyway other than participate in elections legitimizing an immature European Parliament; partly because it was unclear to them how much Europe already affected them. About half of all Dutch laws are the result of EU directives, according to weekly Elsevier, but this usually wasn't perceived this way, other than the odd sensationalist report about how the European Commission spent the day arguing the curvature of bananas.

As a result of all this, 'Europe' wasn't a subject of note in national campaigns. Politicians are quite human (well, sometimes) in the sense that they will choose the easy way out in a social context. Why disagree with your party peers and even engage in a possibly poisonous debate if there's nothing to be gained for your own career, and everything to lose? One might by accident antagonize people who could jeopardize one's climb up the ladder, or even forfeit the chance of a cushy seat in Brussels in the end.

Whenever consensus is rewarded, group think is the inevitable result. (I'll just say 'slam dunk case' right here so you don't have to bother in the comments.)

Now it seems we may enter an era in which the advantages for MP's to agree with their fellow party members on Europe may be offset by the losses of not daring to be different. A politician which can both articulate his love for a united Europe as well as promise voters to critically monitor the road to integration for pitfalls, might be acting in the best interest of both the people and his career. After all, his party could reap electoral rewards, which wouldn't necessarily reflect bad on him. As 90 percent of humankind consists of opportunists whose most important, or even sole, skill is judging likely winners and rallying behind them, more party members would follow. (I am in a good mood today. Normally, I put the percentage at 99,9999 percent. Don't even ask about my dark moods.)

Presumably, this is one of very few reasons the Netherlands still has tax-deductible mortgage interest payments (which in my view should be abolished immediately as they drive up real estate prices, but anyway. Different debate for a different day). Voters are willing to punish parties who are even considering bringing the subject up. Even the Labour Party, whose voters don't own houses as much as those of (for example) CDA or VVD, is careful not to lead the way in the mortgage debate. Likewise, after Wednesday, only a very foolish party leader would misinterpret the Dutch citizen's willingness to be similarly assertive about 'Europe'.

Granted, this willingness is recent. But it wasn't until recently that it became impossible for the voter to ignore Europe. Only with the euro, and the subsequent price hikes in the Netherlands, did this change. It didn't help much that Greece got into the EMU by cooking the books, and how France and Germany got away with flouting Eurozone budget rules.

The combination of the referendum (finally feeling direct control over a process which seemed until recently to be ungraspable) with these political and economical realities have given 'Europe' a sense of importance to the voter. Political parties would be wise to capitalize on that. They can no longer afford to ignore the citizen's wishes, for the simple reason that other parties won't make the same mistake, and instead reap gains which could have been theirs.

Elections are a marketplace of ideas. And it seems to be a buyer's market for EU stock right now. Which party will cash in on it first?

10:37

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Arrogance still rife amongst EU policy makers

Check out this press release from UNICE, a lobby organization which claims to speak for European businesses, although MKB-Nederland, the Dutch SMB organization, is not a member:

'The “no” from the Netherlands after the French one is more than a setback; it is a strong signal that the European project is badly perceived by European citizens. European policy-makers must reflect carefully on how to move forward. Deferring structural reforms is not an option but they have to be better explained and well understood.'

(Emphases mine.)

Or, in English: 'You poor ignorant voters. We understand you must feel confused. Let us explain why we know what's best for you one more time...'

Perception is not the problem. Policy is.

11:12

permalink comment(s) (2) trackback(s) (0)

Off to bed now!

Because tomorrow morning, we'll be rounding up Jews and building new gas chambers!

0:10

permalink comment(s) (2) trackback(s) (0)

99,8 percent of all votes counted:

61,6 percent no, 38,4 percent yes.

Turnout higher than previously expected: 62,8 percent.

23:38

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Results from the big cities

As the capital is about the one remaining city in the country without voting computers, Amsterdam's results will probably be last.

View the rest of the results here.

22:09

permalink comment(s) (0) trackback(s) (0)

Rouvoet rebuts Barosso

EC President Barroso made his familiar point again, about how nine countries have ratified the constitution already.

André Rouvoet of the ChristenUnie just pointed out the fallacy in this argument: only three of those countries have put the constitution to a vote. And two of them rejected it.

Two countries that are, by the way, founding members of the EU.

21:58

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

Balkenende reacts

Very disappointed, positive that there was a high turnout, yadayadayadayada, RATIFICATION PROCESS SHOULD GO AHEAD IN OTHER COUNTRIES...

Jeez, this guy never learns.

I really don't like Geert Wilders, but he was right in his response: 'Balkenende is a sore loser.'

21:35

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

New elections, please

If 85 percent of Parliament wants to support a constitution that 63 percent of the constituency rejects, it seems obvious that our representatives in the Second Chamber (our Lower House/House of Representatives) no longer represent us.

Never mind that any government led by someone who tied his own image to the result of this plebiscite should also step down, if only out of shame.

Update 21.19: Even Dutch PBS asked this very same question, about a second ago!

Update 21.21: Of course, considering the huge number of unions, environmental and consumer organizations that supported the constitution, it might be a good idea if they indulged in some soul searching as well. These organizations form what is known in the Netherlands as the 'societal midfield' (maatschappelijk middenveld) and are supposed to be the lobby groups of various interests in Dutch society. But rather than speaking his master's voice, they seem to have become just as detached from their members as many politicians have from the voters.

21:12

permalink comment(s) (3) trackback(s) (0)

NO: 63 percent!

A massacre. According to the first exit poll, 63 percent of the Dutch voted no, and therefore, only 37 percent voted yes. The turnout was very high at 62 percent. Never before have people turned out in such high numbers to vote in a European election. It's quite ironic that the first time they choose to do so is when they have a chance to voice their concerns.

Thanks to all of you who voted today.

20:59

permalink comment(s) (1) trackback(s) (0)

Democracy is not a spectator sport

Go vote today, if you are physically able. It's your duty. It's not much to ask compared to what is asked of American and British boys in Iraq and Afghanistan, or of aid troops in the tsunami affected ares. You don't need to wage war or get your hands dirty. There's no risk of any bodily harm.

Your country demands of you to vote. And it has every right to do so, for you are your country. Thus, you owe it to yourself, and to those with whom you share this fine nation, to show up at the ballot box (well, voting computer).

An American gentleman sent me an email yesterday night. He spoke of Dutch patriots. That made me pause for a moment. The Dutch don't like words such as patriots. World War II has made us equate the love of our nation and pride in our values with the exact opposite: the hatred of other nations and the despising of other values. Elements that characterized fascist Germany.

That's a shame. For to love the Netherlands means nothing more, and nothing less, than to love the ideas upon which this country is built. Common sense. Our love of being stubborn, and those that are. Freedom of speech, even of being offensive. It is not an endorsement of fascism, but a celebration of diversity and community amongst individuals.

Be a Dutch patriot. Go vote. No more can be asked of you, no less can be sufficient.

'The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.'
(Thomas Paine)

9:31

permalink comment(s) (4) trackback(s) (0)