Hmmm.. a new twist to the megaupload story...
A rumour is going around that the reason Megaupload was shut down, has little or nothing to do with illegal filesharing.
The real reason MU has been hit so hard, is that they were developing a legal alternative to buying music from the record lables.
Artists would alow MU to play their works without charging the listers. The artists would be payed from advertising revenues. Kind of spotify but a little different. Quite a few artists were onboard already
This was percieved as a huge threat to the music industry fatcats. And, just days away from bringing this new idea online.... the whole MU gang gets busted.
Feels a little like corruption, doesnt it?
Thats cause it is....
Monday, 13 February 2012
climate fantasy
Unbelievable! A group of 16 people have published an article, questioning the foundations of man induced climate change.
These people include professors, CEOs, journalists etc. and they clam that since the last 10 years havent shown any real warming, the whole CO2 thing must be a crock.
The usual garbage is pulled out: No evidence of a direct link between CO2 and global warming (Ive never seen any concrete evidence that gravity will work tomorrow, but it doesnt mean Im seriously doubting it), claims that we are currently pursuing an "aggressive policy of reducing greenhouse gasses" (we're not, we're asleep at the wheel and are increasing CO2 emissions every year), that CO2 is not a pollutant, but a naturally occurring gas (crude oil is also a naturally occurring substance but its pretty harmful if significant quantities are present in the wrong place) and that climate policies are costing us a lot of money each year.
All bull.
We're simply ignoring the issue, hoping it will go away. And these dangerous impostors are lulling us into a false sense of security. And one day we (or our kids most likely) will look back at our time and wonder why we behaved in such an illogical way.
Compare it to what we now think about the debt most European countries are in. When the debt was accrued, it seemed like the most normal thing in the world. In fact, any government that DIDNT join in, was virtually stealing from its own population, and surely clueless about world economics. Now however, we wonder how we could have let it get this far, how we could have been so fast asleep at the wheel, and how we're going to repay that disastrous mountain of debt...
We can now relatively easily change the way we behave, reducing the effects we have on the environment drastically. It will take some initial investment, but in the long run, Im sure we'll all feel better if the likes of Iran, Saudy Arabia, Irak and other unstable countries are less essential to our success.
In the long run (the usual prediction is 5 - 10 years) it will actually be beneficial to economic growth...
But we need to get people to accept 5 - 10 years of slight reduction in growth first. Thats difficult, as its longer that an election period. That means that in political terms its an impossibility.
Imagine this:
Party A is elected. The brave leadership does what it takes, and starts us on the road to free us of carbon dependency. They will rule over 4-8 years of less growth, ensuring that party B is eventually elected.
Party B reaps the rewards, claiming the success is their own.
Party A would have to be stupid to do this right? Unless the population, the voters, would really believe that Party A did the right thing. This however is very difficult, especially to maintain for a long period of time. People having to postpone buying their new toy or having to accept a year or two of slightly less luxury is no light matter!
So what if a group of experts were to cast doubt on the necessity of the 5 - 10 year sacrifice... People would be even harder to convince, because some time in that 5 - 10 year period, the feeling that it might all be for nothing is going to get too strong to ignore.
It would ensure that no party would be able to convince the public to back such a plan, thus ensuring that real progress in this matter is halted.
So now we have a group of experts doing just this.
But hang on, maybe they are right!! Maybe the whole climate stuff is garbage!
Ok, go to Beijing for a few days and tell me that emissions are not a problem. Ignore CO2 for a moment, ignore all the computer models. Just tell me how you feel if you spend a day in nature, or if you spend a day in a crowded industrialized city. It doesnt take rocket science to predict what the collective effect of our emissions is. In a way its a bit like those people who've smoked 2 packs a day all their lives, and then sue the tobacco companies saying "I didnt know it was bad for me". Come on, who are you kidding?
But what pisses me off most of all is that this time the so called experts are playing an extra dirty trick.
By invoking their professor titles, their CEO pasts and other credentials, they are claiming to be independent subject matter experts.
They are neither.
Two of them (Edward David and Roger Cohenhave) have past careers at Exxon, two others (Burt Rutan and Jack Schmitt) are in the space ship industry. None of the professors signing this have published any relevant scientific literature in peer reviewed journals, and Claude Allegre (the first signer) is a known and heavily critisised climate change denier.
Out of 16 people signing this with an impressive signature, 12 are not climate experts, 9 have clear ties to the petrochemical industry and none are recognised subject matter experts.
So why is this so dangerous?
Well, I dont know if you've ever heard of the Milgram experiment? Its a study done in the 60s to explore how people react to perceived experts. In short, test subjects were supposed to give electric shocks to another person (an actor who made deliberate mistakes at a memory exersise, triggering the test subject to shock him for each mistake). The actor (in a different room, so out of sight of the test subject) would scream and, as shocks increased in intensity, clearly signal great bodily discomfort. When the test subjects wanted to stop as a result of this, someone in a lab coat (ie, someone recognisable as an expert) would tell them to continue. The vast majority of people kept on delivering shocks to the actor until the actor faked death by heart attack.
We are all susceptible to such effects. We cant be experts on everything, so we rely on the expertise of others. And we’ve been trained to recognize certain tell tale signs that someone is an expert. Being a professor for instance.
That’s why its soooo dangerous what these people are doing. By giving people reasonable doubt about the need for rapid change in our climate policies, they block any chance at success. And the chances are that in 10, 20 or perhaps 50 years time, we or our children will look back and wonder how we could have been so stupid.
Just for the sake of argument btw, lets say there is no climate problem. Than in 50 tears time we’ll laugh and still enjoy fresh air, less diesel fumes, more efficient (=cheaper) cars etc etc. Its not as if there is a downside! The other way around though...
These people include professors, CEOs, journalists etc. and they clam that since the last 10 years havent shown any real warming, the whole CO2 thing must be a crock.
The usual garbage is pulled out: No evidence of a direct link between CO2 and global warming (Ive never seen any concrete evidence that gravity will work tomorrow, but it doesnt mean Im seriously doubting it), claims that we are currently pursuing an "aggressive policy of reducing greenhouse gasses" (we're not, we're asleep at the wheel and are increasing CO2 emissions every year), that CO2 is not a pollutant, but a naturally occurring gas (crude oil is also a naturally occurring substance but its pretty harmful if significant quantities are present in the wrong place) and that climate policies are costing us a lot of money each year.
All bull.
We're simply ignoring the issue, hoping it will go away. And these dangerous impostors are lulling us into a false sense of security. And one day we (or our kids most likely) will look back at our time and wonder why we behaved in such an illogical way.
Compare it to what we now think about the debt most European countries are in. When the debt was accrued, it seemed like the most normal thing in the world. In fact, any government that DIDNT join in, was virtually stealing from its own population, and surely clueless about world economics. Now however, we wonder how we could have let it get this far, how we could have been so fast asleep at the wheel, and how we're going to repay that disastrous mountain of debt...
We can now relatively easily change the way we behave, reducing the effects we have on the environment drastically. It will take some initial investment, but in the long run, Im sure we'll all feel better if the likes of Iran, Saudy Arabia, Irak and other unstable countries are less essential to our success.
In the long run (the usual prediction is 5 - 10 years) it will actually be beneficial to economic growth...
But we need to get people to accept 5 - 10 years of slight reduction in growth first. Thats difficult, as its longer that an election period. That means that in political terms its an impossibility.
Imagine this:
Party A is elected. The brave leadership does what it takes, and starts us on the road to free us of carbon dependency. They will rule over 4-8 years of less growth, ensuring that party B is eventually elected.
Party B reaps the rewards, claiming the success is their own.
Party A would have to be stupid to do this right? Unless the population, the voters, would really believe that Party A did the right thing. This however is very difficult, especially to maintain for a long period of time. People having to postpone buying their new toy or having to accept a year or two of slightly less luxury is no light matter!
So what if a group of experts were to cast doubt on the necessity of the 5 - 10 year sacrifice... People would be even harder to convince, because some time in that 5 - 10 year period, the feeling that it might all be for nothing is going to get too strong to ignore.
It would ensure that no party would be able to convince the public to back such a plan, thus ensuring that real progress in this matter is halted.
So now we have a group of experts doing just this.
But hang on, maybe they are right!! Maybe the whole climate stuff is garbage!
Ok, go to Beijing for a few days and tell me that emissions are not a problem. Ignore CO2 for a moment, ignore all the computer models. Just tell me how you feel if you spend a day in nature, or if you spend a day in a crowded industrialized city. It doesnt take rocket science to predict what the collective effect of our emissions is. In a way its a bit like those people who've smoked 2 packs a day all their lives, and then sue the tobacco companies saying "I didnt know it was bad for me". Come on, who are you kidding?
But what pisses me off most of all is that this time the so called experts are playing an extra dirty trick.
By invoking their professor titles, their CEO pasts and other credentials, they are claiming to be independent subject matter experts.
They are neither.
Two of them (Edward David and Roger Cohenhave) have past careers at Exxon, two others (Burt Rutan and Jack Schmitt) are in the space ship industry. None of the professors signing this have published any relevant scientific literature in peer reviewed journals, and Claude Allegre (the first signer) is a known and heavily critisised climate change denier.
Out of 16 people signing this with an impressive signature, 12 are not climate experts, 9 have clear ties to the petrochemical industry and none are recognised subject matter experts.
So why is this so dangerous?
Well, I dont know if you've ever heard of the Milgram experiment? Its a study done in the 60s to explore how people react to perceived experts. In short, test subjects were supposed to give electric shocks to another person (an actor who made deliberate mistakes at a memory exersise, triggering the test subject to shock him for each mistake). The actor (in a different room, so out of sight of the test subject) would scream and, as shocks increased in intensity, clearly signal great bodily discomfort. When the test subjects wanted to stop as a result of this, someone in a lab coat (ie, someone recognisable as an expert) would tell them to continue. The vast majority of people kept on delivering shocks to the actor until the actor faked death by heart attack.
We are all susceptible to such effects. We cant be experts on everything, so we rely on the expertise of others. And we’ve been trained to recognize certain tell tale signs that someone is an expert. Being a professor for instance.
That’s why its soooo dangerous what these people are doing. By giving people reasonable doubt about the need for rapid change in our climate policies, they block any chance at success. And the chances are that in 10, 20 or perhaps 50 years time, we or our children will look back and wonder how we could have been so stupid.
Just for the sake of argument btw, lets say there is no climate problem. Than in 50 tears time we’ll laugh and still enjoy fresh air, less diesel fumes, more efficient (=cheaper) cars etc etc. Its not as if there is a downside! The other way around though...
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
the upper 0.1%... of what?
I just read this article in time magazine (usually not too bad btw), and it left me wondering.
Who the hell wrote this drivle?
Basically, it discusses why we, the non-millionaires, dislike the really filthy rich.
The core of the message is that we dont dislike Hank, who earned 100 million dollars from his successful business, but comes from a working class background and has married his high school sweetheart.
We DO dislike Mr. Rich Guy Who Is Also In Politics, And Looks Down On Hank (poor Hank).
Why? Well, its obvious, isnt it. Hank is the American Dream. Upwards mobility made flesh, although even poor Hank has hit his glass ceiling when he met the "new upper class" as Mr Murray calls them.
The article starts quite well.
It says:
The Pew Foundation discovered in a recent poll that tensions over inequality in wealth now outrank tensions over race and immigration.
Ok, some data, research, facts, and a new view on the divide between rich and poor.
Next it goes wrong...
But income inequality isn’t really the problem.
What?? Excuse me??? What IS the problem than?
A new upper class is the problem. And their wealth isn’t what sets them apart or creates so much animosity toward them.
Of course!!
Ehhhmm.. wait a moment.... Nope, I still dont get it...
Ok, reading on Mr Murray explains that the difference between Hank and the New Upper Class is that the New Upper Class (im gonna call them NUC from here on) has power, holds on to that, forms an elite society, divorced from the rest of society and wont let Hank in.
So, upward mobility has a limit, so why should people even try.
Its unfair, boo hoo!
What the F*CK?
Quite frankly, Id settle for Mr Hanks 100 Million Dollars! And I think most people would.
And I think the problem has a completely different cause.
You see, I have the highest form of education one can get. In this IM in the 0.1%! Masters degree, PhD in immunology, etc. Im well educated, not stupid and I work 10-12 hours a day.
I dont waste money, I live in a flat and go to work by bike.
Yet.... The chance of me ever earning enough money to move to Hanks neighbourhood is so close to zero, that I dont even want to think about it. It depresses me. Id like to have a big house, a cleaning lady to do all those unpleasant things in the house, enough money not to worry about it when Im on holiday, or perhaps to modestly retire when Im still young enough to pick up golf. Enough money to live that lifestyle which TV bombards us with so regularly with fancy cars, expensive booze and luxury living. But thinking about that leads to disappointment, frustration and unhappiness.
Dont get me wrong, Im a happy camper. I like what I have, I love my life etc. A few million for a Bugatti veyron, a BMW R1200GS and a sailing yacht, along with free time to enjoy them would just make me love it a bit more.
But realistically the chance that this dream will even come true is just about ziltch.
No matter how hard I work, no matter how hard I try, no matter how many risks I take.
And Im more likely to make it there than most, due to my education level... Which means that Im lucky, and for most people the realistic chance is less than Ziltch...
And That is the real problem Mr Murray.
Not Hanks glass ceiling.
No.
The fact that Hank apparently deserves to get rewards in excess of a thousand times that of any one of his employees, no matter how hard they work, or no matter how instrumental they are in making his millions.
The lottery that decides that out of all the equally hardworking and deserving people a very few get to keep most of the cake, leaving the rest squabling over crumbs, feeling left behind.
There is no rationally behind this. Success in business is not for the deserving, its for those both extremely lucky and fairly ruthless.
So is this way the earnings of the many are hoarded by the few. If those Hank Millions would be distributed a bit more fairly amongst those people he needed to earn those millions, they might hate Hank less. Now they see that their hard work is used for Mrs. Hanks new Range Rover evoque, while they cant pay to have their wifes 10 year old ford fixed.
I dont think Mr. Factory Worker for Hank cares if the NUC welcome Hank into their ranks or not. I think they want a fair days pay for a fair days work. And I think they have just as much right to some of the money they helped Hank earn as Hank himself. He couldnt have made it without them after all.
As long as we accept that some Hardworking people are rewarded thousands of times more than other also Hardworking people, this financial frustration will only grow. They is no justification for anyone earning more than a million a year (call me a socialist if you will, but I believe that enough money to live handsomely and buy a new ferrari every year should suffice for anyone).
Anyone earning more than this should ask themselves what gives them the right. Are the so much better than other people?
Who the hell wrote this drivle?
Basically, it discusses why we, the non-millionaires, dislike the really filthy rich.
The core of the message is that we dont dislike Hank, who earned 100 million dollars from his successful business, but comes from a working class background and has married his high school sweetheart.
We DO dislike Mr. Rich Guy Who Is Also In Politics, And Looks Down On Hank (poor Hank).
Why? Well, its obvious, isnt it. Hank is the American Dream. Upwards mobility made flesh, although even poor Hank has hit his glass ceiling when he met the "new upper class" as Mr Murray calls them.
The article starts quite well.
It says:
The Pew Foundation discovered in a recent poll that tensions over inequality in wealth now outrank tensions over race and immigration.
Ok, some data, research, facts, and a new view on the divide between rich and poor.
Next it goes wrong...
But income inequality isn’t really the problem.
What?? Excuse me??? What IS the problem than?
A new upper class is the problem. And their wealth isn’t what sets them apart or creates so much animosity toward them.
Of course!!
Ehhhmm.. wait a moment.... Nope, I still dont get it...
Ok, reading on Mr Murray explains that the difference between Hank and the New Upper Class is that the New Upper Class (im gonna call them NUC from here on) has power, holds on to that, forms an elite society, divorced from the rest of society and wont let Hank in.
So, upward mobility has a limit, so why should people even try.
Its unfair, boo hoo!
What the F*CK?
Quite frankly, Id settle for Mr Hanks 100 Million Dollars! And I think most people would.
And I think the problem has a completely different cause.
You see, I have the highest form of education one can get. In this IM in the 0.1%! Masters degree, PhD in immunology, etc. Im well educated, not stupid and I work 10-12 hours a day.
I dont waste money, I live in a flat and go to work by bike.
Yet.... The chance of me ever earning enough money to move to Hanks neighbourhood is so close to zero, that I dont even want to think about it. It depresses me. Id like to have a big house, a cleaning lady to do all those unpleasant things in the house, enough money not to worry about it when Im on holiday, or perhaps to modestly retire when Im still young enough to pick up golf. Enough money to live that lifestyle which TV bombards us with so regularly with fancy cars, expensive booze and luxury living. But thinking about that leads to disappointment, frustration and unhappiness.
Dont get me wrong, Im a happy camper. I like what I have, I love my life etc. A few million for a Bugatti veyron, a BMW R1200GS and a sailing yacht, along with free time to enjoy them would just make me love it a bit more.
But realistically the chance that this dream will even come true is just about ziltch.
No matter how hard I work, no matter how hard I try, no matter how many risks I take.
And Im more likely to make it there than most, due to my education level... Which means that Im lucky, and for most people the realistic chance is less than Ziltch...
And That is the real problem Mr Murray.
Not Hanks glass ceiling.
No.
The fact that Hank apparently deserves to get rewards in excess of a thousand times that of any one of his employees, no matter how hard they work, or no matter how instrumental they are in making his millions.
The lottery that decides that out of all the equally hardworking and deserving people a very few get to keep most of the cake, leaving the rest squabling over crumbs, feeling left behind.
There is no rationally behind this. Success in business is not for the deserving, its for those both extremely lucky and fairly ruthless.
So is this way the earnings of the many are hoarded by the few. If those Hank Millions would be distributed a bit more fairly amongst those people he needed to earn those millions, they might hate Hank less. Now they see that their hard work is used for Mrs. Hanks new Range Rover evoque, while they cant pay to have their wifes 10 year old ford fixed.
I dont think Mr. Factory Worker for Hank cares if the NUC welcome Hank into their ranks or not. I think they want a fair days pay for a fair days work. And I think they have just as much right to some of the money they helped Hank earn as Hank himself. He couldnt have made it without them after all.
As long as we accept that some Hardworking people are rewarded thousands of times more than other also Hardworking people, this financial frustration will only grow. They is no justification for anyone earning more than a million a year (call me a socialist if you will, but I believe that enough money to live handsomely and buy a new ferrari every year should suffice for anyone).
Anyone earning more than this should ask themselves what gives them the right. Are the so much better than other people?
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Oh the humanity...
Well, the last weekend has both shaken what little faith I have left in my fellow humans, and restored a little of that faith. To be very clear, these were two separate occasions.
The first, more depressing part was that I got into a "sort of fight". Sort of, because it wasnt fists thrown about, and it was a fight because I almost got physically thrown out of a snack bar.
Ok, this is what happened.
I live in the Netherlands. You know, the quaint little country in Northern Europe where up until recently, life was sweet and just a little boring. Politics were predictable, people might grumble at each other but were essentially good natured (or too civilised to show how bad natured they were) and things went pretty smoothly. The government invested heavily in education (which has btw been undone in the last 10 years, causing untold damage to the future of the Dutch economy and reinstating class based education, as kids from less fortunate families simply wont be able to afford higher schooling anymore), racism was frowned upon, not used as political tool to sway the dumb into a scare-vote (AAAHH Holland is being overrun by foreigners!! Eeeehhmmm... Holland has in its history ALWAYS been overrun by foreigners! thats what made it rich!) , Europe was a pleasant trading partner and politicians were wise-father-like.
To be more precise, I live in Leiden, a town in the west of Holland.
I drive a motorbike (as can be seen elsewhere on this blog), or rather three by now (not at the same time obviously), which I park in a garage some 10 minutes biking (that is peddle biking) from my house.
And that is exactly what I did last Saturday.
When I arrived by my garage, the entrance was blocked by a parked car.
Ok, let me take a moment to explain the situation to you.
my garage is situated on a small terrain with 22 other garages. The terrain is closed off by a fence, which the garage owners have a key to. Next to the exit of the terrain is a snackbar / cafe, and the snackbar guests have an annoying tendency to park their cars/vans etc in such a way that I cant get past them onto the terrain.
As usual, I walked into the snackbar, and asked if the owner of the car could remove it, so I could get to my garage. The owner (who looked like a 18 year old kid with a bad attitude and a worse haircut) finally showed up, and whilst aiming some derogatory remarks at me, slowly moved his car.
I collected my motorbike and set off for the day. It was a lovely day on the road, visiting some friends and enjoying the crisp freezing coldness as one can experience it only on a motorbike at high speed. Finally tired and content, I returned to the garage.
Guess what? This time a van was blocking the drive.
Sigh, into the snackbar, "can the owner of the van please move it", get back out onto the bike and wait for the brainless abusive remarks the "ever-so-cool-and-tough" owner of the van would make towards me as he shifted his van.
Now dont get me wrong, I dont usually let such comments get to me, especially not coming from a mental midget with the IQ of a fencepost (Thanks Tom ;-) ). Today however, I was just getting a bit fed up of the sheer number of selfish, stupid, ignorant assholes who think they can spew abuse at anyone who gets in their way, but are hypersensitive to any form of criticism levelled at them. These people remind me mostly of miniature versions of gorillas beating their own chests, but I dont think saying that is very fair to gorillas.
Anyway, he moved his van, I parked my bike, and I decided to try to be an adult about it.
Id have a chat with the owner of the bar, to see what we could do to solve the problem more permanently.
So, I went inside and asked for the owner. This guy shows up, looking not too friendly, but not too stupid either. I felt it was a good start.
I hadnt even finished my first sentence ("say, about those cars parks in from of the garages") when he started yelling at me that it was actually his poor clientele who had to suffer from the people trying to get in and out of their garages. "if I could pay 4 grand for a garage that I shouldnt complain and poor hardworking him and blah blah". Btw, for your info, I rent the garage, cause I cant afford to buy it.
Somewhat taken aback I tried to get him to realise that a solution was therefore in everyone's interest.
However, instead of listening, he started threatening me. Suddenly there were 5 rather large guys standing around me, claiming they were going to beat me up (this was about the time I felt it might not end too well). One of them tried to pick me up and throw me out of the bar (unsuccessfully btw), while the others kept up their litany of threats and abuse. I finally walked out, feeling there was not much point trying to reason with people too stupid to understand it was in their own interest.
Once outside i called the cops. I was fed up and wanted to send a message.
The cops (surprisingly) showed up and walked into the bar. The owner had quickly run out the back (coward), so there was not alot they could do with regards to him. Still, I think the message that if they behave this aggressively, the cops are at their door 5 minutes later is a good one.
So now the situation kind of hangs there. I havent had a chance to go for a ride since Saturday, it will be fun if there is a car parked in front of the garages again. Im not going to let these idiots intimidate me, and if I need to press charges against the owner of the bar, so be it. Lets see how tough he is in court.
That was the depressing state of mankind experience.
The uplifting one is unfortunately alot shorter. But it is genuinely sweet (well, to me that is).
Leiden has alot of takeaways, restaurants etc. Im privileged that if Im too lazy to cook, I can choose from a wide variety of oriental food, fast food, italian, greek, etc etc. Lots of variation, but no Dutch food.
Well, thats hardly surprising as the reputation of the Dutch kitchen is only slightly beter than that of the British one (btw, see the success of the British TV-chefs and that might have to be reconsidered).
There are however some delightful dishes in the dutch kitchen, especially in the winter food category.
Things like Stamppot, boerenkool met worst, etc are really good on a cold winter day when you've been doing some physical excersise (just the kind of day you dont feel like cooking), and I sometimes come home a little sad with my takeaway wok-dish, craving these more wholesome dishes.
Well, I need crave no more!
Leiden has just been blessed with a "Dutch food takeaway"! It has great sausage, meatballs, boerenkool, andijvie stamppot etc. Also good is the onion soup the proprietor let me taste while I waited for hime to warm up my meal. Im really going to enjoy this, especially as the winter has truly arrived (-10C predicted this week).
Hmmmm..... Happy days!
And another little irony I like about this place, is that its not run by a blond, blue-eyes type.
No, its painted yellow and green, and its run by someone from the caribbean with a smile even warmer than his uber-Dutch stamppot.
Brilliant!!
The first, more depressing part was that I got into a "sort of fight". Sort of, because it wasnt fists thrown about, and it was a fight because I almost got physically thrown out of a snack bar.
Ok, this is what happened.
I live in the Netherlands. You know, the quaint little country in Northern Europe where up until recently, life was sweet and just a little boring. Politics were predictable, people might grumble at each other but were essentially good natured (or too civilised to show how bad natured they were) and things went pretty smoothly. The government invested heavily in education (which has btw been undone in the last 10 years, causing untold damage to the future of the Dutch economy and reinstating class based education, as kids from less fortunate families simply wont be able to afford higher schooling anymore), racism was frowned upon, not used as political tool to sway the dumb into a scare-vote (AAAHH Holland is being overrun by foreigners!! Eeeehhmmm... Holland has in its history ALWAYS been overrun by foreigners! thats what made it rich!) , Europe was a pleasant trading partner and politicians were wise-father-like.
To be more precise, I live in Leiden, a town in the west of Holland.
I drive a motorbike (as can be seen elsewhere on this blog), or rather three by now (not at the same time obviously), which I park in a garage some 10 minutes biking (that is peddle biking) from my house.
And that is exactly what I did last Saturday.
When I arrived by my garage, the entrance was blocked by a parked car.
Ok, let me take a moment to explain the situation to you.
my garage is situated on a small terrain with 22 other garages. The terrain is closed off by a fence, which the garage owners have a key to. Next to the exit of the terrain is a snackbar / cafe, and the snackbar guests have an annoying tendency to park their cars/vans etc in such a way that I cant get past them onto the terrain.
As usual, I walked into the snackbar, and asked if the owner of the car could remove it, so I could get to my garage. The owner (who looked like a 18 year old kid with a bad attitude and a worse haircut) finally showed up, and whilst aiming some derogatory remarks at me, slowly moved his car.
I collected my motorbike and set off for the day. It was a lovely day on the road, visiting some friends and enjoying the crisp freezing coldness as one can experience it only on a motorbike at high speed. Finally tired and content, I returned to the garage.
Guess what? This time a van was blocking the drive.
Sigh, into the snackbar, "can the owner of the van please move it", get back out onto the bike and wait for the brainless abusive remarks the "ever-so-cool-and-tough" owner of the van would make towards me as he shifted his van.
Now dont get me wrong, I dont usually let such comments get to me, especially not coming from a mental midget with the IQ of a fencepost (Thanks Tom ;-) ). Today however, I was just getting a bit fed up of the sheer number of selfish, stupid, ignorant assholes who think they can spew abuse at anyone who gets in their way, but are hypersensitive to any form of criticism levelled at them. These people remind me mostly of miniature versions of gorillas beating their own chests, but I dont think saying that is very fair to gorillas.
Anyway, he moved his van, I parked my bike, and I decided to try to be an adult about it.
Id have a chat with the owner of the bar, to see what we could do to solve the problem more permanently.
So, I went inside and asked for the owner. This guy shows up, looking not too friendly, but not too stupid either. I felt it was a good start.
I hadnt even finished my first sentence ("say, about those cars parks in from of the garages") when he started yelling at me that it was actually his poor clientele who had to suffer from the people trying to get in and out of their garages. "if I could pay 4 grand for a garage that I shouldnt complain and poor hardworking him and blah blah". Btw, for your info, I rent the garage, cause I cant afford to buy it.
Somewhat taken aback I tried to get him to realise that a solution was therefore in everyone's interest.
However, instead of listening, he started threatening me. Suddenly there were 5 rather large guys standing around me, claiming they were going to beat me up (this was about the time I felt it might not end too well). One of them tried to pick me up and throw me out of the bar (unsuccessfully btw), while the others kept up their litany of threats and abuse. I finally walked out, feeling there was not much point trying to reason with people too stupid to understand it was in their own interest.
Once outside i called the cops. I was fed up and wanted to send a message.
The cops (surprisingly) showed up and walked into the bar. The owner had quickly run out the back (coward), so there was not alot they could do with regards to him. Still, I think the message that if they behave this aggressively, the cops are at their door 5 minutes later is a good one.
So now the situation kind of hangs there. I havent had a chance to go for a ride since Saturday, it will be fun if there is a car parked in front of the garages again. Im not going to let these idiots intimidate me, and if I need to press charges against the owner of the bar, so be it. Lets see how tough he is in court.
That was the depressing state of mankind experience.
The uplifting one is unfortunately alot shorter. But it is genuinely sweet (well, to me that is).
Leiden has alot of takeaways, restaurants etc. Im privileged that if Im too lazy to cook, I can choose from a wide variety of oriental food, fast food, italian, greek, etc etc. Lots of variation, but no Dutch food.
Well, thats hardly surprising as the reputation of the Dutch kitchen is only slightly beter than that of the British one (btw, see the success of the British TV-chefs and that might have to be reconsidered).
There are however some delightful dishes in the dutch kitchen, especially in the winter food category.
Things like Stamppot, boerenkool met worst, etc are really good on a cold winter day when you've been doing some physical excersise (just the kind of day you dont feel like cooking), and I sometimes come home a little sad with my takeaway wok-dish, craving these more wholesome dishes.
Well, I need crave no more!
Leiden has just been blessed with a "Dutch food takeaway"! It has great sausage, meatballs, boerenkool, andijvie stamppot etc. Also good is the onion soup the proprietor let me taste while I waited for hime to warm up my meal. Im really going to enjoy this, especially as the winter has truly arrived (-10C predicted this week).
Hmmmm..... Happy days!
And another little irony I like about this place, is that its not run by a blond, blue-eyes type.
No, its painted yellow and green, and its run by someone from the caribbean with a smile even warmer than his uber-Dutch stamppot.
Brilliant!!
Monday, 23 January 2012
Rabbi or Rabbid?
Ok, now Im sure the world I live in is moving backwards to the middle ages rather than forwards towards a bright and enlightened furtue.
Aryeh Ralbag, chief rabbi for Amsterdam (although he lives in New York I believe) has gone of his rocker. First he signs a document declaring homosexuality a disease which needs to be cured (hang on, I thought this kind of garbage had disappeared from western society quite a while ago. I think it was together with the use of leaches as a surgical technique or somewhere thereabouts...), than, when the Amsterdam Jewish community tells him where to stuff it, he goes on a "oh poor me" trip, claiming he cant come to Amsterdam cause he wouldnt be safe (dramaqueen! What, do you think there are now legions of "gay gunman" waiting for you here? Please, you vastly overrate your own importance, most people simply dont care about the next fool who spouts religious doctrine bereft of any compassion or humanity), than The Committee for the Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality (what?? sounds like either a bunch of closet homos or people completely unqualified to rule about homosexuality to me) likens the Amsterdam reaction to fascism. Fascism?? For objecting to call a significant part of the population sick just cause they dont love according to your narrow-minded worldview?
This kind of statements belittles the suffering of your fellow Jews who actually suffered from fascism! Shame on you!
Now I dont know alot about either Jews and Judaism or about homosexuality, but the only fascism Im seeing here is a rightwing religious nutbag who can shake hands with some of the most extreme islamist (or other) crazies around.
First he goes and calls a large part of the population "sick" (despite the fact that these kinds of sentiments have in the past frequently led to discrimination, pogroms and persecution, and have NEVER led to anything positive or uplifting), claiming he can say what he wants to under the first amendment. Than, when the community he claims to represent (from a few thousand miles away) disagrees with his medieval worldview and relieves him of his position, he (ignoring the same freedom of speech he invoked earlier) calls this reaction fascist.
Dear Chief Rabbi Ralbag / other members of the "Committee for the Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality". Your position is an archaic remnant of a worldview which has in the past led to suffering beyond measure. This type of discriminatory, stigmatising garbage has been abused by Adolf Hitler as well as many many other despots, tyrants and mass murderers.
Its shameful to see that representatives of an old and proud people have sunk so low, that they feel they need to invoke associations with the worst horror ever visited on humans by other humans. Your fellow Jews who were massacred in the holocaust, as well as the homosexuals who were gassed beside them by real fascists should be spinning in their grave.
For now please stay away from Holland. Its a nice country, and we can do without your breed of religious extremism, scaremongering and intolerance. We've built up a nice country here where people (mostly) live together in harmony, and we dont need you to put people down or give intolerant idiots excuses to commit atrocities.
As my grandmother (a very wise woman) used to say:
"If you cant say anything nice, please dont speak at all"
Ps. Im not Gay, Im not Jewish, Im not Muslim, I dont hate Israel (I dont agree with Israelly policy either, but thats a different discussion), I dont hate any other religious groups and I dont have any personal vendettas against anything, except perhaps against extremists who preach only hate and intolerance.
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