“Excuse me, young man,” I asked the 23-year-old volunteer who got ready to steady his shaking hands, before opening an AstraZenica vial and insert a rather long-looking needle into my left arm. “You do know it’s my arm you’re jabbing?” And with what, I could have added? “Don’t worry,” he said. “Just a little prick.” […]
Netherlands
- Netherlands
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Netherlands: Who’s Been A Very Naughty Boy, Your Majesty?
King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands and his wife Maxima are going to get a right ticking off from Beatrix (she’s his mother and her mother-in-law) when they finally get home from their Greek holiday that turned out to be more of a tragedy than a long weekend away from home. Well, at least he got […]
Thierry Baudet – The Dark Apparition of The Owl Of Minerva In The Netherlands
The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk – Hegel Elections took place in the Netherlands’ 12 provinces last month, where the voters were called to reelect the provincial councils, responsible for daily administration of the provinces. An important role of the provincial councils is the election of […]
- Netherlands
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Jihadist Fighters Jago Riedijk And Shamima Begum – “Come Back Home, All Is Forgiven!”
Whereas it took me the best part of half a century to find the love of my life, this particular Jihadist fighter needed just 240 hours to fall in love, in the middle of a desert, with an underage schoolgirl from Bethnal Green, disguised as representing an Arabian version of the Buddhist nirvana. Ten days […]
- France
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Air France-KLM: French Arrogance Is Still Flying High
It’s a trait that you either love or hate, but either way you have to put up with it. I’m referring to that particular annoying gallic habit of thinking that you can act selfishly and that nobody else has the right to do the same. You defend your culture because you think that it’s exceptional. […]
- Brexit
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Is EU Citizenship Meaningless? – The Dutch Seem To Think So
Last January, a short adaptation of one of my blog posts concerning citizens’ rights after Brexit, was published in the Dutch national newspaper, “Trouw.” I pointed out the problems facing British citizens who will still be living and working in the EU-27 after Brexit. In particular, I stressed the dangers of the upcoming bureaucracy, and the […]
Houellebecq’s “Submission” – A Caliphate Fantasia In Rotterdam
Michel Houellebecq’s controversial novel, “Submission”, published in 2015, received a mixed reception from both the press and politicians. Not surprisingly, Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-winged “Front National”, described the work as, “fiction that one day could become reality.” Michel Houellebecq’s political fiction is in nothing a visionary work, it’s just a succession of false provocations. […]
Dikes, Bikes, And Perks – Holland’s Underwater Haven
photograph © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) The latest OECD report, focussing on the work-leisure balance – so important in stopping each one of us from giving up on life – puts the Dutch at the top of the class. This does compensate the dire results of the Dutch national football team, which […]
- Netherlands
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How Much Is That DUPpy In The Window? – The Dutch Want One Too
Even from this side of the North Sea, it’s pretty obvious that, after the elections, Theresa May bought herself and her party 10 Democratic Union Party votes, costing 150 million quid a piece, in order to survive the Queen’s speech and get “back to work”. The question that must now be asked is if Theresa […]