Reading Time: 4 minutes Dutch politics is currently preparing itself for a war of words concerning the ruling coalition’s proposals to scrap Dutch dividend tax. Under present rules, companies have to pay 15% tax over profits that are distributed to shareholders. This sum is withheld on the amount that a shareholder receives. However, shareholders who live in the Netherlands […]
Opinion
Planet Of The Apes…Men In A Post #MeToo World
Reading Time: 5 minutes Just as I thought that the oppression, harassment, and exploitation of women, were part of the male genome, I came across a “non-profit” organisation that claims to be able to cure most men from being fondling creatures in underground trains, hotel rapists, and housewife-beaters, in the space of 48 hours. The Mankind Project, responsible for […]
Sarah Jeong – Fake Racist, Fake Newspaper Editor?
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the same way that Winnie the Pooh illogically blames the size of Rabbit’s door, for not being able to get through it, Sarah Jeong – a Korean/American lawyer, journalist, and a lot of other things – blames racist tweets…for the fact that she sent out racist tweets. Even though I don’t follow her logic, […]
Fighting To Remain – The London March Of The Penguins
Reading Time: 6 minutes You may not agree with this post, and you may even accuse me of being pro-Brexit, but this is the way I feel when I hear the reasons that prompted some to take to the streets of London. I harbour feelings of dismay in witnessing a country that I love, covering itself in ridicule, in […]
How Catholic Conservatism Could Conquer Secular France
Reading Time: 7 minutes Marion Maréchal is the grand-daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French extreme-right-wing Front National. She wants to implement a political ideology that is soaked in a thick mantle of Catholicism. It is ironic that, in the eyes of many, the return of Catholicism may be the answer to the battle (if battle there is) […]
Brexit Musings (20) – Online EU Registration And Gartner’s Hype Cycle
Reading Time: 5 minutes According to UK home secretary, Amber Rudd, an application system for EU nationals wanting to remain in the UK after Brexit (are there any?) will be, “as easy as setting up an online account at LK Bennett”. If you are anything like me, you won’t have heard of LK Bennett, yet alone opened […]
Emmanuel Macron Cannot Change French “Strike Culture”
Reading Time: 6 minutes There is another culture that the French are proud of, besides the “cultural exception” represented by their language, in the face of Anglo-Saxon dominance. It is the right for you to strike, regardless of whether your actions will close schools, disrupt the business commuter, or leave the unsuspecting tourist stranded at Charles de Gaulle airport. […]
Brexit Is No Longer Divorce – It’s Adultery
Reading Time: 6 minutes The Mansion House speech, delivered by Theresa May, clearly attempted to define what the UK wants out of Brexit. What it did not do, is deliver concrete solutions. If the EU is to abide by its principles, and not sell its soul to a potential bidder, Theresa May should have very little, if anything, to […]
Play It Again, Nigel – The UK’s Second Referendum?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Nigel Farage, former Ukip leader and Brexitmania guru, seems very confident that a second referendum would lead to a massive vote in favour of the UK leaving the EU. I think if we had a second referendum on EU membership we’d kill it off for a generation. The percentage that would vote to leave next time […]
Charlie Hebdo And The True Value Of Freedom Of Expression
Reading Time: 5 minutes How much would you be willing to pay for the privilege to be able to open your mouth, and air your opinions? One Euro a day, or ten? Do you have a price limit, beyond which, it’s not worth the expense, and you will just shut up? Is being “priced out” of freedom of expression, […]