Reading Time: 9 minutes Poem One What’s so cool about… Antimatter, the hub of creation, Pathway to my […]
Morality
Black Lives Matter In A Land Of Hope And Glory
Reading Time: 3 minutes You’re at it again, aren’t you? Playing mind games with traditions, tearing up musical scripts and peeling off black make-up on white people’s faces. I got used to seeing Black Peter roaming the streets of Dutch towns and cities, distributing marzipan tasting biscuits to smiling children. The children believed; the children loved. There was no […]
Don’t Fire Dominic Cummings Until He Tells You To
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chief advisor to Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, is in a spot of trouble, and only he can advise himself how to act. He is a top advisor, after all. The UK’s Brexit guru and pandemic scientific expert has been spotted visiting his parents, not once, but twice, during lockdown. Now, who’s been a naughty boy […]
Women Of Solicitude – Clapping Carers Is Nice, Rewarding Them Is Better
Reading Time: 3 minutes If the coronavirus pandemic has taught us one thing, it is to appreciate the true value of all the dedicated women nurses and carers, who are bearing the brunt of the viral attack, in a courageous attempt to save lives and protect those in need. These women do this every day, regardless of whether there […]
Mark Rutte Patronizes The Dutch Dental Profession
Reading Time: 4 minutes I’ll give Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte the benefit of the doubt. Here is a man under pressure because his entire liberal, easy-going vision of the world is being deep-frozen by a virus that’s even smaller than the smallest of viruses. In answer to a question on whether dentists could open their practices, Rutte patronizingly […]
Our Biggest Weakness Is To Think We Are Invincible
Reading Time: 4 minutes Weakness, is thinking of oneself as invincible. – Roberto Saviano Exactly one month ago, I started cancelling appointments at my dental practice, following advice from the Dutch dental association to only treat acute emergencies, and avoid patients who have been tested positive for the coronavirus or who present symptoms, like the plague. We are […]
In Need Of Sense And Responsibility
Reading Time: 4 minutes The situation is scary because the enemy is invisible, and although not everyone is sick, we are all affected. We must all take our responsibility. I have studied enough biology at school and university to know what a virus is and how it acts. The PhD I obtained in 1999, although mainly focusing […]
Solidarité? Non, C’est La Peur Du Virus
Reading Time: 3 minutes C‘est une scène de la vie quotidienne. Je vais à la station-service et je paie à la caisse. Le caissier ne porte pas de masque mais bien des gants noirs à usage unique. Il me remet le reçu et, sans changer de gants, s’occupe du client suivant. Des études récentes ayant montré que le coronavirus […]
Solidarity? No, It’s The Fear Of A Virus
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s a scene from everyday life. I go to the tank station and pay at the till. The cashier is not wearing a face mask but both his hands are covered with black gloves that I presume to be disposable. He hands me the receipt and, without changing his gloves, attends to the next customer. […]
Coronavirus Et Responsabilité Individuelle
Reading Time: 4 minutes Il est étrange que ce que beaucoup de gens décrient dans nos sociétés – la solitude – nous évitera probablement de flirter avec une extinction partielle. En confinant l’ensemble de la population française à deux semaines d’assignation à résidence, Emmanuel Macron a utilisé l’un des maux de la société actuelle pour que les français puissent […]