Freedom

This evening by chance we switched on the tv and there was a documentary by dutch television about canadian students who were coming to the Netherlands to commemorate the liberation of the Netherlands by the canadian forces on May 5th, 1945, some 65 years ago.
It was an interesting program and I felt intrigued and I kept watching. I was surprised to learn about the canadian students' plan to visit Holland. They "adopt" an individual soldier who gave his life in the war to fight for freedom and liberty and against the very same people I am a descendant from. It deeply impressed me that those young Canadians were so dedicated to honor these men by visiting their graves in Holland. While watching the program I surely shed a tear 'cause it deeply touched me. I felt very emotional about Holland's national holiday today.

Yesterday, during my shift at the airport, at 20.00 hours there were two minutes of silence to remember those who gave their lives. I always find it extremely touching to experience how a normally busy airport completely falls in silence and no one moves or says something. It always gives me shivers and honestly I have to fight tears 'cause I find it very emotional when they end the two minutes with playing the dutch national anthem. I don't know why it strikes me so deeply, but I know it does.

How lucky I am and thankful I should be for living here and now. I should think about this more often and come to realize how little and insignificant my personal individual daily problems are. I should cherish the freedom I have, in every way.

Free speech?

Yesterday, something happened in Europe that really upset me: Geert Wilders, a dutch politician and an elected member of the dutch parliament, has been refused entry into the United Kingdom on grounds of being a thread to public order! 

What upsets me is the fact that a citizen of the EU is not free to go to another EU country and make use of your right of free speech! The UK had informed Wilders a day before via the Embassy that he would be refused entry. He chose to go anyway as he was being invited by members of the British parliament to show the controversial short movie Fitna (link to the english version) he has made. One has to know that Wilders is a right wing anti-islam campaigner who is very controversial in Holland too. I don't share his views at all but I still believe it must be possible in the so called "free" and united Europe to travel to another member state and make use of your right of free speech. If it starts here with such a "simple" refusal, where does it end some day...? Just to assume he might upset some or maybe even all parts of a society cannot be a reason to refuse him his right of free speech and ban him from entering the country! I hope he will appeal the UK's government's decision at court and fight for his right to enter the UK anyway as he was adviced to do by a dutch minister! Once again, I don't sympathize with his radical political views and I don't like his way of making politics in a very tabloid style manner but I believe he should be given the right to enter the UK and discuss his views with british politicians.

Here's an english language article of one of Holland's reputed newspapers, NRC Handelsblad.

Britain's BBC also reported on this.

A hug.

Elvis lives!

If it wasn't so sad it actually would be funny: a hacker was able to fool the system that reads electronic passports at Amsterdam airport. He was able to let the system read a manipulated passport and the system did accept the false ID without any problem. So all the security hype (especially of the americans) about stricter controls with electronic passports is basically for nothing... it does not even seem too complicated to do that as the hacker even demonstrates on his website in a video:

When I see this it really makes me angry as the authorities always make you believe it's for my own best and protection and blablabla... but it's not safe and it's only costing a lot of money for nothing - it's all about pure cosmetics to simply fool the general (especially american travelling) public to make them think all became much safer and the government has everything under control - not...

A hug.

The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On McCain (from: Joe.My.God.)

There is a "revealing" post over at Joe.My.God. about Mr. McCain. He was interviewed by a spanish radio station and the interview did not exactly turn out to be very flattering for Mr. McCain's knowledge about world politics in general and Spain in particular. :-D 

I'm shocked, no, on second thoughts no I'm not... it doesn't really surprise me that Mr. McCain is as ...uhm...let's say 'uneducated' as I feared he might possibly be:

Click here for the interesting post!

A friendly hug.