2009-05-30
The Age of Panic
Paris Metro, just after reading over the shoulder of an American Embassy worker that "serviceman in Normandy havee been quarantined following infection with H1N1".
2009-05-28
Een magische avond in het Pajottenland
Reading: A most wanted man - LeCarré
Viewing: 28 weeks Later
Listening to: Daan -Manhay
Thinking: Politicsareoverrated
Travelling: Paris tomorrow, Italy next week, Portugal in July, Stockholm in August, Seaside-Duinbergen in August
Last picture: God moving over the face of the Pajottenland prairies (see above)
2009-05-20
2009-05-08
Unethical investments: the case for buying stock in weapons manufacturers
War: check
Internal policing problems: check
Insecurity on the rise in Western Societies: check
Maffia on the rise: check (see Sicilian wind farms)
Pirates of the Somali coast line: check
Increased population pressure vs limited resources: double-check
"Steeds meer wapenbezit op school": check (DS, 2009(05-08)
"The need for non-lethal weapons is growing: effectivly stop a subject by pain, up until 100m...": check
Global growing insecurity: crashing stock, people loosing a fortune while some guys make a living out of it and...become targets...: check
Government laxness, democratic indecision: check
Growing war-mongering, destabilising regimes, unrest in former 'allied states': check
What the hell are we waiting for? Who could advise against investing in "non or less lethal weaponry"?
Unethical Investments
I was struck earlier this weeking reading an interview with a hard-driving, cool-rocking CEO in his late 40ies: questioned about his wheels he answered: "driving a VW 4x4with a heavy engine, and seeing it as my contribution to fighting climate change..." The guy obviously is meant to hit some tree with an attitude somewhere somehow soon. In the meantime, he's allowed to spread his misbelief that he's helping the "planet" by advancing the date by which we, as humanoids, become extinct, that is...the unhappy majority unable to be boarding some Virgin Galactic flight soon.
I was thinking: does the guy have kids? If yes, what kind of legacy does he want to leave for them? Is it a lack of transgenerational solidarity to drive a SUV, or...are you advancing the cause of Mother Earth by helping to extinguish some of the most polluting creatures she's ever created?
You can hardly expect dinosaurs to be held accountable for global warming: all of them farting at the same time would not contribute anything in terms of Kyoto gasses - because -strangely - animal and human produced bodily gasses and emissions do not count...
So, let's all start driving 4x4s instead of these UGLY planet-saving cars. Or bike (just as I did today, to get cost item#3 in daycare)...and get killed by a hysteric 4x4 driving mom with an attitude.
So: instead of free-riding: buy HEAVY Cars (while they last) or invest in some tyre-blowing equipment and armory (take a look at http://www.fnherstal.com/)
I was thinking: does the guy have kids? If yes, what kind of legacy does he want to leave for them? Is it a lack of transgenerational solidarity to drive a SUV, or...are you advancing the cause of Mother Earth by helping to extinguish some of the most polluting creatures she's ever created?
You can hardly expect dinosaurs to be held accountable for global warming: all of them farting at the same time would not contribute anything in terms of Kyoto gasses - because -strangely - animal and human produced bodily gasses and emissions do not count...
So, let's all start driving 4x4s instead of these UGLY planet-saving cars. Or bike (just as I did today, to get cost item#3 in daycare)...and get killed by a hysteric 4x4 driving mom with an attitude.
So: instead of free-riding: buy HEAVY Cars (while they last) or invest in some tyre-blowing equipment and armory (take a look at http://www.fnherstal.com/)
2009-04-30
Only in Belgium: Veroordeelde oplichter krijgt job bij Financiën terug
Nog een chance dat de rechtbanken goed werken!
donderdag 30 april 2009Bron: BELGA Auteur: jbs
Bron: De Standaard
Een in 2006 door de rechtbank veroordeelde oplichter heeft zijn job als afdelingshoofd bij het departement btw van de federale overheidsdienst (FOD) Financiën teruggekregen. De Raad van State oordeelde namelijk dat het ministerie van Financiën te lang gewacht heeft om de man te ontslaan.
A.M. werd drie jaar geleden veroordeeld tot een voorwaardelijke gevangenisstraf van acht maanden omdat hij verschillende btw-plichtigen had afgeperst. De feiten dateren van eind 2002.
Het ministerie van Financiën bracht M. er in augustus 2008 van op de hoogte dat hij van ambstwege ontslagen werd. Te laat, oordeelt de Raad van State nu. M. kreeg daarop zijn job als btw-controleur terug.
donderdag 30 april 2009Bron: BELGA Auteur: jbs
Bron: De Standaard
Een in 2006 door de rechtbank veroordeelde oplichter heeft zijn job als afdelingshoofd bij het departement btw van de federale overheidsdienst (FOD) Financiën teruggekregen. De Raad van State oordeelde namelijk dat het ministerie van Financiën te lang gewacht heeft om de man te ontslaan.
A.M. werd drie jaar geleden veroordeeld tot een voorwaardelijke gevangenisstraf van acht maanden omdat hij verschillende btw-plichtigen had afgeperst. De feiten dateren van eind 2002.
Het ministerie van Financiën bracht M. er in augustus 2008 van op de hoogte dat hij van ambstwege ontslagen werd. Te laat, oordeelt de Raad van State nu. M. kreeg daarop zijn job als btw-controleur terug.
2009-04-15
Krantenkoppen
De Morgen online treft wel een paar keer doel vandaag: een overzicht
"1 op 10 Vlaamse verkozenen 'erft' zitje" - té gek om uitgevonden te zijn, only in Belgium?
"Waalse politici op 'missie' kiezen hazenpad op luchthaven" - écht Boonsiaans tafereel moet dat geweest zijn!
"Guantanamo-gevangene slaagt erin Al Jazeera te bellen" - Obama-style?
"Britten denken nóg meer aan voetbal dan aan seks" - wat nog maar eens bewijst wat voor een idioot gedoe voetbal eigenlijk wel is. Over de geaardheid van voetballiefhebbers zelf zullen we het verder niet hebben
"1 op 10 Vlaamse verkozenen 'erft' zitje" - té gek om uitgevonden te zijn, only in Belgium?
"Waalse politici op 'missie' kiezen hazenpad op luchthaven" - écht Boonsiaans tafereel moet dat geweest zijn!
"Guantanamo-gevangene slaagt erin Al Jazeera te bellen" - Obama-style?
"Britten denken nóg meer aan voetbal dan aan seks" - wat nog maar eens bewijst wat voor een idioot gedoe voetbal eigenlijk wel is. Over de geaardheid van voetballiefhebbers zelf zullen we het verder niet hebben
2009-04-14
Bring Back the Rhubarb
Rhubarb gardening made easy: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/rhubarb_in_the.php?dcitc=weekly_nl
2009-04-07
a new take on puericulture
Now this a truth worth reading. Carl Honoré, in praise of slow food, slow sex, slow education: http://www.carlhonore.com/?page=1
"Just look at Finland. By any yardstick, it has one of most successful education systems in the world. Competition for teacher training is fierce in Finland, and those who make the cut study for five years before qualifying. Yes, five years.
Finnish teachers are so well trained that the nation holds them in high regard and trusts them to do well by its children. That means instead of dealing with endless inspections, assessments and bureaucracy, they can get down to the most important job of all: teaching."
"Just look at Finland. By any yardstick, it has one of most successful education systems in the world. Competition for teacher training is fierce in Finland, and those who make the cut study for five years before qualifying. Yes, five years.
Finnish teachers are so well trained that the nation holds them in high regard and trusts them to do well by its children. That means instead of dealing with endless inspections, assessments and bureaucracy, they can get down to the most important job of all: teaching."
2009-04-03
The Age of Stupid
“We could have saved ourselves, but we didn’t. It’s amazing. What state of mind were we in, to face extinction and simply shrug it off?” - http://www.ageofstupid.net/the_film
Reading: The Black Swan - (****)
Listening to: Viva la Vida II - Coldplay
Thinking: see above
Travelling: on Bike
Reading: The Black Swan - (****)
Listening to: Viva la Vida II - Coldplay
Thinking: see above
Travelling: on Bike
2009-04-02
Water Rights & Wrongs
A young People's Summary of the 2006 Landmark Human Development Report
"Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty, and the global water crisis"
2009-03-03
2009-02-27
2009-02-20
USA - Under Construction
Reading: L.P.Boon - De Kapellekesbaan
Viewing: RocknRolla!
Listening to: Kid Rock
Thinking: "Oscar Wilde: A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life"
Travelling: From Austria to Washington and from Brussels to Istanbul
Last picture: Obama's White House
2009-02-13
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