Belgium vs the USA part 2 (and ... game over)
Belgian Gov. transferred complaints against General to US Law system, effectively ending risk of the Tommy Franks dude needing to defend himself and military tactics in Brussels against accusations of crimes against humanity in the Iraqi campaign
---> De Mantel der (broeder)Liefde of liever gewone klassieke blackmail van de Amerikanen?
2003-05-21
Verkiezingskoorts cont'd
Als mijn analyse goed is, verliezen we in het kiesarrondissement Brussel Halle Vilvoorde 2 (twee!) zitjes in de Kamer, … 2 van de 11, dat is 10% die de Franstaligen binnenrijven. Komt dit door de toenemende verfransing van de groene Rand rond Brussel? Of zijn we plots allemaal geneigd om op Franstalige lijsten te gaan stemmen….
Maar al te vaak worden we geconfronteerd met het ongeloof van de collega Vlamingen “en province”, die maar niet begrijpen wat voor een gevecht wij hier rond Brussel moeten voeren.
Schokkend om in een Vlaams Stemlokaal te moeten kiezen tussen een Franse of Vlaamse lijst voor de Senaat. Illegaal bovendien, à quand le recours en cassation/arbitrage?
De splitsing van BHV zou ondermeer tot gevolg kunnen hebben dat er geen Franstalige partijen meer kunnen bevoordeeld worden door « Vlaamse » kiezers, ook al zijn ze Franstalig, hun domicilie is in het Vlaams Gewest. Ze moeten maar zien dat ze hun vertegenwoordiging in het Vlaams Parlement laten gelden.
Of anders… kan er misschien iemand in Luxemburg opkomen aub in ’t Vlaams… Zouden ze dat accepteren? Of misschien nog beter, en tamtam gaan maken in de Grognon in ’t Regionaal Waals Parlement…
Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde: 9 zitjes, verlies van 2 voor de Vlaamse partijen (* zat al in de Kamer)
VLD: 3 zetels
· Annemie Neyts · Willy Cortois (*) · Maggie De Block (*)
SP.A-Spirit: 2 zetels
· Frank Vandenbroucke · Bert Anciaux
Vlaams Blok: 2 zetels
· Filip De Man (*) · Bart Laeremans (*)
CD&V: 2 zitjes.
· Herman Van Rompuy (*) · Simonne Creyf
Bron: De Standaard – Commentaar TVW
P.S. het is toch godgeklaagd dat "de grote stemmenkanonnen" opkomen als lijsttrekker, - duwer, ... en dan de CUMUL durven aanvragen, zoals Stef. De Clerck. Zijn ze niet beschaamd, of zwaait het specter van de verjonging al even uitdagend als bij Agalev, waar de oude rotte ratten de grootste nederlaag ooit op hun donder kregen...
Als mijn analyse goed is, verliezen we in het kiesarrondissement Brussel Halle Vilvoorde 2 (twee!) zitjes in de Kamer, … 2 van de 11, dat is 10% die de Franstaligen binnenrijven. Komt dit door de toenemende verfransing van de groene Rand rond Brussel? Of zijn we plots allemaal geneigd om op Franstalige lijsten te gaan stemmen….
Maar al te vaak worden we geconfronteerd met het ongeloof van de collega Vlamingen “en province”, die maar niet begrijpen wat voor een gevecht wij hier rond Brussel moeten voeren.
Schokkend om in een Vlaams Stemlokaal te moeten kiezen tussen een Franse of Vlaamse lijst voor de Senaat. Illegaal bovendien, à quand le recours en cassation/arbitrage?
De splitsing van BHV zou ondermeer tot gevolg kunnen hebben dat er geen Franstalige partijen meer kunnen bevoordeeld worden door « Vlaamse » kiezers, ook al zijn ze Franstalig, hun domicilie is in het Vlaams Gewest. Ze moeten maar zien dat ze hun vertegenwoordiging in het Vlaams Parlement laten gelden.
Of anders… kan er misschien iemand in Luxemburg opkomen aub in ’t Vlaams… Zouden ze dat accepteren? Of misschien nog beter, en tamtam gaan maken in de Grognon in ’t Regionaal Waals Parlement…
Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde: 9 zitjes, verlies van 2 voor de Vlaamse partijen (* zat al in de Kamer)
VLD: 3 zetels
· Annemie Neyts · Willy Cortois (*) · Maggie De Block (*)
SP.A-Spirit: 2 zetels
· Frank Vandenbroucke · Bert Anciaux
Vlaams Blok: 2 zetels
· Filip De Man (*) · Bart Laeremans (*)
CD&V: 2 zitjes.
· Herman Van Rompuy (*) · Simonne Creyf
Bron: De Standaard – Commentaar TVW
P.S. het is toch godgeklaagd dat "de grote stemmenkanonnen" opkomen als lijsttrekker, - duwer, ... en dan de CUMUL durven aanvragen, zoals Stef. De Clerck. Zijn ze niet beschaamd, of zwaait het specter van de verjonging al even uitdagend als bij Agalev, waar de oude rotte ratten de grootste nederlaag ooit op hun donder kregen...
Another proposal for better EU Border Protection against the "See Europe in 5 days" travelling Americans.
you know those big line-ups when entering US territory as a foreigner...
We should get those to in Europe, fast-tracking all EU nationals, and making huge line-ups standard operating procedure for the americans.
Along those queues, we should get "great advertising", such as Quick smell, Bad French Movie posters, incomprehensible Finnish shampoo commercials, .... I'm sure you can come up with tons and tons of ideas...
All border police personnel should flatly refuse to speak English (good for keeping the Britons out too) and the documents (tons and shitloads of them) written in Teutonic Gothic Characters, with (again) Finnish, Basque, Slovac and RhaetoRomanic translation...
you know those big line-ups when entering US territory as a foreigner...
We should get those to in Europe, fast-tracking all EU nationals, and making huge line-ups standard operating procedure for the americans.
Along those queues, we should get "great advertising", such as Quick smell, Bad French Movie posters, incomprehensible Finnish shampoo commercials, .... I'm sure you can come up with tons and tons of ideas...
All border police personnel should flatly refuse to speak English (good for keeping the Britons out too) and the documents (tons and shitloads of them) written in Teutonic Gothic Characters, with (again) Finnish, Basque, Slovac and RhaetoRomanic translation...
Intelligent Frontier: the new tactics of the Department of Homeland Security:
starting 2004, all foreigners, including Europeans, will have to submit fingerprints when entering US Soil, states the newest rule of the Department of Homeland Security.
Big Brother, Matrix, Police State: you wanted it - you got it...
As a countermeasure, alle EU countries should retaliate by declaring access to Americans, subject to stringent VISA-application procedures:
blood samples, testing for GMO's, a thorough mulitple-choice examination of "euro-survival-fitness":
E.G. (and see post from yesterday)
Where is Brussels,
1. It's Jean-Claude's dog
2. It's somewhere in the European desert of the real where "l'exception culturelle" still reigns
3. It's a myth, a spook story, a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. The CIA did not shoot Kennedy, it was Fidel who ordered it all
4. No, I have no Muslim forefathers
5. Brussels is a country, to the North of the Netherlands, to the East of Germany, and to the south of France, it is bordered by Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, North Korea and Libya. It's a rogue state where peaceful and democratic generals are prosecuted in accordance with obscure international treaties that the USA does not ratify and that are in contempt of our righteous right to pursue our happiness. We will nuke 'em all, because they've been threatening us for too long now with Bio-Chem weapons disguised as Brussels Sprouts.
6. It's the capital of such obsolete and vetuste institutions as the European Commission (on what?), NATO, the Belgian Federal Parliament, the Flemish regional Parliament, the Brussels Regional Parliament, and the 19 independant guerillero urban communities that refuse to sign cooperation agreements. In fact, if you cross into Brussels territory, you will encounter (but not exclusively) rabiate spleen and "mal de vivre", surrealistic laws and wide-spread corruption
7. All of the above
8. Refuse to answer stating that you'd rather go to Sh*tville, Arkansas than travel abroad on foreign airplanes infested with AIDS, SARS, EBOLA and knife-toting terrorists. Enough is enough, remember 9/11. Eat Freedom Fries...
starting 2004, all foreigners, including Europeans, will have to submit fingerprints when entering US Soil, states the newest rule of the Department of Homeland Security.
Big Brother, Matrix, Police State: you wanted it - you got it...
As a countermeasure, alle EU countries should retaliate by declaring access to Americans, subject to stringent VISA-application procedures:
blood samples, testing for GMO's, a thorough mulitple-choice examination of "euro-survival-fitness":
E.G. (and see post from yesterday)
Where is Brussels,
1. It's Jean-Claude's dog
2. It's somewhere in the European desert of the real where "l'exception culturelle" still reigns
3. It's a myth, a spook story, a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. The CIA did not shoot Kennedy, it was Fidel who ordered it all
4. No, I have no Muslim forefathers
5. Brussels is a country, to the North of the Netherlands, to the East of Germany, and to the south of France, it is bordered by Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, North Korea and Libya. It's a rogue state where peaceful and democratic generals are prosecuted in accordance with obscure international treaties that the USA does not ratify and that are in contempt of our righteous right to pursue our happiness. We will nuke 'em all, because they've been threatening us for too long now with Bio-Chem weapons disguised as Brussels Sprouts.
6. It's the capital of such obsolete and vetuste institutions as the European Commission (on what?), NATO, the Belgian Federal Parliament, the Flemish regional Parliament, the Brussels Regional Parliament, and the 19 independant guerillero urban communities that refuse to sign cooperation agreements. In fact, if you cross into Brussels territory, you will encounter (but not exclusively) rabiate spleen and "mal de vivre", surrealistic laws and wide-spread corruption
7. All of the above
8. Refuse to answer stating that you'd rather go to Sh*tville, Arkansas than travel abroad on foreign airplanes infested with AIDS, SARS, EBOLA and knife-toting terrorists. Enough is enough, remember 9/11. Eat Freedom Fries...
2003-05-20
A report just in:
the US of A are using heavy metal to mentally torture Al Qaida prisonners, Baghdadi Saddam-informants, ...
this modern equivalent of Scottish bag pipes was already put to great use in Panama (Manolo Noriega surrendered after 48hrs of listening to Enter Sandman).
After this great success (?...) the caves in Afghanistan were swamped with loud music to make life a "living hell" for the remaining fighters...
After embedded journalists, other great tactics in the modern wars of the world...
Imagine those poor Iraqi's being submitted to the latest Matrix soundtrack... Whoah...
Sometimes you just can't help thinking how isolationist Americans really are...Was on the train to Bxl last Saturday and sat across some middle-aged Californians going to A'dam to score some weed (they asked me if the coffee shops were "nice"...). Other questions: is Brussels in France? Do we have to show our passports? Do they accept €uros???? Just nagging on and on and on and on
the US of A are using heavy metal to mentally torture Al Qaida prisonners, Baghdadi Saddam-informants, ...
this modern equivalent of Scottish bag pipes was already put to great use in Panama (Manolo Noriega surrendered after 48hrs of listening to Enter Sandman).
After this great success (?...) the caves in Afghanistan were swamped with loud music to make life a "living hell" for the remaining fighters...
After embedded journalists, other great tactics in the modern wars of the world...
Imagine those poor Iraqi's being submitted to the latest Matrix soundtrack... Whoah...
Sometimes you just can't help thinking how isolationist Americans really are...Was on the train to Bxl last Saturday and sat across some middle-aged Californians going to A'dam to score some weed (they asked me if the coffee shops were "nice"...). Other questions: is Brussels in France? Do we have to show our passports? Do they accept €uros???? Just nagging on and on and on and on
2003-05-16
2003-05-15
Strikes in France
everything that works on rails has been dead for the last 3 days, massive social movements as they are called, gridlock the French capital and forced us to buy .... (no not a gatling gun to blow the smithereens out of reluctant metro workers), but a Bike....
Reporting LIVE & Mobile from the bowels of the city, and laughing as hundreds of auto-stuck "drivers" get irritated at each other while we slalom over Concorde and Etoile in a major traffic limbos....
Peace through superior poetry_firepower
everything that works on rails has been dead for the last 3 days, massive social movements as they are called, gridlock the French capital and forced us to buy .... (no not a gatling gun to blow the smithereens out of reluctant metro workers), but a Bike....
Reporting LIVE & Mobile from the bowels of the city, and laughing as hundreds of auto-stuck "drivers" get irritated at each other while we slalom over Concorde and Etoile in a major traffic limbos....
Peace through superior poetry_firepower
Great Tactics 101
in Pakistan, 18 Shell gasoline stations were bombed: guys on bikes drove from one filling hole to the next, shooting at trash cans in which the explosives were stashed...
Simple, effective, designed to perfection, planned accordingly, impactful and major press coverage. What more can you expect after Gulf War II? These guys are learning their lessons the hard way....
More and more, word's on the street that the USofA have opened Pandora's Box in the Middle East, and thus all over the world. The Domino-theory that states that the rogues nations will be toppled one after another without a single shot fired, doesn't hold up. People were already betting that NKoreo would surrender after witnessing supreme american firepower do away with Saddam. Then you read that these same so-called terrorists with ABC capacity are shining the latest bright laser-weapons, illuminating US Black & unmarked helicopters... (ex China technology...) and that small scale attacks are happening on Western interests worlwide....
How long did you expect it would take for retaliation by some clever-ideologic minds who're activating sleeper cells the world over...
After 9/11 everything has changed. Not because the world has become a less safer place and that terror reaches the "homeland"...
No - because the US is projecting a very sour, revengeful and aggressive strategy over the world, disguised as protection for mankind...including "pre-emptive strike doctrine" and the disrespect of all "other" dissenting voices, including their former allies in Europe
Okay, so they had their revenge, they invaded 2 countries without a good reason, planting in our minds the so-called "raison d'état" that 2 big criminals were all behind this, nothing more.... Enough is enough. We do not need a "world police man", we need world peace, and with the US effectively boycotting all major institutions and agreements, after that fateful day in Sept. 01, we're farther away then ever from where we should be going.
As the Matrix Reloaded was screened in Cannes,
Keanu Reeves gave an interview to the press, describing the gruelling hours of kung-fu training he was subdued to...
"At the end of the day - Ice is your best friend" (he took baths of ice, to calm down)
In the famous Gibson novel "Neuromancer", I.C.E. stands for Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics....
Quote of the week:
"Any information system of sufficient complexity will inevitably become infected with viruses - viruses generated from within itself" (Neil Stephenson - Snow Crash - p.371...)
Proust Questionnaire
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Which living person do you most admire?
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
What is your greatest extravagance?
What is your favorite journey?
On what occasion do you lie?
Which living person do you most despise?
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
When and where were you happiest?
Which talent would you most like to have?
What is your current state of mind?
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
What is your most treasured possession?
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is the quality you most like in a man?
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Who are your favorite writers?
What is your motto?
- - - - - - - - - -
US general 'war crimes' case filed BBC Link
Belgium vs the USA.... part1: are we gonna get nuked in Brussels?
A lawsuit accusing the commander of US troops in Iraq of war crimes has been filed in a Belgian court - but has come under immediate attack from the Belgian authorities.
Foreign Minister Louis Michel described the move as an "abuse of the law", adding that Brussels had "no pretensions to judge the United States".
Earlier US Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers said the situation was being viewed "very seriously" by the US Government, and that it may stop US officials taking part in meetings at Nato HQ in Brussels.
The plaintiffs, mostly Iraqis, filed the suit against General Tommy Franks under Belgium's "universal competence" law, which allows charges to be brought regardless of where crimes are alleged to have been committed.
It is thought unlikely that the case will succeed.
Washington has already warned that Belgium's status as an international hub could be affected unless the "universal competence" law is restricted.
The action against General Franks is likely to be a test of recent revisions to the law following high profile cases brought against the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the former US President George Bush senior.
Judges can now pass war crimes cases onto other countries or reject them if they are not brought by Belgian citizens.
The plaintiffs in the latest case comprise 17 Iraqis and two Jordanians - the widow and father of Tareq Ayub, a Jordanian correspondent for Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera, killed on 8 April when a US tank shell hit a Baghdad hotel.
Mr Fermon told reporters: "General Franks is responsible as commander in chief for the way some of his men acted on the ground. For instance, the use of cluster bombs on civilian areas is a war crime."
The suit also names Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Brian MacCoy, who is accused of categorising the ambulances as "legitimate targets" because he suspected them of harbouring gunmen, AFP said.
in Pakistan, 18 Shell gasoline stations were bombed: guys on bikes drove from one filling hole to the next, shooting at trash cans in which the explosives were stashed...
Simple, effective, designed to perfection, planned accordingly, impactful and major press coverage. What more can you expect after Gulf War II? These guys are learning their lessons the hard way....
More and more, word's on the street that the USofA have opened Pandora's Box in the Middle East, and thus all over the world. The Domino-theory that states that the rogues nations will be toppled one after another without a single shot fired, doesn't hold up. People were already betting that NKoreo would surrender after witnessing supreme american firepower do away with Saddam. Then you read that these same so-called terrorists with ABC capacity are shining the latest bright laser-weapons, illuminating US Black & unmarked helicopters... (ex China technology...) and that small scale attacks are happening on Western interests worlwide....
How long did you expect it would take for retaliation by some clever-ideologic minds who're activating sleeper cells the world over...
After 9/11 everything has changed. Not because the world has become a less safer place and that terror reaches the "homeland"...
No - because the US is projecting a very sour, revengeful and aggressive strategy over the world, disguised as protection for mankind...including "pre-emptive strike doctrine" and the disrespect of all "other" dissenting voices, including their former allies in Europe
Okay, so they had their revenge, they invaded 2 countries without a good reason, planting in our minds the so-called "raison d'état" that 2 big criminals were all behind this, nothing more.... Enough is enough. We do not need a "world police man", we need world peace, and with the US effectively boycotting all major institutions and agreements, after that fateful day in Sept. 01, we're farther away then ever from where we should be going.
As the Matrix Reloaded was screened in Cannes,
Keanu Reeves gave an interview to the press, describing the gruelling hours of kung-fu training he was subdued to...
"At the end of the day - Ice is your best friend" (he took baths of ice, to calm down)
In the famous Gibson novel "Neuromancer", I.C.E. stands for Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics....
Quote of the week:
"Any information system of sufficient complexity will inevitably become infected with viruses - viruses generated from within itself" (Neil Stephenson - Snow Crash - p.371...)
Proust Questionnaire
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Which living person do you most admire?
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
What is your greatest extravagance?
What is your favorite journey?
On what occasion do you lie?
Which living person do you most despise?
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
When and where were you happiest?
Which talent would you most like to have?
What is your current state of mind?
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
What is your most treasured possession?
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is the quality you most like in a man?
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Who are your favorite writers?
What is your motto?
- - - - - - - - - -
US general 'war crimes' case filed BBC Link
Belgium vs the USA.... part1: are we gonna get nuked in Brussels?
A lawsuit accusing the commander of US troops in Iraq of war crimes has been filed in a Belgian court - but has come under immediate attack from the Belgian authorities.
Foreign Minister Louis Michel described the move as an "abuse of the law", adding that Brussels had "no pretensions to judge the United States".
Earlier US Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers said the situation was being viewed "very seriously" by the US Government, and that it may stop US officials taking part in meetings at Nato HQ in Brussels.
The plaintiffs, mostly Iraqis, filed the suit against General Tommy Franks under Belgium's "universal competence" law, which allows charges to be brought regardless of where crimes are alleged to have been committed.
It is thought unlikely that the case will succeed.
Washington has already warned that Belgium's status as an international hub could be affected unless the "universal competence" law is restricted.
The action against General Franks is likely to be a test of recent revisions to the law following high profile cases brought against the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the former US President George Bush senior.
Judges can now pass war crimes cases onto other countries or reject them if they are not brought by Belgian citizens.
The plaintiffs in the latest case comprise 17 Iraqis and two Jordanians - the widow and father of Tareq Ayub, a Jordanian correspondent for Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera, killed on 8 April when a US tank shell hit a Baghdad hotel.
Mr Fermon told reporters: "General Franks is responsible as commander in chief for the way some of his men acted on the ground. For instance, the use of cluster bombs on civilian areas is a war crime."
The suit also names Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Brian MacCoy, who is accused of categorising the ambulances as "legitimate targets" because he suspected them of harbouring gunmen, AFP said.
2003-05-13
Attention! The Queen Elisabeth Competition for Piano: starting this week: check out @ website
The previous edition was won by the Grand Maestro VITALY SAMOSHKO
The previous edition was won by the Grand Maestro VITALY SAMOSHKO
The X-Files of Govt't in the USA: September 11th part 2: the training continues, it is all run by a commercial company
http://www.topoff2media.net/pressroom.htm
So-called real-life simulation exercises, controlled by the Gov't, try to engage in massive catastrophy contingency plans designed to counter a possible new wave of terrorist attacks in the UsofA.... Designed to measure the response time of gov.agencies, the outcome of the exercise is victorious, just like the 2000 version of it...
After it's all over, US citizens can go back to their happy lives and ignore the profound and deep causes of the present anti-american feelings.
US Media completely fail to educate their public audience. Take a look, on any given day, at the major newswires and paper-journalism: where is the Reason, the Critique, the hard-boiled analysis?
http://www.topoff2media.net/pressroom.htm
So-called real-life simulation exercises, controlled by the Gov't, try to engage in massive catastrophy contingency plans designed to counter a possible new wave of terrorist attacks in the UsofA.... Designed to measure the response time of gov.agencies, the outcome of the exercise is victorious, just like the 2000 version of it...
After it's all over, US citizens can go back to their happy lives and ignore the profound and deep causes of the present anti-american feelings.
US Media completely fail to educate their public audience. Take a look, on any given day, at the major newswires and paper-journalism: where is the Reason, the Critique, the hard-boiled analysis?
2003-05-12
Countdown: After 9 years: only 26 days and 47 days to go...
FridayFive.org
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
Yes, vital to being sharp, on the edge, where you gotta be. Not always easy to stay organised...
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
Yes, Palm M515, mark IV grade ultra-nuclear, top classified MJ12+ - all the time
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Work Desk: absolutely trimmed down to the bare essentials (it took 1 whole year...)
Home Desk: swamped with the stuff cleared from Work Desk (judging by the lack of the time critical components of the heap, it will take another light year or so to clean up)
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
No, absolutely not: classified by language, theme, preference, incomprehensible librarian tactics...
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
Own subspace consciousness, plus a trip to South Africa. Major pain in the butt organisation-wise: getting a fax installed in a Japanese hotel... (see archives from March 03)
FridayFive.org
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
Yes, vital to being sharp, on the edge, where you gotta be. Not always easy to stay organised...
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
Yes, Palm M515, mark IV grade ultra-nuclear, top classified MJ12+ - all the time
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Work Desk: absolutely trimmed down to the bare essentials (it took 1 whole year...)
Home Desk: swamped with the stuff cleared from Work Desk (judging by the lack of the time critical components of the heap, it will take another light year or so to clean up)
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
No, absolutely not: classified by language, theme, preference, incomprehensible librarian tactics...
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
Own subspace consciousness, plus a trip to South Africa. Major pain in the butt organisation-wise: getting a fax installed in a Japanese hotel... (see archives from March 03)
Apen schrijven geen Shakespeare (uit De Standaard 12052003)
Geef een oneindig aantal apen een oneindig aantal tikmachines en als je lang genoeg wacht, zullen ze het werk van Shakespeare schrijven. Althans, zo luidt de theorie. Geef zes apen voor een maand een computer en ze bakken er niets van.
Onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Plymouth in Engeland zijn tot de verbazingwekkende vaststelling gekomen dat apen geen literatuur produceren als je hen een computer geeft. ,,Als je apen alleen laat met een computer, vallen ze die aan. Maar ze produceren geen zinnig woord'', zegt Mike Phillips, die het onderzoek leidt.
Medewerkers en studenten van de vakgroep Media lieten een computer achter in de apenkooi van de Paignton Zoo in zuidwest Engeland. Daarna keken ze toe en wachtten gespannen.
,,Toen we de pc in de kooi droegen, begon de leider met een steen op het toestel te slaan'', zegt Phillips. ,,Later stelden we vast dat de apen graag op het toetsenbord urineerden.''
Na een hele poos gebruikte een vijftal apen het toetsenbord zoals het hoort. Samen schreven ze vijf pagina's waarop heel weinig te lezen was. ,,Ze hebben vooral veel op de s gedrukt '', zegt een onderzoeker. ,,Na een tijdje doken ook de letters a, j, k, l en m op. Maar hoogstaande literatuur kwam er niet.'' Phillips kan ermee leven, want het project was eerder bedoeld als performance art dan als een wetenschappelijk experiment.
De voorkeur voor bepaalde letters bewijst wel dat de apen niet zomaar op het toetsenbord tikken. ,,Ze zitten complexer ineen'', zegt Phillips. ,,Het scherm boeide hen. Ze zagen dat er iets mee gebeurde toen ze op een toets drukten.''
De theorie dat typende apen na een tijd literatuur produceren, wordt toegeschreven aan Thomas Huxley. Deze wetenschapper uit de negentiende eeuw was een aanhanger van Charles Darwin en zijn evolutietheorie. Want hij eigenlijk wou hij met de stelling aantonen dat de kans dat er uit het menselijk ras een auteur van het kaliber van Shakespeare geboren wordt, heel klein is. Even klein als de kans dat er uit het apenras een Shakespeare opduikt.
Het experiment van de Universiteit van Plymouth kostte 2.000 pond (2.800 euro) en maakt deel uit van het Vivaria-project. Dat wil in alle Europese dierentuinen computers installeren om de verschillen tussen dierlijk en artificieel leven te bestuderen.
Geef een oneindig aantal apen een oneindig aantal tikmachines en als je lang genoeg wacht, zullen ze het werk van Shakespeare schrijven. Althans, zo luidt de theorie. Geef zes apen voor een maand een computer en ze bakken er niets van.
Onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Plymouth in Engeland zijn tot de verbazingwekkende vaststelling gekomen dat apen geen literatuur produceren als je hen een computer geeft. ,,Als je apen alleen laat met een computer, vallen ze die aan. Maar ze produceren geen zinnig woord'', zegt Mike Phillips, die het onderzoek leidt.
Medewerkers en studenten van de vakgroep Media lieten een computer achter in de apenkooi van de Paignton Zoo in zuidwest Engeland. Daarna keken ze toe en wachtten gespannen.
,,Toen we de pc in de kooi droegen, begon de leider met een steen op het toestel te slaan'', zegt Phillips. ,,Later stelden we vast dat de apen graag op het toetsenbord urineerden.''
Na een hele poos gebruikte een vijftal apen het toetsenbord zoals het hoort. Samen schreven ze vijf pagina's waarop heel weinig te lezen was. ,,Ze hebben vooral veel op de s gedrukt '', zegt een onderzoeker. ,,Na een tijdje doken ook de letters a, j, k, l en m op. Maar hoogstaande literatuur kwam er niet.'' Phillips kan ermee leven, want het project was eerder bedoeld als performance art dan als een wetenschappelijk experiment.
De voorkeur voor bepaalde letters bewijst wel dat de apen niet zomaar op het toetsenbord tikken. ,,Ze zitten complexer ineen'', zegt Phillips. ,,Het scherm boeide hen. Ze zagen dat er iets mee gebeurde toen ze op een toets drukten.''
De theorie dat typende apen na een tijd literatuur produceren, wordt toegeschreven aan Thomas Huxley. Deze wetenschapper uit de negentiende eeuw was een aanhanger van Charles Darwin en zijn evolutietheorie. Want hij eigenlijk wou hij met de stelling aantonen dat de kans dat er uit het menselijk ras een auteur van het kaliber van Shakespeare geboren wordt, heel klein is. Even klein als de kans dat er uit het apenras een Shakespeare opduikt.
Het experiment van de Universiteit van Plymouth kostte 2.000 pond (2.800 euro) en maakt deel uit van het Vivaria-project. Dat wil in alle Europese dierentuinen computers installeren om de verschillen tussen dierlijk en artificieel leven te bestuderen.
2003-05-05
sites 'o the week:
Remembering World War I:
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