A sobering article in the Guardian today that contrasts the situation of gays and lesbians living in different parts of the EU. The prejudice and homophobia that exists in some countries such as Poland must make life pretty miserable for gay people. Another reason to be thankful that I live where I do.
Category: Society
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Koninginnedag Comes Early This Year
On the 30th April every year, the Dutch celebrate the late Queen Juliana’s birthday. This is Queen’s day (Koninginnedag). It’s really an excuse for a big party that will happen throughout the Netherlands. Because the 30th April falls on a Sunday this year, the celebrations are being brought forward to the 29th.Tomorrow, weather permitting, we’ll be cycling around part of a 44 kilometre circuit that takes in a series of art exhibitions in the locality. Then on Sunday we’ll be joining our new neighbours for the local Koninginnedag party, which, to confuse everyone, is actually being held on the 30th instead of the 29th. I’m sure it made sense to someone… -
The Dutch Citizenship Test
Last January, I mentioned the test that would-be immigrants to the Netherlands would have to take. It went live last week. There’s an article on the Radio Netherlands web site describing the procedure. I certainly don’t share the journalist’s touching belief that the voice-recognition system used in the test (there are no human examiners involved) is "foolproof". Pull the other one – it’s got bells on it. It turns out that entrants will need to buy the exam materials, which contain all 100 questions and their authorised answers. Then in the exam, 30 questions, selected from the 100, will be given. My hunch is that the entrant will have to parrot back exactly the words and intonation used in the authorised answer to have any hope of passing the voice-recognition system. So the Dutch want parrots, not citizens…The procedure is described on the Ministry for Justice web site. While I see that EU citizens are exempt from having to take the test, I did notice in the fine print on this page the statement: "As newcomers these people will, however, usually be required to follow the integration programme once in the Netherlands"."Required", eh? That doesn’t sound like an exemption to me. -
Homes for the Elderly
One of the joyful little tasks I will have in my list of things to do in twenty years time will be preparing to select a suitable care home where I can end my days, surrounded by handsome male nurses who will do anything for me.Of course, this ideal care home will probably be difficult to find (if it exists at all). While I’m sure that there are some excellent care homes, there are also places like this, probably better named the Why the Fuck Should We Care Home. I only hope that I have the nous and the wherewithal to spot the ones like this and avoid at all costs.(hat tip to Tom Reynolds for the link) -
“Absolute Madness, Naive and Irresponsible”
Those are the words ("volstrekt krankzinnig, naïef en onverantwoord") used by a member of the Dutch parliament to describe a recent decision of Rita Verdonk, the minister of Immigration and Integration. And what has the lovely Rita done now? Well, she’s decided to reverse the ban on deporting failed asylum-seekers who are gay or Christian back to Iran. This is likely to include Saba Rawi. The problem is that Rawi fled Iran over four years ago in fear for his life because he is gay. And now Rita wants him back in Iran, where the authorities now know full well that he is gay. There is real concern that if he is returned to Iran he will be executed. I honestly wonder how Rita Verdonk can live with her conscience – perhaps she simply doesn’t have one.Update, 6th March: This morning, the Volkskrant is reporting that Minister Verdonk has apparently had second thoughts about sending failed asylum-seekers who are gay back to Iran. She is now saying that they will receive permits to stay. Doubtless everyone will wait and see what happens in the case of Saba Rawi in the next few days. The Volkskrant also reports that the basis for Verdonk’s original proposal to send gays back was a report from the Foreign Affairs Ministry saying that according to the Human Rights Watch organisation, the two teenagers hanged in Iran last year were not executed because they were gay and that therefore gays are not at risk in Iran. That’s brought a stinging reaction from an HRW representative stating that gays are certainly in danger of their lives in Iran. It should be pointed out that while the HRW chose to interpret the execution of the two teenagers as being for rape, and not because they were gay, other observers claim differently. Nonetheless, the HRW recognises the dangerous situation for gays in Iran.The HRW itself reported on two more executions of gays in Iran in November 2005. -
How Much is that Doggy in the Window?
As I’ve mentioned before, when we move to our farmhouse in the country (and now there’s less than a month to go, hooray!), Martin wants to become a dog owner once more. He’s not had a dog for the last 20 years, partly because he doesn’t think it’s right to keep a large dog in a built-up area such as where we currently live.However, the gloves come off once we are settled in the farmhouse, since we’ll have nearly two acres of land ourselves, let alone all the surrounding countryside to exercise the animal. Part of me thinks what is the point of having a dog, while another part of me thinks it will be good. It’s rather like having a devil on my left shoulder, and an angel on my right, both whispering into my ears.I see that the devil has turned up some evidence to bolster his cause; Churchill Insurance has produced research that shows that the lifetime cost of the average dog is £20,000 (€30,000). Egad! As they say, that’s more than the cost of a brand-new 3-series BMW. Oh well, Martin has his heart set on having a dog, so I’ll just have to be on the side of the angels this time around. -
Another Data Point
Following on from the experience I mentioned in Eroding Liberties, Jenni Russell relates a similar depressing incident that occurred to her on arrival in Heathrow. Is this sort of thing becoming more prevalent? Jenni may be the canary in the coal mine. I sometimes feel the rest of us are frogs in water, unable to feel that the temperature is rising. -
Echoes of a Bomb
When you’ve been involved in an extreme event, it takes time for the impact echoes to die away. Sometimes they never do. Rachel is someone who has been involved in an extreme event, and this posting clearly shows the impact that it continues to have. But, small step by small step, I hope it gets better for her. -
Eroding Liberties
I’m becoming increasingly alarmed by what I view as the erosion of civil liberties that appears to be happening in the UK, driven by fear of terrorism – both real and imagined. The atmosphere of suspicion is getting thicker, and this has a negative impact on the way in which the authorities treat the citizen.For example, take the case of the actors and others returning from the Berlin Film Festival after a showing of their film The Road to Guantánamo. They were detained by police at Luton airport and questioned under the anti-terror laws. The disturbing thing to me was the manner in which they were questioned. Read the account by one of the actors of the incident, and reflect on it. Is this the sort of political police force that is emerging in the UK?Update: and then there’s this… -
Dumbing Down
The Guardian reports today on worrying evidence that the brain-eating virus of creationism is on the increase in British universities and colleges.A 21-year-old medical student and member of the Islamic Society, who did not want to be named, said that the Qur’an was clear that man had been created and had not evolved as Darwin suggests. "There is no scientific evidence for it [Darwin’s Origin of Species]. It’s only a theory. Man is the wonder of God’s creation."Ah, the "it’s only a theory" meme again… So is gravity, so perhaps this student would care to step off a cliff to demonstrate the fact.At another London campus some students have been failed because they have presented creationism as fact. They have been told by their examiners that, while they are entitled to explain both sides of the debate, they cannot present the Bible or Qur’an as scientifically factual if they want to pass exams.What a surprise… But apparently the students won’t let sticking to stories get in the way of passing exams; they’ll simply follow the advice of creationist David Rosevear:"I’ve got no problem with an all-powerful God producing everything in six days," he said. He said it was an early example of the six-day week. Students taking exams on the subject should not be dogmatic one way or the other. "I tell them – answer the question, it’s no good saying it [creationism] is a fact any more than saying evolution is a fact."Are we heading back into the Dark Ages? -
Self-loathing
What a sad person Ronald G. Lee must be, judging by the content of this article that he has written. Still, Sadly No! has managed to see the humour in the piece, and gleefully points it out for the purple-prosed pile of tosh that it is.Note: declaration of interest – I have visited Lobo’s in Houston several times over the years. Somehow, I managed to avoid the magnetic pull of the pornography in the back that exercised such a fascination on Mr. Lee, and have purchased a number of well-written novels and biographies there. I have even bought a coffee and a slice of carrotcake in the bookstore’s coffeeshop, and consumed them whilst reading my purchases in a state of calm. Even though there were other – gasp – homo-seks-uals on the premises, we somehow managed to exist in a state of clothed decorum and equanimity. -
It Takes Time…
At last, some sense on the cartoon furore, over at the Talk Politics blog. So unlike the shrill tub-thumping of Andrew Sullivan. -
Mukthar Mai
Tobias Schwarz, over at A Fistful of Euros, draws my attention to a recent story in SPIEGEL; the story of Mukthar Mai. While I knew something of her story, this article brings her tale to life, and adds further detail, some of which gives rise to the hope that out of her terrible experience, some good might come. Go and read it. -
It’s Tinfoil Hat Time…
Time to return to Andrew Sullivan again… Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s been emailing him to complain that Pim Fortuyn was not killed by Muslims. Undeterred, he’s now saying that Fortuyn was "murdered for standing up to Islamist intolerance and hate. He was killed by a far leftist who supported the Islamists". He quotes, as evidence for this, the entry for Pim Fortuyn in Wikipedia.Oh dear, Andrew, if you’re going to rest your case on a Wikipedia entry, let’s take a look at the Dutch version of Wikipedia, shall we? In particular, the entry for Volkert van der Graaf.His motive for the murder is given there as: "Hij gaf als motief dat hij in Fortuyn een steeds groter wordend gevaar voor de samenleving zag, met name voor kwetsbare groepen, zoals asielzoekers, moslims en mensen met een WAO-uitkering, aldus de verklaring van het Openbaar Ministerie" (he gave as the motive that he saw in Fortuyn an ever-growing danger for society, in particular for vulnerable groups such as asylum-seekers, muslims and people on benefits, according to the statement of the Public Prosecutor). Van der Graaf saw in Fortuyn the rise of another Hitler. That, it seems clear to me, was his reason for the murder, not because "he supported the Islamists". Van der Graaf viewed Muslims in Dutch society simply as an example of a vulnerable group who were being exploited by Fortuyn for political ends.Indeed, the English entry for van der Graaf states much the same thing: "He said he saw Fortuyn as a steadily increasing danger for vulnerable groups in society, namely Muslims. It was thereby a combination of Fortuyn’s stigmatising views, the polarising way that he presented them and the great political power that Fortuyn was threatening to obtain. He saw no other possibility for himself than to end the danger by killing Fortuyn".Frankly, I think Sullivan is tub-thumping and stretching the facts to fit his theory. Tinfoil hat time, Andrew… -
Andrew Sullivan and Pim Fortuyn
In the last week, Andrew Sullivan has mentioned the murder of Pim Fortuyn three times by my reckoning: here, here, and now here. In each case, the context is such that the impression is given that Fortuyn was murdered by Muslim extremists. Except, of course, he wasn’t.Fortuyn was killed by a non-Muslim – a white Dutch animal rights activist and vegan, Volkert van der Graaf.After two uses by Andrew Sullivan of this false and misleading implication, I emailed him to point out his error. But, since he has now perpetuated the misconception a third time, he clearly isn’t bothered about the facts. I’m not impressed. -
Interview with Hirsi Ali
In the wake of the Danish cartoons affair, SPIEGEL publishes an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali today. She’s as uncompromising as ever. -
Dog Bars
Where there’s a need, someone who’s enterprising will fill it. There was a time when I felt at home in a city. Not any more – I seek the quieter spaces of the country. -
The Poet Departs
Having only recently discovered the blog of Teju Cole, I now find that he has posted his last entry today, and, worse, will remove his pages from the web tomorrow. So, today is your last chance to read the remarkable prose poetry of this Nigerian man. -
We’re All Doomed…
Nine months ago I reported on a survey finding that seemed to indicate that Americans were switching off their intelligence in large numbers. Alas, it appears as though the brain-eating virus has crossed the pond and is munching its way through good British brains. I despair. Interestingly, it appears as though even this story has evolved in the course of a single day. This morning, it started off by claiming that the over-55’s were "more likely to believe in evolution". Now it says that they are less likely to believe. The evidence is here.I shall watch the Horizon programme, referred to in this story, with some trepidation. Horizon, while still touted by the BBC as its "flagship science programme", has in recent years shown alarming signs of being taken over by programme-makers who wouldn’t know good science if it hit them in the face. There have been some really bad Horizon prgrammes in the past few years, to the extent where I seriously question whether the BBC knows what "flagship" means any more. I’ll report back. -
Artificial Life
Robert Silverberg (an SF author) reflects on the work of Philip K. Dick (another SF author, and visionary). It’s an excellent article showing how Dick’s dystopias are showing up in our current reality today. He refers to Vivienne, an artificial friend who lives in your mobile phone (and drains your money on a monthly basis). The company behind it, Artificial Life, have a number of such artificial lifeforms aimed at 15-30 year old males and females. Personally, I gave up playing with dolls a very long time ago.(hat tip to Boing Boing for the Silverberg link)
