Daily blogs

Feeding in the MRT and inconsiderate people

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In the MRT This weekend we had quite a difficult task: feeding the baby in the MRT. When Dani

Stop the heartless killing

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A video was sent to me that was extremely traumatizing, both to the animals and to the viewer. I’ve put this up on my website a week after I received it, when these images were still lingering in my head. I initially didn’t want to put the link on my website, because I find the video extremely shocking and graphic. On the other hand, if we want to stop such morbid acts from occurring, we have to inform ourselves about the cruelty associated with such acts.

The following is the link to view this movie depicting how animals were heartlessly tortured in order to skin their fur. If you have a heart, and if you feel against animal abuse, take a few moments to watch (parts of this video) this video and then let your consciousness speak.
Remember: when the buying stops, so does the killing.

Global internet conspiracy: Googlezon

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GooglezonI came across a very interesting view on the future, in which is explained how a global conspiracy of the evil large internet coporations behind Google and Amazon will impeach Microsoft and New York Times and welcome us into the world of shallowness.

Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson did an incredibly cool and thought-provoking presentation about the future of online media, which culminated in a discussion of Googlezon and Epic – Google and Amazon’s future foray into media.

Click here to view the video.

Help Tsunami Victims

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Because an image can speak louder than 1000 words and because I think most image that have reached the world have been so graphic already, I thought these before and after satellite photos give a realistic impression on how badly destructed some of the places were that were hit by the Tsunami.

I was in Bali at the moment the Tsunami hit South Asia and obviously the most images I’ve seen are from Indonesia. I was hoping for more coverage from the other media stations as well, as Indonesia is probably worse hit than anywhere else. It seems that the focus in Singapore is biassed towardsThailand, where a lot where a lot of Europeans and some Singaporeans were celebrating their holidays.

I guess some people are a little bit more equal than others. That’s why I’ve decided to donate to the global Unicef organization. Amongst the survivers, I think the children in the worst hit places, such as Indonesia (Sumatra and Aceh), India and Sri Lanka need it the most at the moment. And I’m convinced that Unicef will take care of that.

If you think supporting Unicef is a good idea, I would like to encourage you to visit the link below for a donation: http://www.unicef.org/supportasia.php

Fortunately, extremists are exceptions!

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Theo van Gogh is executed! And I really felt the anger and urge to say something about the entire situation that has happened afterwards. We all know that Theo has kicked at basically every wayside shrine in the world and it’s just that his last target seemed to be Islam. Not that he was arguing the religion itself, but he was challenging and denouncing the abuse that was made by people in the name of Islam.

First of all, let me just kick this of by saying that extremist Muslims are peace loving people, who believe in equality of people and freedom of speech, that Moroccan criminals are actually very nice people that are just victims of crude society, that Hell’s angels are nice guys that just have a common interest en that hooligans are actually very loyal folks that need to be respected. Oh, almost forgot the caravan dwellers who are also very friendly and usually just express a healthy interest in botany. Militantly left folks, that threathen owners of mink breeding farms with fire arms because he puts his minks in too small cages, are actually cool zoophiles dudes.

A politician with a too explicit opinion is life-threatening; he could eventually even be put in charge of laying down the blue print of an entire country and drag an entire country along with him. But it seems now that even a columnist is causing a threat that needs to be eliminated because he apparently stepped on someone’s toes. I guess that?s why I better also don’t shout-out too much in my personal website here? Okay, now everyone is happy and pacified?

A couple of folks, imams and others, which spoke out their minds in the name of Islam, made some heavy remarks about homosexuals and women. That’s where Theo’s entire discussion in both his columns as well as his film got started. He threw words back at them, sometimes very heavy words, but still just letters on paper. I must admit, to call someone a ?geittenneuker? (literally: goat-fucker) or a pimp of Allah is definitely offensive. On the other side, to thrown all homosexuals from the roofs, as summoned by imams is offensive too. I guess Theo was fighting evil with evil.

Just after the loudest mouth of Holland was shot by an extremist coward, our prime minister gave a speech to the public. He asked the public not to jump to conclusions too fast and that above all the public needed to keep their heads cool. At that time it was already clear that a Moroccan man was the presumptive perpetrator. At the same moment Mr. Cohen (Amsterdam’s Mayor) was already around the table with several representatives of mosques and other minority parties was it was disclosed in the media that the perpetrator left a little note with an Arabic text. Before the official statement from the government was released, Holland already knew that his was from the hand of a frustrated Muslim extremist.

It was on the news ‘Het Journaal?, through omroep.nl that I saw people explaining that the Moroccan youth can’t find a connection with the Dutch society. In Morocco they are regarded as tourist and in Holland they’re regarded as a foreigner, even though they’re born and raised in Holland and see Holland as their home country. Often they’re being watched with suspicion and barred from bars and clubs. Because of the lack of integration with the rest of Holland, they’re isolated, which can drive them straight into the hands of extremists (as explained in the new). In the ?Journaal?, other groups of Muslims showed that they condemn the murder and clearly wanted to distance themselves from it. Further the ?Journaal? showed Moroccans that were embarrassed because of the fact that another Moroccan did this and they feared to be associated with this moron. Even in mosques people were summoned to show disgust towards this faint-hearted murder. Meanwhile, the media was running full-steam to show the innocence of Muslims and used many hours of airtime to show that Muslims can be pretty nice folks too.

The Dutch prime minister asked all Dutch people not to jump to conclusions too fast and Cohen got into a discussion with leaders of mosques and organization of Moroccans. Did Balkenende ask all the Dutch not to jump to conclusions, or was he just addressing the group of people that was living in Holland for many generations? Did Cohen ask for a discussion with all groups in the city of Amsterdam or only with Muslims and Moroccans? It was actually pretty clear that the general statement was: “White Dutch, please keep your heads cool. Moroccans and Mulsim, the white folks are angry at you, please do something that politically correct. We don’t want riots so if you could just quickly apologize, that would be great. We will make sure that the various media will report it nicely”.

On the day of the murder there were several more people arrested because of racist comments. On an emotional day, irrational emotional remarks are understandable. But what did the government do? Eradicate it! Arrest the whole bunch that think they can just express their opinions as and when they like! Meanwhile a discussion is started behind closed doors, so that afterwards a nice joint politically correct story can be pushed to the media. And as part of the political correctness, a big show dedicated to Theo is set up, during which people are more busy shooting pictures and partying than with mourning about Theo. They might as well just have let those racist walk around and let them shout their agony out for a while. But no, it needs to be managed and put under control.

Looking back at this, I really don’t understand why this imam with his statements about homosexuals just gets away with is, while a neo-Nazi is not allowed to speak his foolish mind? Is it because we have to turn the entire discussion in politically correct story in which the opinion of Theo was suddenly so terribly shocking? Once you start discussions with the association of mosques, aren’t you giving a very strong signal of prejudice and preconception? It was just one extremist, right? But all folks that are somehow associated with this fool have to justify themselves: “No, we’re not like that, have a look…”

In other words, who is lumping this murderer together with all other Moroccans and Muslims, the public or the government? There are racists, there are Moroccan criminals, there are Muslims that hate homosexuals and that beat up women (or worse), there are people that are scared of foreigners, there are foreigners that are scared of Dutch people, there are militant right and militant left, there are people that believe in violence, there are religious extremists, what is the problem with just stating these facts?

There are extremists, religious as well as non-religious, but the word ‘extreme’ already indicates that it’s a about an exception. The majority is somewhere in the middle, just a little racist, just a little afraid and just a little religious. I hope we can just let everybody say what they like. This might be shocking and insulting at times, but we will eventually get to know how the Dutch society really works. And if we know how the society work, we don’t have to get too shocked of just one extremist, because we know that he’s just an exception. At this moment we’re just claiming he his…

Trying out acting in a short film ‘832′

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In May I was asked to help out with a short movie. The movie was supposed to go up for a short-movie contest in the Rich Carlton hotel later that month. Amazingly, it only took a little audition to see if I understood the extreme basics of acting (pretending) to turn me into an actor.

It took one day to put the movies of little more than 10 minutes together, and though I’m still waiting for the pay-cheque (in vain I think), I’m happy that I pushed this through, and also of course thankful for Haseenah to close one eye and to make this possible too.

View movie:

Singapore Idol – The Good and the Ugly

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Singapore IdolIt is there, contagious as it is; Singapore is looking for its idol now as well. After The Pop Idol has stormed through Europe and the US, it was Singapore’s turn now. I mean, not that I have something against this, because I?ve seen these kinds of shows numerous times. I guess it all started way back when I watched Henny Huisman’s playback show when I was a kid. Reality TV in its infant stage I guess.

The hunt for Singapore Idol had it?s good and it?s bad sides for me. Let?s start with the good sides. It was excellent to see so many people from all walks of life, giving it their best shots. People didn?t even let their disabilities, mute, deaf or cripple hinder them. The most touching was this guy who just lost his father, and then sang so awfully well, his voice full of emotions and clarity, that not only tears welled up in his eyes, but I guess in many viewers eyes as well (yeah yeah, had big-time swallowing to do as well, but held back my tears, honest :p)

Some of the bad and evil came up as well. Unfortunately the judges are typical china-men, who believe that they rule the earth. They might be celebrities, who are looked up to in Singapore, but it doesn?t mean that they can just tell people to ?Get Out!? after they sang their song or telling contestants, ‘You are nothing!’ and ‘I am beginning to hate you’. Worse even: apparently Mediacorp was so proud of the quotes of especially Mr Dick Lee and Mr Ben Lim, that the most dreadful, inhumane and demolishing quotes were broadcasted over and over again as teasers during the commercial breaks. Probably these judges themselves would even like to forget that they have ever even given these kinds of remarks to another human being, but they weren’t allowed to.

Okay, I?m not trying to say that I?m a saint and I would also not like to sound too prudish, but my entire point is that if you give criticism or feedback, it can be given in a constructive and honest way. However, some remarks were uncalled for and destructive. Perhaps they were trying too hard to be Simon Cowell, but the difference is that Simon his feedback, while quite harsh, was most of the times constructive and honest: ‘Give up your hope of ever singing’ or ‘that was horrible’ are examples of his feedback. Somebody could be hopeless in singing and yet find his vocation elsewhere. ‘You are nothing!’ is an immature and arrogant way of putting down another human being.

BananamanEven when you would consider Singapore Idol (and the joke around it?s judges) from an entertainment point of view (which Mediacorp would probably defend itself with), this panel is a real disaster. So there was this funny guy, the banana man, he had a banana mask on when he was doing his song and dance. But instead of hearing him out and asking him to do several songs for the entertainment and x-factor, he was asked to take of his mask or go. Well, that?s one way to break entertainment and turning it into harshness again.

Anyway, my overall impression of the show is that Mediacorp just hasn?t pulled it off, and brought a bad copy to the public in Singapore. Besides feeling sorry for Douglas Oliviera for sitting next to such incompetent asses, the judges’ actions undermine everything that the Singapore government has tried to achieve in their courtesy campaigns.

Two man and a lady on a deserted island

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Little Joke about Singaporeans (phun intended):

  • Two British men and a lady stranded on a desert island – they each took gentlemanly turns with the lady.
  • Two Italian men and a lady stranded on a desert island – the two fought and one killed the other to have the lady.
  • Two American men and a lady stranded on a desert island – they both had the lady together.
  • Two French men and a lady stranded on a desert island – they killed the lady to have each other.
  • Two Australian men and a lady stranded on a desert island both dug until they found COLD beer, drunk and passed out before they get to the lady.
  • Two Singaporean men and a lady stranded on a desert island the two are still waiting for instructions from the GOVERNMENT.

Canada is killing more seals than ever!

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Canada is killing more seals than ever!This year too, a humongous blood bath will take place on Canadian ice. At the end of March seal trappers will start clubbing another 350,000 young seals to death. Usually around 80% of the seals killed in the commercial hunt are “young of the year” – between approximately 12 days and one year old.

The Canadian government has granted permission for this mass murder to take place and has set the quota higher than in previous years.
This barbaric act will take place until the end of May.

There are two main (non)reasons that the Canadian government uses to justify their decision and quota:

1. Creation of jobs

Canada is killing more seals than ever! A commonly used reason for supporting the hunt is that it supposedly provides jobs for people in Newfoundland. However in reality, the hunt accounts for less than one half of one percent of Newfoundland?s Gross Domestic Product. Economists note that factors such as government-funded icebreaking services and lost revenue from tourism should be included in economic reports of the industry, and could mean the commercial seal hunt represents a net loss to the economy of Atlantic Canada.

Many people are surprised to learn that the entire fishery in Newfoundland accounts for only 1.6% of their economy. Certainly, the fishery, including the seal hunt, once played a vital role in the economic survival of the province. However, this is no longer the situation. Newfoundland?s economy has diversified to include many other, far more lucrative, industry sectors such as tourism, services, construction, public administration, manufacturing, and many more.

The sealing industry operates for a few weeks a year and provides a relatively small number of part-time jobs during that period. The seal hunt is not of vital importance to Newfoundland?s economy and does not represent meaningful job creation by the government. If Newfoundland is going to continue to develop in the changing Canadian economy, it is imperative that the federal government makes a solid commitment to the development of real, sustainable jobs – not pointless slaughter

2. Economic impact on fishery

Although the Canadian government and fishing industry claim that seals in the North Atlantic must be culled because they eat too many cod, they don’t back up this claim with good science. In fact, in 1994, two of the government’s own scientists reported that the true cause of the depletion of cod in the North Atlantic was over-fishing. Ecosystems are complex?in fact, seals also eat cod predators (other fish), so removing seals might even worsen the cod stock’s condition.

It’s more convenient for the government and the fishing industry to scapegoat seals than it is for them to address the serious problem of over-fishing. It also provides an excuse for the government’s controversial support of a massive seal hunt.

The Canadian government is using the seal as a scapegoat!

Help!

This barbaric slaughter has to stop! If you have a little bit of spare time and don’t mind the stamp, do write to the Canadian embassy to protest.
By writing a protest letter, you can help the seals.

Sample protest letter below:

Dear Ambassador,I am writing to express my concern about your countries? commercial seal hunt, and to raise some questions.

I was informed about the massacre that your country creates among seals. I am terribly shocked by this news and I herewith wish to express my deepest concern regarding this sealhunt.

I believe Canada has an obligation to protect seals from the cruel and wasteful behaviour of the commercial hunt. I am disturbed by the quotas for the commercial hunt, which remain very high despite concerns about their unsustainable nature. I oppose the killing of seal pups that are just a few weeks old. I am very troubled that many seals are killed solely so their penises may be sold to the aphrodisiac market, or their fur may be used for luxury clothing. I find the marketing of seal oil as a “cure-all” natural health product to be completely objectionable.

When will Canada end subsidies to the sealing industry? When will Canada ban the sale of seal fur and the trade in seal parts? I understand that Canada?s Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ own documents assert that these forms of commercial trade encourage illegal sealing.

I believe Canada should end the commercial hunt for seals altogether as an important step in our growth as a humane and ecologically responsible world.

I look forward to your reply to my questions.

Kind regards,
<your name>

Crowching tiger is the world first executioner

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Death sentence is passed against a woman who was immediately executed with three other people on drugs charges (www.sina.com.cn 26 June 2003)Most countries are relaxing their trade-rules and the newly signed FTAs are good examples of that. There are hardly any sanctions against China for violation of global human rights anymore and the EU has even planned to lift sanctions for the trade of weapons with China. More and more, trade with China is considered acceptable from a moral standing point, but on the other hand China hardly shows improvement in their stance towards human rights.

China is with at least 726 executions in 2003 by far the leader in the execution of death penalties. The real number is probably much higher, according to Amnesty International. A prominent Chinese member of parliament mentioned a short time ago that almost 10,000 death penalties were executed per year. Amnesty itself estimates the real number to be around 15,000. This figure is based on internal Chinese Communist Party documents that indicate that an average of 15,000 people per year were executed, judicial or extrajudicial, by the government between 1997 and 2001. This is one in every 86,000 Chinese residents.

With these numbers, China is the worlds ‘leader’ by far. Just for the record, next in the list of ‘reported’ death penalties are:

  • Iran – 108
  • USA – 65
  • Vietnam – 64

Not only is the death penalty, the most cruel degrading punishment: It violates one of the most basic human rights: The right to life.

Executing death penalty also carries the risk that innocent people are killed. Since 1973, 113 people that were previously sentenced to death were acquitted of a charge after additional evidence was found. Returning elements in these cases are procedural mistakes, unreliable testimonies, confessions under pressure and an inadequate defense.

According to Amnesty’s report, prisoners in China are often denied immediate legal representation and sentenced to death based on confessions extracted under extreme forms of torture. An almost “perfect” conviction rate (99.1 percent for all crimes within a recent five-year period) illustrates enormous potential for executing the innocent. Furthermore, in 1997 China expanded the legal scope of the death penalty, applying it to broader sets of circumstances. Sixty-nine percent of capital crimes defined in China’s criminal law are non-violent.

I strongly support the current US consideration to back a resolution condemning China’s human rights record at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

My declaration of life

  • I believe that the killing of one human being by another is morally wrong.
  • I believe it is morally wrong for any state or other governmental entity to take the life of a human being for any reason
  • I believe that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves only the purpose of revenge.

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