Oxford arrival

Lala Kabbalah : Mugabe, Bin Laden, Hitler and Dubyaa !

Just a final one for the road..now I'm off. CU!

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( click here for full story of Madonna bashing Bush )

"I'll be back"

These days I have little time to blog working abroad and all. Next week I will be studying in Oxford(UK). I could promis to keep posting but finding time will be difficult. So I say "Bar is closed for now but I'll be back" ..soon!

Cafe DA will open up again in two weeks! Hope to see you back and take care for now. DA

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(Ambigram courtesy of David A. Holst, click pic for more examples)

" I'm a fu$%^ng panda. Go look it up "

A giant panda goes into one of those expensive and pretentious restaurants serving French/Asian fusion cuisine and takes a table for one. The surprised waiter for that table explains unctuously that his name is Marcel, he will be your server tonight, and we 'ave a number of specials (he is French), etc., etc.

The panda listens impassively to the list of $27 chili-pepper encrusted swordfish specials and so on, and then orders a delicately flavored dish of young bamboo tips and mixed greenery served with steamed jasmine rice. On finishing his meal, the panda gets up, reaches into his fur for a handgun, brings down the waiter with one shot, and calmly heads for the door.

The head waiter is near the door and exclaims in shock, "Oh, monsieur, what 'ave you done? You 'ave killed Marcel! Why 'ave you done zis, monsieur? You 'ad some problem? Ze service was not acceptable?" The panda scowls at him and says, "I'm a fucking panda. Go look it up." He stalks out into the night.

The baffled staff huddle round the compact encyclopedic dictionary that they keep on the premises, and turning to Panda, giant, they read this:

Panda, giant. Large bear-like animal, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, with distinctive black and white markings, related to raccoon family. Rare; found only in bamboo forests of Tibet and western China. Eats shoots and leaves.

The good 'ol days..

It must have been about 37 years and 9 months plus a few or something ago. I still remember it as if it were yesterday. I was living together with a few million happy campers in a warm and cosy place. That morning we were told that this cute little egg was to be released and man she was told to be something else..

From that announcement on I had this strange feeling of competition. I just had to win that race at every cost. So when the race was declared open by a loud and intense "Yessssssss" I swam like hell. I swam as if my life depended on it. Millions of competitors I left behind. I was in the best shape ever. Man, I would have swom to the moon and back if I had to.

As I could almost smell victory coming I saw that little big mouth bragger swimming just past by me. No way I was going to let him win. I caught him by the tail and kicked him in the teeth. One more down and just a few more inches to go. I gave it my utmost effort and redirected all my energy to my final strokes.

I won!

Millions of them losers I left behind.

My life hasn't been the same since..

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

-- William Wordsworth -

The Dutch, The Brave Ones! (--or are we??)

My freaking country is doing it again. Last week has been all about one of our MP's Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a prominent critic of fundamentalist Islam. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dutch Somali-born MP, has lost her Dutch citizenship because she provided inaccurate information when applying for asylum in the Netherlands back in 1992. The fact that she did so is, however, something which she already revealed years ago, and - until just a few days ago - that appeared not to have been a problem. Anyone in distress would lie for shelter by the way. Now, a bewildered Ms Hirsi Ali plans to leave the country to go and work for Dubya's conservative think tank in Washington DC.

A few months ago, The Court of Justice in The Hague -in a court case the neighbors of Hirsi Ali had started against her since they feared her presence is a security threat- allready came to the decision that Ayaan Hirsi Ali must leave her protected house in The Hague within four months.

More than half a century has passed since WWII but not much has changed. People still ask the police to remove their persecuted neighbors instead of giving them shelter. Holland is a country where everybody loves to talk about solidarity but solidarity is seldomly shown when private lifes are effected.

Hirsi leaves Holland with a trail of social political damage behind her and I doubt if Dubya will tolerate her autonomous radical and liberal behaviour in his ultra conservative Christian anti gay thinktank (American Enterprise Institute) for more that three months. However, I hat-tip Ayaan for her courage and perseverance and congratulate the Dutch muslim fundamentalists with this victory. With the compliments of the Dutch government off course :-(((

On Self-Knowledge

And a man said, "Speak to us of Self-Knowledge."
And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always know in thought.

You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.
And it is well you should.

The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
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But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."

For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

--Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet"--

Great Britain not so great?

According to the research commissioned by ADT, 83 per cent of Britons feel this country has a growing problem with anti-social behaviour. This view is reflected in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. When asked about the problem in Europe, 76 per cent of the 7,000 people taking part in this survey across the region thought Britain had a problem with anti-social behaviour – more than any other country.

The study, devised with help from the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science at University College London, reveals the way Britons perceive problems facing this country:

1. Booze culture is fuelling anti-social behaviour in Great Britain, with 68 per cent of people questioned feeling alcohol was a key contributor to the problem
2. A breakdown of discipline in homes and schools is also seen by 79 per cent to be a major influencing factor in anti-social behaviour
3. Nearly half of those questioned (49 per cent) thought stricter sentencing would help reduce the problem
4. Six out of ten people would be unlikely to challenge a group of 14 year old boys vandalising a bus shelter
5. Three quarters said young people aged 14 to 25 were most associated with anti-social behaviour

If we only look at our daily Dutch anti-social behaviour and just imagine that things are even worse on the other side of the pool.... I vote better education throughout Europe - and stricter sentencing-

An totally irrelevant blogpost

I promised myself that I would do some serious studying today but it's not working out like I planned (huge understatement). My mess is a real desk and I get distracted by almost everything. I hop from piano to drums and guitar trying out new combinations. - I now am able to combine bass drum and hi-hat with my feet while playing guitar- . Which is absloutely ridiculous and irrelevant because I still have to fill out tax forms, clean up and do some serious laundry.

This means getting up real early the rest of the week to compensate. It must be my greatest attention span crisis in years. And now the sun started shining too.. Darn!

- insert deep sigh here -

The great decider, click pic for short animation

A busy week it was..

First off to Germany, then Paris and luckily Spain was cancelled. As per many requests I took some pictures. Hope you enjoy. Here's some pictures from tuesday morning (6.00u) somewhere in the German river Main valley shot from my hotelroom balcony:

We had organized a social event for our European colleagues who flew in for the testing of our European Datawarehouse: we had to play the sax together. This was great fun and I fell in love immediately with the instrument.

Fridaynight I was invited at the Scheveningen Kurhause for diner. I stayed over and relaxed at the Scheveningen boulevard the other day. Blue skies, beach and sun. It should allways be like that..

Last picture taken for Gary..

This afternoon I am invited for the Dutch Cup-final AJAX - PSV . Should be fun too since hooligans have been warming up the entire week. CU later!

Queens day

This weekend the Netherlands celebrated the birthday of our previous queen. It's a national holiday and many people visit Amsterdam because of the events that are organized. On Queens Day you are allowed to sell personal stuff so the centre of Amsterdam turns into a gigantic market place. Last week my son asked me to buy him a new computer game. I told him that he could earn it himself by selling some of his old toys on the market. This weekend he earned his new game himself (6 y.o.) with a little help of his girlfriend (and us of course). First lessons in economics..

I had to park my ride on the safety island, as many people parked it on the pavement. Normally you get towed away but on Queens day they are more tolerant.

Kids were elated the entire day, we ended up exhausted but fulfilled. Took the day off tomorrow to do some studying. Have to finish my dissertation somewhere in June and have to clear some backlog. It has been a crazy week abroad and attending round tables, unable to blog. Next week will be about the same. Frankfurt, Paris and Barcelona. See you later, take care..

Whining and dining

Today I am invited at The Vanenburg Kastle together with some MP's, managers and scientists. We are discussing the Dutch economy getting up to speed within an hyper competitive and mature market. Main question is: how do you realize profiable growth through excelence in compliance? Many companies find themselves hindered by the overload of compliancy regulations nowadays.

I will defend the thesis that they should stop whining about it and start spending energy on identifying possible advantages. Compliance (Sarbanes Oxley 302 & 404 for example) is all about having better and more effective (internal) processes. Normally I stirr off the group until diner time and then when several glasses of wine are consumed and the day is wrapped up they usually love me or hate me from the bottom of their hart. Both are fine, as long as they have an opinion.

Habemus Condomium

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini has publicly backed the use of condoms among married couples to prevent AIDS transmission. This weekend, the BBC reported that Cardinal Martini, one of the Church's most distinguished cardinals, said that in couples where one had HIV/AIDS, which could pass to the partner, the use of condoms was "a lesser evil". I Say: HUH..TOO LITTLE TOO LATE!!

The middle aged Christian Politburo, which runs many hospitals and institutions to help AIDS victims, opposes the use of condoms and teaches that fidelity within heterosexual marriage, chastity and abstinence are the best way to stop the spread of AIDS. Pope was unavailable for comment but adviced to put ice cubes in them to keep the swelling down.

Times and blogs they are changin'

Dear friends,

Hope you like the new layout but I have seemed to have lost my side bar content. It has sunk to the bottom on my laptop. Can anyone give me advise on how to fix it? I believe Granny Ann had the same problem once but I can't recall her post.

Thx in advance,
DA

Aisha, take off that Burqa!

My multicultural country is having a serious identity crisis. These days, the country's immigrant melting pot is feeling more like a powderkeg. The latest spark in our mini culture war came this week from the social affairs alderman (who is Morrocan himself)for the city of Amsterdam, who says women who wear burqas are having trouble finding jobs. His solution? Take it off or lose your benefits.

Ahmed Aboutaleb has proposed introducing legislation that would allow the city to cut welfare payments to women who insist on wearing a burqa if it can prove the full-body covering is the reason she can't find a job.

Sometimes my country makes me sick.

Kosovar schoolgirl Taida Pasic lost her court appeal yesterda against the decision to expel her from the Netherlands.

Pasic has been involved in a high-profile battle with Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk since the start of the year. The judge in Amsterdam found that the Minister acted correctly when she refused to grant Pasic, 18, a residence permit to allow her to finish her VWO secondary education in the Netherlands

Pasic's family fled from Kosovo to the Netherlands when she was 12. The IND decided the family could not stay and they were given money to leave voluntarily. Taida said she returned to complete her schooling in the hope of going on to study law at university.

Immigration officials came to the school in Winterswijk at the beginning of the year and put her in handcuffs in front of her classmates. She was initially placed in a deportation centre but has been staying for some time with the family of a school friend.

This girl -to my opinion- is an exemplary student for our Dutch youth. She shows courage, perseverance, was rewarded good grades and desired to go to university. And what does my freaking country do? We just kick her out of the Netherlands because that's our law. Sometimes my country makes me sick.

Newkula

Last night we were listening to Dubbya speaking on BBC about the nuclear threat of Iran. He couldn't pronounce the word NUCLEAR. "Newkula" or "Newclear". We were laughing our asses off every time he used the word. Can someone please let him know that he is making a gigantic fool off himself over here in Europe. Even we can say nuclear in English. "Newkula" huh..

New Dutch car design for near future

At least 55 percent of Dutch people believe they are too fat. While 53 percent have tried on one or more occasions to tackle the problem, few have achieved satisfactory results, according to research by market research firm Motivaction on behalf of television programme 'Netwerk'. Experts estimate about 50 percent of the population is overweight. Government campaigns on obesity have had little impact, Motivaction said.