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1973
January 9. I remember 1973 and the oil crisis and the ‘Carless Sundays’. We were scared and angry. There were intensive discussions on nuclear energy, on the Fusion technique that would be less dangerous than the currently applied techniques. There was awareness and willingness to solve the energy problem once and for all and we were prepared to pay a price for it. But since then political short term opportunism has turned on the lights, on every Motorway in the country, and all awareness and willingness has faded away. Our selective memory has forgotten 1973. I remember 1986 and Tsjernobyl and the nuclear disaster when the apocalypse appeared on our doorstep.
MELSEKE
Berlin 2011 photo kempis.nl
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Melseke
Politics: Observations on Culture
There use to be a saying that governing is looking forward into the future, being ahead of things, have a long-term vision. Maybe this has always been an illusion but the last 20 years of governing has certainly been operational, short term management, tending the shop; free of any vision further than the next 4 years. There is no political vision on the role of culture in our society and the arts are put into the entertainment container where only the number of visitors rule and life is reduced to economy and superficial pleasure. But nothing much can be expected from our current government. You could never accuse the VVD of any content and the PVV, which originates from the VVD where Wilders was a back-bencher, is a right extremist party with a faction of letterbox-pissers and police escape artists. Its probably part of their sub-culture.
I recently had a meeting with a banc-employee who remarked that he didn’t understand the cuts on art. He said ‘art, music is our inheritance, what else is there to pass on to the next generations’. Slightly flabbergasted i suggested ‘a decent planet’ but realized that the only inheritance of this government will probably be a next Nuclear Power Station and a South Betuwe Line.
January 2011
kempis.nl poetry magazine
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Dutch Politics (2)
Column by Melseke
We have a new measurement system in Holland. Despite all efforts to standardise the systems in Europe and the willingness of the UK and other countries to give up their yards and inches and conform to the metric system, Holland has created a new one. The system was first used in 2007 to measure the Koran and will probably, with the support of the current government, further infiltrate into our society and, on a somewhat longer term, make the metric system redundant in Holland. A problem with the introduction of this new system on a broader scale is however that nobody except Wilders knows exactly how the Wilders Donald Duck relates to the metric system and that may cause a serious delay. So I asked Emile (SP) to do me a favour and borough Geert’s Donald Duck for me. Emile is friends with Geert (PVV), and with Mark(VVD) and Verhagen(CDA). With Farshad, Willibrord, Harm, Malik, Stef, Bas Jan, Harrie, Louis, Martin, Hanke and Betty. With Brigitte, Job, Tjeerd, Ineke, Tony, Jasper, Henk, Sharon, Dion, Maarten, Pierre, Lilian, Atje, Renske, Bart, Eric and Ahmed. And with Esther, Alexander, Hans, Kees, Miriam, Joost and Janneke. You’re right, i forgot to mention Wim, Arie and Petro, but it’s only a selection, it’s certainly not comprehensive. I asked Emile because we are friends, but that may not come as a surprise to you. So I got the Donald Duck and made the translation from the metric system, it’s 0.4513 cm. Implementation on a large scale will be a hell of a job and certainly take at least a decade and that’s something to consider before a final decision is made. After having established the formula i threw the Donald Duck into the bin. I think it’s good for Wilders, a couple of days without a Donald Duck will make him realise how it feels to be disconnected from your culture.
Political Observations: Dutch Politics (2) by Melseke
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Dutch Politics (1)
by Melseke
The current Dutch government is a collaboration between the VVD(Rutte), CDA(Verhagen) and the extreme PVV(Wilders). The denial of an immigration slash integration problem by the established parties and the absence of a long-term vision has led to the rise of the PVV.
Below quotes from the PVV party program, for which the term ‘Christian-Jewish tradition’ is abused as a philosophical bases. I will provide a translation shortly.
“Onze trots waar Nederlanders met overtuiging decennialang een gedeelte van hun salaris aan hebben overgemaakt, de verzorgingsstaat, is verworden tot een magneet voor gelukszoekers uit islamitische landen. Niet meer een schild voor de zwakken, maar een afhaalloket voor onevenredig veel lanterfantende moslimimmigranten. Henk en Ingrid betalen voor Ali en Fatima
Etnische registratie van iedereen. Inclusief vermelding ‘Antilliaan’
Kiezen voor islambestrijding
Dankzij die club in Brussel wordt Europa in rap tempo Eurabië. Alle beslissingen van Brussel op het gebied van de massa-immigratie, moet Nederland onmiddellijk naast zich neer leggen.
Alle islamitische scholen dicht
EU: Turkije er in, Nederland er uit
Verbied de boerka en de koran, belast hoofddoekjes
En vooral: volledige immigratiestop voor mensen uit islamitische landen
Een andere aantasting van onze democratie heet Europese Unie. Die gaat steeds meer lijken op de oude Sovjet-Unie. De EUssr.”
Melseke : Dutch politics (1)
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