Kinderdijk

The windmills of Kinderdijk...

Loesje...

of deze...

Cheese, Kaas, Käse, Fromage, Queso, Formaggio, Ost, ...

This weekend our friend Saint Marco came over from the far south of the Netherlands. His car made it and we had a great weekend with the 4 S and W&3C:

• sun,
• shopping,
  
• sheep,
  
• supper
  

Wine & Cheese and a lot of chit chat. Finally some rest after a stressful week.

New Feature: Poll

I am experimenting with new features in the sidebar. So I thought it would be funny and interesting to introduce a poll and ask YOU what you think about this weblog. You would do me a big favore if you'd vote in the poll.

W A R N I N G . . .

Marup Kirke

Für Peter die Kirche aus dem Film Babette's Feast (Babettes gaestebud) (1987). Sie steht bei Lönstrup in Dänemark.
Für ein besseres Foto (nicht gescant) schau auch hier einmal nach.
Dort findest du auch den versandeten Leuchtturm...

Weather/Weer/Wetter

Data retention is no solution!

And therefor I support the campaign against data retention (bewaarplicht) strongly.

What are the plans? The European ministers of Justice and the European Commission want to keep all telephone and internet traffic data of all 450 million Europeans. If you are concerned about this plan, please sign the petition.

What's wrong with data retention? The proposal to retain traffic data will reveal who has been calling and e-mailing whom, what websites people have visited and even where they were with their mobile phones. Telephone companies and internet services providers would be ordered to store all traffic data of their customers. Police and intelligence agencies in Europe would be granted access the traffic data. Various, competing proposals in Brussels mention retention periods from 6 months up to four years.

Data retention is an invasive tool that interferes with the private lives of all 450 million people in the European Union. Data retention is a policy that expands powers of surveillance in an unprecedented manner. It simultaneously revokes many of the safeguards in European human rights instruments, such as the Data Protection Directives and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Data retention means that governments may interfere with your private life and private communications regardless if you are suspected of a crime or not.

Data retention is not a solution to terrorism and crime!

In July 2005 the European Parliament adopted a report by Parliament member Alexander Alvaro on the mandatory data retention plan. The report concludes that the proposal is disproportionate. The report also questions the necessity, effectiveness and high costs for industry and telecommunication users.

No research has been conducted anywhere in Europe that supports the need and necessity of creating such a large-scale database containing such sensitive data for the purpose of fighting crime and terrorism.

The attacks on London are an attack on human rights. The protection of those human rights matters most when governments and societies face times of crisis. The worst possible response would be to jeopardise those carefully wrought rights by a panic-inspired response. A mass surveillance response to terror would result in a resounding success for the perpetrators of these attacks: a fundamental undermining of our most fundamental values.

What can you do to stop this plan?

If you are concerned about the European plans for data retention, please sign the petition and alert as many people as you can to support this campaign.
The signatures will be sent to the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Complains

Ok, here we are with some complains... I got complains about the language of the blogs: not enough English, German or Dutch. Some of you expected that the little dots on top op the page could switch the language. Well folks I am really sorry. Translating all the stuff would mean a big effort to me and I just don’t have the time for it now. But I promise you that I’ll post more blogs in English.

The second complain was about the pictures... some of you mentioned that there were no women in them. Well I do have female friends, it just happens that I don’t have any digital pictures of them. I promise to better my live! Here is already a picture of me and two girls (who I don't know) on queensday.

CSD Cologne

FINALLY!!! After years of talk, Erik and I managed to visit the CSD in Cologne this year. I mean we know Amsterdam Pride for years and I expected something similar, but it was completely different. Much more political, more stages, more visitors, more food, more program, ... Only one thing I have to get used to: seeing a parade on the water (Amsterdam) is much more relaxing then a parade on the streets (Cologne). Too many people want to be in the first row, when they have the chance on the streets.

We spent the nights on the campground along the river Rhine and of course we met our friends Marcel end Noël from Sittard. (Cologne is closer to them then Amsterdam.)

John and Andy

In may of this year my friends John and Andy came from Memphis, TN for a vacation to Europe. John brought his mother and his sister both named Kathy to make things easy. They wanted to see The Netherlands, France and Germany; and I guess they saw quite a bit of those countries. But the best thing was, that they started in Amsterdam. We could have dinner together and we managed to go out together. I enjoyed the time!!! Thanks guys!