A few days ago I had a nice discussion in a commenting thread on Wired, in response to an article about how uncertain the future of space flight is, now that the Space Shuttles are being mothballed. When I was little, in the early eighties of the last century, I remember being told that the [...]
Here’s a thought: As I understand it, lots of Greeks, who have been reaping EU benefits for years without paying any taxes whatsoever, seem to be under the impression that they are not to blame for their country’s current problems, and are now protesting that they are being sent the bill. This reminds me of [...]
On Christmas Day, a young misguided Nigerian named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to cause an explosion on flight NW253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. He brought with him 80 grams of pentaerythritol tetranitrate, a useful amount for his purposes, but insufficient knowledge on how to use it. There was only one way he could have caused [...]
Someone once told me that Israel is more civilised (he actually said “a way better country”, but I suppose that’s what he meant) than its neighbouring Arab states, simply because Israel is a democracy, and its neighbours are not. Setting aside the question whether an apartheid state can in fact be called a democracy, I [...]
According to Dutch prime minister Balkenende, the current global financial crisis is due to the failing of man, not the market (links to Dutch site). What the hell does that mean? What is market mechanism other than the way people let channel their greed into something that could be used by others? Balkenende, a conservative [...]
This is absolutely brilliant. Mr. Tjeenk Willink, chairman of the Dutch government’s primary advisary board, the Raad van State, says that politicians have been focusing too much on market mechanisms in the past. Really? Did we really need a financial crisis to realise that? I remember thinking that when they sold off our postal services [...]
Yesterday, many Dutch news sources reported that a group of fifty physicians recommended further study into the harmful effects of radiation from cell phones and other wireless devices and a moderation in the usage of such devices. They observe a raise in unexplainable complaints and a raise in the use of such wireless devices, and somehow [...]
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Liar by Stephen Fry