Wens' blog » News

Going Dutch

Wenslauw — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:14:23 +0000

Today I read an interesting article by Russell Shorto in the NRC Handelsblad. It’s an adaptation of an article he wrote for the New York Times. You can read the latter one here. In it Shorto discusses several aspects of American and Dutch society, mainly the attitudes towards welfare and taxation and the balance between government intrusion/intervention and freedom. I like articles like this. They offer me more information on issues that I am pondering already. For example it made in part clear why American society is the way it is and why Americans have such a different attitude towards inequality compared to us.

Belle van Zuylen or the Dutch mountains

Wenslauw — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:17:25 +0000

Architects have designed a very interesting high rise that they would like to build close to my home. Here’s a link to the site with information about this high rise. I’m all for building it. Too often the Dutch are pretending they still live in a nation with farms and green fields. They try to deny the fact that the Netherlands is very small and there are a lot of people. We need to go up into the air. This tower will be a good start.

Nigerian Internet scam

Wenslauw — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:23:23 +0000

An item I just saw on tv. The infamous Nigerian Internet scams make up for a third of Nigeria’s economy. A lot of victims were shown and for some the term Nigerian Internet scam didn’t even ring a bell… They’re all pretty embarrassed of course…

A few hours left

Wenslauw — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:06:16 +0000

The last hours of the Bush presidency. According to most people one of the worst presidencies ever. As soon as Bush came into office he and his henchmen (or keepers?) changed policies regarding the environment, trying to recreate the US in the image of the Texas he left behind. During his reign there Texas turned into one of the most polluted states in the United States. A third of the rivers in Texas is so dirty they’re not fit for recreation and Houston’s smog is now worse than that of Los Angeles. Bush should also be remembered as the one who brought torture back to the western so called civilised world. It’ll take a decade before the damage he and his cronies have caused is undone.

The IHT has more important news though

Wenslauw — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:47:40 +0000

The International Herald Tribune has more important new on the issue of the elections. It says both candidates´ plans would worsen the deficit.

Obama and McCain´s tax plan

Wenslauw — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:10:42 +0000

Vanity Fair has an interesting article on how the tax plans of Obama and McCain work out for Americans. Read it here. Seems Joe the plumber is better off with Obama than McCain. To be more specific, a plumber who actually pays taxes is better off with Obama…

Credit crisis

Wenslauw — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:27:55 +0000

The stock exchanges have taken a nose dive yet again. How much longer can this go on? The problems on the stock exchanges are starting to effect the real economy. Saturday I went to a shoe store and asked a guy working there if he’s seeing a slowdown in sales. He said nothing changed. Myself I’ve only noticed that there quite a few empty offices around my office here at the airport. This has been an issue for a few years now though, but the situation does seem to have worsened.

At least there is more space to park now…