Bos and Verdonk, they are completely nuts.
I should include Marijnissen
Oeps, Shell
Russian watchdog may claim $30 bln Sakhalin damage
Can you believe this? It’s all about who is in control.
The end of the analog transmission
The Netherlands will stop using analog TV signals by the end of this year. If you don’t have cable (which 80% of the Netherlands has) you will have to switch to satellite (DVB-S) or terrestrial digital (DVB-T).
Apple Podcast menu on iPod
Next thing will be a patent on the word podcast.
Election 2006: Biggest party per council
How to shoot in your own foot.
Yesterday our newly elected representatives in parliament tried to force the Minister for Integration and Immigration to change here policy. Objective is a general pardon for all immigrants who are still trying to get a permit to stay in the Netherlands since 2001.
In 2001 the rules for getting a permit became more strict. As a result some 29.000 people got into limbo because they could not show any papers or other means to be eligible for a permit. Many of these people have been granted a permit after review by the minister and many have gone back.
As we do not have a government at the moment, the minister is not allowed to make any big decision. She is only allowed to keep house and act according to the policy she followed before the elections. Part of that policy was the strict rules and no pardon.
The new parliament did not ask the minister to change her policy (she would not be allowed to according to the rules) but asked her to hold all decisions regarding the granting or denial of a permit because they expect the next government to implement a general pardon.The minister did not agree and said that would be a change of policy.
As the majority of parliament agreed with the proposal, the government (keeping shop) will have to indicate what they are going to do. If this say no to the proposal, the minister could be send away. That would not help very much because she is only keeping shop and it is very doubtful whether a replacement would agree. A compromise is also very unlikely as both parties who make up the government (CDA & VVD) are both against a pardon. The first of the two is in negotiations for a new government with the parties who want the general pardon. If they would compromise the VVD would probably step out of the government and nothing would happen. It would only frustrate the negotiations for a new government. So, every body looses.
Very clever Mr. Bos! Not only do you shoot yourself in the foot but also in the foot of Mr. Marijnissen.
Election 2006 the Netherlands
Largest party per municipality:
Green: CDA
Red: PvdA
Yellow: SP
Blue: VVD
Incredible.
Winter is coming
You get what ask for!
On November the 22th, the Netherlands held their elections for a new parlement and government.
The result: no result.
No result because both left wing parties as the right wing parties resuffled their seats but are still in balance. So no majority. So this probalbly will mean that we won’t have a new government for a couple of months. It normally takes a couple months so that is nothing new.
The pressure is on Microsoft again
Kroes sets deadline for Microsoft to hand over software secrets
This is the headline on a Guardian article in todays paper [link].
The last time the European Union forced Microsoft to produce that lame version of Windows XP without Mediaplayer. This time they are forcing Microsoft to reveal all its inside secrets of Windows. Not only Windows XP but also Windows server.
I don’t know what I would do if I were mr. Balmer. Give in or say ‘screw you’. The fact is if Microsoft were to say “OK, no more Windows for Europe”. I think the political life of Mrs Kroes would be very short.
Autumn in the Netherlands
Voting in the Netherlands
On the 22nd of November we get to vote for a new Parliament. Since years I have been voting on one of these voting machines. Nothing wrong with them. If your eyesight is poor, yes them they can provide to be a problem. But you would have had the same problem with the old paper and pencil.
This I will have to vote with pencil and paper again. Why? Well, there has always been a group of people in the Netherlands who, probably, refuse to use email, refuse to use internet banking and still send in their paper slips to make a transfer and who still go to the travel agent to book a flight to London.
They have showed that if you use specialized radio equipment you can receive signals from the voting machine which means that somebody decipher from that data who you voted for. They say you can receive the signals from some 10 meters distance. it is not mentioned if this is through walls or in an open air situation. So, lets go the assumption that in an ideal situation somebody could see who I voted for. Is that something I like, No. But I could think of countermeasures like shielding or setting up an transmitter to drown out the signal of the voting machine.
By the way, their is no mention of being able to tamper the results on the voting machines. That would be a real argument, not that somebody could receive some data transmission.
No, just 6 weeks before the elections we decide to throw out the machines and go back paper and pencil. Let’s if they can print the forms in time and get the right procedures in place and all the people together to do the counting.