Magere Hein

I apologise for resurrecting this post, but it was the most recent one I found that mentions that crime. It seems the perpetrator regrets it. It's not too late for public flogging. regards, Hein

Simon. Of the current candidates he looks the worse. Not that that makes much of a difference, after all so does Zsa Zsa. regards, Hein

Swiss photographer René Burri died today, aged 81. Of the many pictures he made, perhaps the most widely known one is: regards, Hein

The DNA evidence against Kosminski may not be as strong as first presented. regards, Hein

Aha, the outside enemy diversionary tactic. It sometimes works, but students of political history know that it often bites back. regards, Hein

I bet you aren't. [comment snipped for brevity] I agree by and large with your comments. I think mr Rutte's approach, practical rather than confrontational, is the rational one. I also know that what he most wants now, the facts, is difficult to get while there's a war on. There's a much larger goal, which is to bring the people responsible for the crash to justice. For that to happen we must first learn who that are. I'm certain that "taking every opportunity to get attention for this" is a necessary condition for the investigation, I'm not convinced it's sufficient. In this kind of game it's the result that counts. It'll take time for results, if any, to become apparent. Just for the record: I didn't vote for mr Rutte. He's the only PM in town, so I'll have to make do. regards, Hein

Now that's a coincidence... Earlier this evening Dutch PM Rutte had a conversation about the MH17 crash with President Putin at the ASEM summit in Milan. According to Dutch media Rutte wrote a statement on his facebook () page, which translates to: I'm not impressed. regards, Hein

Hmm. I think that those Curse of foo rumours are a bit of a fraud. After all, if you wait long enough all people (or tortoises, for that matter) on any list will die. Now if those people would die within a year or so after publication and all in the same way, you'd be on to something, but this all sounds rather thin. regards, Hein

At least, Chemberlain was in a position to go to war against Germany if he wanted to, although he knew well that it wouldn't be easy or advantageous to Britain, so he had good reasons to try to avoid the inevitable. As I understand it, Chamberlain did what he could, or more precisely: he didn't do what he couldn't. The shameful part of the Munich agreement was that he entered into a treatise that sanctioned the German occupation of territory belonging to a third nation. That the agreement would prove to be worth less than the paper it was written on he might have guessed, but couldn't know. That's my understanding of it. The Dutch government (and parliament) are currently awaiting the results of investigation of the exact cause of the MH17 crash. It's difficult to predict what the government will do should it become apparent that Russia did indeed play a part in it. Obviously the government doesn't look kindly on killing 196 Dutch citizens, but I expect they'll try to find redress through legal means. The Netherlands do have considerable trade with Russia. Considering the relative sizes of their economies, sanctions will probably hurt the Dutch more than the Russians. regards, Hein

I don't think mr Abbott's choice of words is wise, but I do appreciate his intentions. Bancroft-Hinchley's comment is, of course, nonsense. If anybody in this conflict resembles Hitler in his approach to international relations it's Putin rather than Abbott. If Chamberlain had been more confrontational in 1938, mid 20th century history might have been quite different. regards, Hein

Ah, you'll love this. This topic started as a Doctor Who topic and there was an 'other UK scifi' one. They got merged. regards, Hein

Shouldn't he be wearing blue/white striped trousers? regards, Hein

My thought exactly. I can imagine the fury of those people, who aren't much interested in peace. Of course miss Yousafzai lives in England now, so her antagonists will have to spend quite some cash on air fare to get a chance to, ehrm, repair their earlier failure. regards, Hein

Many years ago I read a piece by Ivo de Wijs, a Dutch comedian turned author and radio presenter, in which he confessed his love for zondagsdichters, amateurs who write voluminous and unskilled poetry. What caught my attention was De Wijs' analysis of the way such amateurs work: they translate their, undoubtedly deep, emotions in clichés, which their audience is supposed to translate back into emotions. Apparently it works. It seems to me those infernal hacks use the same method. The difference with zondagsdichters is that the latter don't get paid. regards, Hein

I have no quarrel with the late mr Duff and his fundraising. I don't criticise that he used his unfortunate circumstances to beg money from the public. It was the only way he could get cash, so well done. I hope some good comes from spending it. Of course he was a valid deadpool candidate. He sought publicity for his cause. It's the tripe papers (and t'internet) write that pisses me off. Do those hacks use fill-in-the-blanks obits for these people? I read nothing but plattitudes and clichés. I'd call that cynic. regards, Hein

I read it again in that article: It sounds like an incantation. What's so inspirational about a disabled man doing fundraising for charity? And more specifically: inspiring to do what? Fork out dosh? regards, Hein

Igor? regards, Hein

You don't have anything to worry about Holland came second last year by entering an original and not half bad song. (Interesting strategy) Some clever dick worked it all out a few years ago. It's one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas: enter experienced musicians and have them perform work or their own, without consulting the public in the choice. That last bit received some flak, which was silenced by the results. regards, Hein

Perhaps we should look at Gilbert & Sullivan for some inspiration. I have a little list regards, Hein

Which makes me wonder, capitalism being what it is, will closures and mergers continue untill only one airport remains? regards, Hein

Voilà. regards, Hein

No fucking way! That's what my (admittedly weak) understanding of Italian makes of it. And it's the web site of La Repubblica, a respectable paper. If it's true, the news'll hit English language sources soon. regards, Hein

Collin's was always a better drummer than he is a singer. That's true for most drummers. regards, Hein

Hmm, this gives headbanging a new meaning. regards, Hein

Of course he should have died in jail, but I'm glad to learn the arsehole is dead. regards, Hein