Friday, November 29, 2002
Arafat's deputy Mahmoud Abbas says intefadeh is a mistake
Mahmoud Abbas has said in a PLO meeting some weeks ago that the intefadeh was a mistake and that the costs are to high. At a closed-door meeting of party leaders last month he brought forward the harshest criticism a senior Palestinian figure has leveled at militants since violence erupted in September 2000.
The Washington Post writes:
The fighting has put off any prospect of Palestinian independence in the near future, has left the economy in shambles and led to the reoccupation of most West Bank towns by Israeli troops, in retaliation for Palestinian attacks. Almost 2,000 Palestinians and more than 650 Israelis have been killed.
"What happened in these two years, as we see it now, is a complete destruction of everything we built," Abbas said.
A costly mistake.
Interesting about this self reflection of Mahmoud Abbas is the reaction of the critics of the Israeli policy. Many Europeans expressed their criticism towards Israeli prime minister Sharon for reacting with so much violence.
But now we can be certain that it were the Palestinians who deliberately picked up arms to fight and not to built a viable Palestinian state. It even might be true that Arafat is behind this strategy. And then again, it is Sharon who was right saying time and again that the plans came from the Arafat office.
So what about the moral appeal of Europeans to the Israeli's the past two years? They misguided themselves by blaming the people on top. The cause of the violence was not Israeli unwillingness to negotiate and establish a Palestinian state.
It were the Palestinians who chose war.
+ Arafat Aide Cites Uprising's Failure The Washington Post
+ Profile: Mahmoud Abbas
+ Dr. Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee
Oorlogsdebat komt op gang
D66 leider Thom de Graaf heeft onlangs stelling genomen in het debat over een oorlog tegen Irak.
Naar zijn mening "heeft de veiligheidsraad het laatste woord", als Irak niet aan resolutie 1441 voldoet, dan komt pas de vraag aan de orde of militaire actie gerechtvaardigd is. Er moeten dan volgens Thom wel enkele vragen beantwoord worden. Allereerst de vraag hoe groot de bedreiging is van Saddam Hussein. Maar ook geopolitieke overwegingen zijn van belang: wat betekent een aanval voor de regio en in het bijzonder voor het conflict in het Midden-Oosten? Hoe ziet de toekomst van Irak eruit? Wat betekent een aanval op Irak voor de strijd tegen het internationale terrorisme? Het gaat dan niet zozeer om de legitimiteit van een optreden, maar om de wenselijkheid en de aard daarvan.
Om deze reden vindt hij dat de vraag van de Amerikanen of Nederland eventueel mee zal doen "prematuur" is.
Dit vind ik zeer vreemd. Het is heel wel mogelijk nu al de genoemde vragen te beantwoorden. Het is heel wel mogelijk te beoordelen of Saddam Hoessein een gevaar is voor de regio en of we beter af zouden zijn zonder hem.
Laatste woord aan Veiligheidsraad
Het debat in de D66 Forum over deze vraag heeft inmiddels een vervolg.
D66 Forum
Thursday, November 28, 2002
Prachtige Cleveringa- lezing van Job Cohen
Prof. Cleveringa hield op 26 november 1940 in het Groot Auditorium van de Leidse Universiteit een beroemde toespraak. Hij protesteerde tegen het verwijderen van de Joodse Prof. Meijers van de Universiteit door de Duitse bezetter.
Ter herdenking van deze moedige daad wordt er ieder jaar een gastspreker uitgenodigd om op 26 november de Cleveringa lezing uit te spreken.
Dit jaar schetst Job Cohen, burgemeester van Amsterdam, haarfijn de condition humaine van de Nederlandse samenleving na de schokken van het afgelopen jaar.
Vreemden
Uitgesproken door Job Cohen, burgemeester van Amsterdam, op dinsdag 26 november 2002 in het Groot Auditorium van de Universiteit van Leiden.
Monday, November 25, 2002
Politieke Peilingen
Prachtige animatie van het NRC- Handelsblad. Zij brengen de politieke peilingen van voor 15 mei en van erna prachtig in beeld. Hoop dat ze deze pagina tot de verkiezingen in stand houden.
Wat vooral opvalt is het grote gat dat de PvdA achterlaat en het bijna verdwijnen van D66 en de gestage groei van de SP. Waar moet dat heen?
The Reference guide to the polls.
De peilingen op een rij
Zal de ware wereldvrede ooit komen?
In een zojuist gestarte web discussie op de D66 site, poneert Wouter ter Heide, publicist te Zwolle de stelling dat de ware wereldvrede eraan komt en dat het verdwijnen van Bush daarvoor één van de belangrijkste voorwaarden is.
Het stuk getuigd van een grenzeloze naïviteit. Ik hoop niet dat de politieke leiding van D66 er ook zo tegenaan kijkt.
+ Niet alleen Saddam maar ook Bush dient het veld te ruimen
+ Mijn reactie op Wouter
Sunday, November 24, 2002
Bush Critics turn after UN resolution
The unanimous UN resolution to disarm Iraq turn a lot of Bush critics around. Jonathan Power even says that maybe "We are all Americans now".
So now perhaps we have to do our part and support Washington. Of course we can still see the weaknesses. We can see that the whole Iraq confrontation might be an unnecessary distraction from hunting down Al Qaeda. This requires, as it did with the pursuit of Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi exterminator-in-chief of the Jews, long term police work not massive bombing. The Clinton administration was offered Osama bin Laden by The Sudan and turned the suggestion down. The Bush administration could have run him down in Afghanistan if it had been clever instead of bombing the place to smithereens. And now, obsessed with Iraq, they have taken the eye of the ball, convinced themselves he was probably dead, only to find he is still there and the hydra has grown heads all over the world. You can only do one job of these proportions at a time and Iraq is a distraction, all the more so since very few believe Saddam has a nuclear weapon or could build one any time soon, and anyway if he did whom would he use these terrible weapons of mass destruction against- unless he was attacked?
But this is only half the point. The other half is that Security Council members solemnly and rationally considered the American argument and judged it as worthy of not their "no" or even abstention but a "yes".
The U.S. has at last realized it may be the world's only superpower but that it can only wield that strength if the world at large supports it. And countries such as Russia, China and France have likewise realized that the only way they can any longer bring influence to bear in Washington is to make it feasible for the U.S. to work through the UN. This is momentous progress, the most significant development since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Perhaps, after all, we will soon be saying, "We are all Americans now".
Perhaps "we are all Americans now". by Jonathan Power.
Saturday, November 23, 2002
The EU has the future
Second time I read this weekend that Americans of reputation see a bright future for the EU.
William Pfaff in IHT
+ NATO is past, EU is future
And Charles A. Kupchan in Nrc Handelsblad on Friday. His new book:
+
The End of the American Era: U.S....
He states also that the future is to the European approach. What a words come from across the ocean!
A political portrait from within
Bob Woodward, the journalist who brought Nixon down after Watergate, now portraits Bush as a good Emperor, being on top of his game.
+ A resolute president when the heat is on David Ignatius in the IHT
+ Bob Woodward (Author)
"Bush at War" the Book at Amazon
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Dutch under- secretary on the Convention plans
In Belgium, the formation of a new Europe is a Chef- sache. In Holland it is the Undersecretary of FA who advocates the Dutch view on the Convention. It shows painfully the importance the Dutch political class attaches to the European Union.
There were times in which the Dutch played an important role in forming the Union. At the moment a lack of knowledge and political will pushes the Dutch back into the back row.
While all important European politicians ventilated their views on Europe in the past few years, there is no Dutch politician with an extensive view on the future goals and developments of the Union. They showed their absolute insignificance in this important field of power politics.
The latest example is the speech of the Undersecretary of FA Nicolai on the Convention.
Europe in a Nutshell. More Democracy and Decisiveness in the European Union
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Belgium Prime- minister: Convention should return to Montesquieu
The Belgium prime minister Guy Verhofstadt delivered the 18th of November a speech in Bruges on the upcoming European Constitution. He does what Dutch politicians refuse to do, he thinks and speaks about the European constitution in a mature manner. He reacts sensibly to the proposals put forward by the convention presidents Valery Giscard d 'Estaing. He does not have shyness on the subject of building a constitution, because he knows all about as prime minister of one of the most constitutionally complicated countries in Europe.
In the beginning of December he will be speaking for the Benelux countries and put forward new proposals in reaction to the convention plans.
The Dutch government should give Guy Verhofstadt its full support for advancing his ideas on a European constitution. The Dutch government hasn't shown any interest in playing a part in shaping the European Union. It has discredited itself and should step down and leave matters to Verhofstadt instead. He has got the knowledge and balls Dutch politicians lack.
+ Toespraak van Eerste Minister Guy Verhofstadt voor het Europacollege: " Montesquieu en de Europese Unie
+ Speech by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt at the College of Europe: "Montesquieu and the European Union"
+ Discours du Premier ministre de la Belgique Guy Verhofstadt devant le Collège de l'Europe: "Montesquieu et l'Union européenne"
+ Belgium gathers the communitarian troops
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Anti- semitism in Europe?: an interview with Jan T. Gross
The current issue of the Central Europe Review publishes an interview with Jan T. Gross, writer of "Neighbors", about anti- semitism in modern Poland.
Anti-Semitism: Why Now?
In free, modern Europe, some old ghosts still rattle their chains.
The Future Nato
What role will Nato play on the world stage? Will the Americans have enough confidence in European states who do not invest in security and their defence?
What about a Dutch government cutting down on defence in this time of conflict? What is the logic?
Is it because very few people realize the country is at war?
+ Nederland bevindt zich sinds maart in staat van oorlog Clingendael
+ Analysis: Nato seeks new roles BBC Online
+ Nato Summit The Prague Post
Monday, November 11, 2002
Unlikely martyr who battled the mullahs forced to flee for her life
And the Guardian does likewise
The 'Dutch Salman Rushdie', a Muslim woman who dared to criticize Islam, has ignited a firestorm
Guardian
Hirsi Ali favours the Dutch Conservative Party above Labour
She is controversial among Muslims, some radical elements even want her dead, and now she changes political parties, to join the Conservative VVD as candidate for the next election on January 22, 2003.
The New York Times runs a nice article on her.
Behind the Veil: A Muslim Woman Speaks Out
By MARLISE SIMONS
Monday, November 04, 2002
Online Journalism Rewards 2002 dominated by big news sites
This years third online journalism award was dominated by the big newssites. CNET News and the Washington Post were the main winners as best news sites.
It is important to have some quality benchmarking in this new field of the news industry. Journalists and educators are setting standards again.
"The winners and finalists this year represent the very best of online journalism" said Sreenath Sreenivasan, administrator of the awards and a professor of new media at the school. "These awards set high standards to which all who work in new media can aspire."
The Amsterdam Post Choice among the Winners
+ Seeing the Horror I
+ Seeing the Horror II by Digital Journalist
+ Frontline World Stories from a small planet by PBS
+ Mark Fiore Cartoonist
+ War against Terror CNN
+ Gotham Gazette's Rebuilding NYC
+ Cracking the nest egg A Cnet story on hacking into online banking
+ OpinionJournal Best of the Web Today
+ Online Journalism Awards Page All award winning sites
Nieuw, nieuwer, nieuwste spelling komt eraan
De Vlaamse minister van Grembergen wil met zijn nederlandse collega in de Taalunie in een nieuwste spellingsronde gaan bespreken hoe de fouten uit de nieuwe spelling te halen.
Is dit een goed gecoördineerde actie van lexicografen en uitgevers? Zijn er nog anderen die hier halsreikend naar uitkijken? En waarom is er nog niet opgeworpen om in zijn geheel en in een keer de engelse spelling over te nemen?
+ Van Grembergen wil nieuwe spelling toch herzien De Standaard
+ Een beetje schaven of toch nieuwe regels? Onze Taal
+ Van de Eindredacteur Amsterdam Post verhaal over vorige spellingswijziging
Making the word "constitution" acceptable
William Pfaff on the convention citing Ana Palacio: She says Giscard "has made 'constitution' an acceptable word." A year ago that was a forbidden word, she adds, "associated with an extremist, federalist view."
A constitution for Europe
Friday, November 01, 2002
Prachtige reeks Indië films in Filmmuseum
Het Filmmuseum in Amsterdam vertoont in samenwerking met het Koninklijk Instituut voor de tropen een prachtige reeks documantaires met als onderwerp "Ons Indië" van 1912 tot 1942.
Filmmuseum
Op dit werk is een Creative Commons Licentie van toepassing.