friedkitten.com - insanity included.

I'd like to start off by clearly stating that I think the right to strike is a necessity, and not a privilege. With that out of the way, let's take a look at today's national strike in Belgium which is organized to put pressure onto employers and politicians to make sure the wages an average Joe and Jane make keep up with the ever increasing cost of living.

I left home at 6h45 and was back home at 09h00. I was planned to have a training session today, which fell through due to strikers denying access to the plant where I work. A quick calculation tells me that 2h and 15 minutes of travel would cost about 31 euro based on the average hourly rate I get paid. Then there is the cost of the trip itself which is - based on official rates - good for another 12 euro. Total cost : 43 euro.

We're not even taking into calculation the resources and trainers allocated for the training that fell through, not forgetting it will need to be rescheduled. As far as I can see, my net purchasing power has taken a dip due to the strike, opposed to being safeguarded.

If you think I have missed something essential here, feel free to let me know :)

The number of posts on this blog have been dwindling lately and though it seems that I no longer touch some of the more serious topics here, this doesn't mean that I no longer care or don't have an opinion about them. Let's take for instance the debate and commotion about the financial crisis, not only in the USA, but also in Europe.

While it may seem that it all started with the sub-prime bubble bursting in the US, I'm convinced that if you believe that, you are missing the whole underlying issue. Most - I'm no financial expert - European banks have not issued sub-prime mortgages, yet they did invest in institutions that did. Take away a certain amount of support beams from a building and it loses integrity and collapses. If you build your house on quicksand, should you be surprised that even after years of relative stability, suddenly cracks appear and minutes later the whole place tears apart?

What we see right now is not the result of the sub-prime market collapsing, but rather symptoms of a fundamentally flawed way of doing business. It's always about "more for less", extending credits for which there is no security, consumerism and meeting expectations.

The past week(s), both in the USA as well as in the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg) politics and central banks alike have been fabricating over the top plans to "save failing banks". Last time I checked, banks were companies that worked to earn cash, they are commercial entities. If you are willing to take risks, you should not come knocking on the door when things go wrong, but refuse interaction or sharing when you rake in the big bucks. You can't have all the benefits, but none of the potential risks.

Now, let it be clear that while I would most definitely support seeing one of the current players in this crisis fail, it would also have a serious impact on people that "assumed" their money was safe. If I deposit money into a bank - yes, I do that too - I get a return on it. That return is the payment for letting the bank use my resources to generate more for themselves, however, that also means that I carry at least a part of the risk involved of doing business. If there is no risk, there is no reward.

I guess that what I'm trying to say here is that even John Doe should think twice before accepting an offer, before signing up for yet another credit, or at least try to know what exactly he is investing in. If we all took a bit more responsibility for our actions and choices, there would be less need to clean up the mess later.

According to a recent demographic study, Australia is suffering from a shortage of men, and especially the coastal area's (cities) are affected. I always have been interested to visit that faraway country, why not consider moving there? (Link)

Who am I kidding - as if it would change anything, lol.

Director Stephen Sommers demanded actress and overall hottie Sienna Miller to use bra padding while playing her role in the yet to be released GI Joe movie. According to Stephen the role required a woman with a full chest (read "big boobs") in order to be portrayed as "hot". Well, have I got news for you, Stephen Sommers : there is no direct correlation between breast size and hotness.

Luckily for you, there is also no direct correlation between brain size and taste (or the lack there of). Anyway, I'd like everyone to let Sienna know that she is totally hot and that I like her breasts the way they are! She wasn't mentioned in my FMH Top 10 without reason...

As I was quickly skipping over a ton of spam messages - I know I'll be flooded by the time I get back - one caught my eye : "Mariah Carey wants to have your kids".

I know better then to actually open or click around spam mails, but if the topic were true : "where and when baby?" That is assuming she hints at the actual act of making babies, not trying to steal kids (I don't have).

Lol, writing blog posts at six in the morning is always a bit of a challenge and I'm probably too tired to make much sense. But still, if Mariah asked, I wouldn't mind trying a couple of times; grin.

I just called my site supervisor to verify whether he managed to change two shifts for me, giving me an extra two days of holiday, and much to my surprise, he told me he did. But let me start from the beginning :

On Tuesday, he came to me to see if I could work nights on the weekend of the 10th and 11th instead of a late shift. I explained to him that while I was not opposed to it, it would cut into my planned holiday, starting the 12th, and as I already had few days of leave, that would only complicate things further. So I proposed to him to cover those two nights for him, providing he'd find a way to cover my night shifts of the 19th and the 20th, which would give me an extra 2 days off.

He's happy, I'm happy, so that's all good I suppose. Of to Joco's now and they we're off to actually book the damn holiday, lol.

For those who have been wondering about the question "who’d be my 2 favorite “fuck” choices according to you", the answer is quite difficult. Joco suggested Cameron Diaz and Rihanna, while Nadia picked Sienna Miller and Jessica Biel. I think my top choice however would be Halle Berry, and any of the others would be a still very enjoyable second fuck.

Cameron is totally hot in reality, but really doesn't look all that good on the picture used in the Top 100. Halle looks stunning anywhere and anytime if you ask me and Jessica is the hot girl next door, but her boobs are too big. Though I must admit they fit her frame nicely and look all natural. Sienna looks like a classy lady in the photograph and Rihanna in her leather (or is it latex) suit could get even a dead man hot I guess. Rachel Stevens looks like the perfect girlfriend but Vanessa Hudgens and Holly Valance win me over with their smile and twinkle in their eyes.

All things considered, I think my top two would be Halle and Sienna.

Note : The flight and hotel have been booked, and I've left a pointer as to where we're going in this post.

It's been a long and busy day, but in the end everything nicely fell in place. I'll sleep like a baby though (unfortunately, that doesn't mean I get to suck on nipples all night long, lol).

Fitna - the (controversial) movie about the Islam by Geert Wilders has been released and can be viewed on liveleak.com. I'll be providig a direct link to the english version as well as a link to liveleak using the coral content distribution network, which would save them some bandwidth : Liveleak through CDN. If the latter works, please use that link.

If anyone wants to leave a comment that I'm promoting hate or anger from or towards certain social, religious or racial groups, feel free to do so. I am an avid supporter of free speech, and also support it when a message I don't agree with is being sent. I haven't seen the movie yet, so can't comment on it. If I find the time to actually watch it and write something about it, you'll be able to read it here.

Note : I also think that anything and everything should be allowed to become the subject of humor, even if it could be considered offensive to some. Feeling offended by something that is being said, written or depicted means you take yourself or your ideas too serious anyway. People don't make (good) jokes about things they don't understand, or at least have thought about. Humor can be subtle, in your face or extreme. Even if it seemingly makes fun of your beliefs, consider it a form of flattery. If your beliefs were unimportant, no one would bother making jokes about it.

I'm not an American resident, nor do I have a vote in US elections, but if I had, I'd lean very much to the side of this man : Barack Obama. I've been reading both the programs and ideas of Hillary, as well as Barack and think the latter would be the best choice overall. Now, let it be clear that both candidates make a lot of promises and that - as with every politician - it remains to be seen how much of their program they will remember when they are elected, but as that issue is equally present for all candidates, that doesn't influence the equation at all.

Apart from the fact that I think the current political system in the US lacks a lot - I think everyone should get up, register and vote. Not because I tell you to do so, but because you should realize that it is your future you can help shape.

Barack Obama '08

Normally when my alarm clock goes off, I jump out of bed and am awake - not so today. I turned around, listened to at least one more song on the radio and then just knew that if I didn't push myself to get out of bed right that moment, I'd fall asleep again and miss work. Not that I'd terrible care about that, but I'm looking forward to Wednesday when I'll be making a 12 hour switch in my sleeping pattern and go from early shifts to graveyard shifts.

Today is election day over here, so this afternoon I'll probably be watching TV, sucking in all the results. For some strange reason I love seeing the results flow in, see who did well where, and how the party leaders react to these figures. Unfortunately, I can't go vote myself today due to work, but Joco has kindly agreed to go cast a vote for me, and I trust him with it. Yeah, I'm strange like that as well : most people think of voting as a pain in the ass, but I even took the necessary steps to make sure that I actually can have my voice heard instead of just using my get-out-of-voting-duty-free card.

When I consulted a vet when I adopted Tai, she said he was a European Shorthair. I think she may be wrong, I'm quite convinced he's an Australian Vegetarian Tiger instead. How else do you explain him catching and chasing kiwi's through the house? I had put some kiwi's on the counter to let them ripen and I could understand him checking them out and throwing one to the ground while being a bit overly enthusiastic. But two? Nah... only the Australian Vegetarian Tiger does that :)

Too bad the rentawife.be site is nothing but advertising. It that kind of spoof site I could have come up with, or a service I could use. Sure, I admit it's quite disrespectful, but it could be so much fun at the same time ;-)

Question from a journalist : "Did you know the woman very well?"
Answer from random interviewee : "Oh yes, I knew her very well. I often saw her in the street. Her kids went to the same school as mine."

Excuse me, but seeing someone in the street doesn't fit the definition of "knowing someone very well" if you ask me. I wonder why some people don't realize they're making a fool of themselves, nor why the journalist doesn't realize that no story is better than a story that doesn't make any sense, or contains no facts at all.

I suppose I'm asking for too much...

The Airport Security Game

Maybe fretting over the problems to be with my ADSL connection is pointless when one realizes that some people still don't get it : Bush Administration Plans to Bring Back Nuclear Testing.

Which reminds me that I still have to finish reading "The Bomb : A Life" by Gerard DeGroot that focuses on the race towards nuclear arms and their development, and the scientific as well as political evolution that lead to these weapons or were caused by them.

Then again, maybe not all is lost : Sunswift III: Fuelless Transport - Exhibit A. If that was too extreme or "not practical in everyday use" (to which I agree, but the development will trigger new applications), maybe Venturi Eclectic: Fuelless Transport - Exhibit B is more acceptable?

But, is everybody with it yet? Apple has toxic core: Greenpeace. Steve Jobbs reposted during the slideshow presentation of the new Apple iPhone : (the lobby group should) "get out of the computer business [and] go save some whales". I believe the ongoing GP campaigns towards Apple must be hurting, otherwise I can't think of any "good" reason to come up with a tasteless comment as the one Jobbs made above.

This story may not seem quite interesting to any of you (Mitchell Wal-Mart employees upset bomb threat didn't lead to evacuation) but I suggest you read Bruce Schneier's comments on the story here : Wal-Mart stays open during bomb scare.

Who gets to make the decisions about what threats are serious and how to react to them? Can management disregard the recommendations of police officers and not evacuate? Is it acceptable that if it goes wrong, management can externalize the cost of the damage? Would it help that if management decides to go against the recommendation of government agencies, and certain damage occurs, that management has to absorb these costs?

I assume there will be little to no feedback on this issue from most of my readers, but I urge you to think about it, because it'll affect you sooner or later.

Can anyone explain to me what is incomprehensible, offensive or inappropriate about this site? I decided to sponsor the Levenslijn actie by sending an SMS message to a special number, and in return my message would appear on the Boerentoren in Antwerp.

Great - or so I thought at first - way to help out and promote the site at the same time. So, I entered the message www.friedkitten.be and sent it off. Notice the .be extension that I used, to make sure the "message" would be more localized and fitting to the audience.

The "screener" which according to the rules published on the site is an independent person, didn't approve my message. They gladly accepted my money though!

I can't help it but feel a little ripped off by this whole thing. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to get something out of it apart from just the knowledge that my text message/money could help others, but that's not how things like this work for me. I'm perfectly fine doing things for free for people I love and care about, but when it comes to multi million euro non profit organizations, I expect something in return. No more sponsoring Levenslijn for me, that's for sure.

I'm getting more and more pissed off at recent decisions made by our current government. Today it was announced that in order to close a 600 million euro gap in the budget for 2006, they are considering selling 62 public buildings, which then will be leased back from the new owners. Especially since the whole operation needs to be completed before December 29th, the potential new owners are getting a superb deal as there will be no margin to solicit higher bids.

In short and normal words : "How do we replace a medium financial hole in 2006 with a huge financial gap in 2007 till the end of time?" Very mature and solid political thinking.

Now, I wonder how can we do something about it? Any ideas?

Marisa (lawyer, muse, blogger, superwoman, cauliflower and columnist) recently said she loved the My Puss video by Margaret Cho. I just watched it and indeed it is good. Watch and Love!

PS : My Puss is a tribute video to Mickey Avalon, who created the My Dick video.

For those of you that don't know what this is all about, allow me to explain. A couple of weeks ago, a new "bank" appeared in Belgium, promoting itself as a subsidiary of a large financial group that wished to remain incognito for the time being. Ace Bank is transparent and goes for high profit margins, by investing in the defense sector, in corporations that heavily rely on low wage labor, ...

Customers were offered the choice to reap the profits of these investments, check out their website at www.ace-bank.eu.

Watch the Ace Bank documentary here : Ace Bank Movie.

Note : Ace Bank doesn't exist. Or does it? Is your bank an Ace Bank without you realizing it? Ace Bank documentary and concept by Netwerk Vlaanderen.

Don't hold it against me, but as I was watching Beauty and the Nerd, I really wondered where they found the contestants. Allow me to give some examples of questions posed in the elimination contest.

Where can you find the bikini line on a female body? Possible answers : around the shoulders, around the chest, around the groin. The nerd answers : "the chest". No score :)

On a car with a manual transmission, which pedal is used to brake? Possible answers : The right, the middle or the left pedal. The Beauty answers : "the right". Crash! No score.

By all means, if these two would mate, you'd get average looking dumb offspring, grin.

I can understand not knowing everything about everything, but these questions ain't hard. They're common knowledge - as far as I know. Maybe I'm just not nerdy nor beautiful enough :)

It's been a while since I wrote about politics, hasn't it? Lately I covered quite some technical subjects, I wrote about my crazy cat, my broken car and my lack of a love life. All pretty boring, so why not revive a topic that's been off the blog for too long? With the upcomming election in Belgium - tomorrow - I thought it was a good opportunity to take a look at all parties and decide who I'll be voting for. It's not as if I have no clue yet, but the details ain't set in stone.

First of all, tomorrow I have to work. Which is a perfectly legal reason not to vote, I even have a letter from my employer stating that I'll be working on sunday and am thus exempt from casting my vote. Belgian citizens are obligated to vote, it's madatory. Unless you find a way out of it, that is. That's the way most people see it, but I disagree. I don't have the obligation to vote, I have the right to do so. I can express my choice in the votingbooth, I have a "democratic" voice in the ruling of Belgium. I'm a small nut or bolt in the complete and complex mechanism that makes things work - or not work - in this tiny country of ours. And I'm glad to be part of it.

So, even though I have a way out, I'll do everything possible tomorrow to go and cast my vote. It's not an obligation, it's my right.

Let's take a look at the options and parties :

For the district I can choose between VLD - Vivant, sp.a - spirit - groen!, Vlaams Belang/VLOTT, CD&V/N-VA and PVDA+. VLD - Vivant have no topics or ideas that attract me, so I probably won't be voting for them. Vlaams Belang and VLOTT are the right wing extremists whom never have actually "ruled" and play the underdog because "the majority is denying 30% of the voters their right to participate". Whether or not the "Cordon Sanitaire" is a good thing or an instrument of the devil remains to be seen, but they certainly won't be getting my vote.

PVDA+ is located quite far left on the political scale, and I know little of their ideas and programs. Dirk Van Duppen is a local doctor and candidate for PVDA+, and I've read one of his books, which was very interesting. Interesting enough to give my vote to them, I don't know. Probably not.

Which leads me to sp.a - spirit - groen!,a tri-party setup, that looks promising. I've voted sp.a in the past, I have also voted groen! in the past, which makes 2 out of three. Not bad an option. Quite likely to get my vote.

CD&V/N-VA has become the hype of the town, with Yves Leterme scoring well in polls. But is their program strong enough to convince me? Maybe, maybe not.

Does it come to anyones surprise that I'll probably be voting left'ish? Who will you be voting for?

I'm about to write a post containing quite some negative feelings, so for those of you looking for the positive things in life, skip this entry.

When sellers on ebay promise a shipping in 1 to 2 days, I expect to see my goods show up in under a week. When I buy something on sunday evening, and pay the same day (using PayPal), I'd say the seller should ship on tuesday at the latest. Adding 2 more days for delivery, the objects should arrive friday, possibly monday. When I contacted the seller, he said the courrier had picked everything up, and delivery was to happen on tuesday (9 days after my purchase). Today is wednesday and I've yet to see the first delivery arrive. I mailed them again today, so far without reply... It does piss me off, can you believe that? I dislike it even more when suddenly this very active seller has no more objects for sale on ebay, something is fishy here!

Cats that tend to want attention all the time piss me off as well - so Tai, this one is for you - if I'm home for a day I'd like to do things I enjoy and while cuddling with you is one of the things I like, I don't feel like petting you 24 hours a day. Get the picture already and go the fuck to sleep and leave me alone. Warning : Playing with and in your waterbowl is not an acceptable replacement activity for sleeping!

The first episode of the new Tragger Hippy season was funny, but not nearly as funny as before. I can usually see the plot from a mile away, which makes some jokes plain boring. Too bad.

If people only know me and mail me because they have computer problems, I tend to get pissed off as well. Let's take D. for instance. I've been to her place a few times, fixing both the computer she and her husband use, as well as the kids machines. All for free. Last time I charged them, but only a fraction of the real cost. She mailed me again last week, asking if I could come over to fix yet again a problem. I replied with what I thought was the problem, and how she could fix it. If she still wanted me to come over, I would charge a certain amount of money.

She never replied, not even to say the problem was fixed using my solution offered by mail and for free. It's weird how you don't mean shit if they don't need you and when they do, they don't want to give anything up in exchange for the time and effort you spend solving their issues. I really have to get more firm with users and abusers to weed out the crap. Seems D. won't be requiring my services anymore :)

It may be me that's weird, but I found this quote rather funny :

"It's supposed to smell like a cunt, not a fucking rain forest!" (unknown female)

And, I'll throw in a joke as well (blatantly ripped from someone else, of course).

A woman and her boyfriend are out having a few drinks. While they're sitting there having a good time together she starts talking about this really great new drink. The more she talks about it, the more excited she gets, and starts trying to talk her boyfriend into having one. After a while he gives in and lets her order the drink for him. The bartender brings the drink and puts the following on the bar -- A saltshaker, a shot of Baileys, and a shot of lime juice.

The boyfriend looks at the items quizzically and the woman explains. "First you put a bit of the salt on your tongue, next you drink the shot of Baileys and hold it in your mouth,and finally you drink the lime juice." So, the boyfriend, trying to go along and please her, goes for it.

He puts the salt on his tongue, salty but OK. He drinks the shot of Baileys - smooth, rich, cool, very pleasant. He thinks - this is OK. Finally he picks up the lime juice and drinks it....

In one second the sharp lime taste hits...

At two seconds the Baileys curdles....

At three seconds the salty curdled bitter taste hits.

This triggers his gag reflex but being manly, and not wanting to disappoint his girlfriend, he swallows the now nasty drink.

When he finally chokes it down he turns to his girlfriend,and says, "Jesus, what do you call that drink?"

She smiles widely at him and says, "Blow Job Revenge".

"We are apalled and disgusted that 72 hours before the cease fire between Israël and Lebanon, 90% of the attacks with cluster bombs occurred."

"All the weapons we use 'are legal under international law, and their use conforms with international standards.'", Israeli Army states.

Tons of countries produce cluster bombs (PDF File), but the USA is the world's largest manufacturer. There are international standards for the use of these devices, hence there seems to be a standard and agreed upon regulation on how to kill people using a device that knows a 30% failure rate.

Don't come claiming to be disgusted that these devices are used, when you don't ban the production of them! Some sources state that right now, Belgium is the only country to have issued a ban on the use (carrying), transportation, export, stockpiling, trade and production of cluster munitions, yet there are some companies active in Belgium that produce cluster munitions according to a study conducted by some NGO's. Especially Forges de Zeebrugge, a subsidiary of Thompon Dasa Armaments (TDA), is mentioned in this regard. TDA is a joint venture between Thales and EADS GmbH. I'll leave it up to you to dig up more info...

As I was reading Vixen - The Daily Dildo I stumbled upon a reference to Jack's Raging Mommy, who asks "Do You SWOP?". If you have no idea about the meaning of the acronym, go read the entry. It'll be bloody obvious in a matter of seconds. If you feel less adventurous and wish to know beforehand what you're getting into, hover here : SWOP. Then again, if you first hoovered here, you probably don't SWOP :)

I usually don't SWOP, as there are tons of other possibilities, but I have no moral objections against it. Never say never and all that, you know?

Although the heatwave is over in Belgium for now, I'm glad The Mighty Geek shares tips on how to deal with it. Go read his advice : What I Do During A Heat Wave.

Enjoy!

I'll have to teach Tai how to perform a drop kick onto the mailman from the third floor. I haven't been out till 11h30, yet I find a note in my mailbox that an attemped was made to drop off a package but that no one was home. I think the belgian postal services use very bizarre methods to determine if anyone is home. Let's compare my method and theirs, shall we?

Mine : "Ring bell, wait for reaction. No reaction, ring again. Wait. No reaction? Leave."
Belgian Postal Service : "Sneak up to mailbox, drop card using stealth, run away."

I can understand they can't wait around forever to see if anyone is home, but you have to admit that it's mighty convenient to have customers come pick up their parcels instead of delivering them again. I could fill out the card, send it to the post office and request a second attempt to deliver it and then camp near the mailbox, but for some reason or another, I don't really feel that's the way it's supposed to be.

I'll go pick it up tomorrow, I've got to head into town for new photographs anyway. My ID is up for renewal, and I'll be getting one of those nifty electronic ones. Maybe I should try to hack it to see how smart it really is, or find a way to lift information on it that is not supposed to be accessible by everyone. Makes you wonder why they'd try to safeguard data on it in the first place...

Lebanon firing missiles at Israel, Israel moving troops, bombing airfields. Soldiers being ambushed, civilians dying. Is it all worth it?

I really don't see what any of the parties involved have to gain from this conflict? A moral victory while survivors are cleaning up the rubbish and dead people are being burried, in both countries. Accepting the beliefs and ideas of others is so simple a thing to do, even if you don't agree. Apparently, talking takes more effort than pushing a button and ordering people around as if it were toy soldiers. Crazy!

As you may notice, I don't take a stance in this matter, I don't decide who's right and who's wrong. Who should win and who should back off. My time is too precious to waste on trivial things like this. Yes, I just wrote that a war between two countries is trivial, at least it is to me. It probably is not to the people involved in the conflict, that is for sure. I'd rather focus myself on doing what I believe is good for me and those around me. I can't change what happens 3000 kilometers away, but I can certainly put my own circle of influence to use.

I was inside the bank, checking some accounts and statements when I suddenly noticed my neighbor walking by. Well, walking maybe ain't the correct word for his uncontrolled movements, stumbling would describe it better. Surely enough he had been on a drinking trip and was now trying to find his way back home. Which is not really that hard considering the distance from his favorite pub to his place is less than a kilometer, but if your legs decide to walk left, your body leans back and your brain - or what's left of it - yells "bollocks!" even a hundred meters suddenly become a real olympic challenge.

Needless to say, I kept an eye out for him while I was finishing my business, and then started walking about 10 meters behind him. Not because I was scared he'd trip over and fall - hell I couldn't care less - but exactly because I was hoping he'd trip over and fall. It's not like drunks know what hit them anyway, and the bruises and cuts, they can deal with the day after. Unfortunately for me and luckily for him, he made it home in one piece though he barely missed some streetlights I must say. I got into the elevator after he had already gone up and was out of sight, and I was greeted by a nice mixed odour of sweat, booze and cigarettes.

Yeah, not really nice of me to write all this, is it? But hey... I've got a real problem with drunken people, does it show?

While once again lots of people are blaming violent videogames for recent events in some major cities, I think it is too simple a statement. People do what they feel like, they decide for themselves and while some environments - as for instance portraied in videogames - can make belief some actions are acceptable, there is a huge difference between a videogame and the real world.

If videogames can alter the state of mind of some people, so can (kick)boxing, auto racing, pistol shooting and other extreme or violent sports. Does anyone suggest banning football matches from TV? Hooligans are not the nicest of people, I'd say.

I don't think it's wise to ban everything that may or not may affect people, instead we should teach people that there is a place and time for everything.

While you're down there, shine my shoes...

Yepz, I played too much DefJam fight for NY ;)

I don't know if anyone has really been following the Ayaan Hirsi Ali story as it unfolded in the Dutch press the past few days, but I think it all makes perfect sense. Let's see what has been happening so far. In 1992, Ayaan Hirsi Ali requests and is granted asylum in The Netherlands. She claims to have fled Somalia, where at the time a civil war was going on. She is granted asylum and gets the Dutch nationality as well. After studying politics, in 2003 she is elected. Her first political party is the socialist "Partij van de Arbeid" (PvdA), which she leaves later on to join the liberal party "VVD".

So far so good, wouldn't you say? It's the success story everyone is looking for : a young woman escapes the war, builds a life of her own in another country and she lands a high profile job thanks to all her hard work.

However, the story is slightly different. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is not her real name, Ayaan Hirsi Magan is her birthname. She didn't flee from the civil war in Somalia when requesting refuge in Holland, but she was in fact living in Germany for a short while and before Germany, she lived in peaceful Kenia for 12 years. "I made up a story that would get me the necessary asylum and papers", Hirsi admits now. The fact that she wasn't born in 1969 but in 1967 is just another simple bump in the road.

Now that shit is literally hitting the fan, Ali decides not to wait for heaven to come down on her, but rather "flee" to America where she'll have a job waiting for her, working for the AEI in Washington, a conservative think tank that advises - amongst others - president Bush.

Am I surprised to see a woman go from liberal to conservative, (ab)using every rule and opportunity possible to benefit herself, join a conservative advisory group? Not really. Nor am I surprised to see AEI accept these kind of people...

Principal bars Coral Springs student from singing anti-Bush song at talent show. (link found through TalkLeft)

A small Dutch article about it can be found here : Lied tegen Bush geweerd van talentenjacht op basisschool (source : GVA)

Things like this always make me wonder... what's next?

Freya Van den Bossche (sp.a) today gave a speech where she announced that the energy bill for people should be lower, and the difference should be paid by the energy producing sector. One company in particular was mentioned - Electrabel - which really suprises me. Sure enough she may just have wanted to make an easy statement, singling out one company to make it more understandable, but I think that results in quite the opposite effect. Apart from such a communication fluke, the idea itself is pretty insane - instead of taking hard(er) path to a long term solution, once again politicians opt for the short term ideas that will get them votes in the upcoming elections (october 06).

There are two ways to lower energy bill for consumers :
- force companies to charge less and thus lower their profits (and possibly investments in the long run)
- make consumers aware of ways to save energy, thus lowering their energy bill

I think we should first follow option 2 before looking at option 1, even if companies sometimes make an insane amount of profit. Companies have a legal obligation towards their stockholders to maximize profits, no matter what, as long as it makes economic sense.

This is entry number 2550, and because the last one was rather serious, I'm opting for something a little less challenging today : BloodRayne, featuring Kristanna Loken (Worn like a Tattoo, Terminator 3, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek Voyager, ...) and Michelle Rodriguez (Lost, Fast and the Furious, SWAT, Girlfight, ...). There are probably other actors involved as well, but they ain't as hooooot ;)

Yummy.

Talk to and play with the ladies : De Ultieme Fantasie & Temptation Island

I may write a long entry about the whole day - which turned out awsome - later on, but for now I want to focus on the last 4 hours or so. When we got back home, we had cheese and coffee and started talking amongst each other. Over the course of the evening - and night - people started leaving for home until it was just 5 people left. Two couples : B&H and N&H and one single : me.

We did some mental ping pong, verbal tennis... If you don't know what that is, it is very simple. It's not really a game, but rather lots of wits flying around, making fun, throwing verbal punches and receiving some as well. There is no scoreboard, but there is loads of fun to be had.

How does it happen? One just throws a topic in the group and then sees who runs with it. It's a bit like running with scissors : fun and exciting, but potentially dangerous. Every topic is a start, a chance to score and outwit the others, but also a potential danger as your wits bounce back and slap you in the face. I love it...

However, you can't play this with everyone. You need people you know, you are comfortable with and who play on the same level. If you play fast and the others just don't get it or are constantly outwitted, there is no match, no fun. It's punch, dodge, score, duck. Give and take.

Hans is relatively new in the family and I know we can be a bit intimidating sometimes, especially when goes at it full force, but he really stood his ground. There are lots of things he hasn't picked up yet, but that is quite normal : only if you play it a lot, you get to like it and get better at it. So, Hans... keep it up, you're doing great. Just don't keep digging your own grave when you're in deep already. Allow us to do that for you ;)

PS : friedkitten is now also reachable through www.friedkitten.eu!

A fine selection of idiots around the world in the news today :

- Former South-African deputy president Jacob Zuma, currently on trial in Johannesburg for rape, declared that he "took a shower after having unprotected sex with a HIV-positive woman to lower the risk of infection". I wonder what it takes to become president in South-Africa? Showering does not lower the risk of HIV infection after having unprotected sex, let that be clear. Furthermore, Zuma is a former president of the South-African National Aids Council, which makes one expect he knows something about aids and hiv, doesn't it? Apparently not. I guess he wasn't thinking straight. If he doesn't get convicted for rape, he should at least get convicted for being a fool, and for setting the wrong example. Update on May 3rd by "Nyx" : outcome of the trial is expected May 8th 2006.

- On tuesday afternoon, a 41 year old male was electrocuted in a transformation station in Charleroi (Belgium). An accident you may say, but not really. He was probably trying to steal cables in a live transformation station, to which he forced entry using a screwdriver and a crowbar. He probably saw the light, although very briefly. His connection was cut for sure :)

Lol, helpdesking over the phone is so much fun. My dad just called me to see if I could figure out why his mail stopped working. He could still surf the web, so the link itself wasn't totally dead. We quickly went over some account details, but it all checked out, yet no connection to the mail server.

A telnet session to the server failed as well, even though I had no problem connecting to it, coming from an IP address that doesn't even belong to the provider my dad uses. When I asked more questions as "what caused your mail connection from failing" and "did you change anything lately" the answer I got at least gave me a clue : oh yeah, I used some tune-up utility to get rid of old crap and make my machine faster.

I told him to have the program undo whatever it fucked up and then try the telnet connection again. There is little point in reinstalling his mailprogram if even a basic function like telnet ain't able to get a connection. His next computer comes with only webmail, I joked ;)

I just finished watching a very interesting documentary about spiders, narrated by David Attenborough and titled "The Silk Spinners", part of the "Life in the Undergrowth" series made in 2005. I was totally fascinated I must admit and I think even people that have a serious dislike for these extraordinary animals would find it interesting.

Yesterday we had a meeting with all the people living in our apartment block and one of the things on the agenda was the fact that a couple renting on the first floor has been stationing an electric wheelchair in the hallway. Apparently they had asked the owners of the apartments on the ground level, but no one else was informed or asked if they minded. They also contacted the person appointed by all the owners, and he replied that he'd put in on the agenda on the yearly meeting, which was yesterday. On the one hand the couple claim the wheelchair is a necessity for her mobility, yet hardly any of the neighbors recall it being used more than once or twice a month. I for instance only noticed them using the chair twice last year, most of the time they walk to the car and leave.

Yesterday I also found out that some of the other neighbors have been having quite some problems with the couple, and they claim the man is quite disrespectful and rude. I for one cannot confirm this as the few times I've run into them, they were friendly and so was I. Needless to say, the bad blood between various parties involved did have an effect onto the vote whether or not the electric wheelchair could or could not remain stationed in the hallway. After votes were cast, I believe 5 people voted against, 1 in favor (the father/owner of the apartment the couple lives in) and 3 abstained.

I was one of the people that voted against, because while I do support mobility for disabled people, I also believe a better solution can and should be looked for. As far as I see it, the chair has been sitting there for a year, is hardly used and was stationed there without consulting everyone involved. Due to the decision of the owners, the couple has 2 months now to find a solution which I do find quite reasonable.

When I came into the hallway today, someone had taped a paper to the chair reading "these are my legs!", so I can only assume the couple did. I find it quite distasteful to see them try and weigh on our consience by playing the "poor disabled" game. Yesterday a decision was made, and they'll have to respect it or fight it using legal means. If they had asked everyone in advance, or slipped a note in the mailboxes explaining, it probably wouldn't have gotten to this. Now, no matter what argument they bring up, people will object.

Editors of newspapers are being fired because they published cartoons and pictures mocking religious leaders. I find this quite disturbing, and with "this" I mean the fact that they're fired, not the fact that the images are being published. I believe everyone has a right to think and express their opinion, and as such those opposed to seeing these images published also have a right to protest. However, being opposed to something doesn't give you the right to threaten anyone.

This time the cartoons are about the islam, but in the past pictures of the pope have been published, and if tomorrow another religion or person is "cartoonized" there are two ways to go about it : laugh with it and show that you're beyond being insulted by a stupid cartoon, or go bezerk and try forcing your opinion onto others. Guess which is the smart thing to do? Guess how you can show the world you are mature and able to accept criticism or humor.

And the strangest thing about this riot is that the first pictures were published in september last year, and only now people are going all postal over it. The more someone opposes something, the less others may be tempted to comply with the opinions in question.

I just caught "2013 : La fin du pétrole" on Canvas in Lichtpunt. It's a french documentary made by Stéphane Meunier, focussing on what happens when in 2013 attacks are carried out on several oil delivery and production facilities simultaniously, and how it impacts the availability of transport, food and medicins to name only a few things.

Very interesting documentary, though I cannot say whether or not it was sensationalized or just showing the real future. Because, even without any attacks, sooner rather than later the last drop will be spent.

Osama says : "withdraw from Iraq, or you'll be attacked in your own country again.' Bush replies : "we do not negotiate with terrorists." My opinion? Osama wins anyway, since now Bush can't withdraw troops from Iraq, because that'll make him and his cohorts look weak. If the USA is attacked again, Osama will claim they had every chance to avoid it.

2006 cleary is an election year in Belgium, coz there are tons of promises and improvements being suggested. Since Belgium has a shortage of homes for the elderly, suddenly with some financial technics there is enough money to have 53 new homes built, because grants will not be paid in full right away, but instead spread out over 20 years. Which is as much as saying "look, we had 53 new homes built and an additional 900 beds available, but others will have to pay for it for the next 19 years". Sounds like a very solid financial plan to me.

In a couple of minutes I should leave to go pick up Olivier and then we'll head off to the Autosalon. The weather sucks bigtime though, and with my windshieldwipers still not fixed - appointement tomorrow, remember - I'd rather just stay home. Furthermore I forced myself to read and reply to a bunch of mails, while I wasn't really feeling in the mood for it.

Sometimes I'd just like to say "fuck off, world. fuck off, everyone, leave me alone" but ten minutes later I feel better and then it becomes "go away". Which is much more gentle if you ask me. Luckily most of the time I'm still thinking positive and open to suggestions, even if at times I don't seem to care much. Which is probably true at the time.

Ah well, ups and downs - something for everyone.

Now, fuck off, I'm gonne grab something to eat and then I'm out of here.

According to a recent study, the size of the breast of Flemish women keeps increasing. Where 15 years ago a 75B was an average cupsize, this has now increased to a 75C, due to a changed eating pattern and up to 5% of women having their breasts enlarged. To put that into perspective, roughly 1 in twenty women that you come across in your daily life sports a couple CC of silicons - or should that be "sillycones" ?

I for one am not a fan of this since I'm an avid lover of a set of small breasts, but on the other hand I do encourage people to do what makes them feel better and if women feel better after having their breasts lifted, enlarged, reshaped or downsized I can only be happy for them.

As long as the world ain't full of nothing but women with a DD cup, that is :)

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just take the rotten apples from the ground that aren’t as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they’re amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.

Now Men… Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it’s up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

So, I believe the tip here is - learn to climb trees without falling down too much.

I ran into Marisa online today and she wanted to grab some pictures, but was stopped by some erm... technical limitations. I offered to take a look at the setup and see if I could help out, and somehow I managed to put my brain into the correct gear to "crack the code". Looking at it in hindsight, it is fairly simple once you know where to look, but I suppose it's the same with all things : they're easy once you know how they work.

Anyway, she thinks I'm a genius, and is urging women to - how did she put it? - "Go get him anyway!!". Suits me fine :)

I was watching some TV - or rather had it playing in the background as I was working on the laptop - and suddenly I heard this computervoice reading x-mas wishes that people were sending in. The funny thing is that a computerprogram has a hard time interpreting what is being written, and just reads whatever is written down. It gets totally hilarious when a voice program for Dutch starts reading English and French texts, and short texts such as grtz and tnx are included.

I decided to check if a little ad disguised as new years wishes would be filtered out, so I sent in my message as well... Now I'm just curious to see if it appears. They claim to filter out "inappropriate" messages, but I doubt mine fits that label. I just hope they don't filter out URL's too.

Two bored casino dealers are waiting at the craps table. A very attractive blonde woman arrives and bets $20,000 on a single roll of the dice.

She says, "I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I'm completely nude."

With that, she strips from the neck down, rolls the dice and yells, "Come on, baby, Mama needs some new clothes!"

As the dice come to a stop she jumps up and down and squeals... "YES! YES! I WON, I WON!"

She hugs each of the dealers and then picks up her winnings and her clothes and quickly departs.

The dealers stare at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them asks, "What did she roll?"

The other answers, "I don't know - I thought you were watching."

MORAL: Not all blondes are dumb, but all men are men.

According to a Belgian judge, one can no longer sell, broadcast or listen to the song "Frozen" (of the album Ray of Light) by Madonna because it was plagiarised from a Belgian composer. My first reaction? Where's my legally purchased copy of the CD?!

As I write this entry, Frozen is blasting through the speakers and I'm sure the neighbours can hear it as well. Does this make me guilty of fencing off stolen goods? Being the quickwitted geek that I am, here are some alternative lyrics to Madonna's Frozen, to reflect the new situation :

You only hear what the judge says you hear
How can notes be similar and near
It's stolen
When those notes ain't paid for

You're so consumed with how much you reep
You waste our time with hate and much greed
You're broken
When her wallet doesn't open

[Chorus:]

Mmmmmm, if I could melt your CD
Mmmmmm, we'd never agree
Mmmmmm, now give money to me
Mmmmmm, the judge holds the key

Now there's no point in placing the blame
And you should know I suffer the same
If I lose this
My album will be broken

Music's a bird, it needs to fly
Let all the agony inside of you die
The public gets frozen
Their ears can't be open

[chorus]
[verse]
[chorus, repeat]

If I could plea my case to you

LAWYER : "On the morning of July 25th, you went from your farm to the duck pond by foot?"
WITNESS : "Yes."
LAWYER : " So, you passed by the shelter at only a couple of feet distance?"
WITNESS : "Yes."
LAWYER : "Did you notice anything unusual?"
WITNESS : "Yes."
LAWYER : "Good. Can you tell the court what you saw?"
WITNESS : "I saw George"
LAWYER : "You saw George, the defendant in this trial?"
WITNESS : "Yes."
LAWYER : "Could you tell the court what George was doing?"
WITNESS : "Yes."
LAWYER : "Well, please tell us?"
WITNESS : "He had his thing in one of the ducks."
LAWYER : "His 'thing'?"
WITNESS : "You know, his... I mean his penis."
LAWYER : "You went by the duck shelter, there was ample light, you were sober, you've got good eyesight, and you clearly saw what you just described to us?"
WITNESS : "Yes."
LAWYER : "Did you say anything to George?"
WITNESS : "I did."
LAWYER : "What did you say to him?"
WITNESS : "Hi George."

Yesterday, I was over at my friends place and he's got a little bit of a problem walking. At one point he asks me "Hey, could you please go upstairs and fetch my slippers, my feet are getting cold."

Being the good person I am, I go upstairs and enter a room where I notice his two sexy daughters, aged 27 and 29. I immediately forget why I'm there and say to those two babes "Your dad has sent me upstairs to fuck you both silly."

"Yeah, right!" they answer me at the same time.

"What, you don't believe me? Allow me to prove it!" I reply and while standing in the doorway, I yell down to my friend "You want me to get them both?"

To which my friend answers "Of course!"

The package that I just picked up had been held hostage by customs. Yes, hostage is the correct word here, what else do you call a fee of €8.68 on a networth of €45? Only a few weeks ago I accepted a shipment worth over USD400, and the fee there was €9.90, which is acceptable - everyone has to eat, don't they?

I really wonder what would happen if I made claims at the European Council that these taxes present an obstacle for the free flow of goods and services in the EU? Well, I have to admit that in this case, it wouldn't fly because the seller lives in Canada and last time I checked, the canadians weren't part of the EU. Maybe they should consider it though, it's not like they have much to gain from being allied with the US.

To make long stories short(er) : I've now got issue 45 and 46 of the deceased PFIQ magazine in my possession. Issue 47 was purchased earlier, and I may get my hands on other issues as well some day.

Oh, my complaint dating from October 5th concerning spam from B-----P------- NV has been accepted by the Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-employed and Energy. Hopefully that'll teach B-----P------- NV from spamming people. Updates as I get them.

Today was like my cock : long, hard and slightly twisted. Modesty was never my strongest point, does it show?

Ah well... I got my schedule for next month and while it's pure evil, I can live with it. It's not too bad when taking a quick glance and I'll be putting in quite some hours which means good pay. It'll be up soon - probably today.

Today is Joco's birthday so I gave him a call around 12:50 or so and after a few rings Eef picked up the phone. I said hi and asked if I woke them up and the answer was "erm, not exactly", after which she passed me Joco. I said hi and happy birthday matey, and then told him to go on doing well... Eef. Grin. I'm evil like that.

I've got an instinct for knowing when to to call them, or rather, when not to call them ;)

Just got a call from Ingrid, seems she got off at the wrong exit and is now parked somewhere in Ekeren. I gave her directions to the highway and what exit she has to take and she should arrive in about 30 minutes I think.

(Eddie and Richie are out in the woods sleeping in a tent when a thunderstorm bursts out and Eddie wakes up and panics)

Eddie : "Where the bloody hell am I?"
Richie : "Calm down, you're in a tent."
Richie : "Eddie, I think there's something outside."
Eddie : "Yeah."
Eddie : "There's bound to be something outside, Richie."
Eddie : "You can't expect the universe in it's entire contents to be contained within the confines of a small canvas tent."

Does anyone else find this incredibly funny? There must be others out there that enjoy Bottom as much as I do, right?