Geert Wilders Gets a Wake-Up Call

MP Geert Wilders had a 3 hour "tutorial" with the National Coordinator for Anti-terrorism Tjibbe Joustra. He was shown documentary evidence of the reaction his comments have caused in Arab nations.

Mr. Wilders famously said that "Muslims should tear out and discard half the Koran if they want to live in the Netherlands", and this was the strongest trigger for many Arab nations who went on to threaten reaction including trade bans with the Netherlands and recall of ambassadors.

"Fortunately none of that happened, but you do get a fright when you see all of that," Wilders said.

In this country he has a right to state his opinion, and however much I disagree with him I have to uphold that right. The constitution also protects religious expression so there is no question that Muslims here may use the full version of the Koran and practise their faith freely.

However I really hope that he understands that he represents the Netherlands by virtue of his position. I hope he learns to frame his opinions with more thought.

Corporate Blogging

Dilbert has a comment to make about corporate blogging.

There are a lot of companies out there trying to figure out how to make money from the blogging concept, or social media, or "Web 2.0" for managers who've picked up the jargon. Few are doing it successfully, and the fatal flaw is often the choice of writer. Either the writer doesn't have anything to say, or the blog is written by a team posing as the company executive. The reader picks up on the corporate tone, and it's no longer a blog, it's a column.

It comes down to "don't fake it". Or in corporate speak "use an authentic voice"

Immigrant Amnesty

There are around 26,000 immigrants in the Netherlands who arrived under the old alien act, who were destined for deportation under the former government.

Many of these migrants had been in the Netherlands for years, spoke Dutch, had Dutch partners and children, and very often had jobs or businesses here. I know TV shows the most extreme cases but one man (originally from China) was profiled as having run the only Chinese restaurant in a small town here for more than a decade, he was married to a Chinese-Dutch woman, and they had two sons. He spoke perfect, although accented Dutch.

I'm not pro-illegal immigration, and what he did initially was wrong. But in deciding how to solve the situation you must look at the whole situation, and you must ask "what would deporting him solve?"

Thankfully it seems that the current government is taking a much more pragmatic approach, and has announced to EU members that there will be an amnesty - details are still being worked out.

I'm already pleased that they've announced this step, and I look forward to seeing the details.

Smoking Ban Test Case

An employee of the Holland Casino in Groningen may be a test case of the hole in the current smoking ban legislation.

The current legislation is based on a similar case from a worker in a post sorting centre 7 years ago. It guarantees all workers a smoke-free work place, but exempts the catering and entertainment industry.

The case against Holland Casino begins later this month, and if successful it will advance the current cabinet's plans by 3-4 years.