Two Passports? Eet Smakelijk!

There's a Jamie Oliver style "Fifteen" Restaurant in Amsterdam. They pride themselves on being part of society, taking trainees from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Tonight they have a special offer, if you have two passports you eat for free.

It's no co-incidence that this offer follows hard on the heels of the discussions in parliament instigated by Mr. Wilders. The workers in the restaurant come from various backgrounds - Mauritius, Morocco, Turkey, Antilles and Somalia are listed on the website, and they have naturally been affected by these discussions.

They've come up with this idea because they see food, and a passion for good food, as something that brings people together, no matter what their background or how many passports they hold.

Congratulations to the team for making something positive out of this, and to the diners, "Eet Smakelijk" (enjoy your meal).

Split Loyalty Still an Issue

Geert Wilders seems to have nothing better to do than attack Muslim MPs. This week it was the turn of Khadija Arib, who has been a member of the Dutch parliament since May 1998, and acts as a paid advisor to the Moroccan government on human rights issues, particularly those relating to Moroccan migrants.

Mr Wilders demanded that she either give up the paid position for a foreign government or give up her position of MP.

If Mr. Wilders is really interesting in a healthy integrated Dutch society he should applaud Ms Arib's work, if he's really worried about split loyalty because an MP has a paid function with another government he should be condemning Mr. Van Baalen, who has a paid consultant position with the Taiwan government, with the same energy that he condemns Khadija Arib.

A fuller report on the debate was published by the Dutchnews website, and it seems clear that other Dutch MPs are frustrated by Mr. Wilders attacks.

I suppose in a way it's better to have the debate, but it is funded by my taxes, and I resent paying for Mr. Wilders to promote his own Islamophobic views.

In any case, since I can't vote I have written a letter of support to Ms Arib. I want her to know that someone far removed from the situation values both roles she plays.