Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I am happy that many people from near and far remembered sending me SMS, e-mail, postcards, and calling me. Even Singapore Airlines remembered me as a (former) good customer and sent me a box of chocolates. Thanks to all! Had a quiet evening with the Colombians. I cooked wonderful pasta (if I may say so) and when MA and WI texted if I wanted to come out I declined as we had already downed a few bottles of wine. Today lots of shopping as tomorrow I will have a BBQ party with some 30 guests. The weather forecast is quite bad so I am just hoping it won't rain when we have the BBQ. I never like to organize my parties but well, if you want to get invited to other people's parties I guess you have to do your part as well.

Priests

Just as to prove my point from my previous post (but not really) I just read this story:

A man posing as a priest conned at least two people out of a lot of money in Amsterdam this week after urging them to donate to a good cause. In the Amsterdam Pijp neighbourhood a victim lost several thousand euros to the conman. Last week another victim lost several hundred euros after falling for the same trick when approached at the Museumplein, police said on Friday. The Amsterdam police are actively seeking the man, who dresses neatly, speaks English and poses as a priest.

The conman approaches random people he sees leaving shops. He tells them he is collecting money to donate to charity on behalf of his deceased brother. He then asks the victims if they might withdraw some money from the ATM to contribute as well.The man then shows the victims a handkerchief with a pile of bank notes in it and asks them to put their money in with the rest. He then handles the bundle briefly and hands it to the victims with the request that they give it to charity. The "priest" asks that they wait an hour before opening the handkerchief because he wants to first pray and tell his deceased brother that his money is in good hands. When the victims open the handkerchief it turns out to be full of newspaper shreds and the money is gone.

How stupid can some people be?

Major Bosshardt - a good woman died

I am not a big fan of organized religions. I respect individuals who believe in one or more Gods, or worship any deity (or a kangaroo or a goat for that matter). On the contrary, I don't like churches and people that have institutionalized religions. I believe the majority of priests and pastors are cheats, sexually frustrated men and/or corrupt thieves. However, sometimes you find an exception: Major Bosshardt was one of them. Alida Bosshardt, a Christian acclaimed for her decades of work among the prostitutes and drug addicts of Amsterdam, died Monday, the Salvation Army said. She was 94. A spokeswoman for the Salvation Army said she died of "old age." "She had heart troubles and kidney problems, but this was really just old age: her body was deteriorating at the end," said spokeswoman Hella van der Schoot.

Bosshardt joined the Salvation Army in 1934 and was instructed to work with women in Amsterdam's Red Light District shortly after the end of World War II. A "Goodwill" centre she established in the area eventually became a hub where volunteers cared for not only prostitutes and their children, but offered shelter to the homeless and a wide range of social services to drug addicts and other troubled people attracted to the area. Bosshardt was universally known as "Major" Bosshardt in the Netherlands, though she actually advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Salvation Army's ranks.

Among her many awards were a knighthood in the Netherlands' Order of Oranje Naussau in 2004. The Royal House said Monday that Queen Beatrix was "moved" by the death. While Beatrix was the country's crown princess in 1965 she spent an evening in disguise, following Bosshardt on her rounds. Bosshardt was given a "righteous among nations" award by Israel's Yad Vashem for helping Jewish children during the war, often riding them on her bicycle to homes where they would go into hiding. "I'm in God's service to serve people," Bosshardt said once when receiving an award. "All honour goes to him, not me." Her closest surviving family are distant nieces and nephews. Her funeral is scheduled for June 30. May she rest in peace.

Map of visited countries

Still a lot to go!

The value of free speech - they just don't get it

Singaporeans 'not engaging' in political dialogue on Web

The virtual world may offer opportunities for open political discussion but most Singaporeans are not participating. This is according to the preliminary findings of a yet-to-be-completed study, conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), on the behaviour of Singapore voters at last year's General Election.

"There are some blogs that are politically engaged but, if you look at the content and the total number of blogs, they are not that many for a country that is so wired up and so high up in terms of computerisation," said IPS deputy director Arun Mahizhnan, during a discussion at the 16th Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (Amic) annual conference yesterday.

"With regard to the contents of the blogs, only a few can be characterised as serious political engagement," Mr Mahizhnan said, citing Mr Alex Au of Yawning Bread and Mr Lee Kin Mun, also known as mr brown. "But there are not many others like these two."

When it comes to managing new media, Mr Mahizhnan believes authorities face a dilemma. He told TODAY: "On the one hand, it (the Government) wants to promote information communications technologies (ICT) in Singapore, but on the other hand, it is also concerned about ICT abuses. So, it tries to put certain controls, but unfortunately, the Internet is not easily controlled by any one government or one organisation."

But will new media have any impact on regulations governing the mainstream press in Singapore?

Another panellist, Associate Professor Tey Tsung Hun who teaches at the National University of Singapore's law faculty, takes a cautious stand. He said: "It is unlikely that we will see any changes in the legislative framework governing the print media in the next two to three years. There is no reason to change the law unless there is evidence that it is not conducive to the Government's aspiration to develop Singapore as a media hub."

They just don't get it. Unfortunately the Internet is not easily controlled???? There is no reason to change the law????

Weird EU law

I had lunch today with KE who told me an interesting story about weird EU law. We have two friends in Amsterdam who fell in love with a Malaysian guy and both of them are now in the process of applying for a long-term visa for their friend. RO is Dutch, and JN is New Zealander, but his grandfather came from Ireland so he also has an Irish passport. RO's Malaysian friend has to study the Dutch language before he can come here. But JN's Malaysian friend doesn't need to do this as he is the "spouse of an EU citizen" and has the right to be here. So this crazy country makes it difficult for it's own citizens to "import" foreign spouses, but can not do the same for spouses of nationals of other EU countries.
Anyway, lunch at Hoi Tin was quite good. I like Amsterdam's small Chinatown.

Hunk

Some of us will know fridae.com, a gay dating site which is popular in Asia. This last week I have received a few "hearts" from this hunk. Naturally, I checked his profile and read: "I LIKE: succsessful,intelegent, brave, and serious people,also honest,kind heart, respect and understanding. I DON,T LIKE: UNSESRIOUS, PLAYERS,and LIARS.and People who Just think of SEX." Maybe I should write to him that if he doesn't want to attract "People who Just think of SEX" he should change his picture? Hehe