http://flickr.com/photos/sthig/sets/213112/

This I find a real comment on US society in itself. Where else would it occur to anyone to even spend the time on it.
It's like: "Hey they lied! People can be unhappy here."

American society doesn't want to see unhappy people though - just like most Americans don't want an honest answer to "How are you today?" One big "let's pretend we're happy." Or is it: "I'm ashamed that I'm unhappy, because everyone tells me I should be happy"?

But maybe this is a sort of an "emperor's got no clothes" thing. It takes somebody to stand up and say "Disneyland is pretty miserable...actually."

Maybe that's why Boing Boing put in on their site and why Dave Winer posted it on his blog.

The D66 (Democrats 66) party has voted to stay in the current right-wing government coalition.

The D66 party was originally founded in 1966 on a platform of reforms to the Dutch democratic system in order to give more say to voters in how they were governed. Hans van Mierlo, one of the leading founders of the party has even claimed that "political renewal" and "radical democratization" are the sole reasons for the party's existence.

Apparently the "democrats 66" have set aside their guiding principles, because they have now voted to continue their participation in a coalition government against the wishes of 70% of the Dutch electorate.

The continued participation of D66 in the government became uncertain after the upper house of the Dutch parliament failed to agree to constitutional changes required to allow the direct election of mayors. Currently Dutch mayors are appointed by the Crown, usually on the recommendation of the city council. Mayoral reform was the main reason for D66's participation in the current coalition.

At a congress held on 2 April 2005, which was broadcast live on Dutch TV, the "democrats" decided that it was in their own and the "country's interest" not to leave the coalition. Opposition parties have said D66 is simply afraid of the voters.

The current Dutch coalition government has implemented draconian reforms of the social security system and cutbacks on public spending while reducing the highest income tax rates and corporate taxes. In polls, a large majority of Dutch voters have indicated that they have little or no confidence in the current cabinet led by prime minister Balkenende - who is disparagingly called "Harry Potter" because of his schoolboy haircut.

I shudder at the thought of another two years of this government. So far the government's policies have only made everything worse. Liberalization of the railways and electricity have only led to higher prices and worse service and muncipal rates and charges have almost doubled. Unemployment has increased, as well as bankruptcies and foreclosures. A recent poll showed that 38% of middle-class families had trouble making ends meet.

Koos Kombuis is an Afrikaans-speaking white South African "liberal" and a well-known musician and writer in South Africa.

I'm posting his open letter to President Thabo Mbeki because it puts into words a growing unease many South Africans both at home and abroad feel about the rhetoric coming from the SA government, and in particular expressed by President Mbeki in his weekly "Letter from the President".

Read more!

This story shows just how special dolphins are.

At Whangarei, New Zealand, a pod of dolphins circled for 40 minutes around a group of lifeguards swimming in the ocean to protect them from a marauding 3 meter great white shark.

The full story is on the New Zealand Herald. There was also a short BBC News story.

This is not the first time dolphins have prevented a shark attack, but previous cases have often been poorly documented.

This ad made me smile. EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) is one of the largest European defence contractors. Perhaps the company's French and German roots didn't help sales in the US market, so they came up with this ad. What could be more American (Texan even) than European helicopters?