The Off Topic Topic

[Syt]

The Dutch charm campaign towards southern EU countries continues.

Yikes.

[Syt]

[Josquius]

I started work in cellular as the United States was switching from analog to digital technology.  Back then people were convinced that digital was more likely to give them cancer or that the PCS bands were way more dangerous than the cellular bands.  We hired a professor of Biology from the University of Michigan as a consultant to go with us to public hearings in order to try allay the public's fears.  I remember one meeting where he explained the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.  One of the city councilmen replied "Well I took biology in high school and I think you're wrong."

This was before widespread adoption of the internet.  That's made things much worse.  Later I'd have people confront me about "Radio Frequency;" not grasping that the transistor radio they listened to when they were young was receiving radio frequency.

Yep. It's weird how little understood radiation is amongst the public.  Sadly it's not something simple enough to teach.
These days you hear of lots of attacks on mobile communications workers.

I bet Tyr agrees with the woman.

Well yeah. On those particular issues. Sounds like she has some less agreeable views elsewhere though.

[Eddie Teach]

I didn't mean about Brexit, but about calling her "very right-wing". 

[The Larch]

The Dutch charm campaign towards southern EU countries continues.

At least British Euroscepticism was focused on the Commission. This stuff is dangerous in the long run (obviously there'll be good papers in the Netherlands too).

Sadly it's not something recent and has been going on for a while, at the very least since the 2008 crisis. Why the Netherlands feel like they have to become the EU's asshole about this I don't know (Maladict?), all I've read is that it's all very much internal politics, with the government coalition partners competing about who is the toughest in order to play at their voters (something somehow related to Brexit).

[The Brain]

It was amusing hearing from Swedes who moved to the Netherlands how the natives took pride in their Northern efficiency, but to a Swede Dutch bureaucracy was an inefficient mess.

[Sheilbh]

Friends I've had who've moved to the Netherlands have not been fans. I think if you're not Dutch (and certainly if you're British), Dutch honesty and bluntness can look a lot like rudeness and racism.

[Maladict]

The Dutch charm campaign towards southern EU countries continues.

At least British Euroscepticism was focused on the Commission. This stuff is dangerous in the long run (obviously there'll be good papers in the Netherlands too).

Elsevier is a respectable publication. Obviously it's an opinion piece (paywalled, sadly), but the magazine is mostly aligned with the currect liberal-conservative government so no surprise there, really.

Sadly it's not something recent and has been going on for a while, at the very least since the 2008 crisis. Why the Netherlands feel like they have to become the EU's asshole about this I don't know (Maladict?), all I've read is that it's all very much internal politics, with the government coalition partners competing about who is the toughest in order to play at their voters (something somehow related to Brexit).

The Dutch government tended to ally with the Brits in toning down calls for further integration and 'sending blank cheques to the east and south'. It seems they're now trying to lead a new group (Austria and Scandis mostly) as a kind of opposition. There has always been euroskepticism on the right, but yeah it has been dialled up out of fear of losing votes to the more extreme right.

It was amusing hearing from Swedes who moved to the Netherlands how the natives took pride in their Northern efficiency, but to a Swede Dutch bureaucracy was an inefficient mess.

Dutch bureaucracy is a mess, you'll find very few people denying that.

Friends I've had who've moved to the Netherlands have not been fans. I think if you're not Dutch (and certainly if you're British), Dutch honesty and bluntness can look a lot like rudeness and racism.

Fair enough 

[Sheilbh]

Fair enough 

And obviously I imagine from a Dutch perspective, British politeness looks a lot like hypocrisy and lies

[Duque de Bragança]

So Dutch bureaucracy is more or less like German bureaucracy?

[The Larch]

Portuguese photoshopped answer to that cover. 

[Duque de Bragança]

The sandals and socks ( at the beach...) is typically a jab at Germans but that will do. 

[Tamas]

Two minicab companies in a Ukrainian city close to Kiev had a proper shootout involving hundreds, as they couldn't agree on dividing up their turfs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NWhYBZvOTI

[Iormlund]

The sandals and socks ( at the beach...) is typically a jab at Germans but that will do. 

All guiris wear sandal and socks.

[DGuller]

Two minicab companies in a Ukrainian city close to Kiev had a proper shootout involving hundreds, as they couldn't agree on dividing up their turfs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NWhYBZvOTI

I've seen better use of cover in Jagged Alliance 2.