Shmart

Great, I can look forward to catching some grief from Europeans that see this one!  From North Carolina ...

Is it Monday?

You really can't tell in this town ... I wake up, make the coffee, read the morning e-mail, answer some questions, then head outside to get some breakfast around 10:30 and ...

BAM!  Sure looks like Saturday out there to me!  In Amsterdam, in summertime, every day is Saturday.  The sounds, the sights, the smells (especially the smells) ... and one trainload of college kids after another getting off at Central Station and looking for the party.

I'm looking forward to winter already!  Well ... okay, not the persistent rain & cold part ....

Gay Pride Day in Amsterdam

Hm, what was my first clue .... ?

Vondelpark, lunchtime

Can security be too good?

For governments, the answer is always "Yes" ...

Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry services will be suspended in the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East’s business hub, from October because of security concerns as the company faces similar restrictions in India.

BlackBerry’s Messenger, e-mail and Web browsing services will be halted from Oct. 11, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement on state-run Emirates News Agency. “In their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the U.A.E.,” it said.

In other words, "your encryption is too good for us to eavesdrop on, so you can't use it."

Hey why don't we just have our business conversations by yelling really loudly at each other with megaphones, that'll be really easy for you ... and so secure for us!

Dutch Out of Afghanistan

The final Dutch troops leave Afghanistan today.  The withdrawal became inevitable when the coalition government of the Netherlands fell apart over the Afghanistan issue, with the Labour party unwilling to agree to NATO's request that Netherlands forces remain until 2011.

Minimise Cafe

Excellent food & service, would patronize again!