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Amsterdam municipal plan for total control over private vehicles does not fit into a free society — and will not work
It’s not a scene from a futuristic movie, but a plan from Amsterdam’s city hall. You approach a school, a park, a busy intersection or bike path on your bike, and as you try to move forward, you notice that remotely your bike’s speed is reduced to 15 km/h. This total control over private vehicles…
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Debt problems caused by ‘buy now, pay later’ are not solved with additional privacy breaches
More and more Dutch online shops are offering customers a ‘Buy now, pay later’ button from companies such as Klarna and Riverty (formerly Afterpay). With this, Dutch people place tens of millions of orders every year without checking out. H&M calls it a ‘modern shopping experience‘. The temptation not to pay appears to be great…
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Abolishing civil defense sirens is a short-sighted form of frugality that puts us at unnecessary risk
While sirens are blaring every day in Ukraine and Israel, our caretaker cabinet is about to cut the Dutch civil defense sirens that were introduced shortly after World War II to warn the population during dangerous situations. This decision, presented last Friday by the cabinet as a “significant” cost saving, will save per resident €0.75…
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‘Nie wieder’ also means: never again such databases of personal data
The phrase ‘I have nothing to hide’ reflects a dangerous naivety reminiscent of a dark chapter in history, the Second World War, when it suddenly turned out that we did have something to hide. The former Artis concert hall housed Amsterdam’s population register with details of 70,000 Jews that the occupiers wanted to use. Dressed…
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Rebuilding trust? Stop spreading distrust first
Trust in Dutch society has declined in recent years, a trend also seen in other countries. Citizens trust both the government and each other less and less. That is why this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos was dedicated to ‘Rebuilding Trust’, which was also attended by Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Why…
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Give kids more digital skills? Teach them reading, writing and maths
It is an epidemic silently raging through our classrooms. While Dutch youngsters swipe faster than their shadows and with a flair that makes their parents dizzy, they are getting worse at reading and writing every year. They have the best digital skills in Europe but are now among the worst readers and writers in developed…