Dutch Group Forms Website to Allow Anyone on the Planet to Vote in 2004 US Elections

The World Votes ^ | August 29, 2003 | nwrep

[Liberty Wins]

Sad to see how low Holland has sunk since WWII, no pun intended. What happened to the decent, hard-working, freedom-loving Dutch of yesterday?

[P.O.E.]

At least we have elections, unlike the EU Commission

[FreeReporting]

Hudspah multiplied. The Dutch are usually very sensible people, but here you have to remember that they are neighbours to the Belgians who wanted to institute trials of world leaders.

Talk about inflated ideas of their own importance!

I wonder how much tax each "voter" will contribute to the USA?

[AndyJackson]

Do I see a boycott of Dutch companies on the horizon?

Can we just let them go defend the holdings of Royal Dutch Shell on their own.

[Sgt_Schultze]

To quote the famous...

"There are two things I hate: people intolerant to others’ cultures, and the Dutch."

Thanks Michael!

[Sgt_Schultze]

Here you go...

[bwteim]

Sad to see how low Holland has sunk since WWII, no pun intended. What happened to the decent, hard-working, freedom-loving Dutch of yesterday?

Sad - but good pun, tho!
I found a paper - see excerpt below, there may be the promise of some reality therapy for the Dutch before it all goes under?

THE NETWORK SOCIETY AND THE SOLIDARITY CONTRACT

Challenges for Social Policy in the Era of Information and Globalisation, by Erik de Gier, University of Amsterdam

"The Netherlands experienced in 2002 a relatively strong political and social upheaval, till that moment unknown in the post-World War II years. Then, the existing sustainable pragmatist political coalition of social democrats and liberals suddenly lost massively social support in favour of a populist right-wing political party whose party leader has just been assassinated.

This new party for the first time publicly played the anti-immigrants playing card. The overwhelming political success of this party during the parliamentary elections in spring was only one of the expressions of an unforeseen social dissatisfaction at a large scale. The troubled relation between citizens, and between citizens and government reached its peak in the first half of 2002 (De Gier 2002).

The background of this dissatisfaction is the deeply felt experience of uncertainty and unsafety of many people in their daily life situation and as a consequence the decline of trust between people, and between the population and the government. Vos relates this directly to the informational revolution (Vos 2002). She states that the feeling of uncertainty and unsafety of people is based on the gradual decline of social cohesion in many neighbourhoods of cities in The Netherlands. Also neighbourhoods experience a development from a more traditional neighbourhood society to a network society. Geographical closeness of people in neighbourhoods as such, is not sufficient anymore for the creation of social cohesion (also Van Beek 2003)."

[manic4organic]

For some reason the Dutch bring only two words to mind: finger and dike

[SoCal_Republican]

"All citizens around the world who are committed to building a democratic international system of governance that is based on respect for universal human rights"

I'm so glad to see that they are concerned about democracy and human rights. And what is their stand on democracy in Iraq? Human rights in Iraq? OK, then Sudan? North Korea? Hmmph. I can't seem to find anything on their site about this. Must not be looking hard enough.

[knighthawk]

"Then, the existing sustainable pragmatist political coalition of social democrats and liberals suddenly lost massively social support in favour of a populist right-wing political party whose party leader has just been assassinated."

The guy was Pim Fortuyn. He was killed by a left-winger a few days before the elections. 1 in 7 voters still voted for Fortuyn. Polls said he would have been minister-president if he was not shot dead.

[bwteim]

Yes I know. Shot by left winger and animal rights fanatic (redundancy). What has happened to Fortuyn's party now?

[knighthawk]

It is almost dead now. Internal fighting caused a lot of people to look to other parties, or form small parties themselves. Also without Fortuyn it doesn't mean much now.
The LPF went from 26 to 8 seats, and polls show they will go back to 2.

Politics have gone back to the way it was before Fortuyn.

[bwteim]

Thanks for the info. Check your FReepmail, plse.

[zygoat]

Note to the Dutch: Go stick your finger in a dyke, and I'm NOT talking about your likely choice for OUR president.

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

Aren't these the same people that came up with the bright idea of WOODEN SHOES?

Wooden shoes used to be quite common all over Europe, or at least in the northwest of Europe where you get lots of wet weather. Keeps your feet up and out of the mud.

In the middle ages there were even hinged wooden shoes, with straps to tie your regular shoes into it. The hinges allowed a more natural motion of the foot, but the wooden "sole" allowed one to wear ordinary shoes with these whilst staying above the mud. A kind of "outdoor shoe" to protect your good "indoor shoe".

Research the origins of the word sabotage. Hint: it's from a French word for wooden shoe.

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

If memory serves, don't some Dutch localities allow resident non-citizens to vote in their local elections? Maybe that's where they are getting their crazy ideas from. "Democracy" is such a good idea that anyone should be allowed to vote for anything at any time for any reason!

In fact, here in the States we have people calling illegal aliens "undocumented immigrants" and they want to give them in-state college tuition, drivers licenses, welfare, etc., so why not let them vote too? We have the same kind of crazy people here in the States, so let's not jump on the Dutch because they have a few nuts of their own.

[cyborg]

No not by me I'm afraid. Much of my extended family are employed by Royal Dutch Shell in Curacao, Guadaloupe and Suriname. I am not going to judge a whole country by the actions of three people.

[bimbo]

Their silly little votes have no bearing.

I'm not so sure ... there are a lot of stupid American voters who want only "to vote for the winner" and this DU site will be letting them know for whom to vote.

[bimbo]

It will only tick the majority of Americans off.

I'm hoping that it will tick off all those "mock voters" whose own countries do not even hold elections.

[bimbo]

I suggest FReepers spread the word in majority-Democrat communities that they can now "VOTE ONLINE at theworldvotes.org!!!".

Great Idea! This is going to work nicely in cities like Washington D.C., Newark, Baltimore, etc.