[Verschenen in nrc.next en NRC Handelsblad: recensie van Bert-Jaap Koops e.a. (red): De maakbare mens. Tussen fictie en fascinatie, uig. Bert Bakker, en Tjalling Swierstra e.a.: Leven als bouwpakket, uitg. Klement.]
Wat voor mensen willen we eigenlijk worden?
Over de maakbare samenleving hoor je tegenwoordig zelden, over de maakbare mens des te vaker. Er komen steeds meer [...]
[I was on the board of Spamvrij.nl, a Dutch foundation that fought spam: we documented Dutch spam runs and tried to educate Dutch companies about the proper use of e-mail as an advertisement medium. Mid 2003, we developed a strong hunch that the biggest Dutch spam house, Cyberangels, was actually run by Martijn Bevelander, owner [...]
[Verschenen in de serie 'Brandende kwesties' in Vrij Nederland.]
DE OVERHEID VERTROUWT ONS NIET MEER. Burgers moeten steeds uitgebreider worden gecontroleerd: we mochten eens een misstap begaan.
Justitie heeft haar bevoegdheden in de afgelopen jaren fors uitgebreid. Eind 1999 gaf de nationale ombudsman de gemeente Amsterdam ongenadig op haar donder vanwege de massale ‘preventieve aanhoudingen’ die rond [...]
New medium, same old problems - plus a few new ones
[Essay written for the Yearbook 2001/2002 of the Freedom of the Media office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE / FOM).]
The internet is a medium unlike any other. While it embodies aspects of different more old-fashioned media, it not only combines [...]
[Verschenen in De Standaard. Recensie van Gary Taylor: Castration. An abbreviated history of western manhood, uitgeverij Routledge, New York 2000.]
LAAT DE TERM CASTRATIE in gemengd gezelschap vallen en zie hoe alle mannen naar hun kruis grijpen, zo ongeveer als voetballers in het muurtje zich beschermen wanneer de tegenpartij een strafschop neemt.
Dat komt door Freud. [...]
Carrying water from the desert to the sea
Stockholm, January 26-27, 2001
[Previous installment: Unacceptable truths.] WHEN WE ARRIVE AT COURT for the final day, two women approach us. Zenon shakes hands with one of them; they speak for a short while, Zenon introduces her to me - it is the bailiff who was responsible for the [...]
Unacceptable truths
Stockholm, January 24-25, 2001
[Previous installment: Child games.] THE COURT HAS ADJOURNED for two days. Friday we will resume: that day, pleas are to be held and that’s it. Afterwards, all we can do is wait for the ruling (and pray to Xenu).
McShane’s vehement assertion that no Class IX auditor ever pays for the ‘privilege’ [...]
Child games
Stockholm, January 23, 2001
[Previous installment: Magnusson becomes helpful.] ZENON HAS NEW EVIDENCE and presents it to the court; it is a result of my transcript of McShane’s testimony as posted to the internet. Zenon got an e-mail from somebody [thank you! You know who you are] who claims that the NOTs are also studied [...]
Magnusson becomes helpful
Stockholm, January 22, 2001
[Previous installment: McShane compliments Zenon.] WHEN ZENON AND I ENTER the hall after the weekend, Magnusson’s aide is the first person that we meet. While he usually ignores us, he now makes a show of flashing me a big grin. He must have read my previous report, I gather, and [...]
McShane compliments Zenon
Stockholm, January 19, 2001
[Previous installment: Mangled material.] THE SCIENTOLOGY DELEGATION has changed configuration: there are two new guys. One of them is an extra interpreter. Today, McShane will be deposed and he needs a legal interpreter. Neither of the translators are Scientologists; that is apparent from the fact that they speak with us. [...]