My Life on this planet.

Recently at the start of 2021, the British royal family came more than once in the news as a result of the bad relationship with part of the media, and certainly between Meghan Markle who is married with Prince Harry, also known by their titles Duke and Duchess of Sussex.  An interview by these Duchesses of Sussex with Oprah Winfrey made things worse, including the relationship within the Royal family such as between Prince William and Prince Harry. Indeed, certainly Prince Harry always had visible troubles with the (gossip) media as he blames them for the death of his mother Princess Diana. That is also one reason why over one years ago the Duchesses of Sussex decided to withdraw as senior Royals and moved first to Canada and later the USA. This decision already put strain on the Royal family and their relations between each other.  Things became even worse when Prince Philip was in hospital at the time when the interview was broadcast and certain gossip media even blamed the...

The month October. A further slow build-up of tensions between the West and Muslim countries. The reason? Terrorist attacks in France as a result of the publication of cartoons by the magazine Charlie Hebdo whereby certain caricatures depict the Prophet Muhammad, even when the magazine knows this is unacceptable for many (religious) Muslims as it suggests they are all extremists and thus their publications will increase tensions with Muslims and radicalise some as the terror attacks against the magazine and later attacks proof.  For me,  it is unbelievable that people want to sacrifice themselves and even loved ones because they are angry about pictures. Still, as God says in old books, let those who want to die for God die for Him. But, it is sad that innocent people die. And thus potential terrorists should be stopped, the reason why telecom companies should be able to save and store telephone calls for a certain period (of course, with respect for the privacy). But, believe...

What was to be expected that may happen one day: a war against the tabloids by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle . Indeed, Prince Harry never forgot how the media was responsible for the dead of his mother and thus now he wants to protect his wife and child against the gossip media, certainly because part of the media is considered as hostile towards his dark-skinned wife who decided to have a break away from the media during her pregnancy as is her right to do. He's not the only person who is fed up with the intrusion of privacy by part of the media , a media that has been warned since years they are overstepping lines. And thus, as phone hacking is illegal without a court order, I think they should be able to win that part if they can proof part of the media hacked them. Of course, it will not make them popular with the media. However, after reading this article whereby I understand her father went to the media with the letter she wrote, it seems to suggest the real ...

The second most important person in the current US government, president Trump’s direct adviser Steve Bannon, told the media “… to keep its mouth shut …” and many journalists were chocked at this direct attack. This is not surprising to me nor should it be for the media that should follow and thus understand what goes on in society, illustrating that Mr Bannon may be right when he says that “ The media should … keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile ” as “ They (= the media) don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States ” while one would expect journalists may even have foretold this if only they took what's going on in the world more serious: people who protests for a better and fairer society versus people with an opposite view in an increasingly polarised world. But certainly powerful people in movements such as the Tea Party should be taken serious as they can influence politicians and business wit...

Unfortunately, what was to be expected happened again: another terrorist attack on a newspaper, now in France, because some madmen felt they were insulted by cartoons published in a French newspaper. I say 'again' because in the past years there were already attacks on other news agencies such as in Denmark , all for the same reason that cartoons were published that show the Prophet Muhammad and try to ridicule him and thus a whole religion because, as Muhammad was the founder of Islam, ridicule him equals ridicule Islam equals ridicule its believers and their believes . And don't forget, the extremists from other religions are the worse to ridicule people of other religions although some atheists are also good in making fun of others. I have no right to insult, only a right to inform and discuss things in a polite manner It is very sad innocent people died such as the (Muslim) policeman and others during two attacks the next day. I also feel sad journalists we...

The comedian John Cleese criticised social media during the promotion of a new film , I think for some good reasons while he also admitted he used them too as they have many positive advantages. I use social media to stay in contact with family and friends close by home and worldwide and I would not want to miss it anymore, even when I only use these media scarcely. That is one of the main advantages of social media: you can connect very easily with people you want to follow or publish short messages very quickly so friends and family stay informed about you. However, indeed there are excesses whereby some people misuse these media, e.g. bullying and/or spreading rumours about other people, sometimes even driving people towards committing suicide. These excesses can and should be stopped. Some people say that is not possible because there are no specific laws with regard to social media and more in general the internet. However, although I am not a lawyer, I think the exist...