It is the day after KPN, the telephone company, was supposed to install our new home phone service. Our previous service was with Ziggo, our cable TV/Internet provider. We had problems with the Ziggo phone service, so we decided to switch.

Yesterday, at about 1:00pm, our Ziggo phone stopped working, as expected. But no one from KPN ever showed up. Now we have no dial tone. If anyone attempts to call us, it just rings busy.

The new KPN phone line is not working. I have connected all the equipment according to the instructions. Lights that are supposed be ON do not light up.

I received a letter notifying me that the efforts by KPN to transfer my phone number from Ziggo, my current phone provider, have failed, and that I will have to deal with the number transfer myself.

They have provided me with a form to send to my current internet provider along with the addresses of the six other (count 'em) service providers in Den Haag. I am impressed with the selection. I am not impressed that I have to do this myself.

I contact Ziggo (another 900 toll number) and made arrangements to transfer our phone number to KPN. Ziggo will be providing us with internet service till September 30, which gives us a 3 week overlap. Since we are paying both Ziggo and KPN for internet, this wipes out ½ the money I saved switching to a new provider. Stupid.

Whoa, it'e been awhile since the last update here. Here are some excuses:

We went to Costa Rica and Guatamala for 3 weeks. We have also have had many visitors, which always makes for a busy time. Currently we have my youngest son staying with us and enjoying some fijn Holland hospitality.

When we moved to the Netherlands two years ago, we had the option of signing up for phone, internet and TV from a single supplier. There were lots of choices for this. We selected a local cable TV company.

The technician arrived within a few days of us moving in and connected the cable to get the TV working. We also received a set top box called a Humax for our TV.

The internet kit arrived in the mail. Although the instructions were all in Dutch, there were good illustrations and in about 45 minutes, we were up and running with phone, internet and TV.

July 3 - 27, 2009

The Reluctant Traveler embarked on a trip to Central America in July 2009 as the trusty side kick and porter to Lady J.

The trip lasted 3 weeks and we visited the countries of Guatemala and Costa Rica. Although the two countries are less than 900 km apart, they are separated by 3 other countries - Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Central America is a poor cousin to it's northern neighbours and european cousins, but the difference between Costa Rica and Guatemala is stark.

June was the month of Den Haag Festivals 2009. There were stages and events all over the city including one in Grote Markt, a square surrounded by pubs and with enough room to set up a stage (OK - right over the stairs to the tram station but no one seemed to mind). And it was free!.

Please note I'm not asking the question "Is Canada a nation of racists?". If I thought the majority of Canadians had some harsh, prejudicial and ignorant view on a particular race, religion or culture, that might be a fair question. But that isn't the case at all. Canadians are pretty decent, considerate people. They have earned a good reputation in most of the world and it serves them well.

But the politics of a nation, the relationships it fosters with the global community, and the reputation it has earned are more fluid and subject to winds of change. So in asking the question "Is Canada a Racist Nation", it is within a context of of current political events.

This week Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that the government will comply with a Federal Court order and issue Abousfian Abdelrazik an emergency passport home.

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of this ordeal and the despicable behavior of this government will be remembered the next time there is an election. But who to vote for? There are few politicians now that inspire confidence and trust.

Last Thursday Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced in the House of Commons that …the government will comply with the court order with respect to issuing an emergency passport to Abousfian Abdelrazik. The court order he refers to was a June 4 ruling by Federal Court of Canada Justice Zinn.

A website called PeoplesCommission.org provides a wealth of information on the Abdelrazik case, including Justice Zinn's decision. I discovered this site on the Rabble.ca website, which has become a favorite of mine for news that doesn't make the news.

Both MLW and some good friends thought this picture was the result of some clever Photoshop editing.

In truth, I'm not that skilled; this picture is quite real. It appears on a CTV website story from March 26, 2009.

This date also coincides with our government banning British MP George Galloway from entering Canada to speak to several anti-war groups in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

The date also marks when Canada was the only member of the United Nation Human Rights Council to support Israel's illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank.