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Not In My Backyard

by Oui Fri Jan 12th, 2018 at 10:49:30 AM EST

Follow-up diary of my previous ...

Envoy Hoekstra Acts Just Like His Boss Trump

Participated in the public debate when mayor Wim Deetman (Labor Party) tried to convince us elderly the new U.S. Embassy should be build in a park called Clingendael. A stone's throw from where I lived, the local people would have none of it and launched a loud protest against the mayor. Speaker after speaker voiced their opposition with well placed arguments to the historical neighborhood. The criticism really got under the mayors' skin and he quickly got very pissed, threatened to shut down the debate bij leaving the public meeting. That had the opposite effect on us elders of course!

During the German occupation 1940-1945, The Hague as most large cities, had suffered greatly from fascist administration. Seyss-Inquart took possession of the large villa in Park Clingendael. In many places, the German SS tortured their political prisoners and many were executed in the dunes of Waalsdorpervlakte where every year a remembrance ceremony is held and televised in moments of silence.

More below the fold ...


The U.S. Embassy had to move away from The Hague city center due to security risk for the public. Also the Embassy acts as a magnet for large protests, similar to the U.S. consulate located in Amsterdam near the Rijksmuseum (Museum Square).

The new location of the U.S. Embassy is in a beautiful open area with sport fields, a horse racing track, plenty of parks and near where King Alexander and his beautiful Argentinian spouse Maxima will live - het Haagse Bos. Most of the embassy building is an underground bunker ... in the area around Clingendael there are still bunkers from the German occupation, part of the fortified Atlantic Wall. As a child I watched the many bunkers located in a stretch of coast blown up by dynamite. Crossing the dunes to reach the beach of the North Sea, envied by German tourists even before Hitler, there were many no-go areas ... minefields. For a child that does leave an impression. So it goes ...

Just got the news America's new president Donald C. Trump won't be coming for the opening ceremony of his embassy, not here in The Netherlands, nor in London. It seems the White House got through its intelligence community [likely with help from GCHQ listening posts, Andrew Wood and Chris Steele of course - Oui ;-)] multiple signals the president will not be received as the Big Liberator of Europe ... perhaps there would be some protest, certainly not the crowds a narcissistic president would demand. So it goes ...

Amid protest fears, Trump will not visit London to open new US embassy

Leaving us deplorables to live in the multiple no-go areas of Birmingham and The Hague where the Sharia dominates and people of global ethnicities are trying to make a living as new immigrants. The Republicans of the Trump administration will have none of it. Please make them terrorists go away. So it goes ...

 « click for more info »

The Trumps lived the American Dream, thanks to the Yukon gold rush, so it goes ... the rest are just Dreamers!

In my short lived stay @dKos ...

The move Ambassador Clifford Sobel wanted to Park Clingendael, led to a people's revolt (June 2005)

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Our narcissistic President does not like to entertain, greatly enjoys being entertained, that's so HUGE ...

Donald Trump will end the first year of his presidency without hosting a state dinner | The Independent |

Donald Trump will become the first US president in nearly a century to end their first year without hosting a state dinner.

Running for office, the US leader criticised events like them, although they are viewed by many as as an important diplomatic tool. Often they include a showy arrival ceremony and an elaborate dinner at the White House.

Mr Trump disparaged former President Barack Obama for holding state dinners, and he was particularly critical when he Mr Obama held a state dinner during a 2015 visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.  

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"I would not be throwing [Xi] a dinner," Mr Trump said at the time. "I would get him a McDonald's hamburger and say we've got to get down to work."

But earlier this year, on a tour in Asia, Mr Trump boasted about the red carpets, military parades and fancy dinners that Asian leaders had provided for him.

China shuts down Forbidden City in top-level personal welcome for the Trumps | South China Moring Post |

"Magnificent," he declared at one point on the trip to describe an event that had been hosted in his honour.

Modern Flourishes at Obamas' State Dinner | NY Times - Nov. 24, 2009 |

It is an old tradition, a White House dinner governed by ritual and protocol that happens to be this city's hottest social event. But at their first state dinner on Tuesday night, President Obama and his wife, Michelle, made sure to infuse the glittering gala with distinctive touches.

They hired a new florist, Laura Dowling, who bedecked the tented outdoor dining room with locally grown, sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy. They selected a guest chef, Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit in New York, an American citizen who was born in Ethiopia, reared in Sweden and cooks up melting pots of flavors and cuisines.

They invited local students to witness the arrival of the guests of honor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, and presented a mélange of musical entertainment, including the National Symphony Orchestra; Jennifer Hudson, the singer and actress; Kurt Elling, the jazz musician from Chicago; and A. R. Rahman, the Indian composer who wrote the score to the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 12th, 2018 at 01:17:22 PM EST


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