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Boris Van Der Ham
Boris van der Ham (born 29 August 1973) is a Dutch writer, humanist, former politician, and actor. On 23 May 2002, he became a member of the House of Representatives for the Democrats 66, a social liberal party. From 24 November 2012 to 21 November 2020, he was the president of the Humanistisch Verbond (Dutch Humanist Association). Personal life Van der Ham was raised non-religious, though his parents were raised orthodox Protestant. Van der Ham is sympathetic to the Remonstranten, but calls himself an agnostic humanist. He is openly gay and father of a son and daughter. He studied two years of history in Amsterdam, and then went to the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts; he graduated in 1998. He was active in politics from a young age in his hometown Nieuwkoop, and later on national president of the youthorganisation of D66. After he wanted to have a break from public office, among other activities, he went back to his roots of theatre and film. Member of Parliament In Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Representatives (Netherlands)
The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats, which are filled through elections using party-list proportional representation. Generally, the house is located in the Binnenhof in The Hague, however, it has temporarily moved to the former building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Bezuidenhoutseweg 67 in the Hague while the Binnenhof is being renovated. Name Although the body is officially called the "House of Representatives" in English, it is not a direct translation of its official Dutch name, the "Second Chamber of the States General", "Second Chamber" or more colloquially just the "Chamber". Rather than "representative" (''afgevaardigde''), a member of the House is referred to as ''(Tweede) Kamerlid'', or "member of the (Second) Chamber". Functions Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliamentary Leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their party's most senior member of parliament (MP) in most parliamentary democracies. A party leader may be the same person as the parliamentary leader, or the roles may be separated. Terminology In many countries, the position of leader of a political party (that is, the organisational leader) and leader of a parliamentary group are separate positions, and while they are often held by the same person, this is not always or automatically the case. If the party leader is a member of the government, holds a different political office outside the parliamentary body in question, or no political office at all, the position of parliamentary leader is frequently held by a different person. In English, the leader may be referred to as a "parlia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, it centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society. Orwell, a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian state in the novel on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated. The story takes place in an imagined future in the year 1984, when much of the world is in perpetual war. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, has become a province of the totalitarian superstate Oceania, which is led by Big Brother, a dictatorial leader supported by an intense cult of personality manufactured by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism. Orwell produced literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is known for the allegorical novella ''Animal Farm'' (1945) and the dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (1949). His non-fiction works, including ''The Road to Wigan Pier'' (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and ''Homage to Catalonia'' (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture. Blair was born in India, and raised and educated in England. After school he became an Imperial policeman in Burma, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 until 2004. In 2005 he became the second black Briton to have a play staged in the West End of London. (In 1990, Ray Harrison Graham's Fringe First award-winning play ''Gary'' played at the Arts Theatre.) Kwei-Armah's award-winning piece '' Elmina's Kitchen'' transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 2005. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama. He is currently the artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London, succeeding David Lan. Brought up in Southall, West London, he changed his name at the age of 19, after tracing his family history, through the slave trade back to his ancestral African roots in Ghana. His parents were born in Grenada. He has four chil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ciske De Rat
''Ciske de Rat'' ("Ciske the Rat") is the first part of a trilogy by Dutch author Piet Bakker. It is part of the Ciske trilogy which was written between 1941 (publication was however delayed by paper shortages until 1942) and 1946. The book was published in more than ten countries. It was made into two films, a television series and a musical. Best known is the film version of 1984, starring Danny de Munk as Ciske, Herman van Veen and Willeke van Ammelrooy. Plot summary The setting is in Amsterdam in the 1930s. The story is told by Ciske’s new teacher Bruis. Ciske de Rat ("Ciske the Rat") is the story of eleven-year-old lonely street child Ciske (Franciskus) Vrijmoeth, who has no friends and is only called "the Rat". Ciske has to change school, because he poured ink over his teacher's head. After school, he helps out in a pub, where his mother Marie also works. His beloved father Cor is a sailor and therefore not at home. Ciske groeit op ("Ciske grows up") is the second ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mardjan Seighali
Mardjan Seighali (born 1964) is an Iranian-born Dutch human rights activist, refugee worker and non-profit director. In 2013 Seighali became director of the Stichting voor Vluchteling Studenten UAF (Refugee Students Foundation). She serves on the Advisory Board of the College voor de Rechten van de Mens, and a member of the Supervisory Board of Het Loo Palace. Biography Youth Mardjan Seighali was born in 1964 in the northern Iranian city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea. Until the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1978, Seighali had a protected family life, but the fall of the Shah inspired her to take an interest in politics. Adult life in Iran After the Revolution was hijacked by Islamists in 1979, Seighali joined a progressive party to fight for freedom and equal opportunities. She distributed pamphlets and attended meetings where she participated in discussions. Because of these oppositional political activities, she had to go in hiding for a few months at her aunt's ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freethinkers On The Run
Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods such as logic, reason, and empirical observation. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', a freethinker is "a person who forms their own ideas and opinions rather than accepting those of other people, especially in religious teaching." In some contemporary thought in particular, free thought is strongly tied with rejection of traditional social or religious belief systems. The cognitive application of free thought is known as "freethinking", and practitioners of free thought are known as "freethinkers". Modern freethinkers consider free thought to be a natural freedom from all negative and illusive thoughts acquired from society. The term first came into use in the 17th century in order to refer to people who inquired into the basi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosque Near Ground Zero
Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The developers hoped to promote an interfaith dialogue within the greater community. Due to its proposed location, two blocks from the World Trade Center site of the September 11 attacks, the proposed building was widely and controversially referred to as the "Ground Zero mosque". The project would replace an existing 1850s Italianate building that was damaged in the attacks. The original design was by SOMA Architects principal Michel Abboud, who wrestled for months with the challenge of making the building fit naturally into its lower Manhattan surroundings. He felt it should have a contemporary design, but also look Islamic. His design included a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food court, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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