Although Jan Peter Balkenende first took office as prime minister of the Netherlands in 2002, until today I din’t know the man actually has a sense of humor. At least, I hope that he does.
On multiple occasions now 1, he has said, and I quote: “I want a VOC mentality again.” VOC in this context standing for Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or Dutch East India Company. By this he means “the will to advance and the will to be the first.” The first in what exactly is not clear to me though.
The VOC, those were the guys that traded for — or simply took, that’s a matter of opinion I guess — spices and other goods in what is now Indonesia. Later they colonized the place. They did not hesitate to use force against the locals if it suited their needs. There are reports of pretty brutal slaughters that took place there.
So that is the mentality that our prime minister so desires? Strange, I was always taught in school that these were activities one should not be proud of. So either Mr. Balkenende must be joking, or he really ought to read his history books again, thoroughly.
Just thought I’d share this with the world. Maybe something for foreign governments to keep in mind the next time they have dealings with him. 
1. This page is in Dutch, here’s a translation by Google.
— just never came up before. I got the white 16 GB model. It would be ridiculous to go for the 8 GB version, because my iPod touch is filled with almost 7 GiB of music already. As for the color, well, I just think white looks better. Don’t know why.