Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Unlawful Legacy of Guus Broesterhuizen, Paul van Beukering, and Derk-Jan de Groot



Video download link | md5sum 04305f517fe354cac4953f7f6b7ebd9d



Summary: Though it's customary to assume a strong sense of justice in Holland, the EPO's affairs serve to dispute, disprove, and dispel such widespread perceptions

TODAY we publish Part 6 in the series about Benoît Battistelli's patently illegal "Strike Regulations", which António Campinos capitalised on for over 3 years as EPO President. Remember how hard it was to convince EPO colleagues it would be safe (and simple) to go on strike last December. Almost half the workers in Vienna participated in the strike, but elsewhere the participation rates were lower as there were punishments (e.g. salary deduction). This epic injustice went on for nearly a decade and there is no sign of reparations. Yet worse -- many who were the perpetrators of these illegal policies are already retired, dead, or absent from the court of public opinion. They've ruined the lives of so many people and they set the scene for union-busting activities by a French/Corsican despot with neo-colonial 'curfews'.



"The concept of diplomatic immunity and proactive sheltering of abusers (shielding them from courts, begetting impunity) does no favour to the image of the country."Where else in the world must one ask for permission to go on strike from the very people the strike is against? It's beyond absurd, it's intellectually dishonest.

The video above focuses on the fact that despite being the home of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as per this meme, Dutch territories have long been a hub of various types of illegal activities (even merciless massacres in Dutch colonies after the Second World War; such extractive occupation merits its own ICC case). The perception of the country as a champion of human rights is simply not justified. One such example is the EPO and the voting record, e.g. on "Strike Regulations".

Een sectie militairen tijdens een rustpauze, BestanddeelnrThe concept of diplomatic immunity and proactive sheltering of abusers (shielding them from courts, begetting impunity) does no favour to the image of the country. It's time for a rethink.

Wikipedia has a whole category for Dutch war crimes; take for example Raymond Westerling, who "participated in a coup attempt against the Indonesian government in January 1950, a month after the official transfer of sovereignty. Both actions were denounced as war crimes by the Indonesian authorities." How about Alphons Wijnen? Well, as Wikipedia puts it, "in 1947 Dutch Attorney General. H. A. Felderhof decided not to prosecute the responsible major for war crimes." Dutch not holding the Dutch accountable while insisting they can hold the rest of the world accountable. In the United States they have a word for it: exceptionalism.

Recent Techrights' Posts

How We Do Techrights (and What's Changing Next Week)
Many former news sites no longer yield much non-meaningless news (not anymore); there's a gap to be filled
Links 12/07/2026: Palantir Unrest and Wireshark 4.6.7
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2026: New Instrument Time and PalmOS Experiences in 2026
Links for the day
Red Hat Staff Says IBM Policy Has Stigmatised Him as a Tool and a Slopper With Plagiarism Tools
IBM is killing Red Hat with slop
Freedom of Choice or Freedom Versus Choice (or When All Choices Are Incompatible With Freedom)
When some business asserts that it gives people different options, then it can rightly argue that it offers some choices, but that is not the same as freedom
Techrights IRC Turns 5 Without a “Code of Conduct”, “Code of Conduct Committee”, and All Those Bureaucratic Nightmares
18+ years if one counts our time in Freenode as well
Why U No Use AI???
Many hype waves come and go
There Are Still Slopfarms in Google News
Google is trying to participate in if not lead this pyramid scheme
The Cyber Show Explains How Slop and Promotion of Slop is About Taking Control Away From Computer Users
"On making a trustworthy machine"
Keeping Available the Site at All Times
Informal arrangements and crowdfunding keep our work available despite resistance (including from people who break the law)
What If "Era of AI" and "AI Revolution" (Fake News) Never Happened?
So how much longer before the bust (or bubble-burst)?
GNU/Linux Approaches 5% in Australia
5% by year's end?
Europe/EU is Moving Towards Independence, Fast to Adopt Free Software
More and more states (governments, public sector) in Germany are dumping Microsoft
GNU/Linux Grows at the Expense of Windows
People who want to get work done already left Windows
Tux Machines Growing as a Volunteers-Run Site
Historically the site did not have many original stories, but this changed as the audience grew and the site gained more recognition
Links 12/07/2026: European Commission Versus ‘Addictive Design’, "Google Loses Final Appeal Over $4.7 Billion EU Android Antitrust Fine"
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Market Share Increases Some More Today, statCounter Measures It at 7.3%
Will more such thresholds and records be broken?
Gemini Links 12/07/2026: Studying Languages and 2026 Old Computer Challenge (OCC)
Links for the day
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XIII - At the EPO, Cocaine Addicts and Their Friends Are "Protected Class"
What does that tell us about the EPO?
Increasing Output by Focusing on Originals
It's probably more important to carry on with these than it is to keep abreast of non-crucial news
Amid Strikes and Industrial Actions, Young Professionals at the European Patent Office (EPO) Kept on 'Short Leash', According to the Local Staff Committee The Hague
Issues affecting Young Professionals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 11, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, July 11, 2026
Blogs May be Making a Comeback (They're Not Fediverse, They Are Joined by RSS Feeds)
Don't fake expansion where none existed
ChromeOS and GNU/Linux in the United Kingdom Reach 11%
the UK shows signs of digital maturity
Corporate Media: Blame the People Who Enter the Abandoned IBM Buildings, Not IBM for Abandoning Workers in Pursuit of IT Sweatshops
When the media spreads falsehoods stocks can go up (a lot higher), but at whose expense and how long for?
Canonical is Selling Microsoft, It Pays The Register MS to Sell Microsoft
It's all about money to them. And they call this journalism.
When Red Hat's HR Becomes the Same as IBM's HR (Bluewashing)
Red Hat keeps sacking very experienced engineers and adding temporary interns
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia
Assuming this is more or less accurate, we could use a plausible explanation
SUEPO Munich Report on the Recent EPO Demonstration and Rolling Strikes That Continue to Grow
"increasing registrations for the 'rolling strikes' running until autumn"
Over a Week After Microsoft Discontinued Some XBox Models It Apparently Exits Some Markets Altogether
We seem to be witnessing the end of XBox
Gemini Links 11/07/2026: Old Computer challenge, Poems, Antenna, and More
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2026: "Trademark wars of Influencer Culture", Xinuos Uses Copyrights Versus UNIX
Links for the day
North America: GNU/Linux Measured at 10%
To better understand what contributes to the gains
Following Corrections and Adjustments statCounter Sees GNU/Linux at 7.1%, an All-Time High
There is a lot of layoffs at Microsoft this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 10, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 10, 2026
Links 11/07/2026: Wednesday-Saturday News Catch-up
Links for the day
Prioritising High-Importance News
In order to fully catch up with news we'll not publish many new articles until next week