British Ambassador: Our Criminals Feel at Home in Amsterdam

The British Ambassador in the Netherlands Paul Arkwright, has told Sky News: “We understand why Holland, and Amsterdam in particular, is a place for fugitives to head for because it is close, English is widely spoken and there is a large ex-pat community in which to hide.” On the new U.K. most-wanted list are 9 fugitives thought to be on the run in the Netherlands. Most are drug dealers, but they also include a convicted rapist and an armed robber. Two are escapees from prison, one of which has been at large for more than 5 years. In the past three years, 83 British fugitives, 10 of whom were wanted for murder have been arrested in the Netherlands. Sky News wrote that as a result of the British criminals’ presence, Amsterdam is being called the new “Costa del Crime.”

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/appeal-over-most-wanted-brits-holland-022107850.html

Liberal Party Calls Meteorological Institute Biased

Liberal Parliamentarian Rene Leegte, intends to ask Deputy Minister of the Environment Joop Atsma to stop subsidizing the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI). In his opinion, the institute is far too dependent on the climate research institute IPCC, which are “climate alarmists.” According to Leegte, 20 percent of the researchers of the KNMI cannot be considered scientifically independent.
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/2459172/2011/06/28/VVD-wil-af-van-subsidie-voor-bevooroordeeld-KNMI.dhtml

Labor politician: Wilders is Mothervirus that Infects the Netherlands

Youssef el-Messaoudi, (Labor) a member of the Amersfoort municipal council has called the Freedom party (PVV) a virus which spreads rapidly. He furthermore stated that its leader Geert Wilders is the “mothervirus that infects the Netherlands.” El Messaoudi accused PVV supporters of being behind the threats to the Bilalschool, pupils of which had shouted insults to a passing funeral procession. He twittered: “One must be sick in order to threaten an elementary school, PVV fascists.” He called those who send him angry reactions: “hanging pricks, stupid dogs and PVV fascists.”
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/10096141/___Moedervirus_Geert_besmet_NL___.html?p=1,1

Catholic Organization Disbanded after Failure to Help Sex Victims

The organization Hulp & Recht (Help and Justice) will be disbanded due to its failure to help sexual abuse victims. The Dutch bishops had established it in 1995 in order to assist victims. However, these victims and several collaborators claimed that the institution was far more oriented toward the interests of the Church than those of the victims. In the meantime, it has become clear that many youngsters had been sexually abused a number of years ago by Catholic priests in the Netherlands. More than 1,800 complaints have been lodged. A new independent commission will be established which will include a clinical psychologist.

www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/5091/Religie/article/detail/2457356/2011/06/24/Misbruikte-personen-rk-kerk-hadden-niets-aan-bestaande-hulporganisatie.dhtml

Little Prosecution of Corrupt Government Officials

RTL News has investigated incidents of government employees who commit fraud or theft or are corrupt. The program studied 934 cases at 19 government bodies. The study showed that in 411 cases, the corruption concerned major incidents and possibly criminal acts. The government only complained about 36 cases.
www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/2457507/2011/06/25/Corrupte-ambtenaren-nauwelijks-vervolgd.dhtml

Dutch Banks Have Exposure of 109 Billion Euro in Problematic Countries

Dutch Banks have an exposure of 109 billion Euro of loans in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Dutch insurers and pension funds have an additional exposure of several tens of billions of Euro. This was communicated to the parliament by minister of Finance Jan Kees de Jager. The exposure in Ireland is 13 billion Euro, in Portugal 5 billion Euro, in Spain 58 billion Euro and in Italy 34 billion Euro. De Jager said that if Greece goes bankrupt there is a risk that the crisis will also affect these other countries.
www.telegraaf.nl/dft/nieuws_dft/10074617/__Banken_hebben_109_miljard_in_schuldenlanden__.html?sn=nieuws_dft

Pedophile Club Board Members Receive Frequent Sex Abuse Condemnations

Research by RTL News found that at least eight present or former board members of the Pedophile Club Martijn, have been condemned in the past for sex abuse. For several of the members, this has been the case multiple times. This includes five chairmen and the condemnations were for sex with minors and the viewing, disseminating and production of child porno. Eight other members have a criminal file for similar abuses. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced that it has no power to dissolve or prohibit the organization.
www.rtl.nl/(/actueel/rtlnieuws/binnenland/)/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/2011/06_juni/21/binnenland/bestuursleden-martijn-strafblad.xml

Amsterdam: Firemen will Present Coffin to Amsterdam Mayor in Protest

On June 30th, Amsterdam firefighters will protest once again. They intend to drive a “funeral procession” of fire trucks toward the municipality. There they will present Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan with a coffin. In this way, the firemen wish to express fear for their safety and that of Amsterdam citizens due to the announced budget cuts in firefighting services. Several tens out of the present 1,170 jobs are slated to be cut.

www.parool.nl/parool/nl/4/AMSTERDAM/article/detail/2447183/2011/06/20/Brandweer-protesteert-volgende-week-opnieuw.dhtml

Death Threat in Greece against Wilders

The Dutch Embassy in Athens has received a death threat against Freedom Party Leader Geert Wilders which is being taken seriously. Wilders has also received hate mail from angry Greeks. He recently brought a huge new drachma bill to the Greek Embassy in The Hague indicating his opinion that Greece should leave the Euro Zone. Wilders has been threatened for years already by radical Muslims and is guarded continuously. Regarding the Greek threat, Wilders said: “I protect the Dutch interests. It is absurd to send a death threat to a parliamentarian from a country which helps the Greeks.” Wilders said that he will file a complaint with the Dutch police.
www.refdag.nl/nieuws/politiek/wilders_doet_aangifte_om_griekse_bedreiging_1_570873#

Great Majority of Dutch Oppose Further Solidarity with Greece

Seventy-one percent of the Dutch population does not want the Netherlands to participate in any further loans to Greece. That results from the findings of a poll of the TV program EenVandaag, in which 22,000 people participated. The main argument is that the Netherlands should not give money to other countries if the Netherlands has itself to reduce its own budgets. Furthermore, many people consider that Greece does not meet its agreed financial reform measures and they are also afraid that the money will be lost.
www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2680/Economie/article/detail/2445083/2011/06/14/Groot-deel-Nederland-tegen-lening-Griekenland.dhtml

Afghanistan: Two Military Guards for Every Dutch Policeman

The Dutch policemen who will serve in Afghanistan to train local policeman will have two military guards for every one policeman. The Dutch mission will be based in Koendoez in North Afghanistan. Every team will consist of 5 police instructors and 10 soldiers. The soldiers can immediately use heavy weapons if the policemen are attacked by Taliban militants.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/10026457/__Zware_bewaking_Koendoez-agent__.html?sn=binnenland,buitenland

Half of Dutch Army’s Armored Vehicles Defective

The new armored vehicle of the Ministry of Defense, the CV90, has major technical problems. There is also a shortage of spare parts. Half of the vehicles cannot be used at this time. This has been published by RTL news on the basis of internal documents in the ministry. The ministry admits that many vehicles are defective, but promises that solutions will be found soon.
www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/2444361/2011/06/11/Helft-nieuwe-pantservoertuigen-defect.dhtml

Dutch Prosecution frustrated Polish corruption Investigation

The Polish authorities had in vain requested assistance from the Dutch prosecution in 2008 into the investigation of corruption in the Philips Company. The Poles wanted to know whether the head office of Philips Medical Company was involved in a corruption affair. The Dutch did not answer any requests, while the Germans reacted immediately and carried out the investigations within a year. The corruption trial of three former Philips employees in Poland has just started.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/2444559/2011/06/13/Nederland-frustreerde-corruptie-onderzoek-Philips-Polen.dhtml

Erdogan worried about Radicalization in the Netherlands

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is worried about the external support of the Freedom Party for the Dutch government and the radicalization of Dutch politics. He pointed out that it would be a bad idea if he interfered in internal Dutch matters, yet he stressed his worries as he himself is a man of the middle and against all radicalization. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders reacted calling Erdogan “a dangerous Islamist of the worst type.” Sadet Karabulut, a parliamentarian of the extreme left Socialist Party said, “I am worried about the radical politics of Erdogan.”
www.nd.nl/artikelen/2011/juni/11/zorgen-erdogan-over-nederland

Former Labor Chairman: Party Leader Cohen Incompetent

Former Labor Chairman, Michiel van Hulten has said that Party Leader Job Cohen is not qualified for his job. He said that his support for Cohen a year ago was a mistake and added: “A politician should inspire and design prospects for society, what exactly Cohen wants for the Netherlands, I have no clue.” Hulten said that many share his opinion about Cohen, but no one has the courage to say publicly that the party needs a new leader.

www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/2011/article/print/detail/2443465/PvdA-twijfelt-openlijk-over-leiderschap-Job-Cohen.dhtml

Food Parcels for Poor Prostitutes

Prostitutes in the Amsterdam red light district are earning so poorly in recent months, that on a small scale, food parcels have to be distributed to them.
A collaborator of the Christian organization Blood ‘n Fire says that: “Women work the whole day in bed and then have to sleep on the street at night.”
The trade union of prostitutes, the Red Thread says that many rules by the authorities frighten visitors. The Salvation Army sees the declining price as the main problem.
www.nieuws.nl/645138

Franciscan Congregation Taken to Court for Child Abuse

Mea Culpa United, a foundation which represents 60 victims of child abuse wants to bring the International Congregation of Franciscan Brothers before the court. The organization’s lawyer, Nino Pennino has started civil proceedings on behalf of former students of the boarding school Bleijerheide in Kerkrade, who claimed that they were abused from the 1940’s until the 1980’s by Franciscan monks there.
www.limburger.nl/article/20110603/REGIONIEUWS01/110609929/1001

More Shops Robbed by Relatives of Staff

The Foundation for Problems of Fraud in Retailing (FAD) has mentioned in its annual report of 2010 that more and more shopkeepers are being robbed by family members, partners and friends of employees. This type of robbery leads to an annual loss of about 60 million Euro, about the third of the total damage caused by internal fraud by personnel. Sander van Golberdinge, Secretary of the FAD says “Fraudulent personnel give partners and friends special discounts without permission, or let them steal merchandise.” There is at present a list of more than 1,000 staff members on the FAD warning register who move from shop to shop in order to carry out fraud when they work there.
www.telegraaf.nl/mijnbedrijf/9933730/__Familie_personeel_berooft_regelmatig_winkel__.html?sn=mijnbedrijf

Molotov Cocktails Thrown at Mosque

Four Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Alaattin Mosque in Enkhuizen. This was reported by Süleyman Yapici the Secretary of the Islamic Foundation of the town. Police were not willing to confirm or deny the report.
www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2011/06/moskee_enkhuizen_onder_vuur.html

International Expert: Jews Lack Basic Confidence in Dutch Society

Rabbi Andrew Baker is the advisor on anti-Semitism of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Director for International Jewish Affairs of the American Jewish Committee. He said that Jews in the Netherlands lack a basic confidence in Dutch society. He criticized the attacks on ritual slaughter, stated that measures have to be taken to counteract the massive shouting of anti-Jewish slogans such as “Jews to the gas” during soccer games and also that the Dutch government should pay for extra security of Jewish buildings. While he considered the Dutch community stable and well-integrated, he also found an increasing discomfort in it.
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/5091/Religie/article/detail/2439098/2011/05/30/Groeiend-Joods-onbehagen.dhtml

Five Thousand Soldiers Demonstrate against Cuts

About five thousand Dutch soldiers and civil employees of the Ministry of Defense have demonstrated in the Hague against the cuts at the ministry. Many of those had to take a day off because the military are not allowed to go on strike. Parliamentarians of the two government parties, the Liberal VVD and the Christian Democrats CDA were booed by the crowd. Kees van der Staaij, the leader of the SGP a small Christian party said, “We have to stop firing on our own army.” The day of action started with a march of a thousand soldiers in uniform.
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/2437655/2011/05/26/Vijfduizend-militairen-bijeen-voor-staking.dhtml

Dutch Involvement in Libyan War: Money for Three More Months Only

The Minister of Defense, Hans Hillen has announced that if the Netherlands decides to prolong its contribution in the NATO mission in Libya, it can only do so for three months. After that time, the money reserves will run out. The Netherlands has already participated in the mission for two months with a mine sweeper and six planes.
www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/2439834/2011/05/31/Hillen-geld-voor-militaire-missies-bijna-op.dhtml