Amsterdam Public Transportation: Cross Not Allowed, Muslim Head Scarf Permitted

Since the beginning of this year, the Amsterdam Public Transportation Company (GVB) has twice suspended a conductor because he was wearing a chain with a cross over his uniform. The company, however, does allow Muslim head scarves. The conductor has now taken his case to court.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/5527188/__GVB_verbiedt_dragen_kruisje__.html

CTIVD: Minister Not Entitled to Authorize Taping of Journalist

The Commission of Supervision of the Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD) has concluded that Minister of the Interior Guusje ter Horst (Labor) wrongly authorized the AIVD intelligence service to tape the telephone conversations of Jolande van der Graaf and Joost de Haas of the Telegraaf. Two courts had already decided that Ter Horst had acted wrongly.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/5493717/__Ter_Horst_ging_in_de_fout__.html?p=26,1

Many Collaborators Killed Without Process by Dutch After War

The one hundred fifty thousand supporters of the Nazi Germans who were held in Dutch camps after the end of the Second World War, were underfed and maltreated by the Dutch authorities. This is the claim of historian and journalist Koos Groen in a new book. He claims that he has had access to secret files of the National Archives and the Ministry of Justice. He also claims that in 1944 in Limburg, a hundred collaborators were intentionally chased into a minefield where they all died. According to Groen, more than 1,000 people died in Dutch internment camps due to poor hygienic conditions and lack of medical care and food. These included old people people, children and babies. Women were systematically degraded and sexually intimidated.
www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/5509747/___Mensenrechten_na_WO_II_opzij___.html

Seven Incidents of Violence in Three Days in Rotterdam

An employee of a Rotterdam Metro station was attacked Sunday night. The perpetrator has not yet been apprehended. This was the seventh incident of violence in Rotterdam in three days. The RET company, which operates the Metro, says that the number of violent incidents in public transport is declining, but their nature has become more serious. The town has made available 34 million guilders annually to counter violence in public transport.
www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1324348.ece/Toezichthouder_Rotterdamse_metro_mishandeld

Liberals Criticize Propaganda for Polygamy in Elementary School Paper

Parliamentarian Paul de Krom thinks that the school paper Samsam is promoting polygamy. This paper is distributed at many elementary schools. In a recent issue about Morocco a twelve year old explains why it’s good for a man to have two wives. De Krom says that it should have been pointed out that this practice is not approved of in the Netherlands.
www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/binnenland/2009/11/propaganda_voor_polygamie_in_s.html

New Book: Did Father of Queen Support Coup d’Etat in Indonesia?

A new book by the historian Harry Veenendaal and the journalist Jort Kelder claims that in 1950 Prince Bernhard, father of the current Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, was involved in the preparation of a coup d’etat in Indonesia. This is based on the diaries of the secretary of the court Gerrie van Maasdijk and reports of the military police which investigated rumors about a coup d’etat. The historian Cees Fasseur, who has published extensively about the royal family, claims that there is no proof of this.
www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2427015.ece/Coup_van_Bernhard_De_lezer_mag_kiezen

Increase in Thefts in Schools

During the school year 2008-2009, the number of thefts in high schools increased by 21%, as compared to 2007-2008. In particular, electronic equipment is stolen. Other favorite items are money, clothing and scooters. These are the findings of the Iris Registration of Incidents by the DSP group.
www.trouw.nl/nieuws/nederland/article2925058.ece/Diefstal_op_scholen_neemt_toe.html