Tens of Millions of Euros Wasted on Programs for Moroccan At Risk Youth

Experts claim that the 32 million Euros spent by municipalities on Moroccan youth at risk have been wasted in the last three years. The project for dealing with Moroccan Dutch youth at risk exists since 2008. Twenty-two municipalities receive funds to solve problems with Moroccan problem youth under 24 years of age who engage in vandalism and criminality. Some communities are trying projects which have already failed. In Amersfoort, crime has increased since the community has hired “street coaches” to help the youngsters. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/9408741/___Marokkanen-project_mislukt___.html

Municipal Officials Forced to Attend Useless Courses

More than 2 percent of the monies paid for salaries by municipalities are spent on courses for officials. Many municipalities have no idea what this money was spent for and whether they show any results. This was said by Michiel de Vries, Professor of Management, to the publication Binnenlands Bestuur. He added that in practice, officials have no time to devote to these courses, but the money has to be spent according to agreements with the trade unions. Thus they are being sent to one-day courses which are extremely costly. De Vries considers this the perversity of the system. These courses are useless for the officials, but very effective for the employer who only misses the official for a short time. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/9391349/__Ambtenaren_moeten_naar_school__.html

Aspiring Police Agents Too Fat and Out of Shape

The Dutch police are worried about the physical condition of the aspiring police agents. Many are in poor physical condition or are too fat. Han van As, Chairman of the National Consultation on Training for Integral Preparation for Jobs says: Youngsters have grown up in the welfare state. They give too little attention to proper nutrition. The previous generation would play on the streets everyday. The present one sits behind a computer. Priorities have changed. www.depers.nl/binnenland/556331/Aspirant-agenten-zijn-te-dik.html

Increase in Threats Against Politicians

The public prosecution has announced that in 2010, politicians were threatened with violence 353 times. That is an increase of 8%. Deputy ministers, parliamentarians, mayors, aldermen and members of the municipal council were threatened. In 201 cases, the public prosecution considered that these were criminal acts. Ninety-two cases were resolved. In 72 of the cases, the threats were from minors. Most threats are sent via email or posted on the internet anonymously. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/1863441/2011/03/22/Acht-procent-meer-politici-bedreigd-in-2010.dhtml

TV Program Taps Voice Mails of Ministers

The TV program EenVandaag has, through a simple trick, obtained access to the voice mail of a variety of ministers and politicians. Among the ones tapped are those of Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal and the Leader of the Left Liberals, Alexander Pechtold. Other voice mail the program could gain access to if it chose are those of generals, members of the Supreme Court and the top directors of the Central Bank. http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2824/Politiek/article/detail/1864159/2011/03/23/EenVandaag-luistert-voicemails-ministers-af.dhtml

Soccer Fans Threaten Parliamentarian with Death

Parliamentarian Richard de Mos of the Freedom Party (PVV) has been threatened with death by soccer fans of the Hague Football Club ADO. These threats came via email and the Hyves website. De Mos, who himself is a supporter of ADO, had condemned the singing by ADO fans and soccer player Lex Immers of anti-Semitic songs.
www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1425/ADO-Den-Haag/article/detail/574633/2011/03/23/Kamerlid-PVV-met-dood-bedreigd-door-fans-ADO.dhtml

Arab Dictatorships Own Major Investments in Netherlands

Labor Party Parliamentarian Frans Timmermans wants the authorities to establish a list of companies which are in the hands of dictatorships where human rights are abused. A study ordered by the RTL News Service reveals that state companies from Arab countries have almost 20 million Euro of investments in the Netherlands. Libya and Saudi Arabia are major investors. Timmermans says that once a list is drawn up, the Netherlands can take action against these companies if there are developments such as the ones presently taking place in Libya.
www.parool.nl/parool/nl/3587/POLITIEK-BINNENLAND/article/detail/1862478/2011/03/19/Roep-om-lijst-buitenlandse-staatsbedrijven.dhtml