Ministry Conceals Critical Report on Railway Infrastructure Company

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment concealed a critical report of the Inspectorate for Environment and Transport for 7 months. In this report about the state-owned railway infrastructure company ProRail, it is said that the company gives the maintenance of the infrastructure to the cheapest bidder. The Inspectorate said that the results of this will be additional delays and possible accidents. One firm, the Strukton Rail Company had warned Parliament already in November 2012 that there were major problems with the maintenance. The Deputy Minister then reacted by saying that this complaint was “unfounded and premature.” At the time, she already had the report in her desk drawers for several months which confirmed the complaint.
www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2680/Economie/article/detail/3385187/2013/01/30/Ministerie-houdt-kritisch-rapport-over-ProRail-maanden-onder-de-pet.dhtml

Referee Temporarily Halts Soccer Cup Game due to Racist Shouting

The soccer cup game between FC Den Bosch and AZ was temporarily halted by the referee due to the throwing of snow and ice balls at the assistant referees. The referee had already wanted to halt the game earlier due to racist shouting with jungle noises, against a black AZ player Jozy Altidore. The player however asked him to continue the game.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2680/Economie/article/detail/3385187/2013/01/30/Ministerie-houdt-kritisch-rapport-over-ProRail-maanden-onder-de-pet.dhtml

Dutch Health Inspectorate Concludes Agreements with Blundering Doctors against its own Rules

The Inspectorate for Health Care, (IGZ) makes agreements with various blundering doctors despite the fact that its guiding rules are that it shouldn’t. One of these was the neurologist Jansen Steur who agreed to have his name deleted from the BIG register which is the data bank for people working in health care. This agreement enabled this neurologist to continue to work in Germany. Another one was a vascular surgeon who worked under the influence of alcohol. He also agreed to have his name deleted from the BIG register. He now works in Scotland.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/5270/Zorg/article/detail/3378197/2013/01/16/Inspectie-sluit-tegen-richtlijn-in-deals-met-blunderende-artsen.dhtml

Many Parliamentarians do not report on their side Income Correctly

Thirty out of 150 parliamentarians have not properly reported their outside activities and income. By law, they are obliged to update the records for this, which is normally done twice a year. The chairperson of the Parliament, Van Anouschka van Miltenburg (Liberals) says that she has no plans to check  whether the records are correct. She says this should be done by journalists.

www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Nederland/article/detail/3382862/2013/01/25/Kamerleden-nemen-loopje-met-regels-over-bijbanen.dhtm

Two Hundred Thousand Dutch People Slip into Depression Every Year

Every year, 191,400 new Dutch people slip into depression. Groups at risk are youngsters, people with poor education and those with low income. Major events such as divorce, death or being fired increase the chance of depression. These are results of a study “Netherlands Mental Health Survey and IncidenceStudy-2" conducted by the Trimbos Institute. It results from a study on the mental health of Dutch adults between 18 and 64 years old.
www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/5270/Zorg/article/detail/3378719/2013/01/17/Jaarlijks-200-000-meer-Nederlanders-met-depressie.dhtml

Two Thousand Patients Die in Dutch Hospitals Due to Avoidable Mistakes

Two thousand people die in Dutch hospitals every year as a result of avoidable mistakes. About 38,000 people suffer medical damage unnecessarily. This was written by Tjibbe Joustra, Chairman of the Investigation Council for Safety. This organization will in the coming years, make the safety of patients in Dutch hospitals a priority. The council considers it unacceptable that in hospitals safety threatens to become a marginal issue.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3381952/2013/01/24/Onderzoeksraad-Veiligheid-patienten-in-ziekenhuizen-schiet-tekort.dhtml

Criminality among Dutch Women on the Increase

The criminality among Dutch women is on the increase. Every year 30,000 and girls from 12 years old and up appear in police files as opposed to 160,000 Dutch men. The number of arrested women because of violent actions has doubled in the last 16 years. This results from a study of the Free University in Amsterdam. Also in organized criminality women are advancing. In particular as far as the drug trade from the Dutch Antilles and in the trafficking of prostitutes, women seem to play a leading role. 

www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Nederland/article/detail/3380953/2013/01/22/Crimineel-is-steeds-vaker-vrouw.dhtml

Support of Banks Cost Government 193 Million Euro in 2012

The Dutch state has lost 193 million Euro in 2012 due to its support of Dutch banks. Similar losses will occur in this and coming years. This was written in a letter to Parliament by Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem (Labor).

www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4504/Economie/article/detail/3372096/2013/01/04/Steun-aan-banken-kostte-staat-vorig-jaar-193-miljoen-euro.dhtml

Failed High Speed Train Causes Delay on Paris-Amsterdam Line

Tests with the failed Fyra train caused a delay of three hours on the high-speed line Amsterdam-Paris which is served by the Thalys train. The Fyra service started in December, but since a few days, is forbidden for commercial use because of the many technical problems and huge delays. Tests are permitted which now cause problems with other trains.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2664/Nieuws/article/detail/3380154/2013/01/20/Fyra-valt-uit-met-testrit-bezorgt-Thalys-drie-uur-vertraging.dhtml

After Frequent Service Failure, High Speed Rail line between Amsterdam and Brussels Stopped

The Belgian railways have prohibited the use of the Dutch high speed Fyra train on the Belgian rail infrastructure. This was done after part of the underbelly of a train was found on the rail. It fell off after a period of snow and frost. The Dutch railways which had ordered 16 Fyra trains from the Italian supplier AnsaldoBreda at a price of 20 million Euro per train, has stopped the delivery of the 7 trains not yet received. The Italian supplier has offered apologies. The high speed service between Amsterdam and Brussels has suffered major delays and other problems since it was initiated in December.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3379887/2013/01/19/Ingrijpen-nodig-bij-directie-NS-Hispeed.dhtml

Purchasing Power Declines for the Fourth Year in A Row

The National Institute for Budget Information (NIBUD) has forecast that in 2013, purchasing power of almost all Dutch people will decline further for the fourth year in a row. In particular for the retired, there will be a drop. In some cases, the decline will reach 7.7%.

www.ad.nl/ad/nl/5597/Economie/article/detail/3378224/2013/01/16/Nibud-bijna-iedereen-levert-dit-jaar-in.dhtml?utm_source=RSSReader&utm_medium=RSS

Dutch Police Cause Many Traffic Accidents

During the year 2012, Dutch police staff were involved in 9,358 traffic accidents. This number is only one hundred less than in 2011. Only in 1,800 cases, were police not the guilty party. On the average, every Dutch police car is involved in one accident a year. Since 2011, all police staff have to participate in driving instruction. Police admit however, that its impact has not yet been great. The police invest heavily in this training. The ACP trade union of the police says that there is little time for training, fewer police agents continuously receive more tasks. This leads to less time for training - including training to improve their shooting ability.

www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3371543/2013/01/03/Agenten-blijven-ongelukken-veroorzaken.dhtml

Hospital Checks Scientific Publications by Fired Neurologist

The Medisch Spectrum Twente hospital has checked the reliability of publications by Neurologist Jansen Steur. He participated in several tens of research projects. Steur was fired by the hospital in 2003 due to his addiction to medicine. In 2009, it became known that he was alleged to have made major mistakes in his work. Thirteen people under his care were subjected to brain surgery without medical justification. He has also carried out autopsies without authorization. In the meantime, there is a court case against him where he is prosecuted for maltreatment with major body damage, and possibly death as a consequence.

www.nos.nl/artikel/460398-artikelen-jansen-steur-onderzocht.html

23 People Lost eyes due to Year-End Firework

Due to the fireworks at the end of the year 21 adults and two children lost eyes. Eight of these eyes had to be entirely removed. This was published by the Dutch organization of eye doctors (NOG). Round the year-end 264 people were treated for damage to their eyes. Among these were 155 people who lighted fireworks themselves. All in all 324 eyes were damaged, of which 101 permanently.

www.elsevier.nl/Nederland/ANP/2013/1/23-blinde-ogen-door-vuurwerk/

Uniformed Policeman Permanently Posted at Amsterdam School

The Amsterdam police are going to permanently post a uniformed policeman at the Huygens College School in Amsterdam West. Students from that high school terrorize the neighborhood. The school has 650 students of which a number systematically harass and intimidate neighbors. Two of its students are already detained because they are suspected of killing a linesman after a soccer game. The school initially didn’t want to accept the policeman, but the Amsterdam municipality has decided to take this measure.

www.parool.nl/parool/nl/4/AMSTERDAM/article/detail/3375083/2013/01/10/Politie-krijgt-eigen-ruimte-op-Huygens-College-na-overlast.dhtml

Increase in Large Coffins Due to Obesity

 

Coffin Manufacturers in The Netherlands say that demand for large coffins is growing due to the increasing obesity of Dutchmen. These coffins are far more expensive than regular ones because they have to be made by hand. Furthermore 60% of Dutch crematoria have adapted their ovens to be able to cremate obese people. Henry Keizer of the National Organization of Crematoria says that by now in all regions of the Netherlands, there is the opportunity to burn obese people. This process though lasts longer than normal due to the surplus of fat. It is also difficult to control. Keizer says that obese people should preferably be cremated at the beginning of the day when the oven is not yet at full temperature.
www.metronieuws.nl/nieuws/steeds-grotere-doodskist-voor-dikke-nederlander/SrZmai!9CRmlqrQiuLdo/.

Amsterdam: Major Increase in Complaints about Pickpockets

The number of complaints in Amsterdam about pickpockets has increased by 30% in 2012 in comparison with 2011. Amsterdam police chief Pieter-Jan Aalbersberg says that pickpockets focus now more on places of entertainment, instead of on the public domain. Complaints about streetrobberies have increased: by 6.5%. The Amsterdam police have arrested overall 12% less people: 35,292 in 2012 as against 40,356 the year before.

www.parool.nl/parool/nl/7/MISDAAD/article/detail/3372241/2013/01/04/Zakkenrollerij-neemt-flink-toe-in-hoofdstad.dhtml

Former Public Prosecutor Complains against Chief Public Prosecutor

Henk Marquart Scholtz a former public prosecutor, who lives in the town of Haren, has written a letter to the municipal government of Haren in which he requests the resignation of the town’s mayor, deputy mayor, head of police as well as of the chief public prosecutor in Groningen. In the letter he mentions a long list of failures of these officials in the preparation for and during the massive riots in the town on 21 September 2012. Marquart Scholtz claims that they behaved as amateurs in the preparation for the riots and have demonstrated severe professional neglect in the exercise of their functions. He gives tens of detailed examples of their failures.

www.harenerweekblad.nl/officier-van-justitie-dient-klacht-in-wegens-project-x-haren/

Police: Force of Young Moroccan Criminals cannot be Stopped

Despite 15 years of police initiatives, young Moroccans from Amsterdam cannot be stopped as the greatest group of new criminals. Willem Woelders, a senior national police officer and former head of the Amsterdam Police Detective unit described the Amsterdam Diamond neighborhood as a nursery for these criminals five years ago. This prediction seems to have come true. “These youngsters to whom I referred then, commit crimes throughout the whole country, perpetrate hold-ups and resort to violence.” A new low point was reached with the murder of two of these criminals in Amsterdam a few days ago.
www.parool.nl/parool/nl/7/MISDAAD/article/detail/3372714/2013/01/05/Jonge-Marokkanen-blijven-oprukken-als-grootste-groep-nieuwe-criminelen.dhtml?utm_source=RSSReader&utm_medium=RSS

Massive Closure of Church Buildings

Of the 2,000 churches of the large Protestant church in the Netherlands (PKN), about 600-800 will disappear, or be given another function in the coming years. This was stated by Peter de Lange who is Chairman of the VKB, the organization which is in charge of managing the PKN’s churches.

The declining Protestant communities have great difficulty in paying the salaries of Pastors and the costs of the churches. For instance, in the town of Leeuwarden, the church council decided last year to close 4 of the 7 PKN churches.

www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/3371116/2013/01/02/Massaal-kerkgebouwen-dicht.dhtml

Ten Million Euro Worth of Damage at Year’s End

According to the first estimates of the Association of Insurers, the damage during the New Year’s Eve festivities is about 10 million Euro. This figure is in the same order of magnitude as last year. It concerns damage to buildings, their contents and cars. The estimates are based on the claims in so far. Experience shows that in reality, when all claims are counted, the damage can be at least twice that figure.

www.powned.tv/nieuws/binnenland/2013/01/even_veel_schade_oud_en_nieuw.html

More than 80,000 Complaints about Fireworks

In the past 10 days, about 80,000 complaints have been lodged about fireworks at the monitoring point. More than half of them concern complaints about noise. Many people were woken up by fireworks at night. On New Year’s Eve, mainly dogs and cats had a difficult time as was shown by the many complaints about firework stress on pets. The monitoring point is being closed tonight.

http://rotterdam.groenlinks.nl/node/92427?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Railway Station Damaged by Fireworks

On New Year’s Eve, the railway station in Heeze was damaged by heavy fireworks. Tens of glass windows in its pedestrian tunnel broke. Trains couldn’t stop in the station for half an hour and afterwards, had to drive slowly until all the glass was cleaned up. Earlier in the day, in the same town, an iron slide landed on the roof of a house due to an explosion of fireworks.

www.nu.nl/binnenland/2994151/station-heeze-vernield-zwaar-vuurwerk.html