Dutch Guarantees Given Abroad have increased Ten-Fold since the Beginning of the Euro Crisis

The guarantees the Netherlands have given to international institutions such as the IMF, the European Credit Bank and the European Emergency funds had increased by the end of 2012 to 201 billion Euro. At the beginning of the European credit crisis, the total number of foreign guarantees was 18 billion Euro. This results from a report of the National Control Office (Algemene Rekenkamer). The guarantees are the result of loans given in various ways to countries such as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21933100/__Garanties_staat_naar_201_mld.__.html

Inspectorate Knew of Fraud at Ibn Ghaldoun, but did not Act

Already before final exams were stolen in large numbers at the Ibn Ghaldoun Muslim High School in Rotterdam, the Educational Inspectorate was warned by one of the teachers about fraudulent behavior at this school. In April it received a letter which stated that teachers knowingly gave relatively simple tests to students. Also, students were promoted to higher classes while they should have been left back. Students and teachers negotiated about marks. Teachers also gave higher marks than justified to make good impressions. Teachers who did not collaborate were bullied and had to leave. Two months later it became known that 27 final exams had been stolen at the school. The Inspectorate admitted that it was informed earlier, but decided not to act, as it wanted to do an overall “quality control” of the school later on. In the meantime, the exams were stolen and it has been announced that the school will be closed. www.elsevier.nl/Nederland/nieuws/2013/9/Inspectie-wist-van-fraude-Ibn-Ghaldoun-maar-greep-niet-in-1376552W/

Ansaldo announces that it will take Dutch Railways to Court

Italian train builder Ansaldo has delivered documents to the Dutch Railways (NS) announcing that it will take them to court. At the same time the company has put advertisements in Dutch papers offering the NS collaboration to get the trains on the rail within 6 months. NS has announced that it considers Finmeccanica, the parent company of Ansaldo responsible for the failure of the Italian Fyra trains. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21924195/__Voor_de_rechter_en_samenwerken__.html

European Commission worried about competitive position of the Netherlands

The European commission is worried about the future of the competitive position of the Netherlands. While that position is good at present the low private in research and development may weaken it. Another handicap is the growing shortage of experts in technical fields. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2800/Europese-Unie/index.dhtml

Large Number of Complaints about overfull Trains

The travelers organization Rover reports that a huge number of complaints in about far too full trains. This month alone 600 complaints were received so far at the special information point for full trains. This does not include complainst by twitter, email and mobile phones. m In dit aantal zijn de klachten via Twitter, e-mail en telefoon niet eens meegerekend, aldus een woordvoerder. The complaints come from all over the Netherlands. There are complaints about people remaining behind because they can not enter the full trains, people feeling ill and delays due to the many passengers. www.metronieuws.nl/meer-metro/stroom-aan-klachten-over-volgepakte-treinen/SrZmix!OFfnqrzTEosE/

Retired Professor of political anthropology Mart Bax of the Amsterdam Free University has during fifteen years committed serious scientific misbehavior. This is the conclusion of an investigation commission headed by historian Michel Baud published today. Bax has invented at least 61 publications and recycled the same articles under different titles a number of times. He also invented awards he never received and positions he never held. The University in the meantime will not undertake any steps against Bax. He can keep his title of professor and there will be no investigation whether the award of his doctorate was justified. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/5288/Onderwijs/article/detail/3514394/2013/09/23/Oud-hoogleraar-Bax-schuldig-aan-wetenschappelijk-wangedrag.dhtml

Secret Report: Train Discarded by Dutch Railways is Excellent Train

The Italian Fyra train which has been discarded by the NS (Dutch Railways) is far from the ‘wreck’ the NS claims. A secret report of the British technical office Mott McDonald is in the hands of the Dutch daily Telegraaf. According to the report, which has also been seen by the NS the Fyra meets the specifications agreed. The design has also been accepted by the Dutch Railways. There are many small problems which can be solved. Within 17 months all Dutch Fyra trains can be turned into good quality trains. A major court case between the Italian train builder Ansaldo and the NS on this issue is pending. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21909630/__Fyra_blijkt_prima_trein__.html

Yet another Dutch Muslim killed in Syria Fighting

Eighteen year old Soufyan El H. from the Hague has been shot through his head near Aleppo in Syria while fighting against the Assad Government. His parents received a message that their son had become a ‘martyr.’ He is the sixth Dutch Muslim killed in Syria. Dutch intelligence services estimate that between fifty and hundred Dutchmen fight in Syria. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/13828/2013/article/print/detail/3512995/Opnieuw-Nederlandse-Syrieganger-gedood.dhtml

More Offices Empty in Netherlands than elsewhere in Europe

Percentagewise there are more empty offices in the Netherlands than elsewhere in Europe. At the beginning of 2013 fifteen percent of Dutch office space was not used. In Amsterdam it is eighteen percent. In the whole of Europe only Athens has a higher percentage. This results from a study by two universities and StedenbaanPlus www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/09/12/leegstand-van-nederlandse-kantoren-is-hoogste-van-europa/

Netherlands Responsible for Death of Muslims in Srebrenica

The Dutch Supreme Court has decided that the Netherlands is responsible for the deaths of three Muslims who had fled to the compound of the Dutch UN soldiers in Srebrenica during the Yugoslav civil war in 1995. The Dutch military had expelled them, after which they were murdered by the Bosnian Serbs’ army. According to the Supreme Court, after the Srebrenica enclave had fallen into the hands of the Bosnian Serb army, the Dutch soldiers there were under the responsibility of the Dutch government and not the UN. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/09/06/rutte-kabinet-zal-handelen-naar-uitspraak-hoge-raad-over-srebrenica/

Deputy Minister Expects Muslim High School to go Bankrupt

Sander Dekker, Deputy Minister of Education said in Parliament that the Muslim High School Ibn Ghaldoun in Rotterdam is likely to go bankrupt. This makes it unlikely that the school will be able to pay back much of its debts to the government, which amount to 1.4 million Euro. It also owes 800,000 Euro to the Rotterdam Municipality. Ibn Ghaldoun is the only Muslim high school in the Netherlands. Another one, the Islamitisch College Amsterdam, was closed last year. In 2007, it became known that since 2003, the school management had illegally spent 1.23 million Euro subsidy. For instance, two trips to Saudi Arabia, costing 200,000 Euro. According to the Inspectorate of Education, the costs couldn’t be found in the financial reports of the school. A judge found that two imams were paid salaries, even if they did not teach at all. www.metronieuws.nl/nieuws/dekker-verwacht-faillissement-ibn-ghaldoun/xlkmil!QsGjlfayenJGsCYQiyYT5Q www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21879675/__Ghaldoun_al_jaren_geteisterd__.html

Assen: Police Deny Moroccan Problems

Much publicity has been given to the alleged failure of the police in Assen to handle severe crimes by Moroccan youths. Recently, a youth was beaten and taken to a hospital by 20 Moroccans. The police and the security staff from the nearby cafeteria did not react. There are also other complaints about this group. Police spokesman Ron Reinds denied that there is a structural Moroccan problem in that location. He added, “I cannot imagine that we do not act if there are problems there.” www.dvhn.nl/nieuws/drenthe/article10423143.ece/Politie-Assen-onder-vuur-na-uitgaansgeweld

Many Moroccan Youths are Abused by their Parents

Development Psychologist Esmeh Lahlah said that authorities and care takers have to give more attention to the influence of child abuse by their parents on Moroccan problem youths. For her doctorate, she researched the ethnic differences concerning child abuse and youth criminality. She discovered that about 60% of violent Moroccan youths have been abused by their parents. According to the psychologist, this explains the behavior of the youths. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3506932/2013/09/10/Mishandeling-in-Marokkaanse-gezinnen-onderschat.dhtml

Ministry Stops Financing of Ibn Ghaldoun School

Deputy Education Minister Sander Dekker has decided to stop financing the Muslim school Ibn Ghaldoun in Rotterdam from 1 November, which will mean its closure. He gave as a reason that the school which already had problems in the past, had aggravated them further through the major fraud in exams recently. At least 42 of the students will be prosecuted for theft of exams, or the distribution of stolen exams. Many of the teachers at the school have none of the required qualifications. The report was also extremely negative about the role of the Rotterdam Municipality. It gave the school poor facilities which had been abandoned by other schools and charged it heavily for maintenance. The Ibn Ghaldoun School is the only Muslim High School in the Netherlands. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/5288/Onderwijs/article/detail/3507223/2013/09/10/Ministerie-stopt-financiering-Ibn-Ghaldoun.dhtml

Retired General: Army Personnel has Lost Confidence in Minister

Retired Major General Harm de Jonge, a member of the board of the army officers organization has published an article in which he said that army personnel has lost confidence in the Minister of Defense, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. He said that the cutbacks in the budget affect the cohesion of the army. He added that she has no need to dismiss personnel due to the cuts, because many understand the reality and leave the army anyhow. He mentioned that the army is selling new armored vehicles and in this way, loses money for the government. It is highly unusual that army officers publicly attack the Minister of Defense. www.google.co.il/?gws_rd=cr&ei=AdkuUvasGMSs0QXg24B4#q=volkskrant+vertrouwen+in+minister&tbm=nws

Christian Democrat Leader: Netherlands is the Sick Man of Europe

Sybrand van Haersma Buma, leader of the Christian Democrats opposition party said that the Netherlands is “the sick man of Europe.” He added that the Netherlands is at a dead end by increasing taxes and charges to the public, leveling incomes which hit the middle class in particular and short-time savings. The government bureaucracy should not increase further. The government has no majority in the Senate and therefore should adapt its plans. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3506034/2013/09/08/CDA-leider-Buma-noemt-Nederland-zieke-man-van-Europa.dhtml

Meat Greatly Infected with Excrement Bacteria

The TV program Zembla has reported that inspectors say that a lot of the meat eaten by Dutchmen is infected with excrement bacteria, such as E. coli. This results from the fact that intestines of slaughtered animals are perforated, which leads to excrement attaching to food. According to one of the inspectors, there is excrement on about 60% of the dead animals. This is the result of a too high speed conveyor belt, people in the slaughter house who do not disinfect their hands, or do not clean their knives. According to the TV program, meat of sick animals also comes into the food chain. The inspectors have only a few seconds to inspect a slaughtered animal. Therefore, they often do not identify abscesses, infections and so on. http://m.volkskrant.nl/vk/m/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3503368/2013/09/03/Vlees-met-poepbacterien-in-voedselketen.dhtml?originatingNavigationItemId=2664

Pre-Second World War: Dutch Bank Kept Gold for Nazi-Germany

From newly published archives of the Bank of England, it becomes clear that the Dutch Central Bank kept gold for Nazi Germany in its vaults in 1939. The Czech National Bank had placed its gold with the Bank of England. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Germany, the Bank of England transferred gold with a present value of 843 million Euro to the German Central Bank. The Germans then placed part of this gold with the help of the Bank of England at the Dutch and Belgian Central Banks. www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2680/Economie/article/detail/3485200/2013/08/01/Nederlandsche-Bank-bewaarde-goud-uit-nazibuit.dhtml

Hundreds of Homeless Unjustifiably Sent Away by Dutch Municipalities

Municipalities unjustifiably put hundreds of homeless people into the street every year by way of bureaucracy and poor coordination. Seven out of ten time, municipalities refuse care to homeless who do not come out of the region, even though this is against the law. This results from an investigation of the Trimbos Institute for the Ministry of Health. Some of the researchers presented themselves as homeless. Only in a quarter of the cases, the municipalities were willing to offer shelter to those who didn’t come from the region. Also to homeless families, shelter is often refused. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/09/03/honderden-daklozen-ten-onrechte-weggestuurd/

High Police Commissioner Demoted – Suspected of Lack of Integrity

Police Commissioner Tom Driessen has been demoted by the police department. This happened because the General Intelligence Service AIVD has doubts about his integrity. Driessen was appointed last year as the National Project Leader to prepare for the Nuclear Security Summit in March 2014 in The Hague. Sixty world leaders including American President Obama and Russian President Putin will attend to discuss the battle against nuclear terrorism. Driessen was responsible for the security aspects of the conference – the largest ever in the Netherlands. The AIVD said after its investigation that Driessen had to leave two years ago as Deputy Director of the European Police in Europol as he had given all the questions to a colleague who put forward his candidacy for an international police job. www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21848149/__Topman_politie_niet_integer__.html

German Prosecutor: Four Dutch Soccer Games were Bought

Andreas Bachmann, a German prosecutor said that in 2009, four games in Dutch soccer were manipulated. Bachmann is an expert on this issue. He also stated that he is sure that in the last four yeas in international games, Dutch clubs were disadvantaged three times, for instance because the referee had been bought off. He does not want to specify which games are involved, because he doesn’t want to disturb the current investigations of his Dutch colleagues. The police of the European Union have claimed earlier this year that at least 5 Dutchmen are suspected of involvement in the manipulation of soccer games. www.google.co.il/?gws_rd=cr&ei=N-0iUqjSMMvM0AWO7IC4DA#q=vier+gevallen,+volkskrant&tbm=nws