Liberal party wants to censor book it has ordered

The Liberal Party has tried to censor the biography of its former parliamentarian, Haya van Someren-Downer (1926-1980) which it had ordered.  According to the party, the historian and journalist Alies Pegtel, who wrote the book has given too much attention to the collaboration of Someren-Downer’s parents and two elder brothers with the Nazis.  All four were condemned after the war as members of the pro-Nazi party NSB.  In a previous book by Utrecht Mayor Jan van Zanen, hardly any mention was made of this.  Pegtel has refused and the party has now cancelled the festive presentation of the book to Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/vvd-wilde-minder-nsb-in-biografie-partijboegbeeld~a4131012/

UN Committee against Racial Discrimination critical of Dutch “black Piet” tradition

The CERD, the committee of UN human rights experts is critical of the Netherlands.  It wants the Dutch state to take a strong position against incitement for political purposes.  It specifically expresses its worry about the way the Dutch tradition of “black Piet” is sometimes carried out.  The committee refers in particular to the way this figure is presented, which it considers a reflection of negative stereotypes of people from African origin.  Black Piet is the assistant of the holy Nicolas, a saint from Dutch folklore, whose national day is the 5^th of December.

www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/4492/Nederland/article/detail/4131154/2015/08/28/VN-bekritiseren-niet-alleen-Zwarte-Piet-maar-ook-Wilders.dhtml

Highest number of tick bites recorded in Dutch province

680 tick bites were recorded in the province of Gelderland in July 2015 alone.  This was announced by the National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM).  This high number is unprecedented in the province.  In general, more tick bites are reported from Gelderland than from anywhere else in the Netherlands.

Over 50% of female Dutch murder victims were killed by their partners

From 2010 to 2014, seven hundred and seventy-seven people met their deaths through violence.  Two thirds of the victims were men.  More than half of the women who were murdered in the past four years were killed by their partners or former partners.  In more than 90% of the cases, this resulted from domestic circumstances or jealousy.  Most of the women were strangled or stabbed.

Wilders: Judges expressed prejudice against our party on television

Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV Freedom Party, has said that judges interviewed in television programs regularly show bias against his party.  In a recent program, one judge stated that he would be less likely to employ a candidate who voted for the PVV.  However, he had no problem with the extremist leftist Socialist Party.  Wilders called this discrimination.  Wilders is currently facing charges following his call for a reduction in the number of Moroccans permitted to settle in the Netherlands.  Wilders stated that in light of this publicly expressed prejudice against his party, the process against him is a farce.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24415019/__PVV_hekelt_rechters__.html

photo by SalFalko, Flickr creative commons

Asylum seekers receive preference over Dutch citizens for subsidized housing

Asylum seekers who have received residence permits are first in line for subsidized housing.  This comes at the expense of Dutch citizens, entitled to such housing.  Municipalities are afraid that the problems concerning subsidized housing are constantly getting worse.

http://www.powned.tv/nieuws/binnenland/2015/08/woning_krijgen_lastiger_door_a.html

Major failure in campaign to prevent harassment in the workplace

Leading trade union FNV says that companies and organizations are legally obligated to prevent harassment in the workplace, yet seldom have a program to do so.  The campaign initiated by Minister of Social Affairs Asscher in June has been a major failure. The FNV claims this in view of the suicide of a 51-year-old teacher in the province of Limburg as a result of frequent harassment.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24408479/___Pestcampagne_druppel_op_een_gloeiende_plaat___.html

Illegal squatters occupy Amsterdam building

The picture has no connection to the building mentioned in the article

Sympathizers of the refugee collective “We are Here” have occupied a former art academy building in the Eastern part of Amsterdam.  According to the police, there are 30 occupiers in the building.  These people want to turn the building into a home for asylum seekers who have to return to their country.  The police do not know what nationality these people hold.

www.spitsnieuws.nl/binnenland/2015/08/illegalen-bezetten-pand-amsterdam

Terror attack on Amsterdam-Paris train

In a Thalys speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, a terrorist has attempted an attack.  He tried to open fire with a Kalashnikov on train passengers.  Three Americans, two of them military, managed to prevent a massacre by overcoming the terrorist.  One of the Americans was wounded.  According to various media, the terrorist is 26-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El Kahzzani, who currently lives in France after leaving Spain.  He was being watched by the European terror authorities because of his jihadist convictions.  It has also been reported that he fought in Syria, but it is not clear yet with which terror movement.

http://www.elsevier.nl/Buitenland/achtergrond/2015/8/Terreuraanslag-in-Thalys-Amsterdam-Parijs-2674915W/

http://www.elsevier.nl/Buitenland/achtergrond/2015/8/Schutter-Thalys-is-Marokkaanse-Syrieganger-2674960W/

Sexual Discrimination in old age homes

Jose Roodhuizen of Amsterdam Gay Pride says that there is major sexual discrimination in old age homes.  Among old people there is still a taboo on homosexuality, which means that many lesbians and homosexuals are socially isolated and lonely.  Roodhuizen added that this discrimination expresses itself on the one hand in constant ‘amusing’ remarks on the subject by other residents, or the total alienation of lesbian and homosexual elderly within these institutions.

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24314585/__Roze_senior_gediscrimineerd__.html

Quarter of doctors pocket money paid for tissue donations

The Dutch transplant foundation (NTS) has found that a quarter of Dutch doctors pocket payments when they declare tissue donations.  It’s formally OK for a doctor to keep this money, but according to the NTS, in the medical sector there is much discussion whether this money should not be used for purposes of general interest.

www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/-kwart-artsen-verrijkt-zich-met-weefseldonaties~a4108150/

Major decline in purchasing power of elderly people.

Research ordered by the largest association of elderly people, the ANBO, shows that the purchasing power of elderly people has declined by 7.5 % since the beginning of the economic crisis.  Some groups of elderly people have even seen their purchasing power decline by 13%.  Geert Wilders leader of the Freedom Party (PVV) asked government ministers: “Why do you hate elderly people?”

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24383225/__Woede_over_daling_koopkracht__.html

Police Make Racist Remarks about People who are Arrested

Last year police arrested ninety people when the Dutch popular figure Sinterklaas made his entrance in the town of Gouda. In the official report the police wrote that officers were standing between the podium where Sinterklaas stood and the media. They saw families with small children and among them people with deviating appearances. One could characterize them as “leftist-oriented.” There were also a number of people with “Negroid” appearances. Both terms appeared in the police reports.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/politie-vreesde-mensen-met-negroide-en-links-uiterlijk~a4122981/

Police activists intend to block ministries

Police activists intend to create human blockades around a variety of ministries. Members of the police claim that they are entitled to a raise in salary after several years of stagnation. These demonstrations will take place when parliament reconvenes and the general debate starts from August 20. Also the police trade unions ACP and NPB call on police officers to no longer collaborate with the expulsion of foreigners. That means that the police will not supply any more files which will make expulsions possible.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/politie-gaat-ministeries-blokkeren-op-prinsjesdag~a4123016/ 

Research Institute: Investigate the War in Indonesia

Gert Oostindie, director of the Royal Institute for the Knowledge of Language, Land, and People (KITLV) has said that the Netherlands should order a major and systematic investigation of the largest war it has ever carried out, the Colonial War, which led to Indonesian independence in 1948. During that conflict thousands of Dutch soldiers and civilians were killed and about 100,000 Indonesians. Oostindie said that while there have been major investigations of the Second World War and the Dutch involvement in Srebrenica, never has there been such an investigation of the Indonesian Colonial War. There are indications of large-scale war crimes. Oostindie added that it may well be that the whole issue has been covered up by politicians in order to avoid damage to the image of the Netherlands. An important question is whether the violence was systematic. Recently a list was found in the National Archives of victims of executions in the southern part of the Indonesian island which nowadays is called Sulawesi. 

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24382940/___Onderzoek_grootste_oorlog___.html

Regularly Dangerous Situations at Amsterdam Airport

The simultaneous use of two runways for takeoffs and landings that gradually get closer together, at Schriphol, Amsterdam airport, leads regularly to dangerous situations at the airport.  The investigation council for security is presently studying the sudden near-collision of two planes in May of this year. Also on 7 August there was a similar dangerous incident. In 2007 there was also a near-miss.  

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24380347/__Kruisende_vliegtuigen_gevaar__.html

Cyberattacks on Government Sites have Doubled

The number of reported incidents of digital attacks on websites and on cyber systems of the Dutch government has doubled over the past two years. The National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) now receives, almost on a daily basis - 293 times in the past year – a report of an incident concerning government websites. In the private sector the number of cyberattacks has risen as well.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/tech/overheid-veel-vaker-doelwit-van-cyberaanvallen~a4119366/

Russians Burning Dutch Flowers

Russia continues with the destruction of products imported from the West. Last week, thousands of kilos of cheese and other foodstuffs were burned. This is now the case with Dutch flowers. The Russian authority for Food and Consumption, Rosselchoznadzor, has recently announced that there are often small insects in Dutch flowers, which are considered dangerous to Russian agriculture.  A boycott can cause major problems for Dutch flower growers.  The Netherlands views such acts as political sanctions, despite the official justifications on the part of the Russian authorities.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/russen-verbranden-bloemen-uit-nederland~a4119249/

Well-Known Dutch Jihadist Dies in Syria

According to jihadist sources, the Dutchman known as “Abu Muhammad al-Hollandi” has died near Aleppo.  Last year he incited Dutch Muslims to carry out “a strong act against the Dutch government”. This jihadi had joined Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaida. Abu Muhammad was a frequent user of Twitter and had used it to threaten Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/-bekende-nederlandse-jihadist-omgekomen-in-syrie~a4119014/

Smugglers Recommend the Netherlands to Illegal Asylum Seekers

Smugglers of illegal immigrants have published a brochure in which they recommend the Netherlands as a country which provides excellent facilities for asylum seekers. The publication says that illegal immigrants will receive a payment of €220 per month.  If their demand for asylum is accepted, payments can increase to €1,600 per month for families. The Dutch government will also pay for their accommodation. Deputy Minister of Security and Justice Dijkhoff says that the information provided in the brochure is too rosy. He adds that it shows there are professional smugglers of asylum seekers who earn substantial sums from their illegal activities.

http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Nederland/article/detail/4108964/2015/07/28/Mensensmokkelaars-prijzen-opvang-Nederland-aan.dhtml

Chief Rabbi: Prime Minister should Apologize for Dutch Holocaust Complicity

Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands has called upon Prime Minister Mark Rutte to officially apologize for the Netherland’s collaboration with Germany in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust. Jacobs added that the country’s neighbors have offered such apologies. About seventy five percent of the 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands at the outbreak of the war were murdered in German camps, mainly in Poland.

http://www.jta.org/2015/08/09/default/dutch-chief-rabbi-seeks-pm-apology-for-kingdoms-holocaust-era-complicity

News will be posted again as of August 11th. Thank you for your continued readership.

Dutch Army Trains without Bullets Due to Shortage

From a confidential email from the head of the Dutch Defense Forces, it has become clear that the Dutch army has a major shortage of ammunition.  When soldiers undergo training they cannot fire their weapons but are forced to shout, “Bang! Bang!” The ammunition shortage has been ongoing for years.  Harm de Boer, a former general, says that afterward the soldiers needs several months to reacquaint themselves to the use of weapons.  The 2015 budget indicates that as soon as additional funds will become available, munitions will be purchased.

http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/binnenland/kogeltekort-militairen-roepen-pang-pang-bij-schiettraining

Cheap Illegal Knock-Offs Cost the Netherlands One Billion Euro Annually

Cheap, illegal knock-offs of brand name clothing, shoes and accessories cost the Netherlands about €1 billion per year. Across Europe, the cost is €26 billion annually. This results from a recent study conducted by the European Office of Brands (OHIM).

http://www.telegraaf.nl/dft/nieuws_dft/24314712/__Namaakkleding_kost_Nederland_bijna_1_miljard__.html