Dutch Red Cross loyal to German Nazi occupiers during Second World War

Two books expose the extreme shortcomings of top management of the Dutch Red Cross concerning the persecution of Jews and several other issues during the Second World War.  Jews were expelled from membership, Jewish donors were no longer accepted as blood donors, and the top management did not object against the persecution of the Jews. 

https://www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/nl/artikel/47557/het-is-erg-moeilijk-om-veel-positiefs-te-zien-in-de-rol-van-het-nederlandse-rode-kruis-in-oorlogstijd.html

Amsterdam: Was fired municipal official made a scapegoat for deceased mayor’s secret activities?

The deceased mayor of Amsterdam Eberhard van der Laan (Labour) has been found to have run a secret project against radicalization of Muslims. A series of movies was prepared for Youtube around a Moroccan who opposed radicalization. It now turns out that the person in question was a hired actor. The project was titled “the Grey Campaign” and carried out without knowledge of the Municipal Council. It may well be that the dismissed official Saadia a. T. has been made a scapegoat for the mayor’s hidden activities. Municipal council members require that full information is provided about the Grey Campaign.

www.elsevierweekblad.nl/nederland/achtergrond/2017/10/saadia-a-t-draaide-op-voor-geheim-project-van-der-laan-554514/

Euthanasia Clinic Unable to Cope with Requests

The number of requests for euthanasia made to a special clinic for people whose doctors won’t help them die is rising fast.  The organization is looking for an additional 50 staff members.  The director said that the rise in the number of requests for euthanasia is due to the fact that more people want to choose how they die.  The taboo is disappearing.  Amsterdam Free University researcher, Bregje Onwuteaka-Philipsen, said that requests for euthanasia rose from 13,000 in 2011 to 18,000 in 2016.

www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/10/specialist-euthanasia-clinic-is-unable-to-cope-with-demand/

Imam who preaches hate expelled from Belgium now preaching in the Netherlands

Imam El-Alami Amaouch was deported from Belgium last year.  Amaouch a Dutch Moroccan citizen is now preaching in The Hague.  This has been confirmed by a spokesperson of that municipality.  A visual recording of one of Amaouch's sermons showed an ISIS flag and it is believed that many of his followers are radicalized Muslims. 

https://nltimes.nl/2017/10/26/controversial-imam-preaching-hague-report

Extermination Experts: Rats May Cause Medieval Plagues

There is increasing news about the plague of rats in the Netherlands getting out of hand. Experts say that the population of rats is explosively increasing. 88 Dutchmen fell sick last year both in the Netherlands and abroad with the rat sickness also known as the sickness of Weil.  Before 2014, this illness hardly existed in the Netherlands.  It is spread through rat urine that gets into waterways.  A major government study on the rat plague is underway and will be published early next year.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/917330/rattenplaag-loopt-uit-de-hand

Amsterdam politician: town suffers from a plague of rats…

Carolien de Heer, (Labor) a member of the Amsterdam municipality says that there is a plague of rats and mice in the town.  She added that they multiply in a dirty town.  De Heer now wants to consult other towns abroad how they deal with the problem.  She mentioned in New York research is being done to control the population of rats by feeding them with contraceptives.  This however is not permitted in the Netherlands. 

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/901845/amsterdam-overspoeld-door-ratten

More Dutch Ammunition found unsafe

Last year unsafe Dutch ammunition led to the death of two soldiers during an exercise in Mali, where the Netherlands has soldiers on a UN peace mission. In the meantime additional ammunition has been declared unsafe. This concerns anti-tank ammunition and smoke grenades which possibly have deteriorated due to the high temperatures in the African country. Furthermore it has been decided that the 81 mm mortars of the Dutch soldiers in Mali and Lithuania present a safety risk and should not be used.

www.ad.nl/binnenland/meer-munitie-nederlandse-militairen-mali-niet-veilig~ada24284/

Dutch Jihadist; husband wanted to commit attack in Netherlands

Laura H is a Dutch woman which appears before a court in the Netherlands.  She left for Syria in 2015.  She told the court that her husband Ibrahim wanted to commit a terrorist attack preferably in the Netherlands.  She said that she became more involved in Islam because “she wanted to belong somewhere.”  She also said that she was under the influence of her violent husband.

https://nltimes.nl/2017/10/12/dutch-jihadist-husband-wanted-commit-attack-netherlands-europe

More than 6000 people victims of human trafficking

Over 6 thousand people, mainly women, are exploited for prostitution or webcam sex in the Netherlands.  This was said in a new report by Corrine Dettmeijer the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking.  She said that this report is the first "reliable, solid and scientifically substantiated" estimate on this topic.  Dettmeijer also mentioned that most victims are women and a large percentage of them are underage. The new estimates are five times as high as has been assumed until now.

https://nltimes.nl/2017/10/18/human-trafficking-victims-nl-five-times-higher-expected-national-rapporteur

Ombudsman: Children in Groningen Suffer from Earthquakes

The Ombudsman for children, Margrite Kalverboer, concludes that children in the province of Groningen suffer from the consequences of earthquakes.  These earthquakes are the result of the many years of exploration of natural gas in the province.  Children that suffer from this have problems with concentration, are afraid, suffer from sleep disorders, and feel pessimistic about the future.

www.ad.nl/binnenland/groningse-kinderen-lijden-onder-aardbevingen-en-de-gevolgen-ervan~aa897054/

National Police unit short of money and manpower

Richard Bronswijk, the chairman of The Central Works Council said that the National Unit of the Dutch Police is in desperate need of money and staff.  He added that it cannot perform its work properly in the current situation.  This results in serious criminals sometimes not being arrested.  He said that the reorganization of the National Police was disastrous and that there is a shortage of 500 men. According to Bronswijk, some departments such as the National Water Police Team, and the Explosive Specialist Department have no idea what they should be doing. 

https://nltimes.nl/2017/10/17/national-police-unit-needs-manpower-money-central-works-council

Experts: Dutch Army Develops Far Too Slowly

Henk Geveke, Director of Defense and Safety of the TNO Technology Institute, is one of the most important advisors to the Dutch army.  He says that the Dutch army is still operating according to technologies of the past.  It will have to invest in current technological know-how to remain ahead of the enemy in future wars. He mentioned that laser weapons, munition from a 3-D printer and invisibility shields for ships are all under development in the world or close to realization.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/811340/tno-krijgsmacht-ontwikkelt-zich-veel-te-traag

Netherlands becomes increasingly a heroin producing country

The official prosecution in The Hague says that there is a trend of the Netherlands becoming a heroin producing country.  This is the result of more strict controls abroad.  Recently, nine suspects of a heroin drug ring from a Turkish family were arrested.  The Netherlands is also increasingly used as a base for heroin trade.  Earlier this year, six people were arrested as they were involved in an international transport of 1100 kilos of heroin. 

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/810788/heroinehandel-sterk-in-opkomst

Dutch Commandos Press Charges against Ministry of Defense

Five members of the Corps Commando are pressing charges against the Ministry of Defense. These concern the death of one of their colleagues at an exercise on a Dutch shooting range last year. The Safety Board has released a report on the incident which is very damaging for the Ministry. The judicial action of the soldiers is unprecedented.

nltimes.nl/2017/10/03/dutch-commandos-press-charges-defense-fatal-shooting-training-range

Fraud? Africa Aid Agency files for Bankruptcy

Dutch International development Minister Liliane Ploumen has ordered an investigation after the finance director of the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) has disappeared without trace. 1.6 million Euro are missing from its accounts, possibly due to fraud. All staff at its African offices have been dismissed. AWEPA was founded in 1984 to advise and support democratic parliaments in Africa. Over the years the Dutch government has subsidized AWEPA with 9.5 million Euro. Also other European countries and the European Commission have subsidized the organization.  

www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/10/inquiry-as-e1-6m-goes-missing-from-amsterdam-based-africa-aid-agency/

Former Dutch General: Dutch Defense is Sick and on an IV

Former Dutch Ground Forces Commander, General Mart de Kruif, says that the Dutch defense is sick and on an IV.  Dutch defense has slowly been eroded from within.  There is too little money.  The guidance isn’t functioning and the management isn’t okay.  Just changing the top people has no impact.

https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2196040-je-kunt-poppetjes-wisselen-maar-daarmee-is-probleem-defensie-niet-opgelost.html

Residing Commander in Chief: It Hurts Me Not to Leave the Military in Better Shape

General Tom Middendorp, Commander of the Dutch Military, resigned a few days before the end of his term due to the negative report about the lethal incident in Mali.  Middendorp strongly criticized the cutbacks of military expenses over the past 25 years. He said that he had suggested in vain that the Netherlands invest again in the basic security of the country.  He added, “I would have loved to leave my successor something better.”

www.ad.nl/politiek/ook-generaal-middendorp-weg-om-mortierongeluk-mali~a817af3c/

Minister of Defense and Commander in Chief of Army Resign

Jeanine Hennis, the Dutch Minister of Defense and the Commander in Chief of the Dutch Army General Tom Middendorp have resigned as a result of the very negative investigation report of the deadly incident during an exercise of the Dutch military mission in Mali in 2016. Hennis said that she was politically responsible and that her initial reaction to the report had been awkward.

www.trouw.nl/democratie/hennis-stapt-op-om-dodelijk-mortierongeval-mali~a077a543/

Deputy Prime Minister: Minister of Defense should resign

Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher (Labour) said that the conclusions of the investigation into the death of two Dutch soldiers in Mali in 2016, due to faulty ammunition, are sufficiently severe for the Minister of Defense Jeanine Hennis to resign.  He added that drawing conclusions is up to her.

www.ad.nl/politiek/vicepremier-asscher-rapport-over-mali-zwaar-genoeg-voor-aftreden-hennis~a9e0e936/

Investigation: Ministry of Defense Greatly Failed in Caring for Soldiers in Mali

The Investigation Council for Safety has concluded that the Ministry of Defense has greatly failed in taking care of the safety of Dutch soldiers sent on a mission to Mali.  This concerns both the safety of the mortar grenades used as well as appropriate military health care.  The Council concludes that both issues have been made secondary to the continuation of the mission.

https://onderzoeksraad.nl/nl/onderzoek/2242/mortieroefening-mali

Trade Union Leader: 2016 Deaths of Two Dutch Soldiers Due to Defective Grenades

In July 2016, two Dutch soldiers were killed in Mali in an exercise during which a grenade exploded in a mortar.  An investigation now shows that the grenades were defective.  They were purchased ten years ago from Bulgaria for the war in Afghanistan.  Mr. Jean Debi, chairman of the Military Trade Union, VBM, said that the military authorities knew that the grenades used in the exercise were defective.

www.metronieuws.nl/nieuws/binnenland/2017/09/dood-militairen-mali-had-voorkomen-kunnen-worden