Amsterdam Transport Ticket is Illegal

Jacob Kohnstamm, chairman of the Council for the Protection of Personal Data (CPB), has said that the planned “smart card” ticket to be issued for Amsterdam’s public transport system is illegal. The chip on it contains personal data which are kept far too long, which is against the spirit of the law. The CPB also suspects that the data on the chip are insufficiently secure. The CPB says that use of the card could lead to high penalty payments by the Amsterdam municipal transport company

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/3029478/
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Dutch Potato is too Ugly

In six years the export of Dutch potatoes has declined by 25%. The problem is structural says Heero Gramsma, director of Nedato, the Potato Growers’ Cooperative as the Germans prefer smooth and clear potatoes from France over and above the ugly looking Dutch ones, although the taste of the Dutch potatoes is good.

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/2996102/
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Two Dutch Soldiers Killed by Friendly Fire in Afghanistan

Two Dutch soldiers serving in the Afghan province of Uruzgan have been killed, probably by friendly fire. A third was badly wounded. The commander of the Dutch troops, General Dick Berlijn, reported that this occurred due to an unfortunate combination of darkness, bad weather and a difficult military situation during a reconnaissance mission.

www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article494294.ece/
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Former Dutch Minister Breaks UN Rules

Eveline Herfkens (Labor Party), a former Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, has broken United Nations rules, which could lead to her dismissal. She is one of the highest Dutch diplomats at the UN and had applied for a Green Card in the US, which is not permitted under UN regulations. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), where she had worked until she resigned in hopes of getting a consultancy contract with the organization, is currently carrying out an investigation into this issue. It has also become known that over the last three years the Dutch government had given Herfkens a total of $280,000 as a rent subsidy. This is over and above her UN salary. According to UN rules, governments are not allowed to give subsidies to UN diplomats, nor are the diplomats allowed to accept them.

www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article890951.ece/
Positie_Herfkens_bij_VN_in_gevaar

Town Contaminated with Asbestos

Residents of the town of Vroomshoop were ordered to stay indoors on Sunday due to a fire in a plastics recycling firm which caused the spread of asbestos over parts of the town.

www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/3014158/
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Companies Removing Asbestos Do Not Follow Rules

The Inspectorate of Labor increasingly finds transgressions during the removal of asbestos. In 2005 and 2006 they investigated the destruction of 1,680 buildings which had contained asbestos. In more than half of these cases the regulations were not fully followed. For instance, it was found that not enough effort was made to contain the amount of asbestos fibers in the air as much as possible.

www.trouw.nl/hetnieuws/economie/article889133.ece/
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Hard Drugs at Half of Rotterdam Schools

The television program Netwerk conducted a project at 12 Rotterdam schools to identify the use of hard drugs. They employed a spray used by the police. Cocaine was found at six of the schools. Traces of marijuana were found at 10 schools and at one school there were indications of the use of heroin. Rotterdam Alderman Leonard Geluk said that he hopes that he be given legal authority to test suspect pupils for drugs.

www.trouw.nl/laatstenieuws/laatstenieuws/article889548.ece/
Harddrugs_op_helft_Rotterdamse_scholen