Onderwijs

News below sea level

The Netherlands is dealing with a new crime controversy. Last week a 19-year-old Moroccan purse-snatcher was killed when the woman whose purse he had stolen from the front seat of her car drove backwards into his motor scooter, killing the thief.

The woman was arrested, charged with manslaughter, which carries a maximum 15-year sentence, prompting controversial conservative Dutch MP Geert Wilders to exclaim, “This is scandalous, the world’s been turned upside down! They’re turning a victim into a criminal, and vice versa!” However, many in the Moroccan community are angry that the Dutch community isn’t joining them in mourning the thief’s death. Other Moroccans say the incident was revenge for the murder of Theo van Gogh, the filmmaker stabbed to death by a radical Moslem a few months ago. Newspapers quoted the thief’s friends at a Koran school saying the dead man “was a good guy”. Dutch newspapers disclosed that the thief was due to stand trial for armed robbery. The Telegraaf ran the headline, ‘His own fault’, and commented: “What a strange community the Dutch Moroccans are. If one of them gets killed – regardless of whether or not he was a scoundrel – the fat is on the fire…. It’s hard to conduct a dialogue with people with this sort of emotional reactions. Now the legal authorities are sharpening their knives to charge the driver with manslaughter. Who’s the real victim here?” Meanwhile, Ayaan Hirsi Ali returned to the Dutch parliament after spending 75 days in hiding. The Somali-born parliamentarian and outspoken critic of certain Moslem practices, particularly regarding women, had received death threats for her collaboration with murdered filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. She was greeted with applause when she arrived back in parliament surrounded by bodyguards. Elsewhere, Dutch soldiers stationed near the city of as-Samawah in southern Iraq shot an Iraqi dead. The Defense Ministry says soldiers opened fire when a car ignored a stop sign. The Dutch government’s decision to withdraw Dutch troops from Iraq as of March 15th is stirring debate. The Telegraaf praised the decision, saying, “There’s no broad political support in our own country for our continued presence in Iraq.” But Trouw newspaper said that there is support in both parliament and the cabinet for extending the Dutch military mission in Iraq

The latest European Commission survey revealed a growing aversion to the euro. The survey found that after three years of trading in euros, most Netherlanders want the Dutch guilder back. A mere 39% of Dutch people believe the euro has benefited the nation, the lowest figure in euroland. In fact, two-thirds of the Dutch still make mental calculations of the value of items in guilders before making large purchases. The world’s largest ever passenger airliner, the new European Airbus A380, debuted in France, with TU Delft grabbing some of the credit. The “wonder product” Glare (Glass Reinforced Aluminum), was developed by TU Delft and, according to the Volkskrant, the university now claims “the A380 would never have been possible without this invention,” because of Glare’s lightweight strength and fuel cost reduction properties. Meanwhile, the NRC newspaper reported that hundreds of people in the Netherlands die and thousands are hospitalized each year after taking the wrong medication. The most vulnerable group are the elderly and children. Health inspectors say children are at increased risk, because doctors prescribe anti-depressants for them more frequently. The newspaper claims that part of the problem is that doctors are not adequately informed about today’s complex drugs. Meanwhile, Holland’s last remaining cigar manufacturer is moving production to Germany, because profits are diminishing as a result of the anti-smoking campaign. In 1946, Dutch men smoked 2.5 billion cigars, while, in 2004, they smoked only 450 million. The northern Dutch city of Groningen is preparing to host the ‘Diaghilev Festival’, commemorating the great Russian impresario whose work with the Ballets Russes and artists like Stravinsky, Nizhinsky and Picasso helped revolutionize early 20th century European art. However, the Russian dancers will be housed in a bungalow park during their stay here and the festival’s organizers have requested that the bungalow park’s manager remove all liquor from the park’s shops. Finally, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper published a survey suggesting that the average Dutch man is having less and less sex. Three times a week was average in 2002, but it’s only two times a week now. At the same time the amount of sex on television and in the media is rising, prompting the newspaper to remark that, “Sex seems to be everywhere these days…except between the sheets.”

compiled by David McMullin

The Netherlands is dealing with a new crime controversy. Last week a 19-year-old Moroccan purse-snatcher was killed when the woman whose purse he had stolen from the front seat of her car drove backwards into his motor scooter, killing the thief. The woman was arrested, charged with manslaughter, which carries a maximum 15-year sentence, prompting controversial conservative Dutch MP Geert Wilders to exclaim, “This is scandalous, the world’s been turned upside down! They’re turning a victim into a criminal, and vice versa!” However, many in the Moroccan community are angry that the Dutch community isn’t joining them in mourning the thief’s death. Other Moroccans say the incident was revenge for the murder of Theo van Gogh, the filmmaker stabbed to death by a radical Moslem a few months ago. Newspapers quoted the thief’s friends at a Koran school saying the dead man “was a good guy”. Dutch newspapers disclosed that the thief was due to stand trial for armed robbery. The Telegraaf ran the headline, ‘His own fault’, and commented: “What a strange community the Dutch Moroccans are. If one of them gets killed – regardless of whether or not he was a scoundrel – the fat is on the fire…. It’s hard to conduct a dialogue with people with this sort of emotional reactions. Now the legal authorities are sharpening their knives to charge the driver with manslaughter. Who’s the real victim here?” Meanwhile, Ayaan Hirsi Ali returned to the Dutch parliament after spending 75 days in hiding. The Somali-born parliamentarian and outspoken critic of certain Moslem practices, particularly regarding women, had received death threats for her collaboration with murdered filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. She was greeted with applause when she arrived back in parliament surrounded by bodyguards. Elsewhere, Dutch soldiers stationed near the city of as-Samawah in southern Iraq shot an Iraqi dead. The Defense Ministry says soldiers opened fire when a car ignored a stop sign. The Dutch government’s decision to withdraw Dutch troops from Iraq as of March 15th is stirring debate. The Telegraaf praised the decision, saying, “There’s no broad political support in our own country for our continued presence in Iraq.” But Trouw newspaper said that there is support in both parliament and the cabinet for extending the Dutch military mission in Iraq

The latest European Commission survey revealed a growing aversion to the euro. The survey found that after three years of trading in euros, most Netherlanders want the Dutch guilder back. A mere 39% of Dutch people believe the euro has benefited the nation, the lowest figure in euroland. In fact, two-thirds of the Dutch still make mental calculations of the value of items in guilders before making large purchases. The world’s largest ever passenger airliner, the new European Airbus A380, debuted in France, with TU Delft grabbing some of the credit. The “wonder product” Glare (Glass Reinforced Aluminum), was developed by TU Delft and, according to the Volkskrant, the university now claims “the A380 would never have been possible without this invention,” because of Glare’s lightweight strength and fuel cost reduction properties. Meanwhile, the NRC newspaper reported that hundreds of people in the Netherlands die and thousands are hospitalized each year after taking the wrong medication. The most vulnerable group are the elderly and children. Health inspectors say children are at increased risk, because doctors prescribe anti-depressants for them more frequently. The newspaper claims that part of the problem is that doctors are not adequately informed about today’s complex drugs. Meanwhile, Holland’s last remaining cigar manufacturer is moving production to Germany, because profits are diminishing as a result of the anti-smoking campaign. In 1946, Dutch men smoked 2.5 billion cigars, while, in 2004, they smoked only 450 million. The northern Dutch city of Groningen is preparing to host the ‘Diaghilev Festival’, commemorating the great Russian impresario whose work with the Ballets Russes and artists like Stravinsky, Nizhinsky and Picasso helped revolutionize early 20th century European art. However, the Russian dancers will be housed in a bungalow park during their stay here and the festival’s organizers have requested that the bungalow park’s manager remove all liquor from the park’s shops. Finally, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper published a survey suggesting that the average Dutch man is having less and less sex. Three times a week was average in 2002, but it’s only two times a week now. At the same time the amount of sex on television and in the media is rising, prompting the newspaper to remark that, “Sex seems to be everywhere these days…except between the sheets.”

compiled by David McMullin

Redacteur Redactie

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