Cempaka Belanda

Four Freedoms Award for Brazil's Lula

2012-02-02T02:53:00.000+07:00

RNW, 1February 2012

FormerBrazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
(Photo: Wikipedia/Wilson Dias)

FormerBrazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is this year’s winner of theInternational Four Freedoms Award. He is to receive the prize for years spentcombating social and economic injustice in Brazil.

The awardwill be presented by the Roosevelt Foundation on 12 May in the Nieuwe Kerk (NewChurch) in the Dutch town of Middelburg. The awards are presented annually inNew York, London or the Netherlands alternately.

Thefoundation called Lula’s long battle against poverty a continuing source ofinspiration for ethnic groups and world leaders. He was a trade union leaderbefore serving as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.

The fourother winners this year are the Arabic news station Al-Jazeera for freedom ofspeech, Turkey’s Archbishop Bartholomew for freedom of worship, Indian activistEla Ramesh Bhatt for freedom from want and Iraqi Energy Minister Hussainal-Shahristani for freedom from fear.

Envoy to bring new ideas in RI-Dutch ties

2012-02-01T15:48:00.000+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/01/2012

Fresh ideas: Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands Retno L.P. Marsudi (center)
enters the Noordeinde Palace to submit her credentials to Dutch Queen Beatrix
Wilhelmina Armgard in The Hague on last Wednesday. Courtesy the Indonesian
Embassy in the Netherlands

IndonesianAmbassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Retno L.P. Marsudi, promised tobring fresh ideas and energy to further strengthen bilateral ties between thetwo countries.

“I willpromote Indonesia’s interests in the Netherlands as an important partner intrade, investment and tourism as well as a gateway to Europe,” said Retno, aformer director general for America and Europe at Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry,in a press release sent to The Jakarta Post from The Hague.

Withbilateral trade amounting to US$5 billion annually, the Netherlands is one ofIndonesia’s biggest allies in the world. “Therefore, the embassy in The Hagueis one of the most important missions for Indonesia. It is a hugeresponsibility for me, but I’m forever grateful for the opportunity and trust,”she said.

Retno, thefirst Indonesian female ambassador to the Netherlands, presented hercredentials to Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard at the Noordeinde Palace in TheHague on Jan. 25.

Sheconveyed the warmest greetings from Indonesian President Susilo BambangYudhoyono to Queen Beatrix, adding that Indonesia was greatly encouraged by theNetherlands’s strong commitment to strengthen the bilateral partnership betweenboth countries based on mutual respect and benefits.

The queenwarmly welcomed Retno to the Netherlands and wished her every success in hermission as the Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands.

Underliningthe importance of Indonesia for the Netherlands, the queen expressed her highappreciation of the rapid political and economic development in Indonesia.

TheNetherlands also expects that bilateral relations between both nations will beimproved in the future.

During theceremony, Retno was accompanied by her husband Agus Marsudi, Embassy’s deputychief of mission Umar Hadi and other diplomats.

Dutch FM "prefers cheese trade over human rights"

2012-02-01T05:55:00.002+07:00

RNW, 31January 2012

Related Article:

The Human Rights Defenders Tulip

The humanrights policies of the Netherlands' Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal have come infor sharp criticism. Chair Ciska Dresselhuys of the Human Rights DefendersTulip award has said that Rosenthal is putting Dutch cheese exports above humanrights.

Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal

(Photo: ANP/Jerebu)

MsDresselhuys was speaking at an award ceremony in The Hague where the laureate,the imprisoned Chinese activist Ni Yulan, was to have been presented with theHuman Rights Tulip. However, Ms Ni's daughter, who would have represented hermother was not allowed to leave China, so the ceremony had to be cancelled.

Ni Yulan, alawyer, defended Chinese citizens, including a Falun Gong member and peoplewhose homes were destroyed to make way for the 2008 Olympic stadium, in courtcases against the Chinese government.

Speaking aschair of the Tulip jury, Ms Dresselhuys said that economic interest shouldnever be a reason to remain silent in the face of injustice: "Open supportto the fight for freedom and justice should always take precedence over theexport of Edam cheese, tomatoes, fresh flowers and superfluous tanks."

MrRosenthal said that China appears not to appreciate that the Tulip was awardedto Ni Yulan. He pointed out that China was "an important partner of theNetherlands". According to the minister, having "good relations withChina enables one to broach sensitive subjects".

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Iranian activist Shadi Sadr awarded Dutch human rights prize

Shadi Sadr. (Photo Newsha Tavakolian)

The very low countries: Space Station captures the lights of Belgium and Holland from 250 miles up

2012-01-31T04:57:00.001+07:00

Daily Mail, by Rob Waugh, 30th January 2012

Camerasaboard the International Space Station captured a spectacular view of Europe -seen through the robotic arms and solar panels of the orbiting space stationitself.

City lightsfrom Belgium and the Netherlands are in the centre of the photograph, withBritain concealed behind solar panels to the left.

A night-time view of a western European panorama from the International
Space Station reveals city lights from Belgium and the Netherlands

The imagewas taken by the ISS station crew on January 22, 2012.

In theforeground, you can see the end effector of the Space Station RemoteManipulator System, a robotic arm used to move equipment and supplies aroundthe station.

Don Pettit,one of the Space Station's current crew, writes, 'Looking through the cupolawindows on Space Station, it’s only natural to reflect upon who we are andwhere we fit into the world below.'

More...

Incredible image appears to show massive black hole in the sky

'Likesomething out of Alice in Wonderland, this orbital looking glass can be both awindow through which to observe the jeweled sphere of Earth and a mirror that(sometimes, depending on your viewing angle) shows you a translucent reflectionof yourself superimposed on the planet.'

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Wiki leaders on the rise

2012-01-31T02:42:00.002+07:00

RNW, 28January 2012, by Maike Winters

(Graphic: Radio Netherlands Worldwide)

Could ournew world leaders be one of the young people who camped out as part of theOccupy movement or who fought for their lives during the Arab Spring? All theseyoung people were inspired by the idea of change. Now a new political platformwants to unite people with ideas to bring about reform in the Netherlands.Partij2030 is part of a global trend.

The manbehind the initiative, 33-year-old Joop Hazenberg, has spent years searchingfor new ways to get society ready for the future. In addition to a pro-Europeanpolicy and an alternative welfare state, his vision centres on crowdsourcing: akind of wiki government in which our leaders build on the knowledge ofcitizens, comparable to how we consult an internet encyclopaedia likeWikipedia.

Trend

As Joopexplains, he's not alone in his ambitions:

“This modelis already being used in other parts of the world. In the UK, for example,major cutbacks are taking place. The government has asked people to contributemoney-saving ideas. It’s a fairly controversial move, but it’s generated nofewer than 200,000 responses.”

Hecontinues: “That’s a list a policy officer could never have come up with. It’sall about utilising society’s collective knowledge. Thanks to internet andsocial media, that knowledge is very easy to find.”

PaulLucardie, political scientist at the University of Groningen, sees this as partof an international trend.

“Peoplewant to have more of a say; they want change. Just look at how the Pirate Partyhas become an international movement, enjoying great popularity in Sweden andGermany. The trend is to start something new that can be passed on quickly.Unfortunately, these kinds of initiatives don’t usually last long.”

Time andenergy

Lucardie isreferring to the Occupy movement. After disenchanted Americans occupied WallStreet in September last year, it wasn’t long before demonstrators had set uptent camps in over 900 cities across the world.

“Thatsounds impressive, but in the end how many people actually took part? Perhaps100,000. That’s not much out of a population of six billion. People wantchange, but unfortunately there’s only a small group with the time and energyto persevere. People are more concerned about keeping their jobs and pensionsthan genuine government reform.”

The founderof Partij2030 begs to differ. The first public brainstorming session isscheduled for next week. People from all regions and backgrounds have beeninvited to contribute their thoughts and ideas. The aim is to get a newpolitical movement off the ground.

Radicaledge

“A fineinitiative, very much geared towards the future,” says Ringo Ossewaarde,associate professor of sociology at the University of Twente. But he believesthe plans lack a radical edge. As he sees it, a wiki government is nothing new.

“It hasexisted for years under the name civic engagement. And it’s worth asking whatthe quality of a policy created by ordinary citizens will be.”

The youngergeneration needs to be able to trust in government again, believes JoopHazenberg. Time Magazine declared 2011 to be the year of the demonstrator. Will2012 be the year of wiki government?

“No, it’sstill too early for that. I hope this year will be a year of unity: unitinggroups of campaigners and people with ideas and trying to bring about changetogether. Bringing people together in this fragmented society. Partij2030 is anexperiment, to see whether we can take part in the 2014 elections with aradical reform agenda for the Netherlands.”

Agents of change in Cuba and Yemen

Across the world, people are trying to change political structures. For example, Yoani Sánchez from Cuba has devoted years to writing a blog about Generation Y.

The aim of her writing is to promote freedom of information. She was given the opportunity to interview President Obama, who praised her for giving him a unique insight into the lives of Cubans.

Yoani Sánchez has also received a Prince Claus Award and the International Press Institute’s World Press Freedom Hero Award. In an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, she said:

“If this generation of young people gain access to social networks, all kinds of things will happen. I believe that if we can try things out in a virtual Cuba, our encounters in the real Cuba will be less violent and less traumatic.”

Yemeni journalist and politician Tawakkul Karman is another example. She founded Women Journalists Without Chains, fought for press freedom and set up a news service for mobile phones.

Tawakkul Karman led demonstrations during the Arab revolution. In 2011, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her non-violent struggle for the rights of women.

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Minister freezes nuclear plant application

2012-01-30T22:21:00.007+07:00

RNW, 30January 2012

Nuclearpower plant near the small

Dutch town of Borssele (Photo: RNW)

Energycompany Delta is still planning to build a second nuclear power plant near thesmall Dutch town of Borssele - formally at least.

However,Economic Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen has - for the time being - frozen allactivities connected with permit applications.

Borssele isthe site of the only operational nuclear power plant in the Netherlands. Deltarecently announced it was shelving its construction plans due to overcapacityin the electricity market.

Theminister has announced he will be having talks with Delta and the German companyRWE, which has also put its nuclear plans on the back burner, to discuss wherethey want to go from here. RWE owns the Dutch energy provider Essent.

Mr Verhagentold parliament he is still looking to develop an increasingly sustainable mixof energy sources, as desired by the cabinet, in which nuclear power may play arole.

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"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects:The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design,Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa,Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - New !

Dutch seed companies among global top

2012-01-30T03:01:00.001+07:00

RNW, 28January 2012

Dutchcompanies that produce agricultural and horticultural seeds and seedlings rankamong the world’s top, in terms of turnover, trade and innovation, figures byWageningen University show.

Many of thesector’s biggest producers are based in the Netherlands, which partly accountsfor the strength of the country’s farming and food branches. On average, thecompanies invest some 15 percent of their turnover in research and development.The figure represents one of the highest R&D turnover percentages in anysector, including the pharmaceutical industry.

Nearly 40percent of the global trade in agricultural and horticultural seeds comes fromthe Netherlands, the report says. For seed-potatoes the figure is close to 60percent. Dutch seeds for ornamental plants represent nearly 40 percent of theEuropean trade in that branch.

The sectorowes its lead position to its unceasing effort at product and process renewal,the report finds. Though it operates around the world, the branch does 60percent of its research in Europe.

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Leaked documents reveal US diplomats actually work for Monsanto

Dutch accused of dumping chemicals in Jakarta

2012-01-30T02:48:00.001+07:00

RNW, 29 January 2012

Indonesia'sFinance Minister Agus Martowardojo has accused the Netherlands and the UnitedKingdom of violating the Basel Convention against the dumping of chemicalwaste.

Theminister told reporters on Saturday that customs had impounded 113 containersof hazardous and toxic waste at the port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, accordingto a report in the Jakarta Post.

The Dutchand British governments "should have reported the shipments to Indonesiabecause they contained hazardous and toxic waste" under the terms of theBasel agreement, which has been in force since 1992. The 89 British and 24Dutch containers contained mainly scrap metal contaminated with poisonouschemicals.

The Jakartagovernment has said it will notify the British and Dutch embassies of the find,demanding an explanation for the incompleteness of the shipload's documents.The owner of the PT HHS company which attempted to import the scrap metal intoIndonesia could face a 15-year jail sentence if found guilty, EnvironmentMinister Balthasar Kombuaya said.

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The customs office foiled the attempted smuggling of 28,200 kilograms
of scrap steel allegedly contaminated by hazardous waste at the Tanjung
Priok Port on Saturday in Jakarta. (Antara Photo/Ujang Zaelani)

Dutch pension fund ABP sues Goldman Sachs

2012-01-29T02:23:00.002+07:00

RNW, 28January 2012

(Photo:ANP)

Dutchpension fund ABP is suing US investment bank Goldman Sachs for knowinglyselling it junk mortgages and providing misleading information.

The ABPpension fund for government and education employees is the largest pension fundin the Netherlands and among the three largest in the world. Prior to the 2008US mortgage and bank crisis, ABP invested large sums in bonds linked to USmortgages.

ABP accusesGoldman Sachs of misinforming the pension fund as to the credit worthiness ofthe bonds, which proved to be far riskier than the bank had suggested. Thiseventually caused ABP to suffer significant losses. ABP will not disclose theexact amount of the losses it suffered, a spokesperson announced on Saturday.

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Press freedom under pressure in spite of Arab spring

2012-01-27T16:25:00.002+07:00

RNW, 26January 2012, by RNW News Desk

(Photo: ANP)

Pressfreedom in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen has dropped drastically in the past year.The annual index for press freedom by NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) showthat press freedom in Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan continues to be poor- just like in other years. RSF describes these countries as “absolutedictatorships without civil rights”.

Therevolutions in the Arab World have led to significant shifts in the index.Syria fell to de 176th place out of a total of 179 countries. According to RSF,large-scale censorship, violence and manipulation by the regime is makingworking as a journalist in Syria impossible. Bahrain and Yemen, where theopposition parties have been forced into silence, have also dropped in theindex.

Tunisia, thecountry where the Arab spring began, is going in the right direction.Nevertheless, the new democracy cannot be said to have a free and independentpress according to the RSF report. The report is also pessimistic about thesituation in Egypt, where “the military leaders are continuing the dictatorialpractices of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.”

Africa

In Africa,press freedom has increasingly come under pressure in the past year. Eritrea isstill at the bottom of the list, and in Uganda in particular oppression by theregime has increased considerably. RSF is, however, positive about South Sudan,which seceded from Sudan last year. The new country has risen to what the RSFcalls a respectable 111th place.

LatinAmerica

In LatinAmerica, press freedom in Chile has dropped to number 80. According to the RSF,security troops in particular have prevented the freedom of information ofstudent protests. Press freedom in Cuba in 167th place still scores lowest inthe region, Jamaica and Costa Rica are in the highest places in the region.

Worldpowers

There isalso criticism this year of press freedom in the largest world powers. Chinahas dropped into the fifth before last place; the Chinese government hasincreased its control over the press and information and increased censorshipof the internet. The United States fell to 47th place, mostly because of numerousarrests of journalists who reported on the Occupy Wall Street protests.Likewise Russia fell to 142nd place on the list.

The PressFreedom Index is traditionally led by European countries. Finland and Norwayare both at number one, with a Estonia and the Netherlands sharing third place.

The 10 topcountries in the Press Freedom Index:

1. Finlandand Norway

3. Estoniaand the Netherlands

5. Austria

6. Icelandand Luxembourg

8.Switzerland

9. CapeVerde

10. Canadaand Denmark

The 10countries with the least press freedom:

1. Eritrea

2. North Korea

3. Turkmenistan

4. Syria

5. Iran

6. China

7. Bahrain

8. Vietnam

9. Yemen

10. Sudan

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Dutch win crowdsourcing contest for emergency airdrops

2012-01-27T02:47:00.001+07:00

RNW, 26January 2012, by Robert Chesal

(Photo (montage): WFP)

The US AirForce can improve its method for dropping emergency supplies into disasterareas, thanks to crowdsourcing and a pair of Dutch engineers. If a new airdropsystem devised by Siepko Bekkering and Michiel Hagenbeek works, relief teamswill be better able to supply disaster victims with food and medicines.

How do yousafely and effectively drop relief packages after an earthquake or hurricane?The US Air Force has long struggled with that problem. Supplies have to beparachuted far from the disaster-struck population so that falling packagesdon’t kill or maim anyone. This is just one of the technical drawbacks ofairdrops, a method that saves lives but is often clumsy in practice.

Masscollaboration

The AirForce Research Lab (AFRL), which spends billions on advanced weapons systems,put this low-tech question to a huge online community by crowdsourcing. It’spart of a trend in Research and Development called Open Innovation. Instead ofsolving all problems themselves, companies and even the world’s most powerfulairforce put their problems to the crowd, so anyone who likes a challenge cangive it a shot.

Dutchengineer Siepko Bekkering was never one to enter online competitions before,until his friend and fellow engineer Michiel Hagenbeek introduced him to theworld of ‘mass collaboration.’ Together, they started looking for designchallenges. They found one on the InnoCentive website: the US Air ForceResearch Lab was looking for a better method for humanitarian airdrops. Theyentered the contest, and within two months Bekkering and Hagenbeek had come upwith a winning design.

“I thoughtit was interesting to develop something for the US military, especially becauseit can help them give emergency relief to people in trouble,” Bekkering said.“I also wanted to get involved in a crowdsourcing project because it’s a greatway to find a solution to a problem.”

Winningdesigns

As afinalist, Bekkering is $10,000 richer, but his design is now property of theAFRL. It consists of specially-devised rollers and a special chute to ejectfood packages from the aircraft, eliminating the heavy wooden pallets thatsometimes land on people who are awaiting help on the ground.

His design willnow compete with another crowdsourced solution the lab selected, fromIndonesian engineer Agung Nuswantoro from Tangerang City in Indonesia. Thatdesign uses an automated conveyor belt that receives real-time data aboutwindspeed, terrain and drop locations to prevent dangerous mishaps. Nuswantorobased the idea on his knowledge of conveyor belts in the coal industry.

Geek shortage

Now the labhas to decide which of the two finalist designs, selected from over 1,100entries, will become the standard for the Air Force. The laboratory, like manyother research bodies run by the US Defense department, is suffering from a major shortage of scientists and engineers. Advocates of crowdsourcing say OpenInnovation is the obvious solution.

Related Article:

Amsterdam elephant gets contact lens

2012-01-25T21:46:00.004+07:00

RNW, 25January 2012

An elephantat Amsterdam’s Artis zoo has become the first elephant in Europe to be fittedwith a contact lens. Her eye was injured during a scuffle with anotherelephant, the zoo says.

Asianelephant Win Thida’s eye began streaming and she was evidently having troublekeeping it open because of the pain. Vet Anne-Marie Verbruggen was called in,and an examination revealed that the elephant’s cornea had been damaged, mostlikely by a twig.

The vetsays she has often fitted horses with contact lenses, but this is the firsttime she’s attempted the procedure with an elephant. Fortunately Win Thida wasvery cooperative, after daily training sessions helped her work up to theoperation. She had to remain standing under anaesthetic, as elephants can’t liedown for long before their immense weight hampers their breathing.

The vetneeded to stand on a ladder to reach her patient’s eye. The treatment took lessthan an hour, and Win Thida seemed happier straight away. She was immediatelyable to keep her eye open more easily. Protected by the contact lens, the woundon her cornea will now be able to heal, the vet says.

Forty-five-year-oldWin Thida is the dominant matriarch of the Amsterdam herd. She started life ona Burmese work camp and came to the Netherlands in 1989. She moved to herpresent home from Burger’s Zoo in Arnhem in 2004.

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Sumatran elephant calf and its mother from Tesso Nilo
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We'll never forget you: Elephants say a sad farewell to baby who died of a heart defect

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operation on her defective heart but sadly died during

a preliminary scan

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Red = don't reanimate!

2012-01-25T03:00:00.003+07:00

RNW, 24January 2012, by Maike Winters

(Photo: albert schweitzer ziekenhuis)

An unusualexperiment is due to start in February in the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in theDutch town of Dordrecht. Patients who do not want to be reanimated will begiven red wristbands.

SpecialistValentijn Drexhage explains the problem:

“Thepatient’s wishes are normally noted in the medical file, except sometimes whenit has been forgotten. If the file isn’t in the room where the patient needsreanimating, it’s an acute situation. It’s a question of split seconds and youcan’t waste time looking for a file. That’s the dilemma. We have sometimesstarted something that later we regretted, not to mention the patient, ofcourse, and the family members.”

Patientshave a variety of reasons to elect not to be reanimated. Old people are sometimesno longer so keen to continue living and some patients are fearful about therisks of reanimation. A spokesperson for the hospital points out that theimpact of reanimation of the patient and close relatives is serious: “Themajority of patients suffer lasting damage from being reanimated.”

Vegetable

One patientin the oncology department of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital is all in favourof the experiment. She is opposed to reanimation for religious reasons. Theadvantage of the wristband is that doctors can see right away what to do:

“It’susually a hectic situation when something happens and when they have to decidewhether or not to act. Life after reanimation is pretty grim. I have no desireto live like a vegetable.”

Playingsafe

Patientsaren’t always recognised at the critical moment and if there was the slightestdoubt doctors have, understandably, always played safe and gone forreanimation. Patients are normally asked on admission whether they have anyobjection to reanimation. Drexhage:

“Sometimesthe problem was with patients who came to us from the outpatient clinic andhave passed from one department to another, but we now have departmentalsecretariats which will keep a closer eye on this in future.”

Sensitivity

Theexperiment will continue until mid-May then a decision will be taken whether tocontinue. A spokesperson for the Dordrecht hospital is enthusiastic:

“We wereworried there would be too much sensitivity about this kind of system, but itlooks as though the opposite is true.”

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DSM to produce advanced biofuel

2012-01-25T02:46:00.002+07:00

RNW, 24January 2012

Dutchspecialty chemicals company DSM has entered into a joint venture with the USethanol producer POET to produce biofuel from the inedible plant material leftover from the corn harvest.

The Dutchcompany is one of the first worldwide to produce advanced, ‘second generation’,biofuels. POET–DSM Advanced Biofuels will produce the ethanol from the stalksand leaves of the corn plant using a a biological process which involves achemical reaction between water and enzymes followed by fermentation. Theresulting biofuel is referred to as 'advanced' because the process utilisesonly material which has no nutritional value.

Milestone

Productionis scheduled to start in the second half of 2013 in a factory in the US stateof Iowa, which will be built next to an existing POET production unit. DSM andPOET will both make an initial investment of 192 million euros in the newfactory which is to produce between 75 and 95 million litres of ethanol a year.The joint venture, with its headquarters located in South Dakota, is to beprofitable by 2014. DSM and POET both have a 50 percent stake in the jointventure.DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma on Monday spoke of a strategic milestone for DSMand a major step in the direction of a bio-based economy. “We are not justtalking about a bio-based economy, we are really going to make it happen.”

Commerciallyviable

DSMbelieves biofuel has great commercial potential. Projections made by the USgovernment show that production of biofuel in the United States alone could beas high as 60 billion litres by 2020. Between 350 and 400 new bio-refinerieswould have to be built to meet demand.

POET–DSMAdvanced Biofuels is forecast to realise an annual turnover of around 100million US dollars plus additional revenue from licence agreements with otherPOET factories and third parties. Mr Sijbesma declined to give an estimate ofhow much revenue these agreements could generate.

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One hundred years of the war on drugs

2012-01-24T20:35:00.001+07:00

RNW, 23January 2012, by John Tyler

Opium use on the island Java, Indonesia. (Photo: Tropical Museum)

One hundredyears ago today, the war on drugs started in The Hague. On 23 January, 1912,twelve countries met to sign the first international agreement regulating thedrug trade, the International Opium Convention. Little has changed in thosehundred years; the United States still aggressively pursues a policy ofprohibition while the Dutch still prefer to regulate drug use.

Marcel deKort, author of a history of drug policy in the Netherlands, says this countrywas never keen on using repressive measures.

"[TheDutch] always had their doubts about the international approach of prohibition.Already in the 1920s they called the US approach 'destructive idealism.' "

Profitmotive

At the timeof the opium convention, Dutch doubts about prohibition were fueled by money.The international drug trade was big business. The trade in opium and morphinehad been steadily expanding during the second half of the 19th century. Germany,the United Kingdom and France were all profiting - but none held a candle tothe Netherlands.

Plantationson Java gave the Dutch East India company a commanding position in the market,and they reported a profit of 26 million guilders from opium in 1914 before theconvention had taken effect.* Cocaine also proved to be a lucrative businessfor at least one Dutch company which sold the drug to both sides during WorldWar I.

So if thedrug trade was such good business, why did the Netherlands host the 1912convention in the first place? Marcel Kort says the Dutch decided, 'if youcan’t beat them, join them.' Active participation in what was considered anunwelcome but inevitable development would do more to help protect Dutcheconomic interests than more stalling.

Delayingtactics

The Haguealmost missed out. The United States, backed by China, had been trying forthree years to get the major players to agree to a treaty, but European powerskept putting it off. But an American physician - the main force behind theconvention - finally had enough. Upon hearing of yet another delay, the doctortracked down the vacationing Dutch ambassador in a remote area in the state ofMaine and sternly instructed him to set a date for the convention. Otherwise,the doctor threatened, he'd organise the event himself in Washington, DC. Theplan worked and after six weeks of face-to-face haggling, the firstinternational treaty regulating drugs was signed in the Netherlands.

Turningpoint

TheNetherlands and other European powers did manage to water down the 1912convention, keeping the emphasis on regulating trade, rather than prohibitingdrug use altogether. The deal covered four drugs - opium, morphine, cocaine andheroin. It did not regulate synthetic drugs, thanks to lobbying by theGerman-dominated pharmaceutical industry.

Implementationof the agreement was stalled until after World War I, but then it was includedin the Treaty Of Versailles that ended the war. This mean that, in one fellswoop, 60 countries were bound by the convention rather than just the original13.

In additionto regulating international trade, the convention also required all signatoriesto pass domestic legislation controlling drug use.

One hundredyears of bickering

Thediplomatic bickering about regulation versus prohibition which began with the1912 convention negotiations has continued ever since. The United States walkedout of a 1925 conference on the grounds that it wouldn’t be tough enough, andit wasn’t until 1961 that the US finally succeeded in pushing through a moreprohibitive treaty.

The UnitedNations Office on Drugs and Crime, established in 1997, adopted thezero-tolerance policy favoured by the United States. Dutch drugs policy todayis still slanted towards regulation, but a number of measures have been adoptedrecently which tend more towards prohibition.

Ironically,as the Netherlands seems to be backpedaling on its liberal approach, a numberof other countries are turning to policies which deal with drug-use as a publichealth and social welfare problem rather than a criminal one. And anincreasingly loud chorus of voices from the scientific, political and socialspheres are declaring that the war on drugs has been lost and it's timezero-tolerance was traded in for tolerance-under-strict-conditions.

* figurefrom Economic Histories of the Opium Trade, by Siddharth Chandra, University ofPittsburgh

To readmore about the history of drug control, check out the Transnational Institute'sarticle, The development of international drug control.

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Dutch power company shelves nuclear plans

2012-01-23T22:06:00.001+07:00

RNW, 23January 2012

Zeelandpower company Delta has informed it shareholders that plans for a secondnuclear power plant will be shelved for at least two to three years.

Nuclear power plant in the Netherlands
at the town of Borssele

Deltacurrently operates the only operations nuclear power plant in the Netherlandsat the town of Borssele.

FormerDirector Peter Boerma, a fierce advocate of nuclear power, resigned last monthwhen the company decided to postpone its application for a government licence.

On Monday,Delta announced that it had become clear that plans for another nuclear powerplant must be shelved due to overcapacity in the electricity market incombination with low energy prices.

Delta saidit continued to believe in the benefits of nuclear power, such as a lowlong-term cost price and an enormous reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

A newnuclear plant would not be operational until 2020 at the earliest. Delta saysit will continue to invest in new power generation capacity. “There are anumber of options which would take less time to realise than nuclear power” aspokesperson said.

Delta’sdecision to postpone its nuclear ambitions was reportedly also motivated by anunfavourable climate for investment and insecurity about policies on negotiableCO2 emission rights.

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Teenager Dekker completes around-the-world sail

2012-01-22T03:57:00.001+07:00

BBC News, 21January 2012

RelatedStories

Laura Dekker was born on a yacht and
began sailing solo when she was 10

A Dutchteenager who set out to become the youngest solo around-the-world sailor hascompleted her voyage.

LauraDekker, 16, was greeted by a cheering crowd as she sailed into the St Maartenharbour in the Caribbean after a year at sea.

She left on20 January 2011 aboard her 11.5m (38ft) boat Guppy.

Before hertrip, Ms Dekker won a court case against Dutch social services, who had arguedthat the voyage could harm her emotional and social development.

Her motherhad expressed concerns about the solo voyage, but later lifted her objections.

Ms Dekkerwas born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during a seven-year worldtrip.

TheGuinness Book of Records decided to stop recognising records for"youngest" sailors after the controversy surrounding her bid.

(Photo:ANP)

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Teenage sailor Laura Dekker completes global circumnavigation
Dutch teenager claims circumnavigation record

Teenage globe sailor takes down Dutch flag

Dutch court gives teenage sailor go-ahead

www.lauradekker.nl

There andback again: A map on Laura Dekker's website shows the

dizzying journey shecompleted by herself

Life Spotted on Venus - Russian Scientist

2012-01-22T03:00:00.001+07:00

RIA Novosti,MOSCOW, January 20 2012

Venus (Leonid Ksanfomaliti/ Solar System Research)

RelatedNews

An articlepublished in the Solar System Research magazine reported Several objectsresembling living beings were detected on photos made by a Russian landingprobe in 1982 during a Venus mission.

LeonidKsanfomaliti pictured at

Russia's Space Research Institute

LeonidKsanfomaliti of the Space Research Institute of Russia’s Academy of Sciencespublished research that analyzed the photos from the Venus mission made by aSoviet landing probe, Venus-13, in 1982.

The photosfeature several objects, which Ksanfomaliti said, resembled “a disk,” “a blackflap” and “a scorpion.” All of them “emerge, fluctuate and disappear,” thescientist said, referring to their changing location on different photos andtraces on the ground.

"Whatif we forget about the current theories about the nonexistence of life onVenus, let’s boldly suggest that the objects’ morphological features wouldallow us to say that they are living,” Solar System Research quotedKsanfomaliti as saying.

No dataproving the existence of life on Venus, where the ground temperature is 464degrees Celsius (867 degrees Fahrenheit), has ever been found.

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Russian scientists believe- the probes have photographed the living beings on Venus

Memo FBI: Aliens landed in Roswell

A copy of the 1950 memo that
recounts the discovery of flying saucers
and aliens in New Mexico. The memo has
been published on the FBI website

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa,Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - New !

Dutch paedophile sentenced to 37 years

2012-01-20T23:53:00.000+07:00

RNW, 20January 2012

Hua Hin

The Dutchforeign ministry has confirmed that a Dutch citizen has been sentenced to 37years by a Thai court.

The appealscourt found him guilty of child sex abuse and confirmed the term ofimprisonment handed down earlier by a lower court.

The 64-yearold Dutchman was arrested in the coastal resort of Hua Hin in 2007. He wasfound guilty of abusing a 12-year old boy four times. The convict paid thevictim 200 baht - a little under five euros - ostensibly to clean his hotelroom.

Cargo ship Aztec Maiden runs aground off Netherlands

2012-01-20T16:40:00.002+07:00

BBC News, 20January 2012

The ship is on sand near Wijk aan Zee

RelatedStories

Country profile: The Netherlands

A cargoship has run aground on the Dutch coast 20km (12 miles) west of Amsterdam afterits anchor slipped in an overnight storm.

The emptyvessel appeared to be stable after drifting towards the coast and rescueservices said there was no sign of any fuel leak.

It wasnamed as the 155-metre (500-foot) Aztec Maiden, a Philippine-registeredfreighter with a crew of 21.

Tug boatsare being readied to pull the ship free.

There wereno reports of injuries after the ship broke free and drifted, coming to rest onsand near the North Sea coastal town of Wijk aan Zee.

"Asfar as we can judge, the ship is stable," Peter Verburg of the Dutch coastguard told state broadcaster NOS.

While therewere no reports of oil leaks, the coast guard was "monitoring it veryclosely", he added.

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‘Stop backstreet abortions: change the law’

2012-01-20T05:16:00.003+07:00

RNW, 19January 2012 , by Maike Winters

(Photo: Urban don)

Millions ofdesperate women around the world still end unplanned pregnancies by resortingto backstreet abortions or knitting needles. Worldwide the number of unsafeabortions has risen, a recent study found. The majority of abortions in Africaand Latin America are unsafe. Legalising abortion is the way to save lives,says Women on Waves, a Dutch organisation that campaigns for safe abortion.

Around theworld, 43.9 million abortions were carried out in 2008. Almost half of themtook place in unsafe conditions, according to research by the GuttmacherInstitute and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The total number ofabortions has stabilised.

Knittingneedles

RebeccaGomperts of Women on Waves works to provide safe abortions for women in partsof the world where abortion is outlawed. The rise in the number of unsafeabortions doesn’t surprise her. “Particularly in countries where abortion isillegal the procedure is carried out unsafely,” she says. “Unsafely means thatwomen do it themselves by jumping down the stairs, or using knitting needles,or going to someone who’s had no training. But not every illegal abortion isnecessarily unsafe.”

Forexample, abortion can be induced safely by a woman herself using the drugMisoprostol, says Gomperts. “The pills were used to prevent stomach ulcers. Butbecause the authorities now know that Misoprostol can be used for otherpurposes, women in Thailand, Brazil and the Philippines, for instance, haven’tbeen able to get them for the past couple of years. Because of that there’sbeen an increase in the number of unsafe abortions in these countries.”

Complications

One ineight women who undergo an unsafe abortion die, according to WHO figures, and8.5 million women a year are left requiring medical treatment. Gabie Raven ofthe Dutch Society of Abortion Doctors has seen it happen in practice. “I’veworked in Africa myself and if you see the way they go to work with herbs andpots and pans to induce an abortion, it’s obviously unsafe. It’s somethingthat’s always happened. But I’m surprised there’s been no improvement.”

Eight outof ten women in developing countries face strict laws against abortion. Becauseof the illegality, Gabie Raven says, many abortions take place in dangeroussettings. “Even if someone’s trained to do abortions, there’s always a chanceof complications. In the Netherlands we’re prepared for it, but with abackstreet abortion it’s a different story.”

Information

Legalisationis essential to stop the number of unsafe abortions from continuing to rise,Gomperts says. “It’s extremely important that abortion is legalised. But that’sa hard thing to achieve. In countries where it’s illegal, you first have toprovide women with good information on how they can induce an abortion safelythemselves using pills.”

Goodinformation on contraception is also needed to bring down the number ofunplanned pregnancies. Dutch Deputy Development Cooperation Minister Ben Knapensees a role in this for the Dutch government. “More than in other countries, wetalk about sensitive matters like abortion and sexuality without taboos. I’vemade sexual health one of my priorities to enable girls and women to make theirown choices about reproduction and sexuality. We know that this leads to a fallin unplanned pregnancies, abortions, and maternal mortality.”

Related Article:

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa,Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - New !

China No Match for Dutch Plants as Philips Shavers Come Home

2012-01-20T03:13:00.001+07:00

Bloomberg, ByMaaike Noordhuis, January 19, 2012

Jan. 19(Bloomberg) -- Royal Philips Electronics NV workers in the Dutch town ofDrachten who expected to be fired were astonished when the site manager saidthe company was bringing production of its top-priced electric shavers homefrom China.

RobKarsmakers, the factory manager who returned from four years working forPhilips in Asia, told the baffled crowd that the consumer-electronics companywould boost investment in Drachten, where it employs 2,000 staff.

“A productengineer in Shanghai now is just as expensive as in Drachten,” said Karsmakers,who has overseen the plant since 2009, in an interview. “But in China, theheadcount turnover is high. That is not sustainable.” Philips, which alsolights the Eiffel tower and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, employs a total of14,000 people in the Netherlands.

The nation,the fifth-largest economy in the euro region, has expanded its allure as amanufacturing powerhouse next to its dominant German neighbor. The Netherlandsleads in areas as varied as paints and combat uniforms for the U.S. Army. AppleInc. uses chips produced by machines from ASML Holding NV for its iPhone andiPad, and TomTom NV help drivers navigate unfamiliar roads.

The Dutchtrade surplus in the first nine months of last year was the second highest inthe euro area behind Germany, Eurostat data show. The Netherlands was theseventh-biggest export nation in the past five years, according to ING Groep NVand the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

KeepingTriple-A

“TheNetherlands in particular is a country of trade, it is how we earn our money,”said Maarten Leen, an economist at ING. Set up as gateway into Europe, withfive major sea docks and the Schiphol airport near Amsterdam, the Dutch havemanaged to maintain a current-account surplus since 1981, Leen said.

Standard& Poor’s affirmed its AAA long-term credit rating on the Netherlands onJan. 13, citing the “sustained and healthy current account surpluses,”averaging 6.4 percent between 2005 and 2010. That offset the view of aweaker-than- anticipated political climate in Europe, it said.

The Dutchhave played a leading role in global economic trade for centuries. The DutchEast India Company came to dominate business in Asia after it was founded in1602, in the first ever initial public offering by a company, and tradedspices, metals, textiles or porcelain.

GlobalDutch brands today include Heineken NV beer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and UnileverNV, the maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Magnum ice cream.

Chemicals,Tech

Chemicalproducts such as Akzo Nobel NV’s Sikkens paint, and machinery such as ASML’slithography systems make up a substantial part of export growth, on top of thetraditional agriculture products such as flowers, onions and tomatoes.

Thechemical and technology industries have shown the strongest growth in exportssince 1996, with volume increases of 4 percent and 5.8 percent per year,respectively, data from Dutch statistical office CBS show.

“We have asuperior infrastructure, with docks in Rotterdam, Delfzijl and Geleen, and theconnection to the pipeline system for gas and ethylene in the surroundingcountries, in Belgium, Antwerp and the Rhine-area in Germany,” said WernerFuhrmann, vice chairman of the VNCI Association of the Dutch Chemical Industry.

For ASML,its position in the Netherlands is key, as the company relies on a network of“hundreds of high-tech suppliers” and research institutes to develop itslithography scanners, Chief Financial Officer Peter Wennink said.

Specializedwork “we can do fast and effectively with partners in the south of theNetherlands,” he said.

BrainportArea

ASML, whichhas a 80 percent market share in the semiconductor equipment sector, is part ofthe Brainport area in the southern part of the Netherlands, an industrial hubthat combines industries from food, to automotive to design and technology,including Philips and TomTom.

The companyhopes to surpass Applied Materials Inc. this year as the largest player in itsindustry, Chief Executive Officer Eric Meurice said yesterday, after thecompany posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter numbers. ”Our secret is thatwe put a lot of money in R&D and we have linked our research anddevelopment to manufacturing,” he said at a press conference.

ForKarsmakers, bringing manufacturing of the high-end shavers closer to theresearch facility in Drachten and serving the European market, offered a good”local-for-local” opportunity, as it would also reduce transport costs, hesaid. Philips kept production of its cheaper shavers in China to serve theAsian market.

EmergingChallenge

Thecountry’s corporate prowess has attracted suitors. In the past decade, Dutchcompanies, including ABN Amro Bank NV, previously the country’s largest bank,and Royal KLM NV, the national carrier, have fallen into the hands of foreignowners, leading to widespread controversy in the Netherlands about a nationalcompany sell-out.

Today, theDutch have other challenges. With the lingering European debt crisis, and twothirds of exports still dependent on Western Europe, the country faces a “greatchallenge” to match the growth it has seen in the past 15 years,” Leen said,adding the Netherlands still hasn’t made its mark in emerging economies,specifically in Asia.

China’seconomy expanded in the fourth quarter at the slowest pace in more than twoyears as Europe’s debt crisis curbed demand for exports and the property marketwas weakened by measures to rein in home prices.

With thegravity point of the world economy shifting to countries like China, India andBrazil, innovation in the Netherlands should help the country maintain itstrade position, Economics Affairs Maxime Verhagen said in a speech last year atthe Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

The futurelies in developing innovative products that help cut CO2-emissions, tacklingthe fallout of aging populations, and the growing demand for food from agrowing global population, Verhagen said, referring to products such as Philipshome healthcare offerings and Royal DSM NV’s light material Aircargocontainers.

“A bigthreat for industry in the Netherlands, or even Europe as a whole, is thatgovernments erode fundamental innovation and education,” Peter Wennink, CFO ofASML, said in an interview.

--Editors:Benedikt Kammel, Fred Pals

To contactthe reporter on this story: Maaike Noordhuis in Amsterdam atmnoordhuis@bloomberg.net

To contactthe editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net

Pole dancer in church causes row

2012-01-20T02:47:00.001+07:00

RNW, 19January 2012

A poledancing act performed in a church has raised eyebrows in the eastern Dutch cityof Doetinchem.

The acttook place during a ceremonial gathering of the local carnival society, whichhires the city’s largest church each year to present its new carnival prince.But the act by a scantily-clad pole dancer performing to loud rock music was“perhaps going too far”, church sexton Jan Kuiperij told the local press.

What wassupposed to be a ceremonial evening had developed into a full-blown carnivalromp, the sexton says. “Litres of beer went over the stone floor.”

Theminister at St Catherine’s Church, Klaas Bakker, says he isn’t aware of whatwent on during the carnival club’s evening. “I do know the agreed boundarieswithin which the carnival society uses the church. The agreement was for areception-like activity with no excessive alcohol consumption. Pole dancingcertainly goes beyond the boundaries.” The minister says he intends to take thematter up with the society.

Video ofthe pole dancing act at St Catherine's Church (posted on YouTube and Twitter byGerhard Berkman):

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and teamwork ahead of this evening's FIFA World Cup final against Spain. (July 11, 2010)

"Perceptions of God" – June 6, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Quantum Teaching, The Fear of God, Near-death Experience, God Becomes Mythology, Worship, Mastery, Intelligent Design, Benevolent Creator,Global Unity.... etc.) (Text version)

“.. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a near-death experience? …. “

"The Humanization of God" – Jul 16, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Benevolent Design, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Guides and Angels, Communication with God, Wars in Heaven ?, The Love of God, (Old) Souls, Global Unity,.... etc.)

“… Do angels exist? Absolutely, but not as you think or have been taught. Are there helpers? Absolutely, but again, not like you think. When angels visited Humans in ancient days and the events were written about by those who were there to witness the experience, I can guarantee it was a lot different than they could express on paper. When an angel appears before a Human, it looks like a swirling ball of energy, sometimes even fire that is not hot and does not consume anything. Angels are not in Human form and never have been. They are multidimensional beings, not in 3D. Yet you want to put skin and wings on them and give them a name! Why? It makes you feel better about them. We understand that…”

“The 2012 Ostiary - Angels Among You” – Dec 30, 2012 (a message from Metatron channelled by Tyberonn)

Netherlands pleased with move to arrest SS officer

2012-01-18T15:48:00.000+07:00

RNW, 18January 2012

TheMinistry of Security and Justice is pleased that the German Public ProsecutionOffice has moved to arrest war criminal Klaas Carel Faber. The PPO issued arequest for the arrest of the 89-year-old former Nazi SS officer last week to acourt in the southern German city of Ingolstadt.

KlaasCarel Faber (Photo: ANP)

Aspokesperson for the Dutch Justice Ministry called the development a breakthrough.“We are watching with interest what the German court decides” a spokespersonsaid. Urged by the Dutch Justice and Security MinisterIvo Opstelten, the German PPO is looking into whether Faber should be made tosit out his sentence.

Klaas CarelFaber was sentenced to death in the Netherlands in 1947, but his sentence wascommuted to life in prison a year later. He escaped from prison in the southerncity of Breda in 1952. He then fled to Germany which offers citizenship toformer SS officers and does not extradite its nationals. He has lived there infreedom for decades. In November 2010, the Dutch issued a European arrestwarrant.

Accordingto British paper The Times, Faber is being assisted by Gudrun Burwitz, daughterof SS chief Heinrich Himmler, and the Stille Hilfe group. Stille Hilfe was setup in 1951 to help SS veterans. The group was formed by German neo-nazis and isnot banned in Germany.

Faberoriginally came from Haarlem and served in Kommando Feldmeijer during World WarII. He was a member of the Silbertanne group which was responsible for around50 murders of resistance workers in reprisals. He was also a member of thefiring squad in Westerbork concentration camp, together with his brotherPieter. The two brothers were known to be very violent.

In 2010Heinrich Boere was sentenced to life by an Aachen court for the murder of threepeople in 1944. Klaas Carel’s brother Pieter, who also belonged to theSilbertanne group, was executed in 1948 for war crimes.

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Growing demand for sustainable energy

2012-01-18T06:55:00.001+07:00

RNW, 17January 2012

Dutchconsumption of power produced from sustainable energy sources is growing byleaps and bounds.

Nationalgrid operatior TenneT says its records show a 22-percent increase over the pastyear. "This is equal to the energy consumption of 1.5 million households,”a TenneT spokesperson said on Tuesday.

As it isimpossible to tell what kind of power a wall socket supplies just by looking atit, certificates are issued for each megawatt-hour of electricity produced fromrenewable energy sources.

Thesecertificates are ‘cancelled' by TenneT when the power has actually beensupplied to households, businesses and other users. The number ofcancelled certificates rose to 33.5 million in 2011.

Dutch insurers pay for Christian anti-gay therapy

2012-01-17T19:35:00.003+07:00

RNW, 17January 2012

Dutchnational daily Trouw reports that a therapy intended to cure gay Christians whoconsider their sexual preference to be sinful is fully paid for by healthinsurance companies.

(Photo: Alexandria)

Healthinsurance companies are obligated to pay for the therapy because theorganisation providing it, Different, is an officially recognised institutionfor mental health care.

Medicalorganisations argue that the therapy is inherently flawed and potentiallyharmful. A spokesperson for Doctors organisation KNMG says: “As a general rule,a doctor is not allowed to offer a therapy that does not work. There is noscientific evidence that a therapy intended to suppress a person’s homosexualfeelings would be effective.” He added that such a therapy could even beharmful.

Psychologistsworking for Different say in Trouw that homosexuality is not an integral partof a person’s psychological make-up but rather an ‘orientation’ that can betreated. The organisation claims a 30-percent success rate. Homosexuality isseen as the result of psychological traumas incurred during childhood such as alack of clear role models and child sex abuse.

Healthinsurance companies are much embarrassed by the therapy. A spokesperson for theAchmea company says it rejects the therapy but is legally obligated to pay thebills submitted by these clients.

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Dutch gays 'coming out' younger

Rutte guarantees same-sex marriage across Netherlands

About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “ ... You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.The onlyidentity that has any fundamental or lasting relevance to your Soul is yourDivinity. Any other way you may label or identify yourself is transitory. Itchanges from one incarnation to the next. ..."

"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)

“The 2012 Ostiary - Angels Among You” – Dec 30, 2012 (a message from Metatron channelled by Tyberonn)

New Dutch tribunal for financial disputes

2012-01-17T03:17:00.002+07:00

RNW, 16January 2012, By Maike Winters

(Photo: ANP)

The Haguehas acquired another international court to add to its collection of judicialinstitutions: PRIME Finance, an international tribunal for financial disputes.More than 80 judges will rule in international cases involving areas such asinsurance and commercial transactions.

At thelaunch of the new tribunal on Monday in The Hague, Dutch Finance Minister JanKees de Jager remarked:

“It seemsstrange, but no such thing has existed until now. It means there’s now aninstitution which can resolve international financial disputes, some of whichcan be extremely complex. The enormous amount of expertise will ensure itsreputation around the world.”

The casesdealt with will include disputes about complex financial structures orderivates which are often too complicated for ordinary judges.

Publicconfidence

Mr De Jagerand many members of his audience at the launch were grinning. There were even afew financial jokes (“I’m glad I live in a country that still has triple-Astatus.”). Were these perhaps smiles of relief? He continued: “This initiativewill indeed be extremely valuable in helping to restore trust in the financialsector.”

At a timewhen the world is burdened by huge debts, continuing distrust of the bankingsystem and diminishing credit status, it’s hoped that a financial tribunal willrestore a little public confidence.

Arbitration

The fulltitle of the tribunal is the Panel of Recognised International Market ExpertsFinance. “It will operate on the basis of arbitration and mediation.Arbitration means cases can be handled efficiently and quickly, in the space ofa year. In a normal court, cases like these take much longer,” Gerard Meijer,the tribunal’s secretary general, explains.

Parties todisputes will be able to go to the Peace Palace in The Hague and choose from alist of judges. They then wait for a ruling. Mr Meijer:

“It’s aone-shot deal, as we say, so there is no right of appeal. The ruling isactually more binding than that of an ordinary judge. Under the New YorkConvention, the tribunal’s judgements are binding in more than 140 countries.”

Crisis solution?

Unlikeother tribunals, PRIME finance is a market-driven initiative. It will, however,be supported financially by The Hague city council and the ministry of economicaffairs will supply expertise. Instead of nations, commercial parties will seekrulings on disputes. The first clients for the new tribunal have yet to beannounced.

Is this astep towards dealing with the debt crisis? Minister De Jager: “A singleinitiative could never be the solution. It can help, but much more is needed tosort out the debt crisis.”

Related Article:

International financial tribunal opens in The Hague

(Photo: PRIME Finance)

Dutch lab en route to Antarctica

2012-01-16T23:04:00.000+07:00

RNW, 16January 2012

A plannedDutch research facility in Antarctica is one step closer to completion.

Threemobile labs have been loaded on lorries and are en route to the UK port ofSouthampton. From there they will travel to Antarctica by ship. A fourth lab isto be sent at a later date.

The threelabs will form part of a Dutch research station, the first such facility inAntarctica ever.

DeputyScience Minister Halbe Zijlstra sealed the labs before they were loaded ontolorries. He also announced the names of the four labs: Geloof (Faith), Hoop(Hope), Liefde (Love) and Blijde Boodschap (Glad Tidings), after the four shipswhich left Rotterdam in 1598 to search for a trade route with Asia via thesouthern tip of South America.

During thejourney, the Blijde Boodschap was blown far off course in a storm and itscaptain, Dirck Gerritsz, spotted a “very mountainous land, covered in snow,like the land of Norway”. He was probably the first person ever to lay eyes onAntarctica.

During thesend-off for the mobile labs, Mr Zijlstra also announced that a lab at RotheraPoint on Aidelaide Island will be named Gerritsz, after the Dutch captain.

TheNetherlands Organisation for Scientific Research says the three labs areexpected to arrive in late March. The first researchers will leave forAntarctica in autumn. The labs will be manned by five scientists who willconduct research into the effects of the melting of the ice caps.

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Aphotograph taken by Captain Scott in the Antarctic of

Dr Edward Wilsonsketching at Beardmore glacier on

13 December 1911. Photograph: CaptainRobert Scott/Scott

Polar Research Institute

Dutch company salvaging Costa Concordia

2012-01-16T02:53:00.000+07:00

RNW, 15January 2012

Costa Concordia cruise ship (Photo: NOS)

Dutchsalvage company Smit Tak has begun pumping fuel oil from the Costa Concordiacruise ship that capsized on Friday evening off the Italian coast.

Ten SmitTak experts have been sent to the site to carry out the operation together witha local company. The operation will begin by cleaning up the oil that has beenleaking from the stricken ship. The experts will also evaluate the vessel’sstability.

Once thesearch for survivors and corpses has been completed, the team will beginpumping thousands of tons of fuel from the ship’s tanks in order to prevent anenvironmental disaster.

Smit Takhas also offered to salvage the entire ship but has yet to reach agreement withthe Italian government.

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Dutch leftwing parties: higher tax for rich

2012-01-15T05:52:00.001+07:00

RNW, 14 January 2012

Labour, theSocialist Party and the Green Left Party have launched a joint call for ahigher tax rate on high incomes as part of a plan for “clever, solidary, greeninvestments.”

The partyleaders launched their plea in Dutch daily de Volkskrant but did not indicatehow much they wanted to raise the highest tack bracket, which currently standsat 52 percent. Recent calculations suggest an increase of just one percentcould see the state coffers swell by 400 million euros.

Theleftwing parties accuse the centre-right government of sitting by idly whenconcrete action is urgently needed. The leftwing plan also calls for theintroduction of part-time unemployment, a stimulus package for the constructionof low-energy homes and increased reliance on renewable energy.

The plancalls for the creation of more jobs by converting office buildings into homesfor first-time owners and by bringing forward maintenance on the Afsluitdijk,the Ijsselmeer causeway between the provinces of North Holland and Friesland.

Last yearthe leftwing parties held a joint gathering calling for “A different Holland”but failed to agree a set of common policy goals.

NASA Produces and Promotes New LENR Video: Nuclear Power Coming Soon To Your Home

2012-01-14T23:57:00.001+07:00

MNISPEL, By Dr. MarkD. Nispel, January 12, 2012

NASA is allin and claiming to “be working on another way of producing energy withefficient nuclear power.” NASA as anorganization apparently suddenly wants to be seen as in the forefront of thisnew thing they see coming. Pretty coolactually.

NASA hasproduced and featured a video presenting LENR as a technology. The video features Dr. Joseph Zawodny, SeniorResearch Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center. The video highlights the potential of havinga LENR nuclear power generation device in your home to provide all the powerneeds of your home as the “easiest” implementation, even though it couldpotentially be used even for transportation and infrastructure. The technology is “clean” producing noionizing radiation or waste.

See thevideo highlight on the right of the NASA technology gateway page here.

The videodirectly is here.

In themeantime, A. Rossi continues to move apace claiming he is working on puttinghis e-cat LENR device intoproduction. He is working with NationalInstruments to complete his design. Heclaims that the first small home units that generate electricity and can heat /cool the home will be in production by the end of 2012 for around $1500 and heplans on producing a million the first year after they get going. See here and here.

Twointeresting notes:

1. The NASAvideo avoids using the term “cold fusion.”

2. The NASAvideo interestingly right toward the end uses an image to represent LENR
somewhat abstractly which it attributes to the US Navy SPAWAR within the video(see lower left).

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International financial tribunal opens in The Hague

2012-01-14T06:13:00.001+07:00

RNW, 13January 2012, by RNW News Desk

(Photo: PRIME Finance)

Aninternational tribunal, dedicated to the settlement of complex andcontroversial financial disputes throughout the world, will open its doors inthe Dutch city of The Hague on Monday.

Thetribunal goes by the name of PRIME Finance, which stands for Panel ofRecognised International Market Experts in Finance. It is being set up with thesupport of the City of The Hague and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Itwill be housed in The Hague’s Peace Palace and will be officially opened by theNetherlands’ current Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager.

With a teamof almost 100 judges and other international legal and market experts, thetribunal will settle differences involving complex financial products. Thetribunal says it will operate on the basis of arbitration or mediation. In thecase of arbitration, the financial institutions that make use of the tribunalwill be bound to comply with its rulings.

2008financial crisis

Thetribunal began to take shape in October 2010, when experts from the financialworld and the legal profession in The Hague got together. They concluded thatthe 2008 financial crisis made clear the need for a body that is capable ofmaking authoritative rulings in complex financial disputes.

PRIMEFinance will be housed in the Peace Palace, which is also home to the UnitedNations International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.The latter handles disputes between states and has the power to settleconflicts between countries and organisations at the request of the partiesinvolved.

Dutch car fuel prices at record high

2012-01-13T22:19:00.002+07:00

RNW, 13January 2012

The priceof petrol has never been so high in the Netherlands as at present. The recommendedretail price for gasoline stands at over 1.75 euros a litre. Diesel is now atnearly 1.5 euros a litre, just one euro-cent short of the record high.

“At presentprices, the average motorist will spend about 100 euros more on fuel this yearthan in 2011,” says a spokesperson from the United Consumers group.

Prices havebeen driven up on the international oil market over recent months. This isbeing blamed on tensions between Iran and the West and on the unrest in Syria.

Dutch fuellevies also went up at the start of 2012. They are now reported to be thehighest in Europe. The fall of the value of the euro against the US dollar hasalso had an effect as oil is paid for in dollars. This has also pushedDutch fuel prices up.

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Dutch Queen Beatrix calls headscarf row 'nonsense'

2012-01-12T22:08:00.003+07:00

BBC News, 12January 2012

RelatedStories

The queen was said to have heaved
a deep sigh over the row

QueenBeatrix of the Netherlands has dismissed as "real nonsense" adomestic political row over her wearing of a headscarf while on a trip to theGulf.

She wasreacting to questions in parliament tabled by Geert Wilders's Freedom Party(PVV) which claimed she "legitimises the oppression of women".

QueenBeatrix wore a gown and headscarf first on Sunday on a visit to Abu Dhabi andagain on Thursday in Oman.

Herofficials said she had acted out of respect for Islamic tradition.

DuringThursday's visit to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the Omani capital,Muscat, the queen wore a red shawl over her hat while Princess Maxima who wasaccompanying her also had her head covered.

Dutch TVsaid that by also wearing gloves, the queen had covered herself even more thanin Abu Dhabi.

The PVV, ananti-Islam party that props up the Dutch minority government without being partof the coalition, described her wearing of a headscarf on Sunday as a "sadspectacle".

Reporterswith the royal party in Muscat on Thursday described the queen as heaving adeep sigh, while saying she was not surprised by the row.

PrincessMaxima also spoke out, according to Dutch media, pointing out that two-thirdsof students in Abu Dhabi were women.

Althoughthe queen regularly speaks to the Dutch press at the end of a royal tour, herfrank remarks about a domestic political party are being seen as unprecedented.

Queen Beatrix, who is in Abu Dabi, wore a headscarf when
she visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. (Photo: ANP)

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Colourful religions in the Netherlands

2012-01-12T02:10:00.003+07:00

RNW, 11January 2012, by Belinda van Steijn

Photo: Eddy Seesing

Colourfulceremonies of Shamans, Druids, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians andothers are the subject matter of a new book entitled Religie Nu (Religion Now)by Dutch photographer Eddy Seesing. He spent seven years recording no less than71 religious communities in the Netherlands.

Photo: Eddy Seesing

He got theidea while on a photo expedition to the town of Gouda, taking pictures ofseveral generations of Moroccan-Dutch citizens. He says it made him realise how their lives are interwoven withreligion: "They have their hair cut in the mosque, they shop in themosque, their children go to religion classes in the mosque."

Anotherinspiration for Seesing was his mother, who belonged to a Roman Catholicparish. The photographer said, "After my father's death she joined thechoir, participated in activities of the Senior Citizens' Union and worked as avolunteer. The parish gave her a happy old age."

Shamanism

Photo: Eddy Seesing

EddySeesing himself broke with the Catholic church because he disagreed with itsviews on women, gays and birth control. On his journeys he got in touch withBuddhism and later with Shamanism, a natural religion which became his own. Histwin children were recently accepted into the religion with a welcomingceremony. Seesing first came across Shamanism in Canada, where he spent twoweeks with a shaman. He particularly praises his extraordinary experiencesduring the sweat lodge ceremony: "In the heat you experience a particularspirituality."

Seesinghopes his book will make it clear how many similarities there are in many ofthe sermons, and in baptising and sacrificing ceremonies. But, he says,"I'm also making an effort to show the cultural differences. We shouldstop trying to convert each other and be glad about the variety."

Anexhibition of the photographs published in Religie Nu/Religion Now is beingheld in the Rotterdam Kunsthal until 12 February 2012. The book, which has textin both Dutch and English, is published by Thoth in Bussum.

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Dutch women advised to have breast implants removed

2012-01-12T00:51:00.000+07:00

BBC News, 11January 2012

Many countries recommend that the defective breast implants be removed

Dutchhealth authorities now say women who had breast implants supplied by the Frenchfirm at the centre of a health scare should have them taken out.

PolyImplant Prothese (PIP) had used silicone of industrial rather than medicalgrade to make its implants.

More than300,000 women worldwide are thought to have had the implants. A number of othercountries have already recommended removal of the implants.

PreviouslyDutch authorities had said doctors should check the implants.

The Dutchhealth inspectorate (IGZ) estimates that 1,000 women in the Netherlands havehad PIP implants, and a further 400 have already had them removed.

What arethe risks?

Thesilicone inside the implants is not medical grade - but was intended for use inmattresses
Tests havenot shown any increased risk of toxicity from this filler compared with normalimplants
Butmechanical testing has shown the implant covers have an increased risk ofrupturing
The gelinside can be an irritant, increasing the risk of inflammation - making removalmore difficult
There is noincreased breast cancer risk
One case ofa rare form of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) was recentlyreported in France
French andUS experts suggest there is a small but increased risk of this cancer in womenwith breast implants in general

The newadvice comes in a joint opinion from the IGZ and the Dutch association ofplastic surgeons. It says that even if an MRI scan showed that the implants hadnot ruptured, it was still advisable to have them taken out.

The risk ofsurgery and the cost of new implants should be weighed against the risk of thePIP implants leaking, the advice says.

Women inthe Netherlands should contact the clinic where they were treated, and if thatwas not possible, then their GP.

Healthofficials in France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Venezuela have alreadyadvised women with PIP implants to have them removed.

UKauthorities have said that women who had their surgery on the NHS can have theimplants removed and replaced free of charge - and that private clinics whofitted implants have a "moral duty" to remove them.

However,the NHS will pay to remove, but not replace, implants if a private clinicrefuses or no longer exists. In Wales, unlike the rest of the UK, thegovernment has said it will pay to both remove and replace banned breastimplants from women who were treated privately.

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Teenage globe sailor takes down Dutch flag

2012-01-11T21:32:00.003+07:00

RNW, 11January 2012

Photo: Laura Dekker, Hvyes

Soloyachtswoman Laura Dekker has taken down the Dutch flag from her sailing boatand replaced it with a New Zealand one, in response to renewed efforts fromDutch school attendance authorities to force her to continue with hereducation.

Authoritiesclaim 16-year-old Laura has been doing too little school work. When her fatherrefused to make an appointment to discuss the issue, attendance officersannounced they intended to complain to the Dutch council for child welfare.

Laura – whoaims to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world single-handed -is currently crossing the Atlantic Ocean, headed for the Dutch Caribbean islandof Sint Maarten where she will complete her journey in her boat, Guppy. It isexpected that she will arrive within two weeks provided there are no setbacks.

Battle tosail with authorities

In 2009,when Laura first announced her plans to circumnavigate the globe, Dutchauthorities intervened and insisted she should first finish school. The childwelfare authorities brought the case to court and a judge ruled that the13-year-old was too young to travel alone. Laura then ran away and took a planeto St Maarten, where she was arrested and sent back to the Netherlands.

In July2010, a judge gave her permission to carry out her plans - provided she agreedto a number of conditions, including continuing her secondary-school educationthrough an online teaching programme set up for Dutch-speaking children abroad.

Dutchnewspaper de Volkskrant reports her lawyer, Peter de Lange, “is furious aboutthe latest action of the school attendance enforcement officers.” Laura has hadenough of Dutch authorities, he says. “She was almost put into care. And nowthis.”

A Dutchcourt had ordered authorities to take temporary guardianship of Laura when shewas 13, while her case was being assesed by psychologists.

Turns backon Dutch citizenship

Officially,Laura does not have to comply with Dutch regulations concerning her education,as she is no longer registered as a Dutch citizen. She holds New Zealandcitizenship because she was born on a boat there while her parents were sailingaround the world.

DeVolkskrant says the World School, which organises the education bycorrespondence, is afraid a precedent will be set if they don’t intervene.“Laura is contending with an 80-year school attendance battle. Compulsoryschool attendance is sacred in the Netherlands.”

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www.lauradekker.nl

Dutch Occupy movement ‘now just a few activists’

2012-01-10T16:49:00.001+07:00

RNW, 9January 2012

Threemonths into the Occupy protest against the culture of greed in the financialsector and just small groups of activists are left in makeshift camps in themajor Dutch cities, says the ANP press agency.

(Photo: ANP)

InAmsterdam, most tents which made up the round-the-clock demonstration outsidethe city’s stock exchange building have been dismantled, with just a fewhard-core protesters remaining.

The citycouncil says the number of incidents and nuisance associated with the protesthave dramatically decreased since people were banned from sleeping at the site.The demonstrators themselves say they plan to concentrate in the near future onsurprise protests such as flash mobs.

In TheHague, a handful of protesters are still encamped on common ground in the city.The council is deciding on a weekly basis whether or not they can stay there.

ConservativeVVD councillors had called for any benefits being claimed by the protesters tobe suspended, but the council ruled that the same regulations apply to theprotesters as to any other benefit claimants.

The Occupymovement is also carrying on in Rotterdam, but it’s unclear how much longer theprotesters’ tents can stay in the city’s busy Beursplein square.

There arestill five large Occupy tents in Utrecht in which six people sleep. The Utrechtprotesters say they are not prepared to leave, partly because they say peoplefrom the Occupy movement in Amsterdam are planning to join them.

The Occupyprotest in Eindhoven is centred on a car park next to the city’s centralstation and can stay there at least until 19 January. In December, EindhovenCouncil said the character of the protest was increasingly less orientated tothe spreading of a message. For some time, there have been rumours about thetrading of drugs at the protest site.

Israeli parliament debate turns ugly as politician throws water over colleague

2012-01-10T07:10:00.001+07:00

AnastasiaMichaeli faces suspension for her outburst after being told to 'shut up' duringrow over human rights rally

guardian.co.uk,Reuters, Monday 9 January 2012

UltranationalistAnastasia Michaeli attacks Arab colleague Ghaleb Majadleh
in Israeliparliament. Source:YouTube

Anultranationalist Israeli parliament member faced possible suspension from theKnesset on Monday for hurling a cup of water at an Arab colleague when he toldher to "shut up" during exchanges over school students attendinghuman rights rally.

GhalebMajadleh, an Israeli Arab member of the Labour party, had protested at aneducation panel meeting to reprimand an Arab school principal for lettingpupils attend a human rights group rally. "You are inciting against thestate," retorted Anastasia Michaeli, a member of the rightwing YisraelBeitenu (Israel Our Home) party.

WhenMajadleh told her to "shut up" Michaeli rose from her seat, pouredwater into a plastic cup and threw it at Majadleh, hitting his face and jacket,before heading for the door.

Theoutburst was not unusual for Israel's raucous parliament but many see theviolent nature of the argument as a sign of rising political tensions, spurredon by speculation that national elections may be held earlier than 2013.

Michaelilater told reporters Majadleh had been rude. "If there are no men in theIsraeli Knesset willing to defend women, then I will defend myself, the honourof my party and of the Knesset," she said.

Majadleh, aformer cabinet minister and the only Israeli Arab citizen ever to hold such aposition, accused Michaeli of provocation and denied insulting her.

Michaeli'sparty scolded her, issuing a statement that she had been told "nocircumstances could justify such behaviour", but also accused Majadleh ofprovoking her outburst.

SpeakerReuven Rivlin said he would lodge a complaint with the house's ethics committeeover Michaeli's action, which he called "an insult to the entireKnesset".

Israelimedia said Michaeli could be suspended temporarily from her post. This is thesecond time she faces censure. She was removed from a debate a year ago aftertrying to interrupt a speech by another Arab parliamentarian, Haneen Zoabi.

Rivlin saidthe incident was part of "an atmosphere as though elections are soon to beheld". He said there was possibility of further "gimmicks and hijinksfor which the Knesset and Israeli democracy are likely to pay the price."

Israel'snext parliamentary election is scheduled to be held in 2013, but speculationhas been rife that it may be brought forward, following prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's call for a snap leadership vote of Likud party later this month.

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Photograph: New Israel Fund

Large gas field found in the Netherlands

2012-01-10T06:03:00.000+07:00

RNW, 9January 2012

The DutchPetroleum Company (NAM) has discovered a new gas field. It is reported to bethe largest to be found on land since 1995.

NAM says itis situated near the village of Ee in the northern province of Friesland. Itestimates that the field will provide over four billion cubic metres of naturalgas – roughly equivalent to the gas used by 2.5 million Dutch households in ayear.

The well isover 3,900 metres deep and was drilled between August and October 2011.Production should begin sometime before the summer. The new field is in betweentwo others which are already being exploited. NAM Director Bart van deLeemput:

“Thisdiscovery exceeds our expectations. In combination with new techniques andother innovations, it will enable us to extract even more gas from existingfields and to find new small gas fields and start production there.”

Vatican used Wikipedia for new cardinals' biographies

2012-01-10T03:34:00.000+07:00

BBC News, 9January 2012

RelatedStories

Pope Benedict (L) formally appointed
the new cardinals on 6 January

The Vaticanhas acknowledged that it used Wikipedia to produce biographies of 22 newcardinals that were sent out to journalists.

Thebiographies were copied from the Italian version of the user-edited onlineencyclopedia, word for word in some cases, and without attribution.

One cluewas that many new cardinals were described as being "Catholic".

The Vaticansays it was trying to help journalists and warned them the biographies were"unofficial".

The namesof the 22 new cardinals from around the world were announced by Pope Benedicton 6 January.

The similaritybetween the profiles of them handed out by the Vatican and their Wikipediaentries was spotted by the Italian journalist and blogger Sandro Magister.

In the kindof language not normally used by the Vatican, a Dutch archbishop, WilliamJacobus Eijk was described as being "one of the most talked aboutreligious men in the country".

This wasbecause of his "strong leaning towards conservatism, especially withregard to abortion and homosexuality," the biography said.

A Vaticanspokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said his staff had no advance notice ofthe names of the new cardinals and had been in a hurry.

Officialbiographies are now being put up on the website of the Holy See.

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God no longer toll-free

"Theangel's phone, atSt John’s Cathedral, has just one button,"

the sculptor told journalists. "Itdirectly dials God."

In a networked world, why is the geography of knowledge still uneven?

God no longer toll-free

2012-01-09T22:45:00.001+07:00

RNW, 9 January 2012, by Robert Chesal

(Photo: Gerard Stolk)

Who has ahotline to heaven? A controversy over competing claims to that honour isheating up in the Netherlands.

The storybegan last spring, when a statue of an angel holding a mobile phone wasunveiled at St John’s Cathedral in the southern Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch.

The angelwas one of 25 new statues revealed to mark the completion of a lengthyrestoration of the cathedral. "The angel's phone has just onebutton," the sculptor told journalists. "It directly dials God."

Withinweeks an enterprising local woman had opened a mobile telephone number andTwitter account, called 'ut Engelke' or 'the little angel'. She says shereceives 30 calls per day on average, many of them from people who just want totalk about their problems. And some from schoolchildren who need help withtheir homework. All calls are free, so her callers pay only the regular ratesfor ringing a mobile telephone.

Not to beoutdone, the St John's church adminstration has now established its own hotlineto God, a toll number that costs callers 80 cents per minute. Callers hear arecorded message explaining that all proceeds go to the upkeep of thecathedral.

The ownerof 'ut Engelke' says she's received dozens of calls from people who are angryat the church for stealing the idea. "Success has manyfathers," she told ANP news agency.

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Portuguese angry about Dutch ‘tax haven'

2012-01-09T21:58:00.000+07:00

RNW, 9January 2012

A debate israging in the Portuguese media about Portuguese multinational corporationswhich transfer their assets to accounts held in the Netherlands.

The debatewas prompted by the decision of the parent company of supermarket chain PingoDoce to transfer its shares to the Dutch-registered limited company FranciscoManuel dos Santos to avoid paying taxes in Portugal.

Portugal isone of the EU member states worst affected by the financial crisis. Thewidespread economic hardship has prompted widespread criticism of corporationswhich seek to evade taxed by moving to the Netherlands.

Portuguesemedia have already published numerous stories about multi-nationals whichprofit from low tax rates in the Netherlands and the favourable effects ofbilateral tax treaties.

Queen’s headscarf causes row

2012-01-09T03:31:00.002+07:00

RNW, 8January 2012

QueenBeatrix, who is in Abu Dabi, wore a headscarf when she visited

the Sheikh ZayedMosque. (Photo: ANP)

QueenBeatrix of the Netherlands, who is in Abu Dabi, wore a headscarf when shevisited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque this morning out of respect for the customs,traditions and conventions of Islam, says Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal. Thequeen is on a two-day state visit to the United Arab Emirates.

“Not tohave worn one during a visit to a mosque wasn’t an option. In that case, theinvitation to visit to the mosque, one of the most important in the United ArabEmirates, would’ve had to have been refused,” explained Mr Rosenthal.

‘Oppression’

Hiscomments come in response to criticism from the Freedom Party (PVV) about theclothing worn by Queen Beatrix and Crown Princess Máxima who, with her husbandPrince Willem-Alexander, is part of the royal party visiting the UAE. The PVVhad complained that, by wearing a headscarf, the queen was lending legitimacyto the oppression of women under Islam.

MrRosenthal pointed out that Queen Beatrix also adjusts the way she dresses whenshe visits synagogues and cathedrals.

‘Waste of time’

Thedemocrat D66 party was quick to point out that PVV leader Geert Wilders himselfwears a yarmulke when he visits the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Green Left MPTofik Dibi not only slammed Mr Wilders’ comments about the queen’s dress butalso the responses to them as a waste of time.

The queen was said to have heaved
a deep sigh over the row

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Dutch gold reserves held abroad

2012-01-08T20:33:00.001+07:00

RNW 8January 2012

Ninetypercent of the Netherlands’ gold reserves are held overseas in. Much of thegold is in vaults in New York in the United States, say de Volkskrant newspaper.

The newswas confirmed by the president of the Dutch central bank (DNB) Klaas Knot in atelevision interview. He believes that “the gold is fine where it is”.

Largeamounts of the gold reserves are also kept in Great Britain and Canada, wherethey were taken in the 1930s. The total amount of gold held by the Netherlandsis a state secret.

‘Unsafe’

Americancommentator Jim Richards argues it’s possible that the US government willconfiscate foreign gold reserves if confidence in the dollar fails. If he’sright, the Dutch gold in New York is not 100 percent safe.

“I’m notfamiliar with that scenario,” was Mr Knot’s response to the idea. “I would findit amazing. We’ve always had a good relationship with the US. There aresufficient guarantees.”

Buffer

The goldreserves can represent an important buffer during economically turbulent times.With the threat of confiscation in mind, Dutch gold expert Willem Middelkoopthinks the Netherlands should repatriate its gold as soon as possible: “Weshould take advantage of this information”.

Up to now,it was not known just how much gold is held in the vaults of the DNBheadquarters in Amsterdam. In the television interview, however, Mr Knot put afigure to it. “I believe we’re talking about a weight of 67 tons with a valueof about three billion euros,” he said.

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