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Weather 
Friday: Cold and sunny everywhere. Heavy frost at night. Similar Saturday but thaw possible Sunday
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OpinionOpinion, columns, comment and blog links on all things Dutch Ajax advisory board: Garden gnomes or saints? With the Ajax supervisory board all but gone - Chairman Steven ten Hage has vowed to serve the club until the last minute – wither Ajax?, asks AD. And are the board members going to be replaced by ‘a couple of garden gnomes’? More...Herb Prooy: Wake up NS, we're all fallible Herb Prooy thinks the NS should have known that technique too is subject to Sod’s law: what can go wrong will go wrong, especially when there’s a dusting of snow on the tracks. More...Paul Schnabel: Private art goes public Patronage of the arts isn't dead in the Netherlands thinks Paul Schnabel and he's not talking about the BankGiro lottery. More...I don't hear that train a comin Three newspapers dedicate the editorial spot to the troubles at Dutch Rail (NS). ‘It’s winter, the trains are standing still’. More...Newsweek: Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The global war on Christians in the Muslim world From one end of the muslim world to the other, Christians are being murdered for their faith, says Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Newsweek.The farmer and his choice of wives Boer zoekt vrouw, the long running dating programme for farmers in search of a wife, attracts more than 5 million viewers each week. Why, asks philosopher Eva-Anne Le Coultre in Trouw. More...Carry on people, nothing to see here Three days of frost and we’re frantically digging out our skates with the word ‘Elfstedentocht’ ringing in our tingly ears. More...Victims of human trafficking: human rights not a priority for Dutch government Victims of human trafficking are looked upon as illegal aliens out to claim asylum, welfare and support. They deserve more protection than is currently available, says Conny Rijken. More...SP poll success: is it the man or the competition? What the papers say The SP is soaring in the polls. Emile Roemer must be doing something right. Or is it that all the others are getting it wrong? More...Jan Maarten Slagter: Down with the tax on assets The tax on capital assets is penalising the savers and investors the government so badly needs, writes Jan Maarten Slagter. More...Youp van 't Hek: Secretions and lies Youp van ‘t hek thinks leaky fake boobs are funny and knows for a fact (well, they said so in the bar) that the PVV is sponsored by arms dealers. More...Kerrie Finch: The growth conundrum Taking on new staff in troubled times is a sensible business strategy and will pay off in terms of customer satisfaction, writes Kerrie Finch More...Teachers strike - What the papers say The 1040 teaching hour norm has been sneaked back into the classroom by the backdoor and teachers are not happy. They feel politicians have betrayed them. More...Health care: fraud is more widespread than we think We may buy gadgets with our child benefits but the system itself is not flawless, thinks Barend van Lieshout. More...
Youp van ‘t Hek thinks the queen and Henk Bleker have something in common. They have both done a lot of sighing lately albeit not for the same reasons.
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Dries van Agt: An open letter to minister Rosenthal Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting the Netherlands. Former Dutch prime minister Dries van Agt has written an open letter to foreign minister Uri Rosenthal, with some suggestions that may make his visit more educational. More...Herb Prooy: Wilders sabotages Dutch growth engine Last Monday may have been the official Blue Monday, in the Netherlands depression set in as early as Sunday. And with Wilders putting sand in the national engine of growth it can only get worse, thinks Herb Prooy. More...
The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world that successfully managed to stick the word "tolerance" to its international branding. Yet, over the past 10 years a chill wind has been blowing through the nation of orange, says Eelco Keij. More...
The Holland Bureau: Maintaining a 'Triple A alliance 'in an age of austerity What price defence in times of austerity, asks the Holland Bureau. More...Beatrix: ‘Nonsense!’ – What the papers say Queen Beatrix' highly unusual decision to react to Geert Wilder’s remarks has sparked a discussion in the papers. More...SCP: Are we getting our money's worth? Value for public money, the report by socio-cultural advice bureau SCP out on Tuesday has caused a bit of a ripple. Schools, hospitals, the police and the courts have all been given extra money but services have hardly improved. Cutbacks would not affect the public sector disproportionately, the SCP concludes. So could the money have been better spent? Or does the report only tell part of the story. More...Youp van 't Hek: Neither use nor ornament Youp van 't Hek thinks Maxime Verhagen is like a Christmas tree in January: neither use nor ornament More...
Paul Schnabel thinks the Germans look at the Dutch way of doing things to see how they can improve on it. More...
Family doctors: A surgery is not a bakery Competition body NMa has fined the family doctor’s association LHV €7.7m for limiting doctors’ rights to set up business where they like. The Volkskrant asks if the NMa was right to stick its nose in. More...
Herb Prooy thinks 'best wishes 'are not going to help the prime minister. More...
Kerrie Finch: The awards gauntlet Throughout the advertising industry, in agencies across the globe, the awards season is in full swing (think the Oscars minus the fancy frocks) and the entry deadlines are starting to come thick and fast, writes Kerrie Finch. More...Herb Prooy: A Dutch identity or citizens of Europe If states don’t really matter why can’t we all be citizens of Europe, asks Herb Prooy. More...De Pers: Cyclists, behave yourselves! The number of cyclists in the big cities is growing fast, writes De Pers. Great news, because more bikes means fewer cars. But all is not well. Apart from clogging up the city centres more cyclists are ending up in the accident and emergency department due to traffic accidents. But they have only themselves to blame. More...The Holland Bureau: Small things Much has been said about the Netherlands becoming an inward-looking country preoccupied with small issues – most remarkably, and painfully, by the ambassadors of various countries in interviews by the NRC in late October. As if to prove their point, the Dutch collectively spent the month of November debating peculiar national priorities such as raising the speed limit on highways, the dangers of holding two passports and who should be in charge of football club Ajax Amsterdam, writes Robin Doeswijk of the Holland Bureau. More...Triple A angst: should we be worried? Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has warned that the triple A status of six European countries, the Netherlands among them, may be about to be downgraded. Should we be worried?, asks the Volkskrant. More...CEOs’ letter to European leaders: Act now! Frans van Houten (CEO Philips), Paul Polman (CEO Unilever), Fijke Sijbesma (CEO DSM), Peter Voser (CEO Shell) and Hans Wijers (CEO AkzoNobel) urge European leaders to take action: ‘It's one minute to midnight.’ More...Parent participation: who needs it? Parents should get more involved in the school career of their children even if it means working fewer hours, says education minister Marja van Bijsterveld. Not everyone agrees with her message, writes the Volkskrant. More...Paul Schnabel: A tablet? Yes please Hyped-up gadgets give SCP director Paul Schnabel such a headache he could do with a tablet. An electronic tablet, that is. More...130 kph: Are we built for speed? Transport minister Melanie Schultz has hiked up the maximum speed from 120kph to 130 kph on 60% of motorways. The measure will come into effect from September 2012. The Volkskrant gathered up some reactions. More...‘The Netherlands rewards Israel’s anti-democratic policies’ Foreign affairs minister Uri Rosenthal wants to strengthen economic ties with Israel. But with the Israeli parliament rushing through one anti-democratic law after another, should he really be so keen?, asks Jaap Hamburger, chairman of Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice). More...Youp van 't Hek: Christmas trees Youp van ’t Hek thinks the Netherlands is turning into a nasty little rightwing country and we shouldn’t stand for it. More...Nova Zembla: a tale of bravery and boobs It has all the elements for a riveting cinema experience: a voyage into unchartered waters, polar bears, hardship, heroism and Doutzen Kroes’ bosom in 3D. What the papers say about the Netherlands' first 3D film. More...Catalpa: Who's afraid of big bad private equity? Politicians should have the courage to tell people to stop moaning about private investment in the public sector, writes Barend van Lieshout. More...Union: Listen to childcare workers Parliament is discussing childcare on Wednesday. Union Abvakabo FNV deputy chairwoman Corrie van Brenk has a few pointers for minister Kamp on website Sociale Vraagstukken.: opt for quality and listen to the childcare workers. More...'Undiplomatic' foreign minister slated by civil servants ‘Selfish’ and ‘just looking for their own advantage’, that was the German verdict on David Cameron when he came to Berlin for talks with Angela Merkel this weekend. Strangely enough the same is being said about the Netherlands’ foreign minister Uri Rosenthal, writes NRC. More...Ottowa Citizen: The Dutch are on the euthanasia slippery slope, right? Wrong With the release of an important new report, and the launch of another Charter challenge, the debate about euthanasia is flaring up again. It will be passionate. You will hear emotional claims from both sides. More...DutchNews.nl: With friends like Wilders, does the coalition need enemies? With this week's gay marriage vote, the anti-Islam PVV has yet again sided against the government. So why is the minority cabinet still committed to it alliance with Geert Wilders and his chums? asks Robin Pascoe. More...Hostile take over at Ajax - What the papers say Louis van Gaal is to take over as general manager at Ajax football club. ‘Saviour’ Johan Cruijff , whose second coming at the club last year was to make it great once more but whose ‘dictatorial style’ caused a simmering resentment instead, called the unexpected move ‘bonkers’. What the papers say. More...Home for care scheme would create inequality Paul Schnabel, director of the government’s social policy unit SCP, proposes that the elderly use the value of their homes to help fund their care. Barend van Lieshout doesn't think it's a good idea. More...Youp van 't Hek: Henk Bleker’s whiter than white football frame up CDA minister Henk Bleker scored an own goal when he offered Mauro Manuel a ticket to a football match live on television, says Youp van 't Hek. More...The Holland Bureau: Douglas and the defence of the Dutch realm A talented Brazillian footballer became Dutch the same week that parliament decided Angolan refugee Mauro should be deported, points out blog The Holland Bureau. More...Tabaksblat's code is a fitting tribute Morris Tabaksblat was a true captain of industry and it is right that the Dutch corporate governance code bears his name, writes Jan Maarten Slagter. More...Forbes: Dutch Shame, the Netherlands debates the deportation of a child I write this because I am appalled. I write this because I find it unfathomable that a Western, civilized country that dares to boast of its “tolerance” and its “openness”, a country that professes to believe in human rights and human dignity, can be committing this kind of sin against an innocent young man. More...
He faked data for over 30 research papers, blighted the academic prospects of PhD students in his care and made fools of his fellow researchers. For years, social psychologist Diederik Stapel was free to investigate whatever subject took his fancy and make up the results. How did he get away with it? What the media say. More...
CDA: the compassionate party - but not just yet The Christian Democrats have seen the number of seats it would win in an election drop to an all time low. Saturday’s party congress offered little hope of recovery. What the papers say. More... |
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