Monday 23 May 2022
A stichting is a foundation or a trust set up to promote either a good cause or a specific objective, such as developing open source IT or protecting sand dunes. Stichtings are not supposed to make a profit – but some are very rich, like the Democracy and Media trust which owns 42% of newspaper group PCM. The Netherlands has over 130,000 different stichtings. More >
It used to be that the post was delivered early in the morning by a postal worker who not only knew your name – but that of everyone else in the street. These days, mail is delivered by so many different companies that it’s baffling as to how any of them make any money at all. More >
Integration minister Rita Verdonk is now turning her attention to education. This weekend, Verdonk, number two on the VVD (Liberal) list of prospective MPs, chaired the discussions at her party’s education conference. More >
In all the fuss about the high security jail for terrorists and its living conditions, no-one appears to have asked just how suspect Samir Azzouzz managed to get his litany of complaints into the hands of the Volkskrant newspaper journalists. More >
As amusing as it may be to see Christian Democrat and Labour MPs falling over each other to defend the rights of elderly viewers, their furious reaction to the plans to scrap popular quiz programme Lingo (see Friday’s DutchNews) does make you wonder whether our public representatives might not be more gainfully occupied helping to dig the tunnels and build the new road and rail links they keep voting to give us. More >
The GreenLeft party in Amsterdam has a novel idea to help prostitutes who have been affected by the council’s cancellation of 37 brothel licences, reports the Parool. More >
