"THE YOUTH OF BENGHAZI"

Broadcast on Sunday, April 10. It's a Dutch program, but a lot of it's in English. Click "bekijk video" to view.

UPDATED: Abuse of a Dutch boy's privacy

UPDATE from DutchNews.nl

The nine-year-old boy who survived Wednesday's air crash in Tripoli is to be flown back to the Netherlands on Saturday, Ed Kronenburg, who is in charge of the Dutch crash team in Libya said on Friday.

[...]

In the meantime, the Libyan authorities have taken steps to improve security around the boy to ensure his privacy.

The Telegraaf newspaper caused disbelief on Friday morning by publishing a short phone conversation made with the boy via a doctor's mobile phone. Deputy prime minister André Rouvoet called the paper 'shameless'.

In a statement, the newspaper stressed the reporter had said nothing about the accident or the fact the boy's parents were killed.

The boy's relatives are en route to Tripoli, according to (Dutch) Volkskrant.

_________

That Telegraaf obtained the phone number of the boy's room and was allowed to interview him is appalling enough. But other papers are also showing photos of the boy in his Tripoli hospital room.

He is featured in the lead photo of this series in Parool. He's already got his own website! (In Dutch media, the full names of alleged criminals are never released, but his full name was given.)

Why did hospital staff allow this breach of privacy? (In the USA there are patient privacy policies in place, e.g. hospitals are prohibited to release names of patients who are members of my parish to the clergy.) Why did the Dutch embassy officials allow this violation of a vulnerable child, a minor? (Were these photos taken before or after his relatives arrived in Tripoli? Were they aware of the interview, did they give permission?)

I see now in today's Parool that the Foreign Affairs ministry has stated the telephone interview was "evil."

Telegraaf has issued a statement that the paper never intended to "abuse the patient."

RNW: Balkenende Interview

I don't agree with Jan-Peter Balkenende's politics, but I was impressed with this interview and hope RNW does more like it with him.

In an exclusive video interview with the English Department of Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced on Wednesday evening that he will suggest to other European countries that they adopt the Dutch ‘polder model' of government.

Queen's Day Aftermath

There's a commentary by Robin Pascoe, the founder of DutchNews.nl about the events from last Thursday. It wasn't a Dutch 9/11, no al-Qaeda, just a lone, mentally unbalanced man taking revenge on the Queen and members of the royal family. We'll never know what was exploding in that man's head. Hundreds of uploaded videos of April 30 have dominated the hits on YouTube. The Netherlands is a small country, and naturally a tragic event on its national day is cause for reflections. While I agree with much of Pascoe's commentary about moving on, he just doesn't have a clue how important the Dutch royals interacting openly with the public is, especially on Koninginnedag:---

[...] It was a shocking event to witness anywhere but made even more so because it happened so close to home, on a sunny day when everyone was out having fun.

But three days on, there is a danger that the Netherlands is descending into a strange sentimentality. [...]

There are soul searching articles about how life in the Netherlands will never be the same again.

And will it?

The one important question is, of course, why? There is no terror cell at work here, no carefully coordinated attack by animal rights activitists or Al Quaeda. There is no enemy to vent anger at - just the action of a lone, and perhaps lonely man, who flipped for whatever reason.

We have been hit by this attack because we watched it happen and we are still watching it, again and again and again.

No amount of security would have stopped this man doing what he did. This time he drove his car through the crowd watching the queen. Next time he could be entering a school with a machine gun or a creche with a knife.

Life in the Netherlands has not changed for all of us, only for those who have lost loved ones or who were closely involved in the aftermath. And wallowing in sentimentality helps no-one. The tv images will fade - if we stop watching them. And we should not be hypnotising ourselves into thinking otherwise.

Today from Radio Netherlands, discussing future celebrations of Queen's Day (and Rememberance Day on May 4th and Liberation Day on May 5th),

The present Queen has also been known to be defiant in the face of adversity in the past. In 1980 she choose to hold her coronation in Amsterdam in spite of demonstrations planned by the squatter's movement to disrupt the event. The day was marred by serious rioting in the capital.

Prince Constantijn [the second son of Queen Beatrix] speaking outside the World Press Photo award ceremony on Sunday said that the royal family will continue to do the things it does with conviction,

"In this country and as a family we value openness and accessibility. So in that sense we will continue with our heads held high."

The print and television media have pushed the story to morbid extremes. Adding to the confusion - from an article [Dutch] in Volkskrant: the tabloid newspaper AD has apologised for posting a photo of a man they said was Karst T., but it turns out he wasn't. The man has the same surname as Mr T. At least the paper's official didn't give the usual excuse, "mistakes were made," but actually apologised (We betreuren het enorm dat dit is gebeurd...); AD won't relegate its correction to the back pages - it will appear on the front page. In this kind of media frenzy and rush to further sensationalize a tragedy, and sell papers (for it happens frequently in the US, too), I always wonder whether the legal department, editorial board and fact checkers are asleep on the job. Think of the harm potential harm to the man whose photo was published. Of course, these kinds of photo mistakes have occur often in US newspapers and on television, sometimes with tragic consequences - usually to ex-cons, notably sex offenders, who have already done their time, are rehabilitated and are set "free," but still receive harassment from "society."

Orange turning into black

Blauw Bloed: Now on line [Dutch], a very good summary of a Dutch Royal Week full of contradictions. Click Bekijk Online. Images from Queen's Day, the national and cultural festival, in Apeldoorn, plus radio reporters voices... orange suddenly turns black. I still watch it in disbelief.

Five dead as Queen's Day celebrations turn into tragedy (Update)

UPDATE II: Just received email from a Dutch friend:

"A shaken, dreadfully looking queen almost burst into tears when addressing her Dutchmen. Compare this with her perfect radiating majestic wellgroomed look this morning! Even her hairdo lost all energy... :( A black day in Dutch History.

3rd time NL lost its innocence (after Fortuyn, Van Gogh...). The laidback character of our country is ruined for ever."

Celebrations throughout the land for Koninginnedag have been canceled.

The queen may have escaped an attack. The car broke through the barriers, hitting people and crashing into a monumental column as the open-topped coach carrying the Royal Family passed.

Press conference about to start.

Updated: 4 dead now and the Queen has just addressed the people, almost in tears.

It was strange, when the royals were having fun with the spectators etc. "bathing in the crowd," fifteen minutes before - everything seemed soooo relaxed (smiling security officers...) Who would have thought a lunatic would get some weird ideas! It is not clear if the driver of the car acted intentionally, but he was clocked at going 80kms/hr.

It was supposed to be a fabulous day of joy, celebrating Koninginnedag and the start of the 100th anniversary of the birth of former Queen Juliana, but has turned into a day of sadness.

In celebration, I had put out my Dutch flag with the Orange streamer, but have taken it back inside. The flag on the sidebar is at half-mast, too.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide

A car ploughed into the crowd watching the Queen's day parade in Apeldoorn. Two spectators were killed and 23 reported injured, some of them seriously.

Eye witnesses speculated that the accident may have been an attempted attack on the Royal Family. Others say that the car went off course with a shattered windscreen and that the driver appeared to be slumped motionless over the wheel. The vehicle came to a halt after crashing into a monument (pictured right).

The incident occurred minutes after a luxury open-top coach carrying the Royal Family passed the spot (pictured below). The coach briefly stopped and was then accompanied to Het Loo palace by security forces.

Queen Beatrix has sent a message expressing her sympathy to the victims. The government information service says the queen and her family are deeply shocked by the incident.

The photo on the left shows the reaction of the Prince of Orange and HRH Princess Máxima after the accident.
Story developing...a press conference is scheduled in the afternoon (Dutch time). Follow this channel for the latest on line news. CNN coverage; BBC report.

Flying cars? Say, what?

From Radio Netherlands Worldwide Dutch Press Review, April 24, 2009

While de Volkskrant tells us electricity companies have agreed to build an national network of 10,000 recharging points for electric cars, De Telegraaf has decided to run a story on flying cars.

The recharger network will bring an end to the chicken and the egg dilemma in which no-one wants to buy an electric car because there are no recharging points and electricity companies don't want to place recharging points because no-one has electric cars. Now all that needs to happen is for the price of electric cars to come down, so people might be able to afford one.

Meanwhile Traffic Minister Camiel Eurlings is investigating the possibility of solving traffic jams with flying automobiles. The futuristic Personal Air and Land Vehicle or Pal-V, which is a combination of a three-wheel car and a gyrocopter, will be test driven (or is it flown) today. This could give a whole new meaning to queue jumping. And imagine the pile ups if there is a multiple collision! Pedestrians might be well advised to keep their heads down!

COMMENT: Just think, Google maps could expand its 'Get directions' service!


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Columnist Martin Bril (49) dies of cancer

Dutchnews.nl

Thursday 23 April 2009

Martin Bril, one of the Netherlands' best known newspaper columnists and writers, has died of cancer of the oesophagus at the age of 49.

Bril, who wrote for the Volkskrant newspaper and won numerous prizes during his career, was first diagnosed with cancer eight years ago. The cancer returned last year.

Columns, poems, background [Dutch]:
The World of Martin Bril

Dutch TV show: 9/11 was Inside Job

DutchNews.nl

Friday 17 April 2009

A Dutch tv show in which a fake jury found Osama bin Laden not guilty of involvement in the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US has angered New York's former mayor and other officials, Fox tv news reports.

The show, Devil's Advocate, sends a 'disturbing' message to the world and fuels conspiracy theories, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and other former US prosecutors were quoted as saying.

The jury of three men and two women ruled last Wednesday that there was no proof bin Laden masterminded the 9/11 attacks or that he remains the head of Al Qaeda.

During the show, Dutch celebrity lawyer Gerard Spong argued that Bin Laden's connection to 9/11 was the product of 'hearsay' and 'Western propaganda' and cast doubt on the authenticity of videos and statements.

For the full article, click here

AFGHANISTAN FORUM IN THE HAGUE

Coverage from Radio Netherlands Worldwide

RNW Flickr photostream

"Optimism" reigned...



Sayed Rohullah Yasir is visiting all the conferences on Afghanistan for Deutsche Welle. As a result, he has come to The Hague. Four years ago, Mr Rohullah left his home country to live in Germany. Since then he has travelled the world. Something he could once only dream of. He was one of the first journalists to enter the special press room at The Hague... and RNW followed him...



Arrival of Clinton and Karzai.

DUTCH MEDIA STAR 'GROUNDED' FOR 90 DAYS AND 90 NIGHTS

DutchNews.nl:- Vicar's son and leading presentor on evangelical tv station EO, Arie Boomsma, has been suspended from work for three months for appearing scantily dressed in a magazine, reports ANP news service.

The photos are in a yet-to-be-published edition of the women's glossy Linda.

'This was a solo action by Arie and is damaging for the mission of the EO. We want the focus to be on the inner person in shows such as '40 Dagen Zonder Seks (40 Days Without Sex)' which Arie presents,' EO director Arjan Lock is reported as saying.

Boomsma is said to be sorry for his action.

Arie's grounding was even announced on his website and discussed on his blog.

Telegraaf features the photos - "Arie Boomsma bijna in adamskostuum": "Almost in 'Adam's costume'".

Telegraaf also reports today that Arie has been chosen as 1 of 4 Dutch "trendsetters" by jurors for TrendWatcher Of The Year (TWOTY) Award, adding that he'll still have to contemplate his "sins" at home (Dutch).

Lent is 40 days and 4o nights, but it's a bit OTT for him to be "grounded" for 90 days and nights, no? EO's being paternalistic, treating a man in his 30s as if he were a pre-teen kid! This Dutch Calvinist aversion to the human body is sick! Not only is the brouhaha ridiculous, but it's also hypocritical. Arie is the moderator of another EO television show ontopic where youth with completely different backgrounds debate current trends and news. In January, the topic was
Naakt in videoclips moet verboden worden! (Being naked on video clips should be prohibited). I know, I know, pure sensationalist titilation for the viewers, even on an 'evangelical' network. Here's the segment (in Dutch) of the program.

SCHIPHOL CRASH VICTIM BOOTED FROM HOSPITAL, 'SELF-MEDICATES' AT COFFEE SHOP

Ron Ledford, in an interview with Amsterdam's local TV station AT5: "I went to the coffee shop and started gettin' me some medicine."

As 24oranges explains, the TV station met (video interview, English/Dutch) Mr Ledford "at a shop downtown where he was being fitted with a free new outfit, thanks to a shop owner who met him and obviously cared about his story (unlike the hospital)."

DUTCH DON'T WANT BEATRIX TO ABDICATE

Next week Queen Beatrix celebrates her 71st birthday. Over the weekend there was a report on the role of the monarchy. And as in recent years, with each birthday, the question, Should Beatrix 'stay on' or abdicate?

Leidsch Dagblad (Dutch): - According to a research by a commercial marketing company called Synovate, 54% of the dutch people don't want queen Beatrix to abdicate right now.
84% think prince Willem-Alexander is ready to inherit the throne though.

The dutch people give an '8' to the queen.

84% want to maintain the monarchy, 10% are in favour of a republic.

On Saturday, KRO's In de Schaduw van het Nieuws asked (Dutch) Oranje-experts: Stay on or abdicate?, with an excellent video (Dutch).

COMMENT: I was surprised by the results of this poll. Abdication is not a dirty word in the Netherlands. It just means royal retirement. (The British example is ridiculous.) There seems no indication that Beatrix is tired or has had enough. Should she abdicate in favour of her son? Maybe if she no longer liked her 'job.' But she seems more enthusiastic than ever. On January Beatrix will become a year older, but she certainly seems 'young' to me! Zij doet 't prima toch! That said, however, most Dutch treat the queen with indifference - including most of my friends and family. And yet, thousands come out for Koninginnedag!

IRAQ

DutchNews.nl

Monday 19 January 2009

Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende's contuing refusal to agree to a public inquiry into events surrounding Dutch support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is beginning to look like the petulant behaviour of a stubborn teenager.

There are a number of questions which need to be answered about the Dutch position, and continually repeating the same tired arguments is not working.

There is evidence that civil servants had their doubts about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, doubts which the government of the day - led by Balkenende himself - ignored. The Dutch also ignored the fact there was no UN mandate for action. [read the rest]

OCTOBER SUPRISE? ATTACK ON IRAN BY U.S?

DAILY TELEGRAPH

According to reports in the newspaper De Telegraaf [link in Dutch; rough translation in English], the country's intelligence service, the AIVD, has stopped an espionage operation aimed at infiltration and sabotage of the weapons industry in Iran.

"The operation, described as extremely successful, was halted recently in connection with plans for an impending US air attack on Iran," said the report.

"Targets would also be bombed which were connected with the Dutch espionage action."

"Well placed" sources told the paper that a top agent had been recalled recently "because the US was thought to be making a decision within weeks to attack Iran with unmanned aircraft".

"Information from the AIVD operation has in recent years been shared with the American CIA secret service."

Brig Gen Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of the Iranian armed forces, warned at the weekend that military attacks against Iran would trigger a Third World War.

The Telegraaf story was published on 29 August, the day after the Obama coronation. Oh, that's just lovely. These kinds of speculative stories have run before, so who knows? But it's interesting that it's just weeks away to the U.S. 2008 General Election. For what it's worth, the Telegraaf story was linked by 52 blogs (and now mine).

(Thanks to Anonymous/Patrick for the alert about the Telegraaf story.)