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03 Mar 2011 10:06

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World: Dutch helicopter crew captured by Libyan (well, Gaddafi’s) forces

  • cause Three Flying Dutchmen (sorry), attempting to rescue Europeans stuck in the country, were captured by Libyan forces last Sunday – the first sign of Libyan forces going after Westerners.
  • reaction The Dutch government has actually kept this story under wraps; it didn’t break until a newspaper discovered it. There’s a fear the Libyan government might use the pilots as propaganda tools. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jun 2010 02:41

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World: Peruvian murder victim’s family Googled “Joran van der Sloot”

  • My wife typed ‘Joran van der Sloot’ into Google and started screaming for me to see. I couldn’t believe it. How could it be that guy?
  • Enrique Flores • On finding out that Joran van der Sloot, the now-confessed suspect in his daughter’s murder, was THAT guy. Van der Sloot, who was also the main suspect in the Natalee Holloway case, admitted to killing Stephany Flores tonight. Despite the nature of the crime, Peru’s criminal system isn’t nearly as harsh as the American system and the maximum sentence he can face is 35 years in prison. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Mar 2010 22:19

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Politics: Oops: U.S. general apologizes for criticizing gay Dutch soldiers

  • I am sorry that my recent public recollection of those discussions of 15 years ago inaccurately reflected your thinking on some specific social issues in the military. To be clear, the failure on the ground in Srebrenica was in no way the fault of the individual soldiers.
  • Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander John Sheehan • Regarding some comments he made about Dutch soldiers last week. He claimed that European armies had been weakened by those who tried to “socialize” them (a.k.a. allow gay soldiers), and specifically mentioned the Srebrenica massacre, a 1995 atrocity where a small group of Dutch peacekeepers were ambushed by Serbian soldiers – an attack that led to the deaths of over 7,000 Muslims men and boys, as well as the resignation of many Dutch leaders in 2002. Sheehan’s comments sparked such outrage that a defamation suit was threatened against him – well, until this apology was accepted not long after Sheehan wrote it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 10:44

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World: 88 years old, going to jail: Ex-Nazi sentenced for crimes

He has reason to look dejected. Heinrich Boere was sentenced to life in prison for the 1944 killing of Dutch citizens out of retaliation for resistance fighter attacks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jan 2010 10:25

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U.S., World: The Danish cartoonist attacker almost attacked Hillary Clinton

  • She was reportedly the target of a foiled bus attack in Kenya. The suspect, who we can’t name due to Danish law, reportedly tried to attack the former Secretary of State during her 11-day tour of the country in September. He was sent back to Denmark due to lack of evidence. Now we can probably agree that something is up with this dude who was arrested. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2009 08:42

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World: Amsterdam the first to get full body scans, legalized pot

  • They’ll be used on all flights to the United States. After a massive security fail, you may have had a feeling this was coming. The Dutch have said, “screw the privacy concerns, we need this.” The 15 machines will be ready in a few weeks. This is despite the fact that they say there’s no 100% guarantee that it would’ve actually nailed the Underwear Bomber. Great. What’s the point of this again? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2009 10:35

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World: Amsterdam’s airport says Nigerian terror suspect passed security

  • Was he checked? Yes, Dutch authorities say Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab went through security checkpoints. In fact, they note that Nigerian travelers go through strong security when flying because of fears of fraud.
  • What was the weak point? From the sound of things, airport security could not detect the materials on him because they weren’t made of metal. Which means that we’re going to start seeing full body scans soon. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

30 Aug 2009 11:15

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Offbeat: Hooray! The Beer Bike can keep rolling in Amsterdam

These fixtures of the biggest Dutch metropolis were in danger after a couple of recent crashes. But they can keep going – with some new restrictions. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Aug 2009 09:12

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World: The Dutch don’t want 13-year-olds to set sailing records

  • Laura Dekker wants to sail around the world, solo. The 13-year-old could become the youngest person to sail around the world by herself, but she won’t if the Netherlands’ Child Protective Services has its way. A court just granted custody of Dekker to the state, who freaked out at the idea of letting someone so young hang by themselves for two years. Stupid state ruins everything neat. Dekker, by the way, is really more Boatsch than she is Dutch – she was born on a boat and has spent much of her life on boats. Unfortunately, boats don’t have schools or legal systems. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Apr 2009 10:07

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Offbeat, U.S.: Dutch journos can handle war zones, car jackings in Detroit

  • They were doing a report on the city. Reporter Jacqueline Maris, who works for VPRO, The Netherlands’ national public radio, and freelance photographer Daimon Xanthopoulos have been to scary parts of Africa and the Middle East on stories, but they got a Motor City welcome in Detroit when their rental car got jacked at gunpoint last week. The car was recovered later that day. Despite this, they still see positive signs in the city, people making things better, beyond what Maris called “those stupid criminals.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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