Exit Holland: Radio 1

Since a month I am a weekly reporter for the Dutch radio station Radio 1. It is the biggest news- and sports channel in Holland and Flanders with approximately a million listeners every day. Every Monday or Tuesday I inform Dutch listeners in the 'Exit Holland' section about news, current affairs, recent developments and funny events in the United Kingdom, where I am based. My latest show, last Monday (July 27) can be listened to by clicking on the link. Scroll to 32:20 (32 mins and 20 sec). Keep in mind, naturally, that the show is in Dutch.

http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=10004266

It's hot hot hot

Who said English summers are never good? The Met Office has raised its heatwave alert level today. Hot and humid conditions look set to continue until Friday.

London and the South East are now on Level 3 (out of four), with temperatures set to reach at least 33C (90 F).

The Department of Health has issued special advice for the elderly and other people at risk from the heat, such as people with a heart disease or very young children.

(bbc.co.uk, Skynews.co.uk)

Just 'Koogle' it !

Orthodox Jews in Israel have come up with something new to protect their children against sexual images, TV and other orthodox Jewish taboos. A new “kosher” search has been launched called ‘Koogle’.

It gives them the possibility to surf the web without bring them to uncompromising websites. The religious community has been struggling lately with how to deal with search engines such as Google, AltaVista or Yahoo. Rabbis have encourages the development of Koogle so the community has no problems meeting religious standards. The name Koogle comes from the engine Google and a popular Jewish noodle dish. It filters forbidden material, such as pictures of women dressed immodestly or sexually explicit images.

Amos Azizoff helped setting up Koogle: ‘The website is for adults as well as children,’ he says: ‘You can find anything, from the local cinema to bridal wear.’ The site has been visited more than 100.000 times in the last month alone. Azizoff continues: ‘There is so much happening on the internet that isn't healthy and this search engine allows people to surf without pop-ups or anything that is inappropriate.’

And the search engine has more options. During the Jewish Sabbath, which begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday, it is not possible to shop online. Azizoff admits the site will not appeal to everyone: "We have to be realistic. Just as you have orthodox Christians and orthodox Muslims, there are people who like to take the easy approach on life, right or wrong, that does not matter. But there are different needs for different communities." Although the main website is in Hebrew (www.koogle.co.il), there is an English version too: www.koogle.co.il/English

In the name of the father

Thousands of people marched through Dublin in silence yesterday. The conservative European nation stood still to remember decades of child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

The publication of a government report last month, the Ryan report, exposed stories of rape and beatings by nuns and brothers in more than 216 Catholic-run residential institutions. Over four hundred thousand children stayed for a short or longer period of time in monasteries, care homes and orphanages and many of them turned out to be abused, molested, humiliated, raped or beaten. An official inquiry last month, led by the respected judge Sean Ryan, reported that sexual, physical and emotional abuse had been ‘endemic’ in religious, reform and industrial schools, dating back to the 1920’s.

The silent march, organised by Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland, highlighted the fact the Catholic Church in Ireland, and the government, have always kept silent and it still is a very sensitive issue many Irish rather not talk about. The more than 7000 who did come out to central Dublin wore white ribbons and carried children’s shoes to represent the loss of childhood. They delivered a petition to representatives of some of the religious institutions and orders mentioned in the report: “We, the people of Ireland, join in solidarity and call for justice, accountability, restitution and repatriation of the unimaginable crimes committed against the children of our country by religious orders in 216 institutions.”
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he was unable to attend, because he was attending the Catholic bishop’s general meeting. He sent a representative.

After the meeting, it was clear the bishops had discussed the report because they released the statement: "Heinous crimes were perpetrated against the most innocent and vulnerable, and vile acts with life-lasting effects were carried out under the guise of the mission of Jesus Christ. This abuse represents a serious betrayal of the trust which was placed in the church. For this we ask forgiveness." Earlier this week Archbishop Martin said he had briefed the Pope and the Holy Father had been "visibly upset".

The Vatican has the world's lowest age of consent
Although the Ryan report contained hundreds of witness reports, mentioned nuns, brothers and other religious workers by name and rank and the document describes many abuse cases in detail, no one has been arrested.

Not surprisingly perhaps, since the Vatican City (together with paedophilia holiday hit the Philippines) has the world's lowest age of consent: Art 331 of Vatican roman law states the age of consent is - don't be shocked now - 12. While the Vatican usually adopts Italian laws automatically, the age of consent in neighbouring Italy is 14.

The Vatican lawmaker must somehow along the way have been convinced a 12 year old boy is mature enough and in such an equal position to make the rational decision he voluntarily wants to sleep with a 63 year old bishop. No need for confession, no sins under God's roof.

It all happened in the name of the Holy Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fearless Vietnam photographer Van Es dies in Hong Kong (67)

Hubert Van Es, the Dutch photographer who became world famous when he covered the Vietnam War, died in Hong Kong, aged 67.

He took took one of the best known images of the evacuation of Saigon in 1975, led by the Americans. His picture — people scaling a ladder to a helicopter on a rooftop (above) — made all the major newspapers in the world. On behalf of his wife Annie Van Es, the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong announced his death on Friday. He fell into a coma a week earlier after suffering a brain aneurysm. He passed away in Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital on Friday.

In 1975, as the North Vietnamese army was approaching Saigon, Van Es photographed the thousands of US military personnel and Vietnamese civilians trying to flee the country. Mr Van Es was in the office of United Press on 29 April, 1975, when he saw around 40 Americans climbing a long ladder to board a CIA helicopter, on a rooftop of an apartment building a few blocks away. The helicopter was clearly too small too carry them all.

Thousands of people were evacuated during the fall of Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh City. The building in Van Es' picture housed CIA officials and their families. Without realising it at the time, the photo became one of the Vietnam war's defining images and came to be seen as a symbol of the failure of US policy in the war. He gained a reputation for fearlessness. Van Es later expressed his disappointment that he never received royalties from the use of the photo. Since he worked for the UPI, they owned the picture. The photo is currently in the possession of Bill Gates, through one of his daughter companies, Corbis. Van Es was born in Hilversum, the Netherlands. He headed to Hong Kong in 1967, working as a freelancer and he later became The South China Morning Post's chief photographer. He was sent to Vietnam a year later, after getting a job as a sound man for NBC News, according to the New York Times. In Saigon, he joined the Associated Press photo team in 1969 and changed to UPI in 1972, where he covered the last three years of the war. After the Vietnam war was over, he worked as a freelancer again and settled in Hong Kong. He went to the Philippines to cover the Moro rebellion and also worked on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Mr Van Es is survived by his wife for 39 years, Annie, and an older sister, who still lives in the Netherlands.

(www.bbc.co.uk, www.nytimes., www.LaTimes.com, www.lefigaro.com)

Record fine for computer chipmaker Intel

The European Commissioner for anti-competitive practices, the Dutch lady Nelie Kroes, has announced US chipmaker Intel has been fined a record 1.07 billion Euros, equivalent to $1.45 billion or £ 950 million.

In 2000 rival company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) filed a complaint in Brussels stating ‘that Intel had paid computer manufacturers not to use AMD chips in computers sold in Europe.

Eight years of investigation convinced the European Commission that Intel had given hidden discounts and financial favours to computer manufacturers if they only used Intel chips. Retailers were paid money so they would only sell computers with an Intel chip. ‘Nickel Neelie’ Kroes, who has a reputation in Brussels to be fair but ruthless, said in a statement: “Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years. Such a serious and sustained violation of the EU’s antirust rules can not be tolerated.

The mega fine dwarfs the 500 million Euros Microsoft was forced to pay in 2004, when the Commission ruled it had abused its dominant market position.

(www.bbc.co.uk/news, www.telegraaf.nl, www.lefigaro.fr, www.timesonline.co.uk)

‘Pakistan about to collapse’, according to US General David Petraeus

President Zardari (‘mister 10%’) should worry. A lot. According to the US General David Petraeus there may be just two weeks left before the Taliban might be able to overthrow the Pakistani government.

Last month, Taliban militants advanced to within 60 miles of the country’s capital, Islamabad, and were forced to withdraw only after the US pressured the Pakistan government to launch a counter-attack. It is said that senior officials in Obama’s administration have more confidence in Pakistan’s army, led by General Ashfaq Kayani, than the current President, Asif Ali Zardari, who earned the nickname ‘mister 10%’ during the 1990’s for accepting enormous bribes and large sums of money while his wife, the late Benazir Bhutto, was the prime minister of Pakistan.
Last week, Hillary Clinton publicly accused Islamabad of “abdicating to the Taliban”. Tomorrow, the Pakistani president will meet the US president and the Afghan leader Hamid Karazi in Washington. It is unavoidable the issue will be discussed there.

(Picture: Bloomberg, www.asifism.com, www.telepgrah.co.uk, www.LAtimes.com, www.un.nl)

Alien in Qatar?

A group of shoppers in Qatar, in the Middle East, got the shock of their lives when they spotted a creature which was branded a possible alien, it was reported last night.

A mysterious figure resembling a human being was sighted on the Doha Corniche's parking lot, according to local Arab newspapers. One woman, an Arab expatriate lady who said the had seen the strange figure near the Oryx statue, managed to grab her phone and take a picture, despite being terribly frightened. The results can be found above. The woman was surrounded by a large number of people who confirmed her story and also saw what she saw. A few seconds after the mother of three took the photo the creature took off and disappeared. Qatar police have started an investigation but without any results yet. Was it an alien? Animal? Hoax?

(www.telegraaf.nl, www.theeldergeek.com)

Drunk Obama and Putin won't be seen in Amsterdam(ned)

The organisers of the campaign 'I Amsterdam' came up with a couple of remarkable posters to promote the celebration of Queensday, every year at April 30th in the Netherlands (to celebrate the birthday of the Queen the whole country has a day off, dresses up in Orange and goes out to party).

Obama and Putin are on the poster wearing a t-shirt saying “kiss me, I am drunk“. It is remarkable this particular poster has been withdrawn, because no one has complained. Both the US and Russian embassies in The Hague did not release a statement or did not complaint to the Dutch government or Amsterdam council. The official reason is said to be the fact that Putin does not drink any alcohol and it could be 'highly insulting to someone who does not drink alcohol.'

This makes you wonder since when the feelings of a former KGB agent and ruler with an iron fist prevail over the freedom of press and opinion. Especially when you take into account that a poster featuring the French president, however, has not been withdrawn while the French embassy complained about a poster with Sarkozy's image on it. The French president is shown hugging his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi. The embassy has demanded to stop the campaign immediately, but it was decided to ignore the complaints and release the posters anyway. Hillary Clinton can also be seen on one of the posters, with her hands in the air, celebrating the birthday of Queen Beatrix.

www.geenstijl.nl, www.parool.nl, www.iamsterdam.nl, www.at5.nl

Getting drunk without drinking

A new pub in central London does not ask its customers to drink responsibly, but to breathe responsibly. When you enter the cocktail bar customers are literally enveloped in a mist of alcohol, an intoxicating spray of gin and tonic.

After around an hour inside, most customers feel cheerful and tipsy. To avoid smelling like a bottle of gin on your way home, and to protect your clothes, visitors are advised to wear special protective suits inside. The bar, which has place for around 35 customers, is decorated with huge limes and enormous straws to give you the feeling you are actually inside the drink itself. Instead of rock or pop music, a noise of liquid being poured over ice cubes can be heard.

The idea for this new bar came from Harry Parr and Sam Bompas. In Metro newspaper Bompas said: 'It's something we have always wanted to do. If you think of what you do in a bar you might spend 40 minutes per drink, so we've calibrated the mixology to account for that much.' Mr Parr adds: 'Here we've vaporised a cocktail. In the future I would like to make a liquid banqueting table.'

The Alcoholic Architecture Bar is based in Ganton Street (Newburgh Quarter), central London. Its opening hours are limited, between 7 pm and 9 pm and only on selected dates until April 25. Tickets are £5 and customers must be 21 or older. Visit www.jellymongers.co.uk for more information and tickets.

(metro.co.uk April 21)

Indians to the polls

The world's largest democracy has started voting. Around 720 million Indians will go to the polls in an election that will take place in five phases. While the first round has already ended, millions will have to wait for their turn until the the beginning or second week of May. 124 constituencies are being contested during the month-long general elections.

The final results are expected on 16 May and a new parliament must be in place by 2 June. The current coalition government, led by the Congress-party and prime minister Singh, is facing one of the biggest challenges in its history, mainly from the opposition BJP-led alliance. Surprisingly, the two main parties are also competing against a "third bloc", mainly consisting of the communist and some regional parties. For now, it is too close to call.

(BBC/CNN, pics: BBC Website)

'Dirty French' violently attacked on central Paris night bus

These CCTV images shocked public opinion in France last week. A seven minute video of four youths, smoking and acting aggressive, shows them robbing and badly beating up a 19 year old student in the north of central Paris.

The victim can easily be identified as the young, blond man with the Burberry scarf. Passengers who tried to intervene were also punched and beaten. The CCTV images, shot last December, were put online by an unnamed police officer, and – of course – circulated in no time within the French press. It was announced the police officer who put the images online will be charged for releasing the video, which is a hit among far-right French voters. They see it as proof of how violent and aggressive the kids from the suburbs are, the so-called ‘Banlieus’. At some point you can hear the non-white attackers scream at their Victim ‘Sale francais’, which means ‘dirty Frenchman’.

Although the police said two of the youths were arrested on the spot after the bus driver alerted the police, the RATP Transport Authority said in a statement that ‘its bus drivers have strict orders not to intervene in defence of passengers but to stay at the wheel and press a silent alarm button.’ Many RATP drivers are scared and one was quoted as saying in the French newspaper Le Parisien: "If you do not have money for a taxi on a Saturday night, it's better to stay in the disco and wait for the morning."

If you want to see the video, please click here (warning: it contains violence and might be disturbing to some)

http://www.eursoc.com/eursoc_news_and_comment_f/2009/04/inner-city-violence-paris-style.html

If you are interested in an interview with the victim, the 19-year old student who does not want to be named, please click here: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3875

(http://www.lefigaro.fr, http://www.eurosoc.com, http://www.timesonline.com, www.detijd.be, www.telegraaf.nl)

Obama, Brown, Medvedev, Sarkozy, Merkel and other leaders in London for G20 Summit

While the American leader Barack Obama and UK’s prime minster Gordon Brown met in Downing Street ahead of the G20 summit, thousands of protestors gathered in the City of London last Wednesday.

Anti-capitalists, anarchists and climate change activists assembled in London’s financial heart on Wednesday morning. A few minor scuffles broke out as they plead for changes in the economic and financial systems. Some windows were broken at a local branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland and a small group of protestors managed to get on to the roof of the central bank, The Bank of England. According to Scotland Yard 23 people were arrested. The 7.5 million security operation compromised of 6 police forces and any leave during the two-day summit had been withdrawn.

Obama (US), Berlusconi (Italy) and Medvedev (Russia)

pics: Huffington post, BBC

Smith's husband claims porn costs

The political future of Labour heavyweight Jacqui Smith, Britain’s home secretary, is in doubt after her husband Richard Timney has claimed the costs of two porn movies from her expenses budget.

Smith was said to be ‘mortified and furious’ when she found out that her claims included two adult movies. Her husband Richard admitted watching the videos on April 1 and 7, 2008.

Effectively, British taxpayers funded Mr Timney’s desire to watch porn. Speaking to the press outside their constituency home in Redditch (Worcestershire, UK), Richard Timney said yesterday: “I am really sorry for any embarrassment I have caused Jacqui. I can fully understand why people might be angry and offended by this. Quite obviously, a claim should never have been made for these films and, as you know, the money has been paid back.”

David Davis, the former Shadow Home Secretary, said: “I didn’t even know films were that expensive . . . claiming for porn movies? I just can’t believe it.”

(guardian.co.uk, timesonline.co.uk, newsteam.co.uk)

Chicago's Green River

Chicago is famous for many things; Oprah, the Sears Tower, blues, Obama, The Chicago Theatre, for being 'The Windy City', Jerry Springer, its Hilton Hotel and not to forget a spectacular annual event: dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started more than forty seven years ago, when pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and noticed that the green materials used could be the basis for a unique way to celebrate the start of the St Patrick's holiday. In 1962, city workers released more than 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into 'Chicago river' (it is not hard to guess where it got its name from). It turned out to be more than enough to keep the river coloured for a week! These days, the city council tries to minimize environmental damage, so only forty pounds of dye are used, making the river green for just a couple of hours. Last Saturday, March 14, thousands of people headed over to the river banks to see the green spectacle, which is the start of the St. Patrick's festivities.

http://www.history.com/, www.trouw.nl, http://farm1.static.flickr.com/