Netherlands: Famous WWI Spy Mata Hari's Dutch Birthplace Destroyed by Fire

Mata Hari in Paris

Over the weekend the home in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, in where exotic dancer and WWI spy Mata Hari was born got totally destroyed in a fire.

One person was killed by the fire on Saturday evening as it engulfed several buildings in Leeuwarden, about 140km (87 miles) north of Amsterdam.

Local media said the victim was thought to be a 24-year-old man who had lived in a flat in the buildings.

Mata Hari was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in August 1876, to a shopkeeper and a Javanese ( Indonesian) mother.

In the early 1900s she left her husband and travelled to Paris where she found fame as an exotic dancer. Her work brought her into contact with many high society figures.

But she was arrested by France during WWI, accused of being a spy for Germany.

Her defense attorney, veteran international lawyer Edouard Clunet, faced impossible odds; he could not cross-examine the prosecution's witnesses or directly question his own witnesses. Under the circumstances, her conviction was a foregone conclusion. She was executed by firing squad on 15 October 1917, at the age of 41.

German documents unsealed in the 1970s proved that Mata Hari was truly a German agent however. In the autumn of 1915, she entered German service, and on orders of section III B-Chief Walter Nicolai, she was instructed about her duties by Major Roepell during a stay in Cologne. Her reports were to be sent to the Kriegsnachrichtenstelle West (War News Post West) in Düsseldorf under Roepell as well as to the Agent mission in the German embassy in Madrid under Major Arnold Kalle, with her direct handler being Captain Hoffmann, who also gave her the code name H-21.

Several films have been made about Mata Hari's life, most famously in 1931 where she was played by Greta Garbo.

Also read more in: BBC News - Mata Hari's Netherlands birthplace destroyed in fire

The Netherlands: Almere and four other cities selected for nomination as the bicycle city of Holland

Beautiful scenic bike paths  in Holland

Almere, Europe's newest and most modern city has been selected together with the cities of Eindhoven, Enschede, Velsen and Zwolle,  to be nominated in the spring of 2014 as the bicycle city of the Netherlands by the Dutch Bicycle Federation.

These five cites were among nineteen cities that had initially registered to participate in this selection.

There are more bicycles than residents in The Netherlands and in cities like Amsterdam and The Hague up to 70% of all journeys are made by bike. 

To make cycling safer and more inviting the Dutch have built a vast network of cycle paths.

These are clearly marked, have smooth surfaces, separate signs and lights for those on two wheels, and wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and overtaking.

Even before they can walk, Dutch children are immersed in a world of cycling. As babies and toddlers they travel in special seats on "bakfiets", or cargo bikes. These seats are often equipped with canopies to protect the children from the elements.

Biking in the Netherlands is an integral part of everyday life rather than a specialist's accessory or a symbol of a minority lifestyle. Dutch people in general are not concerned about having the very latest model of bike or hi-tech gadgets. 

Getting on a bike is fun and safe in the Netherlands

Almere-Digest

Turkey v Netherlands - 2-0 Turkey crushed by clinical Holland

Holland celebrated their qualification for the World Cup finals with a 2-0 win to finally end Turkey's tame challenge for a play-off place.

Fatih Terim's men needed to beat the Group D winners, who sealed their place in Brazil last week, while hoping rivals Romania dropped points.

But an early free-kick from Arjen Robben beat Volkan Demirel to put Turkey firmly on the back foot and Wesley Sneijder's goal shortly after the break confirmed a fateful 2-0 win.

It was a ninth win in 10 qualifying games for Holland but Turkey finished a poor fourth behind Romania and Hungary after both nations won their respective games against Estonia and Andorra.

In a game which featured a Holland side fresh from hammering Hungary 8-1 and a Turkey team desperate to secure second place, it was remarkable that the first 20 minutes produced only one shot on goal.

Read more: Turkey v Netherlands - 15th Oct 2013 | Report | World Cup Euro Qual | Sky Sports Football

Sweat Shops:You should care where your T-Shirt was made: The true cost of a T-shirt - by M. MacKinnon and M. Strauss

Your T-Shirt is probably made in this "sweatshop"

At about 8:30 a.m. one morning in April, a generator rumbled to life at Rana Plaza – rattling the building, as it always did when it started.

Work had just begun at the welter of garment factories when the power went out. So a manager on the seventh floor, home to the New Wave Style factory, was quick to stand up as the lights went back on and announce that the building was safe. Everyone should continue doing their jobs.

But this time, Rana Plaza didn’t stop shaking.

“He died on the spot as he was announcing that we should keep working,” Raehana Akhter recalls. Then she fell, too. “It was like stepping into an elevator [shaft]. I felt this feeling in my stomach, and then everything fell.”
When she landed, Ms. Akhter, a 22-year-old mother who worked as a quality control officer for about $2 a day, was in complete darkness, with her left leg trapped under shattered cement.

“The ceiling was just here,” she says, putting her hand about 30 centimetres above her face. “I felt like this would be my little grave.”

The building did become a grave – for 1,129 people. Its collapse was the world’s worst industrial accident in almost three decades. Fatal accidents in the garment-trade belt around Dhaka have become all too regular.

Sweatshop

The Rana Plaza deaths added to a toll of 117 who died in a November, 2012, fire at Tazreen Fashions. And that disaster was echoed by another fire this week, which claimed 10 lives at the Aswad Composite Mills factory.

The collapse of Rana Plaza spotlighted the potentially tragic costs of the cheap T-shirt – now a staple of fast fashion – and sparked debate about just how much responsibility retailers should have for the supply chain that moves product onto their shelves.

Yet as the ties between countries have become stronger, accountability has become a loose thread. The Globe’s investigation shows how companies such as Loblaw place their orders through middlemen, who in turn source work to a network of far-flung factories. The retailer whose shelves are stocked with cheap T-shirts in many cases does not know where in the world it or its materials is going to be produced when an order is placed. Inspecting buildings and working conditions has been beyond the retailer’s scope.

Note EU-Digest: Maybe it is high time that the EU Parliament approves legislation which only allows in products made overseas into the EU that have a 'Trade Mark' which  says: "This product has been produced in a workplace which meets EU approved standards for safety". Just talking about the issue with the Governments in question that allow these sweatshops or corporate entities which import these products has had very little effect. 

In the meantime consumers should check the label of the products they are buying and think twice about buying the product if it is not clearly specified that it was produced in a safe workplace.

 Read more: Spinning tragedy: The true cost of a T-shirt - The Globe and Mail

European Economy: Red Cross study slams Europe's response to the economic crisis over the past five years

Homeless Europeans

A Red Cross study slams Europe's response to the economic crisis over the past five years, saying the continent is in for a long period of unemployment, a widening poverty gap and a growing risk of social unrest. 

Annitta Underlin is the Director for Europe with IFRC (the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies). Her section combines 52 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. In a report called 'Think differently,' published on Thursday (10.10.2013), they warn that Europe's response to the economic crisis will push the continent into social and economic decline.

Read more of the interview: 'The crisis has taken root at every level' | Europe | DW.DE | 10.10.2013

Soccer : Netherlands thrashes Hungary 8-1 in qualifier

Dutch Soccer Team celebrates 8-1 win over Hungary

Robin van Persie scored a hat trick Friday to become the all-time Dutch top scorer as the Netherlands thrashed Hungary 8-1 in a World Cup qualifier.

The Netherlands had already qualified for next year's finals, and Hungary's hopes of consolidating second place in Group D were erased by a vintage Dutch performance.

With Romania beating Andorra 4-0 and Turkey downing Estonia 2-0, second place in the group is still up for grabs with one round to go.

Umut Bulut opened the scoring in the 22nd minute for Turkey in Estonia and Burak Yilmaz made it 2-0 in the 47th to Take Turkey into second in the group, ahead of Romania on goal difference.

Andorra managed to restrict visiting Romania to a Claudiu Keseru goal in the first half, but Bogdan Stancu, Gabriel Torje and Costin Lazar all scored as Romania stamped its class on the Group D minnow after the break.

Turkey and Romania's wins took them ahead of Hungary, level on 16 points.

In next week's final matches, Turkey faces a tough match against the Netherlands in Istanbul, Romania hosts Estonia and Hungary has a home game against Andorra.

Read more: AMSTERDAM: Netherlands thrashes Hungary 8-1 in qualifier - Soccer | Fútbol - MiamiHerald.com

Dutch government averts budget crisis with support of small parties - by Anthony Deutsch

The Dutch government on Friday won the support of several small opposition parties needed to push through a fresh round of austerity cuts, averting a budget crisis.

The centre-right coalition of Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte concluded several days of negotiations with an agreement to trim away an additional 6 billion euros ($ 8.12 billion)  in government spending in 2014.

Dutch news agency ANP said a deal was reached between the government, which lacks a majority in the Senate, and two small Christian parties - the Christian Union and the conservative SGP - as well as the right-of-centre Democrats 66.

The cuts are needed to bring the Netherlands in line with the European Union's 3 percent budget deficit target.

Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem cancelled a trip to the annual IMF meetings in Washington this week to focus on the negotiations.

Read more: Dutch government averts budget crisis with support of small parties - World | The Star Online