Controversial English psychiatrist and writer Dr Anthony Daniels, who uses the quirky pen name Theodore Dalrymple, was recently invited to present Maastricht University’s Tans Lecture. This annual lecture commemorates Dr Sjeng Tans who helped create the university 30 years ago.

Limburg media caught wind that the retired prison doctor would be speaking. He is often criticised for being anti-liberal and the media attention helped draw a large crowd to the UM’s Collegezaal theatre. Dalrymple did not let the audience down and delivered a contentious speech on why heroin addicts deserve little sympathy or government aid. [continued…]

Very interesting article about the work of Maastricht University’s Authentic project, published on Radio Netherlands:
A black and white image of jumbled paper-clips turns out to be a Van Gogh masterpiece, transformed for analysis by Dutch researchers. Their ‘Authentic’ software aims to support the work of art experts in spotting fakes from genuine works.
Full article: […]

The Netherlands should seriously expect furious reactions from Muslim countries to the decision to ban the wearing of burqas in public places. The possibility of violent protests cannot be excluded, the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper warned yesterday on the basis of an internal Foreign Ministry memo.
The cabinet decided on Friday to submit a proposal next spring […]

Two-thirds of Dutch MPs acknowledge that there is a gulf between the electorate and themselves. Nonetheless, a large majority is satisfied with the functioning of democracy and parliament in the Netherlands. They blame the gulf mainly on the media, according to the Parliamentary Survey 2006 carried out by political science professors Rudy Andeweg and Jacques […]

There was much interest for Maastricht’s impressive new bookstore last Saturday afternoon. Selexyz Dominicanen, as it is called, is located in the city’s old Dominican Church. After many months of renovation the magnificent building is finally ready for its new purpose. [more photographs…]

The Cabinet has adopted a proposal of Minister Verdonk for Immigration and Integration to submit, as soon as possible, a bill regarding a general ban on wearing garments covering the face in the (semi-) public space. The fact is that the Cabinet deems it inappropriate that garments covering the face – among which the burka […]

A Lonely Planet, not for travelling this time, but for mapping out universities in the Netherlands and abroad. A properly-organised package of information providing an analysis of the pros and cons of the various universities based on clear criteria: this is what today’s prospective students really need, according to those taking part in the Eurotop […]

A psychiatric detainee who escaped in Heerlen on Wednesday has been described as a “pathologically violent person”.
The information was passed onto Aachen police in Germany from police in the Dutch province of Limburg, a German police spokesman said.
The 30-year-old Geleen man, Hendrik Muller, was being detained in the TBS psychiatric unit De Kijvelanden in Poortugaal. […]

The Dutch Cabinet has backed a proposal from Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk to ban the wearing in public of burkas and other clothing that conceals the face.
[…] Prior to the new law coming into effect, police will be allowed to enforce a ban on burkas in buses for security reasons, or in education, because of […]

The Netherlands must make its own voice heard abroad more forcefully to remain successful in a changing world, Foreign Minister Bernard Bot believes. “The Netherlands has passed the station of Crazy Harry.”
Hitherto, the Netherlands has primarily aimed at multilateral organisations such as the EU, NATO and the UN. A change in emphasis is however necessary, […]

On Sunday 19 November there will be an open day at the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht. The entrance will be free of charge and the programme offers tours, concerts and visits to the Rossi-tower.
(from 11.30 am till 5 pm).
More information: Bonnefanten Museum
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From the Radio Netherlands Press reviews of 15 and 16 November 2006:
Sinterklaas is coming
Another non-election story: there’s someone coming to the Netherlands this weekend who will go around shaking hands, being nice to everyone, and handing out gifts to all and sundry. It’s not the current finance minister on the campaign trail. It’s Sinterklaas, the […]

Four HBO colleges (polytechnics) in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague have called on the government to give them extra cash for every ethnic minority student they attract.
Around 50% of HBO students come from a minority background but are more likely to drop out before graduating. The colleges want the money – approximately €1,000 per […]

Former Media and Culture State Secretary Medy van der Laan is to chair Kosmopolis, the House of Cultural Dialogue.
The Rotterdam-based institute is to be set up on 24 November in the presence of Princess Maxima. It will be fully operational from January. Kosmopolis is intended to bring together different cultures in the Netherlands by means […]

Amsterdam has decided to cut down the 170-year-old chestnut tree that Anne Frank mentioned in her diary while she was in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland.
The tree is being attacked by an aggressive fungus and a moth called the horse chestnut leaf miner that has weakened it.
Read full article: CBC.ca, 15 November 2006
Also […]

Children born in the Netherlands between three to six months after the 11 September attacks in New York were on average 48 grammes lighter than normal, according to researchers at Maastricht University. The researchers said that stress caused to their mothers was responsible, the Telegraaf reports.
Source: Dutchnews.nl, 14 November 2006

Also read: article in […]

Upper-class students and those from wealthy families are more likely to spend part of their university career abroad, according to the 2005 Studentenmonitor. The monitor is based on a poll of 40,000 students.
Of all students, 64% said they planned to study abroad – but only 14% actually do. Financial difficulties are cited by 25% […]

Dutch archeologists have discovered an estimated 200 silver Roman coins, several jewels, an armband and a ring hidden in a clay pot, the city overseeing the dig said Monday.
The city of Cuijk, near the Maas river, 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, said archeologists found the cache while excavating in an area where new […]

Explanations of social problems often treat the people who suffer these problems as if they were inanimate objects. These people - unlike the people doing the understanding - do not have consciousness, think, have feelings or decision-making capacity. Criminality, for example, is often regarded as a simple mechanical response, for example to poverty.
Theodore Dalrymple is […]

Op 1 January 2006 more than 1 million Dutch nationals also had at least one other nationality. This is two and a half times the number on 1 January 1995. Nearly half of these people have Turkish or Moroccan nationality in addition to Dutch citizenship.
Naturalisation pushes up dual citizenship
The strong increase in the […]

The EU ministers responsible for audiovisual affairs agreed on the general approach of a new directive concerning audiovisual services at their Council meeting in Brussels on 13 November. Legal provisions concerning European television broadcasting activities will change substantially, if the European Parliament supports the general approach adopted by the Council.
Ms Susanna Huovinen, Minister of Transport […]

The EU Education, Youth and Culture Council discussed audiovisual, cultural and youth affairs Monday in Brussels. The meeting was chaired by the Finnish Minister of Culture, Ms Tanja Saarela. The meeting continues Tuesday with education issues, to be chaired by Minister of Education, Mr Antti Kalliomäki.
The Council designated the cities of Essen (Germany), Pécs (Hungary) […]

The European Commission cannot understand why Foreign Minister Bernard Bot wants to get rid of the European flag and the European anthem. “I know of not a single complaint by a citizen about the flag and the anthem,” riposted the spokesman of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso yesterday.
On Thursday, Bot urged the abolition of the […]

In order to give more exposure to our feature stories on the homepage , I will now post all news items into one single “News” category.
The various news stories will still be separately categorised under “Maastricht area news”, “Dutch national news” or “European news” in the sidebar.
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“Alien Police”, “MVV”, “Residence Permit”, “SoFi Number”– just a few terms I’ve come across during my quest for work in Maastricht.

It started last August when I successfully got a “Working Holiday Programme” Visa glued into my Canadian passport from the Dutch Consulate in Vancouver. I remember thinking that everything was set: “Great, now I can work in the Netherlands, no problem”.

How naïve of me! Jumping through the bureaucratic hurdles in Maastricht to secure a job has been an utter nightmare! [continued…]

On Friday 3 November 2006 in Vancouver (Canada), Wiebe Bijker, Professor of Technology and Society at Maastricht University, was awarded the John Desmond Bernal Prize.
This is the highest international award in his field. The prize is a lifetime award, which is conferred annually on one person whose entire scientific works have made an internationally […]

Between April 2005 and April 2006 there were approximately 65,000 to 185,000 illegal residents in the Netherlands. The numbers for the period between 1997 and 2003 are at an estimated 125,000 to 225,000, according to a report that investigated the number of illegal residents in the Netherlands, submitted to the Lower House of Parliament by […]

Last year, 10 million travellers from abroad visited the Netherlands and stayed in overnight accommodations. Approximately 30 percent of them were here on business. Business travellers often travelled alone and most of them spent the night in luxury hotels.
Large part of travellers from outside Europe come on business
One third of all visitors from other […]

The number of emigrants is continually growing. In the first nine months of 2006, nearly 100 thousand people left the Netherlands to settle elsewhere. For the third consecutive year, emigrants substantially outnumber immigrants. Recent figures published by Statistics Netherlands show that – solely due to migration – the population was reduced over the past three […]

Sinterklaas celebrations in The Hague immigrant district of Transvaal have been cancelled. The organisation could not guarantee the safety of the children and the assistants, newspaper De Volkskrant Friday reported.
“Aggression amongst parents and children has recently increased hugely. I no longer consider it responsible”, according to Joke van den Boomen. She organises the yearly Sinterklaas […]