Posts under ‘Political(ish) stories’

Well, it seems that Laura Dekker won’t be allowed to go ahead with her plans to break the record for the youngest ’round-the-world solo sailing trip.
The court ruled today in favor of Child Protection Services and Laura’s parents have lost custody for 2 months.
And her back-up plan of heading to New Zealand? Apparently authorities there [...]

Just thought I’d post an update on Laura Dekker, the 13 year-old Dutch girl who wants to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
She’s planning to leave this month… but apparently, Child Protection Services are trying to stop her from going. They’ve even asked a juvenile court to take away her parents’ [...]

Background: In Holland, to use public transport (subway, bus, or tram - not train), you use what’s called a “strippenkaart” - a long, narrow piece of paper with a certain number of “strips” printed on it. When you get on a bus/tram/whatever, you punch a certain number of strips, depending on how far you’re going. [...]

I just saw this article and thought the headline was funny because it was SO typically Dutch: “Dutch advice on Mexican flu: ‘Just sit it out’ “.
Basically, the Dutch public health authority has stopped counting new cases of the Mexican flu… and doctors are treating it just as they would treat the common winter flu.

Which [...]

I’ve never been much of a sailor - when I tried it at summer camp, I wound up soaking wet and marooned in the middle of the lake when the wind died.
But Laura Dekker, a 13-year-old Dutch girl, loves sailing… so much so that she’s hoping to become the youngest person to make a solo [...]

Ok, the death of Walter Cronkite is not an obvious Curious Orange story.
But he was great. Really great. So I was reading about him… and I saw this quote in an AP article:
Cronkite was the broadcaster to whom the title “anchorman” was first applied, and he became so identified in that role that his name [...]

Dutch crunch!
When you write it like that, it looks a bit like you’re announcing that the Dutch eat very loudly.
But, apparently, it’s a type of bread that you can find pretty much only in California… which is especially strange since it seems to be derived from a Dutch type of bread called “Tijgerbrood” (tiger bread), [...]

They’re wild for Wilders.
It’s true.
Geert Wilders - yes, the right-wing, anti-Islam, politician Geert Wilders - went from 0 to 4 seats in last week’s EU elections.
I’m still (yes, still) in shock.
And the really weird thing is that I don’t know a single soul who would vote for Wilders. Not that I know a stunningly large [...]

I have to admit, my friend in Canada actually read about this before I did (embarrassing yes, but credit where credit is due - thanks Lindsay!).
But I’ll pass it on to you anyways because I think it’s funny: apparently, crime in the Netherlands has fallen so much that 8 prisons have to close (partially or [...]

In the Netherlands, like pretty much everywhere else, some people have children.
And other people want to have children, but can’t.
So there are fertility clinics, sperm donor clinics, egg donor clinics, and so on.
The trouble is,  not a lot of Dutch men want to donate their sperm.
Why? It has to do with the kids. See, here [...]