Netherlands
Netherlands: Thousands walk out against school hours
Thousands of Dutch school pupils walked out of lessons on Friday in wildcat protests organised online against lesson times.
There were walk outs in at least 15 cities and there were a number of incidents, with 20 teenagers arrested. In Middelburg 500 pupils occupied a crossroads, after which they clashed with police with batons.
Word about the demonstrations - against the official 1,040 hours of lessons a year - was spread using MSN and email.
Audrey Hepburn - Dutch Resistance courier
Born of wealthy fascist parents, actress Audrey Helpburn became a courier and raised funds for the Dutch Resistance in World War II.
Her father was Joseph Anthony Hepburn-Ruston, a wealthy British banker and Mosleyite. Her mother was Ella van Heemstra, a Dutch baroness who descended from French and English kings.
Her father abandoned her, and her mother abandoned her fascist views following the Nazi occupation.
Dutch Council Communism and Van der Lubbe Burning the Reichstag - The question of "exemplary acts"
Philippe Bourrinet on the reaction of council communists in Holland to Marinus Van der Lubbe burning down the Reichstag in Germany, and on propagandistic acts in general.
Feb 2003
It was the significance of the young Dutch council communist Van der Lubbe's torching of the Reichstag (27 Feb. 1933), more than Hitler's coming to power, which focused the debates within Dutch council communism. The latter was profoundly divided on the question of 'exemplary acts' and of individual violence against symbols of bourgeois order.
Bus drivers strike in Holland
Public transport was disrupted yesterday as bus drivers employed by Connexxion went on unofficial strike on 19 routes in the Amsterdam-Zaandam region.
dutchnews.nl reported that a spokeswoman for the bus company told ANP this afternoon that the action had been called just before the weekend and that she could not say how long it would last.
The drivers are unhappy with the bus timetables which were changed when new train schedules were introduced in December.
Cargo shipping halted by Dutch wildcat strike
Stevedoring ground to a halt yesterday at one of Europe's biggest commercial shipping companies following the second day of wildcat strike action over working hours by dockers in the Netherlands.
The International Herald Tribune reported that movement of containers at the European Container Terminals (ECT) — usually up to 70,000 per week — nearly came to a standstill because of the lack of workers, said the company's director, Jan Westerhout.
"We are trying to keep truck treatment alive, but there is hardly anybody at work," he said. "Throughput is almost frozen."
Lubbe, Marinus van der 1911-1934
A short biography of Marinus van der Lubbe, the Dutch council communist who set the Reichstag fire.
Marinus van der Lubbe Born 13 January 1911 - Leyden, Netherlands, died 10 January 1934 – Leipzig prison, Germany
Appel, Jan, 1890-1985
A short autobiography of Jan Appel, aka Jan Arndt, a German libertarian communist and shipyard worker who most famously hijacked a steam ship to Russia after the German Revolution of 1918.
Appel's experiences during the 1918 Revolution drove him out of the Communist Party, and he subsequently helped found the more radical Communist Workers Party (KAPD).
Holland: Mitsubishi workers wildcat strike over plant closure
Mitsubishi workers took wildcat strike action last week over worries that DaimlerChrysler would close their plant when Smart ForFour productions ends.
Forbes news reported the DaimlerChrysler last week confirmed it will halt production of the model, which is manufactured in the Netherlands through a partnership arrangement with Mitsubishi.
Netherlands: Wildcat strike at DaimlerCrysler
Workers at the Born NedCar plant walked out yesterday in a row over job cuts. The Dutch manufacturer NedCar is a joint-venture of DaimlerCrysler and Mitsubishi.
In the plant in Born near Maastricht about 3,000 workers produce the Smart-ForFour and Mitsubishi Colt.
Daimler Crysler decided to stop selling the Smart-Forfour and Mitsubishi announced cutting one of the two shifts in the factory, in order to save 4.5 Million Euros a month.
Autobiography of Jan Appel
Jan Appel, 1890-1945, was a German socialist and shipyard worker whose experience of the 1918 Revolution, after which he hijacked a steam ship to Russia, drove him out of the Communist Party.
Joining the more radical Communist Workers Party (KAPD), he then moved to Holland, playing a role in the Dutch Resistance in World War II and and eventually co-founding the left-communist GIK.
By Jan Appel, 1966
Lehning, Arthur, 1899- 2000
A century of anarchism - biography of Dutch anarchist and anti-militarist Arthur Lehning.
