The European Parliament voted on Thursday to lower the protected status of wolves. But that does not mean that wolves can now be shot more easily in the Netherlands. Legislation and other conditions still prevent that.
Important news The protected status of the wolf will be downgraded from "strictly protected" to "protected". A majority of the European Parliament voted in favour of this on Thursday. 371 members of parliament voted in favour of downgrading the strictly protected status. 162 members voted against and 37 members abstained from voting.
The decision now only needs to be approved by the Council of the European Union, but that is a formality. Once that has happened, wolves can be killed more easily in the European Union (EU). However, the predator will remain protected. And in order to be allowed to shoot a wolf, certain conditions must still be met.
In the Netherlands, nothing will change in practice in the near future. First, national legislation must be amended. State Secretary Jean Rummenie (Agriculture) is working on this. The bill is ready, but it will take some time before the law is amended.
In order to be allowed to kill wolves, there must also be a so-called favourable conservation status in the Netherlands. This means that the wolf population in our country must remain strong enough if a wolf is removed from it. At the moment, this is not clear for the Netherlands. This is still being researched.
EU worked long to lower protected status The downgrading of the wolf’s protected status was a long road. Since 2023, the EU has been working on making it easier to kill wolves, mainly because livestock is attacked by the predator. At the end of last year , one of the last major hurdles was taken with an amendment to the Bern Convention .
Thursday's vote in Europe is separate from the decision by the province of Gelderland to kill a wolf that bit a runner on the Hoge Veluwe . If a problem wolf is found, it may be killed under certain conditions.
Gelderland believes that there is such a problem wolf, although several animal organizations have objected to this. The case will be brought before the judge on Friday.
There are now about twenty thousand wolves living in Europe. In recent decades, the predator has made a big advance. There are more than a hundred wolves living in the Netherlands. Most have their territory on the Veluwe.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: olivant]
#1122231 05/09/2508:59 AM05/09/2508:59 AM
Trump Revives Push for Higher Taxes on the Rich The president is said to want to create a new top income bracket for people making more than $2.5 million per year and to tax income above that level at a rate of 39.6 percent.
But but but, I thought Trump was gonna enrich his buddies and only Democrats wanted to tax the rich? One less talking point for them now. And watch, now that Trump is proposing it, they'll be against it
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: Irishman12]
#1122264 05/09/2505:52 PM05/09/2505:52 PM
Trump Revives Push for Higher Taxes on the Rich The president is said to want to create a new top income bracket for people making more than $2.5 million per year and to tax income above that level at a rate of 39.6 percent.
But but but, I thought Trump was gonna enrich his buddies and only Democrats wanted to tax the rich? One less talking point for them now. And watch, now that Trump is proposing it, they'll be against it
Indeed if the Dems want to make a comeback in the next elections they have to look in the mirror and do a lot of soul searching.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: olivant]
#1122266 05/09/2505:57 PM05/09/2505:57 PM
They won't, remember, America is sexist and racist. That's the only possible explanation of why Kamala didn't win in November. It's never the policies, just the voters while Newsom is desperately doing a transparent attempt at "rebranding" himself with his podcast in an effort to run in 2028.
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: Irishman12]
#1122268 05/09/2506:05 PM05/09/2506:05 PM
They won't, remember, America is sexist and racist. That's the only possible explanation of why Kamala didn't win in November. It's never the policies, just the voters while Newsom is desperately doing a transparent attempt at "rebranding" himself with his podcast in an effort to run in 2028.
Yes that's why the Workers and even the Teamsters and other Union walk away. Even with all the problems the USA still has it all ! I wouldn't say it is the best country in the world that's the Netherlands but one of the Greatest.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: olivant]
#1122272 05/09/2506:27 PM05/09/2506:27 PM
British actor and comedian John Cleese (85) is not very enthusiastic about woke. He even calls it a threat to humor. Yesterday at 04:30 Cleese achieved eternal fame with Fawlty Towers and Monty Python , made in a time when much more was possible than now. He calls it a horror that society has changed and many jokes are no longer possible. "The woke crowd is destroying a lot of good comedy," he says. "They just want to be politically correct and try to impose their vision on others."
The actor is not a supporter of cancel culture, saying that proponents of the movement – ??which seeks to deprive people of their livelihoods for expressing so-called undesirable political beliefs or making politically incorrect jokes – misunderstand the nature of humor. “They have no sense of humor. I would love to have a debate with people like that and I think the first thing I would say is, give me a good woke joke,” Cleese said.
“What they don’t understand is that there are two types of teasing,” he explains. “There’s mean, hurtful humor that no one has to be a fan of. But the other type of teasing or humor is loving. You can tease people very lovingly and it’s a bonding mechanism.”
According to the actor, there is little to laugh about with perfect people. "That's why we laugh at people's weaknesses. But that is not meant to be cruel."
Woke people are also angry with John Cleese because he said that London is no longer a typical English city, “because there are so many people of foreign origin living there”.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: Hollander]
#1122295 05/09/2507:42 PM05/09/2507:42 PM
They won't, remember, America is sexist and racist. That's the only possible explanation of why Kamala didn't win in November. It's never the policies, just the voters while Newsom is desperately doing a transparent attempt at "rebranding" himself with his podcast in an effort to run in 2028.
Yes that's why the Workers and even the Teamsters and other Union walk away. Even with all the problems the USA still has it all ! I wouldn't say it is the best country in the world that's the Netherlands but one of the Greatest.
The greatest now that we have the greatest President in my lifetime back in office rather than that previous dementia puppet.
You want something educational to watch? Check out this interview with Shawn Ryan and former DNC campaign advisor Lindy Li. Just confirming what we already knew for the last 5+ years.
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: olivant]
#1122299 05/09/2507:56 PM05/09/2507:56 PM
Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer (103) has died
Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer (103) has died in Germany. Her foundation announced this. Until old age, she told young people about what had happened to her and her family during the Second World War. "We can't change it, but it must never happen again," was her message.
Friedländer was born in Berlin to a Jewish family. Her father, mother and brother were murdered in Auschwitz during World War II. Margot Friedländer was initially able to go into hiding, but was arrested in 1944.
She was taken to the Theresienstadt transit camp in the Czech Republic, where she remained until the end of the war. After the war, all of her immediate family members were killed, and she moved to the United States.
Remembering alone is not enough. That is why I am committed to tolerance and humanity.
Margot Friedlander Friedländer's story became known through the American documentary Don't Call It Heimweh and through her autobiography . When she was 88, she moved back to Germany, where she started giving lectures at schools. "On behalf of the victims who can no longer speak for themselves," she said about it.
For her efforts, she has received many awards and recognition, including the Walther Rathenau Prize for "extraordinary international political life's work". Friedländer was also named an honorary citizen of Berlin in 2018 and was on the cover of Vogue Germany last year.
In 2023, she founded the Margot Friedländer Foundation, which awards prizes to people who stand up for freedom and combat anti-Semitism. "We must never forget, but remembering alone is not enough. That is why I am committed to tolerance and humanity with my foundation," Friedländer said this year.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: olivant]
#1122307 05/09/2508:38 PM05/09/2508:38 PM
NOS News • yesterday, 17:21 Victims organization accuses Pope of covering up abuse Share this article The American victims' organization SNAP accuses Pope Leo XIV of covering up abuse within the Catholic Church in the past. The victims' organization now calls on the new pope to take decisive action against abuse within the church in his first hundred days.
The organization shares a letter that SNAP wrote to then-Pope Francis in March, in which Robert Prevost is named as one of six cardinals who either facilitated or concealed sexual abuse. They asked the then-Pope to investigate this.
Accusations One of the accusations against Prevost is that as prior general in the early 2000s he allowed a priest accused of child abuse to live near a school. The priest had been placed under several restrictions by the church and was not allowed to be alone near minors.
Despite this, Prevost allowed the priest to move in near the school, putting the safety of the children at risk, according to SNAP.
In addition, the organization accuses Prevost of not following procedures when it comes to investigating reports of abuse during his time in Peru. Several women complained about this in 2022. Prevost allegedly did not conduct a preliminary investigation and did not send sufficient information to the Vatican. He also allegedly did not inform the authorities.
In 2023, the diocese in question reported that Prevost had opened an investigation, ordered the priest to cease his ministry and sent the investigation results to Rome. The case was then closed in consultation with the authorities. The case has since been reopened.
First hundred days “Many who voted in the conclave actively protected abusers, and many who will be appointed to the curia under this papacy bear similar stains,” the organization wrote. That is why SNAP will continue to investigate the cardinals now that the conclave has ended.
The organization is asking Pope Leo XIV, among other things, to establish an independent Truth Commission, to include a zero-tolerance law in canon law and to establish a church-funded reparations fund for victims.
SNAP points out to the church leader the "seriousness of the role" he is taking on. His predecessor promised some time ago that he would write a papal letter for the minor victims of abuse within the church. That did not happen. "Now that task rests on you," the organization writes.
The Vatican has not yet responded to the accusations against the new pope, as far as is known.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: olivant]
#1122378 05/10/2507:29 PM05/10/2507:29 PM
Haha I kinda like Trump the socialist. As someone who has personally spent time helping homeless vets in LA, I love this idea. Hopefully, there’s room for more rational moves from this otherwise limited man.
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: Giacalone]
#1122396 05/10/2508:30 PM05/10/2508:30 PM
Haha I kinda like Trump the socialist. As someone who has personally spent time helping homeless vets in LA, I love this idea. Hopefully, there’s room for more rational moves from this otherwise limited man.
That's great G the Vets are the real heroes. We also went around the world in (peace) missions while we didn't have to do that.
Over 4,700 Dutch soldiers served in Korea and 9,000 served in Lebanon if you hear those stories it was brutal
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: Hollander]
#1122398 05/10/2508:33 PM05/10/2508:33 PM
Start/stop technology: where your car dies at every red light so companies get a climate participation trophy. EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it. - EPA Head Lee Zeldin
Climate change is causing oceans to become warmer, forcing sharks to migrate further north to colder waters. EVEN Great white sharks were once rare in northern waters but are becoming an increasingly common sight. They have already been seen along Belgian and Dutch coast the ones who hunt on seals are most dangerous to humans because there are similarities in the way we swim.
Last edited by Hollander; 31 minutes ago.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: General Discussion Random Posts
[Re: Hollander]
#1122545 11 minutes ago11 minutes ago
Climate change is causing oceans to become warmer, forcing sharks to migrate further north to colder waters. EVEN Great white sharks were once rare in northern waters but are becoming an increasingly common sight. They have already been seen along Belgian and Dutch coast the ones who hunt on seals are most dangerous to humans because there are similarities in the way we swim.
Absolutely spot on H! I'm glad more people are waking up to the reality of climate change, but some of the damage is already beyond repair I'm afraid. If only the people who believe in demons had the same faith in science
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away