Dutch kill 190,000 ducks to contain bird flu outbreak

Yahoo – AFP, November 27, 2016

Workers in protective gear get ready to cull ducks as part of prevention measures
against bird flu at a duck farm in Hierden, central Netherlands on November 27,
2016 (AFP Photo/Remko de Waal)

The Hague (AFP) - Dutch officials have culled 190,000 ducks on a central Netherlands farm where inspectors have confirmed the presence of a highly infectuous strain of bird flu, officials and local media said Sunday.

The outbreak was detected at a farm in Biddinghuizen, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of Amsterdam, where about 180,000 ducks were put down together with another 10,000 within a one kilometre radius, the Dutch food and safety watchdog NVWA said.

"There are three other poultry farms within a three kilometre radius and they are being monitored," the NVWA added in a statement.

Authorities have also imposed a ban on poultry and poultry product transport within a 10 kilometre radius, the statement said.

Tests indicated that the birds were killed by an H5N8 variant of the disease "which is highly infectuous" for poultry -- killing about 30 percent of infected birds -- but not "very dangerous to humans", public newscaster NOS said.

Earlier this month the Netherlands shuttered petting zoos and banned duck hunting as it stepped up measures to stem a bird flu outbreak blamed for killing scores of poultry and more than a thousand wild birds in the country.

In the western port of Rotterdam, a park closed its animal section after several aquatic birds were found to have died from the H5N8 virus. Others still not affected have been penned in.

And on the banks of Lake Markermeer, close to Amsterdam, about 1,250 wild birds were found dead earlier this month, local news reports said.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 420 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003. Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has claimed more than 200 lives since emerging in 2013, according to World Health Organisation figures.

Avian flu severely hit the Netherlands in 2003 with health authorities destroying some 30 million birds in an effort to quash an outbreak.

Around 106 million chickens are raised on Dutch poultry farms, according to the latest Dutch statistics.

Doctors draw up list of 1,366 treatments which are often a waste of time

DutchNews, November 25, 2016

Hospital doctors have drawn up a list of 1,366 treatments which do not benefit patients and are not scientifically proven, the Volkskrant said on Friday. 

Around one-third of the treatments which have little positive effect concern diagnostic techniques and four in 10 are to do with medication, the paper said. 

Doctors are trained to treat people, not wait and see, research leader Tijn Kool told the paper. ‘They carry out treatment because that is what they were trained to do or because other colleagues do this. And don’t forget, patients can sometimes demand research.’ 

For example, patients with stomach complaints are routinely given endoscopies, even though the practice is usually only beneficial to the over-60s, Erasmus teaching hospital chairman Ernst Kuipers said. 

An endoscopy costs around €300, bringing the bill to €600m a year. Kuipers estimates around one third of the procedures are a waste of time and says stopping them would save €20m. ‘We would also stop putting patients through an uncomfortable process and free up doctors for other tasks,’ he said.’ 

Rising costs

The total healthcare bill reached €95bn last year, a rise of 40% on 10 years ago. 

The eight Dutch teaching hospitals were commissioned to look into ways of keep care affordable by health minister Edith Schippers three years ago. 

Over the next few months, doctors are going to look into the effect reducing the use of eight different procedures and treatments. For example, they will attempt to find out if catheters, often a source of infection, can be removed more quickly.

Pope gives priests permanent right to pardon abortion

Yahoo – AFP, Ella Ide, 21 November 2016

Pope Francis greets the crowd from the popemobile after a mass marking
the end of the Vatican's jubilee year on November 20, 2016

Pope Francis declared Monday that all priests would have the right to forgive abortion, making permanent a temporary measure put in place for the Vatican's jubilee year.

"I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion," the pope wrote in an apostolic letter marking the end of the "Year of Mercy", which wound up Sunday.

"The provision I had made in this regard, limited to the duration of the Extraordinary Holy Year, is hereby extended," he wrote.

The Argentine, 79, said he had to "restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life".

On Sunday, as he brought the jubilee to an end by closing the bronze-panelled Holy Door in Saint Peter's Square, Francis gave an interview in which he slammed abortion as "a horrendous crime".

But he said Monday that the end of the special year did not mean the end of mercy itself, and so-called sinners must be given a chance to repent. The Catholic Church considers abortion to be a sin.

"I can and must state that there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father," Francis said in the letter.

"May every priest, therefore, be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation."

The forgiveness stretches not only to women who have abortions but those who carry them out or are involved in any way.

'A major gesture'

The watchword of mercy has meant helping the unfortunate, and welcoming outcasts back into the fold.

Francis hopes greater compassion from a more open-minded Church will not only counter xenophobia but also draw people to pews.

"The concession on abortion has had little practical effect in places such as the United States, where many bishops had already delegated permission to priests to forgive the sin," wrote Vatican expert John Allen on the Catholic Cruxnow.com website.

"But symbolically it's been interpreted as a major gesture of outreach to women," he said.

The letter, entitled Misericordia et Misera ("Mercy and Misery"), was signed by Francis at the end of a mass closing the jubilee.

Critics have said his emphasis on mercy reduces the gravity of perceived sins, but the pope said rigidly sticking to "the level of the law is equivalent to thwarting faith and divine mercy".

He also stressed that priests had to help members of their flock on a case by case basis, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach to "sinners", saying: "the works of mercy are 'handcrafted', in the sense that none of them is alike".

Francis has been challenged by traditionalists over his "flexible" attitude to Church teachings, particularly regarding the hot-button issue of whether divorced and remarried couples should be able to receive communion.

The Argentine, who has repeatedly called for "a poor Church for the poor", also said in the letter that he wants the Church to celebrate a World Day of the Poor in November each year.

Related Articles:

Pope tells priests to pardon women who have abortions

Health minister presses on with abortion pill plans, despite Christian opposition

Seven in 10 Dutch support abortion rights: survey

Campaigning for abortion rights in 1974. Photo: SPAARNESTAD Photo/NA/

Anefo/unknown photographer

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon, thank you for the many communications you have given. They have been enlightening in many ways. I hope this is not a rude question, but it is a subject that I have not seen addressed in the collection of Questions and Answers. I want to know: What is the morality of stopping someone's new life in the physical plane, by abortion? And what is the karma to the person who helps to accomplish an abortion? I think it will depend on when a Human life begins. When life begins is a moment that is very important to those who oppose abortion and those who say it is allowable.

Do you have a decisive response to guide those who receive your words?

Answer: [from Lee Carroll] We have tried to "paint" Kryon into a corner on this many times, since it really is an important issue in our society. Kryon says this: "Human life actually begins when the intent of the entities involved in the planning session is to create it." It's not a biological answer, and it won't please either side.

This places it far before any kind of biological morality decision. Kryon has said that there is no judgement in the choice of Humans... including this one. When it occurs, there is also no horrible karmic payback. But there IS energy created that affects everyone around the event. Sometimes these lives come and go to create lessons for those involved, then these terminated lives return almost immediately, often within the next pregnancy (sometimes changing gender). If there is no next pregnancy, often it's in a very close family group.

God is not in a vacuum concerning these things, and often they are set-ups, and are executed with the agreement of all parties in advance. This is far different than our society wishes to believe. They want to paint a black and white answer to when life occurs, and set rules on what you can and cannot do with it. Instead, Kryon's answer gives honor and validity to the fact that you are not here by accident, and the things that take place in your lives are not random. Not to mention the fact that your free choice is the free choice of God (since you are a piece of God).

So we leave the biological cultural decisions for those who wish to make them, but we have heard the spiritual answers many times... that these things are far more than they appear, and are all part of our spiritual setups, and they are honored.

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa,Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism, Higgs Boson), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)

"... I want to define life for you - not biological life, but spiritual life. So for all those intellectuals, just hold on, for many won't like this. Spiritual life, as measured by Spirit, is when a Human has free choice. When is that? It's when they take their first breath. Not in utero. There will be those who will say, "That's wrong, that's wrong. The soul in the woman's body is alive!" Just wait. I'm talking about spiritually. That which Spirit sees, and it's when you come from the other side of the veil and take your first breath.

A child with the mother has no free choice. That child is linked to the choice of the mother until it is born. It is, indeed, a soul in preparation for free choice, and there are many attributes that are spiritual that we have discussed before about how that soul reacts. But now I'm discussing life with polarity [duality], free choice.

But let's discuss that "child inside" for a moment, for there is a process I want you to know about. I want to talk about 240 days into the pregnancy. At about that time, the child has perfect DNA. It hasn't taken its first breath. The DNA hasn't measured the energy of the planet yet, since it is contained. Did you realize that? Inside the womb is a perfect child. The child's DNA has all the attributes of the Akash and also the parent, but it's different in a way you have not been told. The DNA is 100% as designed.

The quantum instructions within the DNA are all talking to the biology of the child,, getting ready for the first breath. ..."

"THE THREE WINDS" – Feb 23-24, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Humanity, Home - other side of the veil, Wind of Birth - Birth, Wind of Existence - Life, Wind of Transition - Death) - (Text version)

Matthew message (Channelled by Suzanne Ward, February 18, 2016)

Matthew Ward - February 18, 2016

Matthew Ward

With loving greetings from all souls at this station, this is Matthew. We begin by addressing issues foremost in thoughts around the world. North Korea’s recent successes in rocketry were not unexpected by analysts who have been observing activity in that country; nevertheless, this is of concern because Kim Jong-un is considered unstable, egoistic and ambitious. What none of them knows is that if North Korean scientists attempted to launch a missile bearing a nuclear warhead, crews in spacecraft surrounding Earth will assure its failure just as they have done with more than a dozen Illuminati attempts during the past several years.

Our perspective of “Putin’s aggression in Eastern Europe” is that this is an Illuminati-promulgated implication that he will forcibly bring Baltic countries and others under Russia’s governmental and economic control. That is not his intention, and as a reminder, the Illuminati feed on the energy of fear and resort to any means to engender fear.

With talk of a ceasefire, albeit temporary, it is natural that violence has escalated in Syria, where energy long has been chaotically directed; and, with several diverse contingents at battle in that country and nearby countries, a lasting ceasefire will not come until those energy streamers have run out their course. While Russia is criticized for its air strikes that aid the Assad regime as well as help ground forces regain areas taken over by the Islamic State, President Putin and other influential individuals are working behind the scenes to bring stability throughout the Mideast and North Africa.

Understandably, there is concern about people in war-torn areas continuing to undertake risky transits into countries that are not able to provide adequate housing, schooling, work or healthcare to the millions of refugees already there. In time, violence will end in the villages and cities from which the people fled and those who wish to return can start rebuilding their communities and lives. In the interim, compassion and good will on the part of the host citizenry and the immigrants’ contribution of talents, skills and assimilation efforts can result in compatibility and mutual benefit. In this moment and into the future, financial assistance from all prospering nations is necessary to ease, then end this humanitarian crisis.

According to Nirvana’s monitors of Earth, investigative scientists know that a toxic chemical is causing the many cases of microcephaly associated with the Zika virus, but they don’t know if the source is bites from Aedes mosquitos that were injected with the chemical or bites from those that mutated by absorbing the very toxin used to eradicate them, or if the condition is due to pregnant women drinking water containing the chemical. Thus, to readers who asked if the Illuminati are behind this spreading outbreak of Zika and microcephaly, we say yes, but it may be indirectly as opposed to their concerted but futile efforts to create pandemics by releasing laboratory-designed viruses such as SARS and bird flu.

They deliberately put toxins in chemtrail spray, and others are in industrial pollution, fossil fuel energy usage, soil and underground water contaminated by nuclear waste or chemicals in fertilizer and insecticides. That this proliferation of toxicity is adversely affecting the planet and all of its life forms has been shamefully disregarded by chemical manufacturers abetted by powerful individuals in governments. And, the Illuminati’s amassing of wealth globally contributes in large measure to masses living in the impoverished conditions wherein disease-bearing mosquitos thrive.

No, karma is not involved in all cases of fleeing peoples or babies born with microcephaly and their families. Soul-level petitions are being granted in unprecedented numbers to permit advancement in evolvement status for enduring unchosen experiencing. Still, this honoring of soul requests isn’t consciously known by those persons or the world, and their situations are seen as the grievous hardships they are on the physical level.

The reader who wrote that astrological readers and intuitives have predicted “the rest of this month and March will be extremely delicate on this planet” asked “in what areas will things be ‘delicate’ and challenging?” Certainly the aforementioned situations are delicate and fraught with challenges to the many millions directly affected and unnerving to all of society. Calmness about stock market volatility and reports of banks closing would be a challenge for investors, and confusion as to what is ahead economically very likely is worrisome to many others, too. In numerous countries candidates are vying for office and the citizens are anxious about election outcomes. Then there are predictions anew about catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis as well as World War III imminent, starting in the Mideast. And, in the midst of all those energy streamers with tumultuous attachments, even lightworkers may find it challenging to consistently maintain optimism about Earth’s future. That said, when planetary alignment is more conducive to unsettlement than during periods of less interaction, individuals with negative attitudes and pessimistic outlook will manifest more challenging circumstances for themselves—the law of attraction operates 24/7.

Beloved family, every happening whether perceived as progress or setbacks, tragedies or triumphs, is a reflection of vibrations that are ramping up turmoil so it can run out its course and simultaneously expanding the success of grassroots movements around the world. How we wish that this very moment life on Earth were what you want: peace, truth, kindness, mutual respect and cooperation of all peoples. Ultimately, it will be, and your steadfastness in the light is helping to create in linear time the world you want that already IS in the continuum.

Now then, we shall address the remaining soul-related questions. The first, from a reader in the United States, is much the same asked by others who also tied it to presidential campaigning in that country, but the relevance of this issue is global: “What happens to the souls of unborn children due to an abortion?” Janos, a soul in an eighth density civilization, spoke about this with my mother several years ago, and I asked her to copy that part of their lengthy conversation.

[ The following excerpt is from the chapter “Janos” in Voices of the Universe.]

A soul does not need a body for life itself, as that is inherent in the essence of every soul. It is only for experiencing physically what cannot be without some mass for functioning that souls choose to have a body of some sort.

Among your people, there is great misconception about “life” and the difference between a soul and a body. You have a process called “abortion” that some believe is the destruction of a new life, and there is argument about when a soul enters a body being formed in the womb. No soul’s life ever is destroyed by ending the formation of a developing body. Bodies grow independently of souls through the natural laws of physical mechanisms reproducing in accordance with the cellular programming of each civilization.

Souls are not restricted to incarnating in a specific civilization. A soul’s spiritual evolutionary status automatically puts it within a certain vibratory level, and it chooses a civilization within that sphere that can provide the experiencing needed for its advancement. The greater the spiritual evolvement, the higher the light station within which a soul may choose the civilization for embodying, or living as a free spirit member.
Souls whose spiritual growth needs are within the third density of Earth or other placements of similar vibratory status have a number of choices regarding bodies. They may reside around the parents even before conception takes place, and after conception, they may enter the fetus to experience that growth sensation. If that kind of experience isn’t needed, they may remain “outside” for other kinds of experiencing prior to the birth, but with a soul contract “claim” on the developing body that other souls respect. If a soul enters a developing body and then reverses that decision, the woman experiences a miscarriage. A soul may inhabit a developing body until imminent birth, then decide not to continue in that body and a stillbirth results. Also, a soul may make one of those decisions, experience what it requires emotionally, and in agreement with another soul, will exit and the second soul enters until miscarriage, stillbirth or live birth occurs. A soul with a “claim” on a developing body may permit another soul to reside in the body to experience the growth and birth sensation, then that soul leaves and the first one takes over the physical life.

These various situations always are by agreement with all souls involved, which of course includes the parents and any other family members, and the purpose is to permit chosen experiencing to several souls at the level they need. Abortion, like all the other stages from prior to conception through a viable birth, provides opportunities for the participating souls to experience the attendant emotions that fill voids in their experiences to that moment.

Bodies have a life force independent of a soul, and while it is an unusual situation that a body lives without a soul, this can happen. Souls have the choice to enter a cloned body or not, and if not, the clone still seems like anyone else because the brain and all senses and motor abilities are functioning. Another example is when injured or ill people are comatose. The soul may choose to remain with the body or not, and if not, as long as nourishment is given, that body continues to live in a vegetative state until it dies from deterioration of cells.

Thank you, Mother. If all Earth’s peoples could know that every one of you is a soul having a physical experience and the many choices souls have, abortion would not a political, social or religious issue. When you are living in the fullness of Earth’s Golden Age, there will be no abortions or divisiveness of any kind—life will be loving, peaceful and in harmony with all of Nature.

“Is the 'soul' the essence of a person, or was it created to support the 'fundamental essence' as a storage unit for experiences? In other words, are we really the 'essence' ... with a 'soul'.... 'mind' and 'body' as functional instruments only to support our true self, which is the 'essence' - which would suggest that the 'soul' is a spiritual function located in-between our 'fundamental essence' and our 'mind.'”

Your true self is a soul—an independent, inviolate, eternal Being whether living in a physical or a spirit world or as a free spirit anywhere in this universe. Your essence, or composition,is the pure love-light energy of Creator—the source of everything in existence throughout the cosmos—and in this universe is of God. Using Creator’s energy and Its gift of free will with its component power of manifestation, you design a mind and a body that will enable you to function in accordance with what you want to experience after incarnating. You endow this person with a repository, or storage unit, of soul-level knowledge of The Beginnings in Creator and the collective wisdom and memories of your other lifetimes. It may be helpful to read a prior message that offers more extensive information about preparing for a new physical lifetime. [ February 3, 2014 ]

Thank you, Mother, for adding the date, and we add that a lifetime as a free spirit has nothing whatsoever to do with personality traits or behavior. It is a special kind of experiencing that may or may not require a body, not even an etheric body, whereby the soul communicates directly with God and knowledgeably accomplishes its pre-birth chosen mission. Jesus and other messengers of God are examples of souls that needed a body to accomplish their free spirit lifetime mission.

“Why is it that some deceased souls remain attached to the Earth plane and not ascend to the light? How come they have that choice? Don't we all have to go to Nirvana or another realm to account for our lives here, and assess whether we need to return or not?”

It isn’t quite accurate to ascribe “choice” to the rare occasions when persons don’t go to Nirvana or another spirit world directly after physical death. The soul, which is pure love-light energy, is liberated from the person’s etheric body and psyche, and it is the psyche that is reluctant to leave. The power of belief is mighty indeed, and some of those people believe they still are alive and carrying on, maybe preparing for a loved one’s return or caring for their young children or consummating a new business venture. Others do know they had died but want to stay on Earth until they have completed something of utmost importance—perhaps explain to families how to handle personal business affairs or continue fighting alongside their comrades or let police know who killed them.

Whatever the reason, it is of such vital significance to people in either of those categories that the energy they exert enables their etheric bodies to linger nearby. Eventually, often with the assistance of angels, spirit guides or a proficient energy worker, all of those souls realize that they cannot do what they desire and willingly move on to a spirit world. If to Nirvana, they experience life review and take advantage of all the opportunities that wondrous realm offers as they plan their next embodiment.

Then there is the considerably different situation that you call “possession,” which also is a very infrequent occurrence on Earth. A darkly-inclined soul purposefully lingers to look for a body to enter during sleep time and remain henceforth. When it enters a body, a struggle ensues until one of the souls manages to oust the other. If the intruder soul takes possession, an experienced energy worker can perform what you call exorcism; when that is successful, the intruder is assisted to the light and the original occupant returns. If exorcism is not performed or is unsuccessful, the original soul goes to Nirvana or the spirit world of its civilization and the intruder remains in the body and causes considerable changes in the person’s behavior.

“What happened to the Soul when someone committed suicide?” First we say, there is NO punishment for suicide as some religions teach. Just as in cases where physical death is by any other cause, the soul is liberated from the etheric body and psyche. Someone who takes his or her life does so in mental and emotional anguish, and the psyche enters Nirvana in that traumatized state. After a healing process of tender, customized care and constant attentiveness, the person joins the realm’s population and experiences life review just as all others do. When another incarnation is planned, it includes the karmic lessons that had been chosen but not experienced in the life cut short. Mother, please add the date of the message that covers this topic more comprehensively. [ September 23, 2014 ]

Thank you, and yes, I see that we have reached preferred space limits. I also see more questions about the soul on your list, but I feel that the information we have provided is the most relevant for the greatest number of readers.

So, with the assurance that never are you alone in your Earth journey, we bid you loving farewell for this moment.

LOVE and PEACE

Suzanne Ward

Website: The Matthew Books

Email: suzy@matthewbooks.com

Vaccination debate rages on, €2m allocated to answer parents’ questions

DutchNews, November 17, 2016

The public health institute RIVM is spending €2m on a campaign to get more parents to have their children vaccinated, amid growing concern that vaccination rates are falling. 

Parents are increasingly questioning the need for vaccinations as diseases disappear from the radar and wrong or outdated information circulates on the internet, spokesman Hans van Vliet told broadcaster NOS. 

Over nine in 10 children take part in the state vaccination programme, which runs from the age of 0 to 19. However, the take-up rate among newborns has fallen 0.5% for the past two years and is declining in fundamentalist Protestant and Free School communities, the RIVM says. 

‘People have become more vocal and are less likely to take the word of experts,’ Van Vliet said. ‘We have to do more to convince worried parents and answer their questions properly.’ 

Daycare

The Boink foundation, which represents parents whose children use organised daycare, wants to know if it is legally possible for crèches to refuse to accept children who have not been vaccinated. 

That discussion started two years ago after an eight-month old baby became seriously ill with measles. The baby reportedly contracted the disease from a child who had deliberately not been vaccinated. 

The baby’s mother Nicole Gommers believes daycare facilities should be allowed to refuse children who have not been vaccinated. ‘You should not be taking risks with extremely young children,’ she told the broadcaster. 

During the Bible belt measles epidemic in 2013-14, one child died and 182 were hospitalised.

Related Articles:

“To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question”

Kryon Q&A

Question (2003): Dear Kryon, I have a new grandson. He's going for his first vaccination in the next few weeks. If we're beginning to transmute toxins with reconnections to our endocrine system through our DNA, then what happens to our babies, who by law have to be vaccinated? What are your thoughts on this subject?

Answer: First, know that vaccinations are a God-given science that humanity earned. They're a tried and proven homeopathic method that have been with you for years. You were probably vaccinated yourself, and it worked.

We have three answers: (1) God is not in a vacuum. Even the vaccinated Human Being who's older can modify and rework their DNA. So there's no time limit, and there are no rules that say "Once vaccinated, you're ruined." (2) The Human who is of the age of awareness can say, even as they are vaccinated, "Let nothing inappropriate enter my chemistry." This is a conscious instruction given to your "intelligent cellular structure" (the same one responsible for kinesiology and homeopathic results). This will result in your cells only using what they need and casting away everything else. (3) Finally, about babies: There has been a push by your science lately to vaccinate against many things at the same time. You'd be advised to seek out a doctor who will only vaccinate your child for only the basic diseases that have been known in the last 40 years. Eliminate the vaccinations for the new ones. This leaves you with approximately seven or eight - the very ones that have been used for years. What your science is not appreciating yet is the results of combining all the vaccination substances together. There's a problem that will show itself in time. Stick with the basic ones.

Brain implant helps paralysed Utrecht woman to communicate again

DutchNews, November 14, 2016

A brain implant is helping a Dutch woman who has become completely paralysed due to muscle disease ALS to communicate again, thanks to researchers in Utrecht. 

Hanneke de Bruijne was diagnosed with ALS in 2008 but this weekend was able to give an interview to New Scientist magazine, thanks to the implant which allows her to control a tablet computer. 

The implant means she can spell out words on the tablet. It is a slow process, taking up to a minute for a single word but ”I have more confidence, I am more independent and I can communicate again,’ De Bruijne, said in the interview. 

‘This is a major breakthrough in achieving autonomous communication among severely paralysed patients whose paralysis is caused by either ALS, a cerebral hemorrhage or trauma,’ said professor Nick Ramsey, professor of cognitive neuroscience at Utrecht’s teaching hospital UMC.

‘In effect, this patient has had a kind of remote control placed in her head, which enables her to operate a speech computer without the use of her muscles.’ 

The team hope that if the implant proves to work well in three people, they can launch a larger, international trial. 

Some 500 people are diagnosed with ALS in the Netherlands every year. 

Watch the CNN report

Hospitals ditch NIPT pre-natal test after Belgian clinic breaks privacy rules

DutchNews, November 11, 2016

At least two Dutch hospitals have stopped using a pre-natal test for Down’s and other syndromes after it emerged the Belgian firm carrying out the testing is using the women’s private information for commercial purposes. 

Broadcaster BNR reported that the Gendia laboratory is approaching women who said on their health records there is cancer in their families about cancer screening. This, BNR says, is against both Dutch and EU privacy regulations. 

Amsterdam’s OLVG hospital group and the Westfries Gasthuis in Hoorn have both stopped working with the Belgian firm. ‘We do not want to be associated with this practice in any way whatsoever,’ the OLVG group said in a statement. 

The NIPT test is currently only available to women who have an increased risk of a child with Down’s, Edward’s and Patua’s syndrome. It will be available to all women next year, when other labs will be allowed to offer the test. 

Gendia, which said in September it had carried out 17,000 tests on behalf of Dutch women, told BNR the company had broken no rules. It is the company’s duty to point out the risks and the availability of screening to the women, director Patrick Willems is quoted as saying.

 Health minister Edith Schippers has asked her Belgian colleague for an explanation, news agency ANP said.

Six year old Amsterdam boy starts secondary school

DutchNews, November 4, 2016

Photo: Depositphotos.com 

A six-year-old Belgian boy whose family moved to Amsterdam a year ago is about to start lessons in the pre-university stream of a private secondary school in the city, Belgian media reported on Friday 

Laurent Simons started at the Winford school last year but has steamed through the curriculum and is now ready for more challenging subjects, broadcaster VRT said.

‘He is racing through it all,’ father Alexander, who is a dentist, said. The boy is said to have an IQ of at least 145 and is already taking maths classes at secondary school level.

The boy’s father said his son has no problem mixing with 12 and 13-year olds. ‘He likes it,’ Simons said. ‘He does not really get on with children of his age.’ Classes at the Winford school are also much smaller than in normal Dutch schools. 

According to the Parool, a six-year-old at secondary school is a first for the city. Other super bright children, such as Floor Sietsma, who went to university at the age of 12, did complete their primary school programme.

Laurent Simons is nog maar 6 jaar oud, maar gaat binnenkort al naar de middelbare school 😮 #Ochtendshow pic.twitter.com/4JFd5dzFoJ

— MNM (@MNMbe) November 4, 2016

MPs demand answers on ‘toilet contracts’ for nursing homes

DutchNews, November 2, 2016    

Junior health minister Martin van Rijn has come under pressure from MPs over reports that care homes have asked elderly residents to sign contracts restricting how often they can use the toilet. 

The Grootenhoek care home in Hellevoetsluis, near Rotterdam, admitted it had designated fixed toilet breaks in a contract with one resident to reduce pressure on its staff, but insisted it was not policy. The contract fixed the male resident’s daily toilet times at 11am, 2pm and 6pm. 

Sjoerd Potter, an MP for the governing Liberal (VVD) party, called on Labour (PvdA) minister Van Rijn to investigate the incident, which was first reported by local news network RTV Rijnmond. ‘This ridiculous behaviour by the care home needs to stop today. This is not how we treat our elderly people.’ 

Henk Krol, leader of the 50Plus party, said he would be submitting questions in Parliament. He said he had encountered unusual practices in care homes before, but added: ‘Nothing has left such a bitter taste as this.’ 

Careyn, the company that manages the care home, is on a list of underperforming care providers that Van Rijn published in July. The company was placed under ‘intensive extra supervision’, the highest of four categories of intervention available to care inspectors.