Laura Dekker was born on a yacht while her parents were sailing around the world and she has been on shore as little as possible since. Now, at age thirteen, she wants to become the youngest who has ever sailed solo around the globe by going on a two-year expedition with the 8-meter boat 800 she calls Guppy.

She recently told the Dutch kids news show Jeugdjournaal that her parents originally opposed the idea, but she convinced them to support her. Dutch social workers, however, are doing what they can to prevent Laura from setting sail in September. They claim her going away for two years is a breach of the Dutch law of compulsory education for those under 16, but say they are also concerned about her development, away from her parents and peers, and the dangers at sea.

The child protection agency has now taken her parents to court to (temporarily) strip them of their parental authority. If the agency has custody of the girl, it can halt the trip.

But because Laura was born off the coast of New Zealand she also has a passport from that county – as well as Germany, where her mother is from. She now wants to deregister from the Netherlands and formally live in New Zealand to avoid the interference with her record-breaking ambitions. Her municipality said it will take her request into consideration after the court’s ruling on Friday.

Should the girl be stopped because she is too young and the journey to dangerous, or is it up to her and her parents to decide? We are curious to hear what our international readership thinks about this.

Tariq Ramadan is furious over his dismissal as integration adviser to the city of Rotterdam because of his talkshow on Iranian TV; he is threatening to take the city government and the Erasmus University to court.

In an open letter published by NRC Handelsblad on Tuesday, the Swiss-born Islamic scholar wrote: “The present controversy says far more about the alarming state of politics in the Netherlands than about my person,” a reference to populist politicians such as Geert Wilders and anti-Islamic attitudes in Dutch politics.

“It is as if I in particular, and Islam in general, are being used to promote certain political agendas in the upcoming Dutch elections,” Ramadan wrote.

An editorial in NRC Handelsblad on Wednesday pointed out that the Iranian TV connection may have been just a convenient excuse to get rid of Ramadan, but also that someone as controversial as him was perhaps never the right person to “build bridges” between the communities in Rotterdam.

Have your say. Is Ramadan’s dismissal the result of anti-Islamic sentiments in Dutch politics and society? Or was Ramadan (who barely speak Dutch) the wrong choice to begin with?

More about the Ramadan affair:

THIS DISCUSSION HAS BEEN CLOSED.

Are the Dutch rude? the German historian and journalist Christoph Driessen asks in an essay for NRC Handelsblad. “For me, as a German, it would be impolite to answer this question with a yes. Let me just say: the Dutch are direct – much more direct than other people.”

To Driessen, Pim Fortuyn’s “I say what I think” – and bugger anyone who thinks differently – sums the Dutch attitude up nicely. “Of course everyone should be able to say what they think, but it matters how you say it.”

Professor Paul Schnabel of the university of Utrecht takes things one step further.

“Courtesy, willingness to please, and good manners are not national virtues in the Netherlands,” he writes. “To a certain extent we are even proud of this fact. We like to say that this is because we are so honest and straightforward. Anyone born or raised outside our borders would say that the Dutch are mainly blunt and rude.”

What do you think? Are you an expatriate who has experienced Dutch directness/rudeness first-hand? Are you Dutch and do you agree/disagree with Schnabel or Driessen’s viewpoints? Let us know.