Right that's it my next trip over there will be to Haarlem. Possibly June or maybe mid September depending on my scheduling.
Whether it works or not is another thing but I think all coffeeshop owners need to fight for their business now or start thinking about turning their places into cheese/clog/tulip/antique shops etc etc.
Right that's it my next trip over there will be to Haarlem. Possibly June or maybe mid September depending on my scheduling.
Whether it works or not is another thing but I think all coffeeshop owners need to fight for their business now or start thinking about turning their places into cheese/clog/tulip/antique shops etc etc.
+1
Every little bit helps.
Better to be united than divided. Something to think about...
Happy trails...
nolvanschaik wrote:Thank you for posting the latest news about Haarlem. We hope other cities will follow!
Love the solidarity and civil disobedience. I was just wondering,however, won't this just make it easier for them to just instantly shut you down for disobeying the law.is there any chance that they will just throw up their hands and say " oh well,I guess we won't do it then".if all the coffeeshops country wide joined you it might create a fine mess that might provoke images of a real fascist regime creating a backlash.unfortunately, I fear they might just use it as a chance to roll up the industry Nazi Germany style
Piedpiper may I respectfully request that you moderate it with the "Fascist, Nazi Germany "remarks. They are highly charged and quite insulting words that have no bearing on the reality of the situation in the Netherlands, and they are unproductive in debate. Cheers matey.
spidergawd wrote:Piedpiper may I respectfully request that you moderate it with the "Fascist, Nazi Germany "remarks. They are highly charged and quite insulting words that have no bearing on the reality of the situation in the Netherlands, and they are unproductive in debate. Cheers matey.
for you spidergawd..sure.. i just want to mention that ,although, i am playing it fairly loose in my definition of fascism, there are certainly elements of fascism in the geert wilders group and to a lesser extent the cda (racebaiting,seeming to tend toward a core belief system which seems to mean everyone being the same and of one mind is a great thing , bonded by one religion etc) i am used to in the usa one being able to say pretty much whatever one likes and letting it compete in the marketplace of ideas. i understand that in england it is much easier to get sued for slander/libel and in germany you cant legally be a holocaust denier and in brazil you arent allowed to insult the national identity. although, i hate the holocaust deniers i hate almost any law limiting free speech ,i will out of courtesy refrain from the fascist ,nazi phrases forthwith. can i still call them fucking assholes who want everyone to conform to their way of thinking and force everyone to live their way of life? can i say that they are assholes who would try to force conformity and create a mundane vanilla society.can i say that geert wilders and some of the cda seem to be fucking racists? can i say i think that truly blows? incidentally, my mother is married to a jew.from what i can see nobody jokes about the holocaust more than the jews themselves. see adam sandler , mel brooks movies, sarah silverman's comedy act (one among many) . If my comparison is out of whack then i would think it would just be used as a strike against my argument. however, i will certainly refrain out of a sense of ...decorum? by the way i always like to say that i am 80 percent italian and 20 percent hitler(austrian) blood.
can i still call them fucking assholes who want everyone to conform to their way of thinking and force everyone to live their way of life? can i say that they are assholes who would try to force conformity and create a mundane vanilla society.can i say that geert wilders and some of the cda seem to be fucking racists? can i say i think that truly blows?
Why, but of course. I think they are all very valid points sir.
A very smart move by Nol and the other cs owners of Haarlem! I hope that other cities and towns will join their movement. How about a smokeout in Haarlem January 2013?
Cheers PPofV. Here in Europe those phrases have real resonance. Spain was Fascist under Franco well into my lifetime, and of course the Holocaust.
I dont know how extreme Wilders and his followers are, but like a lot of Democracies with more than 2 parties, voters seem to be so evenly split that these minor players get called in to make up the numbers and then they start wagging the dog.
Free speech. Well we obviously dont shout fire in a crowded theatre, but as for the rest our laws forbid only speech that will stir up hatred against people be they minorities or individuals. As we have such a lot of groups of people who are very easily offended our laws are tested very regularly. Which is a good thing as free speech is too important to take for granted and forget about until you get the midnight knock.
I wasn't offended by what you said mate but if we overuse emotive words and phrases they stop having any value to describe the truly terrible things that do go on in our world.
spidergawd wrote:Cheers PPofV. Here in Europe those phrases have real resonance. Spain was Fascist under Franco well into my lifetime, and of course the Holocaust.
I dont know how extreme Wilders and his followers are, but like a lot of Democracies with more than 2 parties, voters seem to be so evenly split that these minor players get called in to make up the numbers and then they start wagging the dog.
Free speech. Well we obviously dont shout fire in a crowded theatre, but as for the rest our laws forbid only speech that will stir up hatred against people be they minorities or individuals. As we have such a lot of groups of people who are very easily offended our laws are tested very regularly. Which is a good thing as free speech is too important to take for granted and forget about until you get the midnight knock.
I wasn't offended by what you said mate but if we overuse emotive words and phrases they stop having any value to describe the truly terrible things that do go on in our world.
I was in Maastricht over the weekend. Guy's are selling on the steps leading down to the Maas where the coffee shop boats are. So I see the govenments plans of reducing crime are working well.
