gay parade amsterdam 2007

Cinemas show Gore’s film for free

Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth is to be shown free at a string of cinemas across the country from Thursday. The screenings in 17 towns and cities will run for a month. Roger Cox of the Planet Prosperity Foundation told ANP it was important that as many people as possible see the film.

Coffee shop smoking ban stupid, say MPs

A majority of MPs have called on health minister Ab Klink not to impose a smoking ban in coffee shops where small quantities of marijuana can be bought and smoked.


'People go there to smoke, the aim is to reduce public nuisance,' said Labour MP Lea Bouwmeester. Klink wants to bring in a smoking ban for the entire café and restaurant sector this year.

MPs from the Labour, Socialist, Liberal (VVD) and Groenlinks parties are against the ban in coffee shops which they say is stupid.

More cyclists killed in traffic accidents

The number of cyclists who died in road accidents last year rose almost 20% to 216, according to government statistics bureau CBS. In total 811 people died in road accidents, six fewer than in 2005. Holland has the second lowest number of traffic deaths in Europe.

Multinationals key for foreign staff

While companies such as Philips, Shell, KLM and Heineken are popular with foreign workers, there is a danger the Netherlands could lose out if too many Dutch companies are chopped up under pressure from activist shareholders.

The warning comes in a new survey by research company Intelligence Group, based on interviews with 21,000 people in nine European countries.

The survey shows that 18% of Europeans would like to work in the Netherlands, making it the 10th most popular destination. Top of the list are the US (35%), UK (34%) and France (30%).

As well as career prospects, international experience and high salaries, 'expats in the Netherlands specifically want a trustworthy and reliable employer,' said Intelligence Group's Yumi Stamet. 'They want to be in the middle of a cultural melting pot and in that sense Amsterdam is a magnet.'

However Stamet warned that with listed companies under increasing pressure from hedge funds to split up, there is a risk the Netherlands will no longer be as attractive to young and ambitious international staff.

Retailer Ahold, engineering concern Stork and now ABN Amro bank have all come under attack from activist hedge funds.

Dutch multinationals looking to recruit staff abroad also face obstacles, the survey showed, with language barriers and immigration rules the most problematic. Employers’ organisations have repeatedly urged the Dutch government to make it easier to bring in high-skilled staff, particularly IT workers and technicians.

Amsterdam is the most attractive city in the country to live in

Amsterdam is the most attractive city in the country to live in, according to the Atlas for Municipalities presented yesterday.In the atlas, the 50 largest municipalities are compared every year on 40 points. The attractiveness of Amsterdam mainly reflects its extensive cultural offerings, the presence of two universities and its many restaurants.The capital rates badly in the erea of safety and poverty. Regarding the percentage of privately-owned housing, it is right at the bottom (50th).Along with Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Amstelveen and Den Bosch are the top five most attractive towns.

Queen's Day 2007

Queen's Day 2007
Thousands of visitors flock to Amsterdam every year in honour of the previous queen’s birthday on 30 April. In what can be considered Amsterdam’s equivalent to carnival, Queen’s Day is celebrated so lavishly - never in your life will you see more orange! Highlights include a plethora of street markets, open air concerts, food stalls and an incredible atmosphere.

Queen’s Night
On the eve of Queen's Day, Queen's Night, thousands of people pour out onto the streets and into the clubs to get a head start on the celebrations. Just as on the following day, Queen’s Day, the city is struck with orange fever – orange banners and flags, orange coloured food and drinks and many people dressed and painted in the vibrant colour that honours the ‘House of Orange’ dynasty. Even the water in some fountains is dyed orange.

Live music is played on outside stages set up all over the city from 19:00 to 01:00. Stage areas include the Nieuwmarkt, Leidseplein, Reguliersdwarsstraat, Westermarkt, Westerstraat, Rembrandtplein and Amstelveld. Just about every bar and club in Amsterdam including the Melkweg, Club Rain, the Sugar Factory and Club 11put on a special Queen's Night party.

Street Markets (‘Vrijmarkt’)
Starting at 6 am, and closely following the festivities of the previous night, the street markets open. Spread over almost all districts in the city, the street markets offer excellent bargains on second-hand clothes, furniture and any trinket or treasurable trash you can imagine. The combination of street markets and stalls, live musicians and performers and the aroma of roasted satés and Vietnamese spring rolls create an extraordinary atmosphere.

Getting There
Last year, 400,000 visitors descended upon Amsterdam for Queen’s Day. Since the same amount of visitors is expected this year, it is advised to travel to Amsterdam by public transport.

Enjoy Queen's Day like a true Amsterdammer - wear orange!

Week Errica e Giovanna

Weekend a Marzo con Errica e Giovanna.

Amsterdam March 2007

Weekend con Milka e Ignasi

NEWS - House prices rose 3.7%

House prices rose 3.7% on average last year (2006), says estate agents' association NVM. Home-owners now pay an average of €241,000 for a home. The NVM says interest rate rises and an increase in economic growth will boost house prices some 5% in 2007.

NEWS - Give your money to a Gorilla

The gorilla Jacko, who picks stocks for the beursgorilla.nl website according to which banana he eats, has had better result than the AEX for the seventh year running. Jacko booked a return on investment of 27.9% last year while the AEX as a whole rose 13.4%. Jacko’s portfolio of 10 stocks is adjusted every month.

The Netherlands is the third most pleasant country to live

The Netherlands is the third most pleasant country to live in after France and Australia according to a survey of 193 countries by internet magazine International Living. Criteria measured included the cost of living, tax levels, climate, opportunities for growing markets, safety, infrastructure and pollution.


FRANCE: DONE
NEXT DESTINATION: AUSTRALIA

NEWS - Dutch children are the luckiest

Dutch children are the luckiest in the developed world in terms of wealth, education, security and family relationships, according to a new Unicef survey of 21 developed countries entitled Child Poverty in Perspective.

NEWS - The Dutch economy grew by 2.9%

The Dutch economy grew by 2.9% last year, double the rate of 2005, the national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday. The CBS said the Netherlands is poised for an economic boom which is defined as three years of growth above 3%. The last time the Dutch economy was officially booming was between 1995 and 2000.

NEWS- Winter warmest on record so far

Winter 2006-7 is the warmest on record with an average temperature of around 6.5 degrees Celsius – twice as warm as the 3.3 degrees norm for December to February - say weather experts at Meteo Consult. The previous record was set in 1990, with an average temperature of 6 degrees.

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

What is 2.0.
It is US, linking, sharing, and much more

NEWS - HOLLAND WILL NOT FLOOD... E MENO MALE!!

The Netherlands will not be flooded because of global warming but the sea level along the Dutch coast will rise more than the in the rest of the world, according to a report by Dutch environmental think-tank MNP and weather bureau KNMI.

The United Nations climate panel said on Friday that the sea level is set to rise between 18 and 59 centimetres by 2100. But the KNMI says the rise in sea levels off the Dutch coast could be as high as 85 cm because the level of the North Atlantic will rise more than elsewhere.

Increases of less than one metre per century could be tackled using current technology, the Dutch organisations said. However they warned that inland waterways would also be more vulnerable to flooding. Most of the Netherlands is below sea level and the country is protected by a complicated system of dykes, seawalls and sluices.

The UN report said that human behaviour is responsible for more than 90% for global warming. Average temperatures will rise between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees this century, bringing more extreme weather conditions, melting glaciers and raising sea levels.

Reacting to the report, environment minister Pieter Winsemius said the battle to reduce global warming needs a much stronger emphasis in the ongoing cabinet formation talks. ‘Something extra must be done,’ he said. Junior minister Pieter van Geel, tipped for a top environmental job in the next cabinet, said there was no escape from the need to take urgent action.


MORTACIC VOSTRI HO APPENA COMPRATO CASA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEWS - Drug use stable for 10 years

The use of hard and soft drugs by the Dutch has remained stable over the past 10 years, according to health ministry figures. Some 5.5% of the population use cannabis while hard drugs (ecstasy, cocaine and heroin) are used by 1.5%.
These figures have changed very little over the last decade, although ecstasy use has gone up, the figures show.

e poi dicono che la liberalizzazione non funziona!!!