The Low Down On Amsterdam Escorts.

… Dutch people share their views on euthanasia. Peter O’Neil reports from Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM â Six “mobile euthanasia units” will become available in the Netherlands, starting March 1, to zip around this tiny and remarkably liberal country to help Dutch citizens facing an “unbearable” and “hopeless” medical situation die in their homes.
A group of prominent citizens, meanwhile, has been lobbying since 2009 for a major expansion in the scope of Dutch assisted-death laws, allowing older people who are “tired of living” but have no serious medical problem to end it all without the involvement of a physician.
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The Netherlands emerged during the postwar period as one of the most liberal countries in the world, taking steps to effectively legalize soft drug use, prostitution, abortion and, starting in 1973, assisted death.
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James Kennedy, an American specialist in Dutch history who teaches at the University of Amsterdam, said he’s opposed to euthanasia but “not because I think it’s a Nazi-style plan or that this is somehow a form of murder. That’s not how I see it.”

See the full article from “Calgary Herald”

Amsterdam Exposed: Previewing Jam in the ‘Dam
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HM: What are some of your favorite places to eat in Amsterdam? What’s a good place for a post-coffee shop chow down, a pre-show dinner and a late-night munchies stop?
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My favorite dish is an Indonesian Rijstafel. The two restaurants that do this dish the best are Tempoe Doeloe, which Anthony Bourdain goes to for his last meal in Amsterdam (during his show “The Layover,” which airs on the Travel Channel), and Sama Sebo, which is closer to the venue. [The meal is] nothing weird, just 12 to 16 little meat and veggie dishes laid out on a tray going from mild to eye-wateringly spicy, served with rice.
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HM: If you could give one suggestion to a first-time visitor to Amsterdam and Jam in the ‘Dam what would it be?

See the full article from “Headstash”

Born in Holland, raised in South Africa from the age of four and having lived in Amsterdam for the past 25 years, Richard de Nooy, the author of two books (2007′s Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot and now The Big Stick) – has certainly led an interesting life.
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“But my boss was a fairly boring, normal-seeming guy who was in love with a guy who was a heroin prostitute, and so we not only went out to these bars – and I was at these bars and thought, “where are all the women?” – but we also went to different pick-up clubs because he was looking for this buddy of his and he was worried about him.
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“I thought to myself that I might be gay, but there was never an erotic component to it. It became a question for the book – what if I had been a gay Richard going to Amsterdam instead of the heterosexual Richard that I was?”
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“In Amsterdam I’ve got friends who are in their 50s and have been gay their whole lives. And their parents are still asking: ‘When are you going to meet a nice girl?’

See the full article from “Books LIVE (blog)”

Other way up in Amsterdam
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“But my boss was a fairly boring, normal-seeming guy who was in love with a guy who was a heroin prostitute, and so we not only went out to these bars – and I was at these bars and thought, “where are all the women?” – but we also went to different pick-up clubs because he was looking for this buddy of his and he was worried about him.
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“I thought to myself that I might be gay, but there was never an erotic component to it. It became a question for the book – what if I had been a gay Richard going to Amsterdam instead of the heterosexual Richard that I was?”
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“In Amsterdam I’ve got friends who are in their 50s and have been gay their whole lives. And their parents are still asking: ‘When are you going to meet a nice girl?’

See the full article from “Times LIVE”

Even in the Red Light district the shows began to lose their appeal. Jan Otten partly blames the council, which is stripping the Red Light district, attempting to turn it into a respectable quarter. Over the past few years, 100 of the 500 prostitution windows have been shut down. He points out that there are more factors, though: “Far fewer people visit peepshows. Amsterdam has gone peepshow numb because of the internet. You can enjoy looking at things on the computer in the privacy of your home, which is quite sad for the erotic business.”
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Is it a shame Amsterdam is losing its peepshows? Jan Otten sees it from a business point of view: “No, not at all. There are still plenty of other attractions in the Red Light district. Sex theatres like Casa Rosso and the Bananabar, I own those too. This peepshow is still doing alright, so I’ll keep it going for now. If it stops making enough money, I can turn it into a lap-dancing bar.”

See the full article from “Radio Netherlands”

Tattoos, Through Time: A New Museum for Amsterdam
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Founded by the Dutch tattoo artist Henk  Schiffmacher, the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum is dedicated to the art, history and preservation of tattoo culture. Occupying 21,000 square feet of two beautifully restored 19th-century buildings, the collection is a wide-ranging one that documents the history of tattooing, from the prehistoric era to the present day. Mr. Schiffmacher’s personal artifacts are the backbone of the collection; he donated tattoo machines, artwork and ephemera like the skin from the arm of a Boston whaler, preserved in formaldahyde, which was not buried in the hopes that its tattoos would help identify him. (They didn’t.) But the museum is no mere curio shop. Items from other donors include prints by the Japanese tattoo master Horiyoshi III and tools from the legendary Samoan tattoo family Suluape. The museum also houses a library, publishing house, cafe, bookstore and a memorial garden.
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Mr. Schiffmacher, 59, first thought of creating a museum after spending more th …

See the full article from “New York Times (blog)”

Here you are said my Dutch friend. Here was De Wallen, the far-famed red light district of Amsterdam. My friend was showing me around the city. Out of a sense of duty she had offered a tour of the coffee shops. I had declined, and now she had brought me here, presumably by a process of elimination. “No, you misunderstand, I want to go to Lambiek, the oldest comic book store in the world! They say that Herge used to shop here,” I protest. My friend is unimpressed. If this was a comic book, there would be a thought balloon above her head with the text reading “Comic book nerd”.

See the full article from “Indian Express”

The end of the peepshow is nigh. For decades peepshows were crowd-pullers in Amsterdam’s Red Light district, but today there’s just one left. What has caused this branch of erotic entertainment to disappear?
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It was remarkably quiet on the Thursday afternoon when RNW visited the “Sex Palace”. Two British tourists and a Japanese family were curiously exploring the premises. Most of the spectator cubicles were empty. In the peepshow area Lady No. 4 was going round in her customary circles, yet most shutters remained closed. Still the last peepshow in Amsterdam is doing quite well, Otten says: “particularly in the weekend, when there are a lot of British tourists”.
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Is it a shame Amsterdam is losing its peepshows? Jan Otten sees it from a business point of view: “No, not at all. There are still plenty of other attractions in the Red Light district. Sex theatres like Casa Rosso and the Bananabar, I own those too. This peepshow is still doing alright, so I’ll keep it going for now. If it stops making enough money, I can turn it into a lap-dancing bar.”

See the full article from “Radio Netherlands”

Amsterdam chief rabbi’s remarks on gays cause outrage
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“Rabbi Ralbag’s signature may give the impression that the orthodox Jewish community of Amsterdam shares his views. That is absolutely untrue,” said a statement by the community’s board. “Homosexuals are welcomed by Amsterdam’s Jewish community.”
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In Jerusalem, the deputy director of the Dutch Israel Centre, Esther Voet, called on Rabbi Ralbag to resign. “We need a chief rabbi in Amsterdam who is aware of our traditions – and that is not someone who flies in twice a year.”
However, the Conference of European Rabbis criticised the Amsterdam organisation for suspending Rabbi Ralbag, saying he had “done no more than restate what the Torah says about homosexuality”.
In the US, New Jersey rabbi Steven Pruzansky blamed Dutch tolerance for the clash. “Dutch society is so tolerant, with legal prostitution and a sharp reduction in fidelity in marriage, that it is impossible for Jews to embrace the moral message of the Torah. They are in spiritual shock.”

See the full article from “Irish Times”

… Verging on Fascism” is how a US committee characterised the suspension of Chief Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag by the Amsterdam Orthodox Jewish community (NIHS).
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The US committee says it’s shocking that in the Netherlands a religious leader should be denied the right to speak out on “centuries-old religious truths” and says it is not clear which Jews the Amsterdam orthodox Jewish community (NIHS) represents as it is formally part of the orthodox movement. 
New Jersey Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, one of the signatories to the Declaration, says he knows what motivated the peculiar reaction of the Amsterdam orthodox Jewish community:
“Dutch society is so tolerant, with legal and open prostitution and a sharp reduction in faithfulness in marriage, that it is impossible for Jews who grow up in such surroundings to embrace the moral message of the Torah. They are in spiritual shock.”
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Chief Rabbi Ralbag was scheduled to meet with the NIHS in Amsterdam on Sunday evening but reportedly postponed his visit by several weeks after receiving death threats.

See the full article from “Radio Netherlands”