God bless Atheism, by Pat Condell (Wake up America)

Not for Muslims, Obama fans, Believers or anyone who wants to discuss the first amendement of the Constitution of the USA...
Enjoy!

Day Opening - November 7

Quiet Canal in Amsterdam by Fibar Mad.

Arash's World: You are what you wear: A Brief Look at Ancient Sumptuary Laws on Fashion

Arash's World: You are what you wear: A Brief Look at Ancient Sumptuary Laws on Fashion

Dutch don't use that much marajuana!

Click on picture to enlarge.
Surprise, surprise but the Dutch are among the lowest users of marijuana or cannabis in Europe despite the Netherlands' well-known tolerance of the drug, according to a regional study published on Thursday.

Among adults in the Netherlands, 5.4 percent have used cannabis, compared with the European average of 6.8 percent, according to an annual report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, using latest available figures.

A higher percentage of adults in Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and France took cannabis last year, the EU agency said, with the highest being Italy at 14.6 percent. Usage in Italy used to be among the lowest at below 10 percent a decade ago.

Countries with the lowest usage rates, according to the Lisbon-based agency, were Romania, Malta, Greece and Bulgaria.

Trends in prevalence of cannabis use among young adults (15-34). European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

The policy on soft drugs in the Netherlands, one of the most liberal in Europe, allows for the sale of marijuana at so-called coffee shops, which the Dutch have allowed to operate for decades, and possession of less than 5 grams.

So, by legalizing soft drugs there will be no increase of the use of it!

Source; Nrc.nl

Day Opening - November 6

and we have fun!

Turkey is doing it again

At the moment the AK party government is creating an anti-Israelian mood in Turkey...and here.
All because of the in Gaza women and children were killed who happened to be Muslims!
And killing 500 Muslims is worse than killing 400.000 Christians in Sudan.
Therefor Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is travelling to Turkey next week for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit. This is despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
And remember, Turkey is now member of the UN Security Council.

The Turkish government has given assurances that he will not be detained. Turkey has not signed the Statute of Rome which established the ICC although it is under pressure to do so from the European Union, which it hopes to join.

President al-Bashir is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2003 in Sudan's Darfur region. Human rights groups in Turkey are furious about his visit and are calling for his immediate arrest when he arrives.

Mr al-Bashir has recently visited a number of African countries which have refused to arrest him, rejecting the ICC warrant.
Yes, for the Islamist government of Turkey religion is more important than human rights.

Day Opening - November 5

Iran Today

Day Opening - November 4

Quebec -by Denis Vincelette. Cozy!

Nurduran Duman - a Poet

The last couple of years we published here around 15 poems by a friend of my: Nurduran Duman. You can find them here.

Today a new one.

--------------------------------------

Resim


içimde boş çerçeve

kırık bir su

geçmiş zaman gölü



Renksiz son.



kuğu tülü

yüzümde duman

fotoğrafı siyah



Beyaz yok aşk sözünde…



bu hüzün bu söz külden

alev savruldu fırçasından

yanmadım



da öldüm.



Nurduran Duman




Picture

my inside empty frame
one split water
time past lake

Uncolored end.

swan tulle
smoke in my face
black photograph

Without white in love word…

this melancholy this word from ash
flame scattered from its brush
I didn’t burn

I have also died.

Nurduran Duman
Translated by Andrew Wessels

Day Opening - November 3

...

Question (6)

Freedom of speech is more valuable and more important than an imagined “right” not to feel insulted, right?

5 years after the killing of van Gogh

Theo Van Gogh, the great grandson of art dealer Theo Van Gogh and great grandnephew of the famed Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, led an extraordinary life much like his predecessors. Theo was an out-spoken and prominent Dutch film director, author, journalist, actor, producer and an advocate of free speech who used the media as an open forum to broadcast his controversial views on religion, politics and social mores and values. The candid and often provocative method he used to express his ideologies quickly propelled him into the national spotlight in the Netherlands.

However, his critical views and brusque approach also made him unpopular among a lot of people. According to a November 2, 2004 article in Expatica.com, businessman and broadcaster Harry Mens described Theo as "a bit of a 'kamikaze,' who expressed his views regardless of whom he might offend." And offend he did. He harshly criticized Christianity and Judaism. However, the Muslim community bore the brunt of his irritation, which was evident when he likened Dutch Muslim immigrants to "goat f--kers."

At approximately 8:45 a.m. on November 2, 2004 (exact 5 years ago), the 26-year-old Mohammed Bouyeri, an Islamic extremist with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationalities,
dressed in a traditional Moroccan "djelleba," brutally attacked Theo outside of a city council building as he bicycled to work in central Amsterdam. The attacker shot Theo Van Gogh and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest, callously disregarding his victim's pleas for mercy. Despite his life-threatening injuries, Theo was able to gain enough momentum to stumble to the other side of the street but by the time he made his way across, his attacker shot and stabbed him again. He then slit Theo's throat with a butcher knife as onlookers gasped in sheer horror.

Today, all the Dutch newspapers mark the event that shook the Netherlands to the core. The image of being an open, tolerant society where one could say anything was shattered and Dutch society changed in a fundamental way. Van Gogh was of rude, coarse and - according to many - offensive but his murder was an abhorrent act that can never be justified. The murder also had far-reaching consequences, many analysts believe that Geert Wilders and his far-right Freedom Party wouldn't be nearly so popular if van Gogh hadn't been slaughtered.

The general trend in the Netherlands is that"After van Gogh, people are scared to say anything controversial". Ton Folkertsma, who watched as Mohammed Bouyeri butchered the filmmaker, tells a Dutch paper that his life hasn't been the same since the murder and that the country has changed, "things are going badly in the Netherlands, things can't continue as they are. Maybe I'll be murdered tomorrow, or maybe it will be you".

Political scientist Sebastiaan van der Lubben who says that the murder created a general climate of fear that has now become institutionalised, "since van Gogh's murder, Wilders has been under 24-hour guard. That, to me, is ample evidence that the Netherlands has fundamentally changed".

The writer Nahed Selimş A Dutch/Egyptian Muslimfeministe sais, "I'd call van Gogh a martyr for the cause of freedom of expression".

Day Opening - November 2

While the Sahara Desert is a wonderful place to see for the wide expanse of sand dunes, the sunset there is sure to take your breath away. A night spent camping on the sand dunes of this three-million year old desert, watching the sky change colors at dusk, is a dream come true for any nature lover. (click on picture to enlarge)