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The sky is falling.


Dutch government to ban tourists from cannabis shops
Fri May 27, 3:32 pm ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Friday said it would start banning tourists from buying cannabis from "coffee shops" and impose restrictions on Dutch customers by the end of the year.

The Netherlands is well known for having one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies that has made its cannabis shops a popular tourist attraction, particularly in Amsterdam.

Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to curb drug tourism as part of a nationwide program to promote health and fight crime.

"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament on Friday.

Under the new rules, only Dutch residents will be able to sign up as members of cannabis shops.

Dutch customers will have to sign up for at least a year's membership and each shop would be expected to have only up to 1,500 members, a justice ministry spokesman said.

The policy will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year, the spokesman said.

Amsterdam, home to about 220 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in its red light district. Some officials have resisted the measures, saying they will push the soft drug trade underground.

Some Dutch border towns including Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Monday morning in the Netherlands:

The Dutch government on Monday said it would start banning bad cannabis from "coffee shops" and impose restrictions on Dutch importers by the end of the year.

According to gov't spokesperson Haad Uupmyybuutt, "I don't know what we were smoking last week, but clearly it isn't in the public interest"

If they follow this by closing down their red light district, no one will ever bother to visit Amsterdam again.

If they follow this by closing down their red light district, no one will ever bother to visit Amsterdam again.

Not true. I love the place, and not for either the red lights or the coffee shops.

Good beer (not quite as good as Belgium but better than anywhere else), wonderful cheese, Indonesian food, live shows in bars and some great buskers, women with a meter or so of leg, ... I think there are also some museums and architecture, though I never noticed.

Amsterdam is a lovely city for tourists without the redlight with all the canals and art but it's pretty dull.

That law is going to cost holland insane amounts of tourist money

new subthread-my fave European city is:
Barcelona!   

Oh goodie.  Now we can have social security inside of China.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-05/31/content_12608675.htm

I wonder what this will do to our tax rates. 

Clare Pearson, a British national who moved to China five years ago and who now works at a Chinese magazine in Beijing, said she welcomes the Chinese government's move to include foreign workers into the social security system.

"I don't care about the monthly social insurance fees that I should pay because such a measure would make me feel that I'm no longer an outsider but a part of the country."

Wow, all I need to do to stop feeling like an outsider is contribute to a Chinese social insurance fund?

Quote

Clare Pearson, a British national who moved to China five years ago and who now works at a Chinese magazine in Beijing, said she welcomes the Chinese government's move to include foreign workers into the social security system.

"I don't care about the monthly social insurance fees that I should pay because such a measure would make me feel that I'm no longer an outsider but a part of the country."

Wow, all I need to do to stop feeling like an outsider is contribute to a Chinese social insurance fund?

I expect that as soon as I start contributing to the fun that my hair will turn black and I'll finally be able to learn Mandarin. 


It's a brilliant move.  You have to pay in for 15 years to qualify.  Since the vast majority of expats don't stay that long, they get to make a very nice financial contribution.

Yeah I'm not really jumping for joy over this, wow I can contribute to a fund that will pay me 500rmb a month when I retire?? Cool, and I only need to stay here for 15 years to get it?? WOW. As for medical cover, pfffftt go ask any Chinese citizen how awesome the national social security cover is.....

you could have a much better quality of life in china right now for 5000rmb than most pensioners have on state pensions in europe

you could have a much better quality of life in china right now for 5000rmb than most pensioners have on state pensions in europe

He said 500RMB not 5000RMB.  I agree 5000 is ok (It is my current pay)

Coming soon - 15 year teaching contracts.

Coming soon - 15 year teaching contracts.

Hmmmm, I guess that would save them 14 years of airfare reimbursement.

Hey late, at our age, a 15 year contract will more than cover our social security.

500 a month, I spend more than that on cabs. That's why I got the bike