Hmmmm...interesting updates which sure make it sound like this is a lot of political posturing for select constituencies in the business community and perhaps rural communities (don't know enough about Dutch politics to say for sure).

Not sure what Paniked wrote there, but am sure I agree as he is usually on the money.

Whoa Nellie

hope it takes a good 15 yrs as stated earlier.

by then i will 72, and too old to fuck anyway !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amen to that! 15 years works for me... by then I'll likely either be incarcerated or dead! :)

This is not at all what i had expected to see when i logged on, i havent been on for a few weeks but am flying over tomorow so i thought id see what the word on the site was and am confronted by this. Although i am not taken in by the hype of the instant demise of the RLD and coffeshops, i will say, that in the nearly 5 short years of my regular patronage i have witnessed first hand, many big changes to the area and as much as i want to dispell the the notion of an overnight shut down, the fact remains in my mind that in January of this year the amsterdam that i visited was very different to the one i visited a mere 23 days previous. All that we can do is enjoy it to its fullest extent untill its gone, so make that extra punt, smoke that extra joint and book that extra trip and if that awful day ever does come then we can look back at it and say "fuck it, i sure made the most of it when it was there" ................................................EM Punk........................(sorry for the lack of spacing but my enter key is broken!!!!

So why have they already closed windows in the area,s they say prostitution will continue. These people need voting out of office as soon as possible, IMHO.

Outside of this forum, the reactions to the coming changes appear to have fallen into two extreme categories:

1. Good. Reform of the RLD is long overdue. Amsterdam has for too long been a mere sexual (and soft drug) playground for tourists. May the town gently slide back into the primeval swamp from which it was dredged;

2. Bad. The one place in Europe (the world?) that "got it right" about social policy on prostitution and soft drugs has been hounded politically and its politicians backed into a corner from which there is no escape. The only beneficiaries of all this will be organised criminals.

Is it possible to have two more conflicting opinions about one town?

Some interesting insights on the plans:

http://crustylogic.blogspot.com/

Am I missing it, or is there no attribution to the blog? I hit around on some links, and before I wish to make any observations, I'd be interested to consider the source. Who wrote this, and what is his/her/their background/affiliation(s)? If you please.

Not a clue. There was some discussion about who it is back in early summer when it appeared but seemed like pure speculation. Poster appears to be a christian libertarian republican with a fixation on polygamy. There was an email address for a while but it disappeared.

Regarding the potential coffeeshops targeted for closure.......

It seems as if the proposal is for shops within 250 meters of a school ( measured door to door ) are targeted for closure. Obviously the city has taken the time and expense to research this and come up with a list of 43 shops that are less than 250 meters of a school.

The number of shops and the areas are as follows- Centrum- 26 coffeeshops, Westerpark- 1, Oud West- 3, Ams Noord -1, Zeeburg- 1, Des Baarsjes-2, Oost Watergraafsmeer-1, Oudzuid- 7, Zuideramstel-1, Tatal- 43.

Does anyone have the list or partial list of the shops which are targeted for closure ?

It seems as if these shops can remain open till Dec 31, 2011 if they choose to do so or unless the proposals are modified.

If and when the windows are shut down on Tromp, Dolleb and SL area I will never spend one euro on any business or their associates who invade this sacred, holy ground. I will be happy to walk any local dogs thru these streets on a daily basis free of charge whenever I am in town. This tourist is unaware that debris removal is the responsibility of the walker.

PS- The coffeeshops can challenge these proposals between now and 31, Dec 2011.

Do the council have the results of the Gemeente RLD inquiry they commissioned?. If not, why are they making these proposals. They have used tax payers money to pay for this enquiry, so surely they should wait for its results before making policy deciisions.

Just a proposal; the good citizens of Amsterdam will not allow this to happen. However, to save face, there will be some changes.

My fear is for the prostitutes; if they loose their jobs they will not have prostitution to turn to!

Tarzan

What about the Prive Haus situation? Will this also be affected?

I have been in Amsterdam over the past few days. For the first time I made an effort to ask the girls themselves about the trafficking since previously I'd heard nothing about it. The opinion seems to be that it does exist but on a much smaller scale than claimed. The vast majority seem to be foreign workers. Some of my favourite girls are from outside Holland but it seems a shame that it's the non Dutch that are spoiling things for everyone else.

this doesnt make sense. seriously why cant they just step up law enforccement and have more undercover cops and police taking care of the criminal elements. Also why can 't they just investigate the places that are laundering money and only shut them down. Also i've never seen drug dealers oin trompset and the neighboring streets so why shut those down. Isn't there something fishy going on? I swear they better not put a starbucks on trompset! i'll never visit A'dam again if they do

Interesting george!! How did the girls react to you asking about it?? Were they defensive at all or just talk openly?? And did you ask girls you already know or throw the question at strangers??

It was only a couple of the ones I know and we didn't talk for long about it (other things to do of cause). Neither spoke of specific girls but more a general knowledge of it happening. I guess it was just gossip really.

The Sexy-Land area is adjacent to property owned/controlled by Beijenkorf and higher up by NH/Krasnapolsky. They will benefit and be able to extend their operations. I'm also not so sure that those interests (note plural) presently controlling this area don't have a shady side or two. Judging by the prices previously paid for properties by the Staat they will probably get offers that no sane businessperson could possibly afford to refuse - all those with a significant financial finger in the pie will get to benefit. The salesman's dream.

It is not that complicated. The RLD and coffeeshops have become victims of their own success. 'Legitimate' businesses see the truckloads of tourists wandering around the area and want a bigger slice of the pie. They have more pull politically and large sums of money to invest so it is hard for politicians to resist 'progress.'

The moral concerns appear to be an excuse. If you were really concerned about organised crime and human trafficking you'd ban prostitution entirely for a start and enforce drug laws to their fullest extent in every obvious situation.

One can only hope that the global credit crisis slows this process down to a crawl in which time anything can happen. Especially in politics.

Can anybody give us a brief translation of this reportage :

http://www.telegraaf.nl/video/binnenlan ... 014547.ece

Thank you very much