1.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
2.
Red-light district
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A red-light district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc. are found. The term originates from the red lights that were used as signs of brothels, areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known appearance of the red light district in print is in an 1894 article from the Sandusky Register. This has not been proven, but the Dodge City use was responsible for the term becoming pervasive. A widespread folk etymology claims that early railroad workers took red lanterns with them when they visited brothels so their crew could find them in the event of an emergency, however, folklorist Barbara Mikkelson regards this as unfounded. One of the terms used for a red-light district in Japanese is akasen. Japanese police drew a red line on maps to indicate the boundaries of legal red-light districts, in Japanese, the term aosen, literally meaning blue-line, also exists, indicating an illegal district. In the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries, municipal governments typically defined such districts explicitly to contain and regulate prostitution. Some red-light districts are places which are designated by authorities for legal. Often, these districts were formed by authorities to help regulate prostitution and other related activities. With the confining of such industries to an area, such districts became a destination for originally sailors. Other red-light districts, such as those in Thailand, are areas which are monitored by the authorities. This can help counter illegal forms of prostitution, in areas that do allow regular prostitution to occur. List of red-light districts Media related to Red-light districts at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Brothel
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A brothel or bordello is a place where people may come to engage in sexual activity with a prostitute, sometimes referred to as a sex worker. Technically, any premises where prostitution takes place qualifies as a brothel. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments sometimes describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub parlours, studios, sex work in a brothel is considered safer than street prostitution. Under English criminal law, a brothel is commonly referred to as a disorderly house, attitudes around the world to prostitution and how it should be regulated vary considerably, and have varied over time. Part of the impacts on whether the operation of brothels should be legal. On 2 December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, the Convention came into effect on 25 July 1951 and as at December 2013 has been ratified by 82 states. The Convention seeks to combat prostitution, which it regards as incompatible with the dignity, parties to the Convention agreed to abolish regulation of individual prostitutes, and to ban brothels and procuring. Some countries not parties to the Convention also ban prostitution or the operation of brothels, various United Nations commissions, however, have differing positions on the issue. In the European Union, there is no policy and no consensus on the issue. The European Womens Lobby condemns prostitution as a form of male violence. In February 2014, the members of the European Parliament voted in a resolution, in favor of the Swedish Model of criminalizing the buying. Prostitution and the operation of brothels is illegal in many countries, such situations exist in many parts of the world, but the region most often associated with these policies is Asia. When brothels are illegal they may operate in the guise of a legitimate business, such as massage parlors. In other places, prostitution itself may be legal, but many activities which surround it are illegal and this is the situation, for example, in the United Kingdom, Italy and France. In a few countries, prostitution and operating a brothel is legal, the degree of regulation varies widely by country. Most of these countries allow brothels, at least in theory, in parts of Australia, for example, brothels are legal and regulated. Regulation includes planning controls and licensing and registration requirements, and there may be other restrictions, however, the existence of licensed brothels does not stop illegal brothels from operating. The Netherlands has one of the most liberal prostitution policies in the world, amsterdam is well known for its red-light district and is a destination for sex tourism
4.
Singel
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The Singel is a canal in Amsterdam which encircled the city in the Middle Ages. It served as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel, the canal runs from the IJ bay, near Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river. It is now the inner-most canal in Amsterdams semicircular ring of canals, the canal should not be confused with the Singelgracht canal, which became the outer limit of the city during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th Century. Other Dutch towns also have ring-shaped canals named Singel, Amsterdams famous flower market, Bloemenmarkt, is located along the Singel between Koningsplein and Muntplein squares. The market stalls are actually boats floating in the canal, part of the Singel has been designated a red-light district, with prostitutes offering their services from behind red-lit windows. The area, known as the Singelgebied, is located near Lijnbaanssteeg, yab Yum, one of Amsterdams most exclusive brothels until closed by the local authority in January 2008, was located at Singel 295. The Singel is lined by many beautiful, richly decorated canal houses built during the Dutch Golden Age, notable buildings along the canal include, A house said to be the narrowest in the world — only one meter wide, at Singel 7. De Dolphijn, at Singel 140-142, a monumental canalside house built in ca,1600, once inhabited by Frans Banning Cocq, the central figure in Rembrandts painting The Night Watch. The Oude Lutherse Kerk, at Singel 411, built in 1632-1633, the Ronde Lutherse Kerk, also known as Koepelkerk or Nieuwe Lutherse Kerk, built in 1668-1671. The library of the University of Amsterdam, at Singel 425, the Kalvertoren shopping center, between Koningsplein and Muntplein squares. The Munttoren tower, originally part of a gate in the Medieval city walls, on Muntplein square, the Haringpakkerstoren tower was part of Amsterdams Medieval city defenses. The tower stood at the beginning of the Singel, near the IJ, the municipal government is currently considering a plan to rebuild the tower and adjacent houses. However, this remains highly controversial, opponents consider it in poor taste. The Torensluis, built in 1648, is an arched and exceptionally wide bridge across the Singel, now covered by cosy café terraces and a bust of Dutch writer Multatuli, the Torensluis is the oldest remaining bridge in Amsterdam, and also the widest bridge in Amsterdam. The Jan Roodepoortstoren tower stood on one end of the bridge but was torn down in 1829, however, the towers foundations remain part of the bridge. The entrance and barred windows of the dungeon are still visible. The bridge, also known as Brug 9, crosses the Singel near Dam square, up until the 15th century, the Singel was known as the Stedegracht. In the 17th century the canal was known for time as Koningsgracht, in honor of King Henry IV of France
5.
Peep show
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A peep show or peepshow is an exhibition of pictures, objects or people viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. Peep shows, also known as peep box or raree show can be traced back to modern times and are known in various cultures. A peep show could be a box with a hole or several holes. The boxes were decorated inside to resemble theatrical scenes. The show was accompanied by spoken recitation that explained or dramatized what was happening inside, 19th-century Chinese peep shows were known by many names including la yang pien. Sometimes the showman would perform for a crowd with puppets or pictures outside the box, in Ottoman Syria a form of peep show called sanduk al-ajayib existed, which the storyteller carried on his back. The box had six holes through which people could see scenes backlit by a central candle, sanduk al-ajayib stories were about contemporary figures and events, or showed scenes of heaven and hell. Raree shows were precursors of toy theatres, with scenes and paper figurines. Peep shows have used for erotic and pornographic pictures, such as What the Butler Saw. In contemporary use, a show is a piecewise presentation of pornographic films or a live sex show which is viewed through a viewing slot. The viewing slots can be operated by a box device. For live peep shows, booths can surround a stage upon which usually a female performer performs a striptease, in Barcelona female performers at times also perform sexual intercourse with male performers on stage. In some cases, booths include paper towel dispensers, for customers who engage in masturbation. A customer and performer can mutually agree on a fee for a private dance, the researchers compared 911 calls in peep show and control neighborhoods in San Diego. Although peep show neighborhoods had approximately 16 percent more calls, the researchers concluded that the difference was not statistically significant, other researchers reanalyzed the data and concluded that the difference was significant. Regal Show World was an entertainment business on lower Market Street in San Francisco. The companys slogan was Where you are king, the business had a peep show and an adult video arcade. The peep show had performers working in a round room with viewing booths surrounding it
6.
Cannabis (drug)
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Cannabis, also known as marijuana among several other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. The main psychoactive part of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol, one of 483 known compounds in the plant, Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporization, within food, or as an extract. Cannabis is often used for its mental and physical effects, such as a high or stoned feeling, a change in perception, euphoria. Short term side effects may include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, red eyes, long term side effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability in those who started as teenagers, and behavioral problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy. Onset of effects is within minutes when smoked and about 30 to 60 minutes when cooked and they last for between two and six hours. Cannabis is mostly used recreationally or as a medicinal drug and it may also be used for religious or spiritual purposes. In 2013, between 128 and 232 million people used cannabis, in 2015, 43% of Americans had used cannabis, which increased to 51% in 2016. About 12% have used it in the past year, and 7. 3% have used it in the past month and this makes it the most commonly used illegal drug both in the world and the United States. The earliest recorded uses date from the 3rd millennium BC, since the early 20th century, cannabis has been subject to legal restrictions. The possession, use, and sale of cannabis is illegal in most countries of the world, Medical cannabis refers to the physician-recommended use of cannabis, which is taking place in Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and 23 U. S. states. Cannabis use started to become popular in the US in the 1970s, support for legalization has increased in the United States and several US states have legalized recreational or medical use. Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana can refer to the use of cannabis and its cannabinoids to treat disease or improve symptoms, however, the use of cannabis as a medicine has not been rigorously scientifically tested, often due to production restrictions and other federal regulations. There is limited evidence suggesting cannabis can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, to improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS and its use for other medical applications is insufficient for conclusions about safety or efficacy. Short-term use increases the risk of minor and major adverse effects. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. Concerns include memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in people. Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, at higher doses, effects can include altered body image, auditory and/or visual illusions, pseudohallucinations and ataxia from selective impairment of polysynaptic reflexes. In some cases, cannabis can lead to states such as depersonalization and derealization
7.
Coffeeshop (Netherlands)
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In the Netherlands, coffeeshops are establishments where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. Under the drug policy of the Netherlands, the sale of products in small quantities is allowed by licensed coffeeshops. The majority of these also serve drinks and food, coffeeshops are not allowed to serve alcohol or other drugs, and risk closure if they are found to be selling soft drugs to minors, hard drugs or selling alcohol. The idea of licensing the sale of cannabis was introduced in the 1970s for the purpose of keeping hard. In the Netherlands,105 of the 443 municipalities have at least one coffeeshop, a Dutch judge has ruled that tourists can legally be banned from entering cannabis cafes, as part of restrictions that were implemented in 2012. This ban is implemented by the municipalities and does not apply to the city of Amsterdam, Dutch coffeehouses not serving cannabis are called café, however this word can also refer to a bar. All these rules are detailed in official policies, coffeeshops are no longer allowed to sell alcohol. Most coffeeshops advertise, and the constraint is more moderating than outright prohibitive, in a gesture of discretion still technically required, many coffeeshops keep the cannabis menu below the counter, even when the cannabis itself is in more-or-less plain view. This aesthetic attracts many artists who may be paid to create murals in the coffeeshops and use the Rastafari. There are proposals for remedying this situation, e. g. by controlled growing of cannabis to replace imports, in 2008, the Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten organised a wiettop, attended by 33 Dutch mayors from both big and small municipalities and various political parties. Reasons for the summit were drugs tourism in border regions, the link with illegality. At this wiettop, all agreed that regulation of the backdoor was desirable. Rob van Gijzel, mayor of Eindhoven announced he intended to start a pilot of issuing licenses for the production of cannabis. But near the borders, the front door should also be regulated and this would also greatly decrease the demand at the backdoor. Intentions were to discuss the results of the wiettop with the government before the end of 2008. As of 2014, this discussion is still ongoing, however, liberal minister Ivo Opstelten has blocked any such proposals so far and has refused to investigate it altogether. The mayors are still trying to force the minister to at least investigate the situation, in a survey among mayors by NRC Handelsblad at the time of the wiettop 80% of the mayors were in favour of regulating the backdoor. However, only 18% were in favour of making the market for soft drugs completely free, 22% were in favour of reducing the number of coffeeshops and 10% want to close them all
8.
Oude Kerk, Amsterdam
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The 800-year-old Oude Kerk is Amsterdam’s oldest building and oldest parish church, founded ca.1213 and consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the Reformation in 1578 it became a Calvinist church, which it remains today and it stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdams main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein, by around 1213, a wooden chapel had been erected at the location of todays Oude Kerk. Over time, this structure was replaced by a church that was consecrated in 1306. The church has seen a number of performed by 15 generations of Amsterdam citizens. The church stood for only a half-century before the first alterations were made, not long after the turn of the 15th century, north and south transepts were added to the church creating a cross formation. Work on these renovations was completed in 1460, though it is likely that progress was interrupted by the great fires that besieged the city in 1421 and 1452. Before the Alteratie, or Reformation in Amsterdam of 1578, the Oude Kerk was Roman Catholic, following William the Silent’s defeat of the Spanish in the Dutch Revolt, the church was taken over by the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church. Only the paintings on the ceiling, which were unreachable, were spared, locals would gather in the church to gossip, peddlers sold their goods, and beggars sought shelter. This was not tolerated by the Calvinists, however, and the homeless were expelled, in 1681, the choir was closed-off with screen of oak. Above the screen is the text, The prolonged misuse of Gods church, were here undone again in the year seventy-eight, in that same year, the Oude Kerk became home to the registry of marriages. It was also used as the city archives, the most important documents were locked in a chest covered with iron plates, the chest was kept safe in the iron chapel. The bust of famous organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck celebrates the lifetime he spent playing in the church and his early career began at the age of fifteen when he succeeded his deceased father Pieter Swybertszoon as the Oude Kerk’s organist. He went on to music for all 150 Psalms and secured an international reputation as a leading Dutch composer. His music would also be played over the city from the bell tower. He is buried in the church, Rembrandt was a frequent visitor to the Oude Kerk and his children were all christened here. It is the building in Amsterdam that remains in its original state since Rembrandt walked its halls. In the Holy Sepulchre is a small Rembrandt exhibition, a shrine to his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh who was buried here in 1642, each year on 9 March, at 8,39 am, the early morning sun briefly illuminates her tomb
9.
Rokin
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Rokin is a canal and major street in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Originally it was part of the river Amstel, and was then as Ruck-in. The Rokin canal used to run from Muntplein square to Dam Square, in 1936, the part between Spui square and Dam square was filled in. On the remaining part of the water, canal boats are now moored, during the on-going construction of the North-South line, a new metro line, archeologists will dig down to a depth of approximately 20 meters on the Rokin. The Mirakelkolom, which stands on the Rokin, has been temporarily removed during the construction of the metro line. The Mirakelkolom is a column made up of remnants of the Heilige Stede. The chapel was demolished in 1908, amsterdams first commodities exchange was built in 1608-1609 at the corner of the Rokin and Dam Square. The commodities exchange, designed by Hendrick de Keyser, played a key part in the success of the city during the Dutch Golden Age. The building was demolished in 1835, a fire in the Rokin on May 9,1977, claimed 33 deaths. Arti et Amicitiae, a society and art gallery at the corner of Rokin and Spui, constructed in 1841. The former offices of The Marine Insurance Company Limited at Rokin 69, tobacco shop Hajenius at Rokin 92-96, royal purveyor of cigars and other tobacco goods since 1826. Both the building from 1914 and the richly decorated interior were designed by the brothers van Gendt, the Allard Pierson Museum for antiquities, on the Oude Turfmarkt, in the former headquarters of the Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank. Magazijn De Gouden Bril, the oldest remaining optician on the Netherlands, there is a statue of a monkey with binoculars on the rooftop. Hotel de lEurope, at the corner of Nieuwe Doelenstraat and Rokin, construction is in progress on the Rokin metro station on the North-South line of the Amsterdam Metro. Rokin is served by tram lines 4,9,14,16,24 &25
10.
Damrak
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The Damrak is an avenue and partially filled in canal at the centre of Amsterdam, running between Amsterdam Centraal in the north and Dam Square in the south. It is the street where people arriving at the station enter the centre of Amsterdam. Also it is one of the two GVB tram routes from the station into the centre, with lines 4,9,16 and it is also on the route of the North/South Line being constructed between the existing metro station at Centraal Station and the new Rokin station. The street was located on a rak, a part of the Amstel river near a dam. In the 19th century, a section of it was filled in, the Beurs van Berlage now serves as a concert and exhibition hall. Today, the area is known for its restaurants, bars and its canals serve as a busy area for canal boats, as well
11.
Amstel
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The Amstel is a river in the Netherlands which runs through the city of Amsterdam. The rivers name is derived from Aeme-stelle, old Dutch for water-area, namely, the well-known bridge Magere Brug in Amsterdam crosses the river, as do the bridges Blauwbrug, Hoge Sluis and Berlagebrug. The Stopera city hall and opera house and Carré theatre are located on the banks of the river. A nationally televised concert is held on the every year on Bevrijdingsdag. The rowing races Head of the River Amstel and Heineken Roeivierkamp are held on the river annually, the river also forms part of the route of the Canal Parade, Amsterdams annual floating gay pride parade. Amstel beer is named after the river, the Amstel brewery, as many other breweries, was situated close to the Amstel river because river water was used to produce the beer. The river originally began where two rivers, the Drecht and Kromme Mijdrecht, joined together, a little south of Uithoorn. After the construction of a canal, the Amstel-Drecht Kanaal, the river now begins where the Drecht and another canal, tributary rivers are the Kromme Mijdrecht, Bullewijk and Waver. The rivers outlet is in Amsterdam, where it meets the IJ bay, however, during 1936 the last part of the river was filled in, so the river now ends near Muntplein square, although it remains connected to the bay through subterranean pipes. The river contains one island, Amsteleiland, at 52°17′15″N 4°53′15″E. The only road leading to it belongs to the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel and it has an area of about 0.05 km². Amsterdam took its name from the river, the city developed from a small fishing village named Amstelredam, built during the 13th century alongside a dam at the mouth of the river. The town was granted city rights about 1300, the hamlet developed into the small town Amsteldam, which later became Amsterdam. The area through which the river passes is known as the Amstelland, the city and municipality of Amstelveen, the municipality of Ouder-Amstel, the towns of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel and Nes aan de Amstel are all named for the river as well. Amsterdam has a street named Amstel, a square named Amstelveld, in the former Dutch colonies in North America, a town was captured from the Swedes in 1655 and renamed Nieuw-Amstel. It is now known as New Castle, Delaware, the river has been depicted by many artists, including, Aert van der Neer Rembrandt Willem Witsen George Hendrik Breitner Piet Mondrian Media related to Amstel at Wikimedia Commons
12.
Dam Square
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Dam Square or Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city and the country. Dam Square lies in the center of Amsterdam, approximately 750 meters south of the main transportation hub, Centraal Station. It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching about 200 meters from west to east and it links the streets Damrak and Rokin, which run along the original course of the Amstel River from Centraal Station to Muntplein and the Munttoren. The Dam also marks the endpoint of the other well-traveled streets Nieuwendijk, a short distance beyond the northeast corner lies the main red-light district, de Wallen. On the west end of the square is the neoclassical Royal Palace, beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk and the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. The National Monument, a stone pillar designed by J. J. P. Oud and erected in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II, also overlooking the plaza are the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. These various attractions have turned the Dam into a tourist zone, the Dam derives its name from its original function, a dam on the Amstel River, hence also the name of the city. Built in approximately 1270, the dam formed the first connection between the settlements on the sides of the river, as the dam was gradually built up to it became wide enough for a town square, which remained the core of the town developing around it. Dam Square as it exists today grew out of what was originally two squares, the dam, called Middeldam, and Plaetse, an adjacent plaza to the west. A large fish market arose where ships moored at the dam to load and unload goods, the area became a centre not only of commercial activity but also of the government, as the site of Amsterdams town hall. As a market square, the Dam had a house that can be seen in some old paintings. It was demolished in 1808 by order of Louis Bonaparte who, upon taking up residence in the newly converted Royal Palace, complained that his view was obstructed. The Damrak, or the mouth of the Amstel River, was partially filled in the 19th century, since then. The new land made room for the Beurs van Zocher, an exchange that was built in 1837. After the stock moved to the Beurs van Berlage in 1903. In its place, De Bijenkorf department store has stood since 1914, in 1856, a war memorial named De Eendracht was unveiled inside the square before King William III
13.
Dutch Revolt
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The southern provinces initially joined in the revolt, but later submitted to Spain. The religious clash of cultures built up gradually but inexorably into outbursts of violence against the repression of the Habsburg Crown. These tensions led to the formation of the independent Dutch Republic, the first leader was William of Orange, followed by several of his descendants and relations. This revolt was one of the first successful secessions in Europe, and led to one of the first European republics of the modern era, King Philip was initially successful in suppressing the rebellion. In 1572, however, the rebels captured Brielle and the rebellion resurged, the northern provinces became independent, first in 1581 de facto, and in 1648 de jure. The Southern Netherlands remained under Spanish rule, the continuous heavy-handed rule by the Habsburgs in the south caused many of its financial, intellectual, and cultural elite to flee north, contributing to the success of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch imposed a blockade on the southern provinces which prevented Baltic grain relieving famine in the southern towns. The first phase of the conflict can be considered to be the Dutch War of Independence, the focus of the latter phase was to gain official recognition of the already de facto independence of the United Provinces. This phase coincided with the rise of the Dutch Republic as a major power, in a series of marriages and conquests, a succession of Dukes of Burgundy expanded their original territory by adding to it a series of fiefdoms, including the Seventeen Provinces. Although Burgundy itself had been lost to France in 1477, the Burgundian Netherlands were still intact when Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500 and he was raised in the Netherlands and spoke fluent Dutch, French, Spanish, and some German. In 1506, he became lord of the Burgundian states, among which were the Netherlands, subsequently, in 1516, he inherited several titles, including the combined kingdoms of Aragon, and Castile and León which had become a worldwide empire with the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In 1519, he became ruler of the Habsburg empire, although Friesland and Guelders offered prolonged resistance, virtually all of the Netherlands had been incorporated into the Habsburg domains by the early 1540s. Flanders had long been a wealthy region, and had been coveted by the French kings for a long time. The other Netherlands had also grown into wealthy and entrepreneurial regions within the empire, Charles Vs empire became a worldwide empire with large American and European territories. The latter were, however, distributed throughout Europe, control and defense of these were hampered by the disparity of the territories and huge length of the empires borders. This large realm was almost continuously at war with its neighbors in its European heartlands, most notably against France in the Italian Wars, further wars were fought against Protestant princes in Germany. The Netherlands paid heavy taxes to fund these wars, but perceived them as unnecessary and sometimes downright harmful, during the 16th century, Protestantism rapidly gained ground in northern Europe. Dutch Protestants, after initial repression, were tolerated by local authorities, by the 1560s, the Protestant community had become a significant influence in the Netherlands, although it clearly formed a minority then
14.
Fornication
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Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. The significance of sexual acts to which the term is applied varies between religions, societies and cultures, in modern usage, the term is often replaced with a value judgment term like extramarital sex. The first recorded use in English is in the Cursor Mundi,1300, the Oxford English Dictionary records a figurative use as well, The forsaking of God for idols. Fornicated as an adjective is used in botany, meaning arched or bending over. The Pauline epistles contain multiple condemnations of various forms of extramarital sex, First Corinthians and the Epistle to the Galatians also address fornication. The Apostolic Decree of the Council of Jerusalem also includes a prohibition of fornication, throughout history, most theologians have argued that any and all forms of premarital sex are immoral. An historical example is the medieval English monastic, John Baconthorpe, a more contemporary example is the modern-day theologian Lee Gatiss who argues that premarital sex is immoral based on scripture. He states that, from a Biblical perspective, physical union should not take place outside of a one flesh union, in chapter 7 Paul addresses the situation of two unmarried Christians who are burning with passion who should either exercise self-control or be permitted to marry. The underlying assumptions are the same as those in Deuteronomy 22, however, a minority of theologians have argued in more recent times that premarital sex may not be immoral in some limited circumstances. An example is John Witte, who argues that the Bible itself is silent on the issue of consensual, premarital sex between an engaged couple, some of the debate arises from the question of which theological approach is being applied. A deontological view of sex interprets porneia, aselgeia and akatharsia in terms of whether the couple are married or non-married, what makes sex moral or immoral is the context of marriage. Elsewhere in First Corinthians, incest, homosexual intercourse and prostitution are all explicitly forbidden by name, Paul is preaching about activities based on sexual prohibitions laid out in Leviticus in the context of achieving holiness. One theory therefore suggests that it is these behaviours, and only these, however, most mainstream Christian sources believe that porneia encompasses all forms of premarital sex. Likewise, Fribergs Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament defines porneia as being generally, every kind of extramarital, Lee Gatiss also argues that porneia encompasses all forms of premarital sex. He states that the word fornication has gone out of fashion and is not in use to describe non-marital sex. However, it is an excellent translation for porneia, which referred to any kind of sex outside of marriage. But the overwhelming weight of scholarship and all the evidence from the ancient world points firmly in this direction. Flee sexual immorality and pursue self-control was the message to Christians in a sex-crazed world
15.
Zeedijk
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Zeedijk is a street in the old centre of Amsterdam. The street is the northern and eastern boundary of De Wallen red-light district, the Zeedijk neighbourhood is also known as the Nautical Quarter because of its past as a sailors neighbourhood. The zeedijk was constructed as seawall or dike to protect Amsterdam from the water of the IJ, the streets curvature is a noticeable remnant of its adherence to the contours of the old dike. Halfway along the dike is the former Sint Anthoniespoort, the old city gate now called the Waag, beyond the gate running south-east, the dike continued as Sint Antoniesdijk. The neighbourhood is one of the oldest parts of Amsterdam, in 1544, Zeedijk was the first street to have permanent street lights installed. Until the 17th century, the curve of the promenade was one of the most respectable places where one could live, after the construction of the luxurious Herengracht, the wealthy merchants moved out of the area and it became a centre of nightlife for passing sailors. The old bars and the shops for ship supplies are still a reminder of this, Zeedijk is the heart of Chinatown, the Chinese neighbourhood of Amsterdam. There are many tokos and restaurants there, such as Nam Kee, described in the novel De Oesters van Nam Kee by Kees van Beijnum, the text on the street signs in the Zeedijk area and Nieuwmarkt are both in Dutch as well as in Chinese. The neighborhood is the location of the Guang Shan He Hua Temple and it was at the Zeedijk where jazz musician Chet Baker died in 1988. He fell or threw out the window of the Prins Hendrik Hotel. A plaque was put up at the site in his memory, Café t Mandje on Zeedijk 63 was an early example of a bar where, aside from prostitutes, pimps and sailors, gays and lesbians were also welcome. Opened in 1927, owner Bet van Beeren soon became an icon within Amsterdams LGBT community, after her death in 1967, her sister Greet continued the café until 1983. It was reopened in 2008 by relatives, besides Café t Mandje, there were other gay bars in Zeedijk as well. Around 1998, four gay bars had opened in proximity to each other along the bend at the north-east end of Zeedijk. Once a year, in August, the Hartjesdagen take place on the Zeedijk, a festival featuring a parade of costumed participants
16.
Nieuwmarkt
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Nieuwmarkt is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The surrounding area is known as the Nieuwmarktbuurt and it is situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The square is considered part of Amsterdams Chinatown, next to the De Wallen, there are over 20 cafés and coffeeshops facing the square. There is a market on the square, as well as an organic food market on Saturdays. The Nieuwmarkt is dominated by a known as the Waag, originally a gate in the Medieval city walls. The square was created when the canals around the Waag were filled in 1614, in World War II the square was used by the Nazis as a collection point for Jews who had been rounded up to be sent to the concentration camps. In the 1970s many buildings on and around the square were torn down to make way for a planned metro and this led to heavy rioting, known as the Nieuwmarkt Riots, in 1975 and, ultimately, abandonment of the highway plans. The metro, however, was constructed, and Nieuwmarkt is now a station on the Amsterdam metro system, documentation about the Nieuwmarkt riots at the Amsterdam City Archives
17.
Canals of Amsterdam
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Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than one hundred kilometers of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. Much of the Amsterdam canal system is the outcome of city planning. In the early part of the 17th century, with immigration rising, known as the grachtengordel, three of the canals are mostly for residential development, and a fourth, outer canal, Singelgracht, for purposes of defense and water management. The defensive purpose of the Nassau/Stadhouderskade was served by moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, construction of the north-western sector was started in 1613 and was finished around 1625. After 1664, building in the sector was started, although slowly because of an economic depression. The eastern part of the canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ Bay, was not implemented for a long time. In the following centuries, the land went mostly for park, several parts of the city and of the urban area are polders, recognisable by their postfix -meer meaning lake, such as Aalsmeer, Bijlmermeer, Haarlemmermeer, and Watergraafsmeer. The canals in Amsterdam are now used as a form of transportation around the city. Inward to outward, the canals are as follows, Singel encircled the city of Amsterdam. It served as a moat around the city from 1480 until 1585, the canal runs from the IJ Bay, near Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river. It is now the inner-most canal in Amsterdams semicircular ring of canals, the canal should not be confused with Singelgracht canal, which became the outer limit of the city during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th Century. Herengracht is the first of the three canals in the city centre of Amsterdam. The canal is named after the heren regeerders who governed the city in the 16th and 17th century, the most fashionable part is called the Golden Bend, with many double wide mansions, inner gardens and coach houses on Keizersgracht. Samuel Sarphati lived at the house at number 598 and Peter the Great stayed at the house at number 527 during his visit to Amsterdam. Keizersgracht is the second and widest of the three canals in the city centre of Amsterdam, in between Herengracht and Prinsengracht. It is named after Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Prinsengracht is the fourth and the longest of the main canals in Amsterdam. It is named after the Prince of Orange, most of the canal houses along it were built during the Dutch Golden Age of the United Provinces
18.
Oudekerksplein
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The Oudekerksplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square, the Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. Originally the Oudekerksplein was a graveyard, in 1655, the graveyard was cleared and moved to a new location beyond the city limits, creating the present square. The Oudekerksplein lies at the heart of the district of De Wallen. Along the square are some 35 windows from behind which prostitutes offer their services, as part of the so-called Project 1012, the Amsterdam city government is trying to reduce the number of prostitutes on Oudekerksplein. The city wants to remove all brothels from the square and replace them with restaurants, shops, artists workshops, as part of the plans, the coffeeshop on Oudekerksplein would also be closed. A statue titled Belle, honouring the prostitutes of the world, was placed on the square in 2007, the plaque on this statue reads, Respect sex workers all over the world. The street also has a relief of a hand caressing a female breast. The sculpture was set in the cobblestone in February 1993 by an anonymous artist, the 1968 Dutch documentary film Rondom het Oudekerksplein gave an impression of what life in the red-light district was like in the 1960s
19.
Napoleonic period
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The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. The Congress of Vienna soon set out to restore Europe to pre-French Revolution days, Napoleon brought political stability to a land torn by revolution and war. He made peace with the Roman Catholic Church and reversed the most radical religious policies of the Convention, in 1804 Napoleon promulgated the Civil Code, a revised body of civil law, which also helped stabilize French society. The Civil Code confirmed many of the revolutionary policies of the National Assembly. The code restored patriarchal authority in the family, for example, whilst working to stabilise France, Napoleon also sought to extend his authority throughout Europe. Napoleons armies conquered the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, occupied lands, and he forced Austria, Prussia, the United Kingdom refused to recognise French hegemony and continued the war throughout. The First French Empire began to unravel in 1812, when he decided to invade Russia, Napoleon underestimated the difficulties his army would have to face whilst occupying Russia. Convinced that the Tsar was conspiring with his British enemies, Napoleon led an army of 600,000 soldiers to Moscow. He defeated the Russian army at Borodino before capturing Moscow, but the Tsar withdrew and Moscow was set ablaze, leaving Napoleons vast army without adequate shelter or supplies. Napoleon ordered a retreat, but the bitter Russian winter and repeated Russian attacks whittled down his army, the allies then continued a united effort against Napoleon until they had seized Paris forcing his abdication in 1814. His return to power the year was resisted by all the allies
20.
Warmoesstraat
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Warmoesstraat is one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, running parallel to the river Amstel from Amsterdam Centraal railway station to Dam Square. Its origins are in the 13th century, in the 16th and 17th century it was the shopping street. The poet Joost van den Vondel sold silk stockings here, today, the busy Warmoesstraat has a variety shops, bars, restaurants, cheap hotels, coffee shops and sex boutiques. The Prostitution Information Center and the artist run W139 art space are located on this street. It is located adjacent to the Red light district, the Warmoesstraat-area is also known as the Leather area. There are many cruise and fetish bars and bars with darkrooms, the popular Zeedijk is close by, as well as the area around the NZ Kolk and Spuistraat where more and more gay life is opening up
21.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
22.
Work permit
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A work permit is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. It may also be a given to minors allowing them to work legally under child labor laws. Within an industry, a permit may be required to execute certain functions within a factory outside normal operational tasks - in some places they might be called Permit to Work. Currently, every EU country has a different process for granting work permits to nationals of non-EU countries, to address this issue, the European Commission began work in 1999 on developing an EU-wide process for the entry of non-EU nationals into the work force. In October 2007, they adopted a proposal to introduce a work similar to the United States Green Card program. It is similar to the UKs Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, with the exception that it will require an employment contract in place prior to migration. After two years in the first country, the migrant will be allowed to move and work in another EU country and this new card will abolish work permits across the EU and centralize the issuing from Brussels. The procedure to get a permit is quite elaborate since the applicant should prove that no French jobseeker fitted the position. Each of these involves its own process, and generally requires a job offer from a UK employer. The UK has stopped accepting work permits in many other categories, the UK work permit system is currently being replaced by a new points-based immigration system. According to the Federal Migration Service of Russia estimates, Russias 5 million foreign nationals work today, in order to work in Russia, foreign citizen must have a work visa, to obtain a work permit and get on migration registration in the Russian Federal Migration Service bodies. For foreign citizens arriving without visas there is a simplified procedure and that is, a foreigner can obtain a work permit for up to 90 days, and then to extend it after the job. However, it is recommended to immediately impose labor or civil contract, issuance of work permits is carried out taking into account the established quota. The quota is divided by region, Russia and the integrated vocational qualification groups, the work permit is valid within the subject of the Russian Federation, in which it was issued. In general, the United States does not require permits for adult citizens. However, certain aliens are required to have an Employment Authorization Document from the United States Citizenship, the federal government of the United States does not require work permits or proof-of-age certificates for a minor to be employed. However, the possession of an age certificate constitutes a good effort to comply with minimum age requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The United States Department of Labor will issue a certificate of age if the employees state does not issue them
23.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
24.
Drug policy of the Netherlands
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The drug policy of the Netherlands officially has four major objectives, To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users. To diminish public nuisance by drug users, to combat the production and trafficking of recreational drugs. By contrast, most other countries take the point of view that drug use is detrimental to society. This has caused friction between the Netherlands and other countries about the policy for cannabis, most notably with France, as of 2004, Belgium seems to be moving toward the Dutch model and a few local German legislators are calling for experiments based on the Dutch model. A new law came into force in the Netherlands requiring people to have membership cards to gain entry to coffeeshops and these cards are only available to residents of the Netherlands who apply for the card, known as a weed pass. This requirement was adopted by several provinces, including the cities of Maastricht. Entry into coffeeshops and the sale of cannabis in Amsterdam therefore remains permissible to anyone over the age of 18, maastricht’s association of coffeeshop owners lost in June 2012 in a Dutch court a legal challenge of the new rules against the citys mayor. Amsterdam has decided to not enforce the new law and will continue to sell to tourists, large-scale dealing, production, import and export are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, even if it does not supply end users or coffeeshops with more than the allowed amounts. Exactly how coffeeshops get their supplies is rarely investigated, however, the average concentration of THC in the cannabis sold in coffeeshops has increased from 9% in 1998 to 18% in 2005. This means that less plant material has to be consumed to achieve the same effect, one of the reasons is plant breeding and use of greenhouse technology for illegal growing of cannabis in Netherlands. The former minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner announced in June 2007 that cultivation of cannabis shall continue to be illegal, the drug policy of the Netherlands is marked by its distinguishing between so called soft and hard drugs. An often used argument is that alcohol, which is claimed by scientists as a hard drug, is legal. This may refer to the Prohibition in the 1920s, when the U. S. government decided to ban all alcohol. Prohibition created an opportunity for organized crime syndicates to smuggle alcohol. Cannabis remains a controlled substance in the Netherlands and both possession and production for use are still misdemeanors, punishable by fines. Coffeeshops are also illegal but are flourishing nonetheless. This is an official version of a common practice in other European countries wherein law enforcement sets priorities regarding offenses on which it is important enough to spend limited resources. According to current gedoogbeleid the possession of an amount of five grams cannabis for personal use is not prosecuted
25.
UN Office on Drugs and Crime
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It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and was renamed the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2002. In 2016 -2017 it has a biannual budget of US$700 million. The agency, employing between 1,500 and 2,000 people worldwide, has its headquarters in Vienna, with 21 field offices, the United Nations Secretary-General appoints the agencys Executive Director. Approximately 90% of the Offices funding comes from contributions, mainly from governments. UNODC incorporates the secretariat of the International Narcotics Control Board, the World Drug Report is a yearly publication that presents a comprehensive assessment of the international drug problem, with detailed information on the illicit drug situation. It provides estimates and information on trends in the production, trafficking and use of opium/heroin, coca/cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants. The Report, based on data and estimates collected or prepared by Governments, UNODC and other international institutions, United Nations Conventions and their related Protocols underpin all the operational work of UNODC. Another objective of the protocol is to protect the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect, the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air is concerned with the aggravating problem of organized crime groups for smuggling persons. The protocol aims to combat and prevent transnational smuggling as well as to promote cooperative measures for enhancing protective measures for victims. By adopting the protocol, the member states commit to adopt domestic criminal offences for illegal manufacturing, providing governmental licensing ammunition, the text of the Convention was negotiated during seven sessions held between 21 January 2002 and 1 October 2003. The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly on 31 October 2003, in 2003, the United Nations adopted the UN Convention against Corruption. The Convention came into force in December 2005, as of 9 November 2012,140 countries had signed and 164 countries had ratified the UNCAC. UNODC serves as the Secretariat for the Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC, there are three drug related treaties that guide UNODCs drug related programs. These three major drug control treaties are mutually supportive and complementary. They also include provisions on trafficking and drug abuse. UNODC launches campaigns to raise awareness of drugs and crime problems, on 26 June every year, UNODC marks the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. On 9 December every year, UNODC commemorates the International Anti-Corruption Day, the goal of the campaign is to mobilize support and to inspire people to act against drug abuse and trafficking. The campaign encourages people to put their health first and not to take drugs
26.
Human trafficking
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Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy, Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the rights of movement through coercion. Human trafficking is the trade in people, and does not necessarily involve the movement of the person from one place to another, according to the International Labour Organization, forced labor alone generates an estimated $150 billion in profits per annum as of 2014. Estimated that 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery, of these,14.2 million were exploited for labor,4.5 million were sexually exploited, and 2.2 million were exploited in state-imposed forced labor. Human trafficking is thought to be one of the activities of trans-national criminal organizations. Human trafficking is condemned as a violation of rights by international conventions. In addition, human trafficking is subject to a directive in the European Union, the protocol is one of three which supplement the CTOC. The Trafficking Protocol is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century, one of its purposes is to facilitate international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting such trafficking. Another is to protect and assist human traffickings victims with full respect for their rights as established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 2014, the International Labour Organization estimated $150 billion in annual profit is generated from forced labor alone. The average cost of a trafficking victim today is USD $90,000 which. The average slave in 1800 America was the equivalent to USD $40,000, though illegal, there may be no deception or coercion involved. After entry into the country and arrival at their ultimate destination, Human trafficking, on the other hand, is a crime against a person because of the violation of the victims rights through coercion and exploitation. Unlike most cases of smuggling, victims of human trafficking are not permitted to leave upon arrival at their destination. While smuggling requires travel, trafficking does not, trafficked people are held against their will through acts of coercion, and forced to work for or provide services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercial sexual exploitation, the arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment, or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, with the not being permitted or able to pay off the debt. Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, generally, the value of their work is greater than the original sum of money borrowed
27.
Job Cohen
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Marius Job Cohen is a retired Dutch politician who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and as Leader of the Labour Party from 2010 to 2012. Cohen is known as a builder and mediator, and as an advocate of social integration. Cohen a jurist by occupation, worked as a researcher for the Leiden University from 1971 until 1981, Cohen became a professor of jurisprudence at the State University of Limburg in 1983 and was appointed as rector of the State University of Limburg in 1991. Cohen accepted and resigned as rector and professor the day he took office as the new Undersecretary for Education. Cohen remained Undersecretary for Education and Sciences until the Cabinet Kok I was installed on 22 August 1994 and he returned to the State University of Limburg as rector and as a professor of jurisprudence in 1995. For the Dutch Senate election of 1995 Cohen was elected as a Member of the Senate taking office on 13 June 1995, on 1 August 1996 Cohen was selected as the Parliamentary leader of the Labour Party in the Senate. After the Dutch general election of 1998 Cohen was asked to become Undersecretary for Justice in the Cabinet Kok II. On 15 December 2000 Cohen was selected as Mayor of Amsterdam and resigned as Undersecretary for Justice on 1 January 2001, Cohen served as opposition leader against Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Cabinet Rutte I. Cohen remained a Member of the House of Representatives until 29 February 2012. Cohen semi-retired from active politics at the age of sixty-five and served as Chairman of the committee for the Project X Haren-riots. Following the end of his political career, Cohen occupied numerous seats on supervisory boards in several international non-governmental organizations. Marius Job Cohen was born in Haarlem in the province of North Holland and he is the second child of Adolf Emile Dolf Cohen and Henriëtte Hetty Koster. His elder brother is Floris Cohen and his parents both studied history and became high school teachers of history. They were liberal Jews, and were forced into hiding until the end of World War II and his paternal grandparents Hendrik Cohen and Flora Polak both died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. After the war, his father worked at the Dutch Institute for War Documentation, later he became a professor of medieval history and a rector magnificus at Leiden University. His mother became a member of the city council of Heemstede and his parents were both early members of the Labour Party. Cohen went to a primary school in Heemstede. He attended the secondary school Stedelijk Gymnasium in Haarlem from 1960 to 1966 and he studied Dutch public law at the University of Groningen from 1966 and obtained his Master of Laws degree in 1971. During his student years, he was a member of the student association Vindicat atque Polit, Cohen married Lidie Lodeweges on 2 July 1972 in Groningen
28.
European Single Market
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It is also intended to drive economic integration whereby the once separate economies of the member states become integrated within a single EU-wide economy. Half of the trade in goods within the EU is covered by legislation harmonised by the EU, the creation of the internal market as a seamless, single market is an ongoing process, with the integration of the service industry still containing gaps. It also has an international element, with the market represented as one in international trade negotiations. One of the core objectives of the European Economic Community was the development of a common market offering free movement of goods, service, people. Free movement of goods was established in principle through the union between its then-six member states. However the EEC struggled to enforce a single due to the absence of strong decision making structures. It was difficult to remove intangible barriers with mutual recognition of standards, in the end, it was launched on 1 January 1993. The new approach, pioneered at the Delors Commission, combined positive and negative integration, negative integration consists of prohibitions imposed on member states of discriminatory behaviour and other restrictive practices. Positive integration consists in approximation of laws and standards, especially important in this respect is the adoption of harmonising legislation under Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Thus harmonisation was largely used to basic health and safety standards were met. By 1992 about 90% of the issues had been resolved and in the year the Maastricht Treaty set about to create an Economic. Work on freedom for services did take longer, and was the last freedom to be implemented, mainly through the Posting of Workers Directive, in 1997 the Amsterdam Treaty abolished physical barriers across the internal market by incorporating the Schengen Area within the competences of the EU. The Schengen Agreement implements the abolition of border controls between most member states, common rules on visas, and police and judicial cooperation, even as the Lisbon Treaty came into force in 2009 however, some areas pertaining parts of the four freedoms had not yet been completely opened. Those, along with work on the economic and monetary union. The European Union is also a customs union and this means that member states have removed customs barriers between themselves and introduced a common customs policy towards other countries. By agreement between the Union and the states concerned Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Turkey also participate in the EU Customs Union, Article 30 TFEU prohibits member states from levying any duties on goods crossing a border, both goods produced within the EU and those produced outside. Neither the purpose of the charge, nor its name in domestic law, is relevant, since the Single European Act, there can be no systematic customs controls at the borders of member states. The emphasis is on post-import audit controls and risk analysis, physical controls of imports and exports now occur at traders premises, rather than at the territorial borders
29.
Negotiation
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Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties intended to reach a beneficial outcome over one or more issues where a conflict exists with respect to at least one of these issues. This beneficial outcome can be for all of the parties involved and it is aimed to resolve points of difference, to gain advantage for an individual or collective, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is often conducted by putting forward a position and making concessions to achieve an agreement. The degree to which the negotiating parties trust each other to implement the solution is a major factor in determining whether negotiations are successful. In many cases, negotiation is not a game, allowing for cooperation to improve the results of the negotiation. People negotiate daily, often without considering it a negotiation, professional negotiators are often specialized, such as union negotiators, leverage buyout negotiators, peace negotiator, or hostage negotiators. They may also work under other titles, such as diplomats, legislators, Negotiation can take a wide variety of forms, from a trained negotiator acting on behalf of a particular organization or position in a formal setting to an informal negotiation between friends. Negotiation can be contrasted with mediation, where a third party listens to each sides arguments and attempts to help craft an agreement between the parties. It can also be compared with arbitration, which resembles a legal proceeding, in arbitration, both sides make an argument as to the merits of their case and the arbitrator decides the outcome. This negotiation is also sometimes called positional or hard-bargaining negotiation, Negotiation theorists generally distinguish between two types of negotiation. Different theorists use different labels for the two types and distinguish them in different ways. Distributive negotiation is also sometimes called positional or hard-bargaining negotiation and attempts to distribute a fixed pie of benefits, distributive negotiation operates under zero sum conditions and implies that any gain one party makes is at the expense of the other and vice versa. For this reason, distributive negotiation is also sometimes called win-lose because of the assumption that one persons gain results in another persons loss, distributive negotiation examples include haggling prices on an open market, including the negotiation of the price of a car or a home. Distributive bargainers conceive of negotiation as a process of distributing a fixed amount of value, a distributive negotiation often involves people who have never had a previous interactive relationship, nor are they likely to do so again in the near future. Integrative negotiation is also called interest-based, merit-based, or principled negotiation and it is a set of techniques that attempts to improve the quality and likelihood of negotiated agreement by taking advantage of the fact that different parties value various outcomes differently. While distributive negotiation assumes there is an amount of value to be divided between the parties, integrative negotiation often attempts to create value in the course of the negotiation. Integrative negotiation often involves a degree of trust and the forming of a relationship. It can also involve creative problem-solving that aims to achieve mutual gains and it is also sometimes called win-win negotiation
30.
Christian
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A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
31.
Cobblestone
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Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. In England, it was commonplace since ancient times for flat stones with a narrow edge to be set on edge to provide an even paved surface. This was known as a surface and was common all over Britain. Pitched surfaces predate the use of regularly-sized granite setts by more than a thousand years, such pitched paving is quite distinct from that formed from rounded stones, although both forms are commonly referred to as cobbled surfaces. Most surviving genuinely old cobbled areas are in reality pitched surfaces, a cobbled area is known as a causey, cassay or cassie in Scots. Cobblestones are typically set in sand or similar material, or are bound together with mortar. Paving with cobblestones allows a road to be used all year long. It prevents the build-up of ruts often found in dirt roads and it has the additional advantage of not getting muddy in wet weather or dusty in dry weather. Shod horses are able to get better traction on stone cobbles, pitches or setts than tarmac/asphalt. In England, the custom was to strew the cobbles outside the house of a sick or dying person with straw to dampen the sound, cobblestones set in sand have the environmental advantage of being permeable paving, and of moving rather than cracking with movements in the ground. Cobblestones were largely replaced by quarried granite setts in the nineteenth century, the word cobblestone is often wrongly used to describe such treatment. Setts were relatively even and roughly rectangular stones that were laid in regular patterns, cobblestoned and setted streets gradually gave way to macadam roads, and later to tarmac, and finally to asphalt concrete at the beginning of the 20th century. However, cobblestones are often retained in areas, even for streets with modern vehicular traffic. Many older villages and cities in Europe are still paved with cobblestones or pitched, in recent decades, cobblestones have become a popular material for paving newly pedestrianised streets in Europe. In this case, the nature of the surface is an advantage as pedestrians can hear approaching vehicles. The visual cues of the cobblestones also clarify that the area is more than just a normal street, the use of cobblestones/setts is also considered to be a more upmarket roadway solution, having been described as unique and artistic compared to the normal asphalt road environment. In some places such as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, as late as the 1990s some busy intersections still showed cobblestones through worn down sections of pavement. In Toronto streets using setts were used by routes and disappeared by the 1980s
32.
Government of Amsterdam
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The Government of Amsterdam consists of several territorial and functional forms of local and regional government. The principal form of government is the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands, the municipalitys territory covers the city of Amsterdam as well as a number of small towns. The city of Amsterdam is also part of several forms of regional government. The city of Amsterdam is a municipality under the Dutch Municipalities Act and it is governed by a municipal council, a municipal executive board, and a mayor. The mayor is both a member of the executive board and an individual authority with a number of statutory responsibilities. The municipal council has 45 seats and its members are elected for a four-year term through city-wide elections on the basis of proportional representation. Under the Municipalities Act, the mayor is appointed for a term by the national government upon nomination by the municipal council. The other members of the board are appointed directly by the municipal council. Because of this system, the alderpersons are not appointed until a governing majority in the council has reached a coalition agreement following council elections. In July 2010, Eberhard van der Laan was appointed mayor of Amsterdam by the government for a six-year term after being nominated by the Amsterdam municipal council. After the 2014 municipal council elections, a majority of D66, VVD. Next to the mayor, the executive board consists of eight wethouders appointed by the municipal council, four D66 alderpersons. After the 2006 municipal elections a coalition was formed between PvdA and GroenLinks, with a majority of 27 out of 45 and these elections saw a political landslide throughout the country, with a strong shift to the left, of which Amsterdam was a prime example. PvdA even needed only 3 more seats to form a coalition and could take its pick. In the case of GroenLinks, this was mostly the policy of searching by the police. In total,24 parties took part in the elections, including 11 new ones, Amsterdam Anders/De groenen got assigned one seat at first, but lost it after redistibution, which in the Netherlands is done through a system that favours big parties. In 2002 they only just missed out on a seat in a similar manner. Before 2014, the boroughs were responsible for activities that previously had been run by the central city
33.
Yab Yum (brothel)
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Yab Yum was one of the best-known and most exclusive brothels in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Located in a 17th-century canal house on the Singel, it catered to businessmen. A second Yab Yum operated for a while in Rotterdam, but has since been closed, in January 2008, the city of Amsterdam closed the brothel by revoking its license, alleging that it was being used for criminal activity. As of 2005, the fee was 70 euros, which included a drink. Sex for one hour cost 300 euros, but typically required the purchase of an expensive bottle of champagne. The club advertised in student newspapers to find employees, in 1997, it was reported that a woman earned up to $10,000 per month working at Yab Yum, tax free. Anticipating stricter regulation, the agreed to pay taxes for its 55 employees starting 1 January 1998. When he was turned down, he filed a lawsuit, the airport brothel was never opened. He complained about the atmosphere caused by the ordinary clientele that night. The club has repeatedly mentioned in connection with corruption affairs. In 1998 it was alleged that a director of a brokerage house regularly obtained insider information by inviting senior executives to Yab Yum, in 2002 a former manager of a building company alleged that civil servants were commonly bribed with visits to Yab Yum. Adkins was assassinated later that year and Bruinsma was shot to death in 1991, a newspaper article in 2006 reported that true ownership of the brothel had long been in the hands of mafia figures, beginning with Klaas Bruinsma, who called it the club house. After Bruinsmas death, his associates Sam Klepper and John Mieremet took over, Klepper was murdered in 2000, Mieremet survived an assassination attempt in 2002 but was murdered in 2005. In November 2007 it was reported that the city of Amsterdam was trying to close the brothel by revoking its license and this was part of a larger campaign of mayor Job Cohen to reduce the number of sex businesses operating in the city center. Closure was done with the Bibob act which does not require proof of criminal activities or criminal connections, Yab Yum appealed the revocation of the license. On 4 January 2008 the court confirmed the action of the city, in a public statement, the brothel denied any connection with the Hells Angels and vowed to appeal the ruling. The brothel closed on 7 January 2008, on 15 January 2008 a higher court confirmed the decision, Yab Yum lost its license and will remain closed. On 3 April 2010 an offer was announced, sex club owner Hennie Vittali was asking €6m for the name, the Yab Yum building has been bought for 3 million euros and the brand for 1 million euro by entrepreneur Chris Kraijpoel
34.
Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum
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The Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum is a museum located in De Wallen, Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to the museum, more than two million visitors have visited the exhibition since it opened in 1985, dedicated to cannabis and its many uses, the museum offers visitors information about the historical and modern uses of cannabis for medicinal, spiritual and cultural purposes. The museum also focuses on how hemp can be used for agricultural and industrial purposes, even including clothing accessories, in 2012 the museum opened a second location in Barcelona, the Hash Marihuana Cáñamo & Hemp Museum. The Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum is located at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 148, open daily, and costs €9 per adult. The museum includes a live cannabis garden in stages of growth, pipe and roach clip collections, an 1836 Dutch Bible made of hemp. The museum also contains artwork, including David Teniers the Youngers painting, Hemp-Smoking Peasants in a Smoke House, the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum is often cited in travel books as a destination to visit in Amsterdam due to the unique drug policy of cannabis in the Netherlands. Time Out Amsterdam asserted cannabis connoisseurs will lose themselves ogling larger than life pictures of perfect plants, but this shrine to skunk is not only for smokers and tokers. Straighter-laced visitors will be entertained by the long and illustrious history of the plant, author Rick Steves wrote that the museum was informative, but small and somewhat overpriced, educational but not very entertaining. List of museums in Amsterdam Official website
35.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
36.
The Seattle Times
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The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the daily newspaper in the state of Washington and has the largest Sunday circulation in the Pacific Northwest. It has been Seattles only major daily print newspaper since the demise of the version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2009. The Seattle Times originated as the Seattle Press-Times, a newspaper founded in 1891 with a daily circulation of 3,500. Renamed the Seattle Daily Times, it doubled its circulation within half a year, by 1915, circulation stood at 70,000. The newspaper moved to the Times Square Building at 5th Avenue and it built a new headquarters, the Seattle Times Building, north of Denny Way in 1930. The paper moved to its current headquarters at 1000 Denny Way in 2011, the Seattle Times switched from afternoon delivery to mornings on March 6,2000, citing that the move would help them avoid the fate of other defunct afternoon newspapers. This placed the Times in direct competition with its JOA partner, nine years later, the P-I became an online-only publication. The Times is one of the few remaining major city dailies in the United States independently operated and owned by a local family. The Seattle Times Company, while owning and operating the Times, the McClatchy Company owns 49.5 percent of voting common stock in the Seattle Times Company, formerly held by Knight Ridder until 2006. The Times reporting has received 10 Pulitzer Prizes, most recently for its news coverage of the 2014 landslide that killed 43 people in Oso. It has a reputation for its investigative journalism, in particular. In February 2002, The Seattle Times ran a subheadline American outshines Kwan, many Asian Americans felt insulted by the Times actions even after the newspaper apologized, because Michelle Kwan is also American. The newspapers management said the ads were aimed at demonstrating how effective advertising with The Times can be, the advertisements in favor of McKenna represent an $80,000 independent expenditure, making the newspaper the third largest contributor to his campaign. More than 100 staffers signed a letter of protest sent to Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen, the two papers maintained their own identities with separate news and editorial departments. The Times announced its intention to cancel the Joint Operating Agreement in 2003, hearst sued, arguing that a force majeure clause prevented the Times from claiming losses as reason to end the JOA when they result from extraordinary events. While a district judge ruled in Hearsts favor, the Times won on appeal, hearst continued to argue that the Times fabricated its loss in 2002. The two papers announced an end to their dispute on April 16,2007 and this arrangement JOA was terminated when the Post-Intelligencer ceased publication, its final printed edition was March 17,2009
37.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
38.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
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Media related to Red-light district (Amsterdam) at Wikimedia Commons