Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Windmill

2008-07-17T18:49:16Z

Tineke: Sorry wrong spell

A '''windmill''' is a device built to utilize the [[power]] of the [[wind]] in order to perform mechanical [[work]] - historically, the milling of [[grain]] being the most common.

[[Netherlands]] is popularly known for their quaint, picturesque windmills (which were also used to pump water to keep the land dry), but [[Denmark]] also has their share.

[[category:technology]]
[[category:tourism]]

Windmill

2008-07-17T18:48:48Z

Tineke: namen

A '''windmill''' is a device built to utilize the [[power]] of the [[wind]] in order to perform mechanical [[work]] - historically, the milling of [[grain]] being the most common.

[[Nederlands]] is popularly known for their quaint, picturesque windmills (which were also used to pump water to keep the land dry), but [[Denmark]] also has their share.

[[category:technology]]
[[category:tourism]]

User talk:Tineke

2008-07-17T18:46:53Z

Tineke: /* Gefeliciteerd! */ Good!!

{{Welcome}} I lived for 3 years in the Netherlands. Two of my children were born in Heerlen. Set up your Conservapedia email and we can correspond. --[[User:Crocoite|Crocoite]] 17:21, 6 January 2008 (EST)
Hello, and welcome to Conservapedia! --[[User:Leopeo|Leopeo]] 17:14, 6 January 2008 (EST)
:Hoi Tineke, Welkom bij dit project en veel plezier. [[User:Order|Order]] 18:15, 6 January 2008 (EST)
::<s>Ik spreek maar een klein beetje Nederlands.</s> Ik spreek niet erg goed Nederlands. Spreekt er iemand Engels hier? :D :D [[Image:User Fox.png|10px]] [[User:Fox|Fox]] ([[User talk:Fox|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Fox|contribs]]) 16:17, 12 January 2008 (EST)
:::Geen Nederlands a.u.b. I wish to improve my English. [[User:Tineke|Tineke]]
==Contest==
Hey, so the draft will not actually finish until Sunday, but the contest will still start tonight at 12a.m., so all that means is some of you will be getting points without knowing what team you're on. Remember to keep track of your points well, at a page like [[User:Tineke/Contest4]].--[[User:Iduan|I]][[User_talk:Iduan|Duan]] 21:08, 12 January 2008 (EST)
==Gefeliciteerd!==
We won the contest! Hope everything is ok with you :) [[Image:User Fox.png|10px]] [[User:Fox|Fox]] ([[User talk:Fox|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Fox|contribs]]) 04:52, 21 January 2008 (EST)

:Thank you Fox. I am so happy. I have not been allowed edit at Conservapedia for many month as mijn father say I must improve Engelish. Soon is my sommer holiday and maybe I add things about Nederlands as I make good work at school. [[User:Tineke|Tineke]] 14:46, 17 July 2008 (EDT)

User talk:Tineke

2008-01-12T21:20:07Z

Tineke: Hoi.

Conservapedia:Contest4

2008-01-12T21:10:06Z

Tineke: I like join

'''The contest will run: Sunday [[January]] 13th @ 12p.m. - Sunday January 20th @ 12p.m. The draft will occur Saturday'''
 '''Sign up for the draft by adding your user name to the list below.'''
__NOTOC__
===Contestants===
'''Please add your username if you want to participate for the draft.''' 
<nowiki>[[User:example]] or 3 tildes</nowiki>
#[[User:Iduan]]
#[[User:MakeTomorrow]]
#[[User:TheGuy]]
#[[User:SharonS]] (Note: I will likely be extremely busy next week, and unable to edit as much as I formerly have.)
#[[User:Aschlafly]]
#[[User:BrianCo]]
#[[User:ThomasB]]
#[[User:Learn_together]]
#[[User:Fox]]
#[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]]
#[[User:MexMax|MexMax]] The chief asked me... how can I decline?
#[[User:Jenkins|Jenkins]] (Yeesh, this encyclopedia doesn't get better by leaving it, does it? Let's do some good.)
# [[User:Lukecorlando|Luke]]
#This look very exicting [[User:Tineke|Tineke]] 16:10, 12 January 2008 (EST)

===Judges===
*[[User:BethanyS|BethanyS]]
===Teams===
{|width="75%" class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2" width="50%" style="font-variant:small-caps"|Team 1
!colspan="2" width="50%" style="font-variant:small-caps"|Team 2
|-
!width="25%"|Captain
|width="25%"|[[User:BrianCo|BrianCo]]
!width="25%"|Captain
|width="25%"|[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]]
|-
!colspan="2"|Members
!colspan="2"|Members
|-
|colspan="2"|
#[[User:Fox|Fox]]
#T1P2
#T1P3
#T1P4
#T1P5
#T1P6
#...
|colspan="2"|
#Team 2 Player 1
#T2P2
#T2P3
#T2P4
#T2P5
#T2P6
#...

|}
(''The top 5 scorers on either team will qualify towards its point total.'')

==Purpose==
The purpose of the contest is to '''improve Conservapedia''' by tapping into the competitive side of our editors, fostering sportsmanship is also a goal.
==Rules==
In addition to the scoring guidelines below:
*No editor is allowed to artificially make a page wanted, then create it. To prevent this - all wanted pages will be listed on a page (to be created) before the contest starts, and only those will count as wanted pages throughout the competition.
*All editors must keep track of their score in a clear format: preferably:
<pre>
<nowiki>
==Type of Edit(Points the edit is Worth)(Number of this type made)==
links to diff (no organization necessary).
</nowiki>
</pre>

== Point System ==
===New entry===
Quality new entry: '''15 points'''
*''Definition'':A Quality New Entry includes at least two full-length paragraphs, three relevant citations, several links to other entries, some in-depth content and designations of category.
*''Exception'': Entertainment-related* Quality New Entries will receive only '''11 points'''.

Ordinary New Entry: '''6 points'''
*''Definition'': An Ordinary New Entry is a new entry which does not meet the qualifications for a Quality New Entry, but is of higher quality than a Short New Entry.
*''Exception'': Entertainment-related* Ordinary New Entries will receive only '''4 points'''.

Short New Entry: '''4 points'''
*''Definition'': A Short New Entry contains only a few sentences and may or may not have a reference.
*''Exception'': Entertainment-related Short New Entries will receive only '''3 points'''.

Copied New Entry: '''1 points'''
*''Definition'': A entry copied from a public domain source such as .gov site - you MUST link to other articles and the article can not be of trivial nature (i.e. non-encyclopedic, non-educational or non-historical)

===Existing entry===
Quality edit of an existing entry: '''6 points'''
*''Definition'': A Quality Edit to an existing article includes at least two extra sentences, an additional reference, and the inclusion of an important or relevant fact.
*''Exception'': Entertainment-related* Quality Edits will receive only '''3 points'''.

Minor Edit of an existing entry: '''2 points'''
*''Definition'': A Minor Edit is an edit which does not meet the qualifications for a Quality Edit. These edits might include small formatting changes, spelling and grammatical changes and/or the addition of a category.

===Images===
Adding an image: '''3pts'''
*''Definition:'' If you add an image to Conservapedia
Adding an image to an article: '''2pts'''

===Templates===
New Template: '''3 points'''
*''Definition:'' The template must have at least 6 links.
===Redirects===
Redirecting a Page: '''1 point'''
*''Definition:'' Redirecting any page - whether the page was something different or not.

===Breaking News===
Breaking News Item: '''6 points'''
*''Definition:'' A Breaking news item is placed on the Main page with wiki links to Conservapedia articles and a link to the external reference article.
*''Exception:'' A non-administrator who submits an article to an administrator and the article is placed on the Main page will receive 4 point and the administrator will receive 2 points for adding the article and links. It is at the administrator's discretion whether to place the article on the Main page.

===Bonus Points===
*An additional bonus of '''3 points''' is awarded for adding a new entry on the "most-wanted" list, [[Special:Wantedpages]]
**'''Note carefully:''' The entry must have been on the most-wanted list before the start of the contest.
*An additional bonus of 1 point is awarded for adding a link to an entry on the [[Special:Deadendpages]], and thereby removing that entry from that list
*An edit to an existing entry may qualify as a New Entry if the edit is substantial enough.
*Adding a unique working link within a lecture: '''2 points'''
*Adding a relevant photo to ''Breaking News'' will receive a '''2 points''' bonus.
*Adding two new terms to American Government Terms: '''1 point'''
*Blocking a vandal/sock/troll or reverting their vandalism: '''2 points'''.

===Notes===
An entry is "entertainment-related" if it relates to a subject not taught as core curriculum in a typical high school or college. This includes articles on sports, popular music, movies, and other entertaining but not necessarily educational subjects.
*''Exception'': Full credit will be given for notable or important historical subjects, and for political entries.
*''Exception'': Full credit will be given for reasonable subjects which are educational but not necessarily taught in a typical school.

Netherlands

2008-01-06T22:18:31Z

Tineke: Anne Frank

{{Country|
|map=Netherlands_map.gif
|flag=Netherlandsflag.gif
|arms=
|capital=Amsterdam
|government=Constitutional monarchy
|language=Dutch
|queen=Beatrix
|president=
|chancellor=
|pm=Jan Peter Balkenende
|area=41,526 km²
|pop=16,570,613
|pop-basis=2007 estimate
|gdp-year=2006 (est)
|gdp-pc=$35,078
|currency=Euro (€) (EUR)
|idd=31
|tld=.nl
}}

The '''Kingdom of the Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16,5 million (2007). Its system of government is constitutional monarchy. The country is often referred to as "Holland", this was originally the name of two densely populated provinces of the country (North-Holland and South-Holland), the cities of [[Amsterdam]], [[Rotterdam]] and [[The Hague]] all lie in these provinces that have always been the most influential regions in the Netherlands, leading to the point where foreigners would equate Holland with the Netherlands.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After [[Hurricane Katrina]], a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see how the project works and how its technology can be applied in the United States for low-lying cities like [[New Orleans]].

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually Den Haag or The Hague in Engels). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses). The Netherlands is also the home of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, whose full name is ''Royal Dutch Shell'' or ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Shell''. Other well known Dutch or partly Dutch multinationals are ''Unilever'', a company owning many household brands, ''ING Group'', a banking group, ''Ahold'', an international chain of supermarkets, ''Reed Elsevier'', a publishing house, ''Nielsen Company'', owner of the [[Yellow Pages]], and ''Randstad Holding'', a company providing ''human resource services''. The famous ''Dutch East India Company'', known in Dutch as ''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'' or VOC, which dominated trade in with South-East Asia in the 17th century, is regarded as the first multinational in history.

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for a few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate (although comparable to other western European nations) and [[libertarian]] legislation. Examples are licensed prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal soft [[drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]].

==Netherlands drug policies==

Consuming and carrying (for personal use only) the "soft drugs" ([[marijuana]], [[absinthe]], [[hashish]] and [[hallucinogenic mushrooms]]) were made legal in the Netherlands in 1976 in a final attempt to stop drug-related crime in the 1970s. Soft drugs can be legally purchased by individuals over 18 in the famed (licensed) coffee shops, that do sell coffee as well, but are prohibited from serving alcohol.
The Dutch policy regarding soft drugs (and previously prostitution) is called "gedoogbeleid" (condonement policy). This means that although certain behavior is officially prohibited by law, a condonement clause prevents law enforcement agencies from persecuting this behavior. This clause is, legally speaking, not a law and can be reverted much easier than a regular law.

The main reason for this policy is to try to split the market for "soft drugs" from the one for "hard drugs", this to avoid that users "upgrade" from soft to "hard drugs" (the latter are still illegal). So in short it tries to avoid that canabis users get exposure to e.g. heroine in the place where they buy their drugs. The policy also lets the police focus on the war on the more harmful "hard drugs" and criminal trade, and not get swamped in all kinds of minor drug abuse cases. In fact most major cities in the world have similar non-prosecution policies, but the Dutch one is the only nationwide one.

Interestingly growing marijuana and hashish for commercial purposes is still officially illegal (it is legal to own up to four plants per household), causing coffee shop owners to rely on illegal homegrown products. Only two state run companies are exempted from this rule in order to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Leftist movements have stated that the government should make its mind up: "either make growing marijuana and hashish legal, or ban soft drugs altogether".

The legal status of soft drugs has had no significant adverse effects on Dutch society and it seems the 1976 experiment has worked out. This is probably due to the fact that it has become a more or less socially accepted drug like alcohol and tobacco. This removes the need for dealers and effectively terminates its status as an anti-establishment symbol as well as its popularity among thrill-seeking youths.

The Dutch government is currently (2007) considering banning magic mushrooms, after a French tourist committed suicide after eating a mushroom.{{fact}}

==Queen's Day==

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official holiday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a license. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism, most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of Orange-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national ''Fietsen op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==Anne Frank==
Anne Frank was a famous German Jew girl who hid from Nazis in friends house in Amsterdam. She wrote diary which became very famous through whole world. Her family left German in 1933 because of Nazis but they came after her and send her to Belsen death camp where she die before end of war in 1945. Many people now come and visit Anne Frank house in Amsterdam which is famous tourist attraction.

==Society==

[[Same sex marriage]] has been recognized by the Dutch government since 2001.<ref>[http://marriage.about.com/cs/samesexmarriage/a/samesex.htm About.com]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2008-01-06T22:07:18Z

Tineke: population

{{Country|
|map=Netherlands_map.gif
|flag=Netherlandsflag.gif
|arms=
|capital=Amsterdam
|government=Constitutional monarchy
|language=Dutch
|queen=Beatrix
|president=
|chancellor=
|pm=Jan Peter Balkenende
|area=41,526 km²
|pop=16,570,613
|pop-basis=2007 estimate
|gdp-year=2006 (est)
|gdp-pc=$35,078
|currency=Euro (€) (EUR)
|idd=31
|tld=.nl
}}

The '''Kingdom of the Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16,5 million (2007). Its system of government is constitutional monarchy. The country is often referred to as "Holland", this was originally the name of two densely populated provinces of the country (North-Holland and South-Holland), the cities of [[Amsterdam]], [[Rotterdam]] and [[The Hague]] all lie in these provinces that have always been the most influential regions in the Netherlands, leading to the point where foreigners would equate Holland with the Netherlands.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After [[Hurricane Katrina]], a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see how the project works and how its technology can be applied in the United States for low-lying cities like [[New Orleans]].

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually Den Haag or The Hague in Engels). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses). The Netherlands is also the home of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, whose full name is ''Royal Dutch Shell'' or ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Shell''. Other well known Dutch or partly Dutch multinationals are ''Unilever'', a company owning many household brands, ''ING Group'', a banking group, ''Ahold'', an international chain of supermarkets, ''Reed Elsevier'', a publishing house, ''Nielsen Company'', owner of the [[Yellow Pages]], and ''Randstad Holding'', a company providing ''human resource services''. The famous ''Dutch East India Company'', known in Dutch as ''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'' or VOC, which dominated trade in with South-East Asia in the 17th century, is regarded as the first multinational in history.

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for a few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate (although comparable to other western European nations) and [[libertarian]] legislation. Examples are licensed prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal soft [[drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]].

==Netherlands drug policies==

Consuming and carrying (for personal use only) the "soft drugs" ([[marijuana]], [[absinthe]], [[hashish]] and [[hallucinogenic mushrooms]]) were made legal in the Netherlands in 1976 in a final attempt to stop drug-related crime in the 1970s. Soft drugs can be legally purchased by individuals over 18 in the famed (licensed) coffee shops, that do sell coffee as well, but are prohibited from serving alcohol.
The Dutch policy regarding soft drugs (and previously prostitution) is called "gedoogbeleid" (condonement policy). This means that although certain behavior is officially prohibited by law, a condonement clause prevents law enforcement agencies from persecuting this behavior. This clause is, legally speaking, not a law and can be reverted much easier than a regular law.

The main reason for this policy is to try to split the market for "soft drugs" from the one for "hard drugs", this to avoid that users "upgrade" from soft to "hard drugs" (the latter are still illegal). So in short it tries to avoid that canabis users get exposure to e.g. heroine in the place where they buy their drugs. The policy also lets the police focus on the war on the more harmful "hard drugs" and criminal trade, and not get swamped in all kinds of minor drug abuse cases. In fact most major cities in the world have similar non-prosecution policies, but the Dutch one is the only nationwide one.

Interestingly growing marijuana and hashish for commercial purposes is still officially illegal (it is legal to own up to four plants per household), causing coffee shop owners to rely on illegal homegrown products. Only two state run companies are exempted from this rule in order to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Leftist movements have stated that the government should make its mind up: "either make growing marijuana and hashish legal, or ban soft drugs altogether".

The legal status of soft drugs has had no significant adverse effects on Dutch society and it seems the 1976 experiment has worked out. This is probably due to the fact that it has become a more or less socially accepted drug like alcohol and tobacco. This removes the need for dealers and effectively terminates its status as an anti-establishment symbol as well as its popularity among thrill-seeking youths.

The Dutch government is currently (2007) considering banning magic mushrooms, after a French tourist committed suicide after eating a mushroom.{{fact}}

==Queen's Day==

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official holiday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a license. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism, most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of Orange-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national ''Fietsen op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==Society==

[[Same sex marriage]] has been recognized by the Dutch government since 2001.<ref>[http://marriage.about.com/cs/samesexmarriage/a/samesex.htm About.com]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2008-01-06T22:05:11Z

Tineke: correcting

{{Country|
|map=Netherlands_map.gif
|flag=Netherlandsflag.gif
|arms=
|capital=Amsterdam
|government=Constitutional monarchy
|language=Dutch
|queen=Beatrix
|president=
|chancellor=
|pm=Jan Peter Balkenende
|area=41,526 km²
|pop=16,570,613
|pop-basis=2007 estimate
|gdp-year=2006 (est)
|gdp-pc=$35,078
|currency=Euro (€) (EUR)
|idd=31
|tld=.nl
}}

The '''Kingdom of the Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). Its system of government is constitutional monarchy. The country is often referred to as "Holland", this was originally the name of two densely populated provinces of the country (North-Holland and South-Holland), the cities of [[Amsterdam]], [[Rotterdam]] and [[The Hague]] all lie in these provinces that have always been the most influential regions in the Netherlands, leading to the point where foreigners would equate Holland with the Netherlands.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After [[Hurricane Katrina]], a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see how the project works and how its technology can be applied in the United States for low-lying cities like [[New Orleans]].

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually Den Haag or The Hague in Engels). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses). The Netherlands is also the home of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, whose full name is ''Royal Dutch Shell'' or ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Shell''. Other well known Dutch or partly Dutch multinationals are ''Unilever'', a company owning many household brands, ''ING Group'', a banking group, ''Ahold'', an international chain of supermarkets, ''Reed Elsevier'', a publishing house, ''Nielsen Company'', owner of the [[Yellow Pages]], and ''Randstad Holding'', a company providing ''human resource services''. The famous ''Dutch East India Company'', known in Dutch as ''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'' or VOC, which dominated trade in with South-East Asia in the 17th century, is regarded as the first multinational in history.

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for a few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate (although comparable to other western European nations) and [[libertarian]] legislation. Examples are licensed prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal soft [[drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]].

==Netherlands drug policies==

Consuming and carrying (for personal use only) the "soft drugs" ([[marijuana]], [[absinthe]], [[hashish]] and [[hallucinogenic mushrooms]]) were made legal in the Netherlands in 1976 in a final attempt to stop drug-related crime in the 1970s. Soft drugs can be legally purchased by individuals over 18 in the famed (licensed) coffee shops, that do sell coffee as well, but are prohibited from serving alcohol.
The Dutch policy regarding soft drugs (and previously prostitution) is called "gedoogbeleid" (condonement policy). This means that although certain behavior is officially prohibited by law, a condonement clause prevents law enforcement agencies from persecuting this behavior. This clause is, legally speaking, not a law and can be reverted much easier than a regular law.

The main reason for this policy is to try to split the market for "soft drugs" from the one for "hard drugs", this to avoid that users "upgrade" from soft to "hard drugs" (the latter are still illegal). So in short it tries to avoid that canabis users get exposure to e.g. heroine in the place where they buy their drugs. The policy also lets the police focus on the war on the more harmful "hard drugs" and criminal trade, and not get swamped in all kinds of minor drug abuse cases. In fact most major cities in the world have similar non-prosecution policies, but the Dutch one is the only nationwide one.

Interestingly growing marijuana and hashish for commercial purposes is still officially illegal (it is legal to own up to four plants per household), causing coffee shop owners to rely on illegal homegrown products. Only two state run companies are exempted from this rule in order to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Leftist movements have stated that the government should make its mind up: "either make growing marijuana and hashish legal, or ban soft drugs altogether".

The legal status of soft drugs has had no significant adverse effects on Dutch society and it seems the 1976 experiment has worked out. This is probably due to the fact that it has become a more or less socially accepted drug like alcohol and tobacco. This removes the need for dealers and effectively terminates its status as an anti-establishment symbol as well as its popularity among thrill-seeking youths.

The Dutch government is currently (2007) considering banning magic mushrooms, after a French tourist committed suicide after eating a mushroom.{{fact}}

==Queen's Day==

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official holiday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a license. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism, most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of Orange-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national ''Fietsen op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==Society==

[[Same sex marriage]] has been recognized by the Dutch government since 2001.<ref>[http://marriage.about.com/cs/samesexmarriage/a/samesex.htm About.com]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

Netherlands

2008-01-06T22:03:20Z

Tineke: proper name

{{Country|
|map=Netherlands_map.gif
|flag=Netherlandsflag.gif
|arms=
|capital=Amsterdam
|government=Constitutional monarchy
|language=Dutch
|queen=Beatrix
|president=
|chancellor=
|pm=Jan Peter Balkenende
|area=41,526 km²
|pop=16,570,613
|pop-basis=2007 estimate
|gdp-year=2006 (est)
|gdp-pc=$35,078
|currency=Euro (€) (EUR)
|idd=31
|tld=.nl
}}

The '''Kingdom of the Netherlands''' (''Dutch: Nederland'') is a country in [[Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]], and has a total population of approximately 16 million (2007). Its system of government is constitutional monarchy. The country is often referred to as "Holland", this was originally the name of two densely populated provinces of the country (North-Holland and South-Holland), the cities of [[Amsterdam]], [[Rotterdam]] and [[The Hague]] all lie in these provinces that have always been the most influential regions in the Netherlands, leading to the point where foreigners would equate Holland with the Netherlands.

As its name implies, it is a very low-lying country. About a quarter of the land area, containing more than half of the population, is actually below sea level, and would flood if the sea were not held back by a system of dikes. The Dutch have a saying that "God created the earth, but the Dutch made Holland".

A major breach of the dikes occurred in 1953, killing 1800 people.
To avoid a repeat of the disaster the Dutch began construction of the "Delta Project" to protect the country from future inundations. Begun in 1953 and completed in 2002 the Delta Project is considered a modern wonder of civil engineering. After [[Hurricane Katrina]], a delegation of American engineers was invited by the Dutch government to see how the project works and how its technology can be applied in the United States for low-lying cities like [[New Orleans]].

[[Amsterdam]], named for the Amstel river, is the largest city, and officially the capital (although the seat of government is actually in The Hague ). It is ringed by an extensive system of concentric canals.

[[Eindhoven]] is the location of the giant electronics corporation, Philips (full name: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), with annual revenue equivalent to about $40 billion. (The U.S. corporation [[General Electric]] has revenues of about $150 billion, but much of it is from non-electronics businesses). The Netherlands is also the home of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell, whose full name is ''Royal Dutch Shell'' or ''Koninklijke Nederlandse Shell''. Other well known Dutch or partly Dutch multinationals are ''Unilever'', a company owning many household brands, ''ING Group'', a banking group, ''Ahold'', an international chain of supermarkets, ''Reed Elsevier'', a publishing house, ''Nielsen Company'', owner of the [[Yellow Pages]], and ''Randstad Holding'', a company providing ''human resource services''. The famous ''Dutch East India Company'', known in Dutch as ''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'' or VOC, which dominated trade in with South-East Asia in the 17th century, is regarded as the first multinational in history.

The Netherlands has long been famous for its production of flowers, and also for a related economic event, the "tulip mania" of 1636-1637. A classic example of a "bubble," [[tulip]]s were traded on stock exchanges, and bid up to fantastic prices by people who understood that the prices were crazy but hoped to sell at a profit to even crazier investors. Many people mortgaged their homes for a single tulip bulb and in one case an entire brewery was exchanged for a few bulbs. As with all bubbles, when bidding began to lag people tried to sell and the bubble burst with disastrous consequences. Since then the Dutch have been renowned for their carefulness with money and have established a significant presence in the banking and financial sectors.

The Netherlands is also famous for its low-crime rate (although comparable to other western European nations) and [[libertarian]] legislation. Examples are licensed prostitution in designated areas of major cities, such as Amsterdam's Red Light District, the legal soft [[drugs]] sold in the country's many coffee shops, [[abortion]] rights, [[same-sex marriage]]s and [[euthanasia]].

==Netherlands drug policies==

Consuming and carrying (for personal use only) the "soft drugs" ([[marijuana]], [[absinthe]], [[hashish]] and [[hallucinogenic mushrooms]]) were made legal in the Netherlands in 1976 in a final attempt to stop drug-related crime in the 1970s. Soft drugs can be legally purchased by individuals over 18 in the famed (licensed) coffee shops, that do sell coffee as well, but are prohibited from serving alcohol.
The Dutch policy regarding soft drugs (and previously prostitution) is called "gedoogbeleid" (condonement policy). This means that although certain behavior is officially prohibited by law, a condonement clause prevents law enforcement agencies from persecuting this behavior. This clause is, legally speaking, not a law and can be reverted much easier than a regular law.

The main reason for this policy is to try to split the market for "soft drugs" from the one for "hard drugs", this to avoid that users "upgrade" from soft to "hard drugs" (the latter are still illegal). So in short it tries to avoid that canabis users get exposure to e.g. heroine in the place where they buy their drugs. The policy also lets the police focus on the war on the more harmful "hard drugs" and criminal trade, and not get swamped in all kinds of minor drug abuse cases. In fact most major cities in the world have similar non-prosecution policies, but the Dutch one is the only nationwide one.

Interestingly growing marijuana and hashish for commercial purposes is still officially illegal (it is legal to own up to four plants per household), causing coffee shop owners to rely on illegal homegrown products. Only two state run companies are exempted from this rule in order to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Leftist movements have stated that the government should make its mind up: "either make growing marijuana and hashish legal, or ban soft drugs altogether".

The legal status of soft drugs has had no significant adverse effects on Dutch society and it seems the 1976 experiment has worked out. This is probably due to the fact that it has become a more or less socially accepted drug like alcohol and tobacco. This removes the need for dealers and effectively terminates its status as an anti-establishment symbol as well as its popularity among thrill-seeking youths.

The Dutch government is currently (2007) considering banning magic mushrooms, after a French tourist committed suicide after eating a mushroom.{{fact}}

==Queen's Day==

April 30th is known as Queen's Day (''Koninginnedag'') - the national holiday to mark the official birthday of the monarch. This is actually the birthday of former Queen Juliana (Queen Beatrix's mother) but has been kept as the official holiday because of the better weather (Queen Beatrix's actual birthday is 31 January). Queen's Day is the one day of the year when ordinary Netherlanders are permitted to sell goods on the streets without a license. Consequently the whole country is turned into a gigantic flea market (garage sale). The primary effect of this is that people buy goods they do not want or need, solely in order to sell them the following year. In an act of patriotism, most of the populace wear orange colored clothing (the national color) to identify with the Royal House Of Orange-Nassau.

Those not involved with selling their surplus belongings celebrate the national holiday at outdoors parties in the cities or with fine weather, spend the free day on a terrace of a pub, or cycle in the national ''Fietsen op Dijken '' tour around the nation's dikes.

==Society==

[[Same sex marriage]] has been recognized by the Dutch government since 2001.<ref>[http://marriage.about.com/cs/samesexmarriage/a/samesex.htm About.com]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:EU Members]]

User:Tineke

2008-01-06T21:58:43Z

Tineke: hello

Hello, I am christien girl from the Nederlands. I hope improving my English and learning more about God. I think this sight will be good for me. I hope I can give good things to Conservapedia which I like very much.