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Tuesday Open Thread

First, a huge thanks to TChris who has kept this site running while I've been in Amsterdam. Tomorrow is my last day here and there is so much more to see.

The hotel has only wireless, and mine seems to go out every five minutes or so, requiring me to log in with user name and password over and over again and eating many posts, which has been quite frustrating. Ezra, Amanda and Lindsay haven't had this problem, so it must be my computer settings.

The best part of the trip has been the walking, probably five to ten miles a day. While there are trams that go everywhere, walking has let me take in so much more and get a better feel for the city. It's been very cold and gray every day, but we were forewarned and brought coats, gloves, hats and scarves, so it's not much of a problem.

The Rembrandts are really something to see. So are the Van Gogh paintings. The architecture is very intriguing and the city is well laid out. All in all, a great trip so far.

Here's an open thread to discuss whatever else is going on in the world.

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  • Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#1)
    by mpower1952 on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 06:21:04 AM EST
    Van Goghs! I am so jealous. Hope you're having a lovely time. Have a safe trip back.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#2)
    by squeaky on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 07:23:00 AM EST
    Sounds like the travel gods are way more powerful than the computer gods. Probably best to relent. Enjoy!!

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 08:12:01 AM EST
    I've always loved Amsterdam enough to consider living there. I think the bike lanes are great, part of the fabric of the city, not just thrown in willy-nilly.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#4)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 08:39:33 AM EST
    Try not to post after visiting the "coffee" bars. Maybe the computer you're blaming will suddenly start working better. Trust me on this. We miss you. How do those levee things work for the Dutch?

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#5)
    by swingvote on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 12:34:59 PM EST
    Anybody else heard of this? This guy Phelps needs some talking to.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#6)
    by Johnny on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 12:54:54 PM EST
    That Mr. Phelps sure does love interpreting his bible literally. Or at least certain parts of it. He needs to move to a country that welcomes right-wing religio-nut extremists, like say... Iran.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#7)
    by Johnny on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 12:55:25 PM EST
    Oh wait-I am sure he is made to feel mighty welcome in many areas of this country.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 02:05:16 PM EST
    Any comments about the UN considering laws banning things (jokes, articles, etc.) anti-islamic ? Why is TL completely avoiding this issue? I would think all the "Free Speech" people on the left would be jumping on this....??

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#9)
    by Jlvngstn on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 02:42:46 PM EST
    Phelps has been around for years and has done squat for enlarging his group. If he were islamic, we would have his head, but he is christian so he is just considered a whack job.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#10)
    by Johnny on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 04:03:05 PM EST
    I dunno BB, do you have a comment? Or just fishing?

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 06:40:20 PM EST
    One of the most interesting things in Amsterdam is at the airport. In the men's room at the airport, you will notice a fly in the urinals. Several years ago, after realizing that they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars per year cleaning the floor around the urinals, someone researched which spot would give the least spatter. When they located this spot, they painted a fly on it, thus giving those relieving themselves something to aim at and saving a lot of money in the process.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#12)
    by kdog on Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 06:34:51 AM EST
    If true, I think the UN is out of it's mind on this one. The banning or discouragement of unpopular speech, or offensive speech, is the end of free speech. The whole world needs thicker skin.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#13)
    by squeaky on Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 09:55:14 AM EST
    The Iraq situation which seems so bad that it could not possibly get any worse, just got worse, exponentially worse.
    Then real disaster struck. The guerriillas blew up the domed Askariyah shrine in Samarra. The shrine, sacred to Shiiites, honors 3 Imams or holy descendants of the Prophet. They are Ali al-Hadi, Hasan al-Askari, and his disappeared son Muhammad al-Mahdi. Thousands of Shiiites demonstrated in Samarra and in East Baghdad, against this desecration.
    If you do not understand how significant this is read what Juan Cole has to say about it. Grim.

    Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0) (#14)
    by squeaky on Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 03:29:40 PM EST
    Things are escalating quickly in Iraq. The well planned demolition of the Askariyah shrine in Samarra was done by experts. The Shias are blaming US and Israel and the Wahhabis. Many Sunni moques (75) have been attacked today in retribution and civil war is almost certain. Juan Cole writes
    The threat of terrorism and attacks on Americans just went way up.
    Not a good development. The Askariyah shrine is very important to Iran as well as to Shias around the world. link