The European Union Policies

European Union Policies

The European Union Policies is the minor of IBMS, provided by Avans School of International Studies in year 3. I chose this minor for two reasons: (1) the minor was compulsory for those who wanted to go to U.S. on study exchange and (2) I wanted to get to know more on the European Union.

The minor was coordinated by Mr. J. Frencken. It was well structured and organized. In addition, Mr. Frencken also organized a trip to Brussels. During our trip, we visited several European Union bodies including the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Below is my review on the minor of European Union policies. I will first provide the pros and then the cons of the minor.

Pros: I must say that this minor was one of the better courses I had on ASIS during my IBMS study in Breda. It was very good organized and structured and the content was interesting to learn. Everything was published on Blackboard on time. You knew what was expected from you. After I finished the minor, I knew a lot more about the European Union and its several organizations. In addition, we had to prepare a presentation and write an essay on a EU relevant topic.

Cons: One of the weaker points of the minor I find is the lack of sufficient contact hours we had. We were supposed to do a lot of self study. We did not have too many contact hours, i.e., lectures, trainings etc. with Mr. Frencken. In addition, the law courses we had from Mr. van Manen were I believe also insufficient. Moreover, we hardly used the expensive EU Law book that we purchased.

All in all, The European Union Policies minor is well organized and interesting minor to study. You will get a lot to learn on European Union. As the several organizations affect our lives daily, one must also know how and where legislations is approved.

THE IMPACT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

The Financial Crisis (aka Credit Crisis) has been one of the most severe since the Great Depression. Many economists compare the current economic conditions and the future outlook with that of the Great Depression and some even dare to imply that the economies of many developed nations is not only in recession but heading for depression as well. For clarification:

· A recession is a decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters

· A depression is a severe economic downturn that lasts several years.

If we take a look at the impact of financial crisis on the world stock markets (figure 1.1), we can clearly see that the year 2008 has been one of the worst for investors around the globe. Losses on stock markets range from 34% for Dow Jones (U.S.) to almost 52% for AEX (the Netherlands). This kind of huge stock markets meltdowns has not been reported since the Great Depression of 1929. Just by this figures it is not only reasonable but also rational to imply that the impact of financial crisis is very severe and can affect the long-term growth of the world economies

Another indicator to state the impact of the financial crisis is to look at the development of oil prices (figure 1.2). The oil price has risen in the past years due limited supply and growing demand. However, in the past months oil price has plummeted from almost 150 for a barrel to as low as 40 dollar for a barrel. This can be attributed to the sharp decline of demand for oil due to the bad economic condition in the world caused by the impact of financial crisis.

The full impact of the financial crisis can be felt by many citizens around the world. Not only those who work in the financial branch, but also other hard working people losses their jobs due to this crisis. On a single day, 27th of January 2009, 70.000 people lost their jobs at companies ranging from Construction equipment maker Caterpillar to drug manufacturer, Pfizer. Millions have already lost their jobs and the expectations are that many will follow.

In U.S., Where the crisis originates, in 2008, companies cut almost a staggering 2 million jobs. Things will get much worse when the troubling automakers go bankrupt due to the huge decline on their sales. This will be disastrous, because not only thousands of people will lose their jobs who work in one of the Detroit Big Three, but many are working indirectly for the automotive industry all around the globe. Once the Detroit Big three collapse it will have a domino effect on thousands of other companies. Therefore, the U.S. Congress is doing its best to save the automakers from their collapse and pumping liquidity in the industry.

Whether this crisis is soon over and many developed countries will recover from the recession they are in or head for depression is just a matter of time. Although, no economist can accurately predict the business cycle of a country or the outlook of the world GDP for the coming years, it is reasonable to suggest that the impact of the financial crisis is very severe and can have a long-lasting effect on the world economies. It is up to the world governments to work together and fight this crisis as efficient and effective as possible.

oil price

References:

1 http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200901/2474800.htm?desktop

2 http://business.smh.com.au/business/world-business/massive-job-losses-deepen-us-crisis-20081206-6smw.html

3 http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/nov/13/domino-effect-feared-if-big-3-automakers-should-co/c_0/

Going out in Breda

Going out in Breda

I occasionally go out in Breda as it also my hometown. I prefer to go out on Saturday evenings, as it is the busiest evening, filled with lot of young people. The heart of the city is literally living, while everywhere else, the city is basically ‘dead’ and silent. I love to see the city so alive and kicking. There are a lot of small pubs, café’s and disco’s in Breda. Enough places to choose from. Most of them have no entrée costs; compensating it with high cost on drinks.

Whenever I go out, I usually hang out at the “Drie Gezusters”. It is one of the bigger disco’s in Breda, since I don’t like small places as they are often filled up and usually too busy. The Drie Gezusters has three floors. On the third floor, there is a rotating bar, which I find quite entertaining to stand on and rotate and getb to see a lot of people around me. The place looks more like a country house. The decorations is nice and the people there are often more pleasant.

All in all, the city of Breda is a fine place to live and go out in the evenings. The city has basically everything you would expect from a big city. However, I find that city is lacking a big disco bar that you often see in other big cities like Hollywood in Rotterdam, and Escape in Amsterdam. Nevertheless, small places can often be more pleasant, nice and cozy. I always enjoy myself every time I go out with friends in my lovely city of Breda.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog millionaire

Slumdog millionaire is a movie filmed in India. It tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai named Jamal Malik. It made a lot of fuzz in India, because in the movie Jamal, the young boy from the slums of Mumbai was able to become a millionaire. This is practically not possible in current times, because Indians live in caste system. The caste system is a social system based on classes. Basically, it means if you are born in a poor family (social class), than it is expected that you live your life in that class. Chances are very slim that one day you will become a millionaire.

The Movie won ten out of eight Oscars it was nominated for. A superb performance in the movie industry. The movie did also good in theaters; an international box office success.

The plot of the movie goes as follows: Jamal, the young boy appears on the Indian version of the TV show Weekend Millionaire and amazingly answers many questions right. Every question he answers is showed in the movie how he came to know the answer from his life experience. The Indian authorities and the show’s organization are suspicious of the young man answering so many questions right and during break, they interrogate him rater harshly. He tells them that he knew the answers by chance that happened during his life. However, they are not so keen to believe that.

The movie shows the cruel life of many poor Indians from a different point of view what we see in the media. I can without doubt say that Slumdog Millionaire was one of the best movies of 2008.

Anarchy in Utopia

Hello there,

For some time now, I've been wondering what if...
What if you had the power to create the ideal society, the ideal place, a utopia on our very own planet. Imagine what would it look like. What would the fundamental principles of the society be based upon? Moral ethics? Religion or free of it? What would the economic and political system be or not be at all?

Herewith, I would like to share with you my own view, my own imagination of a utopia on earth. Where all people can live in a society truly free, equally and above all, live a life in serenity.

Imagine a society free from any coercive authority of any kind. A society in complete freedom from any kind of government. An anarchical society, but not that kind associated with chaos and disorder, but where free individuals working together to meet their needs and desires. Desire to strive for wisdom and not pleasure. Desire to help and truly care for each other and respect the human ethics and morality. Imagine a society where all men are truly born equal and live equally.

Now I know this might sound like a science fiction novel, but I am convinced that if we work together, if we share our ideas, if we combine our vivid imaginations, we might one day in a not so distant future, create our own paradise right here!
Anarchy in utopia isn’t for one man to imagine. Share your ideas and let us hope together for a brighter future for all mankind…