From September till December I followed the minor European Union Policies at ASIS International School. I will tell you something about the content of this minor and I will give you my opinion about it. But first I will start with telling something about myself because that is important for the fact that I think that everybody can do this minor and it is very fun to do so! My background lays in Integrated Safety and Security Management. I follow this study at the Avans School in 's-Hertogenbosch. In my fourth year I was asked to choose a minor.
My choice was European Union Policies in Breda because I thought it was important to have more knowledge about European legislation. My own study did not give a lot of information about the subject while it is important legislation because the supremacy that European legislation has over National legislation. Furthermore, I needed a little bit of a challenge so I chose this minor because of the English skills that I would develop.
European Union Policies works with problem solved education. Every week you read a text about the material that you need to learn for that week. From the text we composed learning goals that should be answered and discussed the week after. This way of education helps the student with understanding the material. It is a nice way to keep on track. You can't get behind and therefore it is easier to learn for the exams.
During the minor you will go on a great excursion to Brussels, Luxembourg and Strassburg. During the excursion you will visit the European Commission, the European Parliament, The Committee of the Regions, the European Court of Human Rights, and even more! It is a four day excursion with also a lot of free time to enjoy the visited cities! The only people that don't like this excursion are the other guests in the hotels where we stay, but what the hell.
The skill trainings negotiations and debating are fun but can be better performed. At first I will inform you that our class existed of 34 students, that's a lot! During negotiations we only learned a little about how to negotiate, but that is not enough to understand how to negotiate. It is the same as learning how to drive: you should practise, practise, practise. In my study Integrated Safety and Security Management I learned how to negotiate by practising. That is why I can make this comment based on experience. Furthermore, in our debating class we practised. Although, the class was overloaded and we couldn't practise a lot, it was helpful. It was only a pity that this skill didn't had a longer duration (we only practised twice).
So, I told you about my experience of the minor European Union Policies. The way of education is very helpful to make the material your own. Also, there will be a fun excursion of four days to Luxembourg, Brussels and Strassburg. Because of a full class of 34 students the debating and negotiations trainings couldn't be practised well. Therefore, I would suggest to divide the classes into two separate classes during these skill trainings.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Credit Crisis
Well, as we all know the global economic crisis is confronting the Netherlands with a major challenge. Jobs and incomes are under pressure, companies are in difficulty and the national debt is rising fast: for example in 2009 the public debt in 16 european countries in the eurozone raise with an average of eight per cent, according to measures that have been made by the European Office Eurostat. In the Netherlands there is an increase of 33 per cent compared with 2008. So, the Dutch public debt increased with a third in one year and other eurozone countries didn’t.
Because of this, the government has made a stimulus package for 2009 and 2010 that is worth a total of six billion euros. According to Mr. Balkenende (prime minister of the Netherlands) this package will stimulate economic activity and ensure that as many people as possible keep their jobs. Should the government interfere?
By interfering in the credit crisis, the government disables the market forces and therefore the competition of the financial market. Competition leads to more efficiency. More efficiency stands for better quality of the product en lowering of the costs. The result is a healthy market with economic growth. Therefore a stimulus package wouldn’t be needed if the government let the market force do its job. But on the other hand the crisis would be bigger if different banks like ABN AMRO really did collapse.
Nevertheless, an effect of government interfering is that they will tax us more. Because of the high taxes, we spend less. If we spend less companies will loose revenue (some companies will either move to another country or close down) which eliminates jobs. It will be a vicious circle.
However, Temporarily cutting working hours (a measure of the government right now) means that people are less likely to lose their jobs, since companies did not need to pay the fulltime salary. Employees can count on a temporary unemployment benefit in order to compensate for the salary reduction. By offering secured loans, the government made sure that it is possible for people to spend money and thereby revive the economy.
With the Dutch state as a welfare state, we all want the government to help us. We want money to provide us in our healthcare. We want measures from the government if someone can illegally go to the security system of one of our palaces. We want an answer from the government when they don’t want to listen to the people. Therefore, I think that the government prevented us from a even bigger crisis than what we are in right now!
Because of this, the government has made a stimulus package for 2009 and 2010 that is worth a total of six billion euros. According to Mr. Balkenende (prime minister of the Netherlands) this package will stimulate economic activity and ensure that as many people as possible keep their jobs. Should the government interfere?
By interfering in the credit crisis, the government disables the market forces and therefore the competition of the financial market. Competition leads to more efficiency. More efficiency stands for better quality of the product en lowering of the costs. The result is a healthy market with economic growth. Therefore a stimulus package wouldn’t be needed if the government let the market force do its job. But on the other hand the crisis would be bigger if different banks like ABN AMRO really did collapse.
Nevertheless, an effect of government interfering is that they will tax us more. Because of the high taxes, we spend less. If we spend less companies will loose revenue (some companies will either move to another country or close down) which eliminates jobs. It will be a vicious circle.
However, Temporarily cutting working hours (a measure of the government right now) means that people are less likely to lose their jobs, since companies did not need to pay the fulltime salary. Employees can count on a temporary unemployment benefit in order to compensate for the salary reduction. By offering secured loans, the government made sure that it is possible for people to spend money and thereby revive the economy.
With the Dutch state as a welfare state, we all want the government to help us. We want money to provide us in our healthcare. We want measures from the government if someone can illegally go to the security system of one of our palaces. We want an answer from the government when they don’t want to listen to the people. Therefore, I think that the government prevented us from a even bigger crisis than what we are in right now!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Bankruptcy DSB hurts U.S. Speedskating
The DSB is a Dutch bank whitch is declared bankrupt by the Dutch court. It collapsed this week, which followed a run on deposits and the government's refusal to provide a capital infusion. The DSB was besides a bank also a big sponsor of U.S. Speedskating. This organization lost his biggest sponsor and has now a shortfall of $300,000 and has to come with a financial plan for 2009-2010.
U.S. Speedskating builds the team that represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games. The DSB was the biggest sponsor of this sport since 2006. "DSB Bank has been an excellent partner for US Speedskating and has allowed us to provide excellent service for our athletes,” Brad Goskowicz, U.S. Speedskating's president, said in a statement on the Los Angeles Times. "It is our mission to ensure our U.S. Speedskating Olympic Team has everything they need to be successful and we will continue toward that end. The impact will be seriously felt and we will be seeking additional sponsor opportunities." I think that it is a leck of the organization that they are depended on one big sponsor, unregarded the excellence of the sponsor. You should not bet your money on one horse.
Because of the economic uncertainty the sponsorship money dropped significantly, according to the Los Angeles Times. But the organization is hopefull in finding new financial partners. Companies can attach themselves at very low costs and speedskaters are real contenders for winning a record of medals on the Olympics. So hopefully there will be new financial partners whom are not affraid to invest during a financial crisis.
Although, I think that U.S. Speedskating is in big trouble. Because of the low costs they will offer, it will be a long way to fill up the $300,000 shortage. Hopefully U.S. Speedskating will have more than one big sponsor, but I think they will have to take every amount of money that is offered from any kind of partner.
It's sad that a sport suffers from the financial crisis. But sports are universal so as my last statement I would ask the Dutch government to give the capital infusion that's left to U.S. Speedskating for making it healthy again. Because sports should be healthy, right?
U.S. Speedskating builds the team that represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games. The DSB was the biggest sponsor of this sport since 2006. "DSB Bank has been an excellent partner for US Speedskating and has allowed us to provide excellent service for our athletes,” Brad Goskowicz, U.S. Speedskating's president, said in a statement on the Los Angeles Times. "It is our mission to ensure our U.S. Speedskating Olympic Team has everything they need to be successful and we will continue toward that end. The impact will be seriously felt and we will be seeking additional sponsor opportunities." I think that it is a leck of the organization that they are depended on one big sponsor, unregarded the excellence of the sponsor. You should not bet your money on one horse.
Because of the economic uncertainty the sponsorship money dropped significantly, according to the Los Angeles Times. But the organization is hopefull in finding new financial partners. Companies can attach themselves at very low costs and speedskaters are real contenders for winning a record of medals on the Olympics. So hopefully there will be new financial partners whom are not affraid to invest during a financial crisis.
Although, I think that U.S. Speedskating is in big trouble. Because of the low costs they will offer, it will be a long way to fill up the $300,000 shortage. Hopefully U.S. Speedskating will have more than one big sponsor, but I think they will have to take every amount of money that is offered from any kind of partner.
It's sad that a sport suffers from the financial crisis. But sports are universal so as my last statement I would ask the Dutch government to give the capital infusion that's left to U.S. Speedskating for making it healthy again. Because sports should be healthy, right?
Friday, October 2, 2009
A night out in 's-Hertogenbosch
If you have never been to 's-Hertogenbosch and you like alcoholic beverages than this story is going to be very interesting for you. Today I will tell you where you can find the hotspots for a great night out in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Before you have dinner there are a lot of small cafés where you can drink a nice beer. Especially de café called 't Kolleke where you can find a big list of different kinds of beer. The ambiance is friendly and cosy as a small brown café. They even have there own brewery!
At dinner time I really recommend a small street called 'de Korteputstraat'. In this street, you will find a lot of different restaurants like a sushibar and big and small diningcafés. Especially by night, this street is glowing because of the candles and lights of the different restaurants. Particularly in the summer it's very crowded on the different terraces.
After dinner you may like a nice cocktail. In café 'Flair' you can choose various cocktails. Sometimes they have salsa music and othertimes they are running top 40 music. It's a cafe for students between the ages 21 and 28.
After you drank your cocktail, it's time to go to café 'Tweekeerbellen'. This café stands for a great night out. On friday's you can flip a coin to get a free round of drinks. The owners of the place are very friendly and sometimes they allow you to smoke inside (for the smokers among us).
Now you know what to do when you are in 's-Hertogenbosch. This guide stands for a splendid time in 's-Hertogenbosch where the nights are long. Have a joyfull time!
Before you have dinner there are a lot of small cafés where you can drink a nice beer. Especially de café called 't Kolleke where you can find a big list of different kinds of beer. The ambiance is friendly and cosy as a small brown café. They even have there own brewery!
At dinner time I really recommend a small street called 'de Korteputstraat'. In this street, you will find a lot of different restaurants like a sushibar and big and small diningcafés. Especially by night, this street is glowing because of the candles and lights of the different restaurants. Particularly in the summer it's very crowded on the different terraces.
After dinner you may like a nice cocktail. In café 'Flair' you can choose various cocktails. Sometimes they have salsa music and othertimes they are running top 40 music. It's a cafe for students between the ages 21 and 28.
After you drank your cocktail, it's time to go to café 'Tweekeerbellen'. This café stands for a great night out. On friday's you can flip a coin to get a free round of drinks. The owners of the place are very friendly and sometimes they allow you to smoke inside (for the smokers among us).
Now you know what to do when you are in 's-Hertogenbosch. This guide stands for a splendid time in 's-Hertogenbosch where the nights are long. Have a joyfull time!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Hopeless?
The Swashank Redemption is a movie about a man (Andy Dufresne) who is sentenced a life time in prison, innocent. He meets another man in prison and they become friends. Some people have become used to the life in prison, but Andy can’t. Should you lose hope?
An old man in the movie died because he lost hope. He was an elderly and got free because of his age. He never thought that he could get out of prison and lost hope because of that. In the fifty years that he lived in prison, he got used to it. He was somebody, because he was the library man. When he got out he was a nobody and had to work in a supermarket. Because he lost hope over the years he became a stranger of the world outside and committed suicide.
Andy Dufresne never lost hope. His friends in prison could not understand why, cause they were never getting out including Dufresne himself! Dufresne saw what it did to the little old man and claimed to a friend that hope is the only way for not getting insane. With his hope and a little pickaxe he managed to dig a hole in 15 years time. He was a free man in a world that he always kept in mind.
Dufresne's friend learned a lesson of this. His story went the same as the old man that died. He was a stranger of the world outside and had to work in the supermarket. But Dufresne's positivism and plan gave the friend the hope to find him again. It was a difficult search but he did not give up hope and he found Dufresne. Sometimes things in life look hopeless, but there is always a way to get out of that situation.
An old man in the movie died because he lost hope. He was an elderly and got free because of his age. He never thought that he could get out of prison and lost hope because of that. In the fifty years that he lived in prison, he got used to it. He was somebody, because he was the library man. When he got out he was a nobody and had to work in a supermarket. Because he lost hope over the years he became a stranger of the world outside and committed suicide.
Andy Dufresne never lost hope. His friends in prison could not understand why, cause they were never getting out including Dufresne himself! Dufresne saw what it did to the little old man and claimed to a friend that hope is the only way for not getting insane. With his hope and a little pickaxe he managed to dig a hole in 15 years time. He was a free man in a world that he always kept in mind.
Dufresne's friend learned a lesson of this. His story went the same as the old man that died. He was a stranger of the world outside and had to work in the supermarket. But Dufresne's positivism and plan gave the friend the hope to find him again. It was a difficult search but he did not give up hope and he found Dufresne. Sometimes things in life look hopeless, but there is always a way to get out of that situation.
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