The European Union Policy minor

Intro
When we had to choose our minor over half a year ago, I really in doubt since most minors seemed, at least, interesting. I ended up choosing European Union Policy, since I believe it is of value to have an in depth view of how the European Union works.
Well as I just said, I chose the EUP minor in order to gain more insight on how the European Union was created and how it currently works. To be completely honest, the minor was not completely as I expected it to be. I expected the minor to have focused more on the economic aspects of the European Union. Nevertheless the minor focused more on the organizational aspects of all EU institutions in combination to the laws regulation all institutions as well as the entire European Union.
Even though the minor did not entirely turn out as I expected it would, I had a great semester in which I gained lots of new knowledge and skills.

Why you might like the minor as well;
One of the "pro's" of this minor is that the main lecturers, Mr Frencken and Mr v. Manen and Mrs Vermeijs do a very good job. They will draw your attention and provide you with a lot of information whilst keeping the lectures interesting and lively. In addition to the lectures and normal training session everyone is used to, we now had tutor group sessions. During these tutor group sessions we discussed small cases regarding specific topics concerning European Union decisions etc.

Of course there were projects as well and slightly more than we were normally used to. We had a total of 6 projects throughout the entire semester. The groups with whom you cooperate are changed each project, so you’ll really get to know your fellow students.

The course itself ends with an individual project; the paper. Everyone had to write a paper consisting of approximately 3000 to 3500 words about either an economic or legislative aspect of the European Union.
In addition to the high quality of the lectures, choosing EUP will also ensure you of having a great excursion.

This excursion will take you to the main European Union institutions in the BeNeLux. Not only is it nice to see these places, you also receive lectures from EU staff, which sometimes provide a different point of view on the subjects discussed during class. Nevertheless you really need to love busses in order to maintain some sanity after travelling hundreds, if not thousand, kilometers or more in a few days.




In addition to this international trip, we also had an excursion on which we went to the ASSET conference.

Here we were able to follow lectures by well-known people from the government, research institutes, entrepreneurs etc.

Overall I really liked the EUP minor, and I would without any doubt choose this program again if I had to re-do this semester.

The credit crisis and open source software

Introduction
I believe I can safely state that every one reading this blog knows that we have been, and basically still are in a financial crisis. Furthermore I believe everyone has felt the effects, or knows people who have felt the effects of the crisis...

Since I am a user of open source software, I wondered whether the free operating systems and programs were actually stimulated by the financial crisis, and the reasoning behind this.

Linux and the financial crisis
The most popular open source operating system is Linux, it does basically everything Windows does and more, except for crashing. ;)
Linux owned quite a small percentage of the market, whilst Windows owned the largest stake. During the financial crisis, the market share of Linux increased with 30% to 40%, which is a huge increase and seen as some what of a victory.

Whilst we are currently in the final stages of the crisis, linux' market share has stopped skyrocketing. Nevertheless it continued growing steadily as it did before the crisis. So there definitely was a significant influence in the market share of the open source operating systems.


The reasons
I wouldn't say it is all about the money, though i would like to stress the fact that Linux is free. For new companies, or existing companies who need to renovate, there is a big difference whether you need to pay 150 to 300 euro extra PER computer, in comparison to paying almost nothing more than the costs of the hardware.

Security reasons; since Linux is an open source operating system, it means anyone who has anything to improve or add can simply do this. This results in the most advanced and most secure system you can get.


Customization; anyone with a slight knowledge of computers is able to customize the system to the needs of the user. Whilst Windows is just well... Windows... you are able to change the complete system for the specific use of it, meaning a higher efficiency and easier to use environment.
Think of the differences between a computer used at a bookstore and a computer used at a car factory. I'd say its not more than logical that these computers are completely different for the single reason of efficiency.

Therefore have to say that I believe that the companies who invested in Linux systems have made a good choice, also for the future of both their company as well as the open source organizations.

The only drawback of using Linux is that it sounds difficult...

"We will safely help you get the truth out."

 

Wikileaks is currently one of the hottest topics around, after the arrest of founder Julian Assange and the retaliation following it...

Wikileaks, which was founded in 2006, is a so-called "wiki" (webpage where anyone can post or edit information) focused on publishing unavailable documents from anonymous sources or "leaks".

Wikileaks became a media hype after it published several documents on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and also posted several documents on the international relations between the USA and the rest of the world.

Leading to political tension worldwide, this lead to the fact that the USA wanted to extradite him.

Nevertheless the reason for his arrest is on ground of being accused of molestation and rape, which supposedly all happened in August 2010.

Nevertheless my focus is on the fact that information, is not published openly through the world. Governments make agreements, create new laws etc. without the knowledge of its citizens. 

The ACTA act, which has been adopted by the European Union last month, was completely handled in secrecy, both the creation as well as all procedure up to the implementation of the act.

The ACTA act, which focuses on intellectual property rights regarding the internet, was completely unknown to the public if a draft version of the act has not had been posted by Wikileaks last year.

I wonder if we, in a democratic society, are to be pursued for publishing information which affects each and every individual citizen in Europe. Of course the information was to be kept secret, mainly because of the opposition against the act in the first place. Since the enabling of the act would create an institute which has to much power without proper control, basically taking over the American approach on intellectual property rights. Therefore creating a situation in which it becomes legal for any government to search your digital information without any regard to your (online) privacy.

This is just one of the many examples, and I do not believe we as democrats want to give up our privacy or right to know what the government is doing. Therefore I’d say we should support Wikileaks regardless of its founder.

A night out in the middle of nowhere...

Since I don't live in a (big) city, and have a slightly more alternative music style my night out is probably different from most of the other students. If you enjoy more alternative music varying from heavy metal to mellow rock, the Xinix is the place to go. 

Location

The Xinix is located in Nieuwendijk next to the exit of the A27, and therefore easy to reach. The building itself is rather new and quite modern, high tech acoustic isolation (no sound "leaks"  outside the building) , lighting, sound systems etc. basically everything you need for great concerts!

Music

As I mentioned in the introduction, the Xinix offers a large variety of music. But one of its main goals is to give upcoming talent a place to perform their gigs, in order to establish their name or simply to practice.

Nevertheless there are many famous (international) artists or famous cover bands who perform in the Xinix every now and then. The combination of new talent with currently famous bands leads to an interesting show and audience.

"Hot Spots"

One of the coolest things of going to a concert in the Xinix is the stage on which the artists perform, the stage is merely a meter higher than the hall the audience is in, there are no fences or anything in between. Thus creating an open atmosphere which really improves the contact between artist and audience.

If the dancing wears you out, you can simply head to the lounge in which you can lay back on confortable sofas whilst following the concert via one of the many tv screens hanging from the ceiling. Of course the lounge has its own bar.

Last but not least, the smoking area... Whether you are a smoker or not, the smoking area is still one of the coolest places to be. Since the smoking area is basically a huge balcony within the concert hall, thus providing you with a great view both on the band as well as on the audience.

Concluding

If you like alternative music and want to have a good time, the Xinix is definitely the place to be.