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Interesse brengt je verder bij KPMG. De technische details achter podcasting hoef je wat ons betreft niet precies te kennen. Dat je op de hoogte bent van de stormachtige ontwikkelingen op dit gebied en het ook leuk vindt om je erin te verdiepen, vinden we wel belangrijk. Want bij KPMG zou je zomaar kunnen gaan werken voor een grote telecom-speler. Of voor een televisieproducent. Om die goed te kunnen adviseren heb je interesse nodig in de wereld waarin die klanten opereren. En in de zaken waar ze dagelijks mee te maken hebben. Bij KPMG geloven we dat die interesse je een betere adviseur maakt. Daarom zijn we op zoek naar mensen die breed durven kijken én denken. Die ‘streetwise’ zijn. Als je over die mentaliteit beschikt, kun je hier aan de slag als trainee (bij Audit) of junior adviseur (bij Advisory). Kijk voor meer informatie over deze functies en over onze manier van werken op www.kpmg.nl/carrieres.
AU D I T TA X A DV I S O RY
Content And Colofon
Four times a year The Ecunomist is published in a circulation of 1500 for the members, patrons, Æcunomen and external contacts of ECU'92.
Introduction From the Editor-in-Chief....................................4 Updates Agenda..............................................................5 Educational Affairs ............................................7 Features WailingWall........................................................8 Alumni ...............................................................9 Work At... ...................................................10/11 ECU Cribs ..................................................12/13 Famous Entrepreneur .....................................18 Brenner ......................................................26/27 MythBusters The last myth of World War II ....................14/15 Urban Legends ..........................................16/17 Photo’s Photopage Various..........................................19 Photopage Party Golden Oldies .....................22 Committee Pages: English Committee..........................................23 Company Day Committee...............................25 The DLC..........................................................28
Published By: Studievereniging ECU'92 Janskerkhof 12 3512 BL Utrecht Tel.: 030-253 9680 E-mail: info@ecu92.nl Internet: www.ecu92.nl Printed By: Hakker van Rooijen Special Thanks To: ECU'92 Board Y.S. Brenner
Editorial Committee: Folkert van Wier Loura Vlam Jessica Krom Arjan de Hoop Rens Dautzenberg Lisanne Vermeulen Jennifer Evans Freelancers Ian Koetsier Joë l Kroodsma Elena Meshcheryakova Juliette Kuiken Joris Hehenkamp
And... Student Abroad (Juilliette Kuiken)..............20/21 StarTales .........................................................29 Cooking Corner...............................................24 Final Say .........................................................30
©Study Association ECU'92. The copying of articles is permitted provided that the source is stated
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From the Editor in Chief
Gossip-girl Folkert van Wier - Like a wise man once said: If only the rumours about me were true. Source unknown. I know it is a very obvious beginning to make the switch to a hymn of praise about me, the author of this piece, but I will come to that later. I deny everything on forehand except if my lawyer says otherwise. After mister President of ECU’92 and mister Chief both had the chance to present the two editions before this one, you are now reading your third version already. And it is all about the old legends, rumours and the old heritage that no-one can verify yet everyone knows about. For example the story about the affair that mister Chief had with Miss Spelling. UCU was buzzing with rumours, based on nothing more than a misunderstanding in the hallways of the building that we all love. Also, the previous editions of the Ecunomist showed clear evidence in some reader’s perception that the entire editorial commission committee had some alone time with Miss Spelling. As it turned out, the editorial committee has been conned. The snake that Miss Spelling is has come by almost every writer in the economist. Some rumour that is, but we will pay more attention to her and strive to get her out of the magazine for good!
window on a car, 14 stories below; and last but not least, I have counted to infinity – twice. And I have come up with all these facts myself. Furthermore I would like to rectify that I never broke my bed having sex and that all remaining rumours about my performance are true. Also, my apparatus is shown somewhere on hyves, and that being the Editor-in-Chief gets you all the women you want. Or has it more to do with the previous mentioned achievements? Oh well. I guess that what I am trying to say, apart from the fact that there are too many typing errors in the Ecunomist, is that ECU’92 is the ultimate clique of gossip-girls, boys and in betweens. And the system keeps itself in place by evolving new ways to keep the chitter chatter in the coffee breaks going. What bullshit stories, I love it! Merci merci, Folkert van Wier - Chief
Leaves me to the part were I can say a few things about myself, mister author. Since I am the Chief, I feel that I am entitled to this privilege. For example, I once shot down a passenger airplane by pointing my finger at it and yelling ‘bang’! I got arrested once for stealing a poster in a pub; I was a classmate of Harry Potter, at the school for wizards; I once dropped a hockeyball down my 4
The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
Agenda
Agenda and Association news
March 9th March 10th March 11th March 13th - 15th March 17th DIES Week: March 18th March 19th March 24th March 25th March 26th March 27th May 28th
BOMB Information evening Study Trip General Meeting: half year evaluation Foreign excursion to London Freshmen activity: Top of Flop Party Broken Brunch @ UCU Dies reception CuCo presents: Making a Movie Company Day: Driven by Diversity Cabaret! Annual Conference: (Ir)rationality of Risk
The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
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Education Affairs
Myth-bustering Education Ellen Aalbers - Because the theme of this Ecunomist is Myth Busters I want to talk about the say students have at the Utrecht University School of Economics (USE). As a student member of both the educational boards I might have a slightly biased image of the student participation, but even a ‘regular’ student that is not in some kind of student participation institution has enough ways to influence education. Students seem to think that the courses are a given, the organisation at the USE is as it is and nothing can be changed. If I, just like the real tv-mythbusters do, can bust, confirm or declare this particular myth plausibel, it would be a big BUSTED one! A while ago somebody asked me: problems in these areas and how to ‘What happens with the evaluations solve them. One problem that came and comments we make?’. I don’t think forward was communication. The USE this particular student is the only one staff does not seem to get a grip on that has this question. To give you an how to reach you as students and insight; the evaluations are processed inform you about for example labour at the Educational and Student Affairs market orientation opportunities. department of the USE. After being Students thought labour market oriensummarized, the outcomes are reporttation does not get as much attention ed to the Bachelor and Master Boards as the minors, tracks and studying and Educational Committees (and abroad, while it should be on the same posted on WebCt). They discuss these level. The USE staff listened to these results, highlight the most striking ones comments and agreed that they still and take actions when problems are have to work on that part. detected. An example: last year the freshmen who took the course The USE is always concerned about International Economics had much the quality of the education they offer more problems passing the course and recently initiated some project to than the second-year students due to get more insight into all quality matters. the fact they only knew micro- and Maybe you will meet me at the end of macroeconomics at a basis level. This period 3 in your International year the freshmen are placed in sepaEconomics tutorial to do a digital and rate tutorial groups, which are thaught more extended evaluation to see if the by the lecturer. This way the freshmen new way of teaching the freshmen realcan work at their own pace, the basics ly works. Or maybe you will just got a can get more explanation and both lecrequest to fill in a digital Elsevier-like ture and tutorial material are taught by questionnaire about education at the one and the same teacher. USE. Please do not ingore these attempts of the USE to extend their One particular moment where you knowledge on these matters, because could stand up for your right is the you think nothing is done with the Educational Debate, organized by results! Fill in the questions with great ECU’92. With three interesting topics concern and speak up! Because the (repeater courses, the value of a USE thought that things can not be changed bachelor and labour market orientaat the USE, is a myth! tion) teachers and students were able Coordinator Educational Affairs 2008-2009 to debate with each other about the The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
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Wailing Wall
The 4 follies of Utrecht
Saad Shah - Let me start with the most exasperating issue in Utrecht. The Weather... NOT! Rather, and this should not be too much of a shocker for my Law Library studying fellow men students: those dastardly super noisy, tak tak tak women boots! Now before the gentler sex hurls accusations of sexism and smelly chauvinism at poor me, understand this: the library is supposed to be an island of calm in the raging ocean of noise; an oasis of peace in a desert of furious sandstorms; a clearing of tranquility in the din of the rain forest. But apparently, the Law Library forgot all these beautiful analogies when designing the rules for it. Boots that make any amount of noise above 60 decibels should be banned, along with anti-Semitism, bad deodorant, and those nasty handbags for men (handbags for men?!). Complaint number 2? The weather of course! While I sit cooped up in the library (with the ever present background thud of boots of course), just to my left I see giant snowflakes (big enough to kill any self-respecting Paki) racing to the earth. It's enough to make some other wretched tropical weather-loving person sit on the ground and cry. Still, as this is the favorite whining topic of all people of the South, I'll leave it at that. The third most irritating aspect of Utrecht, nay, the Netherlands? Those death-defying, gravity-stupefying, guaranteed-tomake-you-go-flying, stairs! Just this weekend one of my beloved house mates almost broke his neck going down one of those steep beauties. In defense of those (carpeted, thank goodness!) stairs, my house mate was pretty drunk. But that's beside the point. We have reached that stage in history where we have built the great wall of China, put a man on the moon and stockpiled enough nuclear arsenals to wipe everything off the face of the earth; but here in the Netherlands, they still can't seem to get the angle of the stairs right. Oh well.
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Lastly, and this is for all my international brothers and sisters: those stratospheric rental rates. Every August-September a group of blood-thirsty birds of prey, also known as real estate agents, gather together to swoop down on unsuspecting students and rip them off for fabulous sums. Such sweetheart deals are second in fraud only to the infamous credit default swaps that are ripping through Western economies. Methinks there is a conspiracy afoot. These agents may have distracted attention for a while, but beware! We will rise! We will rise! The international student crowd is a proud and resilient lot, and stick together to help each other out. I can feel winds of revolt. If I have offended any of the Utrecht natives, who I count as my good friends and neighbors, then please accept my humblest of apologies. To make amends, let me sum up my entire feelings for this beautiful and cozy town (which I consider as my home too): Utrecht, the best mistake of my life!
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Alumni
Elias Hermans
Lisanne Vermeulen - For this edition we have had a talk with Elias Hermans (24). He finished his master International Economics & Business in Augustus 2007. This former ECU’92 member travelled to South-America and he now fills his days with playing poker. Playing poker? How did that start? Elias: ‘Well, this started during my study. At first, it was just for fun, but after a while I started to make money. I played next to my study; I must confess that this was not always beneficial for my study results… On average I earned around €1000 a month. When I finished my study I had 5 months to fill before my trip to South-America. Instead of taking a job I decided to try to poker the money together. Now that I could play fulltime, my poker skills improved, I won almost €2000 per month. After the trip to South-America I was planning to take a job, but I just kept playing poker. Right now I’m earning more with poker than I could ever earn with a job. Once I won almost €120.000! This felt kind of surreal…’ With such an amount of money in your pockets, you must not have the urge to find a ‘normal’ job, do you? Elias: ‘Actually I am thinking of getting a job. Consultancy appeals to me the most. It seems very diverse, interesting, and a useful first job since you learn a lot and work at different firms.’ After you won enough money playing poker you made a trip to South-America, what did you do over there? Elias: ‘I made a 3 month travel through South-America with my girlfriend. We started in the most southern point and travelled through Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and finished in Rio de Janeiro. We saw the most beautiful and mind blowing things. We made a jungle-excursion in Bolivia, saw Macchu Pichu, the Perito Moreno Gletsjer, Iguazu falls. In Peru Colca Canyon condors, with a wingspread of 3 meters, were flying over our heads!’
How do you look back on your study and your time at ECU’92? Elias: ‘A really good and unique time that you must enjoy and that’s exactly what I have done. On the study it self I look back with mixed feelings. I don’t regret my choice for economics, but the study did not always interested me that much. Except for some courses and teachers, it mostly felt like I was doing courses because I had to. Nevertheless I like being an economist. The way of thinking suits me. Luckily for me I did not need a lot of time for my studying, so I could spend a lot of time at ECU’92.’ What did you do at ECU’92? Elias: ‘A lot! In my freshmen year I joined the study trip-committee and the Activities Committee. Between my bachelor and master I served a year on the Board as secretary. That was really an amazing time. Running the business with 6 people and doing everything together is a very special and unique experience, which I would recommend to all of you!’ Active ECU’92 member, traveler, playing poker, you are a diverse person. How would you describe yourself? Elias: ‘That’s a really hard question… I’m a relaxed person and not quickly stressed out. Maybe a little bit to relaxed, because I have the bad habit of being a bit lazy and pushing things ahead of me. But I’m fun to hang out with, at least I think I am.’ Last word to the readers? Elias: ‘I have said it before, but if you have the opportunity to serve the Board for a year: do so! It’s really a great experience and every employer asks for it, what do you want more?’
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Work At... Jennifer Evans- Many people are quick to make assumptions about government work – they think it’s monotonous or unrewarding or too slow-paced. In order to find out what it's really like, I spoke with Anke de Weijer (one of our own – she graduated from USE in 2004), who works as an Inspector of Budget with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in Den Haag.
The inside story Anke works for the JUBI division of the Office of Budget Inspection (JUBI is an acronym that relates to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs). A central feature of the MoF is the collaboration with the other government ministries. Within the MoF’s Office of Budget Inspection, the Ministries of Education and Healthcare each have their own separate divisions; Agriculture and Housing are combined; Justice and Internal Affairs are together; and Defense, Economics, and Foreign Affairs are also combined into their own division as well. First, what do Inspectors of Budgets actually do? It’s a (somewhat) contradictory mix of politics and common sense. Inspectors receive an overview of the budget that corresponds to their department, and give it a critical assessment: What’s in it? Is it efficient? Will there be any money left over? Are there any new programs? How will they be funded? It’s also important for Inspectors to assess the policy merits of new programs, and determine why the government has to carry out a specific program as opposed to leaving it to the market. Another
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major objective of budget inspection is to find possible savings. Anke notes that, especially in the economic crisis, efficiency and possible savings are important. The programs under question can span the range of youth prisons to foreign adoption to traffic fines. These assessments are then given to the Minister of Finance to be used in the policy decisions of the Tweede Kamer. The ultimate decision making process can last 3 months, 3 weeks or 3 days, depending on the topic or the political climate. An employee may receive documents on Monday, and have to advise the Minister before Friday. The busiest times of year are spring and autumn, when the ministers plan and review the budgets. The influence of the political calendar should come as no surprise. In order to love this job, you have to love politics. Be prepared to see your own work in the newspaper the next day. And be prepared that, despite your best efforts, sometimes politics trump recommendations. In addition to the daily activities, there are also opportunities for continuing education and social events. A group of employees is in charge of organizing lectures, parties and drinks for staff members. Once every two years, the Ministry of Finance organizes a foreign excursion for its staff. Last year, employees went to Stockholm and Helsinki. These trips are a mix between a holiday and a learning experience (for example, visits to foreign ministries and presentations/discussions of best practices). Matchmaking Anke’s tasks aren’t exclusively centered around numbers and models; however, a
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Work At... feeling for numbers and economic themes is important. She also describes the critical view developed at University as the most important asset gained from her education, and stresses that, in her position, “you are invited to be critical.” Employees of the Ministry of Finance are not just former economics students, but public policy and law graduates are represented as well (among others). The Ministry also likes to see that job candidates were active in school and community activities. Fenna Knops, a recruiter with the Ministry, explains that the most important aspect of the recruitment process is making sure they find a match. The ideal is a “we want them, they want us” situation. An applicant’s interests can help the Ministry decide where a candidate would fit in best. While the basic idea of budget inspection is the same in theory, it is quite specialized per division (traffic regulation programs are assessed differently than programs regarding the adoption of children from foreign countries). The actual application process consists of two interviews. The first interview is with two of your potential colleagues, which gives the applicants a chance to gain first-hand knowledge about the daily workload and organizational culture. The second interview is with a manager. During this interview, don't be surprised if you're prompted to discuss politics and current issues in the news. Again, a healthy interest in politics is essential.
knows this from first-hand experience. During her second week with the MoF, the Finance Minister was visiting a youth detention center, and since that was part of her departmental responsibility, she accompanied him to the detention center. Other possibilities If you want more exposure before choosing a career, there is a number of other opportunities at the Ministry of Finance. Interested students can do an internship in their third year, work on their graduation project (master's thesis) or apply for a government traineeship at the MoF. Internships and graduation projects generally last three to six months. The government traineeship lasts 2 years, and there is the possibility to be placed in any of the ministries. Last year, there were 160 positions and 1600 applicants. The application process begins in April. For more information, please check http://www.rijkstrainee.nl. If you would like to write your thesis at the Ministry of Finance or inquire about an internship, please contact recruitment@minfin.nl. Recent (or soon-to-be) graduates with an interest in all that is critical and political can check out the MoF website: http://www.minfin.nl. You will find employment vacancies for the MoF, along with the email address of the appropriate recruiter.
About 1800 people work for the ministry, and 100 or so university graduates start every year. In the beginning, these new employees may focus on drafting the budget overview that employees like Anke use to evaluate policy and spending. However, as you progress in the ministry, you get more policy exposure. Anke explains that new employees have responsibilities and “we expect something from them.” Anke
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Ecu-Cribs
The Ina Boudier-Bakkerlaan 41k Rens Dautzenberg and Loura Vlam - ECU-cribs is a column in the Ecunomist where we take a look at the homes of our beloved ECU’92 members. We are invited to have a glimpse at their rides, fridges and of course the place where the magic happens. Most importantly, they tell us the story behind the crib. This edition is all about the beautiful house of the ECU-members: Douwe, Rienk, Rutger and Luuk. If you want to show your crib to the rest of the world, please send an email to redactie@ecu92.nl! Rutger is already a sixth years student at the University Utrecht School of Economics. He went to Hungary for a couple of months as a kind of break (rehab) and met there his lovely girlfriend Nikki, who he brought with him to the Netherlands. He was active within ECU’92, but stopped doing that. Rienk is also studying Economics quite intensively, for he is also around for six years now. But he told us that he was really proud to say that he had done almost every course from USE! Within ECU’92 Rienk has done a lot of things and you can still find him often in one of the ECU’92 rooms.
Douwe is the youngest one in the house and he rents the room from Rens who is now in Minneapolis for one year. Of course everybody knows Douwe as he is a board member this year! Within the board he has the important task of being coordinator for external affairs. Douwe makes sure that ECU’92 is represented well to the outside world. Sad to say, but Luuk was sick during our interview so he couldn’t tell us fascinating things about his life. Fortunately we heard from his roommates that there was taken well care of him by his Mom and Dad. Sometimes you need some pampering… 12
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Ecu-Cribs
“They never do fun-things in this house. They just hang on the couch with their laptop”
We heard this house would be a complete mess, but things don’t look that bad. Have you been cleaning before we came? All together: “No, of course we have not cleaned for you guys. It is always this clean in our house...” After a while Harry comes for a visit and he tells us: “I’ve been helping to clean this house yesterday and we have thrown away at least 16 refuse bags!”
Who is the cleanest one in the house? Rienk: “That has to be Douwe and he also tries to stimulate us to clean things up.” Furthermore we heard that Douwe also tries to stimulate Rutger to quit smoking. Douwe: “If Rutger fills in the formulary to start swimming then we both will quit smoking and I will come to encourage him on the side of the swimming pool!” We will wait and see...
“If you have an addiction, start eating zoute stokjes!” Are there any special house rules? Rienk: “Everything is labelled in our house so that everybody knows what belongs to whom. We all have our own chair, own cutlery etc. If someone uses something which has not his own name on it and he is caught, then he has to clean the whole house.” But sometimes you can go too far with labelling, in this house there are labels everywhere. You can find them on the clock, on the paintings and even on the ceiling.
Rutger: “Furthermore, I don’t think there are any rules in this house.” Maybe that is one of the reasons why it is so messy? At last, can you tell us a good story which took place in this house? Rutger: “New Year’s eve we had a good party in this house. After a while we decided to play a beer game with cards in Luuks room since he was not around. It was a lot of fun, but after some time the beer came to our ankles and in some parts of the room you can still see that plywood slice is curled up.” Rienk: “But after all, Luuk wasn’t angry about it because we cleaned his whole room!”
“When you are drunk you sometimes have The Problem. What do you do first: puking or pooping?” The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
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MythBusters
The last myth of World War II Ian Koetsier- Exactly one year after the invasion of The Netherlands, one of the most daring encounters in the Second World War took place. It was Rudolf Hess' flight to England. But not only was this undertaking remarkable, his entire life and even his death can be qualified in that way. On the 10th of May 1941, he flew to the United Kingdom. On German radio, his act was called desertion; however, this can be qualified as Nazi propaganda. The action was certainly not an act of desertion. He was part of Hitler’s inner circle. He even helped Hitler with the Nuremberg Laws which laid the basis for the Holocaust. Probably he was sent by Hitler to offer a peace deal. The place where he landed also gives an indication of his intentions. He landed near to the house of the Duke of Hamilton, the other main British political leader beside Churchill at the time. He parachuted above Scotland near to the house of the Duke. However, he was arrested almost immediately. The peace deal that he was going to offer was quite generous from the side of the Germans, if you look at the English position at that moment. Germany would give back all the Western European countries and pay the costs of the war damages. For the UK, the proposal had some particular interesting features -- his colonies were guaranteed and the conquered parts were returned by Germany, and the Mediterranean would come under British influence. Further, Britain would be accepted as the leading sea power. However, Britain had to give Germany the free hand in Russia. The German deal was an offer you cannot refuse from their perspective. Further, in the past on numerous occasions, Churchill 14
warned about the communist treat. And now Germany would deal with it. Churchill was a real communist hater to put it mildly. In a letter to Mussolini in 1927, he wrote: “If I was an Italian, than I would stand side by side with you from the beginning until the end in your struggle against the bestial lusts and passions of Leninism.” This is not the only indication that he was certainly more a communist hater than a fascist hater. He even called Mussolini “the greatest lawgiver among men.” Further, the landing of English troops at Narvik was not only driven by the Nazi invasion of Norway. The British were also supposed to support the Finns with their war against the Soviets. Another moment where Churchill showed that he really feared communist influence was later in the war at the Yalta Conference. There he famously divided Europe with Stalin on the back of an envelope, between countries under Western influence and under communist influence. In this way, he made sure that the communist influence in Europe was limited to a certain extent. It is difficult to imagine now, but the United Kingdom was probably closer to a peace deal with Hitler than you would ever imagine. Churchill did say that he demanded the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. But we must not forget in 1941, the United States had not even entered the Second World War,
The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
MythBusters so England was still on its own against a seemingly stronger German army. Churchill was probably under increasing domestic pressure to broker a peace deal with the Nazis. England was under constant bombardment of the Luftwaffe, leaving too many wounded and dead. Further, Hess was not a file clerk. He was a German officer, well respected by Hitler. The suspicion that negotiations took place is further fuelled by the fact that all public files about Hess are closed until 2016. Because of what we know now, it is easy to judge. Negotiating with a regime that killed more than six million Jews and many others is unacceptable. However, what did they know then? Churchill’s official stand of unconditional surrender was probably not as hard as he said it was. It can also be seen as a bargaining technique, making sure that he got the most out of the Germans in future negotiations. He probably considered the Germans' offer as a win-win-situation, from what could be seen. The communist treat was limited by Germany, the war was brought to a swift end and the British Empire still existed. The two main players, Churchill and Hess, both died years ago. Churchill had no interest mentioning that he negotiated with the Germans. After the World War, he was seen as the leader who stood firm against Hitler. In Germany, the Nazi top was dead and all the documents of Hess, and his peace offer, were probably destroyed. So the only figure who could ruin Churchill's place in history was Hess. By the Nuremberg Processes, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1966, he was the only prisoner in Spandau prison. The Russians opposed his release; however, when Gorbachev came to power the Russian opposition crumbled. This increased
the possibility of Hess' release and damage to Churchill's reputation. In 1987, Hess hanged himself with an electric wire in a garden house in the prison. The official report stated dead by suicide. However, the hanging would be quite an accomplishment for a 93 year-old man who could not put on his own shoes. Further, he was already imprisoned from 1941. Committing suicide after more than 46 years imprisonment is certainly strange. Further, it was a remarkable coincidence that the British were in charge of Spandau prison at that moment. There are claims that he was murdered in the prison by two MI6 agents. The circumstances surrounding the death of Rudolf Hess certainly must be treated with utmost suspicion. There is another way to establish why this all happened. The documents that Hess took with him to the UK were obtained after his landing. These documents could shed some light on the events of the 10th of May. But there was only one ‘tiny’ problem. Somewhere between 1991 and 1992, the documents were stolen. Making it impossible to undoubtedly prove how close the UK and Germany were in striking a peace deal in the Second World War. The main characters are dead and the documents lost, letting the myth survive. But it also survived in the minds of people with less historic understanding, like neo-Nazis.
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MythBusters
Urban Legends Jessica Krom - This article is all about some curious urban legends from Utrecht. Some legends are really famous in Utrecht, but some other legends you might have never heard of. Decide for yourself what is true en what is fake...
Myth 1: The Dom
The story goes like this: once upon a time (no one could tell me exactly when this was, but that’s what makes it so mysterious) there was a member of Veritas (though some sources are not sure and say it could also be a member of Unitas) that jumped off of the Dom tower and landed on a USC-member (Utrechtse Studenten Corps). The USCer got terribly hurt and according to some, especially according to USCmembers, died. The Veritan (or Unitarian) had a soft landing and didn’t have a scratch. Ever since that day, USC-members are not allowed to walk under the tower. They have to walk around it to honor the dead USCer. Until 2003, bus 2 drove through the way under the Dom and USC-members had to get out of the bus and run around the port in order not to break the rule. There is never found any evidence on this story, so it’s nothing more than an urban legend. (But a very good one.) 16
Myth 2: Gay meetingpoint Another Dom-story, just in case you weren’t already bored by the first one. Every Utrechter should know, even immigrants from other cities, that in 1674 there was a storm that was so severe it destroyed the hallway between the Dom tower and the church. Because of money shortage, the hallway could not be recovered and the mess the storm left behind was a ruin. This ruin, became a secret meeting point for homosexuals. Back then, homosexuality was a sin and forbidden by the church. (So it’s kind of ironic that the meeting point was next to the church.) When people found out about the meeting point the men involved were sentenced to death. Since then, “Utrechtenaar” became an invective for homosexual. This is why Utrechters are called Utrechters, not “Utrechtenaren”. This story is actually true, and for the one’s that need a proof, between the Dom church and the tower is a memorial stone for the victims.
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MythBusters
Myth 3: Oude Gracht
See this stone? You will find it at Oudegracht 364. The stone has been there since 1520 and it was meant to protect the house it was placed in front of from damage. But the stone wasn’t a regular stone. It was bewitched! The story goes, that when someone very unlucky stuck a needle in it at midnight it started bleeding. The question why someone would stuck a needle in a stone in the middle of the night remains a question unanswered here. Blood flowed out of the stone and ghosts appeared, keeping people awake with their screams. Since this day, every night the ghosts appeared and no single priest could drive them away. One night, half of Utrecht gathered, to expel the ghosts. Luckily, it worked. Since that night no ghosts have been spotted there, but for security the rock has been chained to the house. You never know what might happen…
Myth 4: Galgenwaard Galgenwaard (Galg means gallow), home of soccer club FC Utrecht, has served as execution terrain in earlier times. Galghenwert, like it was called in the Middle Ages was according to many the place the central gallow of Utrecht was placed. This was where the biggest and most notorious criminals were hanged. In those times Galgenwaard was just an open space, placed just outside the city walls of Utrecht. Since World War I this place is a stadium. Back then, there weren’t only soccer games played here, but also other sports like bike racing and dog racing. Also was it a meeting place for Jehova’s witnesses and a stage where plays were held! Strange detail about Galgenwaard is that Wikipedia contradicts itself at two different pages: If you look up “galgenwaard” at wikipedia.nl it is stated that, although the name makes you think differently, this place probably wasn’t meant for executions. But if you look up “galg” Wikipedia mentions that Galgenwaard in Utrecht was an open place just outside the city walls where the city gallow was placed. Isn’t that mysterious?
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Famous Entrepreneur
Jay Gould
Arjan de Hoop - Some one hundred and forty years ago, the American financial markets were not so tightly regulated as nowadays. A man named Jay Gould was born for this playing field. He was constantly setting up new financial constructions, manipulating prices and aggressively attacking competitors. He was known as one of the ‘Robber Barons’, the public saw him as a plunderer and a looter of companies. The truth is more subtle though, for Gould was quite capable of expanding and managing a business. After the market crash following the Civil War (1861-1865) Gould used his cash to buy junk bonds of a troubled railroad. He gained control of the railroad and turned it around, a lucrative action which made him rich. When the wealthy Cornelius Vanderbilt tried to buy the Erie Railway in 1867, Gould saw an opportunity to squeeze this tycoon. While Vanderbilt’s buying drove up the stock price, Gould created convertible bonds which he converted to stocks. Vanderbilt wasn’t able to buy this huge new supply of stocks and the price plummeted, allowing Gould to acquire stock and become president of the Erie. The then prevailing strategy in the railroad business was to form gentlemanly pools, which we would call cartels. Gould didn’t like the peaceful pools. Instead he tried to establish a monopoly on railroad traffic from New York westward to Chicago. This could only be done by acquiring smaller competitors who owned parts of this route. And so he did. Gobbling up stocks of multiple railroads at a dazzling speed. That’s about the time Gould’s mysterious habit turns up. When victory was in sight he would launch an incredibly risky operation, in this case the infamous Gold Corner. 18
Gould figured out that he could make big bucks by pushing up gold prices. The export of raw materials would rise if the dollar would weaken against gold and the Erie Railway was perfectly positioned reap the benefits of a much higher transport to the East coast. So Gould started buying gold, then lending it out immediately, using the cash collateral to buy and lend more. The biggest threat was the government’s $100 million gold reserves. If the government started to sell, prices would drop and Gould would fail. So he made the brother-in-law of President Grant buy $1,5 million of gold, expecting that the President wouldn’t give the order to sell reserves. Gould continued to buy more gold, but via a host of dummy accounts he started to sell. When the gold price had appreciated 50% the government started to sell and the gold price collapsed. Unfortunately Gould had to sell his stocks and lost his control positions in the Erie and other railroads. His reputation was destroyed and he almost went broke. But he fought his way up, gaining control of the much bigger Union Pacific. - Charles A. Morris (2005). The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan invented the American Supereconomy. New York: Henry Holt.
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Photopage: Various
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Student Abroad Juliette Kuiken - At this point I’m relaxing in a hostel at the bottom of the Franz Josef Glacier after a four hour walk up and down the icy surface. I am in New Zealand and at the end of my Down Under adventure. Rather than promoting this beautiful country, it is my task to give an impression of my activities here, as all this started of with an application for a semester at Monash University last year. After having completed the three years at USE it was time to head to a foreign country to get some abroad experience and add some extra ECTS point to my bachelor diploma. How I ended up choosing Australia and Melbourne is a long story, but frankly I knew Monash University was a well-known university especially for business and economics studies, plus Australia for me is equal to having a good time, so there you go. Monash University is on the list of Utrecht University so it was quite cheap (no additional tuition fees) and easy to apply for this exchange semester. Since things are very different in the southern hemisphere, I skipped my European summer last year and headed to winter down under in the beginning of July. It was cold, seriously. You might not think of chilly, windy days when thinking of Australia but it was like a cold November day in Netherlands and that for weeks. I have even been skiing! My first two weeks were completely filled up with introduction activities organized by the student union of the campus. You get to make friends from day one at activities such as a visit to an Australian football, ‘footy’, game, welcome dinners and movie nights. The 20
time of studying was pretty busy with four courses at once, it was more demanding than I was used to in Utrecht. The effort requirements throughout the semester also included a lot more essays; at least two per course. The courses I chose were Business in Asia, International Finance, Introduction to Management and Contemporary Australia. Especially the first one I loved. A whole new world of information about the Asian economies opened up to me and I did not mind to spent hours in the library to read the books on the literature list. Finance turned to be a lot tougher than I thought while the other two were relatively easy, but not less interesting because of that. In terms of the teachers, there was a large variety in how inspiring they were. With the two Asian lecturers there was sometimes a funny misunderstanding because of their accent, while one of my tutors, who was a senior student, clearly was not interested at all in if we would pass the course or not. However, in general I was very satisfied with my teachers. The first month I have spent in a room in student accommodation right across the street of the campus, because the
The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
Student Abroad on-campus accommodation was said to be full and I arranged prior to arriving in Australia. I cannot recommend this, I mean I did not have to spend two weeks searching while staying in a hostel but it would be better to see the place before signing the agreement. After the first weeks I could not stand it much longer and I decided to give the campus one more try. I was very lucky to get a room there, because some people were moving out. The cost of accommodation is higher in Melbourne. It is a very big city and a popular place to live in. Even in the suburbs rents are higher than in Utrecht. But apart from this Melbourne is great, absolutely awesome! There is a lively cute area along the beach with lots of cafes and boutique shops, and the city centre is full with tall buildings and Asian takeaway food courts. You really have the feeling of walking in a world city, where there are people from any nationality you can think of, especially Malaysian, Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese though.
ty issue was one of the main themes reoccurring in the news. Very different topics and a completely new discovery since not much is mentioned about Australia in the Dutch newspapers. What you immediately realize when entering Melbourne is the great influence the Asian immigrants have had during the last twenty years. Also at Monash University a majority of students comes from Asia. Monash is actively attracting students from Malaysia. Sometimes I had to remember myself I was in Australia! So to conclude it has been an amazing experience and I recommend everyone thinking of spending a longer time abroad to consider a semester as an exchange student. Pick a country you like and a university that offers courses you are interested in. Any internationally orientated student should do this. I surely recommend Australia, as it gives you lots of opportunities to travel around as well. If you are interested in travelling either Australia or New Zealand, I’ll be very happy to share my experiences with you!
In terms of economics it was a very interesting experience as well. The Australian currency lost its value by thirty percent in three months and effects of the credit crisis also hit the country. Apart from that the agricultural industry is suffering from severe droughts over the last few years with fruit and wheat farmers suffering. Other problems in the country include the economic position of Aboriginals who have extremely high unemployment rates and live in very poor conditions. That combined with the national identiThe Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
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Photopage: Golden Oldies Party!
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The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
Committee Page
English Committee
The English Committee: Unlike other committees we are not conceited, but like a box of chocolates, "you never know what you're going to get" (Forest Gump, 1994). We are, however, an amalgamation of sparkles, football, wine, bunnies, sunshine, cookies, snowflakes and desecrated coconut. A meeting that would normally take an hour usually takes about 2. So there is always some sort of chatter, smirking or genuine headless-chicken entertainment, yes anything to drown out the intense agenda. *Coughs* Not to mention that someone is always late, but hey I'm not complaining, that's what cookies are for. Firstly lets introduce the youngest Padawan, Alexandra Rusu. This Romanian enjoys studying Micro in the library till her eyes pop out. She's a hypothetical hard worker, who given the chance would encourage corruption. Contradicting her 'Dracula-ish' roots, she borrows a lot of things. The newest/ re-entry member is Vera (I have to look it up) Guerdjikova, Bulgarian by night, pink and shiny by day. A follower of the law-librarydogma, she has pledged her allegiance to the study-nap-coffee regime of the law library kind. Next in line is Kirsi Inki, a Finn who likes ice-skating, but would rather learn how to cook; this is domestication at its best. Contrary to popular belief she isn't related to Santa. Moving along we
bump into another Finn, Ines Sanila. Drinking nothing below 35% it's a wonder that unlike the other 60% of Finns. she doesn't wear glasses. Our Treasurer, who ironically is the cheapest of us all (so there's no mistaking where's he's from), is Tim van Vliet. Always on the look out for prices across the border, he spends way too much time with his foreign comrades, for he too has become the marvel of lateness. The second Dutchie is our Secretary, Steffie Kremer. Controlling what we read (and what we don't read), for all we know she could be feeding us a spoonful of propaganda. Kremer likes wine and hockey *tick-tock*, “um that's as far as I got”. Second to last, the chairperson, some weird Dutch-West Papuan, Papua New something or other, Nelly Saweri. At most she tries to make "bad jokes" seem less lame. Obscuring the truth, she’s the worst of the lot. Her ranting and raving evokes forceful laughs, for fear of her cannibalistic ancestors popping up and saying “Chucky wanna eat play” (Child’s play, 1988). Finally last, but not least, I have to introduce our captive from the ECU board, Douwe "baaah" van der Meijden. Yes, ladies, the shepherd likes long walks on the beach, and moonlight serenades. Believe it or not, he liked being Sinterklaas. So there you have it, the English Committee in a nutshell. Wanna know more? Join our next activity, something utilising wheels…
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Cooking Corner
Chocolate Chip Cookies The things to buy or to search for in your kitchen: - 225 grams unsalted butter, room temperature - 150 grams white sugar - 160 grams brown sugar - 2 large eggs - 1 sachet vanilla sugar - 295 grams flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda - ½ teaspoon salt - 270 grams semisweet chocolate chips (can also be a chocolate bar chopped up to very small pieces) - Parchment (baking) paper The things to do First, you should preheat your oven to 375 ˚ C. Take a bowl and cream the butter with a mixer. Add to this the white and the brown sugar and make it a nice mix. Add the eggs to the mix (of course, after beating and making sure there’s no eggshell coming along). Also add the vanilla sugar and stir until you have an egal mixture. In a separate bowl , put the flour, the baking soda and the salt together. Stir a little, add these to the egg mixture and again stir until the mixture is back to egal. While doing this, add the chocolate chips, and possibly other things you find tasty in your cookies, as walnuts or raisins. Attention! The dough mustn’t be too soft, so if you find it too fluid, put the mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes. When done, make balls of the dough, using 2 table spoons of dough for every ball. Put these dough balls on an oven rack, covered with parchment paper (bakpapier in Dutch). Put the oven rack in your oven, wait for 12 to 14 minutes (and after that it would be best if you’d wait again for about 20 minutes, unless you want to burn your tongue), and enjoy these lovely cookies! Cooking dummies could use a little help, because this recipe requires some amount of cooking skill. 24
The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
Committee Page
Company Day Committee Erwin Blom - Some readers might be wondering how they could do it. Where do you get the guts to try to organize a company day these days? Everybody is talking about it: the more and more annoying topic which we call the credit crisis. Come on! Only lunatics call it a credit crisis and most of the time these people are not even economists. So that’s why ECU’92 has only put members with balls (you know, like balls, not the one you carry around, but balls) in the Company Day Committee 2009! One of the most intellectual women I have ever talked to is the chairman. Her name is Sonja and she is definitely the best engine you could have in a car (metaphorically speaking). The theme of this year’s Company Day is ‘Driven by diversity’ but we could easily have called it ‘Driven by Sonja’. The secretary is one you don’t see in every committee. Frankly, I have never seen him before in real life. Some people call him handsome, some don’t. But that’s ok as long as they just love me. Of course I’m talking about Erwin, who likes to do what some call the dirty job: secretary. The treasurer of the committee is a special one. She’s the most enthusiastic committee member I have ever been with in a committee. Sometimes she goes a little too fast but that doesn’t harm business. Boy, does she know how to decrease spending! I’m of course talking about Thera. Merle and Marjolein are the ones who keep us in touch with the companies. With their astonishing charisma and all of their charms we couldn’t think of anybody else who could fulfill their jobs any better. Melanie is our promoter and takes good care of her job, so that we don’t organize this day for no purpose.
Quinten is one of our most spoken members. Without him there was no company day. If it wasn’t for him that we got a location, where would we be? He is a freshmen student but everybody within ECU’92 already knows him. Since our Utrecht School of Economics has such a diverse range of subjects to educate and the Company Day is visited by so many different companies this year’s Company Day is ‘Driven by Diversity’. But it’s up to you readers and visitors of the day to create the right spirit. We’ll see you there at the 26th of March!
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Brenner
Reflections of a Dromicosaurus Y.S. Brenner - My neighbour told me that he read in de Volkskrant that George Soros does not believe that prices tend toward equilibrium or reflect some sort of rational value. ‘So what?’ I asked. ‘Well, doesn’t everyone know that they do? Rising prices indicate scarcity and falling prices surplus.’ I laughed. ‘Apparently Mr Soros doesn’t know. He thinks that values are determined by a relationship between the observed phenomena and the observer. My neighbour gave me a puzzled look. So I explained. ‘For example, a person goes to the bank to ask for a mortgage. The bank wonders about the risk it takes lending him the money. It observes that house-prices have risen (or fallen) in the course of the last decade or decades and then considers the risk. If house prices were rising, the bank sees little risk in lending the money to the prospective house owner. It reckons that if for some reason the borrower cannot pay back the loan he can simply be forced to sell the house and he, or the bank if it takes possession of the mortgaged property, can even make a profit. What the bank forgets (and its employees ignore when they get hefty bonuses for each mortgage they contract) is that house prices may have only risen because other banks have adopted the same logic. In other words, they forgot that the observed lengthy rise in house prices was 26
the result of the ease with which they were lending money to house buyers with little concern whether they are able or unable to pay for their mortgages. The value of the houses (whatever the term value may mean) doesn t change, but their prices do. In this sense Mr Soros claims that values are determined by a relationship between observed phenomena and the observer. He says that the value of houses is less determined by supply and demand than by the bankers observed phenomenon they themselves created.’ My neighbour thought this over for a while. Then he added that if for reasons which may have nothing to do with the supply of houses, house prices
The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
Brenner fall the entire process goes into reverse. I agreed. ‘Indeed, when banks no longer extend loans, fewer people can afford to buy houses, and house prices fall. The prices of foreclosed houses diminishes and the banks lose money. To forestall such risk they sell their mortgages to other banks or all sorts of institutions specialising in this type of business and use them as collateral for borrowing real money to invest for profit. So in the end when the house price bubble bursts there is a credit squeeze, nobody trusts anybody, and the rest is current history.’ My neighbour nodded. ‘I see. What Mr Solos means is that it is not the interaction of supply and demand but bankers’ expectations which determine the house prices.’ ‘Yes. That’s about it. But I would add several more elements. I would add the power of monopoly and Monopsony as well as the currently widespread skulduggery in the business world.’ My neighbour smiled. ‘I knew that
sooner or later you will bring up your favourite theme of the corrupt business community.’ ‘You are right. There is nothing to smile about. Since the 1980 when Mr Van Agt, following Mrs Thatcher and Mr Reagan, imposed on us the market ideology, there is more cause to cry than to smile.’ ‘Why? Didn’t we do well since then? Didn’t we have almost uninterrupted economic growth? Didn’t we?’ ‘Yes we did. But at what price? It is now that we are presented the bill and the bill not only includes the current recession or depression, but the recognition of the depth of the moral morass into which the ThatcherReagan-van Agt ideology has led us.’ My neighbour’s smile turned to laughter. ‘Alright, alright, I’ve heard all this from you before. But tell me, who is this Mr Soros anyhow?’ ‘Mr Soros studied economics and hoped to become an economics lecturer at an American university. Alas, his marks were too low for academia, and he failed to get the job. So he was obliged to speculate in the real financial economy, and within a few decades became one of the richest persons on earth.’
Y.S. Brenner Bilthoven: February 2009
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Committee Page
The DLC The DLC is just short for Discussion and Lectures Committee. Although that doesn’t sound very sexy it gives an exact description of what we are doing. Each year this committee organises debates and lectures on current affairs. So far this year we had a lecture on Happiness and Welfare, and a very successful lecture on the Financial Crisis. But who are the people organising these activities? Let me present you our committee: First of all we have Johanna. Johanna does a good job in promotion (and an even better job in designing flyers & posters). Next we have Laura. Laura is in charge of the locations. A quite demanding task since every activity needs its own suitable location. Then we
have Wouter. Although Wouter decided on studying in Amsterdam, he still is our financial man. Also in our committee is Harry. Possibly the most experienced man within ECU’92. Still the DLC has the honour to use him as our secretary, a valuable contribution! And finally guiding this committee, myself. The myself in question is Onno. Still fresh in my role as chairman I really look forward organising more activities this year. We are planning on having two more activities this year: a debate and a lecture. So keep a look on the activities calendar and something might show up. And say that you are wondering: four people in a committee, that ain’t much? You are correct then, the DLC is looking for more people who want to join ‘De Liefste, Leukste & Lekkerste Commissie’. So if you are looking for your next committee in your ECU’92 career then go and have a talk with ECU’92 chairman, Rens. But to conclude: ‘De Liefste, Leukste & Lekkerste Commissie’ is really looking forward seeing you at our activities or our committee!
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The Ecunomist - Annual Volume 18, Edition 3 - March 2009
StarTales Pisces (February 20 – March 20 -You don’t believe in ghosts? To stick with this Ecunomist’s subject, something very strange will happen to you somewhere in the coming weeks. It’s going to make you change your beliefs, but don’t let it freak you out. It’s probably just an old pet saying hi. Aries (March 21 – April 20) - Last time we bothered you with the advice to try a little harder in the study area. And we must admit, most Aries did a really good job and our work here is done. But now that most of you are nerds, or at least single and studyaholic, go out! Have fun! We were just joking last time! Gotcha! Taurus (April 21 – May 21) - Your newborn, fresh-out-of-the-tree relationship already shows signs of dullness. You can’t let this happen, right? Isn’t he or she the most wonderful thing that has ever crossed your path? be back. Gemini (May 22 – June 21) - Gemini, lately someone is acting as your Gemini. Maybe not exactly so, but a certain person has been copying your behavior, bonding with your friends and following you closely… you out! Cancer (June 22 – July 22) - Hey, what’s with all the negativity? Spring is coming! If you could just for once open those eyes, baby ducks are taking their first swim in the Oude Gracht! Maybe we are blowing this a little bit out of proportion but you should get the point by now. Leo (July 23 – August 21) - Dear Leo, how are you these days? Not too bad, according to the stars. Neptune tells us your love life has been quite OK. And the Leos who listened to our advice of last Star Tales should have a job by now. We think it’s time to tie the loose ends together. Virgo (August 22 – September 23) Someone is trying to get closer to you. It is a friend, or maybe it’s someone you don’t even know. Most likely his or her name will
start with an A (a T or E is also possible..) and this person has only one goal: to make you hers/his! Libra (September 24 – October 23) Libra’s run the risk of getting a cold. You should really try fruit sometimes, it’s for your own good. By the way, your computer runs the risk of having problems. (Computer problems, yes.) Don’t open any attachments to suspicious e-mails! Scorpio (October 24 – November 22) Last Star Tales we were surprised by your selfless behavior, helping old women cross streets and stuff. Now we’re even more surprised, because you’re still this charity person! We’ll just encourage your behavior and hint you on some people who might need help. Sagittarius (november 23 – December 22) - Either you are trying to set up two friends of yours who would just be perfect together, or someone is setting you up with a friend of his/hers. The stars are not being very specific about it. But what you should keep in mind is that love isn’t something that can be forced. Capricorn (December 23 – January 20) March is your lucky month! You should keep your eye on the ground, because Saturn tells us there might be money on it, or maybe even a golden watch! Also, you should buy some lottery tickets. Aquarius (January 21 – February 19) Aquarius... Don’t you see you are not always as funny as you think you are? You should just for once not laugh after you made a joke, because then you would hear you’re the only one who thinks it’s funny.
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Final Say
The end of crisis is a new crisis
Ian Koetsier – In recent months, the credit crisis seems to be only thing that happened in the world. But crises come and go. In the beginning of the year the world would go down as a result of the climate crisis. However, this crisis seems to have disappeared all together. The media nowadays are trend followers, they are sprinters. They run from one crisis to the next. Recently, you probably heard quite a lot about the economic downturn but not so much about for example Iraq and Sudan. It looks like these countries have become peaceful states. Further, after the film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ by Al Gore, the media immediately took up the new global problem. Of course, the old problems are still there but the media have got a new hype. The television audiences need new topics to keep them interested. So a new problem offers a new opportunity for the global, national and local news networks. From believing the media can come huge problems. In The Netherlands, we have experienced this. When The Netherlands held the EU presidency, the media looked for a topic to cover in our country. At that time The Netherlands was a booming economy with a growth rate it can now only dream of. However, when the growth rate was put in perspective, it was not that impressive as you compare it to the rest of Europe. It was thus not so much reality that they covered but the need of a topic that dominated. When the international press left with the EU presidency, the Dutch people kind of believed that growth would continue forever. This all led to a fierce recession in the beginning of the 21st century. 30
Not only normal citizens are influenced by the media, also politicians. In The Netherlands, there were more debates than ever about topics that were in the media. The best examples are all the debates about ‘integratie’. As the television reporters run to new problems, the politicians run with them, leaving the old problem unsolved behind. This will not stop, because the short term interests seem to dominate modern media. In the beginning of the year, the climate crisis was the most important problem facing humanity. At the moment industry interests again prevail over ‘green’ measures. The Dutch flight tax has recently become a point of discussion in the Dutch political debate. This happened after the media criticized the effects of it on Schiphol. The sudden turn in priorities was certainly partly the result of the media. In recent months, you could also see the change in the covering of the financial crisis. When at the moment a government comes to the rescue of a bank, it will not even make the news selection. In the beginning of this crisis, this would have been a headline story. This are the first indications that the television watchers are beginning to get tired of the financial crisis. The next crisis after the financial crisis has a tremendous job to do. Replacing the current crisis from the top of the news will not be an easy task. But don’t worry, the next crisis will come.
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