Issue Today

The last couple of weeks the tension between Ukraine and Russia has risen to an extreme height. The civil war in the East of Ukraine and the pressure that is laid upon both sides is huge. Russia is being sanctioned by the European Union while Russia boycotts our vegetable market. In the last weeks there seemed to be a little advance in the agreements made between Ukraine and Russia. There would be a convoy of Russian truck which would deliver humanitarian sustain to the areas which were closed in by the separatists and the Ukrainian Army.   It all seemed to be going the right way until the trucks came to the border of Ukraine, all the trucks would have to be checked on military material. Putin claimed that this was a strategic uphold of the Ukraine government. While on the other hand the Ukrainian government does not want Russia to support the separatists with weapons or any other material. Finally there was some movement of trucks crossing the bo...

Syria is nowadays a mess. The whole war within Syria is now lasting for about 2 years and 9 months. The situation is terrible and especially for the civilians. Some villages or suburbs are already closed off from the outside world for a few months. Rumours say that people inside these closed of suburbs eat grass and their pets. It was shown on a documentary of the Dutch news program Nieuwsuur, in which a Syrian rebel showed the suburb in which he lived. It was terrible, there wasn't much food and people were starving. An estimation of the United Nations says that there died approximately 120,000 - 130,000 people because of the Syrian war. This is an enormous number which shows the scale of the war and what it has done to the population. Furthermore, there has not been significant movement in the war. Maybe the frontiers have moved a little but there has not been one side (rebels or Assad's army) which have taken over the majority of the country. The country is divided...

In the Netherlands there is a lot of fuzz about the UN mission to Mali because  the Dutch army will cooperate. Today the first soldiers will depart to Mali for the start-up of the mission. On December 12th of the previous year the majority of our government voted in favour of the Mali mission  therefore  the soldiers  are now heading for Mali. Like mentioned above, on December 12th 2012 the government agreed with the Mali Mission, however the SP (Socialist Party), the PVV (Freedom Party), and the PvdD (Animal Rights Party) opposed. The SP claimed that humanitarian support was much better than military support and Harry van Bommel (SP) said that the element of humanitarian support was missing in the Mali United Nations mission. The PVV said that it was not the task of the Dutch military to help the UN this time but that Algeria or Morocco should help. The members of parliament of the Second Chamber thought this to be quite peculiar because Muslim terror is one ...

At January 1st the Dutch and other North-European countries will be fully opened for Romania and Bulgaria. That was four days ago. The inhabitants of Romania and Bulgaria will now be able to travel throughout the Europian Union freely and, like other EU-citizens, try to find a job in the Netherlands. What consequences will this new regulation have? And what do the proponents say? What are the points the opponents are trying to make? The opinions are widely divided not only in the Netherlands but moreover in the whole of the EU.   Since January 1st the borders have been opened so in fact there is not really much the opponents of this regulation can do against the immigration of Bulgarians and Romanians. The minister of Social Affairs stated recently in the NRC – a Dutch newspaper- that the borders have been opened too early. He also claims that there is one big problem that's caused by the free traffic within the European Union. He says that it is causing a downward spiral in the wo...

One of the ongoing discussion in the Dutch media the last couple of weeks was about the e-cigarette. It is a sigaret which can be charged via a socket and which does not contain any Nicotine. The companies that sell these cigarettes claim that there is nothing wrong with them. The government on the other hand says that the e-cigarette is very addictive and harmfull for your health. The PvdA (Workers Party) therefore wants to abolish the e-cigarette under the age of 18. The e-cigarette was brought into the world as a very positive and healthy innovation. The cigarette companies emitted ads which told the viewers that the e-cigarette was meant to "Save Humanity"! This is of course a very smart slogan that makes the customer think of the e-cigarette as something promising.  On another website from e-smoking.com , a company that distributes electronic cigarettes, they claim that the cigarette is a healthy alternitive for the regular smoker and that it saves you from creating...

What to believe and what to ignore? That is the question I am asking myself all of the time. News changes. The way of receiving the news, the way it is presented, and the form in which it is brougth to you. Luckily there is infotainment, a news form which brings you the news in a entertaining way. That’s a relief! Yesterday I was watching a video from Jon Stewart’s Daily Show (An entertaining news show from America presented by Jon Stewart) about Syria . While I was watching the episode it came to me that there are many different news sites and channels to choose from. Besides that, they nowadays do not only spread facts, but mainly arguments and opinions.  I guess many people will not see through these arguments and opinions and will just believe what is told to them. People who want to form a true image about the news, will have to watch multiple news channels. On the other hand The Daily Show  is entertaining but gives different opinions from different news channels. ...

Nowadays the law claims that blasphemy is punishable has been abolished. When one insulted religion a few days ago he or she could still be punished for that. From now on people are allowed to talk about religion and God in any way they want unless it does not provoke or spread hate. I looked at what the pros and cons of this law are and what consequences it will have now that law is gone. Furthermore I think that there is something to say for the advocates of the law as well as the opponents. The law was inherited in 1932 when a communistic magazine published articles and drawings which made God ridiculous. Due to this magazine the law was introduced. After 1960 not so many people where prosecuted when they profaned God or religion. However after the murder on Theo van Gogh, the former minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner claimed that the law should be taken serious again. The law was not abolished because the last political formations did govern with the CDA or the CU, which are...