The minor European Union Polices

When I started the minor. It was very interesting for me. Because I had totally different educational background. In this minor most of the students are from the same line of study either from international businesses study or from business related courses. So it was for me like a new world to discover. In the beginning it seemed to me very fascinating . Especially the first four weeks. We received all sorts of information about, how the hole system of the European Union and the system of governance worked. Also how the European union legislations are made. We had lectures in economy in order to help us to understand the economical issues related to the European union integration policies.

The diversity in the study EUP, make it to me very interesting. The EUP course consist mostly of group meeting, lectures from many visitors and projects. In the project we have to work in group to achieve certain task, that is given to us be our tutor Mr. Joost Frencken. Every group’ tutor has a meeting every week with group. Most of the tasks are related to the topic or the subject of the week. Like decision making, European regional projects, EU subsidies and the problem of public procurement. During this project, we get many lectures and training sessions from visitors. Most of the invited visitor lecturers are working in EU. They are directly involved with the topics of our project.

During EUP course we have to take a few exams. Two multiple choice midterm exams. One of them is the progress test. We take it in the middle of the first period of our course. It count for 10 percent of the total degree of the minor. The other one is the TG participation test. It is at the middle of the second period and count for 15 percent of the total degree. TG is obliges in order to be able to participate in the Oral exam.

In the end of the first period. We have to do the written exam. This exam covers all the topics that we had investigated during the first period. It counts for about 25 percent. In the end of the minor course, we have to take an oral exam, that counts for the biggest part of the minor EUP grad. It count almost 50 percent of the total grad of the EUP minor.

The grades are divided by 25 percent for midterm exams, 25 percent written exam and 50 percent oral exam. For the tasks that have been executed during the minor course. They are given a separate grad. They are divided between group projects 60 percents and the paper topic that is individually executed as homework about 40 percent of the total grad.

One week before the first midterm exam. Our tutor Mr Frencken posted to us an old midterm exam as an example to help us to prepare for the actual exam. This exam cover the material we had in the first four weeks of the minor. These subjects are European decision making process, European regional polices, EU subsidies and the problem of public procurement and convergence and divergence, also we had some subject from the European law book “Unlocking EU law” like subsidiary principle and antidiscrimination law cases. But the midterm exam we did, was not exactly the same as the example posted to us on blackboard. It was supposed to be multiple choice. But surprisingly half the exam came an open questions.

Two weeks later we had a written exam. We had a very short time to prepare for it. We have been informed by our teacher Mr. Franken. That it will be an open questions exam, and it will be mostly from, what we had received during the lessons. We studied the subjects and the questions that had been handled during these lessons. We focused on the notes, that we made during the lessons. But unfortunately nearly all the questions came more generally. It was more like a shock to me as like other student. Very few student past the exam. Most students had very low grads.

In the beginning of the second period. We had focused on different type of topics. Which are more related to finance like mergers and acquisitions, hostile take-overs. We handled different cases related to this subject. It was very difficult subject to me. Because I had no background information about it. I had to struggle and worked very hard in order to stay at the same level as my colleagues. With all the effort I spend on this subjects. I managed to stay at the same level as my colleagues. The last exam I had. It was the TG participation test. The questions of this test were multiple choices most of these questions were focused on the mergers cases between large cooperation’s in the EU. and the legal aspects about it.

The last exam that we still has to take before the end of this minor. Is the oral exam for all the information had given to us in the minor course. It will be an interview for a half an hour. The questions that will be asked in this interview, is mostly about the paper topic subjects. That we have wrote during the minor.

My opinion about the minor. The minor is very interesting for me. Especially I come form a totally different study field, in which I have to sit the whole time with the computer, trying to programme a level-less conveyers or factory machines and my teachers has just to give me a tasks without asking me about my own opinion, with this minor I can discuss everything. I have done with my colleagues and my teachers. Also I have all the time direct interact with them.

The Nabucco pipeline

For my paper topic subject. I choose to write about the Nabucco pipeline because of it’s important to Europe. The mean reason for it is Europe want to diversifying the current natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe. As we all know that Russia is the biggest gas supplier to Europe about more than of 40 percent of European natural gas consumption, comes form Russia. After the last problem between Russia and the Ukraine. It became very clear to Europe. That they are too much dependent on Russia. Therefore it is very important to diversify it’s gas supply.

To do that first, it needs to make another pipeline route to another world natural gas suppliers. Here it will comes clear the important of a project like the Nabucco pipelines to Europe. The Nabucco pipeline stretches from Erzurum in Turkey via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary to Baumgarten an der March in Austria. It will cover a distance of over 3,300 kilometers long. And in turkey it will be connected with the Tabriz–Erzurum pipeline and with the South Caucasus Pipeline, connecting Nabucco Pipeline with the planned Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline. This pipelines will have to be laid 46 kilometers in Austria, 390 kilometers in Hungary, 460 kilometers in Romania, 400 kilometers in Bulgaria and 2,000 kilometers throw Turkey. It could be connected to other major pipelines with its suppliers.

In the nearby future there is a plan to connect the Nabucco pipeline with the Persian- Arab golf-region through Iraq into turkey. As we all know with the increase on energy demand these days, gas en oil is running out, with no good alternative. Then the countries, which are consider a major suppliers of gas en oil. They will be in a shortage to cover all the demand for oil. The scare of dramatic effect of the oil shortage. Push many countries in the world to fight and struggle to ensure their energy supply for the future. The present map of the biggest gas and oil (G&O) suppliers will change in the future. For example the biggest gas and oil supplier in the world like Saudi Arabia will run out of reserve oil and it will draw in the next decades. It is estimated that their oil and gas field will run out in year 2025, nearly the same applies for other bigger O&G suppliers like Russia, Iran and the gulf of Mexico. While the other O&G reserves are discovered in other part of the world like Iraq, Sudan, Algeria and black sea. Its estimated that a country like Iraq will produce at least about 6 million barrels and 18 million cubic meter of natural gas a year.

2012

Last time that I went to the cinema, to see the film 2012। This film is directed by Roland Emmerich। The film stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Amanda Peet। The film starts with an Indian geologist and during his work. He notices a hug changes in the temperature of the core of the earth. Therefore, he contacts an American geologist (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Who has a close working’s relationship to the white house. After a further research, he discovers. That this heating up is caused by a bombardment of the earth surface by a solar flare. This will be a cause for a major disasters.

He informs the white house about this. The American president decide to inform the world leaders to take an action. They decide to build up a special ships secretly in China. It is made to survive this disaster. These ships can only carry a limited amount of people, so they are mostly a politicians and very rich people (important people).

The main hero of the film (John Cusack) is a unsuccessful writer. Who works as a care driver for a very rich Russian business man. He went with his children to on a vacation a nearby mountain camping area. There he meet an hippy activist. Who knows about the plan and have a map for the ship’s place. After this trip, while he escort the children of the rich Russian business man to a nearby airport. He hears from them. They are going to a ship and that everybody else will die. At the same time there is a shock of a heavy Earthquake. He run to save his ex-wife and children. He went through a dangerous adventures. While he was trying to save his children. It end with them on the board of one of the surviving ships. Finally after the disaster past. The new face of the earth appears and the survivors decided to rebuild human civilization.
My own opinion about the film. I think the film’s writer wants mostly to point out. What could happen if such a disaster occurs and how governments will react to it. But most issue concerns normal people like us. What is the criteria, the government is going to use in order to select people intended to let them survive.

Surrogates

This time I will talk about a film. I saw a few weeks ago in the cinema gold surrogates. It is an action thriller more than science fiction genre. In the gold surrogates plays the famous actor star Bruce Willis an FBI agent. Who investigates the murder of a genius college student. The stuent’s father invented the surrogates.

The story played in the nearby future, Whereby a scientist has an invention for handicap and paralysed people to live a normal life by using a humanoid robot version of them in the real live. They can do all the functions, that normal human being can, like walking, touching and feeling. But this great invention misused by a large corporation to promote a different more commercial way of live. So instead they created a reality in which humans live in isolation while only communicating with their fellow man through robots that serve as social surrogates and are better-looking versions of their human counterparts and they costumers can operate them from there bedrooms.

In the film we see also the typical cases of technology abuse. Like in the murder case the college student was murdered along with a hot girl. He met in a disco-club. Later in the investigation, it turned out to be a ugly fat man. This is in similarity with present time where people chatting or dating with unknown through the internet.

As the case grow more complicated, our hero feels that he needs to leave the safety-zone of operating his surrogate from his bedroom and step into the real world to solve this case. Later he discovered that the evil cooperation was intended to kill the scientist. Because he has a plan to destroys his own invent world. But he killed his son by mistake.

If you ask me about my own opinion. I say it is a very good entertainment action film. But the most fascinating about this film is the idea and the questions, it raise about our interaction with robotics technology in the future.

Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy

Today I will talk about the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy This trilogy is consists of three parts. The first part is The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003),the second part is Dead Man's Chest (2006) and the third part World's End (2007). This trilogy has, were a big success and made huge amount of money. The stars of this film Erin ha gain a great publicity. also the other actors. Who participated in this serious of films like Captain Jack Sparrow has become an iconic figures. Who is portrayed by Johnny Depp. This character in particular has a very comic but adventures personality. He is the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. He can be treacherous, surviving mostly by using charm and negotiation rather than weapons and force; although he will fight if necessary, he tried to flee most dangerous situations.

In the first part of trilogy. Sparrow is introduced seeking to regain his ship the Black Pearl from his mutinous first mate Hector Barbossa. After the crow of the ship a muted against hem. They left him on an island. He mae his way out to the Port Royal, jamaica with a broken boot. At the end he rescued Miss Elizabeth Swann(Keira Knightley) the daughter of the Governor Weatherby form drowning, The Governor accidentally discovers that Sparrow is a pirate. He was jailed for piracy and to be hanged the next day. But that night, a ghost ship, cold the Black Pearl attacked the Port, searching for a golden coin of the Aztecs cursed gold and the child of Bill Turner. That Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), is trying desperately to break an ancient Aztec curse that he and his crew are inflected with. In the process they found the coin and captured Miss Swann. They thought. She was a daughter of William Turner. Then Will Turner, a blacksmith and the true son of Bill Turner, who loved Elizabeth. They mad a deal with Jack Sparrow to free him in exchange for helping him to save Elizabeth. So they stool the HMS Interceptor and acquire a crew in Tortuga. They started a whole adventures journey to save the women Will Turner loves, and to gain back the Black Pearl. The film ended with saving the girl, regained the curs on the Black Pearl, Captain Hector Barbossa killed and Jack Sparrow captured. But finally the part one of the trilogy ended happily and captain Jack Sparrow escaped and took the command of his beloved ship the Black Pearl back.

In the second part of the trilogy Captain Jack Sparrow came towards a new and most dangerous enemy. The East India Trading Company lead by Cutler Beckett an EITC agent. Culter arrested Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner. And threatens to execute them and the ex-Commodore James Norrington for helping Jack Sparrow escaped. But he made a deal with Will Turner to offer a clemency for both of them and his beloved Miss Swann, in return Will has to hunt for Sparrow and his magical compass. So an informant in Tortuga leaded Will to the Black Pearl in on the beach of Pelegosto. Where a cannibal inhabited island where jack and his crew are held captive. After they escape the island, Jack deceived Will and give hem to Captain Davy Jones as a part of a deal, in return to spare himself from the old agreement. Which is that captain Davy Jones make Jack Sparrow a captain of the Black Pearl for ten years. In exchange, Jack must now serve aboard the Dutchman for 100 years, or be hunted by Jones' beast, the Kraken. Then Will steals the key to the dead mans chest, and tries to get hold of the chest holding the heard of captain davy jones. Which unfortunately both Jack Sparrow and ex-Commodore James Norrington also tried to get to it. This was the start of a fearsome competition between them. This ended with James Norrington fooling them all and gain possession of the chest, and Captain Jack Sparrow death.

The final and third part At World's End. After that Lord Cutler Beckett gaining possession of Davy Jones heart and the Flying Dutchman. He gained gaining the control of the Caribbean. He started executing anyone suspected with piracy. He ordered Jones to destroy all pirate ships. Because Captain Jack didn’t appointed his successor. Therefore Captain Barbossa leads Will, Elizabeth and the crew of the Black Pearl. He tried to rescue Jack and bring him back form Davy Jones Locker. He started a battle against the monopoly of the East Indian Company Lead by Lord Cutler Beckett. During the battle Jack fights engaged Davy Jones with a soured fight. Will proposed to Elizabeth for marriage. They killed davy Jones and defeated the Royal fleet. But destiny hold a different ending for Jack Sparrow, Will and Elizabeth. In the end of this trilogy. Jack lost his ship a gain. Will took Davy Jones place as a Captain of the Flying Dutchman.

My own opinion is the first part of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Is the best one of all of them. It has all the elements of success, like the story, special effect, action a sense of adventure and sense of hummer. That’s why it is very famous. The second part ‘Dead Man's Chest’ was less in its standard than the first part. It was a total different from the Curse of the Black Pearl. It has more action and comedy than a good story crept. But the third part At World's End. Didn’t do very well, actually it was more like an extend for the second one. It had all the elements that make the Pirates of the Caribbean what it is. But it miss the most important part ‘the story’. That is why I think the story scrip was very badly written. They just made so an ending to the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

My conclusion that Pirates of the Caribbean parts of the trilogy, was very entertaining but totally not an Oscar winning films. It has a high level of special effects, a sense of hummer, and adventure. But the story is not well written.