Abortion: good or bad?

Abortion, a very controversial word. To some it means murder while others call it an opportunity to a better life for the mother. Mostly the Christian people truly oppose it because they think family is the cornerstone of society. In some countries it is still not allowed even though it is in the constitution for human rights. It is hard to imagine but approximately 25 % of the world population lives in a country with very restrictive abortion laws. In Chile women even get to go to prison if they get an illegal abortion. Moreover it is not even possible in some states of America, a well developed country. Is that not very odd?

In the Netherlands abortion is legal even though some people are against it. However in some American states, the laws on abortus have been made so incredibly hard, that it is very hard for hospitals to meet the requirements of being allowed to abort a baby. There are even anti-abortus people in front of the hospitals which are allowed to execute an abortion. This altogether makes it even harder for women to get an abortion.

Opponents use arguments such as that the unborn is also a person and that removing it is similar to murder. They also say that the women are witholding them from life. On the other hand the people in favour say that women who are, for instance, raped should not be more bothered by having a baby from that rapist. They also use the argument that these women are mostly too young to have a  baby and that the baby will ruin their life.

In some states the abortus opponents have got the overhand, so abortus is almost not possible anymore. This results in women who are very afraid to get an abortus and therefore they might not get one what will result in an unwanted baby. Fortunately there are also some other states in which abortion is possible. These states are mostly the non-religious states.

I personally think it is ridiculous that abortion is hardly possible in some countries including some states in America. I understand the opponent’s opinion that they do not want babies to be removed and not given life, but sometimes it is truly better for both the mother and the baby that abortus is applied. Mostly abortus is applied when there really is no other option because most women would like to keep there baby when that is a realistic option. The baby would be unwanted and he/she would end up in a very difficult life environment with a parent who is not ready to take care of him/her yet. Is that really what the opponents want?

More people with obesity than with underweight

Right now, there are more adults in the world classified as obese than underweight. Obesity in men has tripled and more than doubled in women. The number of obese people worldwide had risen from 105 million in 1975 to 641 million in 2014. Meanwhile  the number of underweight people had risen from 330 million to 462 million over the same period.

We have reach the crisis point. If we make healthy food options like fresh fruits and vegetables affordable for everyone, the situation is unlikely to change. Researchers say that by 2025, the UK is projected to have the highest levels of obese women in Europe 38%, followed by Republic of Ireland 37% and Malta 34%.

People who are overweight and obese suffer life-changing consequences costs the NHS more than 6 billion a year. The causes of obesity are complex and the environment we live in encourages poor diets and low levels of physical activity. Researchers say there is no single solution, we have to address all the factors that drive up obesity levels. The government, industry, local authorities and the public all have a role to play in this big problem. Researchers are supporting the government to develop its childhood obesity strategy. This strategy is running the world’s first national diabetes prevention programme, a whole systems approach to tackle obesity.

Another problem of the rising of obesity could be linked to 670,000 extra cases of cancer in the next 20 years. Obesity is linked to several cancers, including womb and bowel tumours. Being overweight has been associated with conditions such as diabetes and coronary heart disease.

A lot of people know that smoking causes cancer, but most of the people don’t know that obesity can also cause cancer.

I think obesity needs more attention in the news. A lot of people don’t know all the consequences of the illness.  People need to get aware of all the facts of having obesity. I think it is better to make all the products that make people fat more expensive. Everybody underestimate this problem.

Brussels terrorist attacks

On the 22 of March 2016, Brussels was the focus of a terrorist attack. There were two explosions that day. At least one was caused by a suicide bomber, in the departure hall at Brussels Airport which killed 10 people. About an hour later the second attack took place at the Maelbeek subway station in central Brussels, not far from the European Union’s core institutions. 20 people were killed in this second attack and more than 230 were wounded. A terrorist attack was certainly something people were afraid would happen again, but the question now is why in Brussels and who is behind it?

Eight hours after the explosions a news agency associated with the Islamic state issued a bulletin claiming to be responsible of the attack in Brussels, calling Belgium “a country participating in the coalition against the Islamic State.” Also, the chemicals for the bombs and an Islamic State flag were found in police raids in the Schaebeek district of Brussels.

The reason the Islamic State attacked Brussels was, because of the fact that Brussels has become a focus of counterterrorism investigations, since the Paris attacks. They think as was said in the newspaper that Belgium is part of the coalition fighting against the Islamic State.

From all around the world countries show their empathy for the events in Belgium. All kinds of monuments, like the Eiffel Tower and the World Trade Center, were to be lit with the colors of Belgium’s flag. Also assistance was offered from President Obama to Belgium to do ‘whatever it takes’ to bring these terrorists to justice.

In the news these events are made very big although these events are happening worldwide recently. They are probably made so big because it happened in Western Europe which thrilled the European people. The fear of terrorist attacks has grown a lot since the attacks in Paris. This fear is fueled by the media which only state dramatic things like witnesses saying it was like they saw the world come to an end. We shouldn’t be so frightened, because as a result this will only fuel the terrorists to go on as they see that their acts are working. I get the fact that people are scared, but this fear will not help us solve these problems at all. I think that also the media is partly responsible for the attacks. This I think because the statements they issue like Obama saying to bring these people to justice only fuel the Islamic state their anger towards the Western World. I think we should all stand together and show were not afraid and not let the attacks and media control our fear. This is the rational way of thinking, which of course not all people do.

Less, less, less… Moroccans

“What do we want?” “Less, Less, Less!”. This is one of the famous statements of Geert Wilders. This statement is about the amount of Moroccans that lives in the Netherlands. These kind of statements get Geert Wilders a lot of media attention. There has always been a lot of fuss about his discriminating statements. However lately it has reached a hight. A case has been put up against him because of the earlier mentioned statement and the fact that it is said to raise hatred.

Wilders is well known for his discriminating statements towards the Islam and Moroccans. He has even been declared illicit by the society of the Islam. This means that every Muslim is allowed to kill him. He has also had a lot of threats of people saying they would take his life. As a cause of this he has to walk around with the constant protection of his bodyguards. Now you might think: why would he not stop with his statements? This is because he is truly convinced of his believe that all criminal Moroccans and Turks should be deported from the Netherlands. He is partly right because most of the criminals are actually Turks and Moroccans. You only have to watch “Opsporing verzocht” once and you notice that in approximately 95% of the cases it is about a colored person that committed the crime.

This anti-Muslim attitude especially has come forward in the time of refugees who want to enter our country. He is totally against this and even wants to close our borders. Some people’s rage has been awakened again. Other people totally agree with him, because he provides easy solutions for difficult problems such as the refugee crisis. He uses these kind of populistic statements to gain more and more voters.

This case is all about the dilemma whether the freedom of speech or the prohibition to discriminate is more important. The accuser emphasizes that the freedom of speech is not absolute; there is a limit to what you can say. The accuser also says that the ‘Less, Less, Less’- statement was planned in advance. Witnesses’ statements say that the public was instructed to say ‘Less, Less, Less’. On one side Geert Wilders should be a role model, so he should keep to the rules and therefore not discriminate. On the other side he should show another point of view in the Second Chamber and he has the freedom of speech. The real question is: how far should the freedom of speech go?

During the case the advocates note of the lawyer of Geert Wilders leaked to the newspaper “AD”. This limits the chances of Wilders to win the case and Wilders therefore also calls the case a true farce. The right of defense is also damaged because of the leak. Therefore the lawyer of Wilders pleats for a lengthening of the case until the hacker of the data has been found. However the “Openbaar Ministerie” says there is no reason to lengthen the case, because the leak has not had real consequences so far. Nevertheless the leak could have real consequences on the long term because the hacker can also access other information about Wilders. That could be life-threatening to him because there are plenty of people who want to know where he is at what time.

From my point of view the case all about a misunderstanding. People misinterpret the statements of Wilders; they think he wants to eliminate all the Muslims from our country. This is not the case, Wilders only states that most of the criminals are Turks and Moroccans and therefore wants to ban the criminal Turks and Moroccans from our country. I also think that his voice should also be heard in the Second Chamber. It makes the Second Chamber more interesting for the mass of the people. I personally love to see the reactions from the other politicians on the statements of Wilders and the reaction of Wilders to comments of the other politicians. Therefore I think Geert Wilders should not be limited in his freedom of speech but the context of his statements should be made clearer. 

Confused people

It’s the hottest item of the moment; the past years there has been a significant increase of reports of confused people. A lot of people blame the savings on the healthcare for psychically ill people.

In 90% of the municipalities the number of reports has increased the past 5 years. In 140 of those the number of reports has even doubled. This is alarming. The reports also meant that police was needed more often to help those people and prevent inconveniences.

The government considers this news as urgent and is busy with finding a solution to this issue. The issue has been looked at by different people, and by the media of course. Some blame the savings on the physical healthcare, which mean for some of the confused people that they can no longer be helped in a special home but get help at their own place. This means there are too many people who are not looked after, according to sources. On the other hand, it is said that the savings and the increased number of confused people are not linked. The ‘kinds’ of confused people are diverse, varying from addicted, to dementing elderly, to psychologically ill people. So the savings are not the cause according to them.

According to me, this is certainly an important issue, which should be investigated carefully. I think it is very important to be sure that people get the healthcare they need to prevent them from becoming confused, either in special home or by the right attention at their place, which is not the case for everyone at the moment. At the moment there are a lot of problems considering the shift from special homes to help in the living place, which means that people don’t get the help they need, or aren’t able to get help at all.

Besides, it is important to find out what makes the people confused; what’s the cause exactly and what can be done about this? Municipalities should play a big role in this task because they are probably best-skilled to solve those problems on a small scale, so that the confused people are treated as individuals. In this way all specific cases can be analysed so that the causes become clear in every specific area. Following, the healthcare section can react, to solve this and prevent more cases.

This might solve this complicated issue. Because it gets me quite confused…

What will happen when Trump becomes the President?

There are a lot of opinions about Donald Trump and his vision. America’s most unpredictable candidate could become president and turn into America’s most unpredictable commander in chief.

Donald Trump has gone from outsider to front runner in the race to become the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential candidate. Trump has been many things, such as billionaire, a reality-TV star and a best-selling author. But he’s never been into policy. Trump vows to champion U.S economic strength and military power: to make America great again.

The centrepiece of Trump’s presidential campaign is the plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico as a barrier against illegal immigrants and criminals. But Donald Trump insists that Mexico will pay for it. A spokesman for Mexico’s president says that his government will not pay for it. The wall involve billions of dollars passing through the coffers of the U.S. government. And there has been no rush by Washington lawmakers to embrace the plan. Donald Trump has told the voters that torture works. He also told that the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can add more prisoners. This idea opposes President Obama’s goal of shuttering the Guantanamo Bay prison. Obama is emptying the prison of suspected jihadists and he hopes to close it before leaving the office at the end of this year.

Trump is frustrated with the cost of the U.S. military presence in Europe and the pressure to lead NATO. Trump said that he don’t mind helping the countries of Europe leading. “I don’t mind being right behind them.” He said. Trump also wants that South Korea support more of the cost of its American military protection.

Donald has pledged to be neutral in trying to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He has also pledged his full support for the Jewish state.

Some people think that Donald Trump is a big social problem. But as we can see, a lot of people vote for him during the elections. What I think about Donald Trump, is that some of his ideas are very dangerous. But he just says what most of the people think about how the world should be. And that’s the reason why people agree with him. Other people from the presidential campaign don’t dare to say such things. But everybody has an own opinion about Donald Trump.

Apple vs. FBI fight

These last few days there has been an ongoing fight between Apple and the FBI. The reason of their conflict is an IPhone that one of the terrorists of the attack in San Bernardino has used. The FBI wants Apple to give them access to this IPhone by adapting their security system, which than unlocks the information on the IPhone of the terrorist. The FBI asks Apple to create a feature that deletes all of the information on the phone after 10 failed password attempts.

The problem here is that this feature will weaken the whole security system of Apple. This would mean that hackers could use this to their advantage and hack IPhones for any number of nefarious reasons. Apple of course disagrees about making this software for the FBI. The CEO of Apple calls this hack ‘the software-equivalent of cancer’. ‘If the court asks us now to make this software than please consider the possibility that they can ask for all sorts of other things in the future’, said Cook. ‘Perhaps an operating system for surveillance or maybe the opportunity for investigators to turn on the camera of the Apple devices. I do not know where it is going to stop.’

‘It would be great if we could make a backdoor that only the FBI could walk through,’ says Nate Cardozo, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. ‘But that doesn’t exist. And literally every single mathematician, cryptographer, and computer scientist who’s looked at it has agreed.’ Cardozo also says that the FBI waited for the perfect timing to ask Apple for such a thing to do for them. That it’s a terrorism case, in particular, spurs sympathies to align with law enforcement, regardless of how much benefit the FBI would actually get from the access it has requested.

Apple now has to decide what they value more important: privacy of security. They of course have to consider their customers in their decision-making process. Will they appreciate the fact that the privacy will be violated or will they accept this if it is for their own security? I don’t really think that the costumers will appreciate it and that they won’t like the fact that it will be easier to for hackers to hack their phone and as a consequence abuse the information they can get. Maybe the costumers will turn their back on Apple as a consequence of their weak security system and all buy phones from other brands with a strong security system. Apple is considering letting this be a one-time thing, but will the FBI really use this hack once? I don’t think so.

V&D bankrupt

One of the biggest stores in the Netherlands, to be precise: the biggest warehouse, has officially been declared bankrupt. Although earlier there has been talked about a restart, due to a take-over, the V&D let us now last Tuesday that they were really down. Thanks to this, almost 10,000 people lose their jobs.

The V&D hasn’t been able to make profit anymore for the last few years. It had big debts, that couldn’t be solved anymore. At the end of 2015, the news of their issues became public. The employees were shocked. Plans were made for a restart, a take-over by another company which would help it continue. Unfortunately, this goal couldn’t be reached. There were no buyers, on a short term like this.

Now the V&D is officially bankrupt, there are still a lot of unsolved issues left. Close to 10,000 working people have lost their job. A lot of the employees were already older people. Often worked there already for so long, that they don’t know where to go now. Especially in these bad economic circumstances.

Besides, there is another problem. Lots of suppliers, who already owed money from V&D before the bankruptcy, are now even more in trouble. The V&D had big debts, which means that the suppliers haven’t gotten paid yet. It is said that probably they won’t see much back of their money.

Luckily, most employees of the store-in-stores, such as Ici Paris XL and Prénatal, will be able to keep their job. They will be transferred to other locations of the store. The stores are both successful so they said that there will be taken care of this.

Also the big success which was keeping V&D alive for several years already, has been taken over. Jumbo has paid 48 million euros to take over La Place. It has been proved that this made most profit for the store last years. Of course the La Place’s located in the V&D stores can’t continue, upcoming times. But Jumbo is looking forward to expand, possibly also abroad. This might create some new jobs, and probably also means La Place employees might be able to keep their jobs.

But still there are those other 10,000 unemployed people. What should be done? The UWV advises the unemployed to search for jobs on a wider branch than their original job. Especially the older people have a lot of competition and less chance, and the longer you are unemployed, the lower the chance for a job will be. That’s why the UWV tells the newly unemployed to start looking from day 1 at a wide branch, to find a new job as soon as possible.

The FNV – a company which creates lots of CAO’s in different branches – has also reacted on the loss of jobs. Quoting: “We will help the employees where possible, but unfortunately we are not able to create jobs for them”.

I agree with the UWV: people have to search extensively and widely, to be able to get employed again, in these times. Beside that, honestly I hope that other companies and agencies will set up some actions to create jobs. Overall, the situation for the ex-employees is truly saddening.

Temporary rental will lead to more insecurity

The cabinet is working on a law that makes temporary rental possible. Critics say that this will lead to more insecurity for people who count on staying in their rental home.

Minister Blok states that it will be good for the rental market that house-owners have a free choice whether they rent their home for a short time or for a longer period of time. At this moment, house-owners can rent out their house for a short period of time by means of a contract. If the renters do not want to leave they are protected by law. This means they do not have to leave the house if they do not want to. There are just a few exceptions on that rule. Exceptions mainly apply for chamber-rent, during the studying period, and for house-owners who wants to sell the house and, during the selling period, temporarily rent the house. But most of the rental contracts are for infinite time, with no possibility for the home-owner to end the contract.

If this law passes, more people will rent out their house for a short period if they want to, for instance, go abroad for a year. And they don’t have to be afraid that, if they return, the renters will not move out of the house. This law could also mean that fewer people will rent out their house in a traditional way, with a contract that includes an indefinite periode of time. Why would they? You never know what the future brings, and therefore it is attractive to choose for a short period, for instance one or two years. This will cause much insecurity for the people who want to rent a house. They have no other choice than to go with ‘house-rental-hopping’.

Temporary rental possibilities will certainly cause more flexibility on the house market, and therefore more and different choice for the renters. But if the future does not hold traditional contracts, but only temporary rental contracts, the renters will mainly face insecurity. Insecurity whether their chosen dream rental house will be their home for as long as they would like it to be. For young people this might not be a big problem, but for families with children this could cause major difficulties with finding a suitable home in a nice area. The children might have to switch schools and therefore might have difficulties to remain close to their friends. Now the question is whether that effect is the ambition of our cabinet.