The Netherlands: Finding a new job heads up list of Dutch New Year resolutions

Finding a new job is a new entrant in the top five Dutch New Year resolutions, according to research by financial services group ING. Losing weight remains top of the list with 13%, followed by less stress (9%) and doing more sport (7%). Finding a new job is in equal fourth place with taking more exercise – both on 5%.

However, despite the good intentions, just one in four people manage to keep their resolutions for an entire year. In addition, 22% of the 1,300 plus people polled by ING don’t make any New Year resolutions at all.

Almere-Digest

Finding a new job is a new entrant in the top five Dutch New Year resolutions, according to research by financial services group ING. Losing weight remains top of the list with 13%, followed by less stress (9%) and doing more sport (7%). Finding a new job is in equal fourth place with taking more exercise – both on 5%.

Read more at DutchNews.nl: Finding a new job enters Dutch New Year resolution list http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/12/finding-a-new-job-is-new-in-top-dutch-new-year-resolution-list.php/

Corporate Global Control: The Illusion Of Choice: These 10 Companies Are Responsible For Virtually Everything Around You

A chart via Reddit shows how ten huge corporations control the production of almost everything the average person buys, from food to clothes to hygienic products.

$84 billion-company Proctor & Gamble is the largest advertiser in the U.S. and owns enough brands to serve 4.8 million people around the world, according to LinkedIn.

Nestle is famous for its chocolate, but the $200 billion-corporation is also the biggest food company in the world. It also owns L’Oreal, Gerber, Diesel and even pet food makers Purina and Friskies.
Serving two billion people around the world is renowned soap-maker Unilever, which can attribute the majority of its success to its ownership of Q-tips and Skippy peanut butter.

For the complete report click here: The Illusion Of Choice: These 10 Companies Are Responsible For Virtually Everything Around You

EU-US Trade Talks And NSA Spying: Britain and Sweden block crucial espionage talks between US and Europe - by Ian Traynor

NSA surveillance scanda

The first talks to soothe transatlantic tensions to be restricted to data privacy and Prism program after Britain and Sweden's veto 

Britain has blocked the first crucial talks on intelligence and espionage between European officials and their American counterparts since the NSA surveillance scandal erupted.

The talks, due to begin in Washington on Monday, will now be restricted to issues of data privacy and the NSA's Prism programme following a tense 24 hours of negotiations in Brussels between national EU ambassadors. Britain, supported only by Sweden, vetoed plans to launch two "working groups" on the espionage debacle with the Americans.

Instead, the talks will consist of one working group focused on the NSA's Prism programme, which has been capturing and storing vast amounts of internet and mobile phone metadata in Europe.

The disclosures in the Guardian over the past month have triggered a transatlantic crisis of confidence and threatened to derail crucial free trade talks between the EU and the US, also due to be launched in Washington on Monday.

The talks on Prism and data privacy have been arranged to coincide with the trade talks in an attempt to defuse the transatlantic tension. EU diplomats and officials say the offer of talks by the Americans is designed to enable the leaders of Germany and France to save face following revelations about the scale of US espionage – particularly in Germany, but also of French and other European embassies and missions in the US.

Other aspects of the dispute, such as more traditional spying and intelligence matters, will be off limits for the Europeans after Britain insisted the EU had no authority to discuss issues of national security and intelligence.

"It was decided. It finished successfully," said Dalia Grybauskaitė, the president of Lithuania, which has just assumed the EU's six-month rotating presidency and which mediated the sensitive talks in Brussels over the past two days  

Note: Several members of the EU-Parliament have said in relation to the above that the EU-Commission is showing "no balls" when it comes to confronting the Americans about their spying activities on European Citizens. As one parliamentarian noted: "who needs enemies when you have friends like this".

Read more: NSA leaks: UK blocks crucial espionage talks between US and Europe | World news | The Guardian

The Netherlands: World Trade Center Almere Business Club Kicks off 2015 with breakfast update on Dutch Economy

WTC Almere

The World Trade Center in Almere kicks-off its Business Club activities for 2015 with a breakfast on January 7, 2015 at 7.30 am

During the breakfast Arthur Bouvy, director corporate and private operations of the Rabobank in Almere, will give his vision and economic forecast on the Netherlands business and financial environment for 2015. .

The Almere World Trade Center is located just opposite the Almere Central train station.

For additional details about this event click on the link below..

Read more: New Years Breakfast Kick off 2015 | WTC Almere

Holidays and Christmas: Which European countries get the most time off over Christmas? - by George Arnett

Europe is a varied continent with plenty of different Europe has at least one statutory day off in the period between 15 December and 15 January. This includes the majority Islamic countries such as Turkey.

Who gets the most though?

The majority of countries in Europe are Christian, whether that is Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox and bearing that in mind there are four key dates to look for:

1. 25 December - Catholic/Protestant Christmas Day, which is the purported anniversary of the birth of Christ
2. New Year’s Day - in terms of the Gregorian calendar, which every single country gets as a holiday
3. 6 January - Epiphany, when Jesus was supposed to have appeared to the Magi (or three wise men)
4. 7 January - Russian Orthodox Christmas Day

Around that there are several eves and and saints’ days but those four are the bedrock of the holiday season. There are secular days too, usually related to revolutions or new declarations of statehood that happened to fall in this time of year.

Russia, the home of the eastern Orthodox church, has the most days off over the Christmas period of any European country. Every day between New Year and the day after Russian Orthodox Christmas is a holiday, giving them eight off in total.

Read more: Which European countries get the most time off over Christmas? | News | The Guardian

Christmas - the reason for the season: Muslim, Jew And Christian On What Jesus Means To Them - by Antonia Blumberg

Jesus plays a distinct role in each of the Abrahamic faiths. This time of year, when Christians celebrate Christ's nativity, his significance in faith traditions across the world is particularly potent.

Rabbi Jason Miller, Imam Shamsi Ali and Fr. James Martin joined HuffPost Live host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani to discuss what Jesus means to them.

"As a Muslim I do believe that Jesus Christ is one of the mighty prophets of God," Ali said. "In the Quran, he reminded the Muslims that 'Worship God and obey me' means that if you want to worship God then follow me in worshiping the almighty one, the almighty God."

Ali noted that the one place where Christians and Muslims disagree is over the divinity of Jesus, as Muslims believe Jesus to be among five mighty prophets from God.

In Judaism, Miller noted, devotees typically do not "believe in" Jesus as the messiah but rather see him as historical figure who offered certain wise teachings that resonate for Jews. Miller added that Jews do feel utmost respect for "our Christian brothers and sisters" to whom Jesus' divinity is a central teaching.

Read more: A Muslim, Jew And Christian On What Jesus Means To Them

Transportation - Amsterdam Berlin in 40 minutes: the Hyperloop system will transport you at 1287.5 km per hour

Hyperloop, the ultra-fast tube transport dreamed up by SpaceX founder and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, could be ready for passengers in as few as 10 years.

In a 76-page report released on Dropbox on Thursday, a new startup called Hyperloop Transportation Technologies laid out plans for building Musk's futuristic transportation system, which could cut travel time between Los Angeles and San Francisco down to 35 minutes. The trip takes up to 12 hours by Amtrak train, and more than six hours by car.

The system would carry passengers in pods moving as fast as 1287.5 km (800 miles) per hour, according to the white paper. The plan laid out by Musk -- who has no involvement in the project, and did not help with the paper -- has broadened beyond the two California metropoles. Hyperloop Transportation has drawn up maps with lines connecting every major U.S. city.

Read more: Image for The Real Reason Tesla Is Tanking