ndmckinney|net

The BBC is reporting that the EC Competition Authority has fined a cartel of Dutch brewers (Heineken, Grolsch, and Bavaria) over €273 million. A fourth brewer, InBev, was granted leiniency in exchange for providing information regarding the cartel. The firms were all found to have violated [EC Treaty] Article 81’s prhobitions on restrictive business practice.

According to the BBC, the fine levied against Heineken is the seventh-largest ever; the largest fine to day was imposed against Microsoft. Heineken plans to appeal the fine as “excessive”.

Link to the DG Competition Notice, IP/07/509, Released 18 April 2007.

Yesterday, I started my orientation program at Erasmus University. I met the other people in my program, most of whom are not native English speakers; there are 4 Americans (including me), 3 Czechs, 2 Italians, a girl from France, another girl from Finland, a guy from Slovakia, a girl from Turkey, a girl from Lithuania, a guy from Scotland, and a girl from Portugal. If I’ve left someone out, I apologize. I’ll edit the post later if I have.

I’ve become quite aware that my way of speaking is somewhat unique. My counterparts from other nations use different expressions. Often times, these expressions are literal translations from their native expressions. Similarly, I’ve noticed that I use colloquialisms and expressions in English that do not make sense if you did not grow up in the U.S. I wonder if my expressions will change once I come home. I’m sure they will; I’m just uncertain to what degree.