Imagine that the whole world is just one street. On this street there are a few buildings, just like multi-family-houses. Each house is one continent. So Europe is one of seven houses on this street. It’s not too big, it’s not too small. Just as big as you need to move in with so many families as we have countries in Europe. And each country is one family.
We moved in very long, long time ago. We had bigger and little disputes between the neighbors. It’s obvious that there was once a flood (example: Swedish Flood), sometimes for a short period somebody tried to throw out the others (example: World Wars). But overall our life here isn’t so bad. Sometimes we visited ourselves and drunk tee and share our gossip news (example: kings and queens and princes from the Middle Ages until the Age of Enlightenment) and we tried to fix our neighbor strategy. We borrowed our money each other and shared our discoveries (example: process of the industrial revolution). For some years we try to live in peace and we even plant our flowers together on the verandas. In the meantime we don’t need to visit each other personally, we just call (there are so many packages on good terms now!) or we send an e-mail.
Some of us founded even a union, a living community. Every now and then one of our neighbors assumes a leadership and tells us what we should do and motivates us to do it.
And this is a task for you:
Imagine you want to have one of your neighbors as your guest. Which one of us would it be? Everybody knows that you have to act a host well, but what does it mean to you? There is a Polish idiom „A guest at home is like God would be at home”. What would you serve to eat? What would you discuss with your visitor? Which room of your apartment would you show him and why? What would you try to hide under the rug swept or what would you have placed for these days in your basement? How would you introduce your family and which members of your family would you like to have on your side?
And if you were a guest? How do you imagine that? What are you expecting from your neighbour? What should he show you? What are you looking particularly at? Is it the family situation or emancipation of your neighbor’s wife? Or is it the trophies from the whole world collected by your neighbor?
Which advices would you give to your neighbor anyway?
Cogito ergo sum (I think, so I am). Share your opinion with us! Write your comment below!
President Vaclav Klaus and Head of Government Jan Fisher put flowers down at a memorial in the city centre of Prague, which reminds of the student protests. It was November 17th 1989 when Czech security forces had violently broken up a demonstration of students in Prague and injured approx. 600 of the 15.000 demonstrators. (mdr.de)
For reasons of protest, students from Prague called for a perpetual strike of the students one day later. In only a few days the protests spread across the whole country. There were massdemonstrations, November 26th 1989 already 700.000 people gathered in Prague. End of November there was finally a nationwide general strike. November 28th 1989 a new founded citizens` forum with the author and civil rights activist Vaclav Havel in the lead with the communist government about the transfer of power.
Not even two weeks later, December 10th, the president of the state Gustav Husak appointed a new government, which was in the majority non-communist for the first time since 1948. Husak resigned the same day. December 29th Vaclav Havel was elected as his follower – within a few weeks the peaceful movement of the people had led to the fall of communist government without sheding a single drop of blood. These events went down in history for this reason as “Velvet Revolution”.
I think it is great, that you have also presented events from the Czech Republic!
A little bit later, but still I wrote some notes about the article „Germany YES, Poland NO“ and about national identity:
My neighbour and I read things at Scholar for a long time already. The same do my ex chief and my current chief and in the breaks during the work I am asked about politics and I am like Ela Zapedowska in Polish edition of Idol [one of the judges – AB]. For the first time, I talk in the conservative GB at work about politics and politics is always a tricky, dangerous theme, it’s not politically correct and you should avoid it. My friends and co-workers are not wondering why there is such a mess in Poland (you should speak aloud the truth!), but the steadily here and there on the political scene and fights between coalitions and oppositions is normal, but not everybody has so less class like Polish politicians. For the world outside, everyone tries to look better.
After I read the article by Anna, I came to following conclusions:
1) Where two Poles are fighting, a German uses an opportunity
And I am not wondering at all, I would even say: if I were a German, I would be very proud because of the missionary work of the German chancellor Merkel that goes step by step without causing suspicious reactions, therefore with sympathy over political scenes. She is one of the best politicians in the last years in the world. Why? Chancellor Merkel says what the more or less far away neighbour would like to hear, she speaks clearly the guilt of Germany (we all know how it was) and in this way, she closes the past and works on the future identity of Germany that includes the clear statement about the past (guilt: mea maxima culpa), but it is not put in the middle of the identity concept, the new identity put the emphasis on future. As I heard, Germany comes out slowly from the crisis and German export rate will increase. Germany will be stronger economically. When people have a nice, happy life with less unemployment, then they are happy and they like every ruling government. If you put to it the fact that the chancellor Merkel cares more about foreign policy than her precursor, you see that Germany is on the best possible way to define own position in the future EU. And how do Poles look like compared with Germany? Not only weak, but even below the belt.
2) Beauty contest and popularity contest = Polish politicians vs „Mirror, mirror on the wall, am I still in the poll ratings or not“
In the time when Germany presents itself in the best light, f.e. through the gestures of friendship (more or less calculated, overthought and dutiful), Polish politicians cares nor about economy (Balcerowicz is not there, so take your fingers off the economy matters!) nor about foreign and home policy. Project Scholar was a real help for me in the far away land GB for presentation of the image of Polish citizens, because Scholar is INDEPENDENT. Everyone can write here something down, everyone can participate in discussions and everyone cannot accept the statements of others. Poles want to be seen other way through the Western countries. But HOW? We have no idea for a self-image. You can see i tat Scholar through different comments. Mostly the opinions are well balanced and come from intelligent people, who have or try to keep the review over the whole situation. And such an image of Polish citizen is for me perfect. But in which way is Poland promoted by Polish politicians? Anna is right: they organize two independent events on 4th June [in memory of 4th June 1989] and during the anniversary of the war outbreak [60 years after the WWII started: 1.09.1939 - AB] they put the emphasis not on people, who were killed, but on the question whether it was good or bad that Putin was invited to this anniversary and after that, they were fighting for two weeks whether 17.09.1939 or Katyn should be a national day to remember the murdered people.
[*The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre (Polish: zbrodnia katyńska, Katyń crime), was a mass murder of thousands of Polish military officers, policemen, intellectuals and civilian prisoners of war by Soviet NKVD, based on a proposal from Lavrentiy Beria to execute all members of the Polish Officer Corps. Dated March 5, 1940, this official document was then approved (signed) by the entire Soviet Politburo including Joseph Stalin and Beria. The number of victims is estimated at about 22,000, the most commonly cited number being 21,768. The victims were murdered in the Katyn Forest in Russia, the Kalinin (Tver) and Kharkov prisons and elsewhere.– AB after Wikipedia]
I remind the appeal about 4th June, when you could promote Poland, and where some people wanted to make out of this day not only a national day, but a European day, and what did Polish politicians about it? Nothing. Which conclusions do I have? Poland looks in the past and relishes the role of victim (and role of loser, outsider) and we let other form the reality, the future. When we already let other do it, we should not wonder that we lose, when we don’t participate active in the reality. On another hand, we would like to change the image of Poland and at the same time, we support the false stereotypes about Germany and Russia as two offenders who just wait for our mistakes. Of course, they wait for our mistakes, but not because they want to kill us, but because of taking advantage o fit. And not only Germany and Russia look for a chance to improve own position. Poles need real danger to unite over the divisions, maybe that is the reason why we look for a fight a tour own. And such a Scholar exists, cost less than a coffee machine of Sikorski [apparently Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski bought very expensive coffee machines – AB] and Tusk and Kaczynski look just in the poll ratings and are far away from a basic work that has to be done. How good you are prepared, so good you can handle. And we have two Dreaming Beauties that poise over the political scene and it doesn’t bring anything. Maybe we should act like with Marzanna: just throw them away? [Marzanna is a doll that you throw in a river as a goodbye for winter – AB]. When neither the one nor another one represents us, we should look after the third power. SD [Stronnictwo Demokratyczne] should come out big, but it didn’t work out, the left-wing party is paralyzed and comes not to act, Polish right-wing fraction was always strange and never liked each other. Polish politics are agents Tomek, Kaminscys, Hoffmanns, Spin-Doctors, Drzewka [like Drzewiecki], Chlebki [like Chlebowski, chlebek = from “bread”] and raisins in a seedy roll that share with our neighbours. Mordo ty moja, [Oh, my dear snout! – a suggestion to a statement of one politician and means a suspect, but familiar connection between politicians and business, it has a negative meaning for the society – AB], I see you everywhere, so die hard, you nightmare!
3) The neighbour read the Polish edition of Lovefool and she liked it. I liked the most the word „dziewczyniarski“ [girlish, a new born word]. I am no fan of „dziewczyniarskie“ stuffs like books, romances and such things, but in this whole Lovefool I found two things that I liked. First: Scholar promotes people who brings something in Europe. The main characters got Polish nationality and are shown as today Europeans: they are active, assertive, stylish and know what they want. A trip to Berlin is not a problem, they just got in a train and start a journey in the same way like they travel to a wonderful Wroclaw or Warsaw, that appears every now and then in the background, or Masuria (my neighbour was screaming from joy, becuase Mragowo was introduced). The second thing: because of the mix of cultures in Europe and different influences in the cultural development in Europe, we see quite good described person, one of the main characters and the most interesting one: Julian as connection of these all features. He, as a being more powerful than a human is, cumulates in himself myths and legends from Ancient Rome, Greeks up to the Viking Era. This is quite a risky idea, but it introduces values that are near to every European, because it’s basement of our European values and it connects us. Scholar proved once more that Europe and Europeans can be promoted in a good way, not only through political debates, but through young artists.
4) I won’t write about the ignorance of politicians, I am nerved and now I have to visit my neighbour, so I will deal with it next time maybe. It’s a pity for all who should be rewarded with a medal for creating the new reality, for pushing forward politicians, for the independence. In this way politicians are like idiots by Wyspianski, who had a chance to use and didn’t know what to do with it. Let us celebrate, there is not hell! The future will judge you and there will be no “10/15 points” or not even “8/15 points” [lately, one politician gave some school notes for Tusk and Kaczynski - AB]
PS. I just saw that the article "Poland NO, Germany YES" was read almost 60,000 times. I am impressed and Polish Politicians should be shocked and ashamed up to their borders. 2/3 of reader read it in German or English. It is less than "unsatisfied" for Polish politicians.
Adam Smith's Lost Legacy says: Selfishness Is Never a Smithian Virtue. To read about the acts of Polish politicians and that whole thing is also to read of a basic ignorance of facts and citizens.
Attitudes like these, almost completely absent from any political/social point of view I embrace, give me all the reason I need to despise and to reject the Polish political world view.
The contempt and indignity for the Polish politicians we see already e. g. in the jokes:
Kaczyńscy don't eat curd [in Polish homogenized curd, a specific kind of curd – AB]
they only eat heterogenized curd [allusion to the homophobia of the brothers – AB]
And after two years of government you can summarize Tusk [head of government in Poland – AB] in the following way:
100 days after: Tusk, the red-haired miracle-human, reports about the results of his government. Hours pass by: first, second, third... The Head of Government speaks self-confidently:
- Next to Mszczonowo Platforma Obywatelska built a new, economical power station, where you burn earth instead of coal. - Tusk reports with proud.
- But I was there and there is now power station.
However, the Head of Government continues with the smile:
- Thanks to Platforma Obywatelska's efforts there was built an experimental 7-lane autobahn next to Jasło.
The same voice in the room:
- But I was there, there is no autobahn!
Schetyna [one of the closest assistants of Tusk] doesn't resist and called shirty:
- Instead of bustling through the country, rather look TVN24! [a private TV-channel, belongs to TVN Group – AB]
Poles always saved themselves with this sense of humour.
Finnish President Tarja Halonen said to Spiegel in 2008:
When Finland suggested a "Northern Dimension" plan for the Baltic region and a closer cooperation with Russia in the late 1990s people regarded us with the same suspicion. That's why it will be important not to form any closed clubs within the EU, as Sarkozy seems to envision.
She underlined that the Nordic countries have one of the largest environmental problems in Europe on our front porch. The levels of toxic pollution in the Baltic from farming, and the levels of sewage from places like St. Petersburg, are distressing. The Baltic Sea is threatening to collapse, and the fishing industry is in desperate danger. We need a radical change in direction.
I think it is important to know which problems do we have in the border regions, not only between EU member countries, but as well which problems generally we have.
There is a general problem with immigration. The growing phenomenon of mixed migration movements towards the countries in Central Europe and the Baltic States has led to asylum-seekers often being treated as economic migrants by border authorities. Such an undifferentiated approach causes severe hardships for those in need of international protection.
With regard to durable solutions in the region, local integration in many countries in Central Europe remains difficult. But there have also been positive developments in 2008. Some Governments have indicated they are willing to embark on resettlement programmes. The Office will continue to advocate for the establishment of resettlement programmes in the Baltic States.
In Bulgaria, for instance, cross-border activities will be initiated with neighbouring Greece, Turkey and Romania . UNHCR will provide appropriate training in international refugee law to judges, border guards and other officials involved in migration management. In Poland, the Office aims to address sexual and gender-based violence, discrimination against asylum-seekers of school age, and to improve the quality of integration programmes.
This will be analyzed by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees http://www.unhcr.org The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people. In more than five decades, the agency has helped tens of millions of people restart their lives. Today, a staff of some 6,600 people in more than 110 countries continues to help about 34 million persons.
From the European Parliament in Brussels, wrote to us MEP Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg
On 10th December 2009 Herman Van Rompuy is going to organise diner for the first time as the chairman
The chairman of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, mistakenly referred to as the president of the EU, is going to have his first diner playing his new role at 20:00 tonight, together with the chairmen of countries and governments of the 27 EU-states.
Even though one month has passed since he was being elected, the European Council is still directed by the Swedish Premier Minister Frederik Reinfeldt, who is still holding the function of the president of the Council. Unfortunately Van Rompuy is only going to have a “decorative” duty to fulfill until this year`s December 31st and is just going to take over this task in the next year. This is absolutely understandable if you have a look at this year`s EU-budget. The new chairman will neither have an official office, nor employees or office supplies for now…, because he was not meant to be there in the budget anyway.
This function of the head of the Council , that resulted from the Treaty of Lisbon, is in the long run a new institution of the EU, which requires an own financing. Until now meetings of the leaders of EU-countries, so-called EU-Council-Summits, have been financed by the state holding the presidency. According to the new institution these costs will be paid from the EU-budget by providing 6.5 million Euros for this aim to the chairman of the Concil (for averaged 5 annual meetings). If you take in account the planned costs for personnel (for approx. 60 employees) and investings in the infrastructure, i.e. premises, furniture and PCs and other devices, the institution`s budget will be at approx. 23.5 million Euros for the next year. Is that much? Compared to existing administration of the head of the Commision or the Parliament, this is rather moderate.
But it is symptomatic, that only now in December, the last possible moment, decisions concerning the budget have been made. The costs for 2010 have been risen and savings from ending 2009 have been found. This shows, that the success of the Lisbon operation and the legal validity of the new treaty have not been completely trusted.
Regards to the readers,
from the European Parliament in Brussels,
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg
I didn't know who is Herman Van Rompuy and almost no one from my friends did, so I looked after him and I found more information:
Mr Herman Van Rompuy, the centre-right Belgian Prime Minister, is the President of the European Council as from 1 December 2009. Tony Blair was not surprised that he failed to secure the post: it became clear that centre-right leaders, who dominate the EU, are determined that the post, created by the Lisbon treaty, should go to their group. Britain was still rewarded with the key post of high representative for foreign policy, going to the former Labour cabinet minister Lady Ashton. Van Rompuy was strongly supported by France and Germany, and has a reputation as a builder of coalitions. Ashton enjoys strong support in Brussels and is highly regarded by the commission president, José Manuel Barroso.
After the informal meeting of EU heads of state or government in Brussels on 19 November, the following statement was issued:
The Heads of State or Government of the European Union noted with great satisfaction that the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force on 1 December 2009. This Treaty will lay the foundation for a more democratic, efficient and transparent European Union, allowing the Union to better tackle the challenges ahead.
The Lisbon Treaty will provide the Union with a permanent President of the European Council and a High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy that will enhance continuity and strengthen the Union’s role in the international arena.
At their informal meeting in Brussels today, the Heads of State or Government reached a political agreement on the following appointments :
– President of the European Council
Mr Herman VAN ROMPUY will be the President of the European Council.
He will be elected by the European Council, for a period of two and a half years, renewable once.
– High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Ms Catherine ASHTON will be the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
She will be appointed by the European Council, with the agreement of the President of the Commission.
The President of the Commission, the High Representative and the other members of the Commission will be subject as a body to a vote of consent by the European Parliament.
– Secretary-General of the Council
Mr Pierre de BOISSIEU will be the Secretary-General of the Council.
He will be appointed by the Council.
The formal decisions on these appointments will be taken once the Treaty of Lisbon has entered into force, on 1 December 2009.
The two new officials are supposed to give the EU a bigger role in such global issues as climate change, terrorism and trade amid the rise of China, Brazil and India. While the EU president was initially seen as the bigger job, much attention has shifted to the foreign minister, who gets a say over the bloc's annual 7 billion ($10.5 billion) foreign aid budget and will head a new 5,000-strong EU diplomatic corps.
Jeremy Hunt wrote: So if we are to restore trust between politicians and the public, we need to go much further than simply reforming a rotten expenses system: we need to address the growing disillusionment with politics as a whole. And this is where another major trend comes in, namely the massive increase in the rate at which technology is transforming our daily lives. For as technology has empowered people, politics has seemed yet more distant. And the biggest users of technology – the young – are the most disillusioned.
I wish myself and to everyone that our politicians come dwon to the basics and hear to people, social needs and social attitudes. Merry Christmas everyone!
Be Lovefool is a very nice idea! I liked the book and I will participa in the summer campain for lovefools
Helena
13-06-2010 18:59
Anna, this is a great project! You are a truely interesting and creative person! Don't stop integrationg Europe!
Peter
07-06-2010 21:51
Ich beneide Scholar Online, da das Team stets so viel erlebt! Ihr seid überall! Weiter so! Verunsichere Europa!
BK
22-05-2010 17:51
Flutwelle in Mittel- und Osteuropa. Mein Mitleid für alle Betroffenen aus Tcheschien, Polen und anderen Ländern!
Jule
15-05-2010 18:27
Polen und Russen setzten den Versöhnungskurs bei der 65. Siegesparade in Moskau fort. Scholar fördert die europäische Freundschaft. Mach weiter so!
Marie
14-04-2010 18:17
10th April Smoleńsk was tragic. But much more tragic is what is happening in Poland right now. RIP was yesterday. Now, it's fight club!
Luise
11-04-2010 23:17
Lech Kaczynski wird uns auch in Deutschland fehlen. Der tödlich verunglückte Präsident war mehr als die eine Hälfte eines Zwillingsduos an Polens Spitze.
Chrissi
11-04-2010 12:27
I'm sending my love, prayers, and DEEPEST sympathies to the people of Poland. May God be with you through this tragic time.
Peter
10-04-2010 20:11
Es wird vermutet, dass das Flugzeug von Kaczynski beim Landeanflug im dichten Nebel Baumkronen gestreift hatte. Mein Beileid an Polen.
Tom
10-04-2010 18:23
Polish president killed in plane crash in Russia..... This is just tragic. My prayers go out to the entire country.
alan
10-04-2010 17:09
ich bin kein Fanatiker der PIS, dennoch der Zusammenhang mit Katyn ist schockierend für mich.
Yaro
10-04-2010 16:47
President Lech Kaczynski wanted to revisit the past. He did it unwillingly. I am sorry for Poland for loss of the President and much of the nation's ruling elite.
Joline
10-04-2010 16:45
Tragedy in Russia: President of Poland and many important politics are dead in plane crush. Poland, we pray with you!
CLX
10-04-2010 13:04
I still can't belive. Polish president Lech Kaczynski and other important people died in crush plane near Smolensk. It's Polish tragedy.
Raik
10-04-2010 12:56
#RIPLechKaczynski My condolences for families of Lech Kaczynski and other victims of the plane crash near Smolensk, Russia. Poland, we pray with you!
#404 | Vera am 17-11-2009 21:37
President Vaclav Klaus and Head of Government Jan Fisher put flowers down at a memorial in the city centre of Prague, which reminds of the student protests. It was November 17th 1989 when Czech security forces had violently broken up a demonstration of students in Prague and injured approx. 600 of the 15.000 demonstrators. (mdr.de)
For reasons of protest, students from Prague called for a perpetual strike of the students one day later. In only a few days the protests spread across the whole country. There were massdemonstrations, November 26th 1989 already 700.000 people gathered in Prague. End of November there was finally a nationwide general strike. November 28th 1989 a new founded citizens` forum with the author and civil rights activist Vaclav Havel in the lead with the communist government about the transfer of power.
Not even two weeks later, December 10th, the president of the state Gustav Husak appointed a new government, which was in the majority non-communist for the first time since 1948. Husak resigned the same day. December 29th Vaclav Havel was elected as his follower – within a few weeks the peaceful movement of the people had led to the fall of communist government without sheding a single drop of blood. These events went down in history for this reason as “Velvet Revolution”.
I think it is great, that you have also presented events from the Czech Republic!