MREGIO

EWS

#1

ISSUE #1 | Editorial | page 1

The article

that no

one reads

Yes, I am completely aware of the fact that most of the delegates and officials skip the Editorial. I myself used to do that when I had any other position in a session, therefore my expectations cannot be very high. However, even if I am all in favour of in-novation and I think that this newspaper proves that because I could not imagine a paper without an Editorial and not just be-cause probably every single magazine from this Universe has one. The Editorial tells the story of the Editor, the one person that the officials barely see and the delegates do not know, the one that sits all day in front of the laptop and does not sleep usually for at least 24 hours in a row. The normal question is why people are still doing this if it all sounds so bad, especially since it is hard to believe somebody can be happy only with an editing program in front of their eyes for several days. Well, the answer it is very simple: YOU, dear delegates. It is the smile on your faces when you see your picture in the paper, the laughter, when you read a funny article, the fact that you get along well with your journalist. Even if you do not know who I am if you pass by me, if I see you enjoying the products of the Media Team, then I know that the sleepless nights, skipped meals and parties were all worth it. I wish for this to happen as well at the Menden Interna-tional Summer Forum. The uniqueness of this session raised the standards pretty high for the Media Team. We had to live up to the challenge so we came up with a special concept for the paper. As you noticed already it has two covers, because we tried to incor-porate the motto of the session “Local Roots. European Minds.” in our work. That is why one half will focus on the session, will pres-ent in each issue the European Regions and what makes them dif-ferent from the others. If you turn around the paper you will see that the other half is focused on Europeanisation, on what happens around the Globe and also tells the story of the European Union. The Kittens (a.k.a. the Menden Media Team) hope that you will all enjoy the vision that we had for this session and our work. I can guarantee that everybody is doing their best to bring at least a smile on your face.

page 2 | Local News | ISSUE #1

News about the

Menden’s officials’ teambuilding was not some classic “big fat pony ride”, like you might expect it to be. Instead of doing the old, but also beloved games, the officials could feel and behave like celebrities in flirting with paparazzi, cuddling with little dogs and giving their fans some pictures and signing body parts. Furthermore some secret child-hood wishes were revealed during the new and unique teambuilding of the first unofficial day of the ISF. Although the officials couldn’t use the proposed teambuilding area near the school because of the rain, Jamie, the chair of INTA, was one of the main entertainers. During the one and a half hour of CJO team-

building he told, among the other things, that the dream job of his childhood was being god. Mari-Li-is, the President of the session, con-trary to Jamie strongly wanted to become a garbage driver, “but not the person who eats the garbage” as she concluded later. During teambuilding offi-cials got a stronger connection to each other in doing introduction games like the way to say ‘hello’ to an old friend by different nation-al stereotypes. In general the af-ternoon was a great success. New games were introduced by the Pres-ident and all of the officials had a lot of fun. Hopefully as much as the delegates will have during their teambuilding today! Like them, also

the officials had to warm up to each other - just imagine the presidential board fighting in the GA… But no worries. Teambuild-ing went great and as many officials stated in the evening, no matter that the most of them are very experi-enced EYP-ers it was one of the best CJO-teambuilding they have ever attended to. After their first day here, the chairs, journalists and organiz-ers can finally welcome you to the International Summer Session in Menden; with lots of enthusiasm, joy and excitement!

CJOTEAM-

BUILDING

ISSUE #1 | Local News | page 3

I heard the name announced in the train from Dortmund. ‘Frönden-berg’, the voice said with a scary and rather warning tone, but I did not pay attention to it then. I checked my ticket and found out that I would be going down at Plat-form 1 and getting on the train to Menden at Platform 13; a big sta-tion, I had thought. When the train stopped and I went down, it was rather an unexpected view I was facing: There were only four tracks and those were named 1,2,12 and 13. I laughed at the situation; that was my last laugh for the hours to

come. Then I remembered that I had to be quick to catch the next train and headed to the long stairs going down. With my huge luggage in one hand, it was a mission impos-sible: I had missed the hourly train going to Menden and was doomed to spend an hour close to the Track 13. I sat down, took out my laptop and tried to find something to kill time. Minutes passed and no one came out; when I looked around I figured that I might have been the only living soul in the whole sta-tion. Right at that moment, the sun went behind the dark clouds and it started to rain heavily- I checked my clock and the hour was about

to pass. Two minutes, one minute and that was it; but no train came in sight! I was getting nervous, and thinking ‘this is Germany; it cannot be late’. A drop of sweat went down my forehead as my heartbeat start-ed to fasten: I was in the middle of nowhere, alone! Just as I had given up all hope, I heard the sound of an approaching train: it was finally here. I got on as fast as I could with a pleasure of seeing other human beings once more and sat down with a firm determination to never look back at the ‘F station’ again…

BREAKING NEWS straight from Menden: The fear towards Fröndenberg Train Station is

spreading.

page 4 | Comment | ISSUE #1

In 1983, the then National Security Advisor to Presi-dent Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, sat alone with the president in his office. Powell was concerned about an inter-departmental issue and tried to discuss the matter with the president. But Reagan did not seem to notice him. So Powell spoke louder and louder, until Reagan suddenly looked to the window behind Powell, and said: “Colin, look- the squirrel out in the yard is picking up the nuts I put out yesterday.” Ronald Reagan was known for being like this: disconnected, playful and a bit peculiar. He might have been one of the oddest presidents the US has ever had. Reagan first became famous as an actor during the 40’s and 50’s, and featured in some pop-

ular films. Reagan was a Democrat until his fifties, when he then became a Republican. After two suc-cessful terms as Governor of California, he decided to run for president, and was duly elected in 1980. He succeeded Jimmy Carter, who had left the economy in tatters. Inflation was through the roof, as were oil prices and the unemployment rate. It is in many ways astonishing that a former actor be-came president. What is even more astonishing is that he succeeded in turning the downward trend started during the Carter years, through a Con-servative agenda consisting mainly of tax cuts. In 1984 he was re-elected in a landslide. During his presidency he also changed the US’s stance to-wards the Soviet Union, by renewing relations while simultaneously increasing military spend-ing. As the Soviet Union tried to keep up with the

spending, its already strained economy collapsed. But what made Reagan exceptional were not his achievements, but his character. As a great orator he became well- known for his humour and wit, which was evident even in the most pressing situations. Less than a year into his presidency, he was shot while leaving a speaking engagement in Washington. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he in spite of suffering greatly from his wounds hu-morously said to the surgeons who were going to operate on him: “I hope you’re not Democrats.” Despite his successes, he was not the savviest of politicians. According to Powell, politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Helmut Kohl knew twice

as much as he did; they respected him mainly for his persona. This brings us back to the squirrel. Once Powell had returned to his office, he real-ized that Reagan had mentioned the squirrel to show how little he cared about Powell’s problems. He was the President and he had hired Powell to solve those problems for him. But whenever he was really needed, he would do what was nec-essary. Powell and those who revere Reagan will claim that the light-hearted way of dealing with issues and treating subordinates was a sign of his greatness; his criticism was a sign of a former ac-tor’s incompetence. They can at least all agree that he was a truly fascinating figure, squirrel or not.

A President and his Squirrel

ISSUE #1 | Comment | page 5

Austerity, fiscal compact, European Stability Mechanism... The Eurozone crisis is all over the news. Things have already become complicated even for the leaders, so no wonder that the ordinary people lost the track a couple of times. So let’s start from...THE BEGINNINGBack in the 90s, the Member States agreed on Sta-bility and Growth Pact (SGP) which enforces fiscal discipline on EU members. It includes monitoring of the members and multiple sanctions for those coun-tries which don’t respect an annual budget deficit of maximum 3% of GDP and national debt lower than 60% of GDP. Over the next years it became obvious that the Pact is not enough for maintaining financial security in the Eurozone.CLOUDS ON THE HORIZONWhile Spanish government met the criteria every year up until 2007, other countries were not so disci-plined. Not only did Greece never really stay within the 3% limit, but it also manipulated the statistics to hide excessive spending. Italy was the worst offender, permanently spending more than the Pact assumed. Other big economies, except for Spain and Germa-ny, frequently broke the terms as well. Due to similar borrowing costs in all Eurozone countries, the Mem-ber States developed false impression of prosperity – they borrowed a lot while the competitiveness of their products and markets suffered. The crisis was to expose weaknesses of southern European economies and a necessity of structural reforms. THE TURMOIL BEGINSTax evasion (avoiding taxes) was widespread in Greece and public debt kept creeping up, so it wasn’t a surprise that when the financial crisis of 2008 hit, the country was not prepared to cope. The banks realized that not all the Eurozone countries are the same and introduced higher interest rates for weak-er economies. The investors demanded higher return for the bonds of those countries thus exacerbating the crisis. When Greece was not able to pay off its debt, it asked the EU and the International Monetary Fund for help- but it was too little, too late.

S.O.S.Troubled countries were supported with a series of bailouts. May 2010 saw 110 billion euros lent by the EU and IMF to Greece to support paying off its debts. Soon the next bailout of 130 billion followed. Once the governments realized a need of cooperation, the European Financial Stability Facility was creat-ed. This month the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) comes into effect. Both of those funds aim at providing a permanent financial support program for indebted Member States. WHY DO WE HELP GREECE?Greek instability affected euro and all of the Euro-zone countries. Several of them are heavily exposed to Greek debt, such as France, Germany and UK. If Greece doesn’t pay its debt, the investors will trust the weaker economies of the Eurozone even less. If Greece leaves the euro it will be less likely to pay back the debt thus causing the turmoil on the financial market. It is no longer a local crisis.FISCAL COMPACT NOWRecently EU leaders decided to take the first steps to-wards a banking union. German chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on the bailout funds that will support the banks directly, bypassing the governments. One supervisory body for banks of the euro area is to be created by the end of the year. Its goal is to improve regulations of the banking sector. More power will be given to the European Central Bank – as it helps banks at the national level, it is expecting to have more con-trol over them. At the summit it was also agreed that austerity is the necessary way out of recession – a spe-cial package to promote European growth will be in-troduced. At the ideological level, the leaders agreed that a monetary and economic union is the future of the EU. This is certainly not the full solution for the problems Europe is facing at the moment – but there are a lot of summits to come.

EUROCRISIS

page 6 | Interview | ISSUE #1

Gossip Kittens here; your one and only source into the scan-dalous lives of Menden’s organisers. Apparently Menden is one Queen richer with the crowning of M. But you’d better watch out M, there could be some rising star in the town endangering your throne. Question is will you abuse your power?

The other day we went undercover to enlighten everyone with the juicy gossip, brought to us by the high representatives of his kingdom. It appears that the people are very loyal to his pow-er. The ever positive K told us King M is very social and gets along with everyone. Although he can be very confused from time to time his organisational skills cannot be doubted. According to K a very charming Irishman that goes by the name J might cream-off some of his popularity throughout the session by using his crazy dance moves and charisma. M would better watch his back, before it is too late.

For King M there is no new love story in the make, he is not going to jeopardize his credibility by kissing ‘anything’ at the session. Even though the characteristics of a perfect woman are combined in F; she is a brilliant combination of talent and style. But at the same time she manages to tell very silly and senseless jokes.

Unfortunately our time is up; stay tuned for more gossip coming up soon!

You know you love us,XOXO

Dear Delegates and Officials,

ISSUE #1 | The Regions | page 7

Sandy beaches, sun and sea- if you or your parents are planning a vacation, there is a high chance of you end-ing up somewhere in the southern Europe. Inhabitants of almost all the southern countries are lucky enough to enjoy the warm Mediterranean Sea, which draws the attention of tourists from all around the world. From a geographical point of view this region has even more to offer, which is simply everything that a tourist could look for: From the snowy mountain ranges of the Italian Alps and the Pyrenees in Spain to beautiful towns and cities, with a history reaching to the roots of the first Eu-ropean civilizations, which you can find wherever you look. Take note, that this is not a travel guide though. One of the three distinct parts of the sunny south is the Iberian Peninsula, the home of the Spanish and the Portuguese. Living on a sun burnt plateau, there is no wonder the Iberians are often called “hot-blood-ed.” They inhabit a happy and vivid lifestyle and also a loud nightlife that has become a bigger trademark for these countries than the traditional flamenco dance, or the often criticized corrida, bull fighting. The traditional after-lunch siesta that some of the locals like to refer to it as “Spanish Yoga” is also a vital part of the culture. Something like this is not often seen in other “western” countries, where everyone follows the rule: “You’ll have enough time to rest when you’re dead.” It is also not a widely known fact that the territory of Spain was occu-pied by the Arabs for nearly a millennium in the past. Spain and Portugal were the world’s number ones during

the era of the naval exploration, yet the bad economy of its leaders dethroned both countries for good. Now the countries are facing severe economic and employment problems – specifically for the youth the unemployment rate is alarmingly high. European leaders should final-ly put some thought into this problem; otherwise EU is risking the loss of an important member. The freshly elected Spanish government already refused to fulfill the financial criteria of the fiscal pact invented by Germans. According to the saying, every road leads to Rome so more and more tourists follow the roads to the boot-shaped peninsula, thus making Italy one of the top five most visited countries in the world. It is leading the UNESCO cultural heritage list with 47 entries; no other country has more sights to offer than this country fa-mous for fast cars. However it is not just the sights like the volcano Etna or the Sistine chapel in Rome, try going to south. The more south you go the better you can see, hear and smell the true ancient and calm atmosphere of this land, while venturing through the small coastal fisher towns situated on steep cliffs. Like all the inhabi-tants of the Mediterranean area the Italians are also high spirited people. The traditional Italian cuisine does not consist only of oven baked round pastry with tomato paste on it; the ordinary people eat mostly the gifts of the sea with pasta and leave the expensive pizzas for the tourists. The tiny Italian city-states were first united into one country in the 19th century, before that the single city-states competed against each other in every way

Southern Europe

possible. The results of the struggle for the most beautiful city we can now judge by ourselves for example by comparing Flor-ence and Venice. There is no need to go further down the time-line and write about the glory of the Roman era, nor about the Renaissance era of Da Vinci, Michelan-gelo and the others. Italy as the one of the founder states of the EU has still a strong negotiating position alongside Great Brit-ain and Germany, mostly thanks to Mario Monti, the current Prime minister and for-mer European Commissioner for Internal Market, Services, Customs and Taxation. When talking about the further ex-pansion of Europe, a question rises up, how far should we go? The eastern part of the southern-European region remains a bit of a mystery for general public. For example most of them would never mention Alba-nia for example as a typical representative of this region. The post-communist countries are slowly recovering from the isolation and searching for their place on the geopolitical map. Slovenia and Croatia, the first “rene-gades,” who turned their backs on Yugo-slavia first, got a head start towards a more prosperous and democratic future. The whole region (Croatia, Greece and Slovenia excluded) is still viewed as an unstable one, given that the scars after numerous civil wars haven’t fully healed yet. The soil is still hot as

the region is a wild mixture of different reli-gions and nationalities: this combined with the not-so-fortunate legal system; the ru-mors about the wide-spread corruption and traditional disrespect for gender equality are the things that hold these countries back. The natural and historical sights remain hidden beneath the blanket of the “fear of the unknown” for the rest of the world. Less prejudice and haughtiness from the West-ern-Europeans would be definitely wel-come. Albanians are hospitable people and as far as many are concerned they are trust-worthy and they keep their promises. Con-demning these states would be a mistake. And finally to the country that keeps Europe on the top of its toes- Greece. The Peloponnese people have now, after the elections, no other choice than to wait and see how it will all end up (The speculations about the consequences of Greece leaving the Eurozone or the drafts of possible solu-tions would take an entire special article). Still regardless of its overall crisis the Greeks and Turks have managed to fill the streets of European cities with Gyros and kebab- stands, offering shaved meat with some vegetables in a piece of white bread. The an-tic columns in Athens will now, after more than 2 000 years, witness the events which will change the fate of the old continent.

page 8 | The Regions | ISSUE #1

ISSUE #1 | IYF Krakow | page 9

DEAR MENDEN,I tip my moustache in front of you. By saying that, I do hope that you have seen the insane battle happen-ing between your media team and our moustached bunch over in Poland. The Polish city of kings and regents, to be more exact. By the time you read this we will still be combing our royal moustaches before reaching Krakow, whiles you will be already welcomed by your loving press-team. Unfortunately you will not have the possi-bility to enjoy any of the Jagiellonian traits, but I do guess that the Menden’s old hall is impressive as well. For some. Even though our media-teams are competing I must say that there is one goal that unites us. We are both looking for quality and looking for ways how to give you an experience not much can compare to. One part of Menden’s motto is „local roots” and that is definitely were you can take a close look at Krakow. It is an old town, that grew from being just a settlement on the Vistula river to the capital of the biggest country in Europe in the 18th century. The roots this city has are close to impossible to track down. Another thing some might say that is impossible is to be innovative all the time since we have ev-erything that we need and so much more already invented and innovated. Nevertheless, innovations is the focus of our session. And that connects us to Menden as well. I would go as far as to say that one cannot be innovative without looking back at his roots. What I am trying to say with all this is follow your media team on the path of quality and excel-lence and keep in mind other aspects of the World when dealing with your things. Do that and Menden just might become as grand as Krakow is.

Kārlis CauneEditor of the International Youth Forum In Krakow

Your lovely Media Team enterd a competition against the Moustache Media Team from the International Youth Forum in Krakow. The team that gathers more LIKES on their facebook page by 12.00 CET, on the 10th of July wins! So please help us do that by LIKING our page:http://www.facebook.com/MendenMediaTeam The kittens thank you!

page 10 | FUN | ISSUE #1

Challangeaccepted!

Delegates, the Press Team challenges YOU to complete these pretty awesome dares. The committee

with the most points at EuroStage on Thurs-day will be CROWNED by the Press Team

and in addition to bragging rights, they will be given a prize which is TBD*.

PRANKING A CHAIR Any successful embarrassing (but cute)prank (no injuries or mean things by the way!!!!) which has to be captured on camera and shown

to a journo. Get creative! 20 p

PLATINUM EUROVILLAGEBe the delegate(s) that first reaches a

journo with an item from each country’s

table30 p

THE VOICE OF EYPThe committee should sing one

of the songs below at a coffee break in front of the entire

delegation.Call me maybe – Carly Rae

Jepsen We are young - Fun

Starships- Niki Minaj (extra 10 points!!!)

Paradise - Coldplay50 p

RECORD BREAKERSThe committee should set the best record at any team-building

game

40 p

WOULD YOU RATHERThe delegate should

either a) communicate by sing-ing all day (bar commit-

tee work) or b) walk around on their

hands all day

100 p

CHAT –UP LINESThe delegate(s) should

get a phone number from someone from another committee and country

using one of these pick-up lines

a) You’ll do. b) Do you have a map?

Because I keep getting lost in your eyes.

(We will accept equally awful lines!)

70 p

FEELING SLEEPY? A delegate who man-

ages to convince every-one on a bus/at a coffee break that they’re asleep

and then ‘wakes up’ screaming

50 pTHE BIG ONEThe first delegate who

can rap the entire ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ rap 90’s style in

full version

90 p

Best of luck

delegates!

*it will be awesome, guaranteed.

ISSUE #1 | FUN | page 11

1. Must be funny in the rich mens´world: 51% of the citizens of this country agree with the statement: „Money is the best indication for a person´s suc-cess.“a) Germanyb) Norwayc) Italyd) Greece

2.Funny politians: The capital of which country is governed by a comedian´s party?a) Hungaryb) Denmarkc) Spaind) Iceland

3. Who wants to be a millionair: European country with the highest amount of millionairs:a) United Kingdomb) Switzerlandc) Swedend) France

4. Take it easy: Country with the lowest weekly working time:a) Bulgariab) Greecec) Portugal d) Ireland

5. Cheers: Country with the highest beer consump-tion per capita:a) Czech Republicb) Poland

c) Austriad) Germany6. A little bit of History: In which country was Alexander the Great born?a) Greeceb) Macedoniac) Albaniad) Croatia

7. Merkel would be proud: The country with the lowest amount of government´s debts is:a) Finlandb) Estoniac) Luxembourgd) Belgium

8. Please spell it: In which country is the town „Llanhyfryddawelllehyn-afolybarcudprin-danfygy-thiadtrienusyrhafnauole“ (meaning: quiet beautiful village and a historic place with a rare kit under threat from wretched blades)?

a) Swedenb) Irelandc) United Kingdomd) Iceland

EuroQuiz

RESULTS6-8: You are definetly Mr. or Mrs. Europe, Congratulations! You have a very impressive knowl-edge about our European coun-tries, good job!

3-5: Not bad, but you could do better. You are obviously interest-ed in European affairs. Keep the spirit going...

0-2: Are you sure that you are European? Try to use the oppor-tunity during the session to get in touch with people from all over Europe and to get to know them.

Solutions: 1-c; 2-d; 3-a; 4-d; 5-a; 6-a; 7-b; 8-c

page 12 | Interview | ISSUE #1

Julius Caesar, the noble Emperor who left his unparalleled mark on Europe, is with us today to discuss the political and economic systems of the European Union.

What is your opinion on the system of EU that fosters the motto `United in Diversi-ty`?

European Union is a waste of time. Excuse my frank words, but separate countries with individual powers are useless in front of a single, prodigious pow-er. My empire was unbeatable, because I owned and led the forces of Europe, Asia and Africa; formed a distinct one that trembled the mountains and whose power swept over the seas. Look at you now! If one of the member states is attacked, you ex-pect Military of the European Union to save the coun-try. Do not make me laugh; in your selfish system all of you are alone. What if a war comes out inside your borders? You lack me and the empire’s authority that placed the blocks together.

Interestind words indeed! Yet again, EU is marked as the successor of the Roman Empire for owning a common currency, but it is facing a fatal era. What might be the cause of this problem?

The answer is simple and is just the oppo-site of what I have said before. My empire was that of combined forces, but on the economic side, every region bore its own troubles. You cannot expect ev-

ery part of the continent to earn the same money and follow

the same values; that is insane! Connecting the

whole region under a single currency, Euro, is senseless. Let me explain: one should get what he deserves. If northerners work much hard-

er and gain much faster, let them have

the gold whereas if the easterners are lazy as a

dead potato let them have the bronze! They still have the

money and can survive, but un-der their own standards. Though your

problems will not end with only this change; the loans are, once again, unacceptable. I see it equal to reward-ing a gladiator that has lost a battle in an arena, with a new sword- like giving a second chance for someone that doesn’t deserve it! Where is the sense in that? My people were scared of poorness; yours gladly accept it, as they know there will be a backup system.

For your last words before we send you back to your grave, what system can make Europe survive for the longest? An easy question for me to answer: An om-nipotent system! There is no single head leader on this continent and that is what causes you to move around like mindless sheep. You need an emperor, as influential and determined as I was, and the fearful ways to make this force stay alive!

All Roads Lead to Rome

ISSUE #1 | The Decades | page 13

time. They stand for a certain self-conscious display of innocence that also goes with the cele-bration of American life. The “American meta-phor” travels across space as well as time. There is, in short, a sense in which the 1950s happens in different countries at different times. This is particularly true because the decade was often pre-sented as one of modern-ization and consequently as representing an era through which, eventu-ally, all countries would pass.A PEACEFUL EUROPE In the immedi-ate post-war years, in the ruined capitals of Western Europe, some important European leaders looked back at the traumatic decades of conflict, depression and political extremism. Rob-ert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union said:

“World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dan-gers which threaten it.” In 1950, ‘The Schuman Dec-laration’ was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 (which would later become known as Europe day). It proposed the creation of a Europe-an Coal and Steel Com-munity (ECSC), whose members would band coal and steel production. The ECSC was the first of a series of supranation-al European institutions that would ultimately become what is known today as the European Union. There could be no return to the discredited ways of the past, but each country’s way forward would differ according to its unique circumstanc-es. The key partnership in this new Europe was that the old enemies France and Germany

joined forces. Germany achieved greater eco-nomic and political inte-gration with neighboring states, in particular with France. Actually, the cre-ation of the ECSC was a strategy for overcoming the negative heritage of nationalism and hostility and a way towards po-litical rehabilitation and economic recovery. Ade-nauer, Chancellor of Ger-man at the time, agreed to French proposals to join the European Coal and Steel Community. In 1951, Treaty of Paris (or the ECSC Trea-ty) was signed in Paris in 1951 and brought France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries to-gether in a Community with the aim of organiz-ing a free movement of coal and steel and free access to sources of pro-duction. In addition to this, a common High Authority supervised the market, respect for com-petition rules and price

transparency. The Treaty included the declaration that the ECSC was “the first step in the federa-tion of Europe”. In 1957 ‘the Six’ member states took the further step, with the Treaty of Rome, of creating the European Economic Community whose aim is to achieve integration via trade with a view to economic ex-pansion. We can conclude that the 1950s were a remarkable time in the history of Europe. Many of the events that oc-curred during this time inspired and shaped the future of an entire gener-ation. This period of time also brought astonishing change not only to Eu-rope, but to the world as a whole. It can be safe to say that coming into the 1950s the European citizens had to be satisfied with the out-look of their futures.

page 14 | The Decades | ISSUE #1

the

FABULOUS‘50s

Hula Hoops, Bunny hops, video tapes, chlorophyll toothpaste, 22 collegians stuffed into a phone booth. Drive ins and tail-finned Cadillac’s. Rosa Parks, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Elvis Pres-ley, Robert Schumann. Greasy hairdos, leather jacket, synthesiz-ers, television, cruising, mooning. Pink shirts, Barbie dolls, lasers and space race. How can one not like the fabulous fifties?

For many people the 1950’s came to symbolize a golden age of innocence and simplic-ity. An era supposedly unruf-fled by riots, racial violence, Vietnam, Watergate and as-sassinations soon became a decade of war and conflict. Still recovering from the Sec-ond World War the United States of America and The Soviet Union entered a furi-ous competition with clashes between capitalism and com-munism. Meanwhile Europe succeeded in the post-war re-construction with the help of the Marshall plan, with some countries favoring Keynes-ian-policy welfare states while others preferred free market capitalism. Europe got divided into Western and Soviet bloc countries. This division accu-mulated into the acceleration of the Iron curtain. For both, the division of Europe, ce-mented in the 1950s, would be a diversion from the march of European and world history. The perceptions of the 1950s very much depend on per-spective, experience and loca-tion – a golden age for some but brutalising for others.AMERICANIZATION There is a sense, in which the 1950s is a cultur-al symbol rather than a his-torical period. Some argue that the 1950s is an “Ameri-can metaphor” and that “the 1950s can no longer be re-duced to a mere ten-year interval whose significance can be captured in historical narrative”. The 1950s could be said to have escaped from

ISSUE #1 | EU Facts | page 15

Timeline of the European Union

2007- Romania and Bulgaria joined2007- the Treaty of Lisbon was signed. amending the two treaties forming the constitutional basis for EU

1950- 9th of May Treaty of Paris was signed, founding the European Coal and Steel Community

1957- The Treaty of Rome is signed on the 25th of March and leads to the founding of the European Economic Community (ECC) the 1st of January 1958.

1973- the first enlargement: United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark.

2004 Enlargement- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland Slovakia and Slovenia.

1978- the commitment under a common name of European Community 1979- the first elections of the European Parliament

1981- Greece joined the European Community 1983- Spain and Portugal joined the European Community

1999- the introduction of the euro on the 1st of January

1992- The Treaty of Maastricht is signed, creating the European Union and laying down the basis for the adoption of the single European currency, the euro.

1995- Austria, Finland and Sweden joined

2001- Treaty of Nice

1997- Treaty of Amsterdam signed, putting greater emphasis on citizenship and the rights of the individuals.

1998- the European Central Bank steps into force, following the Treaty of Amsterdam

2012- Menden International Summer Forum takes place in July

page 16 | Comment | ISSUE #1

Last year, protesting was all the rage. TIME Magazine proclaimed the TIME Person of the Year 2011 to be the Protester. These protests that ‘shook the world’ began in Tunisia, where a street vendor named Mo-hamed Bouazizi lit himself on fire outside a govern-ment building. His action sparked months of protest action and soon the world stood upon a new era of de-mocracy. It was a tsunami of marches and movement across Asia, Africa and Europe. From Egypt to Spain, from Greece to Libya, people marched for equality and to have a voice, aided by social networks. Dictator upon dictator was toppled in mere weeks. Marvellous. As any young 90’s American teenage girl might say, that was so last year. It is a fair question to ask what has actually been achieved. The Occu-py movements have been forced out of public spaces, Syria is still oppressed by the Assad- forces and the protests gave rise to unlawful and violent riots such as the ones seen in London. The protests, ultimately, displayed a generation that was sick of a worldwide re-cession, ineffective leaders and stifling dictatorships. One of the first problems with the protester’s aims was that they did not have a clear vision of the new soci-ety they wanted. As Miral Brinjy, an Egypt protest-

er commented, she only knew what she didn’t want. For these reasons it may not come as a sur-prise, when the future of Egypt is far from rosy. Last month, Egypt elected Mohammed Morsi as their first freely elected president. Muslims and the Egyptian army are now in control of Egypt, which is hardly what secular liberal protesters wished for. As TIME pointed out, none of the key protesters ran for the of-fice, they chose to leave that to the more experienced, who were not ideal to the protesters. They didn’t trust themselves to run successfully and that is a pity. It re-mains to be seen what the long-term change will bring. So in 2012, what protests can be seen? The Arab Spring has largely come to an end with Syr-ia being the exception, Occupy has faded out of the public consciousness and Greece’s riots have begun to fade. The brief era of protesting is nearly over. The new era of democracy that can be seen in some countries like Tunisia is testament to the pow-er that one person can have. Democracy, after all, gives power to those with the largest voice. Last year, it was those glorious protesters such as Bouazizi. The Arab Spring may have faded into winter, but it will leave an untainted mark on world history.

The Arab Winter

ISSUE #1 | Comment | page 17

Cloning is the debate of the 21st century as the endless possibilities it brings out also raise many questions. However, for a start: What is cloning? It is the production of identical copies of DNA, cells or organisms. For example, each member of a bac-terial colony grown on a petri dish is the clone of one another, similar to the identical human twins.

For the contempo-rary biologists, the major utilization of this process is gene cloning which is pro-ducing many copies of the same gene. To understand the importance of this de-velopment, knowing the definition of a gene is cru-cial. Genes are message carriers in your DNA that carries codes for the pro-teins that define how you look, feel and respond. The fascinating process is that you can remove any seg-ment of DNA that carries specific genes for a trait and transfer them into another organism. This is known as creating a recombinant DNA. This technology al-lows us to create transgen-ic organisms which have genes inserted in them. The main examples are transgenic bacteria that produce human hormones

and transgenic plants that can produce insect tox-ins. The gene cloning might seem less impressive than cloning of a mammal, but it is used to fight common diseases and increase life expectancy. Though for the more exciting part, how does cloning an organism work? Briefly, the genet-ic material of a non-fertilized egg (n) of an indi-

vidual and the one of a body cell (2n) of another individual are removed. The genetic material of the body cell is located in the egg which does not contain any, and this now fertilized egg, as it con-tains diploid material, is located in the uterus of a third organism. When this egg grows, it forms an exact copy or a clone of the individual whose body cell genetic material was used. Scientists have been able to clone many mammals includ-ing dogs, cats, deer and even monkeys. Thus, how about hu-man cloning? With all the technology we have, human cloning is more of an ethi-cal concern than a scientific inability. Ignoring its myr-iad benefits, many regard this process as an immoral and unacceptable one. To see where you stand, see what you think of this possible scenario: George and Melanie had had their first and only child Gabe for a year when she was diag-nosed with a severe childhood cancer. They spent a year go-ing around hospitals and do-ing everything they could for their daughter, but it was use-less. One of the doctors sug-gested a new method, which was to gather stem cells to form white blood cells, which required Gabe’s cells to be re-verted back to a zygote or in other words, for her to be cloned and her clone to be used as a donor. Then comes the big question: Should the family be allowed to clone their daughter and form a new embryo that will save their only child’s life or does the embryo has the same rights to life as the child?

Make anotherME!

page 18 | Global News | ISSUE #1

News around the

7 million tons of french fries sold by McDonald’s in Warsaw, 150 thou-sands liters of beer in Wrocław’s Fan Zone, over 3 million Google queries about the tournament and over 1.32 million people watching matches at the stadiums. UEFA Euro 2012 has come to an end. The dust has already set-tled and it’s high time everyone decided whether it was a success after all. The Spanish will eagerly agree with the organizers – they are the first team ever to win three consecutive football tournaments: Euro 2008, the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. Italians, a bit dis-appointed but still proud are ready to gain victory in 2014. The others have mixed feelings. So where is the truth? After the finale Polish government announced a huge success, congratulating people of both host countries. This declara-tion was soon followed by an op-position press conference during which quite a different attitude to the event was presented – “di-saster” was one of the most eu-phemistic terms used. However, according to the UEFA President, Poland and Ukraine took up the challenge, performing far beyond expectations in terms of organisa-

tion while the people showed great hospitality and enthusiasm. The numbers speak for themselves – 80% of visitors de-clare willingness to come back to Poland and Ukraine and over 92% says they will recommend these countries to their friends. The ex-perts declare it was one of the best tournaments in history also in terms of... football, surprisingly. Apparently 16 teams in the group phase wasn’t such a bad idea after all – UEFA planned to increase the number to 24 teams, that is now widely criticised. There are plenty memora-ble moments, but there are some we won’t forget easily: unwavering and enthusiastic Irish supporters, Mario Balotelli’s unforgettable goals and celebration, Andrea Pir-lo’s impressive penalty against En-gland, Cristiano Ronaldo proving his excellence not only in hairstyle matters, the final itself and many more. In the end it was Fernando Torres to win Golden Boot Award notably for his late goal in the fi-nal. We’ve always loved him, but seeing photos of him celebrating with his children brought us close to tears. But no worries, the World Cup is in only two years’ time.

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Christoph Reuter is the man who was there. He has seen the atrocities that seem to happen each single day in Syria. He was reporting from there anonymously for the sake of the safety of his Syr-ian informants. A few weeks ago this changed. He is now publishing his articles under his name. This has one simple reason: All his informants are either dead or gone underground. Cruelty now rules over Syria: the UN es-timates that more than 10000 civilians have died during the conflict and more than 70000 have been arrested. Keeping these impressions in mind, the UN Special Representative for Syria, Kofi Annan, invited the veto powers and some countries oft he Middle East to a summit on Syria in Geneva. Prior to this meeting UN soldiers that were supposed to monitor a ceasefire, stopped their work. They be-came attacked themeselves. This proves the failure of Annan´s Six-Point plan that couldn´t reassure the situation. The outcome of the Geneva- sum-

mit illustrates the reasons for the unseccessfulness of all the attempts trying to stop the violence in Syria. The international community, especially the UN Security Council, is unable to strike a deal concerning Syrian problems. Whereas the western veto powers want Assad to withdraw from power, Russia´s priority is to maintain his rule as he is the last Russian confederate in the Middle East region. All participants of the summit finally agreed that there should be a new Syrian interim government. There´s only one last, but very crucial point, they couldn´t agree on: Russia succeeded in cancelling all parts from the summit´s final statement that could eventually lead to Assad´s withdrawal from power. At the same time, Hillary Clinton repeated that Assad would have to leave his office.

On Thursday the 27th of June, the US Supreme Court ruled that Obama’s health care plan; the Af-fordable Care Act; is constitutional, thus ensuring that it can be enacted during the coming years. In 2009, president Obama and the democrats in the Congress passed the bill that guaranteed all Ameri-cans with health care coverage. The bill included a controversial, but indispensable, individual mandate. In practice, it forces all Americans who do not have a health care in-surance to pay a penalty, as a way of keeping premiums for others low. According to the Republicans the mandate is unconstitutional, as it punishes citizens for not purchas-

ing a service, in this case a health care insurance. Eventually, Su-preme Court had to decide wheth-er the law was constitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that the individual mandate was in fact not a fine, but a tax. Henceforth it can-not be illegal, as congress is granted the right to taxation by the Consti-tution. Many expected the court’s Con-servative majority to vote against the bill. However, once the deci-sion came to a vote, Chief Justice Roberts, a Conservative, decided to side with the Liberal judges, and the bill was passed by five votes to four. Roberts’s unexpected decision was

a huge setback for Conservatives who had fought the bill since day one and a huge victory for Obama. This also alters the set-up for the upcoming presidential election. Now, the bill can only be revoked by congress or by an executive or-der from the president. The Repub-lican candidate for president, Mitt Romney, has promised to repeal it if he is elected. This comes at a time when the popularity of the law is at less than 45%, and with the elec-tion looming; the law is bound to be a hot-button issue, which could hurt Obama’s chances.

Obama’s Health Care Plan Ruled Constitutional

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