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Thousands march in Poland over Acta internet treaty
Prime Minister Donald Tusk says his government will on Thursday sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The treaty, known as Acta, aims to establish international standards to enforce intellectual property rights. But critics say it could curb freedom of expression, and government websites have been hacked in protest. Several marches took place in cities across the nation on Wednesday, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw. Crowds of mostly young people held banners with slogans such as "no to censorship" and "a free internet".. . -
Gordon Gee regrets ‘Polish army’ quip
The president of Ohio State University apologized Friday for comparing the problem of coordinating the school's many divisions to the Polish army, an off-the-cuff remark that a Polish-American group called a "slanderous" display of bigotry and ignorance. "As you might know, I made those ill-chosen remarks during a question-and-answer session after delivering a speech," Gordon Gee said in an apology emailed to a spokeswoman for the Polish American Congress. "I realized at the time that I had made a mistake.". -
Polish prosecutor ‘shoots self after news conference’
A Polish military prosecutor has shot himself in the head after cutting short a news conference in his office, officials and media reports say. Col Mikolaj Przybyl was defending a military investigation into media leaks related to the air crash that killed the Polish president in 2010. He asked reporters to leave so that he could take "a break". Upon hearing a loud thud, the reporters returned to find him on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.. . -
Happy Casimir Pulaski Day!
Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Illinois on the first Monday of every March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745[1] – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is known for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution by training its soldiers and cavalry.More » -
Hillbilly Travelogue: Warsaw.
I wrote most of this post in August 2009, right after all the other Hillbilly Travelogues about our Central European trip that summer. I forgot all about it until I saw it in my drafts folder last week. It was long then and even longer now…but the post wants what it wants.
I loved Warsaw. They pronounce it Vah-shah-vah. I loved all of Poland, but Warsaw even more than the gorgeous Krakow.
Some background: Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during WWII because of the Nazis’ penchant for large-scale senseless destruction. Hitler had planned this before the war even started; he wanted to “provincialize” the city which would require a fresh start. The Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (not to be confused with the Ghetto Uprising of 1943, more on that later) gave the Nazis an instant “reason” to finish the job. So they brutally crushed the uprising, murdering tens of thousands of people, and then they razed/burned the city to the ground to the best of their ability. More » -
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Obama’s gesture to a grieving Poland
Presidents of the United States rarely attend the funerals of foreign leaders, but President Obama's decision to go to the state funeral of the Polish president and first lady is right on several levels, says analyst Fareed Zakaria.
He says the plan to attend makes clear that the U.S. understands the depth of the tragedy that struck Poland when 96 leaders and dignitaries died in an air crash in Russia. To a lesser degree, it shows that the administration recognizes its relations with Poland got off to a bad start last year when it altered plans for a missile defense system to protect Eastern Europe.More » -
Clinton expresses condolences at Polish Embassy
The mood was somber at the Polish Embassy in Washington Sunday when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stopped by to pay her respects.
Just outside the embassy on 16th St. in DC's Adams Morgan neighborhood, photographers and passers-by paused at the memorial to pay respects to Polish President Lech Kaczynski and the dozens of other Polish high officials who tragically died when their plane crashed April 10 in western Russia.
Clinton was only the latest of a string of American officials and dignitaries who had come to the embassy that day. Among the others were White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, National Security Advisor Jim Jones, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Clinton spoke about the closeness of the U.S.-Poland relationship.
"We say with great conviction that the United States and Poland have much to do together to build that future that future that the people on that plane gave their lives for," she said.
"That really touched us," one Polish embassy official told The Cable. "It's a bit ironic that we had to have such a tragedy in order to hear such nice words, but we were overjoyed to hear it." More » -
What does it feel like to be Polish?
Did what happened today really happen? asked The Nation on Saturday.That's the question the Polish community around the world have been asking all weekend as they mourn the death of their President and dozens of deputies, dignitaries, officials and military leaders killed in a plane crash.
The irony of the it all? The crash took place in Russia 'where Polish politicians never travel en masse, indeed rarely travel at all.'
They were on their way to mark the the 70th anniversary of Katyn where thousands of Poles were massacred by the Soviet secret police during World War II. Poles are now calling the plane crash the "second Katyn" and the forests "cursed," "haunted" and "damned." . -
What’s Next for Poland
In the United States, all you have to do is say "Pearl Harbor," and everyone knows what you are talking about. In Poland—a country that was invaded countless times by Russians from the east and Germans from the west—there are far more names of places that everyone instantly recognizes because of their tragic symbolism. But one stands out above all others: Katyn. The fact that the plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others, including a who's who of the Polish political and military elite, crashed as it was attempting to land in the western Russian city of Smolensk near the Katyn forest, makes this national tragedy overwhelming in its emotional impact.More » -
Thousands in grief-stricken Poland honor President Lech Kaczynski and other fallen leaders
Grief-stricken Poland wept and prayed Sunday over the body of President Lech Kaczynski after a devastating plane crash that wiped out much of the country's leadership.
Tears rolled down the face of Kaczynski's daughter, Marta, as she knelt and pressed her forehead against her father's flag-draped coffin on a tarmac at Warsaw's airport.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took over the probe into the crash that killed Kaczynski, 60, along with his wife and most of Poland's military and financial leadership outside a Russian airstrip.
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Thieves steal Auschwitz’s ‘Arbeit macht frei’ entrance sign
A gang of thieves in Poland has stolen the infamous wrought iron sign announcing that “work sets you free” that spans the main gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The long, curving sign, reading “Arbeit macht frei”, was erected by the Nazis soon after the old Auschwitz barracks were converted into a labour and extermination centre in 1940. It was supposed to suggest that hard work would eventually allow inmates to walk free. More » -
Wroclaw, Poland’s ghost town
From shadowy courtyards to bars and restaurants frequented by ghosts, a spine-chilling atmosphere permeates every corner of Wroclaw, Poland's spookiest city. . -
The Cold War Never Ended – Twenty years later, historians still can’t figure out why the West won.
We don’t know the exact hierarchy of motives, but it is certain that Chris Gueffroy was willing to leave his family and friends to avoid conscription into the army. Considering the associated risks, it’s likely that the 20-year-old was also strongly motivated to escape the stultifying sameness, the needless poverty, the cultural black hole that was his homeland. In his passport photo, he wore a small hoop earring, an act of nonconformity in a country that prized conformity above all else. But Gueffroy’s passport was yet another worthless possession, for he had the great misfortune of being born into a walled nation, a country that brutally enforced a ban on travel to “nonfraternal” states.
On February 6, 1989, Gueffroy and a friend attempted to escape from East Berlin by scaling die Mauer—the wall that separated communist east from capitalist west. They didn’t make it far. After tripping an alarm, Gueffroy was shot 10 times by border guards and died instantly. His accomplice was shot in the foot but survived, only to be put on trial and sentenced to three years in prison for “attempted illegal border-crossing in the first degree.”
Twenty years ago this month, and nine months after the murder of Gueffroy, the Berlin Wall, that monument to the barbarism of the Soviet experiment, was finally breached. The countries held captive by Moscow began their long road to economic and cultural recovery, and to reunification with liberal Europe. But in the West, where Cold War divisions defined politics and society for 40 years, the moment was not greeted as a welcome opportunity for intellectual reconciliation, for fact-checking decades of exaggerations and misperceptions. Instead, then as now, despite the overwhelming volume of new data and the exhilaration of hundreds of millions finding freedom, the battle to control the Cold War narrative raged on unabated. Reagan haters and Reagan hagiographers, Sovietophiles and anti-communists, isolationists and Atlanticists, digested this massive moment in history, then carried on as if nothing much had changed. A new flurry of books timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of communism’s collapse reinforces the point that the Cold War will never truly be settled by the side that won.More » -
Biden to reassure Poles during European trip
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday traveled to Poland on the highest-level visit yet by the Obama administration to the country — a gesture Poles view as Washington's attempt to repair damage done by its handling of missile defense plans.
President Barack Obama is deeply admired in Western Europe but his administration is less popular in Poland and other former Soviet satellites because of Washington's drive to mend ties with Russia — still deeply feared in the region — and plans to reconfigure Bush-era missile defense plans.
Biden's two-day visit to Poland, where he was to land Tuesday night, will be followed by stops in Romania and the Czech Republic.
The visit is seen by the Polish public and leaders as "mainly about damage control and trying to make up for mistakes," said Bartosz Wisniewski, a foreign policy analyst with the Polish Institute of International Affairs.. -
Poland ceremonies mark WWII start
At 0445 on 1 September 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire at point blank range on a Polish fort on the Westerplatte peninsula.
At the same time, the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland over three frontiers.
The attacks triggered Britain and France's declaration of war against Germany two days later.
Although it can be argued the war in Asia started much earlier and many in the US date the start of the war to 1941, Germany's invasion of Poland meant the war in Europe had begun.
Foreign leaders from 20 countries - including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - are expected in Gdansk on Tuesday afternoon for a ceremony beside a monument to the heroes of Westerplatte.. . -
Poles, Czechs fear loss of bases
Poland and the Czech Republic enraged Russia by backing a U.S. plan to put missile bases in their countries.
Now, as the Obama administration signals a willingness to reverse course ahead of a NATO defense ministers meeting starting Thursday, those two countries are fearful of being left out on a limb with their giant neighbor nursing a grudge.
If Washington scraps the project, the decision will be seen by Eastern Europe — long under the Soviet yoke — as a major concession to Moscow and, quite possibly, a tacit acceptance of the view that Russia should have more say in its traditional sphere of influence.
"A lot of people put a stake in this project and they will feel disappointed — even betrayed" if it fails, said Andrzej Jodkowski, director of the Polish branch of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a U.S.-based group that favors the shield.. -
Obama Looks to Abandon Poland
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has made “no commitment” to plans for a missile defense program in eastern Europe, despite a report on the Polish president’s Web site, an Obama adviser said Saturday.
Obama spoke to President Lech Kaczynki over the phone about continuing military and political cooperation between the two countries and possibly meeting in person soon, both sides said.
Obama “had a good conversation with the Polish president and the Polish prime minister about the important U.S.-Poland alliance,” said Denis McDonough, Obama’s senior foreign policy adviser. More » -
U.S. and Poland sign missile shield deal
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland finally agreed on Thursday to host elements of U.S. global anti-missile system on its territory after Washington improved the terms of the deal amid the Georgia crisis.
The preliminary deal was signed by deputy Polish Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer and U.S. chief negotiator John Rood. It still needs to be endorsed by the Polish parliament.
The signing comes after Prime Minister Donald Tusk had been holding out for enhanced military cooperation with the United States in return for consent to host 10 interceptor rockets at a base in northern Poland.More » -
Poland’s Kubica wins Canadian Grand Prix
BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica took his and his team's first Formula One victory in a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed out in the pits.
Kubica survived an intervention by the safety car and a crumbling track that provoked errors from several drivers.
Hamilton's chances were dashed when he crashed into the back of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn waited on a red light at the end of the pit lane.
Nick Heidfeld completed a BMW one-two with Red Bull's David Coulthard third.. . -
Country by country tax burden
PAYING TAXES is, for most people, both unavoidable and irksome. But how much hard-earned pay is taken by governments varies considerably across the world. Among the rich countries of the OECD, Germans shell out the most, with a worker earning an average income giving 43% of their gross pay to the state, with nearly half of that going towards social security. Workers in Poland hand over nearly 25% of their wages to social security; whereas Australians pay nothing at all directly. Mexicans and South Koreans enjoy the lightest taxation by some way.More » -
Bush agrees U.S. will help modernize Polish military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday he had agreed the United States would help modernize the Polish military as part of a U.S. plan to base components of a global missile defense shield in Poland.
Bush made the announcement after White House talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government had demanded that Washington boost its military assistance in exchange for allowing the basing of 10 missile interceptors in Poland.
"The United States recognizes the need for Polish forces to be modernized," Bush told reporters. He said "before my watch is over" -- he leaves office in January 2009 -- U.S. experts will have assessed those needs.More » -
Opposition Heading to Victory in Poland
A pro-business opposition party that wants to bring Poland's troops home from Iraq was headed to an overwhelming victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, exit polls showed, setting it up to oust the prime minister's staunchly pro-U.S. government.
It would be a stinging defeat for Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose conservative Law and Justice party was elected two years ago and has since been criticized for its combative approach to the European Union and efforts to purge former communists from positions of influence.
Appearing before supporters late Sunday, Kaczynski said ''we didn't manage in the face of this unprecedented broad front of attacks,'' referring to the opposition's campaign.
Donald Tusk, the leader of the opposition Civic Platform party, said the election showed that Poles want to focus on the economic opportunities presented by the country's membership in the EU, which Poland joined in 2004.
''It is Civic Platform's intention to make Poles feel much better in their own country than they have felt so far,'' Tusk told cheering supporters. ''We are going to do huge work and we will do it well. You have the right to rejoice today.''More » -
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Polish TV Bans Racy Ads During Pope Visit
Polish state television will not broadcast ads for alcohol, contraceptives or even lingerie when
Pope Benedict XVI visits later this month, an official said Friday. Suggestions of sex will also be banned.
Poland is the homeland of Benedict's revered predecessor, John Paul II, and state television imposed similar bans during his visits. Most advertisers have already supplied toned-down ads on their own in anticipation of the restrictions, Badziak said.
Benedict makes his first visit to deeply Roman Catholic Poland on May 25.
"There is always the risk that the faithful may feel hurt if programming devoted to the pope's visit is interrupted by frivolous ads," Zbigniew Badziak, head of advertising for Telewizja Polska, the state-run network operating three channels, told The Associated Press.More » -
Poland Introduces ‘Martyrs of Our Time’ Ad Campaign
The Polish Foundation of St. Benedictus introduces its "Martyrs of our Time" ad campaign this week.
Poland is no France...
No rationalizing or mollifying barbaric behavior in Krakow!
Here are a few of the moving posters that will be placed in public transportation vehicles in Poland for the campaign.More » -
Roof Collapses on Crowded Hall in Poland
The snow-covered roof of a trade hall in southern Poland collapsed Saturday, and police said as many as 500 people were inside at the time.
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Katowice police spokesman Janusz Jonczyk said the roof likely collapsed from the weight of the snow, and rescue efforts were ongoing.
"There could be even up to 500 people inside," Jonczyk said.. . -
Poland set to keep troops in Iraq through 2006
Poland’s government announced Tuesday that it had decided to keep its troops in Iraq until the end of next year — longer than earlier planned — thus reaffirming its backing for the United States despite growing domestic opposition.
The government, which stood up to European Union heavyweights Germany and France by firmly backing the U.S.-led war in Iraq, planned to pull troops out in early 2006 after gradually reducing its forces in the course of this year. . -
Polish Archive Outlines Soviet Attack Plan
Poland is risking further strains in relations with Russia by throwing open Cold War-era archives that include a 1979 Soviet retaliation plan that envisaged nuclear strikes on western European cities in the event of a war with
NATO.
The map foresaw the nuclear annihilation of Poland and was dotted with red mushroom clouds over the German cities of Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart and the site of NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.. . -
Astronomer Copernicus believed excavated in Polish cathedral
Human remains excavated in a cathedral in northern Poland are very likely those of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolas Copernicus, archaeologists working in the cathedral said.. . -
Poland’s Kaczynski wins presidency – exit polls
Conservative Lech Kaczynski won Sunday's Polish presidential run-off on a Catholic platform that promised to weed out corruption and shore up welfare in the European Union's biggest new member.
Exit polls showed Kaczynski, a tough-on-crime Warsaw mayor, captured about 53 percent of the vote, a six-point advantage over his pro-business ally-turned-rival Donald Tusk.
Kaczynski's victory, if confirmed by final results on Monday, will firm his Law and Justice party's grip on power. It plans to rule together with Tusk's Civic Platform.
The two parties are heirs to the Solidarity movement that toppled communism in 1989.. -
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Aaron, 
Polish jokes are Nazi Propaganda, and 
kris are discussing. 
kris is discussing.