A top Russian official said on May 31,
2010, that there is no legal basis for reopening an investigation into
the Katyn massacre, when thousands of Polish officers were killed by
Soviet secret police. Russian news agencies reported Chief military
prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said "by law, it cannot be restarted, given
the expiration of the statute of limitations period." International law,
however, generally considers that genocide has no statute of
limitations.
The Victims of Communism Memorial
Foundation commemorated the 3rd anniversary of the Victims of Communism
Memorial with a wreath laying ceremony on June 10 on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C. At least 12 foreign embassies plus nearly 20 ethnic
organizations laid wreaths in honor of the more than 100 million victims
of communism. Among the invited speakers were Representatives Dan
Lipinski of Illinois and Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan.
Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said
on June 12, 2010, that he wants NATO to develop a timetable to end its
mission in Afghanistan. He stated he plans to raise the issue at the
alliance’s next summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. His comments
came after a Polish soldier was killed earlier in the day by a roadside
bomb in Afghanistan. Poland has some 2,600 troops there, making it the
seventh largest troop contributor to NATO’s mission.
The Lower House [Sejm] voted for a new
ombudsman on June 11, 2010. The candidate of the ruling Civic Platform
(PO), Irena Lipowicz, was supported by 251 deputies. Her nomination then
went to the Upper House [Senat] for confirmation. Lipowicz takes over
from Jan Kochanowski, who died in the Smolensk crash of the presidential
plane on April 10th. In accord with the Constitution the people’s rights
ombudsman is appointed by the Lower House, with the consent of the Upper
House for a term of five years. Speaking in Parliament Irena Lipowicz
underlined that her main priority would be the interests of elderly and
disabled. Known for her conservative views, she is a professor at the
Catholic Academy of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Warsaw.
Poland’s Interior Minister, Jerzy Miller,
recalled two members of his department’s Real Estate Commission on June
12, 2010. The body is in charge of procedures for the return of Catholic
Church property confiscated by former communist authorities in Poland.
Malgorzata Wozniak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, explained the
dismissals are linked to information received from the prosecutor’s
office, which charged seven members of the commission with fraudulent
practices, making excessive compensation to the Church. The matter
related to transferring ownership rights to a big plot of land in Warsaw
as payment for the order of Elizabethan nuns. It has been speculated
that the current value of this real estate exceeded by several times the
relative value of the property confiscated decades ago.
An 4-year contract has been signed between
the State Treasury and LOT airlines worth $7.3 million providing for the
charter of two Embraer 175 planes for use by top state officials. Both
chartered planes will have white and red national colors but, being
civilian planes, will not bear the official emblem of the Polish Air
Force. Together with complete crews, they will be placed at the disposal
of the VIPs round the clock and will be flight ready within two hour
notification. Technical maintenance will be provided by LOT.
Police from the central city of Lodz,
Poland, have detained a 26-year-old man who allegedly wheedled money out
of internet users pretending to be a charity worker raising funds for
flood victims. It is estimated that the man, who pretended to work for
Caritas Polska and other charity organizations, could have swindled at
least 1,500 people. The fraud was uncovered when police launched an
investigation after a popular social networking site reported that a man
opened several accounts under different names and encouraged internet
users to donate 5 to 10 zloty ($1.50-$3.00) to flood victims. Police
established that it was not the first time that the man had conned money
out of the social networking site
http://nasza-klasa.pl.
A coach taking heavy metal fans back home
after a thrash metal concert in Warsaw on June 16, 2010, crashed into an
oncoming truck, killing the driver and injuring 15. The 22-year-old
driver of the coach was killed instantly by the collision, with the
truck driver being seriously injured. Fifty-five people were traveling
home in the direction of Poznan after the concert at Warsaw’s Bemowo
airfield, saw Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax all play on one
stage. Everyone in the coach was asleep at the time of the accident.
Branicka Gallery in Berlin is presenting
for the first time the work of Stanislaw Drozdz, the most famous creator
of Polish Concrete Poetry, alongside the classic minimal and conceptual
work of Carl Andre and Robert Barry, until September 4, 2010.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the
Archbishop of Poznan, Stanislaw Gadecki has resigned after the Vatican
absolved his predecessor, Juliusz Paetz, who was accused of sexually
molesting seminarians at his diocesan in 2002. It was reported on June
17, 2010, that, against the wishes of some leading figures in Poland’s
Roman Catholic church, the Vatican had revoked a ban imposed on Paetz
from leading religious ceremonies. The former archbishop has always
maintained his innocence and no criminal charges ever resulted from the
allegations.
A study by Polish research company IQS
reports that about one-third of Poles who returned home after struggling
to find and maintain employment in Western Europe may migrate once again
in search of work. Thousands of Polish migrant workers came back to
Poland when the recession hit developed economies in 2008-2009, but many
have since struggled to find work in Poland. Barely a third of the
returnees surveyed have a steady job, and many complain of a hostile
Polish labor market. Poland was the only European Union economy to
record GDP growth last year, but its unemployment rate stands at 12.3%
and can be much higher in small towns and villages where many of the
workers return.
Police in Gdansk took two men into custody
on June 17, 2010, after they blew up an ATM and tried to get away with
the cash. One of the men started to run away on foot, but was tackled by
law enforcement officers. The second man jumped into a car and started
to drive away, running over four policemen and a support officer who was
lying on the ground. The getaway fell short of success after police
opened fire on the car. A number of similar robberies had already taken
place, notably in Bydgoszcz, central Poland, as well as in western
regions of the country.
As of June 2, 2010, doctors in Poland must
be personally covered by a third party liability insurance policy.
However, many medics have decided not to rush with purchasing insurance,
citing unclear regulations and the time it takes for such a bill to come
into effect. The new law states that if doctors perform an error during
medical practice, and they are not covered by an insurance policy, they
will have to pay for damages caused to the patient out of their own
pocket. Many doctors claim that this obligation does not apply to them,
as they are fulltime hospital employees.
Polish actress Elzbieta Czyzewska, a star
of many movies in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, died in a New York hospital
on June 18, 2010, at the age of 72. She moved to the United States in
1967 at the peak of her spectacular career in both films and the
theater, following the expulsion from Poland of her husband, the
American journalist David Halberstam. In the 1960s she starred in thirty
films, including Andrzej Wajda’s "Everything for Sale" and Wojciech
Has’s "The Saragossa Manuscript." Her successful performance as Marilyn
Monroe in the Polish premiere of Arthur Miller’s :After the Fall won her
the name "a Polish Marilyn Monroe." In the United States, Czyzewska
continued to work in the theatre and films, but her strong accent
prevented her from scoring the successes commensurate with her great
talent.
The Hilton Gdansk is a new hotel designed
by renowned Polish architect Prof. Stefan Kurlylowicz. It is a striking
addition to Gdansk's old city area and is designed to complement the
city's wealth of historic buildings with its timeless features and use
of traditional materials. The Hilton Gdansk is the second Hilton hotel
in Poland, where the brand has had a presence since 2007 with Hilton
Warsaw Hotel and Convention Center.
In related news, Hilton Worldwide has
announced the signing of two franchise agreements for Doubletree by
Hilton in Warsaw and Lodz, Poland. The announcement marks a significant
entry for the Doubletree chain into the Polish market and the future
arrival of the country’s largest conference hotel in the heart of the
capital city. The two newly constructed hotels will provide business
travelers with some of the most extensive hotel conference venues in
Poland; with 10,700 square feet of dedicated meeting space in Lodz and
more than 32,000 square feet of meeting space in the Warsaw Conference
Center and Spa. Both facilities will open in 2012.
Fewer women serve in Poland’s armed forces
than any other NATO member nation. Approximately 1,000 women of
different military ranks are serving in the Polish army, which consists
of 100,272 soldiers. Most women serve in the military health service.
Compared to other armed forces within NATO, women are underrepresented
in the armed forces. In the US Army, for example, with armed forces 1.4
million strong, 15%, or 200,000, are women. The number of women in the
Polish armed forces has been gradually rising, however. In 2005 only 512
women served and in 2007 the number increased to 800 women.
From 3% to 7% of school children suffer
from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Poland. child
development experts say that symptoms persist even throughout adulthood
in 60% of cases. Even though people with attention deficit disorder are
intelligent, it’s difficult for them to cope with an adult life. Tomasz
Wolanczyk, Chairman of the Committee for ADHD of the Polish Psychiatric
Association told Polish Radio on June 22, 2010, "The intensity of
symptoms decreases with age, but requirements of the environment also
change."
A new survey by the CBOS (Center for Public
Opinion Research) agency shows that fire fighters are the most socially
revered and respected professionals in Poland. Almost all respondents
(93%) had a positive opinion one of the most crucial emergency services.
Soldiers also enjoy high esteem in Poland with 73% of Poles respecting
them. The June, 2010, survey also showed that support for the Catholic
Church in Poland has decreased by 9% points in comparison with April.
Nearly 64% have a positive opinion about the Church and 25% a negative
one. The poll indicated that among the Church’s supporters are mainly
elderly people, the less educated and inhabitants of rural areas, while
among its critics are residents of large cities and people with higher
education.
Newt Gingrich served as the Speaker of the
U.S. House of Representatives in the 1990s. Since resigning his seat in
1999, Newt Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst,
writer and producer of documentary films. He went to Poland in late
June, 2010, for the premiere of his latest film, "Nine Days that Changed
the World," about Pope John Paul’s first visit to Poland in 1979.
A new report says that the Weimar Triangle,
the diplomatic triangle of Poland, France and Germany, needs "reviving
and refreshing." Foreign Ministry Undersecretary of State Grazyna
Bernatowicz stated at the presentation of the 900-word report on June
22, 2010, "The Weimar Triangle is not dead. It is necessary and needs
revitalization." founded after the collapse of communism in 1990, the
report contains 16 policy proposals to take the alliance to 2020.
Polish surgeons conducted a unique
transplantation operation on a soldier of the nation’s special forces,
when he received two hands from a dead woman. The 31-year-old man, whose
name has not been revealed, was waiting for this surgery for more than
three years. In 2007, he saved the life of his colleague, an
inexperienced soldier. He snatched a bomb from his hands, saving the
newcomer, but became disabled himself. The bomb explosion severed the
man’s left hand and seriously injured his right hand, having left only
two fingers on it.
A new survey taken in 19 countries,
released in June, 2010, found that Polish women say they have their
first sexual encounter at the age of 19, a year later than the average
European female and two years later than German, British, Norwegian and
Czech women. Gynecologist Malgorzata Binkowska said that despite young
women telling pollsters that they use contraception, in 2008 there were
over 21,000 teenage mothers below 19 years old in Poland.
"Hanoi–Warszawa" by the Polish director
Katarzyna Klimkiewicz has been nominated for the European Film Academy
Award in the short feature category. The movie tells the story of a
young Vietnamese woman who illegally crosses into Poland from Ukraine.
She wants to join her boyfriend in Warsaw and start a new life. Her
journey through Poland, however, turns into a journey of humiliation and
violence. She escapes her brutal traffickers and tries to reach Warsaw
on her own. The film was produced by Kino Polska Television and has
received several awards at festivals in Poland.
Poland has won European Union (EU) approval
to give $478 million to an energy company to expand the country's gas
storage by 60%, just as a new gas dispute between Russia and its
neighbors threatens supplies. Poland wants to give the money to its
state-owned oil and gas company PGNiG to increase gas storage to 1.6
billion cubic meters. Russia shocked European customers by cutting off
gas supplies in a dispute with Ukraine last year.
During a visit to Powidz Air Force Base,
Poland, on June 21, 2010, the 86th Airlift Wing at the Ramstein Base,
Germany, and the Polish air force’s 3rd Airlift Wing became sister
units. Brig. Gen. Mark Dillon, 86th Air Wing (AW) commander and his
counterpart Brig. Gen. Tadeusz Mikutel, 3rd Air Wing commander, signed a
letter of intention during the visit, pledging both organizations to
strengthen their alliance, advance interoperability, and improve mutual
security and cooperation. Powidz is home to Polish air force C-130Es
that were formerly operated by the 86th AW before Ramstein transitioned
to its new fleet of C-130Js and then phased out the C-130Es.
Until August 29, 2010, classical music
lovers in Warsaw, together with the tourists visiting the city, will be
able to attend the Chamber Ensemble Festival in the Royal Palace area.
When the cultural institutions, such as theaters, philharmonic halls and
operas close for the summer holidays, the festival takes on the role of
an "outdoor concert hall." Eminent Polish and foreign chamber ensembles
and orchestras will appear during this year’s edition, including the
National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, "Leopoldinum" Wroclaw Chamber
Orchestra, Pacific Youth Orchestra Vienna (China, Japan, Taiwan), Torun
Chamber Orchestra, "Obligato" Strauss Orchestra, Radom Chamber
Orchestra, Plock Chamber Ensemble, "Acoustic Brass" Wind Brass Quintet,
Quatro Chamber Orchestra Prague of Czech Republic and "New Art" Radio
Philharmonic.
While Acting President, Bronislaw
Komorowski said after a meeting of the Polish National Security Council
on June 24, 2010, that the Polish Army’s general staff head Gen.
Mieczyslaw Cieniuch Poland will most likely withdraw its troops from
Afghanistan in 2012. However, the final withdrawal schedule will be
discussed at the autumn NATO summit in Lisbon. According to Komorowski,
nobody opposed the plan at the council’s meeting.
Twelve tenors from six countries did battle
during the 12th Grand Tournament of Opera Tenors, which opened at the
castle of Pomeranian Dukes in Szczecin, Poland, on the Baltic coast,
June 28, 2010. The tournament is the oldest event of this type in Poland
and refers to a musical tradition from the Middle Ages. Each of the
artists sings two arias, one from a classic opera and the second from a
lighter repertoire, accompanied by the Opera Orchestra of the castle.
The winner of the tournament is selected by the public, which awards the
best singer with a rose. The tenor who collects the most roses is then
granted a knight’s sword.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton planned to travel to Ukraine and Poland in early July as part of
a five-nation trip. Clinton met with her Ukrainian counterpart at the
beginning of the July 1-5 trip before heading to Krakow to attend the
celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the Community of
Democracies, a group co-founded by the United States and Poland. The
schedule then included travel to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia for
discussion on regional security and stability.
The Oscar statuette of Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
is on display at the western city of Poznan’s Museum of Musical
Instruments. The Poznan-born composer, now living in the U.S., was
granted the Academy Award in 2005 for his music to Marc Forster’s film
"Finding Neverland." The museum honored its citizen with a special
exhibition and the composer decided to present his award for indefinite
display. Kaczmarek also announced his plans to organize, as of 2011, an
international film festival in Poznan that would attract stars of the
film industry.
Polish driver Robert Kubica was at the
center of all sorts of incidents in a Montreal, Canada, race in late
June, including shunts, warnings, risky tire choices and multiple pit
stops, before ending the race more or less where he started, in seventh
place. Kubica and his Renault team spent the whole weekend fighting with
his car’s set-up.
ZUS, the body which administrates social
security payments in Poland, has won a groundbreaking decision in the
Wroclaw appellate court on June 23, 2010, which could close dozens of
football and other sporting clubs across the country. ZUS is claiming
3.5 million zloty from the Gornik Polkowice football (soccer) team in
unpaid dues, resulting from win bonuses and other remuneration paid to
players. It could set a precedent seeing ZUS hitting other sports clubs
with massive demands for arrears, with potentially dire consequences.
Polish Football Association rules require the license be removed from
any sports club with tax or social security arrears.
A call center system was stolen from the
Law and Justice (PiS) candidate’s electoral offices on the night of June
20, 2010, at the first round of presidential elections. After the
election night it was discovered that telephones and the entire call
center system, used to encourage voters to cast their ballot for
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, were stolen. Neither members of Kaczynski’s
electoral staff, nor police, managed to find the lost property, which
was acquired with taxpayer money.
Former Foreign Minister and Auschwitz
survivor Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, has been given bodyguards, after
receiving death threats for his criticism of Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Bartoszewski had said the Law and Justice (PiS) presidential candidate’s
only life experience has is of "breeding little furry animals," an
obvious swipe at Kaczynski’s fondness of pet cats and his current
bachelor status. Bartoszewski was adamant that he would not be fazed by
public reaction and will continue to speak his mind.
Owners of an art gallery in Poznan, Poland,
are facing jail for displaying a giant poster of a naked Mickey Mouse
laying in front of a large swastika, located next to the city’s old
synagogue. Located on Wroniecka Street, and a minute’s walk from the
city’s Old Market square, the billboard has caused outrage with locals
and councilors alike, and there have been suggestions that it actively
promotes fascism, an offence carrying a three-year prison sentence. The
old synagogue was raided and shut down by Nazi soldiers during the
Second World War, after which it was flooded and converted into a
swimming pool for German troops. Gallery manager Maria Czarnecka stated,
"This billboard is for a poster exhibition and in no way does it promote
fascism or support the Nazi regime."
The Polish government has decided to use
fiscal authorities to launch an attack on smart drug shops. In just one
year the number of smart drug stores in Poland has increased
dramatically from 44 to 500. In a bid to eliminate the trade of
psychoactive substances, tax inspectors will thoroughly control shops
selling smart drugs. According to new regulations the Health Ministry
will have the right to withdraw a substance from the market for 18
months, if it suspects that it might be harmful. After laboratory
testing, harmful smart drugs will have to be removed from shops.
Powertrain Technologies in Bielsko-Biala,
Poland, has launched production of TwinAir, a new line of revolutionary
engines. It is described as a turning point in the development of drives
with the lowest environmental affect. The TwinAir project cost 300
million Euros, including a significant contribution from the Polish
government that granted tax reliefs. European Union funding was also
used in the project.
Tomasz Mathea was appointed the new Admiral
of the Fleet of the Polish Navy. He replaces Admiral Andrzej Karweta,
who died in the April 10, 2010, presidential plane crash near Smolensk.
Mathea, who previously served as a deputy chief of the General Staff of
the Polish Armed Forces, received the nomination from then Acting
President Bronislaw Komorowski during an official ceremony at the
Belvedere.
According to Poland’s Ministry of
Education, 954 schools and 159 kindergartens were destroyed during the
May and June floods. The cost of damages is estimated at almost $18
million in case of schools, with $2.5 million reported as damages of
kindergartens.
Aleksander Kwasniewski, two-term President
of Poland from 1995-2005, was named the 2010 recipient of the Irena
Sendler Memorial Award by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and
Culture in San Francisco. The award, presented in Warsaw on June 30,
2010, is granted to a non-Jewish Polish person who has worked to foster
Jewish cultural renewal in Poland. The ceremony took place during
weeklong festivities celebrating the San Francisco–Krakow sister-city
relationship.
Russia and Poland are drafting an agreement
on visa-free visits of residents of the two countries’ border regions, a
source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said on June 23, 2010. To reach
an ultimate agreement, an amendment to the relevant European Union
regulations is needed to expand the visa-free system to the entire
territory of Russia’s westernmost Kaliningrad region and adjacent
regions of Poland, according to the source.
The town of Gori, Georgia, Stalin’s
birthplace, removed a bronze statue of the Soviet dictator from its town
square in mid-June, 2010. Nevertheless, a large Stalin bust was recently
unveiled at the National D-Day Memorial in Washington, D.C. Thousands
from all 50 states and over 40 nations have signed the petition of the
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation calling for the removal of the
Stalin bust. The Foundation is calling on the National D-Day Memorial
Foundation to follow the lead of Stalin's own countrymen who recognize
his tyrannical role in history.