Stories about Poland from November, 2007
Poland, Ukraine: Convicts’ Contribution to Euro 2012?
The beatroot writes: “Poland has to build six new stadiums before co-hosting with Ukraine the Euro 2012 football tournament. Problem is, many of its construction workers are in the UK and Ireland. Damn! How to make up the labour shortage? Bus in the convicts. Brilliant, isn’t it?”
Poland: “U-Turn in Foreign Policy”
The beatroot writes about a “u-turn in foreign policy” initiated by Poland's new PM: “Relations with Russia […] have not been good over the last two years of the Law and Justice government, led by the President’s brother, Jarolsaw. When Donald Tusk was elected he vowed to improve them. So...
Belarus: Palonka Battle
TOL's Belarus writes about the Palonka Battle and the Belarusians’ indifference towards their nation's history.
Belarus, Poland: Kurapaty, Katyń
TOL's Belarus watches Andrzej Wajda's Katyń and hopes to see a similar film about the Kurapaty tragedy in Belarus one day.
Poland: Kapuściński's Translators
Our Man in Gdansk writes about a collection of stories by translators of Ryszard Kapuściński: “It was to have been birthday present, but Kapuściński died before it appeared. The contributions vary widely in subject matter, some not referring at all to translation making it less than essential reading for the...
Poland: Police Jokes
The beatroot and his readers share favorite jokes about Polish cops.
Poland: Satire and Chastity
The beatroot writes about the recent Spanish royalty cartoon scandal and the Polish google bomber's case – as well as the church's initiative to make “chastity trendy” in Poland.
Poland: Public Media Funding
The beatroot writes about sources of funding for Poland's public media.
Poland: Tusk's Long Speech
The beatroot reports on the recent “policy statement” speech by Poland's new prime minister: “Tusk drones on for three hours […] Meanwhile Kaczynski, Gosiewski and Dorn lose consciousness, as did most of Poland. It was agony. Like listening to paint dry.”
Europe: Gastarbeiter
Romanians aren't too welcome in Italy, Poles aren't too welcome in Britain. Pestcentric reviews the situation with migrant laborers from the EU's new member states.
Slovakia: Odious Government
Deleted by Tomorrow writes: “After the recent Polish elections Slovakia can now, unfortunately, boast the title of having the most odious government in Central Europe, led by the neo-bolshevik Smer – Social Democracy, along with two mostly cleptocratic nationalist parties as its wingmen from an asylum of politically deranged and...
Poland: Selectively ‘Liberal’
Don't expect the new Polish government to put an end to “the homophobia and other backward social policies that characterized Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s two years in power,” the beatroot warns.
Poland: Schengen and Migrant Workers
“Thousands of Ukrainians work as nannies in Poland – you are a social leper in some circles of Warsaw if you haven’t got your very own shiny, low maintenance, Ukrainian home help,” writes the beatroot. Once Poland enters the Schengen zone in December, however, things will most likely change.
Poland, Iraq: Polish Troops to Pull Out
The beatroot writes: “Prime minister-in-waiting, Donald Tusk, has said that Polish troops – a thousand or so have been part of the what the hell-are-we-doing-there-anyway-coalition of the increasingly not-so-willing – will be out of the war-torn carnage in around nine months time.”
Eastern Europe: Diary of a Correspondent
Edward Lucas reposts his diary from a recent trip to Estonia and Poland and the Czech Republic. Itching for Eestimaa comments on a few of the points made by Lucas.
