Stories about Poland from July, 2011
Poland: Smolensk Report Blames Both Polish and Russian Sides
On July 29, Poland presented its final report on the 2010 Smolensk plane crash, in which 96 people died, including the then president of Poland Lech Kaczynski. While putting the major blame on the Polish pilot's error, the report also pointed at the fault of the defective lighting at Smolensk airport and Russian air controllers.
Poland: Art of Travelling the Polish Way
Michael Dembinski of W-wa Jeziorki instructs his readers on how to travel by night train in Poland and what to think of.
Poland-Russia: Passing Out Blame for Kaczynski Plane Crash
Streetwise Professor comments on the Polish report about last year's plane crash that killed the country's president, and goes on to argue that, whereas Polish pilots where mostly to blame, Russian air-traffic control was probably also to blame.
Poland: The State of Reading
A few weeks ago, a new social campaign - Reading in Poland - was launched by one of Poland's largest daily newspapers due to the fact that reading rates in Poland are very low: one reports states that 56 percent of the Poles don't read books at all - and are also incapable of reading texts longer than 3 pages. A huge debate has started on the reading culture in Poland and the reasons for the crisis it is facing.
EU, Poland: Airport Body Scanners; Shaminder Puri's Case
Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska of Europe of Human Rights writes on BlogActiv.eu about airport body scanners, “human dignity” and the case of Shaminder Puri, a British Sikh who was harassed at the Warsaw Chopin Airport last year.
Poland: Smoking and the Effects of Smoking Ban
Polandian writes about what has changed and what hasn't since the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in Poland on Nov. 15, 2010.
U.K.: Polish Poetry on the Tube
Belatedly, a link to a post about Polish poetry displayed on the London Underground, which was published on May 31 by the POLSKI blog.
Poland: Article authorization abolished
Max Steinbeis of Verfassungsblog writes about [GER] Poland having to abolish its law that interviewed people have the right to see articles before printing and prevent publication. So at least is the meaning of a ruling from the European Court for Human rights in Strasbourg.
Poland: Citizen Initiative for Complete Abortion Ban
Some 600,000 people have signed a petition in support of the draft amendment to Poland's abortion law intending to ban abortion in Poland without exceptions – even when the life of a woman is threatened. Katarzyna Odrozek reviews online reactions of the supporters and opponents of the complete ban on abortion in Poland.
Poland: A visionary within the EU?
J Clive-Matthews of Nosemonkey's EUTopia writes about the outset of the Polish EU-presidency and its Premier, Donald Tusk, as a potential visionary for the European Union.