Vagla writes [PL]:

Mr Prime Minister can expect also letters prepared as a result of co-operation of several non-governmental organisations. One of those letters points out the lack of consultation with specialists in the field, another one the need to respect the basic rights in the legislative process. What will the Prime Minister do with those letters, I have no idea. It seems to be only the beginning of “determined actions” on the government's behalf.

One of the commentators of the post, michuk, points out that this proposal has a strong chance to be approved, so protest is required:

The law will be most probably quickly passed by the chamber of deputies - so it's time to act. I have written a LETTER TO PRESIDENT of RP convincing him to veto the law.

He is linking to the letter [PL] he wrote to the President himself, posted on stopcenzurze.wikidot.com [stopcensorship.wikidot.com] website, along with signatures of the supporters (NGO activists, professors, businessmen, lawyers, politicians, editors and bloggers), who signed this version of the protest with their actual names and links to their sites. Protesters have set up a Facebook fan page named ‘Stop Censorship‘ [PL], joined so far by more than 200 fans.

Reactions to the developments appeared on blogs, Flaker.pl, in comments to mainstream media articles as well as on Facebook, where people who feel strongly about freedom of speech and free access to the internet unite in protests.

Norbertrabarbar's reaction [PL] on Gazeta.pl's forum reflects the general mood of the public:

One cannot gamble? Not even on foreign portals? And what, we will have a list of sites we cannot visit, like in China?

And 6 hrs to unplug the website…so companies must have 24/7 admins…

I start to be scared of this system. Soon in order to get access to Internet one will need to send in an application form…

Kylax1 points out [PL] the uselessness of the governmental proposal:

In most developed Chinese censorship even teenagers can avoid it easily. Ideas of Tusk will not stop anyone apart from accidental gamblers.

Weegee touches upon [PL] the global nature of censorship thread:

I think the problem is deeper than our stupid authorities. And the worst bit is the fact there is no one we could report to on the breach of human rights, since this behaviour is becoming a trend and standard globally, so international tribunals will not do a thing (they would not risk creating a precedent of this type).

Witchinster opposes [PL]:

Poles will not give up if Tusk introduces censorship. There is TOR, there are systems allowing people to create an underground Polish Internet. It reminds me of the situation during the Second World War, when young adventurous Poles had to fight for what was theirs. It's a pity, though, that now a Pole is fighting a Pole.

Already yesterday heads of three Polish Internet associations - the Polish IT Association, the Polish Chamber of IT and Telecommunications, and Modern Poland Foundation - sent an open letter to Prime Minister Tusk, referring to the planned Internet censorship. Document is publicly available here (in .pdf format, PL).

Blackout Europe Polska is promoting freedom of the Polish internet and is planning [PL] a demonstration for Jan. 23 in Warsaw:

Demonstration: 23.01.2010 – 12:00 – Castle Square in Warsaw. Demonstration will most probably move to the Parliament. We welcome everyone, and most of all those who care for the future of the Polish Internet.

They are currently spreading the word on their blog [PL], but also on Twitter [PL] and Facebook [PL]. The poster with info on the demonstration circulates on the web and starts appearing on blogs [PL].

Wykop (the Polish version of Digg) welcomes its readers with three links on their main page related to the issue: here [PL] (272 digs), here [PL] (315 digs) and here [PL] (280 digs). Blackout Europe's call for demonstration on Wykop [PL] alone has generated 483 digs. All of those links are followed up by comments entirely supporting the protests and expressing disagreement with the government's proposal.

Facebook users gather at the ‘Government Should Leave the Internet Alone' fan page [PL] and are feeding links related to the issue.

Ewelina Dziubińska  sums it all up [PL] on her blog when inviting her readers to take part in the demonstration in Warsaw [PL]:

Together we can really achieve more, all we need is the desire to do so. Lack of reaction is really a sign of acceptance, so let's show that this generation will not allow manipulation and censorship.

For the next few days, if not weeks, we can expect more reactions on the topic from the Polish blogosphere.

Today is the day when Poland unites in an enormous charity event called The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity [referred to as WOŚP], organized for the 18th time by Jurek Owsiak to help children with cancer. The Orchestra organises a series of events, on-line auctions and other fund-raising activities all around the country, but also outside of Poland (here is the list of its official centres). All this is to enable the management of medical programs, donation of medical equipment, and general support of children who suffer from cancer.

The beginning of 2010 was marked by preparations to the next great charity weekend, which is held yearly. However, this time there was also strong criticism of its transparency by listeners of Radio Maryja, a Catholic radio station led by Father Rydzyk. Accusations of money expenditure and other aspects of the fund-raising event were posted on the blog [PL] of Radio Maryja fans recently.

The first quoted listener was Zofia from Krzeszowice [PL]:

And once again in January they will start Owsiak's Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (…) And when it comes to Owsiak he never really clarified what he does with the rest of the money, apart from buying a few bits of equipment. And what about the rest of the money? - Well, he should admit what he does with it, because it's corruption, just like now where we have this criminal committee. He could do with one too. Someone should finally do something about it, because it's unacceptable, this whole playing up. They ask kids to get out of schools, those kids freeze, and secondly - it's a misuse of those kids. So this man could re-think it and simply stop.

Another listener, Daniel from Sochaczew, phoned the radio station, saying [PL]:

We do know what is going on out there. For example, Sochaczew received a new ambulance. So what? Quite recently a woman died, she called an ambulance, which did not arrive on time.

The blog post quotes other examples of negative criticism, as well as a few positive comments, adding that those occurred rarely. It also generated a series of comments on the blog itself.

Arab reacts saying [PL]:

Exactly…they pick on Owsiak and Farther Rydzyk himself does not explain how the yearly donation money is spent…on his cars and travels…if Owsiak would buy himself an Audi a6, everyone would shout for the Orchersta's money…but Rydzyk can afford it, just as he did not explain where the money from dockyard collections go

There are also voices, like Anita, supporting [PL] the tonality of this post:

You do not have to be smart to know that EVIL WAS ALWAYS LOUD and what Mr Owsiak does and how loud and too colourful and too evil manipulating people's and teenagers' innocence is..!!!

Two mainstream media articles published by Gazeta.pl generated approximately 800 comments so far, the majority of which harshly criticises Radio Maryja's post.

Oghana7's statement supports the criticism of Radio Maryja, writing [PL]:

Are episcopacy and bishops not ashamed to have a radio of this type and that type of a brother? Congratulations to the sect, which poisons hearts and brains of naive Poles.

pan_i_wladca_mx reacts [PL] to accusations that the Orchestra is not delivering enough of medical equipement:

Just one question, the adjustment of hospitals to EU standards seems to be the government's duty, no? and not the Orchestra's? Did Owsiak ever promise to do so? Let's not confuse tasks of the Orchestra with those of our state! The fact that the Orchestra would buy a little bit of equipment does not mean it will finance the national health system.

I generally do not know if it's a scam or not, but I go for the argument that other countries follow him, and when my friend's son was in a hospital unit for newborn pathologies in Lublin basically half of the equipment was marked with the Orchestra's heart-shaped stickers.

Blogger Grzegorz Piechuła responds [PL] to the criticism towards the Orchestra's high expenditure on marketing:

WOŚP collects a huge amount exactly due to advertisements. It's a commercial undertaking. Hence the lights and the light to the skies. But as far as I know, this is the best way to use modern marketing, branding and consumer culture. Not because of the generated cash, but the good cause. This is why with all my heart I do encourage everyone to drop at least a few coins into the WOŚP boxes.

You can follow live updates and the current amount of donations on the Polish website of the Orchestra [PL]. They are also present on Facebook, where you can donate money via a dedicated application. To learn more about their activities, check out the About section here.

On Nov. 6, Piotr Waglawski [PL], aka VaGla (recipient of the Internet Citizen of the Year [PL] award in 2001, the first person to be awarded for commitment to development of local Internet and its role in communication between citizens and the authorities), posted an article [PL] on his portal dedicated to law and Internet, mentioning Polish government's work on telecommunications law that included an article giving Internet providers the right to block websites with dangerous content (e.g., gambling - hence some refer to it as the ‘gambling law') and giving the police, special services as well as the government an ability to create black lists of websites.

Michal Trojnara, commenting on the post the very same day adds [PL] to the original thread:

Just a minute ago I saw a live press conference with the prime minister on TV, who stated that there are “technical possibilities” to stop illegal gambling on international servers. I understand we are following countries experienced in on-line censorship [link to Wikipedia article in Polish on Chinese Golden Shield Project].

On Nov. 19, Gazeta.pl, a Polish daily, posted an article [PL] in which a connection was drawn between TOR software's ability to provide web users with anonymity, paedophile activities on-line and helplessness of the police in tracking those criminal offenses. Comments to it appeared under a post on TechnoNews.pl, reacting to the accusations.

Gość 4 states [PL]:

Is the cost of our privacy too high? I think that tools like TOR should be publicly available.

Massad points out [PL]:

First we will add filters you are mentioning, and then we can add any other filters, so, for instance, a human rights activist from China will not be able to inform the West about what's going on there.

Also on Nov. 19, Radio TOK conducted an interview with Piotr Waglawski, which was later published on Vimeo [PL]. It features Piotr and another specialist, Krzysztof Młynarski, explaining what TOR is and discussing inconsistencies of the argument used by the police that allowing anonymity on the web causes increase in paedophile crimes, and thus the police find it impossible to solve those.

In response to this video posted also on Wykop [a Polish version of Digg], Glosnik mentions [PL]:

It's amazing how the topic of TOR started to appear in various media starting with this digg: http://www.wykop.pl/link/253302/czy-wiesz-ze-internet-ma-podwojne-dno-efekt-wczorajszych-poszukiwan

Wykop itself exposed TOR to people, and now it is accused of paedophilia.

Wykop became a venue where the public decided to express their protest [PL] against the accusations and propositions to restrict access to Internet.

Silencer starts it, saying [PL]:

Let's show our power to fight stupidity of the authorities. Let's initiate connecting knots!

Baniol explains [PL] why he joins the protest:

I am 17, so I myself could be a victim of a paedophile :( I am joining this action not to help people connect but because I do not like the way of fighting paedophilia by targeting innocent people…

wm84 does not agree [PL] though:

I DO NOT WISH that a bunch of anonymous teenagers claim themselves to be the Internet community. Mainly because for most of them Internet started when Wykop, demotivating sites and other services appeared - they serve nothing else than wasting of time. I will not support - even in theory - harm of any child.

On Dec. 15, another leading voice in this case, a specialist in on-line security, Paweł Wilk (who, back in May 2009, posted about the TOR project [PL] and has been its advocate since then), posted an article [PL] updating on the government's propositions dated from Nov. 13 to introduce the law allowing Internet providers gather personal data of web users (like, for instance, name and surname, ID number, address), creation of the so-called Registry of Banned Websites and Services. He also mentions laws which this proposal would break and human rights that the Polish citizens would be deprived of.

A governmental press release [PL] from Dec. 17 confirmed that the Registry of Banned Websites and Services would indeed be created, but that the police would not receive personal data from Internet providers.

Help's first reaction [PL] to this statement is:

Is there an organisation similar to EFF in Poland which deals with following of those cases? If not maybe it's time for one, otherwise they will make us look like fools and introduce an Orwellian vision.

Simianus home opposes [PL] it:

You behave like real criminals! Do you have something to hide? Everything is known about everyone because they have accounts on NK [Nasza-Klasa] and Śledzik and they describe there on-line everything they do, in their family and private life.

Later on, on Dec. 18, Pawel Wilk posted an insightful article [PL] focused more on the role of TOR software in general, including an interview with TOR's executive director, Andrew Lewman.  Pawel Waglawski also commented on it in a post [PL], pointing out the lack of governmental transparency.

Gime agrees [PL] as to the process:

It is chaotic indeed, the idea behind it is unclear, the speed of work is surprisingly fast, a large amount of mistakes and ignorance on the way.

Arnold Buzdygan adds [PL]:

In a normal, democratic country similar ideas would not even enter the mind of the authorities.

On Dec. 22, the Observatory of Media Freedom in Poland posted the opinion of Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights [PL] on the topic:

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights expresses its concern about the legislative work on the draft law from Dec. 7, 2009, amending the law on gambling and other acts, and earlier a bill from Nov. 17, 2009, on the same issue. The proposed solutions introduce a number of fundamental changes to the sphere of rights and freedoms of individuals, and, moreover, they raise, in our view, reasonable doubt about their constitutional nature.

Nasza-Klasa logo today

Yesterday, Gazeta.pl daily news portal posted a short article [PL] informing its readers about a discussion of their portal's users around Nasza-Klasa logo, with gradually disappearing characters. This redesign, conducted during the last few days, was positioned as potentially an attempt of network administrators to allude to the recent theft of the sign from Auschwitz Nazi death camp museum. Gazeta.pl in their article clearly stated quoting of their readers and added that Nasza-Klasa has denied any connection to the recent case, however the article itself raised serious questions about foolishness of those speculations and the fact they were published in the mainstream media.

User glupie polaczki states [PL] today:

They should close down this anti-Semitic portal

Supported by opinion [PL] of another user, fqw:

It's gone now. How can they mock in such an anti-Semitic way!? how…I ask you…?

Others criticize the article itself. Ols85 mentions [PL]:

ONLY HERE - Gazeta.pl editors are all excited. Pulitzer guaranteed, I think…

SOber states [PL]:

It's always the best move to add on to something ideology, and afterwards strongly believe in it.

The majority of voices mocks the content of the article referring to more rational reason of the logo change - re-branding. Titus explains [PL]:

Honestly, it requires a great deal of bad will and inner need to seek conspiracy to associate the fact of “renovation” on nk with the theft of the sign… It was apparent from the beginning that it was a simple attempt to change the logo pictured in a funny and interesting way.

User autor autor sums up those comments saying [PL]:

This information is a final proof that Poles are functionally illiterate people. They cannot comprehend what is being said to them in media programmes, and they cannot grasp a simple message “we are changing our logo”, displayed in a nice way.

Local social media specialist, Socjalistka, dug out two links [PL] to announcements that Nasza-Klasa had acquired nk.pl domain, which supports the version of re-branding.

Auschwitz concentration camp gate by Tbertor1 on Flickr

Last Friday morning the sign ‘Arbeit Macht Frei‘ ('Work Sets You Free') was stolen from the gate of former Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, near Krakow. It was originally made [PL] by Polish prisoners of the camp led by Jan Liwacz and is considered one of the most significant symbols of the camp and artifacts of the museum. Its disappearance caused many speculations [PL], but also serious reactions from the Polish government, museum authorities, Jewish organisations and the public online.

On a forum thread dedicated to this issue, user Lestat is saying [PL]:

Now they will have an image of a Pole. They got caught by winter, so they are ready, for a bottle of wine, to sell for scrap the sign which is not only their cultural heritage, but also a symbol of suffering and horrible death.

Mishel is responding, stressing the seriousness of this act [PL]:

Who would have thought that one could steal from such a horrid place, where so many have been murdered. When I see Auschwitz camp, it gives me shivers… Those who stole it must be insane.

Kazimierz Maciejewski, on his blog, links this act to the recent discussions around Catholic crosses in public spaces, comparing the amount of conversations on both topics [PL]:

As we speak, we are witnessing the discussion about banning of symbols from places where the young generation of citizens is educated. Only a few expressed their opinions in favor of banning the cross.

MarkD, whose grandmother was murdered in Auschwitz, in his blog post presents a different opinion [PL]:

This sign is for me 1,000 times less important than the train track stolen by the poor, who this way wanted to secure their basic existence and caused pneumonia of the old man who got a cold while sitting and waiting for the tracks to be fixed.

Today the police informed the public that five people have been arrested as the result of an investigation. The sign has been recovered, but it was found cut into three pieces. The police spokesman, when referring to the motives of the theft, mentioned this:

All leads are being examined, and we are also checking whether the motive was anti-Semitic […]

Later on, it was implied that financial gains from possession of the artifact were more likely to be a possible cause of the theft.

It is unclear how exactly the money would have been made, however. Two days ago, the Polish equivalent of Digg published a link to a site featuring copies of the sign available for sale to support the museum :

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is under financial crisis and needs support. We've come up with the idea of producing replicas of the sign that was stolen from the main entrance gates in order to help aid long-term preservation of the historical site.

Twenty percent of all proceeds will be donated to Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Oświęcim, Poland.

Kajetan8 is commenting on this link [PL]:

It's strange how quickly they prepared those copies. They say that if the one to blame is unknown, in 90% of the cases it is the person who gains the most, that's the one who did it.

The compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used by the public authorities… restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions.

The Polish parliament, however, has decided [POL] to continue allowing handing out crosses in Polish classrooms and on other public premises. And a Polish association of Catholics, Unum Principium, has also proposed including the symbol of the cross in the national emblem of Poland. Currently, the emblem has a white eagle in a golden crown on red background, but Krzysztof Zagozda, the association's spokesman, refers to the national emblem from 1927, when the eagle's crown had a cross incorporated on top of it. He explains the group's proposal [POL]:

Including cross in national symbols is important for patriotic reasons. For many Polish citizens it expresses separateness of a kind or fight for independence. Hence why we need to restore it.

Image source: Wikipedia

This proposal has generated over 500 reactions on the forum of Poland's main daily, Gazeta.pl.

Maruda.r questions the above statement [POL]:

It's not entirely right, as Polish eagles were wearing different crowns: […] Emblems, coats of arms change - they reflect certain status, which is not there any more. We might as well reach out for the chicken placed on coins in Piast times.

Feurig59 states [POL]:

Carry the crosses in your hearts. Not everything has to be shown off - worn off symbols, whose meaning is carried by very few in this country, but everyone is scrubbing and polishing their ‘gods', so everyone could see how strongly they feel about ‘tradition' and what a good Pole and Catholic they are. Makes me sick:(

Michelange75 points out [POL]:

As a Catholic I say - No. Those people do not understand that this leads to antagonisms within Polish society and a loss of trust in the church for many Poles. Are we to experience the mistake of Western countries, where churches stand empty. That is what those chauvinists and pseudo-Catholics want. If so, than in this entire war over the cross and entire aspect of moving crosses away from school ordered by Europe, and which we do not seem to have to respect, Polish Catholic church will lose. It's totally irresponsible.

This statement is followed up by a response from ludwigvanbeethoven, who is a Protestant [POL]:

Catholics believe themselves as the only right faith, but I am asking - why? As a protestant, I demand all churches in Europe to look like protestant ones. […] Religion should be an inner business of each citizen, and not a huge balloon and sour faces, that Brussels does not want to include common values into their constitution.

On another site, AdamM sounds very sarcastic [POL]:

But Poland is to be a province of Vatican, so it's easier this way. Of course during GCSA exams we will pass religion too, and on our CV's we will need to put dates of our baptism, first communion and confirmation as well as the exact amount of money given during each mass. We will let out on our streets policemen who will check if we all carry crosses and know how to pray, and for those who protest, we will build stakes. We could also do with dusting off the Middle Ages torture machines so that the conversion is smoother.

A Northern Irish Polish forum contains a discussion on how having a cross in the emblem differs from having it next to it one wall; the main thoughts are expressed by 33lncr [POL]:

Aaa, those are the guys from the Madonna concert affair [cancelled due to protest of Catholics], so the case is clear… Seriously, though, for me it's only an add-on to a picture with a bird. But when I think of it rationally, what has the cross to do with Poles - atheists or Poles-other-believers, who are also patriots, what does it have to do with Poles-Catholics who are not patriots at all (I know the last one is in our country almost an oxymoron, but logically speaking quite possible)?

There are a few supportive opinions, though, like the one expressed by Krzysiek [POL]:

I support them. Poland is a Catholic country and we should protect our faith and show it somehow. If someone is unhappy, they should go to France where Catholics have practically nothing to say, and the majority of people believes in Islam.

On Nov. 3, I noticed that a new Twitter account was following me on that microblogging site, and its name intrigued me: @czyIKEAjestOK [is IKEA OK?]. It turns out that the account set up only a day before, on Nov. 2, belongs to an initiative of Polish citizens who work for IKEA via another, smaller, company called Solid Security, and who claim to be mistreated by those. They claim to be earning amounts below the national minimal wage, being assigned to work up to 16 hours daily and lacking the basic benefits, as we read on their Facebook page [POL]:

Our employers lower our wages, but also make us sign fictional contracts depriving us of the basic rights like annual leave or sick leave benefits.

When representatives of the employees entered IKEA building to turn in a copy of their petition containing the above-mentioned issues and signed by all of the affected, hoping to be able to talk to an IKEA spokesman, they were asked to leave the building by the head of security himself. This situation was filmed and is available on all of their social media sites.

The initiative's blog explains the main question they are raising via the on-line campaign [POL]:

We work for IKEA, but officially we are employed by another company. We earn low wages, we have no social fund. Buying medicine, illness is a financial catastrophe for us. IKEA washed their hands off it - officially they are not responsible. Is this OK?

It also hosts a voting where you can choose between ‘I am not bothered' and ‘ I think it's not OK' options.

‘And you, what do you think? Do you think IKEA is OK? Have your say:

I am not bothered. / It's not OK.'

On their site, in the FAQ section, we find a reason why the citizens have decided to contact IKEA directly to address their issues [POL]:

Of course we wanted to talk to Solid Security, the company which employed us, first, but we were ignored. Solid are aware of their position and the advantage they have over their employees, so any conversation is very difficult. That's why we decided to seek support at the company that pays Solid and thus can have a huge impact on their operations.

This initiative was picked up by a few on-line news portals, and was described by Interaktywnie.com (a Polish social media marketing portal)  in a news article, where commentators praised the neat build-up of the on-line campaign. Generally, however, there is a small amount of reactions on-line, which focus mainly on questioning why IKEA was targeted instead of Solid Security, pointing out that no-one is forced to work there, and waiting to see how the initiative develops.

On a portal dedicated to the industry news, Abenador states [POL]:

I have no idea if IKEA is OK or not, but when it comes to work conditions at SOLID, their employees should talk to … SOLID. Including IKEA in this argument is probably unnecessary and makes no sense (they are not the employers).

Aaa2 responds to this on a different forum [POL]:

Of course the employees did go to SOLID, too. IKEA is one of the largest clients of Solid and it is also said to be socially responsible. It cannot avoid the responsibility for employees working on their grounds, if it is so sensitive socially.

Dink points out in a board discussion:

work at IKEA is not mandatory

On Wykop (a Polish version of Digg.com), crea says [POL]:

I must say it's not a good situation…but it's a corporation, so it will be difficult to win with them..

Przemek postshis opinion on an HR portal:

As I understand, Mr Roman and his company do understand the amount of brand damage they are causing… But it's not the scale of brand damage which requires serious treatment of similar cases. I will watch with interest how this case develops, mainly in the social media.

This action conduced mainly via social media channels with usage of both visual and textual content grows in followers on Twitter, Facebook and in views on YouTube, as well as in numbers of votes on the main site. Representatives of Global Union from Sweden, USA, Italy, Ireland, Holland and other countries have expressed their concerns about the case of the Polish employees in a document published on Facebook. After four weeks since the original incident, both companies remain silent.

Around 50 people gathered for Barcamp Transparency at the Oxford University Club last Sunday to discuss issues of transparency in open government, social media and cyberactivism. As mentioned earlier, Global Voices was one of the media sponsors of the event.

The day began with breakfast at 10 AM and the sessions were live-tweeted by attendees:

Lunch provided everyone with an opportunity to discuss the sessions and network around their ideas and projects. In the afternoon there were three more rounds of one-hour sessions.

There was also a session dedicated to Global Voices work, which resulted in new fans:

After the final session we packed our Google goodie bags, food and laptops, and moved down to the bar for a drink.

Barcamp Transparency was only the beginning of a discussion about open government, social media, and cyberactivism ethics. The conversation remains on Twitter and on FriendFeed (do also check the discussions from our Friday virtual event). The organisers hope to repeat the event in Oxford next year, as well as travel to Italy, Spain and Poland in the Spring.

If you are interested in photos, tweets and posts from the event and projects presented and developed there, look for #bct09 hashtag online.

Polish blogosphere had an interesting day today due to the conflict between shopkeepers of Kupiecki Dom Towarowy - a shopping complex in the center of Warsaw  - and the police. Shopkeepers locked themselves in the complex, throwing stones and other items at police officers. In response, the police used gas and entered the building, arresting those who were inside. Today's events were a result of long-term negotiations between the city council planning to demolish the area where the shopping stands are located and the shopkeepers themselves.

Both Twitter and its Polish ‘relative' Blip.pl are still buzzing with opinions hashtagged with #KDT now. However, during the day conversations where happening mainly on Blip.pl, feeding information constantly and updating readers on how the conflict was evolving. Blip.pl users shared news updates, videos and photos. While delivering information from the site of the ‘battle' (this is how bloggers and the Polish media call it), users expressed their opinions on the event.

pksiazek:#kdt Do the police have some special training on how to cope with verbal abuse? I really admire them for just standing there peacefully.

mystiquee:#kdt [CD] who cannot be chased away since x years from the center of our capital. it's insane! they had hundreds of alternative solutions - but they just sat there and waited

Shulmeister: When nurses demonstrated in URM in 2007 the whole Poland supported them, including leaders. Today those spit on shop owners protecting their workplace.

Bloggers responded even during the events, sharing links to their posts on Blip.pl, like for instance wesolyterrorista, who wrote:

A skoro nie można wziąć ich głodem, to może sposobem? Odciąć prąd, wodę, otoczyć kordonem - i jedynie wypuszczać ludzi z KDT, nie wpuszczając nikogo do środka. Wreszcie się poddadzą…a za kilkudniową akcję policji i ochrony obarczyć kosztami kupców. Przecież takie sobiepaństwo i łamanie prawa “bo tak!” nie powinno być finansowane z naszych podatków…niestety, w sprawę zaangażowała się policja, a to oznacza, że każdy - od Szczecina po Rzeszów - płaci za tę szopkę.

One of the main blog engines, blox.pl, aggregated posts on the events simply by proposing a contest for the best entry and sharing the results. One of the winners, spekulacje, posted updates on the developments of the day, positioning it as a farce. Another blogger, KOZMO1, using poetical, old-fashioned expressions wrote a short satirical entry on the typical Polish behaviour, finishing it with these words:

A tam puka? A to Polska właśnie.

Gladys_g was upset that the shopkeepers behaved irresponsibly by having a child with them:

Ci ‘uczciwi kupcy' wykorzystują własne dzieci jako małe żywe tarcze, wystarczy najdrobniejsze skaleczenie malucha, a cała Polska usłyszy, że podły komornik (wykonujący zresztą swoja pracę) i policja (również w pracy) brutalnie pobili dziecko.

Ale co to dziecko w ogóle tam robi?

Szczerze mówiąc - rodzice tych dzieci powinni mieć postawione zarzuty narażania ich na niebezpieczeństwo.

City council published all the documents related to the case online, so the citizens could make their own judgment. And they do express their opinions on blogs, the microblogging platforms mentioned above, forums and Wykop - a link-aggregating site - and by posting photos. The discussion continues, slowly shifting to how the media presented the event, as well as on how the authorities, the presidentand the police responded.

This poster appeared at the end of April in several public places in Zielona Gora, as Gazeta.pl reports. The poster contains photo of Adolf Hitler and text: “Hitler was first to introduce legal abortion in Poland. - The right to choose is not freedom, but extermination of the innocent. For feminists killed children are stats, for us a tragedy.” There is also a photo of a fetus and another slogan, “Abortion is a murder,” in red letters, with Falanga website URL at the bottom.

Action was initiated by Falanga neo-Nazi organization originally to protest against abortion, however representatives of Falanga organization do not deny the posters serve propaganda purposes and hope to help recruit new members.

First reactions, just on the same site's forum, are quite strong. Adkalin remarks [PL]:

When will we finally get rid of this shit?

Junkier agrees with the content of the flyer [PL]:

Every form of fight with abortion, which is nothing else than murder, and with feminism, sick left-wing ideology of decay of society, luckily in Poland pushed back to the margins, deserves warm welcome.

Forum users discuss facts about Hitler's political views, but when it comes to the poster itself, gosc:boso oraz kaczo states [PL]:

‘those posters do not promote Nazi movement, nor Hitler'

Instead they only promote organization of clearly fascist views…

I still hope that there is no place for trash like them (Falanga followers, I mean) in Poland

Matt's point on this one in more general [PL]:

EVERY portrait of Hitler is Nazi propaganda. Not everyone will read and understand the text below it.

Commentators of the action question the facts mentioned on the poster, both here, as well as in other on-line venues. Katolik posts on forum of another daily, Dziennik.pl [PL]:

It's worth reminding that Hitler followers banned abortion related to their race, which they claimed to be superior, but supported abortion of other races, perceived as inferior ones. As a Catholic, I keep a neutral view on this topic, even though Catholic Church strictly bans abortion and calls it murder. As for Falanga, I have seen their deeds. It's a bunch of youngsters who in groups of three can attack a single man. They do not shine with their intellect, courage, nor with moral values.

On the forum of local magazine Gazeta Lubuska, ~nn~ expresses his opinion about the action [PL]:

This is actually quite funny, because I associate those bold boys with followers of the sir on the picture… As for the content, it is at least harming - what about the theory of state of protection, what about dreams of a house with a garden for each German - at least in Ukraine… There you go… one-sided and narrow-minded. Take care Adi, history will appreciate you once…

A “BarCamp” is a meeting format where networks of people organize a public event using the internet, collaborating openly on the agenda. The idea for BarCamp Transparency arose in April during a session at BarCamp Apache Oxford on cyberactivism that demonstrated substantial interest from attendees in discussing everything related to privacy online.

Orwellian?

The U.K. may not be famous for its lack of privacy or freedom of expression, but readers of news articles about the government's new surveillance plans have left numerous concerned comments in online forums.

A BBC News article by Dominic Cascani is the subject of discussion on the RichardDawkins.net website.

Widecora from the UK, posts in response to the article:

What if I don't care if I get blown up by a terrorist? Can I have my privacy back, please?

Ficklefiend from Scotland, agrees:

WTF? p.s- exactly how many murderers do they estimate send the details of their exploits via email?

On Livejournal, a newspaper article from The Independent also receives many responses, including one from Mannygoldstein who thinks the reference to terrorism disingenuous:

Are things not now grotesquely out of proportion? There are many threats to the safety and security of the UK and its citizens but they cover a whole gamut of items including road accidents, swine flu and lightning! How many deaths and injuries have resulted from terrorism and how many resources have been spent on 'security' to protect the public from such a threat?

Spreading the word

Derryquinn has created a video on YouTube against government surveillance and censorship and writes: “Please spread this video around, refuse censorship of the web. Send this message to your local councillors, whatever country you are in. Tell them you will not stand for orwellian monitoring of the internet.”

Bloggers have also reacted.

Richard at How This Old Brit Sees It… thinks the new idea is insane:

Bloody brilliant, eh? That'll teach the bad guys, eh? That'll stop ‘em, eh? That'll certainly make us all a lot safer, eh?

Since the baddies won't be reading & hearing what everyone else now is, eh? So they won't increasingly simply start switching back to using all sorts of ‘good old fashioned' low-tech stuff for their secretive plotting & planning, eh?

Nawh! Never!

Not!

On Twitter @lostmoya started a discussion linking to a BBC article, and received support from a fellow follower, @4TMSocialMedia:

@lostmoya I agree. Internet monitoring, CCTV cameras with microphones, anti-terror laws used against civilians. Orwell's 1984 has arrived.

… and thoughtful consideration from @glynmoody:

@lostmoya well, that might just take a long time to get round to doing things, hoping the next election supervenes

Reactions to the announcement will provide a basis for face-to-face discussion on this and other topics related to privacy in the UK and worldwide during Barcamp Transparency.

Rising Voices El Oso decided to dedicate his time to Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City placing the author in the context it was written:

In 2005 a criminal case was opened against Pamuk in Turkey for statements he made in a Swiss magazine about the alleged Turkish massacres of Kurds and Armenians. Pamuk’s case was taken up by fellow writers advocating for freedom of speech and, more controversially, became a litmus test for Turkey’s entrance into the European Union.

Karlo Mikhail, a blogger from the Philippines took time picking the right title, and in the end chose something easily available:

I finally found something for the Global Voices Book Challenge: Torgny Lindgren’s The Way of a Serpent. There are so many countries whose literatures I have never been acquainted before. But this Swedish novella in translation is the only one already at hand.  Bought it very cheap late last year along with something by Heidegger (which I gave away knowing I won’t be needing it yet anytime soon).

Edi, a blogger that defines herself as “an African American school librarian in Indianapolis” describes her book choice this way:

My selection will be perfect for April: Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse is the story of native Aleutians who are relocated during WWII when the Japanese invaded the islands. The story is told in the voice of a young girl and written in poem form.

This week marks the final week of the challenge, so you still have time to join us! And just to tempt you a little bit more we present a few more of our reading adventures.

Jad posted about The Angel of Grozny by Asne Seierstad coming to an interesting conclusion:

I have always been interested in Chechnya and Albania because not having a Holy Land doesn’t mean they should be ignored and never receive support.
I’m not into novels nor literature in general but I kept gazing the book and going through its pages for some good time, I was not sure if I wanted to invest any more in a novel (it’s not a novel but the border between her journalistic facts and her novelistic style is very imperceptible) I don’t enjoy novels, I never did but my friend insisted on buying it and she did.
I borrowed the book later and starting reading it and after couple of chapters I started to believe that the best way to share a documented journalistic facts would be in a novel form.

The Book of Sand by Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges and chosen for the challenge by Malagasy blogger Lova Rakotomalala proved to be extremely relevant to current reality of Madagascar:

As Madagascar tries to find an exit to its political dead end, such assessment of the true representation of a group is hitting very close to home for me at this time. No entity can ever claim that it represents perfectly a population. However, a group has to agree on a set of rules to live by and tolerate each other. When those agreements are rendered meaningless for whatever reasons, the opus of the members (like the collection of classic books initiative) usually ends in ashes.
Even though, this particular story brought me back to the crisis back home, I welcomed the rest of the short stories as an escape to the accrued violence there for the past few days.’

Niranjana, an Indian blogger in Canada read ‘Paradise Reclaimed’ written by Halldor Laxness however results in feeling of disappointment.  This Icelandic piece of literature picked up from the shelf turned out to be a hard read:

I also think much of my inability to relate to this book stems from my ignorance of Icelandic folklore–I can tell I’m  missing all sort of references to myths and historical events that would have made this book a much richer read.  This omission is of course entirely my fault (I should  have hunted out the Cliffs Notes), but if I had read something about Iceland, I couldn’t have chosen this book for the challenge.  Anyway, the overall feeling was rather like reading Beckham’s autobiography without ever having seen the man kick a ball.  Not satisfactory.’

Fay Sheco, who chose Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong  is satisfied both with the book, as well as with the challenge itself:

In the early days of this blog I tried a few book challenges and found them constricting; this one-off book challenge suits my current way of reading and blogging, and I look forward to reading the other challenge-generated blog posts, which are to be tagged #gvbook09 for easy searching.’

For some of us the book challenge results in need of meeting the author himself. Senor Pablo for instance decided to read  The Islamist by Ed Hussain and hopes to meet the writer soon:

Come September Eleven and suddenly the world changed. Another question that cropped up was the differences in the way Muslims interpret Islam. I could not understand the need for fundamentalism, although it does exist in most religions. This book will explain it all and that is why I think it is a good read if you want to know a Muslim's experience in joining a fundamentalist group and left. It answered the many questions that I wanted answered. :)

I just heard that Ed Hussain is heading this region soon. I would love the opportunity to meet the author in person!

Bahraini blogger Bint Batutta describes the story of a book about the nuclear reactor disaster of Chernobyl (Memories of a Meltdown by Mohamed Makhzangi ) together with the circumstances of the event:

And what of the site of the nuclear reactor today? It is enclosed in a large concrete sarcophagus, and there is a thirty-kilometre Exclusion Zone around Chernobyl where officially nobody is allowed to live - but there are homeless men and women who do. See this photo essay called Chernobyl Stalkers.

There is still much more out there, so if you are interested in the results, look for posts tagged with #gvbook09.
The challenge is still on, so pick up a book, read it and let us know what you think of it! Do not forget to tag your posts or leave a comment on our site, so we can share your experience.

(Image source: Ateizm na wesoło)

The chief editor Gabriela Szulik, when confronted (POL) with the fact, responded:

It’s a mistake, an unfortunate one. We had no intention to offend anyone, because we are not racist. The thought that this can carry racist meaning does not even enter my mind; I simply have no associations of the kind.

Later on, she responded to allegations of racism with a promise of an online statement, also referring to the company's involvement in charity work in Rwanda and their article about Zambia.

Online reactions vary. Some discussion board users, like maczimo (POL), agree with Gabriela Szulik:

Only a complete idiot can say that we are dealing with racism.

Others - like lucenty (POL) – stay supportive and objective:

I am also convinced it was a mistake. Someone who does not think in terms of prejudice can be careless to ‘pronounce’ this pseudo racist sentence. I am far from the sick view on every single statement like that and seeing bad intentions. We, Poles, are not really so bad!

Still others express rather cynical (POL) thoughts on the issue:

It’s not that I am anti-Catholic, but the whole situation, mainly in the context of the Church, is slightly ridiculous. […] ;-)

One of the Polish London-based bloggers writes (POL):

[…] This Sunday we will pray for [the 15 black children out of the total of 26 in the blogger's child’s school group]. So passionately, so Polish-way. Will it help? […]

The majority of commentators on discussion boards find the flyer highly racist. Mecz-k (POL) said on Gazeta.pl Forum:

Oh, yes, Polish Catholicism is a religion of hate and despise. Pity that there is nothing left of Jesus preaching. Now we have Father Rydzyk [a very controversial leader of the Catholic Radio] preaching… Shame, shame really.

Jww commented on a post about the issue on this blog (POL):

I am not surprised by the content and the level of the flyer. I know more examples of that type or even worst acts of ‘tolerance’ and ‘freedom of speech’ within the church, sadly most of them stay away from political scandal similar to the one about the flyer.

One of the parents involved in the incident happens to be an outspoken blogger. After describing (POL) the day when the child came home with the flyer, she wrote:

I confiscated the flyer discreetly, but there is no way to cheat on my son: Mom, why did you hide the flyer in the pocket? Did you dislike it for some reason? Is there something wrong with it? This text is bizarre, isn’t?

Yes, a little bit. After one hour of serious thinking whether I am overreacting and consultations with Kuba’s parents: do you also agree that someone was thoughtless? Do you see it too? I am calling the parish office:

Dear Father, I understand you meant no harm, but this joke is tasteless, since all kids take such messages seriously, they do not see the intentions behind them; and you can see here clearly: the black baby regrets having dark skin, meaning being black is the worst…

I do understand where you’re coming from, but I believe the priests who ordered those pictures aimed to stress Christian values, the message of the Holy Bible…

Dear Father, you can be a Catholic and not a racist, you cannot promote messages of the kind, especially amongst children, for whom the Church sets example…

The discussion continues. On Wykop.pl, a Polish version of Digg bookmarking site, an article on this topic is on the main state category and has generated over 100 comments and gained 783 ratings so far.

Obama's victory was predicted and popularized in the social media, like in this YouTube interview (POL) with journalist Bartosz Węglarczyk, who shortly after the end of the campaign was strongly convinced about Obama's success. However, the enthusiastic welcome given to the winner has actually impressed Polish bloggers.

Marcin Gadzinski, the author of Biały Domek ('White House') blog on the U.S.-related issues, published a post titled ‘Thank you America,' reflecting the American happiness of the day (POL):

[…] And did you see those people in Grant Park in Chicago today?

And did you see the Black American guy with baby face and big ears, who was standing on the stage?
His father was from Kenya. His mother came from a village in Kansas. Today their son is the president of the most powerful country in the world.

The whole world watched it. And every one felt the unique American energy. Like the euphoria and pride after the landing on the moon. Like the grief after the Kennedy assassination. Like the fear and later the solidarity after 9/11. Big American emotions, like tsunami, flooding the world. […]

Because America chose Obama for their president today and they are proud of themselves. They should be. The whole world was keeping an eye on them all the way. Again.

Marcin is right stating that the Polish media was watching the elections. A leading radio station RMF FM created a portal. News station TVN24, famous for promoting news coverage with wide range of opinions, is still posting on the topic, including videos from Chicago. 10,386 people from Poland (based on IP addresses, not nationality) voted on ‘If the world could vote?‘ international website. Gazeta posted today more details of the voting, reporting that mainly younger generations and minorities contributed to the victory.

Blogger Paweł Adamiec, author of USA 2008 blog devoted to the U.S. elections, flagged up the importance of Obama's victory in the context of the American fight for equality. He praised Obama for his enigmatic personality, wise system of his campaign funding and his ability to appeal to the multicultural electorate. He concluded (POL):

Let me also congratulate the American citizens, who with the high percentage of votes proved how developed the American democracy is.

Simultaneously, Polish politicians started questioning Obama's competency. President Kaczyński, in an interview posted here, was seeking more information on the actual changes planned by the new president. Lech Wałęsa questioned the next steps of US presidency as well (POL):

I am worried, because winning is one thing, and actually achieving something with the victory is a different matter.

When talking about a potential shift in U.S. politics towards Poland, SLD party representative Jerzy Wenderlich suggested(POL):

Abolishing visa requirement for Poles would be a good start for the new administration.

On Politbiuro political news portal, user intel-e-gent raised an interesting issue for the Poles - that of the nuclear shield planned to be built on the territory of Poland (POL):

The historical victory of a Black American politician will not have a huge impact on the Poles, I believe. Maybe we will not need to build the shield.

Earlier this year, Obama, when asked about it, left the question open.

Bloggers like Jarosław Flis, Władysław Sidorowicz, Artur Zawisza and many others shared their views on the election in the Polish political context. People also shared comments on forums at Gazeta and TVN24. Goldenwoman01 wrote (POL):

In Poland, we cannot even see on the horizon a similar personality.

Regardless of what Obama chooses to do next, he is the man of the day in the Polish social media.

As of now, Nasz-parlament.pl has 636 members, and despite the fact that the first administrator joined the site at the end of April, it became popular only last month, with its 128 threads and 722 posts.

Apart form a discussion space, the portal provides insights into the currently discussed laws. Today, for example, one of the hot topics (POL) is a discussion of the new law on torture in special situations. According to Polish news site Dziennik.pl (POL), if the law is actually introduced, Poland will still have no right to torture at home, but will be able to exercise the right to stop terror suspects and “transfer them to countries like Egypt, where torture might be used.”

This piece of news has generated rather harsh comments on Dziennik.pl's forum. User Bożena, for example, is worried (POL):

I think it's time to deprive humanity of the basic freedoms using a dishonest excuse of terrorism. We've never had any terrorist attacks in Poland. God save us from the lies ruling the West, where people are losing their rights and freedom after every said-to-be terrorist attack.

Apart from linking to the current media stories, the Nasz-parlament.pl portal also gives space to politicians themselves to express their opinions and to specialists to share their reports relevant to current laws. (Here, for example, is more info on the consequences of a proposed act on earlier retirement.) All the current parliament members have their own sites on the portal.

As most other start-up portals, this one is looking for a sponsor, according to internetowo.eu blog (POL):

[…] Nasz-Parlament.pl is planning to live off ads or to find a sponsor in the future. […]

Like in any other social networks, users can create their profiles, use groups and forums, contact local representatives, and engage in discussion on-line.

And - let's not forget about the most important role of e-members of the parliament - voting! Nasz-Parlament.pl users can vote, and vote, and vote!

UPDATE: A reader has asked whether the site is available in English, but the answer is ‘no' - Nasz-Parlament.pl is currently available only in Polish.