Stories about Poland from December, 2009
Lithuania: Buying Lithuanian (in Poland)
With a Grain of Druska reports on the Delphi portal users’ “quotation of the year” choice: “I follow the slogan ‘buy Lithuanian products’, but I buy them in Poland. There Lithuanian products are about half the price.”
Poland, China: Lack of Response to Akmal Shaikh's Case
Polandian writes about Poland's lack of response to the execution of Akmal Shaikh in China: “[…] Akmal spent quite some time in Poland, was married to a Pole and is survived by two Polish children. The question was therefore raised as to why Poland did not join in the call...
Slovakia: Coal That Does Not Burn
Tibor Blazko writes about Slovaks being fooled into buying coal from Poland that does not burn, but not taking legal action to fight fraud, and translates a few comments that show how differently Slovaks view what has happened.
Poland: Language and Identity Abroad
Raf Uzar writes about the Polish language and identity abroad – here and here.
Poland: ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ Sign Stolen from Auschwitz
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. The theft caused many speculations but also serious reactions from the Polish government, museum authorities, Jewish organisations and the public online.
Poland: Blogs Demand Payment for Content
Readers of leading Polish blogs might have been surprised to see a new welcome screen on one of their favourite websites recently: it announced that, beginning Dec. 14, 2009, access to this blog was no longer free of charge. Jakub Gornicki writes about the case.
Poland: “My Polish Street”
At Polandian, “My Polish Street” series – here, here, here, and here. Also, a post on “drifting” into “voyeurism” in Krakow: “Having a designated smoking window that looks directly onto a dozen brightly illuminated flats on the other side of the street didn’t help.”
Poland: Jaruzelski and the Soviets in 1981
The beatroot reports on the release of “documents which appear to show that General Jaruzelski did indeed request support from Moscow if Solidarity protests got out of control.”
CEE: “Social Media and Social Memory”
Evgeny Morozov writes about “social media and social memory” – and a Facebook project involving a 22-year-old Lublin resident posing as a 7-year-old Jewish boy who was killed by the Nazis during WWII. Vaviblog (ENG) is a similar project, which “gives voice” to Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov: “…if Vavilov were...
