Pro Polonia Strikes Again

Pro Polonia

Euro Pride, a march of sexual minorities coincides with the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. In order to commemorate the fallen knights the march should be moved to one of the forests surrounding Warsaw according to Marian Brudzyński, Mazovian regional councillor and leader of the Committee for Defending Faith and National Heritage Pro Polonia. The committee sent a letter concerning this issue to City Hall yesterday. Although the gay parade will take place next year, time is required “in order to build a solid front to move the obscene march to a secluded place where they will be welcomed with open arms,” claims Brudzyński. The organisers of Euro Pride announced during the weekend that the march will take place on July 17, 2010 and it took them several years to prepare the parade. What is more, Warsaw Euro Pride will be the first such manifestation in Central Europe. However, Pro Polonia activists do not seem to share these feeling of triumph. Unrest of members of the committee, which is open to “Catholics and patriots” is caused by the coinciding dates.

A similar situation occurred this summer when Brudzyński tried to block Madonna’s concert because it was on the same day as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary church festival and the anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw, also known as the Vistula Miracle. “Next year we will be celebrating the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald and the country’s highest authorities will be commemorating it two days before this obscene march,” says Brudzyński. “According to our information the anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald will take place near Grunwald,” explains Jarosław Jóźwiak, vice-director of the mayor’s office in Warsaw. The fact that the celebration will not take place in Warsaw does not seem to discourage Pro Polonia. “It was such a great victory that Poles are not indifferent to this anniversary,” explains Brudzyński. Under the circumstances only moving the march to  a “secluded area” can neutralise the disaster that sees these two dates coincide. “600 years ago different kinds of people were attracted to Poland – the European knights. To pay tribute to those who have fallen we cannot allow gays and lesbians to invade Warsaw 600 years later,” protests the leader of Pro Polonia.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Polish PayByNet

Paying via Computer

Banks in Poland are launching a new payment system which will function both in internet stores and public institutions. For the time being, the PayByNet system allows users to purchase goods in electronic stores in an easy and fast way, however, before long, we will be able to apply this system also in order to pay taxes, fines and other financial liabilities in public institutions. The system, operated by the National Clearing House, delivers to a bank a defined transfer; therefore, it is not necessary to fill out any forms. All you have to do is click after which a message is immediately sent to the internet store. The PayByNet system is currently being implemented in the biggest Polish internet book store Merlin.pl, and it has already been in operation in Lataj.pl, which sells airline tickets. Other e-shops are also planning to introduce the system.

“PayByNet eliminates one of the main problems for e-commerce, namely the reservation of goods in anticipation of payment processing,” says Artur Wojtczuk, Internet Payments Manager in the National Clearing House. So far, the system has been used mostly in e-commerce; however, it has recently become the first payment service implemented on the Electronic Platform of ePUAP Public Administration Services that will allow us to pay outstanding fines and liabilities. The Regional Office of Silesia and City Hall of Piotrków Trybunalski have been the first public institutions to implement PayByNet. “We anticipate that more customers will make use of this service,” says Marietta Balda, who is responsible for e-payments in Nordea Bank, the first bank to launch this system. Apart from Nordea Bank, the system has been introduced also by Citi Handlowy, whilst other banks such as Millennium, BPS, Kredyt Bank, Inteligo and BZ WBK are planning to implement it very soon. “We are currently at the stage of establishing the terms and conditions and we plan to launch this services at the beginning of 2010,” confirms Wojciech Kaczorowski from Bank Millennium.
Rzeczpospolita

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PiS Says ‘No’ to PO Politicians

Speak No Evil?

The head of Law and Justice (PiS) Jarosław Kaczyński has banned members of his party from talking to Stefan Niesiołowski and Janusz Palikot from Civic Platform (PO). The head of the PiS executive board, Joachim Brudziński, believes that it does not behove a PiS politician to speak to a man who makes cheap wine (Palikot). Another higher-placed PiS politicians claims that PiS members do not want to stoop to the level of these two PO politicians.
Rzeczpospolita

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Smolna Festival 2009

Smolna Comes Alive

This weekend (Sept. 26 and 27), Warsaw will witness another Smolna Festival, an event organised by the Smolna Street Association with a little help from the city. This exceptional festival was invented three years ago by several neighbours who wanted to revive the pre-war city lifestyle of the street, which consisted in the local communities being highly integrated, strengthening their “little homelands”. Soon, it appeared there are dedicated photographers, musicians, historians, and many other gifted people living at two of the Smolna pre-war houses (no. 14 and 16). Consequently, they began meeting up and organising their own concerts, photo exhibitions, etc., an activity Warsaw had never seen before.

This year’s festival directly touches upon the concept of combining the arts into a complex cultural event and is therefore named Synteza Sztuk (A Synthesis of the Arts). The festival is an interdisciplinary project that offers not only classical and contemporary music concerts, but also photography exhibitions and workshops.

The programme includes:
26th of September (Saturday)
Panufnik Trio (piano, violin and cello) will play at 7 pm in the local House of Culture (Dom Kultury Śródmieście) at Smolna 9. The group was founded in 2003 by three young musicians who took the name from Andrzej Panufnik, the renowned Polish composer and conductor. The trio has been awarded a number of prizes at various European festivals and has worked with David Harrington, of the Kronos Quartet, in arranging contemporary songs.

27th of September (Sunday)
De Stilte – a project involving cello, saxophones, clarinet, double bass, drums and vocals. De Stilte is silence, harmony, music and theatre. A project that cannot be clearly labelled. A combination of the arts, sounds and words; an illusory reality… and jazz, of course. It incorporates musicians, an actor, the audience, complete equilibrium; in a word, a show.

More info at the Smolna website.

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Worst Ever EuroBasket

EuroBasket - Failure or Success?

According to the Croatian baskball player Zoran Planicić, EuroBasket 2009, the European Basketball Championships that took place in Poland were the worst ever in terms of organisation. His is not the only negative opinion regarding Poland’s organisation of the Championships. Andrzej Urlep, the Polish head coach also believes the organisation was not as good as it could have been. On the other hand, Roman Ludwiczuk, head of PZKosz, the Polish Basketball Federation, believes the Championships were a success. Grzegorz Kita, director of Sport Management, however, feels that EuroBasket 2009 only lived up to 30% of its potential. He believes that the state of the courts was poor and the Championships could have been better for fans. “Without Marcin Gortat, the Championships would have been non-existent for the average Polish fan,” he added.
Sport.pl

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Poles Not Welcome in UK

No Poles, Please

Between 2000 and 2006 about two million Poles emigrated for economic reasons and the majority of them settled in Ireland and the UK. However, with the economic crisis not loosening its grip, people who are now considering moving abroad in search of job opportunities may want to reconsider. “They better think twice,” says Barbara Tuge-Erecińska, the Polish Ambassador in the UK. She believes it is immensely difficult to find a job in the current economic situation. Quoted by The Guardian, Tuge-Erecińska claims that people with no knowledge of English have almost no chance of finding a job in England. What is more, the difficulties on the English job market have also struck immigrants who have lived on English soil for some time. “In such difficult times, when there are no vacancies, English public feeling may turn against Poles,” said the Polish Ambassador in The Guardian. A new wave of immigrants may only add fuel to the flame of hatred that burns in England towards foreigners. Tuge-Erecińska also warned against accepting job offers through the Internet because, according to her, it is the easiest way to fall into the net of false job intermediaries. In order to be heard throughout Poland, the Ambassador has asked priests to pass her words onto people living in the country.
wyborcza.biz

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Allen Iverson in Poland

Allen Iverson

The American NBA superstar Allen Iverson spent a few hours in Katowice where he met with a group of teenagers in a post-industrial art gallery and took part in a shooting competition with Andrzej Pluta (Anwil Włocławek) and Marcin Nowakowski (Polonia Warszawa). Polonia Warszawa’s young point guard outplayed his two rivals. “Iverson is the biggest star to have come to Poland so far. His visit is a great opportunity to promote basketball in Poland… It’s a pity that so few people could come,” Pluta said. Around 300 people came to see Iverson and watched the shooting competition where the players took shots with their eyes closed or threw the ball with their left hand. “I was a bit nervous when I got to know that I was coming here. At first I couldn’t believe it, but then it turned out to be true. Last night I slept well,” Nowakowski said. After his visit to the gallery, Iverson went off to see the semi-finals at the Spodek stadium.
Wirtualna Polska

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Missile Shield Gone, Poles Happy

No Missiles, No Threat?

According to an opinion poll by GFK Polonia, most Poles are happy that the anti-ballistic missile defence system will not be built in Poland. 48% of Poles agree that the decision taken by the United States to drop its plans was good whereas 31% think it was a bad move. Almost a quarter of Poles do not have an opinion on the matter. More than half of all Poles believe that the level of security in Poland is the same as before, while 20% feel it is lower; 8% of respondents do not know. What is interesting is that 40% of Poles believe that the US withdrawal was an act of concession to Russia and a sign of disregard for Poland, America’s ally. Almost a third of Poles believe that the decision does not mean anything to Poles because the missile shield would not increase Poland’s safety anyway.
Onet.pl

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Barbara Skarga Dies at 90

Barbara Skarga Passes Away

Professor Barbara Skarga, the Polish philosopher and editor in chief of Etyka, died on the 18th September 2009, in Warsaw at the age of 90. During WWII she was a liaison officer for the Polish Home Army (AK). Barbara Skarga was born on October 25, 1919 in Warsaw into a gentry family. She studied philosophy at Vilnius University. During the Second World War, Skarga acted as a liaison officer. After her arrest in 1944, Skarga spent 10 years in a Soviet labour camp. She worked at the PAN Institute of Philosophy and Sociology. In 1980 she was elected chairperson of the Philosophical Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Skarga became a Professor of humanities in 1988. Her primary source of interest was the human mind and rationality. In 1995 she was awarded the Order of the White Eagle.
Rzeczpospolita

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Who will Replace Beenhakker?

Avram - Bursting onto the Scene

Not only does Lothar Matthäus want to work for the Polish Football Association (PZPN) but also the former manager of Chelsea, Avram Grant, is willing to become the manager of the Polish football team. Grzegorz Lato, the head of the PZPN, has already invited Grant for a meeting. The former manager of Chelsea was also the manager of the Israeli football team and his ancestors are of Polish descent. “I will undoubtedly meet Grant and listen to what he has to say,” said Lato. Another candidate for the position of manager of the Polish football team, Lothar Matthäus, will not be invited to a meeting with PZPN officials because his management career has not been paved with success. What is most important, however, is the fact that the PZPN is no longer insisting on a Polish manager.
Dziennik

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Lothar Herbert Matthäus