Poland to Change Time?

Poland’s Palace of Culture

Polish PM Donald Tusk is considering whether to resign from the change to summer time. “During the Council of Ministers we discuss twice a year if there are reasons to cancel the change to summer time. There are arguments for and against it,” said Tusk, “For half a year there will be no change,” he declared. The most serious argument for the continuation of time changes twice a year is of course money. Donald Tusk fears that when we stop adjusting the clock, as it happens in other European countries, our economy will suffer. “It is important that our time is correlated with the time of the largest Western European countries, including our most important partners Germany and France. If, for example, we do not change, it could result in financial fluctuations for individuals, companies and institutions,” said the Prime Minister. He also pointed out that keeping summer time in winter would mean that it would still be dark at 8:30 am. Referring to the possibility of extending the day, Tusk said that “life is just more fun” in countries such as France, Spain or Portugal where for nearly half a year it is bright until 10 or even 11 pm. However, as he stressed, if in Poland you could benefit from sunlight until 9-10 pm in April or in October it does not automatically mean that “the cafés will be full”. In Poland the time is changed twice a year. This is governed by a regulation of the Prime Minister from the 5th January 2012 concerning the introduction and removal of CEST in the years 2012-2016. The time change, which takes place twice a year, contributes to the efficient use of natural light and energy saving, although opinion about these benefits is divided. Throughout the European Union, including Poland, summer time begins on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October. It is regulated in the EU by a directive from January 2001: “Starting from 2002, the summer-time period shall end in any Member State by 1 am of the Universal Time (GMT) on the last Sunday of October”. According to data available on the WorldTimeZone.com website the time change is valid in almost all European countries. The exceptions are Iceland, Belarus and Russia.
tvn24.pl

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Halle Berry in Poland

Halle Berry in Poland

Poland is becoming increasingly popular with Hollywood’s movers and shakers and has recently been visited by a slew of Hollywood A-listers as well as top rock and pop acts. This year has already seen the likes of rockers Kasabian, Pearl Jam and Desperate Housewives star and sex symbol Eva Longoria come to Poland. What is more, the likes of John Cleese, Danny DeVito, Gérard Depardieu and Bruce Willis have all recently been in famous Polish TV ads. Now Halle Berry is set to make the journey to Poland as part of the promotional tour of her new fragrance ‘Reveal’. Ms Berry will be promoting ‘Reveal’ in the Warsaw shopping mall Galeria Mokotów.
Plotek.pl

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Polish Kebab

Top Treat

Whether it is 4 o’clock in the morning after a party or an afternoon between lectures or after work, Poles are eager to satisfy their hunger with a kebab. “I don’t eat trash,” says food critic, Robert Makłowicz, when asked about Polish kebabs. “I don’t eat kebabs because I don’t need to,” adds his co-worker, Piotr Bikont. “I like kebabs but not those served in Poland,” says the well-known restaurateur Magda Gessler. However, the average Pole who is not familiar with world cuisine gives a definite ‘yes’ when it comes to Polish kebabs. According to TNS OBOP, one in four Poles choose kebabs when they eat out. Pizza comes top with kebabs coming in a strong second place. Kebabs leave hamburgers, hot dogs, casseroles and Chinese food well behind, not to mention Polish soups, ‘bigos’ and dumplings. It seems that there is no chance for the ‘kebab scandal’, when an illegal meat warehouse was discovered in Warsaw Central Station, to affect the rise of kebabs to the top of the foods most favoured by Poles.
Wprost

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Secretary & Lover Needed

Contracted Sex

Dziennik Polski reports that a slew of job offers have appeared on the internet advertising not only regular office positions but secretarial work combined with additional ‘time spent with the boss’. In a nutshell, contracts are being offered for secretaries/lovers. Examples include: “I’m looking for a personal assistant and lover in one”; “I’m looking for a beautiful woman for the position of personal assistant between the ages of 18 and 35″ and “I’m looking for a pleasant and attractive woman for office work together with an arrangement whereby we will enjoy each others company”. These ‘offers’ of work all look the same, however the contact addresses are different. These employers offer full-time contracts of between PLN 5,000 and PLN 7,000 a month. Apart from the regular eight hours a day office work, these employers also demand that the employee spends their private time with their employer. An ideal candidate should have her own apartment or flat. Not only should candidates send in their CV but also a recent photograph.
Dziennik Polski – Wirtualna Polska

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Speed Cameras Not Helping

Slam On The Brakes!

Slowing down and then accelerating are what most Polish drivers tend to do when they approach and then pass a speed camera (pol. fotoradar). Rather than improve safety on Poland’s roads, speed cameras do not seem to be helping and, in certain situations, actually appear to be making things worse. Polish drivers appear to be slamming on the brakes as they approach speed cameras which itself is the cause of many accidents. Furthermore, researchers from Yanosik.pl have found that once they pass the speed camera rather than maintain the speed restrictions in place drivers, on average, accelerate to twice the speed of the restrictions. Paradoxically, speed cameras are the cause of stop-start driving and a larger number of speed violations on stretches not covered by the speed cameras.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Ambitious But Unhealthy Polish Women

Dirty Ambition?

Polish women are allegedly amongst the most ambitious women in Europe according to a research study conducted by Gfk for Bayer Schering Pharma. Researchers Gfk looked at seventeen European countries and Turkey. The study looked at the needs, lifestyle and health of the fairer sex. Over 24,000 women across Europe and Turkey, between the ages of 15 and 49, were polled. For 93% of European and Turkish women, ‘family’ was most important followed by ‘looks and attractiveness’ (90%). In third place was ‘career’ (82%). Polish women scored an astounding 92% in the ‘career’ category. However, it seems only 44% of Polish women believe health to be of importance to them whereas the European average is 77%. Only Dutch women (40%) and Norwegian women (35%) scored worse. Likewise, Polish women are not particularly sporty with only 30% undertaking regular sport 3 times a week or more.
Wirtualna Polska/PAP

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Edyta Górniak Greedy

Górniak Wants More

Singer and top Polish celebrity Edyta Górniak has thrown a spanner into the works of her much talked about participation in the next edition of Taniec z gwiazdami (the Polish version of Strictly Come Dancing). Edyta Górniak has allegedly made outrageous demands casting doubt on her participation in the twelfth edition of the show. TVN, who produce and run the show, are unwilling to bow to her demands which include PLN 60,000 for taking part in the show and the opportunity to not dance with Rafał Maserak (who has previously won the show twice with different celebrity partners). Górniak believes his luck is about to run out and is demanding a different partner. Her demands could lead the producers of Taniec z gwiazdami to find a ‘star’ with more realistic demands.
Fakt

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Minister of Finance Sick of Winter

Winter of Discontent

“I’m sick and tired of winter both privately and as Minister of Finance,” Jacek Rostowski told RMF FM. According to Rostowski, “this winter will definitely not have a positive effect on our GDP. It is hard to say how much this winter will cost the budget”. He added, “it could be more than a few tenths of one percent of our GDP this quarter. We will have to see because the structure of the economy has changed greatly since the last time Poland experienced such extreme weather conditions.” Poland’s Minister of Finance has also commented on the possible PO (Civic Platform) candidates for president. “My guess is Radek Sikorski. Attacks coming from PiS (Law and Justice) are a sign of fear.” In an article in today’s Newsweek, Jarosław Kaczyński claimed that “there is a specific incident that will bring discredit upon Sikorski, but it cannot be revealed yet because it is classified.”
Onet.pl

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Should We Be Afraid?

How Bad Will It Get?

Someone has attacked a Warsaw bus again. Two windows in bus number 158 were damaged. The police still do not know who has been shooting and if this was a shooting at all. Tuesday 2pm. Bus No. 158 turns left and heads for the last stop in Ostrobramska district. There are a few passengers inside. Suddenly, they hear the crack of broken glass. The bus stops. The driver gets off to take a look at the windows, then he informs the police. This has been the ninth such incident in recent  weeks. Someone has been persistently attacking the buses and trams of Warsaw public transport. The attacks result in cracked or broken windows. “So far we haven’t found any bullets,” says sub-inspector Maciej Karczyński, spokesman for the Warsaw Police Department. It is possible that the ‘sniper’ uses an air gun, for which a license is not needed. There was a similar incident in Warsaw in November: a drunken man shot at a tram driver for fun. He was arrested 15 minutes later. The police do not know if there is only one person responsible or a group. The media have already publicised these accidents so there might be copycat attacks. “We need information from citizens in order to identify the ‘sniper’”, appeals Maciej Karczyński. A special unit has been created by the police in order to investigate this mysterious series of acts of vandalism. Does it mean that the problem is serious and should we be afraid to use public transport? Officer Karczyński reassures the public that “This is only damage to public property. Nobody was injured”.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Warsaw Citizens Like Halloween

Polish Tradition?

Ghosts, vampires and skeletons were having fun all over the city. A few years ago Halloween evoked extreme opinions – the advocates of the Polish tradition perceived it as profanation of All Saints Day. Today it is popular and night parties do not interfere with celebrating the Polish tradition. “These two holidays do not rule out each other,” says Filip, an artist who went to a Saturday party in Warsaw. Halloween costumes were not obligatory but those who dressed up, got a discount at the entrance. Although it is cheap to buy a werewolf mask, Joanna prepared her own zombie make-up, which took her two hours to make. Some people decided not to dress up. “I have a great Halloween Red Riding Hood costume, but I did not put it on tonight. I thought that not many people would be dressed up,” said Bianca from London, whose eye was bleeding. The next day, those same club-goers went to visit cemeteries in their casual clothes. “I do not have any family members buried in Warsaw, but I want to visit my favourite writer’s grave. I do it every year,” says Jacek Meler, who also partied on Saturday. Warsaw citizens treat Halloween as a fancy-dress ball. However, the trick-or-treat tradition has not caught on in Poland. American children walk around their neighbourhoods collecting sweets; Polish children stay in bed. “I did not prepare any sweets and nobody knocked at my door anyway,” says Helena. “My children and I celebrate the traditional Polish holiday, not some monsters. It has always been like this and we will stick to it.”
Gazeta Wyborcza

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