Tagged: poland RSS

  • Jakub Pawlowicz 11:47 am on April 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: poland   

    Interregnum 

    Usually I don’t comment politics, but I feel this time I should. It’s not because Polish president, his wife and many politicians died in a plane crash (which is a tragic loss in the human sense), but because people lost their minds facing this situation. Citing BBC News: ‘Mr Kaczynski was a controversial figure in Polish politics.’. He was, that’s a fact – before the tragedy only up to 30% of Poles thought he was a good president.

    But now everybody seems to praise him and call ‘Polish best leader in the last 20 years (since the fall of communist rule)’. Come on! That’s f**king insane. Maybe he was a good politician, but we DON’T need good politicians, we need good LEADERS! Ones that can unite the nation, not divide it. People who can put country interests before his party and his friends ones, which obviously he didn’t.

    You can call it a blasphemy, but that’s the truth, and you can’t deny it.

     

    • Lukasz 12:05 pm on April 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I don’t like politics subject, but you’re 100% right and anyone who says differently is just lying to himself.

    • Kuba 12:13 pm on April 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I think it’s natural that people say good things about him now, it just seems wrong to keep insulting someone who has died, especially in such circumstances. That doesn’t mean everyone thinks he was the best Polish leader in the last 20 years, I didn’t hear anyone calling him that – I still think he was the worst one. But this is simply no longer relevant… I think at such moment it’s more appropriate to forget that person’s sins and mistakes and try to remember only the good things he did.

      Like Wałęsa said – “I forgive them, though they won’t forgive me now… now I have to ask God for forgiveness, because I made a few mistakes too” – I doubt that Wałęsa now thinks Kaczyński was the best president ever, but that just doesn’t matter anymore.

      • Jakub Pawlowicz 1:02 pm on April 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        I wasn’t trying to insult anyone, Kuba. I simply think people are overreacting, showing their exaggerated sadness to loss of a person they’ve never respected. If you remember what happened when John Paul II died, then you know what I mean.

        And I don’t agree with you that we should forget his mistakes. Maybe it’s not the right time to recall them, but we can’t pretend there were none.

        PS) Regarding the ‘best leader in the last 20 years’, I heard it in the news yesterday. There are people who think that way. And they’ll try to make him a sacred person. Trust me, we’re living in Poland…

        • Kuba 2:11 am on April 13, 2010 Permalink

          I didn’t mean you were insulting him, I was talking in general.

          I know what you mean, there is indeed a bit of exaggeration in what is happening now, as usual in Poland in such circumstances… I guess it’s just a Polish custom.

          And yes, there are people who say various things… there are those who say the Russians did it or that Tusk did it to claim all the power in order to be able to introduce more of his communist-liberal policies and keep selling and destroying Poland and so on… but I suggest we just ignore these people ;)

    • Dexter 12:22 pm on April 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Well call me a liar but for me he was a good a patriot. A kind of man who was not affraid to loudly state unpopular opinions and say ‘no’ to particular interests of political parties. I think it is a lie to say we knew what kind of man he was as we were given only his medial ‘mask’. I’m affraid not to say I’m proud I voted for him.

      Now I only regret that our nation believe in people who were not only his ideological opponents but insulted him openly as a man and now they are talking about respect and unity. How would call this?

      • Jakub Pawlowicz 12:44 pm on April 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply

        I don’t want to call you a liar, Dexter. I know you were his supporter – not the one who just sticks to the most popular option, but a longtime one.
        As you said it’s regrettable that people change their minds once he passed away. I would call THEM ‘liars’ but it’s probably not enough.

  • Jakub Pawlowicz 10:29 pm on March 22, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: business, don't like, entrepreneurs, poland   

    In one of polish talk shows there’s a ‘I like, I don’t like’ series. The topics being presented there are about Poland, or somehow relate to situation in Poland.

    So let me say today what I don’t like – it’s the Polish entrepreneurship. In general it’s short sighted, aimed at quick profit, not caring about clients and potential partners. It’s no brainer that its because of our communist and earlier heritage, but it doesn’t mean we can’t change it.
    Actually we do as more and more young people who come back from emigration, or grow up without that heavy heritage, show positive business patterns. But every time people (especially young) are arrogant, unwilling to cooperate, thank, congratulate or just share experience, I feel lonely here.

     

  • Jakub Pawlowicz 10:09 pm on November 5, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: flu, mass media, poland, swine flu, ukraine   

    Flu hysteria in Poland 

    As you know I don’t like media, be it newspapers, television or any other medium which existence relies on attracting masses with catchy slogans, or dumb programs just to make even-more-money.

    According to Polish media a couple of days ago there was a large outbreak of so-called swine flu epidemic on Ukraine. The reports from there were hysteric: showing the flu great progress, one service reporting higher death toll than another, showing people queueing to pharmacists seeking flu vaccine, anti-flu drugs, garlic, lemons, honey, and God-only-knows-what-else.
    As we share border with Ukraine government instructed our border service to take a closer look at who enters the country and started considering giving a flu vaccine to all health/public service workers. Some of the opposition politicians started arguing that we need to act quickly to stop the pandemic, Polish media suggested some countries already vaccinated 40%, 60% or even all country population. Panic is emerging thanks to people’s foolishness and to mass media.

    The thing I want to point out is how much place are reserved for this hypothetical flu outbreak in Ukraine in western mass media. There is literally none. I checked BBC, CNN, and Reuters and the first two doesn’t even mention this fact on their health pages, Reuters being the only one referring to this outbreak in an article on flu season in northern hemisphere.

    I can think of a few possible explanations of this fact but you are creative people and can figure it out on your own, don’t you?

     

    • Mike Spark 12:20 am on November 9, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      A personal friend of mine just came back from Lviv, Ukraine. She says that she couldn’t spot a single man without a gauze bandage. Moreover, people there already avoid gathering into large groups, public transport such as buses is deserted etc.

      http://www.president.gov.ua/news/15609.html – here the Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko imposes a criminal responsibility for, quoting, ‘criminal caresslessness’ in fighting the epidemic.

      And about the media reaction: contrary to the western ones, the ex-USSR media cover the events very closely. You can check it on the site of ‘Kommersant’: http://kommersant.ru/theme.aspx?ThemesID=422 – a well-known russian newspaper, which tracks back its history up to 1909.

      Cheers.

      • Jakub Pawlowicz 10:13 pm on November 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

        Thanks for comment Mike. It’s really weird to me about this disproportion between the eastern and western media. For the past week the flu was the top news in all media here but Ukraine is no more.

        Regarding the flu, it is well known that complications after seasonal flu can lead to deaths and each year the death toll is in thousands people, but up to this year it wasn’t a top news. I bet media doesn’t have anything better to do.

  • Jakub Pawlowicz 12:15 pm on February 23, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: flag, poland   

    Burning a flag 

    Yesterday one of the Polish biggest political parties came up with an idea that hanging the flag on May 1st, 3rd and November 11th (Polish national holidays) should be obligatory. What’s worse the politicians from other parties think that it is a good idea.

    You know what? It is the worst idea I have ever heard of. Hanging the flag should be imposed by my internal will, by pride of my country not some silly regulations.

    Give me a reason to be proud of Poland and I will hang a flag!

     

    • Dexter 12:03 am on February 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      I’d be happy to live in a country, where people respect their national flag, like it is in the States. I’d be happy to live in a country, where people enjoy their tradition, are not ashamed of it and can make something cool about it, like it is in Bavaria. I’d happy to live in a country, where people are proud of their country goods, like it is in France. Finally, I’d like to live in a country, where the term “country” is not dimmed by stupid & selfish actions of “so called” political class, being sick only about the power. I wish it was Poland :)

      Jakub, can you really define Poland? It’s not a mass of stupid people around us. It is not a collection of current, previous and future government actions. It is much more than the law hurting people, who believe in the Constitution. It is not only a place between the Baltic Sea and Tatry. It is not only last year, or ten, but the history, much longer then we can imagine. A country is quite virtual entity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-53-C9ITI

    • Jakub Pawlowicz 4:50 pm on February 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Dexter – thanks so much for your comment.

      I think the problem when talking about Polish national identity starts in defining it. We, as a nation, were divided for the past 200 years, not only geographically but also mentally, so the definition is divided as well. Thanks to it polish people do not trust each other but what’s worse they cheat on each other. In the meanwhile 90% of them claim they are catholics where (ironically) cheating is a sin. And that’s fine for them to cheat on each other and then confess on Sunday making “some more room” for another sins.
      I also think an assumption that Poland is (and have to be) a catholic country is genuinely wrong. It hurts me as I am not a catholic but everything I have is thanks to this country.

      Another great example is polish national addiction to celebrate anniversaries. Two years ago we had 35th anniversary of a draw (!!!) with England on Wembley. That’s fu..ing nonsense! Next year there will be 600th anniversary of Polish win on Grunwald fields. What for? It would be better to focus on making some advancements in the future but celebrating past events makes us think that we were great once and now we are not. It’s hard to admit but probably nothing would bring us back these times.

      The last thing is about politicians. They do not resemble Poland to me, but unfortunately they think they do. I don’t want Poland to be the 1st, 5th or 10th power in the Europe – I want Poland to be a part of Europe. I don’t want to see politicians vetoing EU reforms just to show everyone that we have the power to do it. Finally I don’t want people in the other countries to think about us as the ones who stopped Turkish army on the fields of Vienna in 1683 and we they have to respect us.
      How this helps us escape from the label of “these who steal cars”? It doesn’t.

      I would like others to think of us as joyful people, good workers, makers of the best vodka and ones who trust and can be trusted.

      I hope the youngest generation will not follow their ancestors’ path and in 50 years we will have a really trustful and cooperative society proud of the Polish soil. Believe me or not but I would like to be proud of Poland.

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
esc
cancel