|
Post by pjotr on Jan 18, 2017 1:19:42 GMT 1
Karl KrausKarl Kraus (ur. 28 kwietnia 1874, zm. 12 czerwca 1936) – urodzony w Czechach austriacki dramaturg, poeta i publicysta. Uznawany za najwybitniejszego satyryka obszaru niemieckojęzycznego w XX wieku. W latach 1899-1936 był wydawcą i głównym autorem czasopisma literackiego " Die Fackel" ( Pochodnia) walczącego m.in. ze stereotypami języka prasy. Był twórcą tzw. wiedeńskiej szkoły eseju. Zasłynął jako autor epickiego Die letzten Tage der Menschheit (1918/19), mówiącego o zmierzchu Austro-Węgier i europejskiej cywilizacji w kontekście wydarzeń I wojny światowej. Oprócz dramatów pisał także wiersze, satyry, aforyzmy i glosy. Przez całe swoje życie związany był z Wiedniem.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 18, 2017 0:59:40 GMT 1
Karl KrausKarl Kraus (April 28, 1874 – June 12, 1936) was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He directed his satire at the press, German culture, and German and Austrian politics. The Austrian author Stefan Zweig once called Kraus " the master of venomous ridicule" ( der Meister des giftigen Spotts). Karl Kraus was very critical of the press (Austrian newspapers and magazines) and media (radio, cinema news and etc.) of his time. He warned for the manipulative, sensational, populistic, Nationalistic and war monguering nature of the press of his time. We should have Polish, American and Dutch Karl Kraus like journalists and writers today who can look with a selfcritical helicopter view on our own parlaimentarian press and so called quality press & media. He was ahead of his time in his warning of a press which supports or lean against governments or government parties or simplistic, popular, chauvinistic, populist, nationalist, opposition movements. Consequently, during the First World War, Kraus saw his principal literary and political task in unveiling the Masken des tragischen Karnevals ( the masks of the tragic carnival) of war as he states in the introduction of the The Last Days of Mankind. Kraus attempted to unmask the manipulative doublethink nature of the liberal press that had unreflectively embraced jingoism (= Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive foreign policy.) and military romanticism—despite its proclaimed humanistic and liberal values—and which he considered more dangerous in swaying public opinion towards war because of the media’s alleged use of verhuellte Worte ( veiled words). In comparison, Kraus viewed overtly right or leftwing radical publications, those that plainly stated their true agenda, as less malignant. Already in 1899, in the first issue of his magazine, Die Fackel ( the Torch), Kraus established his goal of eine Trockenlegung des Phrasensumpfes ( the draining of the swamp of rhetoric). He vehemently rejected the flowery and subjective style of turn of the century journalism and the omnipotence of the feuilleton in the Viennese Neue Freie Presse, the most influential newspaper in Central Europe prior to the First World War. Various scenes and acts of The Last Days of Mankind would also be first published in Die Fackel after the end of the war. Die FackelThe co-option of the liberal media by the reactionary government (as revealed during the Friedjung affair in conjunction with the gaudy reporting during the Balkan Wars) was to Kraus emblematic of the duplicity and frivolity of the liberal elite within the monarchy who were preoccupied with style rather than content. The blind vainglory of this era indicated to Kraus what was to come in August 1914. Plaque of Karl Kraus on the house where he was born in Jičín, a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic, which lies approximately 85 km northeast of Prague in the scenic region of the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj) under the Prachov Rocks (Prachovské skály).Kraus was the founder, editor, and from 1911 the sole author of Die Fackel, through which he achieved fame as a scathing critic of Austrian society. He gradually widened the range of his attacks from the Austrian middle classes and the Viennese liberal press to encompass all that he held responsible for what he viewed as the disintegration of the Austrian, and European, cultural traditions. His satire and mode of expression are idiosyncratic and essentially Austrian (even Viennese), but his influence has been far-reaching. He also wrote poetry (Worte in Versen, 9 vol., 1916–30), epigrams (1927), and dramatic parodies. He translated works of William Shakespeare and rediscovered the works of his compatriot Johann Nestroy. Karl Kraus (1874-1936), a multi-faceted talent, including poet, actor, and journalist, is considered a controversial figure of fin-de-siècle Vienna. A Jew by birth, Kraus converted to Catholicism in 1911 and became increasingly vocal in his anti-Semitism; he is often referred to as a self-hating Jew. He is best remembered as the editor of the magazine Die Fackel [The Torch], his forum to castigate the decadence and aestheticism of Viennese society and its hypocrisy.P.S.- I don't like or promote Karl Kraus's selfhating anti-semitism or nasty sarcastic sides, but stress the importance of this man in Central Europe in the Interbellum (1919-1939) era due to his research journalism, satirism, essays, aphorisms, playwrights and poetry.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 17, 2017 23:48:47 GMT 1
Russian news may be biased – but so is much western mediaPiers RobinsonManipulation of the news for propaganda purposes is not the prerogative of the west’s enemies. It’s vital to look at all media, including the UK’s, with a critical eye.‘Media aligned with official adversaries are presented as inherently propagandistic and deceitful, while the output of ‘our’ media is presumed to be objective and truthful.’ Photograph: Maxim Marmur/AFP/Getty ImagesAs tensions continue to escalate with Russia, increasing attention is being paid in western media to what are frequently described as the “ propaganda” activities of Vladimir Putin’s regime. The Sun headlines “ Putin’s glamorous propaganda girls who front a new UK-based news agency ‘that aims to destabilise Britain’” in reference to the recent establishment of Sputnik News in Edinburgh, while the Mail describes how “ Vladimir Putin is waging a propaganda war on the UK”. Oxana Brazhnik, pictured, of Sputnik News Agency which has been accused of trying to 'destabalize' the UKFormer hotel supervisor Johanna Ross, pictured, describes herself as a 'Russophile' who wants to overcome bias and ignorance in the Media.Most recently in the Times, a study by an MPhil student at the University of Oxford, Monica Richter, is reported to confirm that people who watch the 24-hour English-language news channel Russia Today ( RT) are more likely to hold anti-western views. The tone of the Times article is clear: RT uses unqualified and “obscure” experts, is frequently sanctioned by Ofcom for bias and failure to remain impartial and, worst of all, actually seems to be “turning viewers against the west”. Perhaps the intended subtext of this particular news story is to warn people off watching non-western media for fear of betraying their home country in some way. ( P.S.- I watch RT, but do not hold anti-western views, but see it as a counterweight for my Dutch press & Media, CNN, Fox News and the BBC and Al Jazeera -which is clearly not Pro-Russian-) Whatever the accuracy, or lack thereof, of RT and whatever its actual impact on western audiences, one of the problems with these kinds of arguments is that they fall straight into the trap of presenting media that are aligned with official adversaries as inherently propagandistic and deceitful, while the output of “ our” media is presumed to be objective and truthful. Moreover, the impression given is that our governments engage in truthful “ public relations”, “ strategic communication” and “ public diplomacy” while the Russians lie through “ propaganda”. Neither of these claims has significant academic support. A substantial body of research conducted over many decades highlights the proximity between western news media and their respective governments, especially in the realm of foreign affairs. For reasons that include overreliance on government officials as news sources, economic constraints, the imperatives of big business and good old-fashioned patriotism, mainstream western media frequently fail to meet democratic expectations regarding independence. In our own study of UK media coverage of the 2003 Iraq invasion, Manchester University found that most UK mainstream media performed to reinforce official views rather than to challenge them. As for the supposedly benign communication activities of our own governments – again, there are ample grounds to challenge the understanding that the “strategic communication” activities of our governments can be understood as free from the kind of manipulative “propaganda” of which the Russian government is accused. Indeed western governments frequently engage in strategies of manipulation through deception involving exaggeration, omission and misdirection. This was recently observed quite clearly during the run-up to the Iraq war when intelligence was manipulated in order to mobilise public support for the Iraq invasion. Moreover, the recent Chilcot report describes how, in the early days after 9/11 “ regime-change hawks” in Washington argued that “ a coalition put together for one purpose (against international terrorism) could be used to clear up other problems in the region”. Tony Blair had discussed how phases 1 and 2 of the “ war on terror” would require a “ dedicated tightly knit propaganda unit”. Tony Blair had discussed how phases 1 and 2 of the “war on terror” would require a “dedicated tightly knit propaganda unit”.One might reasonably conclude from all this evidence that the western public fell foul of a major deceptive propaganda campaign which involved exploiting terrorism threats in order to “clear up other problems” and which was instigated by our own governments and communicated through “ our” media. Propaganda and deception is not, it would appear, the sole preserve of non-western states; it is alive and well in western democracies. These are confusing times for consumers of the news, and the issue of which media outlets should be trusted is as demanding and critical as ever. Given the level of conflict and potential conflict in the world today, plus pressing global issues regarding environmental crisis, poverty and resources, it is essential that people learn to navigate the media and defend themselves against manipulation. The first step towards becoming more informed is to avoid seeing our governments and media as free from manipulation while demonising “ foreign” governments and media as full of propagandistic lies. The second step is to recognise that one can gain useful insights and information from a variety of news sources – including those that are derided as “ propaganda” outlets: Russia Today, al-Jazeera ( Qatar based, and so the Arab, Middle Eastern point of view) and Press TV ( Iran based) should certainly not be off-limits. Mainstream media, wherever it may be based, is widely acknowledged to be overly deferential to political and economic power and that means, as consumers of news, we also need to think about exploring alternative news and information sites such as Media Lens and Spinwatch. And, more broadly, we need to become more aware of the strategies of manipulation that all governments employ in order to shape opinions and conduct. www.medialens.org/www.spinwatch.org/In an age when thinktanks and “ public relations” experts dominate media output, it might also be time to engage academics more fully as sources of (relatively) independent comment and analysis. These steps might strike many as all too demanding and time consuming, but we live in demanding times and the stakes are getting higher every year. The need for the public to become informed and defend itself against manipulation is greater than ever.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 16, 2017 13:56:05 GMT 1
Dear Bonobo, Western-European media aren't holy or a good example for Central- and Eastern-European countries. Each region or each part of Europe has it's own unique cultural, linguistic, ethnic, political, geopolitical, regional and thus human circumstances. Often people of various parts of Europe tend to look at other Europeans from their own regional experience, heritage and situation. You can only understand the other if you understand the political, social, financial, economical, historical and present day situation of a country, a region in a country or a city in a country (if that is the subject, like the attacks on the Cologne women and girls more than a year ago). Visegrad Group leaders' meeting in Prague, 2015There were made many mistakes in that time by the German authorities, the German police and the German media. But the German media were also ill informed by local/regional authorities, the German police (spokespersons), and maybe local Germans who didn't wanted to be labeled xenophobic or racists and therefor tuned down their voice. Cologne Germany in the night of 31 december 2015 and 1 Januari 2016A huge mistake what was made, was that the blame was put entirely on refugees (asylumseekers), while the majority of the perpetrators were migrant boys and men from Moroccan, Tunesian and Algerian decent, who were probably born and raised in Germany or came to Germany as little children. There is a problem in Germany with migrants of Turkish, Kurd and Arab/Berber background. Ethnic organised crime, political violence (Turkish and Kurd Nationalism, and Arab identity; identification with the Palestinians, and therefor sometimes there are anti-Israeli, anti-zionist and anti-semitic incidents in Germany - but also in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Sweden and Norway-, and tensions between Arab and Turkish crime groups. And ofcourse the Islamist terror of a minority of the Muslim migrant communities and converted Germans), ghettoization of German innercity working class neigborhoods (like in other West-Euroepan countries), the lack of social control in migrant families (guestworker fathers with factory, cleaning or cabdriver jobs who can't control their sons who look down on their fathers, because with the decent jobs they do because they know the language of Germany -the Netherlands, Belgium, France and etc.- better than their fathers, because they went to German -Dutch, Belgian, French and etc.- primary- and Highschools. And for the bad elements amongst the migrant youths; they earn more money with street crime, drugs dealing, being a lover boy -hustler/pimp- or a racketeer). Cologne police started an investigation on Policeofficers who leaked information to the press about the incidents with the sexual harassment of German women and girls in Cologne on that New Years celebrations. Most press only found out about the harassments in Cologne 4 days after it occured.A fact which also should be told is that a lot of refugees do not cause trouble and just are trying hard to survive and find a decent place to live, study and work. In my view today there are more problems coming from migrants from Muslim countries who are already for decades in our Western-European nations than from Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Ofcourse I don't know everything, but I know refuees in my city/town. We will have to check, monitor and accompany these refugees very closely. It is important to know who these people are, where they are coming from and why they are here. We can't take in fake refugees, like Moroccans, Algerians, Libiyans, Albanians and Africans from safe countries who come here for economic and social reasons. We can only take in a portion of the Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugees (the Afghans flee from Taliban terror and from newly established Islamic State strongholds). Hot Food Idomeni organisation provides stranded refugees with a meal each day in Serbia [Lazara Marinkovic/Al Jazeera]It is dangerous that such high concentrations of refugees are only sent to and staying in for instance Germany and Sweden. I believe in the solidarity concept and thus that refugees should be spread over all 28 EU countries and next to that over Saoudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan ( which already has a lot of Syrian refugees), Lebanon ( which already has a lot of Syrian refugees too), Iran ( for instance Shia Muslim refugees), the USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, South-Africa, Southern-America, Japan, South-Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore and Indonesia. Syrian refugees head to Lebanon's Shia southA lot of problems occur when to many people are concentrated in one country or one region/place, like the former illegal refugee camp in Calais in France. Germany also has to many refugees, because other countries refuse to take in refugees. If we don't want refugees we have to find a solution in the countries they come from an create safe heavens there. Greece, Serbia and Turkey next to Germany, France and Sweden are struggling with their refugee crisis. Hundreds of child refugees in Serbia risk freezing to death as temperatures plunge to as low as minus -16C, Save the Children has warned.Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 21:10:41 GMT 1
You are right, but in the same time I am very reluctant in trusting Ukrainians like some Poles and some Western-Europeans do. There are a lot of Neo-Nazi's, Ultra-Nationalists, Neo-fascists, anti-Polonists, anti-semites and anti-Russians over there. Often anti-Polonism and anti-semitism go hand in hand in the Ukrainian case, because the fanatic hating extremists amongst them hate Poles as much as they hate Jews (and probably Russians too). I simply find it scary how powerful, agressive and dominant these far right, Ultra-Nationalist groups are in the Ukraine. Due to the war in Eastern-Ukraine these far right Ultra-Nationalists are trained, armed and experienced in combat. If they return from the Eastern front they might cause Problems in Western-Ukraine in the Lviv (Lwów) area, where you have a small Polish minority and these Polish monuments for the Polish victims of the attrocities commited by the UPA, OUM and Ukrainian Waffen SS. The Ultra-Nationalist and Neo-Nazi Azov battalions insubordination and aggression towards the civilian population in Eastern-Ukraine is a concern for both the Ukrainian government and the forces of the rebel Donetsk People’s RepublicI hope that Polish and Ukrainian investigators will find out who commited this Vandalist act. Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 20:59:46 GMT 1
The name reminds me of Andy Warhol (Czech Ruthen name Warhola). But Paweł wWarchołs work is very different. Very Polish if I might say. In the Polish graphical tradition of the 20th century and with a sinister, dark element in it, not strange to many Polish artists and writers. I think about Bruno Schulz, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz and Tadeusz Kantor.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 20:56:01 GMT 1
Dear Bonobo,
You are right ofcourse. And in the same time I do believe that Poland is a more Industrial nation than the Netherlands. You have more factories, more production lines, more pollution due to the chimney's of these factories and their industrial production. In the same time you live near other Central- and Eastern-European nations which also use for instance wood fire (chimneys), coal, brown coal and still have a lot of old Industries, and old polluting cars, vans, busses, trucks and other engines.
I hope the best for Poland and Central-Europe, that the dependency on coal will be less and that new energy sources will emerge in the near to long term future with Hydrogen energy, solar energy, line oil energy, more electric cars and new ecological friendly products, agriculture and markets.
Today the new ways of cleaner production are to expensive and therefor one will produce products in a 'dirty', polluting manner, because environmental worries and protection aren't sexy or a big priority since Donald Trump is chosen in the USA. But this pollution in Poland and other countries cost human lives, Every year thousands or hundreds of people die due to lung diseases, caused by both smoking and environmental pollution.
Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 20:27:18 GMT 1
Due to the large amount of threads and the quality of the content, texts and images, I do not always react to every thread, but I appreciate them very much. I have spend reading and watching many topics, texts and images (old photographs, new photographs and images of art works over here). So they all are very much appreciated. We as 100% ethnic Poles (you, Pawian, Tufta/Adam, Bunjo, Jerzy, Zoba, Jaga) and 50% ethnic Poles (me and others with one Polish parent) are on the crossroads of cultures, because we were born in families with different cultures, or because you lived in cities with universities, Research & Development centers, Contemporary Painters, Sculpturists, Graphic artists, internationally renowned Polish Theatre with new Theatre technics, acting methods and theatre skills, musicians and people with intellectual professions (professors, researchers and other professionals -like scientists- of the Uniwersytet Jagielloński), curators of art insitutions and art exhibtions (for instance in Bunkier Sztuki), art historians, journalists, authors and poets, political thinkers (theorists), sociologists and thus International visitors and residents who feel attracted to the intellectual, cultural, scientific, historical and academic climate of Kraków (or Warsaw, Poznań or Wrocław). I heard from Dutch people, Germans, Americans and Israeli's that Poland is a country with an old authentic culture, civilization and sophistication, due to the way the men treat the women, the young the old and their attitude to strangers. A Dutch politician with a Polish wife told me the Poles have a very refined and sophisticated society, due to the fact that Poland has a lot of cities and towns with universities, schools of economics and Universityies of Technology, like the Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki in Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, Poland. Despite the fact that he devorced from his Polish wife he had very fond and dear memories of Polish family, Polish friends, Polish colleages of his former wife (who still lives in the Netherlands and has a relationship with another Dutch man), and the level of education and civilization of Polish people in general. This Arnhem man called them very sophisticated, humble, gentle, academic people often with good old values as decency, politeness, good manners, inner civilization, intelligence, culture, and pleasent company. Like other decent Dutch people he was irritated and offended by Polonfobic attituded and statements of felow Dutch and rightwing Populist (Dutch Nationalist) politicians. He said; " They have a certain sophistication -being cultured-, old fashionate gentlemen and lady behavior-, ethics, values and customs, we might have lost in the Netherlands, with our Americanization, artificial materialist pragmatism, blunt culture and lack of sense of historical awareness, propper use of our own language and respect for our own culture, without neglecting or ignoring other cultures that have influenced us." Foreign visitors like the Polish style of living, the politeness of many Poles and their civilization), but also a strong connection to the West (Paris, London, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, Berlin and the Hague -with it's large Polish community, the only Dutch city with a large Polish community-). Young Poles speak English, German, French and some of them Dutch, Russian, Hebrew or Spanish. Maybe like in the Netherlands some Polish students might study Chinese? The Dutch and German students I was with in Kraków in April 2004 and myself witnessed the differences in behaviour in Kraków, Poland, and in our own Dutch and German cirties and towns. Maybe we had a Romantic view as visiting Art Academy students, art teachers, artists and professionals in other fields, but we liked the climate in Krakow, the Modernisation we saw (we saw new highways, new Business districts, and the Old city center, the Wawel Castle with the Wawel Cathedral and the old Jewish neighbourhood Kazimierz, where we went to Polish Cabaret and Musical performances, student pubs and an alternative (Underground) Polish NewWave club (with Polish youth, students and Gothic, Punk and Hard rock looking Poles). Thank god we had a blond Polish-Dutch student with two Polish parents, who spoke Polish fluently, and who had contacts in Kraków. So he showed us the non-Touristic parts of the city, also outside the city center. The various faculties of the Jagiellonian University, nice lunchrooms, traditional Polish restaurants where the Poles go to and not the tourist restaurants. Due to his Polish ethnicity and Polish language skills he was our Polish cultural and social guide during the week. Nex to that I was wondering around the city with a German (female) student friend, Ivonne, a Dutch Turkish-Kurd student friend, Pakize (Fashion designer and art lover), and a Dutch fellow art student Han. With Han I was some sort of duo, and Ivonne and Pakize were also some sort of duo. We fellows were sometimes impatient when Pakize and Ivonne filmed and photographed nearly everything, from flowers and romantic Polish couples in Planty or at the river banks of the Wisla (we all considered the Poles to be very romantic, because we saw beautiful young Polish couples everywhere, and older couples, characteristic old men or women sitting on park benches or walking in the old city, at the hill of Wawel or at the old town market square.). Impatient Han and me liked to walk and run around, and also (secretly) enjoy the looks of the beautiful Polish ladies with their Western slavic charm. We were all singles and enjoying life, and I kind of liked a female German student of the Arnhem Art Academy - Fine Art department very much, Actually after the bus journey from the Netherlands to Krakow and our settlement, breakfests in Hotel Start in Kapelanka 60 near the huge Tesco supermarket at Kapelanka 54. My first contact after I had find the courage to make contact with her was in the Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine painting in the Czartoryski Museum. It was a beautiful, tall, blond, blue eyed girl from Lübeck, and she had spend one year in the Czech Republic as an art exchange student before she went to the Arnhem Art Academy - Fine Art department (the department I studied Painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, art history and art video -filming and editing_ from 1992 until 1995. One year Amsterdam, I year the Hague Art Academy, and three years Arnhem Art Academy). I even went with her and other Dutch and German students to the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was a very tough and confronting experience for me. And for her, she was very emotional, like if she carried German guilt. Our emotions were different and we had to part for a moment. I was there and thought about my Polish grandmother who was in Mauthausen concentrationcamp (deported to Austria in a cattle wagon after the faillure of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944) as a Polish Untermensch (sorry for that degratory term), and a Polish aunt from Warsaw who was caught in one of these notorious Łapanka's (roundup), by the German/Austrian Sicherheitsdienst (SD), Gestapo, Schutzstaffel (SS) men or Wehrmacht units (sometimes the Wehrmacht also acted as German police forces, you had bad elements in the Wehrmacht too). She was caught somewhere in 1940 and spend the war in Auschwitz until she was rescued by the Red Army which liberated the camp. Her father was murdered in the SovjetUnion like many Poles, but she became a member of the Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP; Polish: Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR) and a neighbour of the sober (humble) living Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski in Warsaw. She was a pariah in the very Roman-Catholic, Patriotic and anti-communist family. But despite the dislike for the Communist regime and communists, my Polish grandparents stayed in contact with her. Disliking her Communist husband though, but you can't choose your family they sometimes say. Contact remained between my Polish communist aunt and my Non-Communist grandparents in Poznan. They never talked about politics, foreign affairs or other subjects that might cause friction. I remember that we visited her, but that my mom didn't felt comfortable. You can imagine that. My mother particulary disliked the husband of my aunt. There was something strange about the man. He had a strange look in his eyes, and it was like he was hiding something. Family members agreed about that. The aunt was a good and decent person, despite her party membership and thus belonging to the wrong party and thus direction. Other familymembers next to my grandparents never had contact with my communist aunt again, after 1945. She was the black sheep of the family. In Auschwitz I also thought about my dear Dziadek (grandfather) in the Mokotow neighborhood in Warsaw, Josef Kotowicz, who was under constant threat in Nazi occupied Poland, because he happened to belong to the Polish intelligentsia and elite. He was a teacher at a Girls lyceum in Warsaw and an inspector of a Warsaw schooldisctict for the Polish ministry of education. I believe, but can't prove it right now that he was part of the Underground education system in Poland. I remember that my mother or babcia (Grandmother) told me that he had always a small suitcase with clothes and necassery things for surivival standing ready next to the table from 1939 until late 1944, in case the Gestapo would come for him, every day. My dziadkek could have been a victim of the Nazi Intelligenzaktion ( pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligenzaktion ). He had connections with informers of the Polish Underground, but you never knew when a house search or Łapanka took take place. They lived in the wrong area in Warsaw, meaning in an area with a Gestapo prison ( Mokotow prison ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokot%C3%B3w_Prison ), behind their apartment, let's say in their backyard), an SS officers school and Wehrmacht barracks in the neighbourhood. My grandmother once was forced as human shield in front of Waffen-SS men walking in front of them through a Mokotow street. Bullets of marksmen and markswomen of the Armia Krajowa flew around her ears, neck, arms and legs. The German Wehrmacht, and the German, Austrian, Ukrainian and Russian Waffen SS in Warsaw especially feared Polish women because they were excellent sharpshooters. Warsaw Uprising A female Polish partisan, September 1944.Wehrmacht and later SS forces extensively used Polish civilians as human shields during Warsaw Uprising when attacking the insurgents' positions. I was relieved when I came back to Kraków, because the experience in Auschwitz had been intense, personal and emotional due to the mixed emotions and different points of view and historical national connections of the people of the group we visited Auschwitz with. I had some difficulties witn the mass tourism there, and American tourists with baseball hats and their artificial, lack of knowledge of history, and visiting the concentrationcamp like it was a theme park. Enough with my judgements and stereotyping now. Ofcourse there are decent, intelligent and empathic American visitors there too. I just had some dificulties with the mass tourism there. The Polish guide was very good, but also very overwhelming in his detailed fact telling story. About the Industrial, methodical way of mass murder in that dark place. Like he told the story of a Auschwitz camp commander, who was furious that the production aim wasn't met. Meaning thousands of murders a day. I don't know about which camp commander the Polish guide was talking; SS-Obersturmbannführer Rudolf Höss (1940 - 1943/1944), SS-Obersturmbannführer Arthur Liebehenschel (1943–1944) or SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer (1944–1945). It doesn't matter, it was crual, inhumane and insane enough. The Polish guide told me he learned a lot every day in his work, from former Jewish, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, German, Gypsy, French and Austrian concentration camp prisoners. He told me it was his job, but that he didn't watch war movies or war games at home. His life was normal outside the camp, and he was aware of his duty to inform visitors (the world) about what had happened there. He was a very good, well informed, rational-analytical guide, who knew a lot. One of the most brutal moments or memories was when we went in to the hell inside the hell of Auschwitz and that was the Gestapo prison building, Block 11, a brick building in the so-called Stammlager (Auschwitz I main camp). The level of cruelty against local Polish resistance members, farmers, towns/village people, and internal Jewish and Polish resistance in the camp was incredible. I don't want to mention it here. Forum members and visitors can read about it in Wikipedia or watch war movies or documentaries about that. I was aware at that moment in Auschwitz what suffering had come over the Poles and Jews during that five years (1939-1945), which took 6 million Polish lives (3 million Polish Roman-Catholics and 3 Million Polish jews, which were half of the murdered European jews). 1 million people were murdered in that place, and I was there and I felt the heavy ground and saw the huge structure of Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz II), the barracks, the gas chambers, the blown up crematories, the gate with ' Arbeit Macht Frei' in Auschwitz I ( former Polish army barracks). The week in Kraków was amazing and for me it was the end of a Central-European Art Academy bustrip, art week journey, of Prague (1994), Budapest (1995) and Kraków (2004). Three cities with very distinct, authentic, national, Czech, Hungarian and Polish atmospheres, culturesm histories, civilizations and peoples, but also three cities with a layer of Austrian Habsburg heritage, which merges with the older Polish, Czech and Hungarian layers of history. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, the Jagiellonian University is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe, and one of the oldest surviving universities in the world. Notable alumni include, among others, mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish king John III Sobieski, pope John Paul II, and Nobel laureates Ivo Andrić and Wisława Szymborska. And ofcourse the old St. Mary's Basilica, Sukiennice, the Wawel Castle and Cathedral and theJuliusz Słowacki Theatre are typical Polish. So like most historical cities Kraków is interesting and beautiful due to it's historical layers, it's general history (old History, New History, Newest History), art history (the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque/Rococo [Late Baroque], 18th and 19th century Classicist buildings and churches, and 20th century Modernism, Communist building styles, and Post-Modern, Post-communist new Architecture. By the 1930s, Kraków had 120 officially registered synagogues and prayer houses that spanned across the old city. Much of Jewish intellectual life had moved to new centres like Podgórze. This in turn, led to the redevelopment and renovation of much of Kazimierz and the development of new districts in Kraków. Most historic buildings in central Kazimierz today are preserved in their original form. Communist architectureAfter the Second World War, new government turned toward Soviet influence and the Stalinist monumentalism. The doctrine of Socialist realism in Poland, as in other countries of the People's Republics, was enforced from 1949 to 1956. It involved all domains of art, but its most spectacular achievements were made in the field of urban design. The guidelines for this new trend were spelled-out in a 1949 resolution of the National Council of Party Architects. Brutalist Architecture and Social Realism in KrakówArchitecture was to become a weapon in establishing the new social order by the communists. The ideological impact of urban design was valued more than aesthetics. It aimed at expressing persistence and power. This form of architecture was implemented in the new industrial district of Nowa Huta with apartment blocks constructed according to a Stalinist blueprint, with repetitious courtyards and wide, tree-lined avenues. You become depressive only looking at the building. I have to say that in the West we have our own version of this depressive Stalinist monumentalism.This is an example of West-European socialist depression. The social democratic projects version of the Communist architecture in the Peoples Republics of Central- and Eastern-European countries.Kraków's 21 century architectureMuseum Tadeusz KantorMuseum Tadeusz KantorMałopolska Garden of Arts Krakow BuildingThe Museum of Contemporary Art in KrakówThe Museum of Contemporary Art in KrakówMałopolska Garden of Arts
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 17:14:49 GMT 1
I believe more Western cities suffer frtom smog or heavy fog conditions. Rotterdam in heavy smog.In Arnhem, in the Eastern Dutch Province of Gelderland we receive atmospheric particulate matter from the Ruhr (German: Ruhrgebiet, Dutch Ruhrgebied; Polish: Zagłębie Ruhry ), Dutch industries and heavy traffic inside and outside the city of 24 hours truck traffic of the Transport sector (Between Rotterdam and the Ruhr, and between our South and our North-East and North), and civilian traffic (taffic jams every day, people stand for 1 hour or 1,5 hours in a traffic jam inside Arnhem between the North and South -Rhine river bridges- or towards the East where large interchange (road junctions) are. These use interchange grade separation, which creates traffic jams. Poland has a lot of larger cities and is an industrial country so Poland will receive the same poluttion from smog. Especially Industrial regions like Kraków ( Nowa Huta), Katowice, Poznań, Warsaw, Wrocław and Szczecin, the administrative and industrial centre of Polish Western Pomerania. The Velperbroek interchange in Arnhem-East The Heavy fog & smog cause a lot of traffic accidentsYou even see signs like this along some highways in the large city area Randstad in the Western Netherlands A smog sign along a Belgian highway In 2013, Belgian authorities implemented a smog alarm leading to an immediate reduction of the speed limit to 90 km/h in certain areas. The smog alarm resulted from high concentrations of atmospheric particulates (PM10) that have a direct impact on human health. Especially people with already existing respiratory diseases, such as asthma, are affected. Dutch Highway speed limit to 80 km per hour due to smog & health regulationsA map of particulate matter concentration in Europe.pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zag%C5%82%C4%99bie_Ruhry
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 16:40:56 GMT 1
Nice advertisement. Varsovian artists should put a replica of Kolumna Zygmunta in Kraków.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 16:10:15 GMT 1
I always like the artist and cultural threads of this Forum, due to my own background in art education and fine art. Poland is one of the most interesting European countries in the sense of Contemporary (Fine) Art also due to Polands special General History, Art History, society and links with Western-Europe and the USA. In present day Poland it is important to point at the Cosmopolitian and thus international nature of Polish Modern Art. First due to the Fact that Poland has the Roman-Catholic faith and culture it means that Poland has a latin naturte and certain Italian influences. In medieval and Renaissance terms Poland literally has Italian influences via the Italian architects and pianters of the Polish kings and magnates. Marcello Bacciarelli (1731 - 1818) was one of them. Bacciarelli was a Polish-Italian painter of the late-baroque and Neoclassic periods. Bacciarelli Self-portrait, 1793Due to the Partititions and the Great Immigration to France and England (Paris and London) in the 19th century and Polish immigration to Western-Europe, Canada and the USA in the 20th and 21th centuries Poland has been influenced by Polish Diaspora influences and Polish expats, exchange students and foreigners that came to Poland to live, study and work there. The Bohemian (Czech), Hungarian, German (Saxon/Prussian influences in Poznań/Posen, Gdańsk/Danzig, Szczecin/Stettin and Wrocław/Breslau). We can't count out also the influence of Belarusians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Roma, Polish jews, Lemkos, Slovaks, Czechs, Lipka Tatars, Vietnamese, Armenians, Greeks, Turks, Israeli's and Arabs (and other ethnic Muslim minorities like Chechens, Iranians, Kurds, Afghans, Pakistani people and Indonesians). Still Poland is ethnically very much dominated by the Western-Slav Polish Peoples Culture. In contrast with for instance the Netherlands, the UK, France and the USA Poland has few minorities and little influence from abroad if you compare it with these other European based cultures. Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 15:15:40 GMT 1
Sure, it is sad when simpletons in Poland who are easily brainwashed by such propaganda. It is also sad when simpletons in the Russsian Federation, Turkey, and other states (certain European, Middle eastern, African and Asian countries) with a strong and dominant government party and the disappearances of clear borders between the First three powers and the fourth and sometimes fifth powers, are also easily brainwashed by such propaganda.
Where in Poland the authorities manipulate, control, monitor and guide press and media, in other countries political parties with similar views who are in the opposition there try to do the same, by playing the media, by trying to dominate the debates, and a constant flow of Nationalist, Populist, chauvinistic and xenophobic statements, propaganda and communication with the media. Sometimes that communication is refusing to talk with the quality press and only releasing statements via their own websites, blogs and via friendly media.
Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 14:56:20 GMT 1
Dear Bonobo,
Maybe it is healthy not to watch the evening news if it is not objective, neutral and honest. The Fourth and Fifth Powers should control, monitor and critically follow both Governement (the administration and it's ministries and departments) and opposition institutions, political parties and movements. The fifth power consists of the Internet, public opinion, the Church (which is the First Estate by the original meaning), economic systems or simply money including its creation.
Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 13:28:08 GMT 1
Dear Bonobo,
It could have been Russian FSB agents, ethnic Russians from Ukraine, or other Russian individuals. The Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, SVR RF (Russian: СВР РФ), Russia's external intelligence agency duties includes Illegal Intelligence such as preparing and planting "illegal agents" abroad, conducting terror operations and sabotage in foreign countries, "biological espionage", recruitment of foreign citizens on the Russian territory and other duties.
You could count blowing up the for monument to Poles in Huta Pieniacka in Ukraine to the sabotage task of the FSB if Russian intelligence was involved in this. I wonder if investigations at the crime scene could determin which group or individuals did it. They will examine the damage which is done, which explosives were used. They will check the ragment projection, air blast, high-velocity jet, powder trails and etc. I hope that Ukrainian and mybe Polish investigators can find traces that might lead to a source.
Probably there were not webcams or other audio-visual recordings of the moment of the blast,
Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 12:02:34 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 11:49:01 GMT 1
Dear Bo,
Unfortunately this sad news doesn't surprises me, since I know of the heritage of Ukrianian anti-Polonism of the Ukrainian nationalists. There had been incidents with vandalism against monuments fror Poles murdered by Ukrainian nationalists before.
It shows that the Ukrainian Ultra-Nationalism with roots in the UPA (Ukraińska Powstańcza Armia) and Bandera's OUN (Organizacja Ukraińskich Nacjonalistów) is still alive next to the former soldiers of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) and the heritage of that collaboraratist Ukrainian Nazi force.
The Huta Pieniacka massacre was one of the manny attocities Ukrainian Nazi's and Ultra-Nationalists like UPA and OUN commited against Polish citizens. Another example is the Pidkamin massacre (or the Podkamień massacre of 12 March 1944), the massacre of Polish civilians committed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) under the command of Maksym Skorupsky (Maks), in cooperation with a unit of the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galician". The victims were ethnic Polish residents of the Eastern Galician village of Podkamień in the occupied Second Polish Republic's Tarnopol Voivodeship (now Pidkamin, Brody Raion, Ukraine). During the war the area was administratively part of the Nazi German Reichskommissariat Ukraine (now Ternopil oblast). Estimates of victims include 150, more than 250 and up to 1000.
Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 11:31:55 GMT 1
It is interesting that various Polish people from Poland and Poles abroad make the comparisson between the Communist propaganda machine via the Polish press and media in the Polish Peoples Republic and the present PiS government controlled media and Press (TV/Radio and etc.).
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 11:29:01 GMT 1
Maybe people like cats more than politicians. In that sense Poles, Americans and Dutch people don't differ that much.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 11:24:47 GMT 1
And in Warsaw
|
|
|
xxx
Jan 15, 2017 10:41:15 GMT 1
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 10:41:15 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 10:35:09 GMT 1
Vegans and vegetarians have been treated in recent years to the popping up of many restaurants catering for this market. Pod Norenami is a stylish restaurant situated in a popular gastronomic area of Krakow, not far from popular tourist attractions.
Tiled floors, sturdy wooden furniture and walls painted with warm and inviting colours are what await you inside the 19th century building. Lamps hang from the ceiling combining with candles to create a relaxing atmosphere. On the wall hang large pictures from Japan over one hundred years ago to complement the Asian influenced style of the interior.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 10:33:22 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 15, 2017 10:27:52 GMT 1
This Thread contains various video's about Polish food. From Vegan to traditional Polish cuisine!
Kasia and Magda, fans of good food, know better than anyone the culinary habits of ordinary Poles. Their talk is about how our approach to food has changed and they encourage us to think about where our food comes from. What if you got to know the person who made what is on your plate?
Kasia studied French and journalism but her passion is cooking and educating about food which led her to become one of the organizers of numerous culinary events in Krakow. She runs her own vegan bar in Kazimierz and writes about culture in general, not only about food. Her friends call her their "private google" because of her ability to connect people and project. Creating Radiofonia, a local off-radio station is her pride and joy.
Magda is a journalist, co-organizer of Kraków Restaurant Week, and founder of the Krakowskie Wieści Spożywcze Facebook group. Every winter she also runs an ethical purchasing group (Grupa Solidarnego Zakupu) to fight bad weather with good Sicilian citrus fruit.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 13, 2017 1:40:36 GMT 1
From your answer to my question it is clear to me that the Roman Catholic Church has a huge influence on Polish culture, society (via education), politics and thus the Polish people. With 87.5% of the Poles being Roman-Catholic (source Wikipedia), it is logical that Roman-Catholic priests have a certain influence.
if Polish Roman-Catholic church and thus some bishops and maybe cardinals openly or secretly supported PiS than there is no separation between church and state, because conservative Roman-Catholic politicians listen to their Parish priest, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Bishops, monks or nuns.
You stated that some priests openly declare their political preferences and urge believers to vote Christian parties, PiS, Solidarna Polska or Polska Razem.
I wonder how far the influence of the Catholic clergy really goes in thus through and through Roman-Catholic country.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 10, 2017 17:23:04 GMT 1
Unfortunately the Polish government and the Polish opposition failed to find a compromise or move closer. Party leaders: ‘no deal’ amid Polish parliamentary crisis10.01.2017 16:55The leaders of Poland's ruling and opposition parties said on Tuesday they have failed to resolve a simmering parliamentary crisis, which has seen MPs staging a sit-in protest since mid-December.The ancillary room where the disputed budget vote was held. Photo: PAP/Radek PietruszkaFollowing a meeting with Senate Speaker Stanisław Karczewski, Ryszard Petru, the head of the opposition Nowoczesna party, said he sees “ no chance of reconciliation.” He added that the bone of contention is controversial vote on 16 December that was held in an ancillary hall while opposition MPs occupied the main plenary hall. The key vote on the 2017 budget was held by a show a hands mostly by deputies from the governing Law and Justice party, and was slammed as illegal by opposition parties. “ PiS believes that [the vote] was in line with the law. We still believe that it was not,” Petru said on Tuesday. He added that the governing majority does “ not want to come to a compromise”. Meanwhile, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński confirmed that “a final agreement was not reached” during the second round of meetings on Tuesday, which were attended by the leaders of the largest parties in parliament, including PiS, Nowoczesna, the Polish People’s Party (PSL), and the Kukiz’15 movement. Grzegorz Schetyna, the head of the country’s largest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), declined to attend the meeting on Tuesday. Schetyna did not attend an earlier meeting on Monday. Speaking to the press following the meeting, PiS’s Kaczyńśki said that Ryszard Petru " retracted his earlier proposals” and a “ very significant step towards resolving the crisis” was not taken as a result. He added that it is unlikely that a solution to the crisis will be found soon. Kaczyński said that opposition leaders who took part in Tuesday's talks, which were boycotted by the PO chief, have confirmed that they will not disrupt the first parliamentary sitting in 2017, which is set for Wednesday. Paweł Kukiz, the leader of the opposition Kukiz’15 movement, which has often voted in line with the government majority, said that he is “ scared” by the escalation of the parliamentary dispute, and that “ there is a really serious situation in the country”. The told journalists following the Tuesday meeting that the lack of a consensus was due to Nowoczesna’s Petru “ changing his mind”. “ I regret the fact that we have such a class of politicians, who change their minds over the course of seconds,” Kukiz said. Opposition MPs have been staging a sit-in protest since the controversial vote on the budget, and have been taking turns occupying the main hall of the country’s parliament, day and night. Members of the governing party have said that these actions are in breach of the law, and the protest should be ended. “ If we adopted this type of policy, we would create an amazing system in Poland; it's hard to call it democracy, but rather anarchy,” PiS leader Kaczyński said, “ where the minority can always – by breaking all sorts of laws, because many laws have been broken – lead to a situation where decisions cannot be taken.” (rg) tags: 16/12/16, hp polskie radio
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 10, 2017 2:38:33 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 9, 2017 0:55:39 GMT 1
Dear Fellow Forum members, I have a few questions about the political, geopolitical, international, diplomatic, financial, economical, social-cultural, scientific and human role of Poland and the Poles in Central- and Eastern-Europe and the world. First I want to say that as a half Pole I am proud and touched by the achievements of Poles and Poland in the history of mankind (Nicolaus Copernicus, Joseph Conrad, Frédéric Chopin and Marie Skłodowska Curie), and the achievements after the collapse of Communism in 1989. However I am concerned about the situation in Europe as a continent in general and Poland in particular, due to the polarization, discord and some authoritarian elements in the present Beata Szydło cabinet of the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice) lead government, with a dominant role of party leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Personally I see Poland somewhere inbetween the Hungary of Viktor Orbán and the Russian Federation of Vladimir Putin, and that in my point of view is not a positive development, situation or political reality. That is my personal subjective opinion. This is a Forum with Forum members. Like in the democracy Poland these Forum members, you, have different (various) opinions. What do you think about the role of Polish politicians, leaders and the Roman-Catholic church inside Poland, and what do you think about Poland's role in the European continent in the European Union with the Polish President of the European Council Donald Tusk? And what do you think about Poland as a strategic country and bridge between Germany and the Russian Federation? Here a couple of questions: - How do you think about the role of the Roman-Catholic church and the clergy (priests) in the Polish society, education system and politics. Do you have a separation of Chruch and state or are certain conservative Roman-Catholic circles dominant in Polish politics via the government party, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość of Jarosław Kaczyński, Beata Szydło and Andrzej Duda? - How well protected or preserved is the judiciary (also known as the judicial system or court system), the separation of powers (the trias politica principle), the independence of Judges, prosecutor (Prokurator in Polish) and thus the legal system, Statute (law), jurisdiction, and legal doctrine (the education of law and the legal system on Polish universities) in Poland? - How well protected are the civil liberties in Poland? ( the freedom from torture, freedom from forced disappearance, freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law and due process, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Other civil liberties include the right to own property, the right to defend oneself, and the right to bodily integrity.) - How do you see the Polish opposition in Poland at this moment? (The opposition parties in the Polish parliament: Civic Platform [Platforma Obywatelska, PO], Modern [Nowoczesna, .N], United Left [Zjednoczona Lewica, ZL], and the Polish People's Party [Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL]) - What do you think about the role the Committee for the Defence of Democracy (Polish: Komitet Obrony Demokracji, KOD) plays right now? ( KOD is a Polish civic organization, founded in November 2015 by a group of citizens including Mateusz Kijowski, as a result of, and triggered by, the Polish constitutional crisis, 2015. The organization is independent of any political parties[1] and has declared that it has no intention to transform into one, but its events and actions are supported by the liberal opposition including the Nowoczesna (Modern) and Civic Platform (PO) parties. It is opposed to the actions of the government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party. P.S.- Bonobo posted a thread about KOD demonstrations in Kraków and other Polish cities on this Forum.) - What do you think of KOD leader Mateusz Kijowski? ( Mateusz Kijowski (born Dec 12, 1968 in Warsaw, Poland) – an IT specialist,[1] journalist,[2] social activist, and blogger. Kijowski studied mathematics at the University of Warsaw. He transferred to Faculty of Family Sciences (Polish: Instytut Studiów nad Rodziną) at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (former Warsaw Theological Academy). After one year he transferred yet again, this time, to study Journalism. He dropped out from university and started working at a clothing company, designing outdoor recreation gear. In 1991, he started working in the IT Department of Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza. At the end of 1993 he was hired by Computer Education Center (Polish: Centrum Edukacji Komputerowej), where he was training network administrators. In year 2000 he graduated from College of Management (Polish: Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania) at the Polish Open University (de) with a degree in business information management. He wrote his thesis on volume oscillators. ) - How do you see Polands relationship with with the comming Donald Trump adminstration of the USA? Will the relations stay stabile and firm or will Trump move his attention eastwards, and will Trump try to form an alliance with Putin against terrorism and a possible new global recession? - How will the present Polish government keep good bilateral ties with the other Western nations; Canada, Australia and New Zealand? - How do you see Polands position and role in the European Union? - How do you see Polands role in NATO? Emblem of the Weimar Battlegroup.- How do ypu see Polands role in the Weimar Triangle? ( The "Weimar Triangle" is, loosely, a grouping of Poland, Germany, and France. The group is intended to promote co-operation between the three countries in crisis zones. It exists mostly in the form of summit meetings between the leaders of these three countries, the most recent of which occurred on 7 February 2011. Previous meetings took place in Poznań, Poland (1998), Nancy, France (1999), Hambach, Germany (2001) and Nancy, France (2005). The Weimar Triangle also involves lower-level connections, such as the annual meeting between Foreign Ministers.) Political map of the "Weimar Triangle"- How do you see the role of Poland in the Visegrád Group? ( Poland is the largest and most important country in that group. The Visegrad Group, also called the Visegrad Four, or V4 is an alliance of four Central European states – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – for the purposes of furthering their European integration, as well as for advancing military, economic and energy cooperation with one another. The group used to be occasionally referred to as the Visegrád Triangle, due to the fact that it was originally an alliance of three states – the term has not been valid since 1993, but does continue to appear sometimes.) - Poland intends to double the seize of it's armed forces which implies a huge increase in defense spending. How do you see the military role in the region seen the tensions and civil war in Ukraine, and the Russian thread at the borders of the Baltic States, and Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, (Kaliningrad Oblast used to be the most heavily militarized area of what is now the Russian Federation, and the density of military infrastructure was the highest in Europe. It was the headquarters of the former Soviet Baltic Military District. Kaliningrad also functions as the headquarters of the Russia's Baltic Fleet, ringed by Chernyakhovsk (air base), Donskoye (air base) and Kaliningrad Chkalovsk (naval air base).) the Russian naval presence on the Baltic Sea. ( And seen the good Slovakia-Russian Federation relations. Unlike Czech Republic, which has some negative view over Russia due to the past, Slovakia is seemed to have a better relations with Russia.) The Russian Airforce also provokes Central- and Western-European nations by flying military aircraft over Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, Danish and Dutch ( Friesland/Groningen, Northern Netherlands, where the Russian military Planes were intercepted by allied Danish F-16 Planes). What role do you see for the expanding Polish army and the newly established civilian Para-military self defense militia? - Polish embassies are all over the world and so are Polish diplomats. Poland plays a diplomatic role in the world and has a lot of bilateral and multilateral ties. How important is the role of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych) and Polish diplomacy in the world ( United Nations), in the EU (in conflicts between EU memberstates), in the Ukraine (in the war between the Ukrainian army and the Eastern-Ukrainian Russian seperatists who are supported by the Russian Federation), in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Poland has good ties with both Israel and Arab countries -including the Palestinian Authority-), in Syria (negotiations between the Syrian government and the insurgents/rebels) and in other conflict areas. - How do you see the role and position (Geographic location and strategic position) of Poland in Central- and Eastern-Europe? - How do you see Poland in the slavic world as a whole, as being part of all slavic nations? (Poland next to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia) Is there some Pan-Slavic identity, connection, affiliation, cultural, linguistic, historical, ethnic or political connection or is it that each Slavic people are on their own. Are slavs split in West-Slavs, East-Slavs and Southern-Slavs? Or is the historic division between Roman-Catholic slavic people (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Croats and Slovenes), and Eastern Christian Orthodox slavic people (Russians, Belarussians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Serbs and Montenegrins) - What are your hopes, desires, dreams, fears, anxieties, and predictions about the Polish-Russian relations in the near future. What measures, steps, actions should Poland take towards the Russian Federation in the sense of bilateral ties, diplomacy, trade deals, the larger Foreign Affairs image (NATO, UN, EU, Visgrad Group, the Weimar Triangle), Defense, security (safety) policies, legal terms, customs, Polish-Russian joint ventures, Polish Export- and Import to the Russian Federation (Polish farmers, entrepreneurs, business people and companies, and thus also employers and employee's suffer from the sanctions of the West towards Russia, because in counter sanctions from the Russian Federation Polish products are blocked from the Russian market.) - What are your predictions of the Polish-Ukrainian relations in the near future. (Will Ukainian Nationalism, chauvinism and anti-Polonism harm the relationship in the near future, will celenbrations of Ukrainian collaborators with Nazi Germany -Ukrainian SS, Ukrainian nationalist leaders like Bandera- and the neglect of the heritage of Ukrainian war crimes in Volhynia [Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia] harm Polish-Ukrainian relations? Or will Poles and Ukrainians finally get over their past and move towards new good neighborship, good diplomatic, trade, customs (border control), and financial-economical, cultural, educational (cooperation between Polish and Urkrainian universities, research centers and thus scientists), technological, Industrial, environmental, political [relations between Polish and Ukrainian Social-democrats, Liberals and conservatives] cooperation?) - How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Poland and Lithuania? - How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Poland and the Czech Republic? - How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Poland and Slovakia? ( Bonobo, you do not live so far away from the Slovak border. You would probably like to go on vacation to Slovakia like other Poles. Do you know Slovakia, Slovaks and the Policies of the Slovak government? How are the Polish-Slovak relations today?) - How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Hungary and Slovakia? ( Which have been strained in the last decades, due to the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. The Hungarian minority in Romania also has had difficult times.) - How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Poland and Hungary? ( Hungary–Poland relations are the foreign relations between Hungary and Poland. Relations between the two states date back to the Middle Ages. The two peoples have traditionally enjoyed a close friendship rooted in a history of shared rulers and faith. Both countries commemorate their fraternal relationship on March 23. Good relations between Poland and Hungary date back to the Middle Ages. The Polish and Hungarian noble houses (as Piast dynasty or House of Árpád) often intermarried with each other; renowned Hungarian King Saint Ladislaus was half Polish). Louis the Great was king of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and king of Poland from 1370 until his death in 1382. He was his father’s heir, Charles I of the House of Anjou-Sicily (King of Hungary and Croatia) and his uncle’s heir, Casimir III the Great (king of Poland - last of the Piast dynasty). King Casimir had no legitimate sons. Apparently, in order to provide a clear line of succession and avoid dynastic uncertainty, he arranged for his nephew, King Louis I of Hungary, to be his successor in Poland. Louis' younger daughter Saint Jadwiga of Poland inherited the Polish throne, and became one of the most popular monarchs of Poland. In the 15th century, the two countries briefly shared the same king again, Poland's Władysław III of Varna, who perished, aged barely twenty, fighting the Turks at Varna, Bulgaria. In the 16th century, Poland elected as her king a Hungarian nobleman, Stefan Batory, who is regarded as one of Poland's greatest kings.
Revolution of 1956 A student demonstration in Budapest in support of the Polish October and asking for similar reforms in Hungary was one of the events that sparked the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. During the revolution, Poles demonstrated their support for the Hungarians by donating blood for them; by 12 November 1956, 11,196 Poles had donated. The Polish Red Cross sent 44 tons of medical supplies to Hungary by air; even larger amounts were sent by road and rail.
Friendship Day On March 12, 2007, Hungary's parliament declared March 23 the "Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship", with 324 votes in favor, none opposed, and no abstentions. Four days later, the Polish parliament declared March 23 the "Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship" by acclamation.) Demonstration in Poznan in 1956 in solidarity with the Hungarian uprising in Budapest- How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Poland and Germany? (Bonobo, Jeanne - Jeanne, I know you hate politics, but maybe you can reply on the Roman-Catholic subject, because Roman-Catholicism has your particular and special interest!) - How would you like to see the bilateral ties between Poland and the Netherlands? (In the Hague, the Dutch capital 30,000 Polish people form the Polish community there). - How are the relations between Poland and other Roman-Catholic countries in Europe and Northern-America (Mexico, USA and Candada)? Is there a connection or does secularisation, Nationalism, and cultural (linguistic, ethnic and political) differences create distances, and in that case does the Roman-Catholic faith not play a role? Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Jan 8, 2017 23:24:21 GMT 1
Bonobo and Jeanne, Maybe they shoud reform nazism, because they forgot about the past in which Adolf Hilter warned for the Asian Bolsjewist threat. Nazi's were know to be not that consequent. Sovjets were Asian Bolsjewists, but their Asian alies from Japan too. Sometimes I have the impression that in some Asian nations, despite their intelligence they lack intelligence in the field of European history. I have seen news items like this before, but then about South-Korea, India, Indonesia and China. Nazi fashion is popular in some Asian countrieswww.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2042097/Student-Nazi-dress-day-causes-outrage-Thailand.htmlI think clearly the lack of knowledge about the Second World War and the Holocaust causes such incidents. I don't think many Asians are real Nazi's, because they aren't white, North European and Germanic (the ideal race of the Nazi ideology, blond, blue eyed, tall, Scandinavian Vikings). Cheers, Pieter
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Dec 28, 2016 16:54:13 GMT 1
My father has a long play record of this Red Army choir. Russian peoples music was in our family home next to Polish, Hungarian and French music.
|
|
|
Post by pjotr on Dec 28, 2016 16:47:47 GMT 1
|
|