News or nuse?

[gigi]

Oct 12, 2008 20:17:52 GMT 1 tufta said:

Oct 10, 2008 14:49:26 GMT 1 gigi said:

EU Commissioner Verheugen ‘Germanizing Copernicus’?
Created: 09.10.2008 10:55

Gigi, here's my take on the issue I presented in the old forum -

>>>Here's an article which brillantly demonstrates the side problems which arise in EU on the Polish-German interface. Not the real problems -we have them too, but side ones. The scheme is usually exactly as presented in this particular case. German side, in this case a really progressive, modern-minded German politician does something to honour Poland. But he does it with a lack of knowledge of past history and with lack of understanding of Polish sensitivity to this lack. And the Polish side of course overreacts and in reply uses words which are too heavy, even if substantially the historical facts are straightened and presented correctly.

Thank you for the information, Tufta. You seem to be able to view an emotional situation in a very clear-headed manner, and from the viewpoint of both sides.

Did you ever consider a career in politics? Many nations could benefit from more of that kind of
thinking.

[gigi]

Oct 12, 2008 20:14:04 GMT 1 tufta said:

Oct 12, 2008 19:41:02 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

So, what is yuor impression after seeing a dozen dozen photos of Polish men, women, youngsters and babies?

My impression is they are still, generally, quite slim society

I would agree, based on the photos I have seen. So that makes me wonder if these standards - such as the body-mass index - are flawed, or if the data is being skewed for some reason (perhaps to make a case to get rid of the less healthy snacks).

It is important to also note that some people are just naturally thin due to genetics. But having a low BMI does not guarantee that a person is healthy, or has healthy eating habits.

[locopolaco]

Oct 13, 2008 0:00:34 GMT 1 gigi said:

Oct 12, 2008 20:14:04 GMT 1 tufta said:

My impression is they are still, generally, quite slim society

I would agree, based on the photos I have seen. So that makes me wonder if these standards - such as the body-mass index - are flawed, or if the data is being skewed for some reason (perhaps to make a case to get rid of the less healthy snacks).

It is important to also note that some people are just naturally thin due to genetics. But having a low BMI does not guarantee that a person is healthy, or has healthy eating habits.

walking. no one is as sedentary as americans.

[Bonobo]

Communist Agents to Lose High PensionsThe Warsaw Voice
8 October 2008

Former members of the communist-era security services (SB) will be
stripped of their generous old-age pension rights under a
controversial bill submitted to parliament by the ruling Civic
Platform (PO) party Sept. 24. The plans immediately came under
attack from left-wing deputies, who labeled them "political revenge."

Zbigniew Chlebowski, head of the PO parliamentary caucus, told
deputies that the bill would mete out "historical justice" to those
who had persecuted the democratic opposition in communist times.

The economically liberal, center-right Civic Platform wants former
SB officers to be given notice that they have been stripped of their
generous pension rights by June next year, when Poland marks the
20th anniversary of its first free elections, a ballot that marked
the start of the collapse of communism. Many such former officials
receive old-age pensions worth zl.7,000 or 8,000 a month. The lowest
state pension in Poland is zl.654.

The PO bill also aims to strip former members of the Military
Council of National Salvation (WRON) of the right to generous
pensions entitlements. The council was set up on Dec. 13 to govern
Poland after the imposition of martial law. PO politicians who
introduced the draft law to parliament called WRON "a military anti-
independence body" that had worked against the interests of the
Polish people.

"We think it is unacceptable that people whose names are well known,
like [former interior minister Czes³aw] Kiszczak and [WRON chief and
the architect of martial law, General Wojciech] Jaruzelski have not
borne any responsibility and live in decent conditions, while the
people whom they persecuted feel wronged," said PO deputy Sebastian
Karpiniuk. "We hope no faction in the lower house will oppose the
draft and that the president will quickly sign it into law."

However, lawyers have questioned whether the principle of collective
responsibility can be applied to pension rights. Meanwhile, leftwing
politicians angrily attacked the new bill. Grzegorz Napieralski,
leader of the Democratic Left Alliance, said the draft law
was "political revenge" and a "cheap trick" to appeal to voters. He
claimed the bill had no legal basis.

[Bonobo]

Problems with Rio's Jesus monument on Baltic Coast
thenews.pl
10.10.2008

Residents of Ustka, a small town on Poland's Baltic Coast, have
problems placing a copy of Rio de Janiero's famous Christ the
Redeemer monument due to it's massive size.

"It's so big that there is not really anywhere to put it. For now it
sits in the garden of the elementary school in Ustka," said the man
who cast the copy of the statue, Jerzy Szymeczko.

The vice-mayor of Ustka, Marek Kurowski claims that the local
government is shocked by the gift. "For such a giant sculpture,
there is no space in our little resort town."

Several months ago, a group of locals decided to commission the
statue and leave it to the town. The sculpture if six metres high
and weighs at least 32 tonnes.

The Maritime Government of Slupsk refuses to agree to place the
statue in the port. Residents of Ustka are considering placing it in
a cemetery, however there's no guarantee that any church will agree.

[Bonobo]

A careless driver drove into a construction hole in the road.

[valpomike]

Was he drunk, he had to be.

Mike

[Bonobo]

Oct 17, 2008 21:29:46 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Was he drunk, he had to be.

Mike

Nope. Just speeding. Normal in Poland.

[gigi]

Poles bribe their way into military service!
Created: 20.10.2008 12:04

Whereas once Poles bribed their way out of military service, these days candidates wanting to join the army are ready to pay doctors up to 1500 zlotys to issue a positive medical opinion to help their application.

Not longer than a year ago young people in Poland were ready to pay for medical certificates stating that they are unfit for military service. Now even the healthy offer bribes to doctors.

Several day’s ago on the basis of information coming from military policemen, the police arrested a doctor suspected of accepting bribes in return for issuing positive medial reports for soldiers-to-be. According to the military police, this is not an isolated case.

The reason for this sudden interest in a military career is the suspension of compulsory enlistment and the introduction of the fully professional armed forces. Now the army in Poland has become an important player on the job market.

Source: Rzeczpospolita

[valpomike]

This is great news, young men want to serve. This is the case here in the U.S.A. also, Bush must be doing something correct.

Mike

[Bonobo]

www.tvn24.pl/-1,1569470,0,1,szkoci-pisza-o-polskim-obozie-smierci,wiadomosc.html

Scottish journalists made a blunder with Polish death camp. Polish embassy is going to intervene.... Again....

[valpomike]

I think it was the Germans who started calling them Polish Death Camps, and of all people to do this the Germans.

This must be corrected for good.


Mike

[Bonobo]

Oct 21, 2008 1:04:51 GMT 1 valpomike said:

I think it was the Germans who started calling them Polish Death Camps,
Mike

No, Mike, it wasn`t Germans.

[Bonobo]

A policeman from Silesia has won the amateur body building competition.

www.tvn24.pl/-1,1569954,0,1,za-dnia-policjant--wieczorami-kulturysta,wiadomosc.html

[gigi]

Oct 23, 2008 21:28:57 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

A policeman from Silesia has won the amateur body building competition.

Zowzers! That almost seems like a Clark Kent-to-Superman kind of transformation!!!

[valpomike]

How did you get my photo's? That is me, and I know you all know it, don't you?

Mike

[Bonobo]

Oct 23, 2008 22:39:24 GMT 1 valpomike said:

How did you get my photo's? That is me, and I know you all know it, don't you?

Mike

I knew it was you but I thought you have a nicer tan. More natural, that is.

[Bonobo]

driver trusted GPS navigation too much and drove right into a newly created artificial lake.




www.tvn24.pl/-1,1570096,0,1,wtopil-przez-glupote-i-gps,wiadomosc.html



A suicidal man leapt from the 11th storey of his apartment house. He aimed at the space between two cars but fortunately crashlanded into one of them. The car was demolished but the man sustanied only minor injuries like scratches and brusies. Nothing serious. Doctors were amazed.
TV report
www.onet.tv/28962,0,1,4086674,0,1,0,szukaj.html?q=skoczy%B3



www.tvn24.pl/12690,1569825,0,1,skoczyl-z-11-pietra--zniszczyl-auto-i-przezyl,wiadomosc.html


A female driver almost drove into a dental surgery.






People, I mean men, commented on this crash: she must have taken care of her make-up instead of the wheel.

How sexist!

www.tvn24.pl/12690,1570620,,,wjechala-autem-do-dentysty,wiadomosc.html


Another woman crashed into a block of flats. She was sober, so were the residents.
www.tvn24.pl/-1,1571248,0,1,mercedes-zatrzymal-sie-dopiero-pod-balkonem,wiadomosc.html

[valpomike]

My daughter has a GPS in her car, and when I had been with her, it makes many errors. I don't have, or want one, until they get better.

Mike

[Bonobo]

wiadomosci.onet.pl/2701,1850757,sopot_zolnierze_usa_dotkliwie_pobili_taksowkarza,wydarzenie_lokalne.html

In the coastal city of Sopot 3 American soldiers beat a Polish taxi driver.

[Bonobo]

The semifinal of the TV programme I am talented revealed a winner: a rubber girl.
www.tvn24.pl/-1,1570283,0,1,dziewczynka_guma-ma-talent,wiadomosc.html

[Bonobo]

A few dozen labourers from Asia fought a street battle in Warsaw. They argued about seats on the bus which drove them home after work. 47 guys were detained, some went to hospital.
www.tvn24.pl/-1,1571024,0,1,okladali-sie-i-lamali-kosci-za-miejsce-w-autobusie,wiadomosc.html

[valpomike]

If they are not happy, send them back where they came from.

Mike

[Bonobo]

CHICAGO (Reuters) - It wasn't quite a Halloween nightmare on Obama street, but journalists on Friday drew a rare flash of anger from the normally unflappable Democratic presidential nominee.

Barack Obama had taken a break from the campaign trail for a few hours of Halloween fun at home with his family four days before the election, but ended up visibly annoyed when news crews dogged their footsteps in their Chicago neighborhood.

"That's enough. You've got a shot. Leave us alone," Obama told reporters as he walked down the block with his 7-year-old daughter Sasha in her costume on the way to a party at a neighbor's home.

Obama, usually cool in public during a campaign that has turned him into the frontrunner for the White House, did not disguise his irritation when his surprise walk caused news photographers and camera crews to scramble for position on the sidewalk.

He grew especially testy when a Polish television cameraman tried to approach them.

"Come on guys, get back on the bus," he pleaded with journalists, many of whom had accompanied him from the airport to Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.

Obama, wearing sunglasses but no costume, and his daughter, dressed up as what campaign aides said was a "corpse's bride," then broke into a sprint, leaving the journalists behind.

Secret Service agents and vans followed closely behind, and stunned trick-or-treaters broke into shouts of "Obama, Obama" as he rushed past.

There was no neighborhood trick-or-treating for the Obama family. "He didn't want to cause a disruption to the neighborhood, " campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Instead the family attended a Halloween party behind closed doors at a friend's home. Obama's 10-year-old daughter Malia had planned to dress up as an "evil fairy," the campaign said.

The fact that Obama took time out for Halloween showed a candidate feeling confident about his chances on Tuesday, with polls showing him leading Republican nominee John McCain.

Obama flew straight from a rally in Iowa to Chicago, where he stepped onto the airport tarmac with a pumpkin -- brought on a campaign swing through Florida -- under one arm.

After the brief stop at home, he planned to be back campaigning on Friday night at a rally in Gary, Indiana.

www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20081101&t=2&i=6623463&w=450&r=2008-11-01T123118Z_01_BTRE49U1U7B00_RTROPTP_0_USA-POLITICS-OBAMA

[Bonobo]

Polish women on trial for indecency over topless sunbathing
10/31/08

WARSAW (AFP) — Two young Polish women Friday went on trial for
indecent exposure after they sunbathed topless, a practice which is
extremely rare in this deeply Catholic country.

The women, aged 26 and 28, fell foul of the law in their hometown of Szczecin, on Poland's northwestern Baltic coast, as they took in the May sunshine on a local beach.

They were busted by a passing police patrol after they refused to put their bikini tops back on, and found themselves in court when failed to pay a fine of 150 zlotys (40 euros, 55 dollars).

The case of the two women -- one of whom is a glamour model and has appeared topless in Polish men's magazines -- sparked such massive media interest that a first hearing in September had to be postponed when too many rep rters turned up to fit into the court gallery.

The women have pleaded not guilty, arguing there was no explicit ban on going topless at the beach.

They also said fellow sunbathers had not been offended, noting that many had jumped to their defence when the police officers -- all
male -- took them to task.

If found guilty, the women face a fine of 1,500 zlotys.

The court is due to deliver its verdict on November 7.

[Bonobo]

WWII grenade forces Warsaw University evacuation
2008-10-28

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Police say a gardener tending a lawn at Warsaw University has found a World War II-era mortar grenade and that surrounding university buildings have been evacuated.

Police say the worker digging with a spade in the library lawn found
the 14-inch (35-centimeter) , 8-pound (3.5-kilogram) grenade early
Tuesday. They say that no one was hurt when some 300 people left the buildings, and that experts have taken the grenade to a military facility to detonate it.

Warsaw was heavily bombed by Nazi Germany during the war. Unexploded bombs and grenades are still found regularly.

[Bonobo]

A 51 yo Egyptian, married to a Polish woman, 3 kids, has started a hunger strike. He is protesting against racism, intolerance and xenophobia of some Poles with whom he has had constant arguments/brawls in the city of Kalisz for the last 11 years.

Newsreel
www.onet.tv/28962,0,1,4134131,0,1,0,szukaj.html?q=Prowincjonalny

Article
www.radiomerkury.pl/index.php?art=30371

[valpomike]

Please, since I don't read or speak Polish what is he having brawls for, what does he want?

Mike

[Bonobo]

Nov 6, 2008 20:49:26 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Polish women on trial for indecency over topless sunbathing
10/31/08

WARSAW (AFP) — Two young Polish women Friday went on trial for
indecent exposure after they sunbathed topless, a practice which is
extremely rare in this deeply Catholic country.

The women, aged 26 and 28, fell foul of the law in their hometown of Szczecin, on Poland's northwestern Baltic coast, as they took in the May sunshine on a local beach.

They were busted by a passing police patrol after they refused to put their bikini tops back on, and found themselves in court when failed to pay a fine of 150 zlotys (40 euros, 55 dollars).

The case of the two women -- one of whom is a glamour model and has appeared topless in Polish men's magazines -- sparked such massive media interest that a first hearing in September had to be postponed when too many rep rters turned up to fit into the court gallery.

The women have pleaded not guilty, arguing there was no explicit ban on going topless at the beach.

They also said fellow sunbathers had not been offended, noting that many had jumped to their defence when the police officers -- all
male -- took them to task.

If found guilty, the women face a fine of 1,500 zlotys.

The court is due to deliver its verdict on November 7.

Polish court reprimands topless sunbathers

11/7/08

alt

Dorota Krzysztofek is one of two Polish women fined by a Polish court for sunbathing topless

WARSAW (AFP) — A Polish court Friday reprimanded two Polish women, including a model who has appeared in men's magazines, for indecent exposure after they sunbathed topless, a rarity in the deeply Catholic country.

"Showing nudity goes beyond social customs and norms in Poland," read part of the verdict issued by a court in Szczecin, northwest Poland. "Personal freedom ends where the freedom of another person begins."

"I completely respect the court's verdict, but at the same time I disagree with it and I will certainly appeal it," Dorota Krzysztofek, 28, told Poland's TVN24 news channel. She also said she would be contacting Poland's ombudsman, a civil rights watchdog.

The court also ruled the women would have to pay court fees of 130 zlotys (36 euro, 46 dollars). The verdict is subject to appeal.

"Perhaps men will also have to cover up their torsos on the beach?" Krzysztofek said. "I see nothing indecent about the chests of men or women," she added.

In May, policemen fined Krzystofek and her 26-year-old friend for sunbathing topless on a public beach in Szczecin.

The women went to court after they failed to pay a fine of 150 zlotys (40 euros, 55 dollars).

The case of the two women -- one of whom is a model and has appeared topless in Polish men's magazines -- sparked such massive media interest that a first hearing in September had to be postponed when too many reporters turned up to fit into the court gallery.

The women pleaded not guilty to indecent exposure, arguing there was no explicit ban on going topless at the beach.

They also said fellow sunbathers had not been offended, insisting that many had jumped to their defence.

[valpomike]

She is hot, and she can come to our lake, and not wear anything, if she wants. I won't say anything.

Mike