Erasing memory
The ‘Kommersant’ newspaper has reported that the Russians want to remove memorial plaques commemorating the Katyn massacre in Tver. According to the newspaper, the memorial plaques, which record the murders of the Polish prisoners of war and other victims of Stalinist terror, are currently hanging in the basement of the Tver Medical University, and may now disappear from public view. A letter in this case was to be sent by the local prosecutor’s office to the rector of the university.
The prosecutor’s office in Tver admonished the rector of the school, emphasizing that in September 1991 permission was granted to hang the memorial plaques, but on the wall of the building on Soviet Street. Prosecutors demanded that the mistake be rectified while at the same time saying that no documents had been found to confirm that Polish prisoners had been shot there.
Oath in Goniądz
Yesterday, for the sixth time this year, the soldiers of the Podlasie Territorial Defence Brigade repeated the words of the military oath. In the 11th November Square in the city of Goniądz, 60 soldiers took an oath to the 1st Podlasie Territorial Defense Brigade. This was the final oath taking by volunteers this year.
Brigade commander Colonel Sławomir Kocanowski said:
”Dear Soldiers of the Polish Home Army, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Other soldiers of the Polish Army are receiving the first officer rank at this symbolic place in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In Polish history, this promotion is connected with an accolade. This symbolic act unites the soldier with this home country. This promotion gives the soldiers the respect and appreciation of society. Although, it is also a great commitment.
Let Our Lord Jesus Christ help you to fulfill your commitment and duties. Let him help you to serve our country whenever it needs you. Let the Holy Spirit watch over you and help you to act in a way our heroes and defenders of the Republic of Poland did. Let him help you defend the honor of our country and of an officer of the Polish Home Army. May God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit bless you. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.
Łukasz – a hero from London
The British media has been full of reports about Lukasz, the heroic Pole who during Friday’s terrorist attack in London tackled the bomber with a narwhal tusk which he had taken from the wall of the nearby Fishmongers’ Hall. His actions have been widely praised by the British, who noted that this is not the first time has Poland helped them.
Witnesses claim that the Pole grabbed the 1.5-meter narwhal tusk which hung on the wall of Fishmongers’ Hall and headed towards the convicted terrorist who shouted that he would detonate the bomb in his suicide vest.
In Friday’s terrorist attack on London Bridge, two people were killed and three were injured. The perpetrator, who was armed with a knife and what turned out to be dummy explosives, was shot dead by the police.
New book '' History of Poland''
The history of Poland takes in over 1000 years and presenting it in a competent way requires not only a deep knowledge of the subject but also courage. Professor Andrzej Nowak of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow took up the challenge and for the last 5 years has been writing a monumental series. The first three volumes tell the story of the beginning of the country, the early medieval time, feudal partition, and the successful attempt to reunite the country in the 14th century.The most recent volume discusses the golden age of the 15th and 16th centuries, with Poland as a local powerhouse and cultural and economic magnet. The complete series is expected to contain at least 10 volumes.
”The 16th century in Poland, and particularly the second half, was a time when cultural war was waged using modern methods, for example by printing books. On one side Calvinists were printing their books and disseminating their ideas, on the other the protestant “Polish brothers”did exactly the same. And Catholics were using books and the printing presses for the same purpose. Another level of this discussion was whether religious differences should lead to political division? And this is the question they had struggled with. It is very typical for 16th century Poland that the answer to this question was negative. That meant that the feeling of political unity was stronger than religious divisions. Thus Poles were more able to exchange arguments than blows, unlike most contemporary european nations who were divided by reformist and counter-reformist movements”- says Andrzej Nowak.
Polański canceled a meeting in Łódź
A group of students, employees, and graduates of the National Film School in Łódź has appealed to the university’s authorities to reverse their decision to cancel the meeting with Roman Polański – a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor.
Statement by the National School in Łódź : ”At the request of Roman Polański, the meeting scheduled for Saturday, November 30th has been cancelled ‘’.
Survey
According to a survey conducted by Social Changes for the wpolityce.pl website, if the Polish parliamentary elections were held yesterday, the Law and Justice party would win 40% of the votes.
Survey conducted between November 22th- 26th
24% of voters would support the Civic Coalition.
The common committee of the Democratic Left Alliance, the Spring and the Together parties would get 18% of the votes.
10% would choose to vote for the Polish People’s party.
The Confederation would win 6% of votes.
The survey included voters, who know for whom they wish to vote.
President Hołownia
As the Polish political scene gets ready for the presidential elections next year, much speculation has gathered around the political intentions of Szymon Hołownia, who until recently was the host of the “I’ve got talent” show at TVN – the television station most closely associated with the opposition. Many conservative commentators believe that Hołownia will be a puppet candidate for the opposition, which wants to steal votes from the current head of state, Andrzej Duda, and boost the Civic Platform’s candidate, Małgorzata Kidawa Błońska, in the second round of the elections.
The TVN journalist ceased hosting the “I’ve got talent” show after 12 years, a decision he announced on Facebook.
“Already on Saturday – my last time… after 12 years. It’s a long time. I’m leaving “I’ve got talent”, since I have already given the show everything I could, and as one thing ends, another has its beginnings. To millions of you who watched us over the years, because it’s always been millions – thank you. And it’s definitely not a goodbye for good!- says Szymon Hołownia.
This announcement only intensified the speculation regarding the possibility of Hołownia running for president. It is rumoured that in the next two or three weeks, the journalist will officially begin his presidential campaign. Tomasz Truskawa from from the Freedom of Speech Association thinks this is simply another attempt to break down the Polish political scene.
“The office of president of Poland should be the peak of a political career, not a beginning. I think that such promotion of people with no political background is just an attempt to break down our political scene, since it’s seemingly impossible to compete with the Law and Justice on one side, and the Civic Platform on the other. Others have already tried to do this and failed, like the Kukiz’15 movement or the Spring party”- says Tomasz Truskawa, Freedom of Speech Association.
According to the most recent survey conducted by the IBRIS pollster, Hołownia could only count on the support of 3.7% of the voters. It’s not yet entirely clear who would want to promote the TVN journalist and why.
Pole with a narwhal tusk
Yesterday’s top story in Poland is about “who is Łukasz” and how to use a narwhal tusk. It transpires that one of the three bystanders who fought a terrorist on London Bridge is a Polish national named Łukasz. Seeing the danger he took the narwhal tusk from a wall in the Fishmongers’ Hall and used is as a pike to fight the terrorist, who was later shot dead by police.
The man who stabbed several people in London causing two deaths was Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist. After a street fight he was was shot dead by police on Friday afternoon. Khan was in prison for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange in 2012. He was connected to Al-Muhajiroun (ALM) terrorists and on his mobile phone police found Anjem Choudary’s private number.
Khan had been attending a seminar in the Fishmongers’ Hall, run by Cambridge University’s Criminology Department, to help offenders reintegrate into society following their release from jail. The first person he murdered was 25 year old Jack Merritt, a course coordinator. At the time Khan was wearing a fake suicide vest and threatened to blow up the building. Later he ran out onto the bridge. In one of the Fishmongers’ Hall restaurants a Polish immigrant named Lukasz was working as a chef. He grabbed a narwhal tusk hanging on the wall and chased the murderer to London Bridge. Łukasz was stabbed but it did not stop him from “giving the attacker a beating” with the narwhal tusk. One other defender took a fire extinguisher and third lad fought with his bare hands.
Queen Elizabeth sent her sympathies to those affected by the attack and praised those who intervened to thwart the assailant.
“I express my enduring thanks to the police and emergency services, as well as the brave individuals who put their own lives at risk to selflessly help and protect others,” she said.
Polish minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro asked president Andrzej Duda to award a medal to chef Łukasz.
The British public greeted the news with awe and a typical sense of humour: who do these foreigners think they are, coming over here, saving our lives, and being heroes
Trump in Afghanistan
On Thursday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, visited Afghanistan on the occasion of Thanksgiving. The purpose of the visit was to pay a visit to the American soldiers stationed in the country.
On Thursday, the US President, Donald Trump visited Afghanistan on the occasion of Thanksgiving. He met with the President, Ashraf Ghanem and the American soldiers stationed in the Middle East.
Trump’s visit was kept secret until the last moment. The US president was supposed to spend Thanksgiving in his family’s property in Florida, but he flew to Afghanistan instead.
The United States National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien flew there with the President to participate in talks between Trump and Ghanem. The purpose of the meeting was to reopen talks with the Talibans about the cease-fire. The US President also had dinner with the American soldiers.
The Talibans took over almost half of Afghanistan. They killed almost 2400 American soldiers since 2001.