Polonium

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Ultra-modern Chopin museum opens in Poland

A high-tech museum dedicated to the Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin opened in Warsaw on Monday to mark the bicentenary of his birth.

"It is among the world's most modern museums," Poland's Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski told reporters at the opening ceremony.

Located in Warsaw's revamped 17th century Ostrogski Palace, perched on a hill near the Vistula River, the museum is designed to plunge visitors into Chopin's universe via cutting-edge audiovisual and interactive technologies.

Read more:http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/ultramodern-chopin-museum-opens-in-poland-1917743.html

Polish president Kaczynski wins party backing to run for 2nd term

Polish President Lech Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice party says it wants him to run for a second term this autumn.

The party gave the president its backing at a convention Sunday, saying in a resolution that the mission he began when elected in 2005 should continue for the good of Poland.

Law and Justice is a nationalist party that supports a strong social safety net but has conservative moral values. It was founded by Kaczynski and his twin brother Jaroslaw.

Read more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hACklDA67j81sOimzMXdl7HVpBHg

Yad Vashem honors Michalina Jasko, from Poland, as Righteous Among the Nations

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Jerusalem, posthumously honored Michalina Jasko from Poland as Righteous Among the Nations, during a ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance on Sunday.

Her granddaughter Elzbieta Jablonska, who came from the United States for the event, received the medal and certificate of honor on her behalf.

Read more:http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/eastern_europe/42747

Saturday, March 6, 2010

GE Hitachi To Build Nuclear Plants In Poland

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and Polish power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, Friday said they have signed a new agreement to collaborate on Poland's initiative to build next-generation commercial nuclear power plants. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is a nuclear alliance formed by General Electric Co. (GE: News ) and Hitachi Ltd. (HIT: News ).

Through this alliance, Poland plans to build two nuclear power plants that would help the country diversify its energy production, which currently relies heavily on coal-based technologies.

Read more:http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1231816&SMap=1

European Court of Human Rights: Poland Must Recognize Homosexual “Rights”

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has determined that a municipality in Poland committed a human rights violation when it denied a homosexual man's petition to inherit his partner's tenancy agreement after the partner died.

The ECHR accepted that the protection of the family founded on the union of a man and a woman, as expressed by the Polish Constitution, was in principle a legitimate reason which might justify a difference in treatment. But they also wrote that, in aiming to safeguard the family, the state “must necessarily take into account developments in society and changes in the perception of social, civil-status and relational issues, including the fact that there is not just one way or one choice in the sphere of leading and living one's family or private life.”

Homosexual “rights” groups are hailing the decision as a victory, while Polish legal experts argue that the decision has no basis in Polish law, and Church and pro-family leaders are decrying it as further evidence of the ECHR's homosexualist “ideology.”

Read more:http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030305.html

Zloty Gains to Highest Since 2008 on Polish Rate-Increase Bets

The zloty advanced to the strongest level since 2008, extending the longest rally since November, as investors stepped up bets Poland will increase interest rates this year.

The zloty advanced 0.6 percent to 3.8738 per euro as of 5 p.m. in Warsaw, the strongest intraday level since December 2008. The currency has appreciated 2.9 percent in six days, its longest winning streak since Nov. 16.

Read more:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-05/zloty-gains-to-highest-since-2008-on-polish-rate-increase-bets.html

EU orders halt to Polish Internet traffic plan

Poland's telecoms regulator must scrap plans to regulate Internet traffic exchange services because doing so would be unnecessary and could deter operators from investing in infrastructure, the European Commission said.

The Polish body, Urzad Komunikacji Elektronicznej (UKE), has failed to show that competitive conditions require the sector to be regulated, the European Union executive said on Friday.

Read more:http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-46690720100305

Polish-Belarusian Expert Panel To Meet Next Week

The first meeting of a Belarusian-Polish expert panel tasked with seeking solutions to a conflict over an ethnic Polish cultural organization has been slated for next week, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Henryk Litvin, the Polish ambassador to Belarus, told RFE/RL that "ministers met in Budapest and agreed that the meeting may take place as early as the 9th" or 10th of March.

Although the composition of the group has not been made public, Litvin said it will be headed by Belarus's commissioner on religious and ethnic affairs, Leanid Hulyak, and Polish Undersecretary of State Andrzej Kremer.

Read more:http://www.rferl.org/content/PolishBelarusian_Expert_Panel_To_Meet/1974929.html

Pope's sainthood setback after 'miracle cure' nun reported to be ill again

Hopes John Paul's canonisation would be fast-tracked by Sister Marie Simon-Pierre's recovery from Parkinson's receive set back

It was the miracle that set Pope John Paul II on the road to sainthood and provided faithful followers with proof of his holy powers. But hopes that the former pope's canonisation would be fast-tracked by Sister Marie Simon-Pierre's recovery from Parkinson's disease have been set back by reports that the French nun has fallen ill again.

Simon-Pierre described three years ago how she regained her health after a night of prayer to the then recently deceased Polish pontiff. John Paul also suffered from Parkinson's disease, which is incurable.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/05/nun-cured-pope-parkinsons-ill

First sitting of Georgian-Polish Commission on cooperation held in Tbilisi

The first sitting of the Georgian-Polish intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation was held in Tbilisi on March 4.

Georgian delegation was headed by deputy Minister of Economic Development Zurab Alavidze; Polish delegation - by his Polish counterpart Grazina Henclevska.

Before the sitting Alavidze said the agenda implies discussion of cooperation projects in spheres of energy, tourism, transport, banking sphere.

Read more:http://www.today.az/news/georgia/63236.html

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Polish Economic Growth Accelerated in Fourth Quarter

Poland’s economy, the biggest in eastern Europe, grew at a faster pace last quarter on sustained exports and revived corporate investment, indicating interest rates may be raised by the end of this year.

Gross domestic product rose an annual 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter, after a 1.7 percent annual pace in the previous period, a preliminary estimate by the Central Statistical Office showed today. The median estimate of 12 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for 3 percent growth.

Read more:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-02/polish-economic-growth-accelerated-in-fourth-quarter-update1-.html

Letter of “Belarusian Poles” to Polish authorities dictated by Belarusian officials

As it was found out that many authors of the letter to the Polish authorities didn’t even sign it.

As it has recently been revealed, a group of Belarusian citizens of Polish origin appealed to the Polish government. The authors of the letter ask “not to divide the Poles into ins and outs and to take action to stop spreading of false information by the Polish media”.

The letter to the Prime Minister, Marshals of the Sejm and Senate was signed by 32 people, who call themselves Belarusian Poles. The list includes a pensioner, a director, a doctor, an accountant, a housewife, a businessman, a worker, a teacher, and some famous people such as rector of Academy of Arts Richard Smolski, rector of Brest State University Mechyslau Chasnouski, and deputy head of the National Library Stanislau Kasperovich.

They letter says: “The Belarusian state has never violated and is not violating the rights of the Belarusian citizens, who call themselves national minorities, including the Polish ethnic minority.”

Read more:http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2010/3/2/26916/

EC warns Polish telecom company against hindering competition in market

The European Commission (EC) on Monday warned Polish telecom incumbent operator Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TP) against hindering competition in the telecommunications market.

The EC said in a statement that it has addressed a Statement of Objections (SO) to TP, expressing its "preliminary view that TP has abused its dominant position by refusing to supply remunerated access to its wholesale broadband services."

Tead more:http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/pttwf_ec-warns-polish-telecom-company-against-hindering-competition-in-market-812491.html

Benefits Of Doing Business In Poland

A country of unique culture, history and geography, Poland increasingly attracts foreign business from all over the world thanks to recent economic changes. The last decade has been very successful for the country’s economic growth and transformation. Joining NATO in 1999 and the European Union in May 2004 have opened the Polish market to foreign investors and development opportunities. Poland receives one of the largest pools of EU funding for development and infrastructure which makes it very attractive to foreign investors. Its location in the heart of Europe where Western and Eastern values meet creates an ideal opportunity for business development. Below are some of the key benefits of doing business in Poland.

Read more: http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=105882&catid=428

Hitler abortion poster sparks anger in Poland

A Polish anti-abortion group has sparked controversy by using pictures of Hitler and a bloody and torn foetus in a billboard campaign designed to ensure Poles adhere to the country's strict abortion laws.

The provocative images, which appeared in the western city of Poznan as a part of a promised nationwide campaign, also carry the slogan "Abortion for Poles: introduced by Hitler, March 9, 1943."

Read more:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/7354284/Hitler-abortion-poster-sparks-anger-in-Poland.html

Polish passports secured by Neurotechnology

New Polish passports will include biometric fingerprint information using Neurotechnology’s Verifinger solution.

The software, which was selected on behalf of the Polish Government by Polish Security Printing Works, will mean that identification will comply with new European Council regulations.

All newly issued passports in Poland will now include a chip on which a biometric fingerprint is saved. A final security check will be done when the user comes to receiving their passport. A scanner by Dermalog will record the user’s fingerprint and compare it with the prints stored on the passport’s chip. If they match satisfactorily, the user will be issued a new passport.

Read more:http://www.info4security.com/story.asp?sectioncode=13&storycode=4124280&c=1

Poland Sells $41 Million in Emission Credits to Japan

Poland agreed to sell emissions permits assigned under the Kyoto Protocol to a Japanese buyer for 30 million euros ($41 million) to raise money for spending on schools and hospitals.

The undisclosed number of permits were sold to a “Japanese partner representing the private sector,” the Warsaw-based ministry said today in a statement. The proceeds will be used to “modernize” 400 facilities such as schools, universities and hospitals, according to Jan Raczka, head of the National Fund for Environment Protection and Water Management.

Rad more:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-03/poland-sells-41-million-in-emission-credits-to-japan-update3-.html

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Poland's ace reporter Ryszard Kapuscinski accused of fiction-writing

New book claims journalist repeatedly crossed boundary between reportage and fiction-writing

He has been voted the greatest journalist of the 20th century. In an unparalleled career, Ryszard Kapuscinski transformed the humble job of reporting into a literary art, chronicling the wars, coups and bloody revolutions that shook Africa and Latin America in the 1960s and 70s.

But a new book claims that the legendary Polish journalist, who died three years ago aged 74, repeatedly crossed the boundary between reportage and fiction-writing – or, to put it less politely, made stuff up.

Read more:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/02/ryszard-kapuscinski-accused-fiction-biography


Art thief tried to take Poland's only Monet

A Polish court on Monday ordered an unemployed construction worker who stole a painting by famed 19th century French impressionist Claude Monet to be put under psychiatric observation.

"Psychiatric experts will have four weeks to observe Robert Z. and prepare their opinion," Krystyna Blaszczak, spokeswoman for the Poznan regional court told AFP.

Read more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iSsgf4kQGdNOovrtGOcmpppdOAHg

Communist Poland sheltered and armed terrorists including Abu Nidal

COMMUNIST Poland sheltered and armed Palestinian extremists in the 1980s, including the founder of Fatah-Revolutionary Council and terrorist mastermind Abu Nidal.

"They had dirty hands,'' General Czeslaw Kiszczak, who served as interior minister in the 1980s, told Poland's TVN commercial television station late on Monday.

"We closed our eyes to the fact that they would come to Poland to rest and for medical attention after attacks and to train for new ones,'' said Kiszczak, who was also the right hand of Poland's then leader, General Wojciech Jaruzelski.

Read more:http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/communist-poland-sheltered-and-armed-terrorists-including-abu-nidal/story-e6frg6so-1225836053605

In Poland, Chopin's music defines a nation

Tsarist Russia berated it as subversive, Nazi Germany banned it outright and to this day, for Poles, the cascading notes of Frederic Chopin still symbolise their country's long struggle for independence.

After hearing Chopin's quintessentially Polish "Mazurkas" and his "Revolutionary Etude", Robert Schuman, a German and like Chopin a renowned 19th-century composer, understood, describing the music of his Franco-Polish contemporary as "cannons hidden among blossoms".

Read more:http://www.france24.com/en/20100302-poland-chopins-music-defines-nation

Monday, March 1, 2010

Polish February Manufacturing PMI Rises to 52.4, HSBC Says

An index of Polish manufacturing rose for the first time in three months in February as recovering domestic and foreign demand spurred industrial output, HSBC Holdings Plc said in its survey of purchasing managers carried out by Markit.

The index, prepared by Markit, rose to 52.4 from 51 in January, London-based HSBC said in an e-mailed statement today. That compares with the median forecast of 51.3 in a Bloomberg survey of eight economists.

“Polish manufacturing output growth picked up pace in February with notably better new orders domestically and externally,” Kubilay Ozturk, a London-based economist at HSBC, said in the statement. “Companies increased their purchasing at the fastest pace in nearly two years, which bodes well for sustaining a wide-scale recovery.”

Read more:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-01/polish-february-manufacturing-pmi-rises-to-52-4-hsbc-says.html

Russia Expresses "Serious" Concerns with U.S. Missile Shield

Russia said Friday it had "serious questions" regarding U.S. intentions in planning to field ballistic missile interceptors in Romania as part of the Obama administration's broader program for European missile defense, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 23).

"We are worried that we find out about important decisions regarding the U.S. missile defense in Europe from the media rather than our official counterparts in Washington or Bucharest," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said to reporters.

Romania announced last month that it was prepared to participate in Washington's revised plan for a European missile shield by hosting U.S. missile interceptors. The Obama administration plan involves installing land- and sea-based interceptors around Europe as protection from potential short- and medium-range missiles fired from Iran.

Read more:http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100301_7715.php

Poland: Sex, drugs and scandal

A sex and drugs scandal that has besmirched the reputation of one of Poland’s most respected politicians has now dragged down two opposition party members who refused to join the witch hunt against Senator Krzysztof Piesiewicz.

Piesiewicz, a well known screenwriter who collaborated with Krzysztof Kieslewski, one of Poland’s most celebrated directors, as well as a lawyer who fought for dissidents in Communist-era courts and a prominent member of the anti-Communist underground, saw his political and professional career destroyed this past December when a Polish tabloid published enormously embarrassing videos of the senator on its webpage.

Read more:http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/poland/100226/poland-sex-drugs-and-scandal

New museum on life of Chopin opens in Warsaw

The last piano that Frederic Chopin composed on. A death mask made after he succumbed to what was probably tuberculosis. A lock of his brown hair.

Those are among objects on display at a new museum dedicated to the life of the Romantic-era composer that opened on his 200th birthday Monday in his native Poland.

The interactive multimedia museum is located in the center of Warsaw, where Chopin moved in infancy from a nearby country estate, and where he spent the first 20 years of his life before moving to Paris.

Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski hailed it as "the most modern biographical museum in Europe and even the world" at a ceremonial opening that comes amid a year of celebrations of the much-revered musician.

Read more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5himCE3Q0avzKk3T4SSLs-nqg2gwAD9E5V1BG2