Hosting Polandian where you are currently reading, namely its own (shared) server, costs money and requires maintenance. It is fair to say that we have not taken advantage of the benefits of being independent from WordPress.com and this, combined with a much reduced flow of new content, means that it is increasingly hard to justify the cost and effort required to stay here. We have therefore decided not to renew the subscriptions for hosting services, domains and so forth which run out at various dates between mid February and early March. As a result this site will soon be tossed in the cyber-waste-bin and any attempt to reach polandian.com, polandian.pl will be met with a “404 get lost!” error message.

The good news is that we have lovingly cared for the old polandian.wordpress.com site in the background and have recently added all the posts from this site (since April 2009) to bring it up to date. You are therefore invited to use that site for links or for reading our comprehensive archive of material as well as new posts that might be added along the way.

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Many thanks for your support – past, present & future!

A fairly definitive answer on the first question recently came from the ruling party, Civic Platform (PO). A report in the last couple of days on the Polskie Radio website indicated how politicians feel that it is arguably an “uncollectible tax”. This comes as it’s found that approximately 65% of Polish residents don’t pay the RTV (radio and television) licence fee. There is disappointment in government circles with this figure, as the fee of about €45 per year is one of the lowest levels in Europe. However, the main difficulty in ‘enforcing’ payment is that in Poland, inspectors do not have the authority to enter a home or business premises in order to check if a TV signal is in use. Inspectors need to ask permission to enter, and naturally most owners will refuse permission if they feel that it will result in needing to pay more money for something. Thus the figure of 65% of people not paying makes sense, when estimates say that 45% of households and 98% of business do not pay.

“We’re watching you, watching TV”

A suggestion has then arisen in budget discussions to consider using a model similar to one used in Finland, where the population are taxed slightly further to cover the costs usually incurred by public television and radio. In Poland, about 60% of the licence fee goes to Telewizja Polska with the remaining 40% going to Polskie Radio. The services provided by the television and radio stations need increasing government intervention with subsidisation, meaning that in one sense the taxation approach would seem to make sense, if the government needs to pay public money in at the moment anyways.

The suggestion of trying to impose it as a tax method might also be easier to take in Poland though, rather than other options. The option that tends to be used in the UK and Ireland is of the TV inspector and signal vans doing checks and finding those trying to evade the payment. The is advertising, notification and publication supporting the chase to pay the fee. If the Polish government tried to change the law to allow more detailed inspection, it would probably give too much of a reminder of communist times, with the thought of an inspector having the legal right to enter a home or business to perform a search. And from the Polskie Radio report, the PiS party will oppose attempts to include the licence as a further tax.

“We are broke so we are going to chase you for every possible €uro”

Once the debate on having or paying for an RTV licence arises, the discussion will almost always be swung around to the quality and value of having such public service based broadcasting. Everyone will have their own opinion, but I believe that such public broadcasting will usually fall under the category of ‘You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’ – or in other words, it may often seem that there is nothing worth watching or listening to, but it will be the small things you would miss if it was not available, especially those items which you tend to remember from days gone by which trigger fond memories and nostalgia. Thus, while the quality of what is presented might not always be to everyone’s liking, it should probably be seen that as long as the licence fee is reasonable, it gives more value than people will realise.

The topic of RTV licences is not going to rest, especially as how people view TV is evolving. With increasing numbers watching through computers, laptops and other Internet-based connections, trying to enforce payment will get more difficult in all countries. There is also an undercurrent of people who are disposing of their TV sets (for various reasons) and should a government bring in a ‘universal charge’ it will annoy those who get no value for paying for it. This means that the topic of the RTV licence will always be one someone is always annoyed by the setup.

All just an EU propaganda agenda?

In 1987 the Iron Curtain was strong and the idea of anything different was hard to contemplate. As soldiers, we trained for WARSAW PACT tanks coming through the Fulda Gap and to survive NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) warfare. From my perspective listening in on the Soviets and her allies every day was an electronic war of cat and mouse, looking from light into darkness. Then suddenly it was over. I remember seeing trains coming through German train stations at the end of 1989 and/or early 1990 full of cheering Germans (west and east)… the wall was down…. the Iron Curtain that divided nations and peoples was no more.

Even so, the idea of me someday visiting Poland or other Eastern Block countries was still very much an unattainable dream (I made my first visit on a weekend trip to Czechoslovakia in 1992 as a college student). This year, 2011, is being celebrated in many places as the Centennial (100 years since his birth) of President Ronald Reagan. Many people credit President Reagan’s leadership and tough stance toward the Soviet Union as ultimately bringing about the collapse of the USSR and helping to free Poland (I do know Pope JP II played a big role too).

I invite you as readers of Polandian to comment on 21 years since the crack appeared in the Iron Curtain in Berlin (I do know Poland played a big role going back even further). All these years later does the memory or Pres. Reagan mean anything to you? What was your life (or your parents) like back then? Do other public figures such as the Pope or your politicians at the time hold more prominence in your memories? Do you feel you life is better now than if events of 1989 had not occurred the way they did?

I have asked some of my students and local friends about Reagan, the fall of the wall, and what memories they have. Surprisingly the comments have ranged from life is to busy apathy to hostility towards my question and the United States. I get the impression in today’s younger generation no one really thinks much about back then and the events that unfolded and how things were. I do apologize in advance if my Americanized perspective offends anyone, that is not my intention.

"Honey, I forgot to duck."

(Guest writer Mochafueled, after many visits to Poland is currently in Warsaw and trying to make Poland home for a while. Mostly he is exploring all the best locations for eating potato pancakes and goulash while sharing a few words of American English with students).

To summarise the martial law period in Poland for those that might be unfamiliar with it, it was as follows. Pro-democracy movements such as Solidarność were gaining momentum throughout 1980 and 1981. The communist leaders initially wanted to show leniency and be open to some discussion with the agitators; however as time went by, they began to realise that their authority was being challenged. Fear grew that the disruptions would develop into something more revolutionary such as had happened in Budapest in 1956 or in Prague in 1968. In both instances, Soviet military intervention had been used to quell efforts at democratising the countries. In both examples, the Warsaw Pact had been invoked to justify sending in the troops. In 1980 and 1981, the Polish leaders including General Jaruzelski began negotiations with Moscow to use the same option to force authority once more in Poland.

However, it turned out the Soviets were unwilling (for the first time) to step in and it meant the Polish leaders had to take their own action. A ‘state of war’ (stan wojenny) was declared. While there was no actual war or external threat, the authorities used the premise of escalating internal threats as a reason to implement martial rule. The following speech made by Jaruzelski on December 13th 1981 shows him trying to pull the patriotic heart-strings of the public:

“The atmosphere of conflicts, misunderstanding, hatred causes moral degradation, surpasses the limits of toleration. Strikes, the readiness to strike, actions of protest have become a norm of life. Even school youth are being drawn into this. Yesterday evening, many public buildings remained seized. The cries are voiced to physical reprisals with the ‘reds’, with people who have different opinions.
The cases of terror, threats and moral vvendetta, of even direct violence are on the rise. A wave of impudent crimes, robberies and burglaries is running across the country. The underground business sharks’ fortunes, already reaching millions, are growing. Chaos and demoralization have reached the magnitude of a catastrophe. People have reached the limit of psychological toleration. Many people are struck by despair. Not only days, but hours as well are bringing forth the all-national disaster.” He then finished by reciting the Polish national anthem.

Martial rule imposed tough times on the Polish people. Demonstrators were summarily arrested without charge, pro-democracy groups were banned, curfews imposed and communications disrupted by telephone lines being cut and post being censored. As some Polish people tried to rebel against the system, it caused further crackdowns. Estimates of over 100 deaths in the time of martial law have been suggested. Even for those that did not rebel and suffer directly, there were detrimental effects for all involved, through food rationing, forcing 6 day working weeks, military courts and a ‘verification’ system used to ensure people were not anti-authoritarian.

However, it seems that this could be seen as the nadir of the Communist period in Poland – a sort of ‘darkest moment just before the dawn’ leading to the sunlight of democracy. Surviving such a period would have given confirmation to those groups such as Solidarność that they were on the right path. The shadow of the Soviet Union was also lessening, so it could be seen that in the battle for Polands future, it would be ‘good’ Poles against ‘bad’ Poles in a battle for hearts and minds without waiting to see when the troops from Moscow would land to support the government. It’s also possible that the Polish people themselves would have had more belief in themselves to be the change they wanted to see. If this was the worst that the government could throw at them, then why can’t democracy be forced? The art of kombinować would have ensured that people survived (maybe even thrived) despite difficulties.

Thus, it should be a case that the 30th anniversary of martial rule should be celebrated as a trigger for something more for Poland, rather than as a symbol of the worst of communist times.

The litany of situations which lead to this crisis are outlined below:

- No hooligan elements disrupted any games in November

- No referees were assaulted

- No racist chanting or abuse was heard at a Polish game

- No PZPN officials were recorded discussing improper topics

- No cases of bribery were uncovered

The PZPN logo

This has left many wondering how the PZPN can go on. With capable and steady administrators in charge, it can only be doomed to failure. The Polish public will be clamouring for the Minister of Sport to implement sweeping changes, in order to bring in someone who can perform at the levels of corruption, buffoonery and idiocy expected. An unnamed bystander commented that “We expect a real boob to be in charge, someone we can rely on to screw things up and spout drivel on a daily basis. We cannot stand for things going well for much longer”.

The current head of the PZPN, Jan Kowalski, was unavailable for comment but a friend of the family mentioned “He is distraught, and it won’t be of any comfort to those reading/listening, but he has been doing his best to screw things up and do what is expected of the role. He has left filing cabinets open with official documents waiting to be reviewed. He invited in the tax authorities and auditors to review the books, but they couldn’t find anything. He went to the most expensive restaurant and ordered the most expensive item on the menu stuffed with the second most expensive item, all while claiming it as ‘expenses’. He has really been working hard and it’s not enough. Everything in the organisation just keeps going without scandal and that isn’t right.”

Or is this the PZPN logo?

While Kowalski has not yet been replaced, it is rumoured that the Minister for Sport already has a number of replacements lined up to fill the prestigious role, including criminal mastermind Dariusz Wasilewski and PKP chief Piotr Piotrowski. However, at the moment former Polish football star goalkeeper Wojciech Michnik looks like the favourite to be installed to the position promising a “clean sweep” approach where he expects Polish league games to be fixed to suit betting groups, black players to be abused, hooligans to take charge of the stadiums and millions of Polish złoty to mysteriously go missing. And you get the feeling that the Polish people would welcome him with open arms, allowing for such a return to normality.

This might be the PZPN logo…

Names changed/formulated from thin air to protect the innocent/guilty.

However, in viewing the house as a form of shelter, a Polish architectural firm (called KWK Promes) has designed a property near Warsaw which they call the ‘Safe House’. It was designed for a private client, took over a year to be designed and then a further four to be built, but the finished product has gained some plaudits. Fans of both style and security have been discussing this house online, and achieved critical acclaim also by being nominated for architectural awards such as the 2008 Mies van der Rohe award and 2009 WAF awards. The house is over 550 metres squared on a plot of land over 2500 metres squared, and in colours and themes is quite minimal, with grey walls featuring heavily. However, where this house begins to challenge the mind and perspectives is with the number of sliding doors, windows and walls, which all combine for security and image. When all ‘locked up’ it looks like an impenetrable cube, but when opened it looks more like something that could easily feature on Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs. It has floor to ceiling windows, with wide ranging views over two stories. However, it is when the house transforms from open to closed, and vice versa, that the most interesting features appear. If required, all doors and windows close, with a shutter dropping down over the front. From the final picture above, there are also escape options with a drawbridge connecting to the annex building nearby from the first floor. This has lead to some commentary on the Internet that this would be the perfect house for surviving a potential zombie apocalypse, or of course to stop any unwanted visitors such as mothers-in-law or Jehovah’s Witnesses – provided you know they are coming of course!

Some who see the house might complain that this is only designed to be a sterile cube, but when you see some of the internal pictures as well, you can see that there are slick design principles applied internally also. There are clean lines, mostly keeping in mind the right angles and directness of the external views. Plenty of light means that there is no worries of being ‘stuck in a box’ either.

Thus, this design is one that can evoke many feelings and thoughts, but whatever your opinion, you have to appreciate the effort which went into the design and build effort in making such a building in Poland.

Krajewski writes criminal thrillers, and is best known for the Eberhard Mock books. He is from Wrocław originally, and thus sets most of his books around Wrocław, especially in the period between the First and Second World Wars (from approximately 1919 to 1950) – thus giving rise to the “… in Breslau” grouping of books. The subtitle for each of the books in the series is ‘An Eberhard Mock investigation’, with the eponymous ‘hero’ featuring in each of the books. Mock is a detective in the Breslau Police Force, classically schooled in Greek and Latin, and yet flawed. He is never too far from a bottle of schnapps and a cigarette, and yet is at his best when forced into situations where he relies on alcohol and other stimulations for sustenance. In each of the books, he has to investigate brutal and often gruesome murders. His experience with the Vice Department also comes into play, sometimes in professionals matters and other times in his personal life. He works with members of his team such as Kurt Smolorz and Herbert Anwaldt to investigate and in many cases, they need to delve into the aristocracy of Breslau and a number of sects and cults who are involved in the murders.

There are 5 books in the Eberhard Mock series, Death in Breslau, The End of the World in Breslau, Phantoms in Breslau, Fortress Breslau and Plague in Breslau. Only the first three of these have been translated into English, but the others will surely follow shortly. Krajewski uses a very descriptive style which expertly presents Breslau, down to the imagery of the streets, the people and the life of the city in the 1920′s. Naturally, the city is Germanic at that time, but touches of Poland and Polish sneak through which seem to be reflective of how the city has evolved over time. When it comes to the murder mystery part of the novels, the step into Mock’s mind gives a glimpse into the requirements and pressures on a criminal detective. I also think that excellent translations have been applied to the books. As a native speaker, the best recommendation I can give is that you would not notice that it is a translation. The descriptive elements are so well presented that it makes it easy to get lost in the story. And now the only difficulty would be in finding other such Polish novels which are also well translated and well presented. Until language fluency ‘kicks in’, that has to be the next best option, and in this case Marek Krajewskis books work very well.

With so much information and statistics on the site, it can be difficult to consider where to begin. However, in line with the site name, with life expectancy figures. The normal life expectancy for a Pole is 75.63 years, and while this is obviously a strong level on a world scale, it does not compare favourably in European terms, with it being listed in 25th out of 37 European countries listed. However, the caveat here of course is that most countries in the top 20 in Europe are one that did not lie behind the Iron Curtain, while those near Poland include Slovakia, Lithuania and Czech Republic. To put it into a larger perspective, Poland’s life expectancy is 50th in the world rankings. Thus it might be argued that as more time passes since the fall of communism, the better this level should be for Poles.

European Life expectancy rates

However, when you delve deeper into the figures there are some trends which are more worrying for Poles, and probably will not change easily. As  well as the life expectancy, the site reports on causes of deaths per 100,000 people in the population. The first sub-category in this area refers to alcohol-related deaths. In this area, Poland excels but for the wrong reasons. It is 4rd in European terms, and 14th in the world with most deaths as a result of alcohol-related effects. There are many others areas also as the statistics are expanded out, and below you can find a summary of the main ones in which Poland features strongly.

- Alcohol related deaths @ 4.46 per 100,000 population: 3rd most in Europe and 14th most in the world

- Cancer related deaths @ 169.32 per 100,000: 3rd in Europe and 6th in the world

- Heart disease related deaths @ 122.40 per 100,000: 14th in Europe and 78th in the world

- Drownings @ 2.3 per 100,000: 12th in Europe and 124th in the world

- Falls (and related accidents) @ 7.61 per 100,000: 8th in Europe and 23rd in the world

- Fires @ 1.27 per 100,000: 8th in Europe and 110th in the world

- Leukaemia @ 5.5 per 100,000: 8th in Europe and 21st in the world

- Multiple Sclerosis @ 0.93 per 100,000: 7th in Europe and 7th in the world

- Road traffic accidents @ 14.33 per 100,000: 6th in Europe and 101st in the world

- Suicide @ 14.36 per 100,000: 11th in Europe and 33rd in the world

European Death rates as a result of alcohol

European Death rates as a result of cancer

European Death rates as a result of suicide

Thus, it’s clear there is much work to be done from a Polish perspective to improve the approaches to treating such issues such as cancers, alcohol-related deaths and suicides, especially if Poland would like to reach the levels of other European countries. As medical science advances and Poland is able to be involved in applying treatments, and using the right strategies for medium to longer term health care, there should be no reason why Poland should not see its people living longer and healthier lives.

 Personally, I found the website very interesting and it is worth some time in digging through the data provided, in order to get an idea of how Europeans live and die.

To summarise the clip for those who may be uncomfortable with such viewing: the scene opens with Katarzyna Lenart sitting in a dark suit, white shirt and black tie combination while seated in a swivel chair. The phrase SLD Electoral Committee (Komitet Wyborczy SLD) appears in the bottom left of the screen. Next, she evokes the spirit of Sharon Stone by uncrossing her legs provocatively (but without the ‘extras’ on show in Basic Instinct). She drags off her tie and launches it towards the camera, and then begins caressing her hair seductively. Then, swinging the chair around, she stands up with her back to the viewers, pushing the chir backwards, and her mini-striptease begins. The jacket drops first to leave her glancing over her shoulder. Then she unbuttons her shirt and it too falls to reveal her pink bra underneath. (Some colour experts might even call it shocking pink). But the video does not finish there… She then unhooks her bra – at which point a big ‘Censored’ sign lands on screen to protect her ‘modesty’ – and she walks towards the screen. The scene darkens and finishes with a caption saying “Do you want more? Vote SLD! Together we can do more” – “Chcesz więcej? Głosuj na SLD. Tylko my możemy zrobić więcej” po polsku.

However, the reaction has been mixed at best. She has needed to defend the stunt saying in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza. “I thought it was time to cause a stir,” she said. “My campaign targets young people, and young people are only interested in controversial stuff, unfortunately,” according to the newspaper. “I don’t think it was vulgar or obscene. You can hardly see anything,” she added, not that it had taken guts to strip. However, if those externally are criticizing her it could be shrugged off, but further complaint came from within the SLD, with Tomasz Kalita, a spokesperson for the party, saying that it did not give the right image. It also makes you wonder if she gets elected – what happens next? And would this become a party policy. You would hope not, given as the majority of representatives would be middle aged men, and with them less skin on show would be plenty. Thus, they say that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but in this case it is hard to see how this shows Ms. Lenart in a positive way (apart from among the 18-30 male voting group).

It seems to show some naivety with regards to understanding the political system. In general, this Youtube video will be seen by those Internet-savvy individuals, generally aged below 40. However, ironically that will be the age group that tends to have least interest in politics and voting. Had Ms. Lenart more sense and focus on being elected, she would probably have spent more time shaking hands of babcias and dziadeks in Lublin and listening to their stories in order to gain votes. When they look at the electoral list, they will just see another name. If her photo would be seen by those around retirement age, they may think “Oh, she looks a bit like my grandaughter”, but it’s doubtful that would get her elected. Thus it would seem she would need to spend more time in her political studies class and appearing less on Youtube should she maintain hopes for a political career.

One such article which caught my eye was one which provided a list of places with fewer than 10 residents. Having an interest in such geographical and sociological information, I jumped in, expecting to find a listing of Canadian wilderness villages combined with places affected by historical events such as being near Chernobyl (the city of Pripyat). However, I was intrigued to find a town in Poland called Polana in the Gmina of Czersk in Pomerania. According to official records, one person is registered as living there. “How cool”, I thought “he must be living in some tiny villages with 3 houses and two of them are empty”.

With my interest piqued, I moved farther down the Wikipedia list to places with two residents. I thought that would be the end of the story, as there was no little Polish flag there. Before giving up, I moved to places with three registered residents, and success! There was Czerska Struga, also found in the Gmina of Czersk. Going further, I found the section for places with four people living there. Next up were Jeziorko and Płecno – also within the Gmina of Czersk. Hmmm, a strange pattern was emerging. The group of places with five locals had the two Polish villages of Listewka and Konewki, both in the same gmina as the previous ones. Uboga has six people. Gartki and Uroża have seven. All in the locality of Czersk… To finish off the grouping, there was Klonowice with nine people. And finally – there was a change, a combo-breaker, so to speak, as the Tatra mountain village of Danielki rounded out the list of Polish places with less than ten residents. But… a caveat exists with Danielki as there is an expectation that the actual population of Danielki is now higher due to visitors. Thus we are left with the 10 Polish villages in the Gmina of Czersk in Pomerania.

What had begun as a mildly interesting search imagining one guy living in the village (like a Polish middle aged version of Kevin sam w domu) was now moprhing into something more. How can 10 Polish villages within about 10 square kilometres of each other all feature on such a list. with 51 inhabitants between the 10 locations, you would expect them to be almost too insignificant to be worthy of notice. However, like finding a sequence in the Matrix, they now pop out like an anomaly. And this is where the questions arise.

• Is it a conspiracy?
• Was it all planned by the local authorities in the town of Czersk, or were they just drunk when compiling the GUS records (found here) detailing census records for the area?
• Was it a plan to get entered into the Guinness Book of Records, for most places with the least people?
• Do the 10 villages combine to form a giant ‘X’ shape – pointing to where the missing treasure has been hiding?
• Is Czersk so boring that people are moving out and creating their own villages – thus explaining some of the naming such as Uboga and Konewki?

Personally, I have no idea what the reasoning behind this mystery is – thus explaining the above random thoughts. I’ve given a call to Scully and Mulder to reopen the X-files. Meanwhile, as they make their way to Poland, perhaps our Polandian readers can provide some insight. Feel free to drop some suggestions below.