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Post by pieter on Dec 18, 2016 7:21:41 GMT -7
How much are the Polish press and media hindered. Is the state media in the hands of PiS puppets or henchmen?
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Post by Jaga on Dec 18, 2016 22:25:51 GMT -7
How much are the Polish press and media hindered. Is the state media in the hands of PiS puppets or henchmen? Pieter, yes, the official media are completely censored. They are worse than during the communism! They fired and are ready to fire anybody who is considered collaborating with the opposition even in the stations that are not that political. There is one private TV station that provides outlet for opposition and more people are watching the news from this station than from the others and there are also private newspapers. Here is the TV station (private) which is showing how it is: www.tvn24.pl/
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Post by Jaga on Dec 18, 2016 22:37:23 GMT -7
Here are parts of the article from today Washington Post" www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-poland-a-window-on-what-happens-when-populists-come-to-power/2016/12/18/083577e8-c203-11e6-92e8-c07f4f671da4_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_poland-802pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.49420a3a27ccIn merely a year, critics say, the nationalists have transformed Poland into a surreal and insular place — one where state-sponsored conspiracy theories and de facto propaganda distract the public as democracy erodes.In the land of Law and Justice, anti-intellectualism is king. Polish scientists are aghast at proposed curriculum changes in a new education bill that would downplay evolution theory and climate change and add hours for “patriotic” history lessons. In a Facebook chat, a top equal rights official mused that Polish hotels should not be forced to provide service to black or gay customers. After the official stepped down for unrelated reasons, his successor rejected an international convention to combat violence against women because it appeared to argue against traditional gender roles. Over the weekend, Warsaw convulsed in street protests amid allegations that the Law and Justice party had illegally forced through a budget bill even as it sought to restrict media access to Parliament. Cheered on by religious conservatives, the new government has defunded public assistance for in vitro fertilization treatments. To draft new sexual-education classes in schools, it tapped a contraceptives opponent who argues that condom use increases the risk of cancer in women. The government is proffering a law that critics say could soon be used to limit opposition protests. Yet nothing has shocked liberals more than this: After a year in power, Law and Justice is still by far the most popular political party in Poland. It rides atop opinion polls at roughly 36 percent — more than double the popularity of the ousted Civic Platform party.“The people support us,” boasted Adam Bielan, Law and Justice’s deputy speaker of the Senate.
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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Dec 19, 2016 7:01:31 GMT -7
Yes, issues are getting very serious in Poland. Some of my relatives are in the police.
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Post by Jaga on Dec 19, 2016 18:42:08 GMT -7
I wanted to listen today to the Polish official radio, but it talks such a nonsense which I did not hear EVER in my life, even during the communism. So I am really a bit shocked and quite appauled by what is going on. They only talk with people who have the worst opinion about opposition, call them rebels, accuse the opposition of being a wing of Russia or Germany and protecting old communistic servants.
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Post by Jaga on Dec 19, 2016 18:43:03 GMT -7
John,
I wish it was true. Duda, a Polish president, seem to be too afraid to do anything constructive, to pull both sides together. He just signed some new regulations for majority ruling party.
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Post by Jaga on Dec 20, 2016 21:36:03 GMT -7
Military is surrounding Polish parliament. Polish military is everywhere in the center of Warsaw. The current government introduce the atmosphere of fear.
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Post by Eric on Dec 22, 2016 9:21:56 GMT -7
Military is surrounding Polish parliament. Polish military is everywhere in the center of Warsaw. The current government introduce the atmosphere of fear.
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Post by karl on Dec 22, 2016 10:38:51 GMT -7
It would so appear most goverments have in the back ground, the means of self protection. In this case, it appears the Polish Government is little different.
Karl
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Post by Jaga on Jan 4, 2017 0:13:59 GMT -7
Eric, this picture looks like from the war times. Where did you find it?
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Post by Eric on Jan 4, 2017 8:10:26 GMT -7
Eric, this picture looks like from the war times. Where did you find it? Martial law in 1981. I thought it was a good compliment to what's happening now in Poland.
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Post by Jaga on Jan 11, 2017 9:35:58 GMT -7
Eric, yes, this is a reasonable comparison unfortunately.
The parliamental crisis is still there and the ruling party does not want to compromise a bit. Kaczynski call the oppositions liars and rioters.
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Post by Jaga on Jan 11, 2017 22:42:22 GMT -7
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Post by Jaga on Jan 13, 2017 10:24:21 GMT -7
Opposition ends Monthlong Occupation of Parliament. It was done unfortunately without achieving too much. At least the press is allowed in Parliament, but the budget vote is not going to be repeated. Both most important opposition parties leaders were split - one party decided to end the protest earlier than the other. So, in a way it was a loss for the opposition. Below is an article in English about it: www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/world/europe/poland-parliament-protest-opposition.html?_r=0Opposition Party in Poland Ends Monthlong Occupation of ParliamentZAGAN, Poland — Poland’s largest opposition party ended a monthlong occupation of the country’s parliamentary chamber on Thursday, defusing — for now — the country’s biggest political crisis since a right-wing government took power last year. The crisis began on Dec. 16, when a lawmaker from Civic Platform, the main opposition party, stormed the parliamentary speaker’s rostrum to protest plans to curb the news media’s access to Parliament.Unable to use the main parliamentary chamber, the ruling Law and Justice Party, which ousted Civic Platform in elections in 2015, moved to another room to vote on the country’s new budget. Some opposition members said they had not been allowed to enter that room, and they contended that the budget vote was unlawful. Thousands of people poured into the streets of Warsaw in protest. The demonstrations lasted for weeks, though the number of protesters fell to a few dozen after the first two days. Inside Parliament, tensions ran high. At one point, fisticuffs broke out, and lawmakers accused one another of assault, releasing contradictory videos accusing rivals of starting the fight. Meanwhile, supporters brought in food, including a small traditional Polish feast on Christmas Eve. The opposition at times found it difficult to maintain a united front. On New Year’s Eve, Ryszard Petru , the leader of Modern, another opposition party involved in the sit-in, was photographed with a female lawmaker aboard a plane that was reportedly going to the Portuguese island of Madeira — after he had stated that opposition lawmakers should refrain from vacationing during the holidays. Amid the uproar, he apologized for what he acknowledged was an “indiscretion,” though he denied that he had been flying to Madeira. (He refused to say where he was headed.) The standoff only underscored concerns that European Union officials have raised about the state of democracy in Poland, where the government has moved to curb the independence of the judiciary and the news media. On Thursday, Grzegorz Schetyna, the head of Civic Platform, said that after “succeeding at securing media’s access to the parliament building, as well as their unrestricted right to cover the parliamentary proceedings, we are suspending our protest.”
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