Interviewed in Polityka (Oct 3rd), Jacek Strzemieczny of the Civic Education Centre in Warsaw speaks in favour of sending your children to public, socially mixed schools. They prepare you better for life than “prestigious” schools where middle class children interact only with other middle class children. Asked how primary school principals detect the “good” pupils […]
“Just have any old handsome face, cut in any old tattoos, pierce yourself more than the others, shave designs into your stubble, tilt your hat, carry a puppy in your arms, say controversial nonsense, swear, be more vulgar than the rest – and you’re a star.” Those are Michał Witkowski’s instructions in his latest book, […]
The hawky eye of Your Man in Gdansk restlessly probes the murky undergrowth of Polish Politics to bring you the latest in scandals: A juror in some dancing show, is up on charges of bribe taking in connection with the upcoming privatisation of a publishing house. The Central Anti-Corruption Bureau tried unsuccessfully to entrap former […]
The Lisbon Treaty vote is coming soon to Ireland, again. To re-cap: France and Holland rejected a planned European constitution so it was repackaged as a more innoccuous sounding treaty, which the Irish then rejected. Three strikes and you’re not out at all at all: the Lisbon treaty is to be voted on again by […]
I hold in my hand a circular concerning the Poland-wide “English Olympics,” a competition they hold every year to reward exceptionally good schoolchildren. As far as I know, these Olympics are held in all subjects, not just English. It’s not a terribly exciting document. It gives the closing dates for various stages – school, regional […]
On this day, the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland, Poles awoke to learn that the USA has decided not to go ahead with the missile shield. The country is in a state of chassis, as Russian rockets start to rain down on the larger cities. I shudder to think what would happen […]
Some years ago the EU prevented tobbacco advertisers from claiming their cigarettes were “mild” or “low tar” but now it turns out that people are so stupid they even think fags in a light coloured pack are easier on the lungs than fags in a dark pack. You just can’t legislate away stupidity but I […]
I came across this in an e-mail circular that circulated so much it’s hard to tell exactly who wrote it. It seems to be from either the Dean of Graduate Studies or the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies in Trinity College Dublin, the oldest university in the known universe: “… all guidelines are […]
In Poland and Ireland the demographic timebomb is ticking away. There are ever fewer workers to support ever greater numbers of burdensome old folk. Amazingly, Ireland has found a dual solution: mass redundancies and more procreation: Irish Times: Birth Rate Highest for 110 Years Central Statistics Office: Irish Unemployment Rate Reaches 12.2% Another oddity is […]
Leszek Balcerowicz, Polish economic guru, is nothing if not dependable. No matter what the question, the answer is always to liberalise, deregulate etc. etc. I was reminded of him by today’s piece in the Irish Times by Frances Ruane of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). The subhead says it all. No really: all. […]
