Would Poland be better off with Civic Platform?
Time Magazine on Polish politics.
posted by Gustav at 10:50 AM
Post a Comment 2 |
|
Link |
E-mail This Post
 
A blog by an American expatriate living in the heart of New Europe |
 "It's a lateral transfer" -- George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States |
along for the ride
the newsstand
station standardsin the cityprogressive stations
democrat stationssports stations
satire stationsoff the rails
| Thursday, August 30, 2007How does capitalism work again?Bloomberg on how PiS plans to screw those Poles who first bought into capitalism.
posted by Gustav at 10:48 AM Sunday, August 26, 2007Sunday Vista Blogging XVIII - The Great Wall of China
Gus for WS Great Wall, Juyongguang section
Gus for WS Great Wall, Juyongguang sectionLabels: China, Great Wall, Sunday Vista Blogging
posted by Gustav at 4:38 PM Saturday, August 25, 2007Birthplace of Solidarity to die?The EU is demanding the Gdańsk Shipyard pay back state subsidies. If it does so, it could go out of business for good.
posted by Gustav at 9:43 PM Kaczyńskis spying on journalists It has been reported that former Interior Minister Janusz Kaczmarek, in secret testimony to Poland's parliamentary commission on the secret services, revealed that journalists' phones were tapped on the orders of PM Jarosław Kaczyński and Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
posted by Gustav at 11:22 AM Sunday, August 19, 2007No early elections?
 Zbigniew Religa could be Poland's next prime minister Warsaw Station has learned that parties currently not in power - Civic Platform (PO), the coalition Left and Democrats (LiD) and the Peasants' Party (PSL) - are working on a proposal for a government of national unity, to be led by famous heart surgeon Zbigniew Religa. Religa is the current health minister and is not affiliated with any party. The proposal would put members of all parties willing to join the national unity government into Poland's various ministerial positions The proposal will be extended to former members of the ruling coalition - Samoobrona (SO) and the League of Polish Families (LPR) - as well as to the current (quasi-) governing party, Law and Justice (PiS). It is expected that SO and LPR will accept the proposal, while PiS is expected to reject it, making them the sole party in opposition, after 2 years of governing as the party with the largest number of representatives in Poland's parliament. Who benefits? The logic goes that early elections could only benefit PiS. Though PO leads PiS in the polls, it is unlikely that they will have enough support to gain a majority of representatives. To do so, they would have to form a coalition with either LiD (offending their anti-leftist supporters) or with PiS (offending their liberal-economic supporters). Also, the polls may not be as reliable as PO hopes. In the 2005 elections, polls famously predicted that PO would win. If early elections were to occur, Samoobrona and LPR look to be left out of parliament entirely, or, if they stand as a coalition (the appropriately- monikered LiS or "fox"), to be reduced to a minority fringe element in parliament. LiD could potentially gain seats, but are averse to the idea of the economically liberal PO gaining power - especially if it ends up teaming up with PiS. Though PiS is likely to lose a few seats in parliament with early elections, it will still hold enough to be an extremely powerful opposition party, especially with Lech Kaczyński holding the presidency. For this reason, and because PiS is expected to be able to bring out large numbers of its rural supporters to the polls, PiS will push for early elections. A doable deal? I doubt such an arrangement is achievable, since Polish parties as a general rule are unable to agree amongst themselves for very long. Could opposition to PiS be such a unifying force that nearly all of the parties in parliament could agree to work together? Not for very long, certainly. How such a political coup could take place without early elections is also somewhat of a mystery - as far as I know nothing like it has ever occurred in modern Polish politics. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good thing. Poland has been absent of any type of productive politics - horsetrading, compromise, and the creation of policies and legislation that garner wide public support - for a long time. A government of national unity could lead to such a welcome change. It just doesn't seem likely it will ever happen.
posted by Gustav at 9:29 PM Is Detroit "coming back"? Mike Lyndon thinks so. Labels: architecture, Detroit
posted by Gustav at 5:13 PM Sunday Vista Blogging XVII - Terracotta Warriors
Gus for WS Terracotta Warriors, Xi'an, China
Gus for WS Terracotta Warriors, Xi'an, ChinaLabels: Sunday Vista Blogging, Terracotta Warriors
posted by Gustav at 3:33 PM Wednesday, August 15, 2007New Station resident Warsaw Station welcomes Laika - the Station's new resident space cadet.
Gus for WS Ain't she cute?Cross posted (with commentary and another pic) at p3 More pics here Labels: Laika
posted by Gustav at 10:18 PM Monday, August 13, 2007Sunday Vista Blogging XVI - Everest One day (or several months...) late. So what? It's August.
Gus for WS Mount Everest, halfway between Basecamp 1 and Basecamp 2
posted by Gustav at 6:41 PM Friday, August 10, 2007Times they are a-changin' A couple of days ago, some racists assholes vandalized about 100 gravestones in an historic Jewish cemetery in Częstochowa. They spray-painted them with swastikas and "SS" marks. That, of course and unfortunately, is hardly a new development. However, instead of the usual inaction from the local community, 20 students and the town's mayor went and helped clean it up.
posted by Gustav at 6:43 PM Thursday, August 09, 2007New elections - Yipee! That's right, we'll have fresh elections in October folks. And just as politics in this country were becoming so boring.
posted by Gustav at 11:05 PM Wednesday, August 01, 2007Today we ought to think about...
posted by Gustav at 2:13 PM
|
Would Poland be better off with Civic Platform? I guess there are political circuses everywhere. What silliness! It's fun to laugh at for a while, but the political shenanigans are beginning to affect the economy. The government has some 4000 km of road to build in 5 years if it wants to host the Euro 2012 soccer championships, and all this administration can think about is all of the conspiracies against it.If they don't get their act together soon, they'll lose the tournament. And then foreign investment will slow way down. How does capitalism work again? Sunday Vista Blogging XVIII - The Great Wall of China Birthplace of Solidarity to die? Kaczyńskis spying on journalists No early elections? Is Detroit "coming back"? http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/NEWS06/308210002&theme=MICHIGANPOLL022007 Detroit is cool place to play Most suburbanites give it thumbs-up August 21, 2007 BY RUBY L. BAILEY FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER When it comes to good food, culture and sports teams, Detroit has flavor, pizzazz and game -- and a fair share of suburban visitors. Nearly two-thirds of residents of suburban Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties say they at least occasionally dine, attend cultural events or take in professional games in Detroit. Advertisement High earners especially come to Detroit for the restaurants. Oakland residents are the most likely to seek out culture such as music, theater or dance in Motown. But the appeal of the city's three professional sports teams cuts across lines of gender, geography and all but the smallest incomes. The findings are based on interviews with 640 suburban and 158 Detroit residents for a Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll conducted July 29 to Aug. 1 by Selzer and Co. of Des Moines, Iowa. Questions asked just of suburban adults have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. The margin is 3.5 percentage points for questions asked of all 798 adults. Work brings about 12% of suburban residents to Detroit frequently and another 11% occasionally. About 9% of suburbanites say they never set foot in the city, the poll found, though among those younger than 35, only 2% never get to the city. What would bring more suburban and city residents downtown? The top answer of both suburban and city residents was more security -- despite statistics that show downtown has a relatively low crime rate. Detroit residents also cited better retail shopping and improved public transportation as changes that would bring them downtown more. Here are some other key findings about suburbanites who visited the city in the past year: • About 9 in 10 African Americans came to the city at least occasionally to visit relatives or friends. • Nearly 6 in 10 people earning $85,000 a year or more came into the city at least a couple of times a month. About 80% of the high earners went to Detroit restaurants at least occasionally. • More than half of people younger than 55 said they came to the city at least a couple of times a month. Those younger than 35 were the most likely to frequently attend pro games or dine in Detroit. Aubree King, 19, said she isn't worried about her safety when she comes downtown. King, an Oakland University sophomore and Ortonville resident, said she comes to Greektown to eat. But she said she really would like a wider variety of festivals. That's true of many in the under-35 crowd. Thirty-nine percent of those polled in that age group said they would come downtown a lot more if it had better festivals. "That would be really cool," King said. "The culture is really fun." One-third of the respondents said more interesting retail shopping would bring them downtown more often, but nearly one-half said it wouldn't make a difference. Shopping was a bigger factor for African Americans and Detroit residents. Fifty-seven percent of Detroiters said they would shop downtown a lot more if it had more interesting shopping. And better public transportation would draw 54% of Detroit residents downtown a lot more. "The bus system is not that good," said Seena Wiggins, 22, who lives on Detroit's west side. Wiggins shops in Dearborn, but said downtown would draw her if it had retail stores such as Old Navy and Target. "All they have downtown are little specialty stores," said Wiggins, who visits downtown mostly for Tigers games. John Carroll, executive director of the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership, part of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said the poll results were encouraging. But he said he's amazed that so many people rarely, if ever, come downtown. "I think the biggest issue of all is that people are not aware that it's out there," he said. "It still astounds me that there are so many people who haven't been downtown for years." Downtown hosted a Super Bowl last year, holds an annual Winter Blast and recently opened a greatly improved RiverWalk. And mayoral spokesman Matt Allen said the city has a federal grant for light rail service from downtown along a yet-to-be-determined 12-mile route. The service should be running by 2011, he said. Still, some say they stay away for fear of violence. Forty-five percent of those surveyed said that more security would bring them downtown a lot more, and the opinion crossed race, age, gender and income lines. Fifty-seven percent of African Americans voiced that opinion. So did 50% of those earning $85,000 a year or more and 49% making less than $35,000. "There is still a lingering perception that Detroit in some corners is not a safe place," Allen said. The city is in the process of hiring and training 200 more police officers, he said. But the image that downtown Detroit is unsafe is undeserved, said Kurt Metzger, a demographer and director of research for the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. "The areas most people would come to Detroit for are very safe," Metzger said. "But in the end, it does get down to perception. For whatever reason, people have this idea that Detroit is dangerous." Norman Aldred, 54, of Brownstown Township said he visits Detroit a few times a year but that he canceled a trip to the auto show with his grandson a couple of years ago because he heard about a shooting in the city. "We shouldn't have to worry about a shoot-out," he said. Dane Clark of Rochester Hills said he isn't worried about coming downtown with his wife, Cathi, and their two children. They occasionally make trips to the Detroit Institute of Arts, see plays and watch a Tigers or Lions game. "It's terrible that Detroit has to live with those perceptions," said Clark, 46. "We're all in this together. We all have some skin in the game." Sunday Vista Blogging XVII - Terracotta Warriors New Station resident hello... i just want to ask...it's your blog have a high traffic? my blog traffic is very low..i'm so confused how to make my blog taffic is high... and i was thinking to exchange my blog..i visit your blog everyday and you visit my blog everyday too... if you interest, just visit my blog and fell the comment... www.soccer-fiesta.blogspot.com Sunday Vista Blogging XVI - Everest That is so cool!!! Thanks for sharing btw. Thanks RT, and you're welcome. After 3 hours of driving across Himalayan terrain (there was a dirt "road" that would more accurately be called a path) we arrived at base camp at about 9 am. When we got there, clouds covered the whole bloody thing. We hung around and hiked away from base camp a bit, and the clouds continued to separate. At about 10:30 - BAM! - we got this. It stayed that way for about an hour, and the clouds passed in front of Everest again. So did you do nude climbing? I hear it's the rage at Everest this year. Welcome Kristen, No, we didn't even climb it clothed. We ain't that crazy. We were just visiting. Heck, it was cold there in the middle of July in jeans and a coat ... wouldn't like to think about how that would feel nude... Times they are a-changin' New elections - Yipee! That's my city Today we ought to think about... station archives
enjoy the view
|
my feed
|
 |