TEXTS FROM THE DRAWER - Nova Medusa vel Nowa Meduza
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TEXTS FROM THE DRAWER
Below we publish some texts created in the past years within the section "From a different planet" and "Public relations". Looked through curtly, probably controversial, but still timely. (Comment sjw; translation zw)
Four new translations
Stanisław Jerzy Włodowski
The article was edited in the first issue of the quarterly Nowa Meduza in 2009, and then in a monograph edited by S.J. Włodowski and Elżbieta Sawa-Czajka, Contemporary Medusa mask. Threats to modern civilization: political, economic, military, ecological, cultural and psychosocial, pp. 29-38. Also published was the polemical article of Dr. W. Chytrowski "The Bright Side of the Charter of Fundamental Rights", pp. 39-70, and the polemic response of Dr. S.J. Włodowski "Light or Dark Side of the Card", pp. 71-76. The monograph was published in 2010 and contained the works of 20 authors on 353 pages.
The dark side of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
The dark side of the Moon is dark only in our imagination. In reality it is lit by the sunlight and the reason why we perceive it as dark is the configuration of the planets. The Charter of Fundamental Rights appears perfectly clear to the moral judgement of a citizen of the EU or the world. It comprises clearly formulated articles and, thanks to the support from the greatest academic and political minds, we would expect it to be perfectly accurate. No wonder it serves as an unsurpassable model for law, social and political order in the EU membership countries in the same way as once a platinum-iridium metre bar from Sevres served as a model for a craftsman or surveyor taking measurements.
How is the ruling power of the Charter presented. Apologists known as euro optimists claim it will extend and improve European citizens' rights without compromising their countries' sovereignty.
How does the Charter of Fundamental Rights improve the rights of European citizens?
The Treaty of Lisbon makes a cross-reference to the Charter as a real catalogue of rights that the EU believes all citizens of the Union should enjoy vis-?-vis the Union's institutions and the Union's law binding guarantees. The six chapters of the Charter cover the following aspects: individual rights related to dignity; freedoms, equality, solidarity, rights linked to citizenship status and justice. These rights are drawn essentially from other international instruments, like the European Convention on Human Rights, giving them legal embodiment in the Union.
The institutions of the Union must respect the rights written into the Charter. The same obligations are incumbent upon the Member States when they implement the Union's legislation. The Court of Justice will ensure that the Charter is applied correctly. The incorporation of the Charter does not alter the Union's powers, but offers strengthened rights and greater freedom for citizens.(1)
The above promise may sound a bit like a fairy tale since we find it rather difficult to imagine not violating local culture-based customs and at the same time defending the rights of an individual who violates them. And this is how we come to the first problematic issue.
Issue no. 1. The Charter claims the superiority of its regulations over local regulations growing out of the experiences of a society.
We should not settle here whether it is the universality of the Charter or the appropriateness of principles created by local mechanisms which is right. In many cases we should, however, take an approach different from the Union's Olympus perspective towards cultural diversity of Europe. Instead of bureaucratic standardization we should try more subtle ways of addressing the specificity of individual nations and cultural communities.
Let us have a closer look at individual articles now. As early as in the first article we come across a solemn formula of human dignity.
Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected. (2)
The problem appears with people and institutions which do not respect the dignity of others. Obviously, they should be punished for their actions but why should we respect their dignity at the same time. Should the dignity of a rapist, drug trafficker or a rowdy hooligan be respected by the legal system or ordinary citizens?
Issue no. 2. The Charter calls for respect for the dignity regardless of the specification and without taking into consideration the quality of the nature of human actions which form the real personality class.
Article 2 focuses on the right to life.
1. Everyone has the right to life.
2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.
This article, however, raises the following doubts:
Issue no. 3. If we modify a human being with substitutes of animal origin or technical devices, at which point does this being made of transplanted organs and substitutes stop being a human being?
Issue no. 4. If an individual or a group of individuals grant themselves with the self-proclaimed right to kill, are we allowed to risk the lives of people threatened by hopeless sociopaths, aggressive paedophiles or those filled with hate based on race, religion or ethnic origin?(3)
Issue no. 5. If everyone has the right to life, it is not possible to establish priorities for the treatment of human beings when facing a shortage of medical services or medicaments, and set the order of actions for rescue services in case of natural or industrial disasters.
The next right listed in the Charter refers to the integrity of the person.
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity.
2. In the fields of medicine and biology, the following must be respected in particular:
a) the free and informed consent of the person concerned, according to the procedures laid down by law,
b) the prohibition of eugenic practices, in particular those aiming at the selection of persons,
c) the prohibition on making the human body and its parts as such a source of financial gain,
d) the prohibition of the reproductive cloning of human beings.
Issue no. 6. When it is not possible to obtain consent of a serial killer - psychopath or individuals who display such tendencies for a medical procedure to be performed, are imprisonment or monitoring their activities until they commit their first or next crime the only solutions?
Issue no. 7. Is using medical advancements in sports not making the human body a source of financial gain? Does the use of scientists' or managers' brains not generate profits prohibited by the Charter?
Issue no. 8. Is stopping treatment of individuals or groups of individuals for economic reasons not an example of eugenic selection?
Articles on prohibition of torture, degrading treatment and forced labour follow.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
Issue no. 9. If rehabilitation and forcing prisoners to do community works are limited by their views on what degrading work is, they are granted a privilege which puts them above non-penalized members of the society. The community must cater for prisoners' needs even in times of scarcity, which is experienced by vast groups even in countries as wealthy as the United States, Germany or France.(4)
Article 5 also mentions the prohibition of slavery.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
Trafficking in human beings is prohibited.
Issue no. 10. The status of some employees resembles that of a slave. Sportsmen can be sold by their teams or forced to sign disadvantageous contracts.(5) Employment contracts often oblige employees to do slave work, whereas government bodies pretend the problem does not exist. The drain of brains of workers from underdeveloped countries is happening with the full sanction of the EU's law.
Article 6 touches on the right to liberty and security.
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
Issue no. 11. We can provide numerous examples showing that some people are more entitled to the above than others. Districts inhabited by wealthy and well-connected residents are watched over and secured by policing services whereas inhabitants of small towns or poverty districts need to ensure their own safety by supplying themselves with weapons or joining gangs.
Article 7 treats about the respect for private and family life.
Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, home and communications.
Issue no. 12. The right to respect for private life quite often applies to so called domestic aggressors who bully, abuse and threaten their spouses and kids and destroy their life chances.
Issue no. 13. In their pursuit of criminals special services and regular prosecution organs are not able to maintain a balance between effectiveness and unjustified and illegal surveillance. Continually improved technical instruments expose the noble principles of living without constant surveillance to ridicule.
Protection of personal data expressed in Article 8 is a legal responsibility of many government offices.
Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her.
Issue no. 14. Personal data are the subject of theft on a large scale. They leak on the Internet, are stolen from offices, and may be used by state run institutions against citizens.
Article 9 guarantees the right to marry and right to found a family "in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights."
Issue no 15. Founding a family in many EU countries is a way for parents to nourish their alcoholism since expense control is not possible due to the ineffectiveness of social services.(6)
Article 10 guarantees the freedom of thought, conscience and religion and, among other things, "the right to conscientious objection is recognised, in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of this right."
Issue no. 16. Protecting a citizen against ostracism or aggression from groups terrorising them because of their attitude towards Catholicism, the Orthodox Church or Islam is often beyond capabilities of the state services in the EU or candidate countries.(7)
Articles 11, 12 and 13 mention freedom of expression, information and assembly as well as freedom of the arts and sciences.
Issue no. 17. The twentieth-century political totalitarianism was replaced by economic organizations which efficiently control the imagination of the masses and provide or block the access to their domain. This applies especially to the appropriation of state-run institutions by political parties but also leaves some space to attend to personal business. This can be observed in countries where political opposition is in a state of atrophy.(8)
The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.
Issue no. 18. It is difficult to talk about the freedom of the media in countries where special services continually listen in on the conversations of journalists, what is particularly important as far as investigative journalists are concerned.(9)
Issue no. 19. The pluralism of the media is limited by international companies, which have almost completely captured the multimedia market. Their only competition is from independent journalism, underground or local radio and TV stations and social initiatives on the Internet (see the campaign against the football association organized by football fans (10)).
Article 12 states that "political parties at Union level contribute to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union."
Issue no. 20. The political will of the citizens is mainly dependent on the sources of funding for political parties. Parties supported by the big business or parties which came into possession of income generating assets have a chance to develop or at least vegetate on the edge of the political system.(11) New parties can grow only in the circumstances of social protests as it was the case with Samoobrona (Self-defence).
Articles 13 and 14 touch on the freedom of the arts and sciences and the right to education.
Issue no. 21. The right to do science and the right to education are limited by economic conditions. Research topics are at the disposal of non transparent administrative-political consortiums, and the chances of scientists who do not work for large centres to receive a subsidy border on the miraculous. In these conditions the level of science and, indirectly, the level of education for many scientists become dependent on their achievements in doing guerrilla science. In most cases it comes down to adopting research topics abandoned by large centres as arduous or unprofitable. Students and pupils make use of the benefits of information revolution as long as they can make their living through popular odd jobs.(12) In Poland graduation from a university equals the end of a student's research activity as neither companies nor universities make an effort to maintain it.
I believe this superficial analysis of just a few first articles is enough to show the deficiencies of the concept of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It was not my intention to discredit its authors or any institutions as since the Moses Tables delivering universal truths has had more or less the same consequences for social practices.
However, I did not want this important topic to be bound by so prevalent in social sciences political correctness. If the Charter is to set legislative conditions in the future, it has to be improved in a way which eliminates its verbosity and freedom of interpretation.(13) Parts of the Charter which have not been analysed here may, as some representative Czech groups fear, allow the Sudeten Germans', as well as other expelled groups, to carry out their claims. Whether they were, as their adversaries claim, "rightly expelled" would now be settled not by social reality and post-war treaties but by the Charter composed in the privacy of Brussels offices.
Final conclusions
1. The Charter should not be merely a set of wishes and half-hearted reproduction of "the beauty of the spirit". Sententious phrases may only destroy the meaning, not create it. Employing clichés can be useful for legislative manipulation which is tempting not only from the Brussels perspective.
2. If we truly think about social renewal, we should make an attempt to cross the Rubicon of stereotypes about building a society, doing science and creating ways of living in merging cultures and law and political systems. I am not fully convinced it does not exceed the mental capabilities of political elites in our country and motivation barriers in the "old" EU countries.
3. Along with the above mentioned necessity for a radical revision of the Charter we should carefully investigate possible law and political consequences of those formulations to ensure that their applications in newly made laws do not become a hotbed for social tragedies.
___________________________________________________________
Notes:
1 http://europa.eu/lisbon_treaty/faq/index_pl.htm#9
2 In the later parts I refer to the text that is available on the European Parliament's website at www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do
3 See the Włodowo case where a sociopath threatening the local society was killed by villagers driven to psychosis. Only then did the judiciary representatives looked into the case.
4 The cost of board in Polish prisons is twice as high as in hospitals and more or less equal with that in children's homes. See http://www.aferyprawa.com/wiezienie_koszty.html; According to the estimates of Money.pl from 2008-08-05 07:00 in 2008 we spent 3.1 billion zlotys on Polish prisons. Thus the daily cost amounts to 63 zlotys per prisoner.
5 The situation in this area has been slightly improved after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union establishing the so-called Bosman ruling. Before it was introduced a football player was bound by his contract and even when it expired he could not leave the club unless a "buyer" willing to pay for his skills was found. See info.sport.pl/szukaj/sport/niewolnictwo
6 According to reliable estimates about 1.5 million children in Poland are brought up in alcoholic families and suffer the moral and health consequences from it.
7 See http://www.euroislam.pl/index.php/2009/05/ostracyzm-spoleczny-usprawiedliwia-morderstwa-dla-honoru/
8 Political observers were able to notice the process of calming scandal-related social psychoses by the media supporting some of the political blocs, for example after replacing the CBA authorities and reconstruction in the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) authorities in October 2009.
9 The problem does not concern only our country but virtually all the EU countries. Not infrequently journalists are a few steps ahead of the investigation carried by the law enforcement agencies. From time to time this results in a clash of interests between the media and secret services.
10 In all probability it was the Internet campaign organized by football fans what made Tyskie beer producer withdraw their adverts and stop supporting the PZPN.
11 Successful political campaigns cost hundreds or even millions of zlotys and, as the example of Libertas shows, it is a necessary condition but not always sufficient.
12 According to professor Jerzy Błażejewski, in the area of higher education Poland spends six times less resources compared to western countries of the EU. This affects not only the results of education but also passes the burden of paying for education on young people and their families. See http://www.psrp.org.pl/zalaczniki/materialy%20konferencyjne%201830.pdf.
13 As for the deeper sources of political correctness let me quote after Jacek Bartyzel an interesting hypothesis by a Polish theologian - Michał Wojciechowski - that this phenomenon, commonly perceived as purely lay, is a deformed, secular mutant of Anglo-Saxon Puritanism which, unlike Catholicism, craved for meticulous surveillance of people's behaviour, thoughts and utterances. An example of this kind of mentality is the famous prohibition of alcohol which created organized crime in the same way as "war on drugs" and "war on corruption" and other "wars" do nowadays. http://haggard.w.interia.pl/politpopr.html.
15.07.2012
Good Eurocommunism and bad states
With liberalism's progress, we can perceive the evil lurking in the manifestations of nationalism and religiosity more clearly in our daily lives. Due to this the soccer central representing an European organization in Poland stripped the country representatives' wear of even the traditional eagle. This nearly ended in catastrophe, as the Polish fan, no matter if they're a lemming or a post-communist, could not bear the assault on the white eagle. Emanating sinister smells from their shaking pants, the Central had to restore the eagle on shirts. This didn't help much, as the scandalous fear affected trainer Smuda, who was so overwhelmed by the burden of responsibility before the furious nation, that instead of va banque he played for a reasonable bonus. For himself.
The thing is, no form of social organization, neither chief, nor technocratic, guarantees success. The lemming-like rush in many soccer centrals, to imitate other's organizational solutions, has led to a spectacular failure. The secret of success lies in a simple, not to say a simpleton matter. To multiply the chance of success one needs to make w i s e decisions. And this is not ensured by any structure, because even the best organization led by uncreative people will spit out worthless thought chaff.
The 'head' of EU seems to be exactly such a structure, which, by rejecting the concepts of 'nation' and 'religion' as hateful demons of the past, tries build a new religion for the European nation. The axis of this new religion would be the concept of 'a standard'. The initial mottos of uniting Europe, and that we could 'differ beautifully' have been disposed of. Currently, under the pretext of a crisis, a common unification is occurring, and the different Union states bring to mind sister copies in terms of political social techniques. Total (totalitarian?) standardization does not limit itself to surrounding the human with social and political mechanisms, but tampers with a human being, the simple bread eating Union citizen.
They are forced to eat straightened bananas and not consume tobacco, and ordered to refer numerically to their mother and father 'parent 1' and 'parent 2'. Logically soon names and surnames will disappear, and the numbers tattooed by the Nazi on forearms will be replaced by electronical chips. Evil nationalisms and religious superstitions will disappear from the European horizon, as new categories of humans will be created, drawn by the Union computer.
You will say that these are fantasies of technocrats, and will be rejected during the transplantation attempt. I don't know. One thing is for certain. This is exactly the kind of social model that Lenin dreamed of, and the Stalin's oppression system tried to implement in Russia and Europe. Communa rediviva?!
29.08.2012
Irresponsible quasi-liberal state
A state’s irresponsibility is the target ideal in liberal doctrines and its neoliberal versions, and also in the communist doctrine. The differences between those doctrines, in this regard, are slight, because in practice both lead to drastic limitation of citizen rights (for example censorship in communism and ACTA and its consecutive versions in the liberal system). To confuse the masses both doctrines proclaim freedom of an individual, but only if this individual does not raise their hand on system’s prey (empty laughter ensues here).
The only noticeable difference between a near-communist state and a near-liberal state is its approach towards economy. Now, the communist state wanted to control every single tiny industrial or farming process. That is why the most ideologically faithful staff was thrown on difficult ‘front parts’. Unfortunately, in practice it turned out that political commissars lacked any knowledge and ruined what they could. Furthermore, manual control had a good effect in the situation of revolutionary chaos, while later it created chaos and market absurdities by itself.
A liberal state, conversely, puts on the grounds of its doctrine gradual or step reducing of influence on the economy, and also, with time, other spheres of social life. Everyone can see how that looks in reality. A factual, or bank-provoked economic crisis, consisting of bank produced ‘bubbles’ in the form of false values on the housing and raw material markets, imposes the necessity of enhancing control mechanisms. Therefore, both the European Union and its vassal nations – including Poland, tighten the screw of economic control, and through it, also social control. Of course, this control does not cover with its range ‘its’ people and ‘its’ investments. Ipso facto, the liberal system is ultimately no different from communism in the social practice sphere, though in the phraseological sphere, it’s a whole different story!
Concerning personal responsibility, or rather irresponsibility, the liberal system and the communist system are like identical twins. How many laws must be transgressed by a son or a daughter of Platforma Obywatelska before many years of arduous trials pass, and those responsible for catching them are sacked, and some sentence hatches. And there are tens or hundreds of such examples in our exotic country. And I’m not only pointing it out for the currently ruling coalition, because the system of corruption, nepotism, clientism and mediocrity of state action standards has been being busily constructed since 1989, in the merry years of ‘wałęsizm’, on the basis of the good PRL model. It’s worth saying that it was exorbitantly improved, of which an example would be the effects of every now and then erupting big scandals like Amber Gold. Someone marginal or oppositional towards power holding parties will end up in jail, and the sentence will probably depend on whether they are ‘giving away’ those above them, meaning the true beneficiaries. One can say that, compared to the mafia keeping its hands on Polish economic life and monolithic state-autonomous power, the ‘actual’ mafia seems like a small fry, serving from time to time as a scapegoat, when someone wants to medially prove the power of the state.
Therefore, the liberal system, similar to communism before, is gradually turning into its opposite and heading the same way, that is towards ‘faceholding’. Obviously, the last part concerns only those who, as I mentioned, raise their hands on the system’s prey and not sing with zeal ‘Ya drugoy takoy strany ne znayu gdie tak vol'no dyshit chelovek’ (I do not know another country where man breathes so freely). While it can be said fair and square that we’re allowed to sing it in the native language… For now.
15.12.2012
The disability of legitimacy
The legitimacy of political power reminds me a bit of an ID card or a party card. Just that in ID cards is written the most important data that identifies a person in a certain system of social traits, and the authorization to rule is usually much more complex.
The conceptions of Max Weber, David Beetham or David Eastman, most often cited in political science and dictionary sources, with notable differences in approach, mark out two important aspect of legitimacy of power:
1. the power camp’s declaration’s accordance with legal standards or ideology in force in the given society;
2. the identification of supporting groups, and preferably the entirety, with the regime on the basis of respect and positive feelings.
The above definition of legitimacy seems defective, since it practically gives the society restricted by the system only the right to emerge political representatives. European, or American democracies choose their parliamentarians, and then just follow the saying of ‘heaven can wait’. Corruption, lobbying, violation of human rights, in short everything which is prohibited and unavailable to a littler becomes the participation of deputies, congressmen or senators. If, obviously, they aren’t so stupid or spoiled that they get caught on it. Even if journalists track down a politician’s hoaxes, then the party protective umbrella gets enabled, as scandals damage the party’s image. Trials in ‘rigged’ courts and prosecutor’s offices last forever, until the people forget what it was all about. Nota bene, revocation a politician from their post or function doesn’t change much, because their ideal copy jumps in their place instantly, only with a mouth full of clichés like honesty, reliability and diligence.
In my opinion, democracy should rely on a much bigger contribution from society in the process of ruling. This requires authentic, not feigned, political education of mass version. In the current state, both in internal affairs, and the external ones, we are dealing with more of an image war than a battle of substantive arguments. Instead of factual arguments we have the PR nonsense. Public opinion, in the form of polls, bounces from wall to wall in this situation, as it is difficult to develop a rational view in the face of complete disorientation.
In Polish national politics, an example of legitimacy of power through PR stereotypes would be the usage of real or delusional mistakes made by the head of the biggest oppositional party, Jarosław Kaczyński. Instead of validity of accepting euro, fighting unemployment or the loss of Poland’s economic sovereignty, the subject of public disputes is the personality, mishaps, and bon mots of PIS’ chairman. This looks like conscious brainwashing of the public only to stop the natural erosion of support towards the power camp.
In external politics, the Smolensk catastrophe of the government plane became a cover to economic colonization of Poland by developed countries of the West. On one hand, it is important on the symbolical plane, because both the lack of direct access to evidence, and Russian occupation of Poland’s territory fragment (so also the Union’s) is impermissible and provocative. While at the moment of soldiers fragmenting the pieces of plane with crowbars it became obvious that this element of Russian investigation came to an end. On the other hand, on the economic plane, also in relations with Russia, there exist so many important problems, that incorporating the ‘Smolensk matter’ in EU-Russia negotiations seems like an absurd. Unless our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received signals that Russia plans to treat the wreck of Tupolev as a trophy, similar to Kuril Islands or Kaliningrad.
For the sake of modern democracy one needs to stubbornly repeat that the legitimacy of power is not a curve graph of ‘training’ the public opinion, but linear, constant progress of ruling effectiveness. And with that modern governments in liberal capitalism countries have a huge problem. Besides, analogically like in countries of the so-called ‘real socialism’ a few decades ago??? Nihil novi sub sole.
26.12.2010
Specious evidence from a leak
A leak is as old as the world is. Even long ago, pharaohs and Egyptian priests spread gossip about those who were meant to die due to gods’ will, caesars did it, princes, prelates, to divide and rule.
When another Polish president came to Washington to wheedle something for a dog’s service from the Great Ally, he encountered somewhat of a cold reception. Concerning the ever belabored, unsuccessfully, abolition of visas for Poles, one can gain the impression that the successive administrations of the White House have been playing chase with the Polish. When the refusal index goes down then they start manipulating the thresholds, or send directives to consuls in panic, so that they turn down everything as it goes or there will be an inspection… They’ve already let in nearly the whole Europe, and the most faithful ally of NATO stands obediently at the door, like some kind of a guard keeping things in order, who you don’t let inside, or he will dirty the carpets.
It’s also not worth it giving them modern armaments, since they are far away from Palestine, Iraq and other valuable pieces of land, then what purpose is there? When only Russia hears that Poland was given something, it starts raging, Russian generals frown and why would anybody risk that?
Instantly, from the third row an angel of destruction escapes its box, festooned with medals like a Christmas tree and threatens that they will place esesses vel iskanders in the Kaliningrad area, or deliver them by jeeps to the private kolkhoz of their sporadic friend Lukashenko. He, in turn, was supposed to be demobilized by Union Europeans with a method tested by the orange in Kiev, but there was neither reflection in that idea, nor the Belarussian nation wanted that which the Ukrainians received for several years of living in poverty on Union’s doorstep.
Therefore, those bothersome Poles had to be punished, best to put the blame on them at one go for consecutive cowboy failures after Vietnam and Iraq. So ‘Time’ printed, at ‘public request’, complaints of anonymous American officers, that when they leave a portion of Ghazni province to the Poles then it will be soon bugged with landmines by the Taliban. Apparently, the Polish patrolling is of low precision, they aren’t capable of waging a guerrilla war, they don’t allow enough grassroots initiative etc. Everybody who knows what Ghazni and the black hole called Afghanistan are will fall down laughing. Above all, a two thousand and half corps can maintain a relative peace in a few farming villages, not among two hundred thousands of Afghans scattered on 1800 square kilometers. It takes a huge imbecile to imagine control over such wilderness by simple patrolling… Unless you bombard every camel approaching the transporting route. Such a decision decentralization has already been tested by Polish commandos in Nangar Khel and there seems to be no end to the trial, or a chance of pardon by Polish judiciary.
And here is where the service dog lies. Because the whole logistics is in American hands. They are the ones having bearings on Afghan wilderness with satellites, planes and helicopters, rockets and spies entwining the world with a secret spider net. In brief, they have the eyes and send blindmen to the front, to have them test landmines and traps set by the Taliban. And then they hoax their so-called allies. A bit of a shame that it’s the Poles who suffer again. The resourceful Yankee businessmen have another pretext to think up a tasty series of Polish Jokes. Maybe we should just leave them there with their damn war?
2.12.2012
Symptom of national betrayal
If there is something that forever crosses out a politician’s or just a regular citizen’s national identity then it is service to the nation’s enemies. During the times of Deluge the symbol of betrayal was the Radziwiłł family, and during servile Targowica towards Russia, it was Branicki and Potocki families. Szymon Kossakowski was even a commander of Russian corps, which captured Vilnius in 1792, and Franciszek Ksawery Branicki a general of the Empire, who wore on his chest both the White Eagle Order, and the Russian order of Alexander Nevsky.
Under the guardianship of those Russian collaborators and nominees for the highest positions in colonized Poland, the robbery of Polish patriots’ assets and contributions towards the occupying army took place. During the times of Kościuszko Confederation the traitors were hanged on gallows, partly based upon court judgments, partly as a result of lynches. A notable group was able to save their life and their assets, because, faced with the insurrection oppression, they fled under the protective wings of Catherine number 2.
I don’t remind you of such reactions towards national traitors and extremely different understanding of the right of state without a reason. This topic notoriously returns both on the occasion of judging attitudes in PRL, and in the Third and the seeds of Fourth Republic of Poland. On manifestations, the elite of III and IV RP willingly shouted ‘And on the trees communists will hang instead of leaves’, discerning betrayal of not only a hundred thousands representatives of ancien regime, but also low level members and secretaries of PZPR and collaborators from ZSL (currently PSL), or SD. Jointly, there were millions of associates to that regime, at least half a nation, often nonpartisan on command of the Party.
I’ve always definitely leftist and pro-social views, didn’t hide it, not when I was studying philosophical cosmology at KUL, neither later, when I was working scientifically at UMK. During my professional and social career there (I mostly participated in scientific societies, the redaction of UMK bulletin ‘Voice of the University’ and ZNP, but also on the faculty level in PZPR). I met there with hundreds of anti-communists, especially among students, but only with one who declared himself… a communist.
Therefore, it is not an expression of hypocrisy, or fear of being judged by the furious, or set on by liberal manipulators, the fact that nobody wants to confess about ‘communizing’. Just that in PRL ‘communism’ was basically an empty word, same as social justice or international aid. At most those slogans were used by the regime as means to crisis-preventing interventions, to stifle the uprising in Budapest or justify prices rising.
And so, in III RP we have a replay of that. Instead of sovereign and rich Poland we perceive Poland with cheap sales, where a crisis is followed by another crisis, and national assets are robbed thanks to political connections. We educate young staff for work in Western Europe, because here they are threatened with extremely low salary. There are increasingly more opinions on internet forums about national betrayal committed by old oppositionists during the PRL. As a reply to those, neocensorship is being exacerbated by eliminating freedom of speech, for example the purge in ‘Uważam Rze’ and ‘Rzeczpospolita’, and also actions towards legal prosecution of contesters (Antykomor, ACTA, some strange council with unclear powers against hate, xenophobia etc., inspired by the government).
And so, the reliable symptom of national betrayal or just a justified accusation of it appears – repressions towards people or circles contesting the current state of things. The loop of history (thankfully for some – not the one on the gallows) closes and we return to the early PRL. We are connected to those times by so many analogies… The presidents were, as historians prove, agents, while the future elite received bags of cash for the oppositional work from foreign powers. Union’s transformations lead to a creation close to USSR, some kind of Soviet Union, not an alliance of independent nations. Books by Gross, usually slandering Poles, are being published and popularized in Poland, the libelous ‘Pokłosie’ is directed, undoubtedly to destroy the rest of national pride and patriotism. To sow a seed of guilt, uncertainty, to throw the nation to its knees. It was announced several days ago in Russian television that it was not the German shrapnels that tore apart the bodies of Red Army soldiers, but Polish nationalists cut their remains during exhumation with shovels. Judging by the time of exhumation they had to be doing this under the supervision of soviet comrades from GRU or the infamous agents of NKWD, such as Tadeusz Różański-Goldberg.
I do not claim that the whole post-Solidarity elite is responsible for this state of things, or the survivors of the old regime, who ‘jumped over’ to the establishment. But now has come a time for reflection and shaking off hallucinations, to not awaken in captivity, under a foreign, or seemingly native shoe, in the iron pliers of totalitarianism.
5.01.2011
Double Pascal
There exists a trend for mental shortcuts in the public life. Various strange systems of ruling are nowadays called democracy. Perhaps from the term ‘demo’, to demonstrate what would happen if you let loonies rule. So we are experimentally ruled by guys whom we wouldn’t lend a single Swiss franc, miss politicians, who are difficult to consider women, make decisions for us (I guess they also are demo), while our perspectives are drawn by demo-scientists indicated by the party code. If everything is a crazy experiment on us, acting as laboratory props, then maybe we should lose faith in democracy?
Per analogiam I referred to the famous Pascal’s Wager. French philosopher Blaise Pascal proved that it’s worth believing in God. Pascal analyzed two cases related to the existence of God:
1. God exists and faith provides us with eternal life.
2. There is no God and no eternal life.
While practicing faith one forfeits many earthly pleasures, such as the opportunity to fool thy neighbors, stealing from them or abusing their belief in good. However, if we assume that God exists, then we gain eternal happiness, and if he doesn’t, we don’t lose anything extraordinary. Thus says Blaise Pascal.
The Wager, also called Pascal’s game, met with deserved criticism. It was accused of narrowing God’s abilities to rewarding for having faith in him, and also mercantile treatment of one’s attitude towards God. I have my own remark too.
It concerns eternal life. While theologists and Churches have their own visions of eternal happiness, I think they are imperfect, and even sometimes primitive. That’s why Pascal’s Wager should be expressed by adding the necessary second condition.
Let’s call it the double Pascal’s Wager, or shortly – Double Pascal.
1. God exists and faith provides us with eternal life.
1.1. adequately described in theologists’ visions
1.2. inadequately described in theologists’ visions
2. There is no God and no eternal life, or there is one but it exceeds the limitations of our imaginations.
If we consider the non-stereotypical case 1.2, then it will turn out that eternal life is a tragic mistake, some kind of a failed version of earthly torment. And we are in the same place as the large utopias: enlightenment, communism and liberalism. Or rather in this swamp to which inevitable distortions of those doctrines lead. Unfortunately, the majority of humanity experiences contact only with those distortions, and only the chosen ones drink its nectar. That’s why, in my humble opinion, those who create visions of public life should forcibly, under escort, be subjected to the distortions of their self-created doctrines. Only in that I see a hope of fixing the fatal state of social reality.
10.06.2010
Third peak of radical liberals
Economic relations in Poland are well portrayed by the model of the main shepherd, side shepherds, sheep herd, shepherd dogs and hungry wolves. The main shepherd is the political leader, side shepherds are the government and bureaucracy, shepherd dogs are the police, special services, media and social organizations, and the wolves are the part of society that grabs the tastiest bits in the system of free competition. The so called free competition, since, as we can see since not long ago, regulated by politicians within acts motivated corruptly by the sponsors of autonomous and parliamentary legislation.
We experienced the first peak during the vice-ministry of Leszek Balcerowicz (from September 1989 till December 1990), who deprived the state of public liabilities with a clever monetary maneuver. Following Jeffrey Sachs’ tactics (possible to apply in such an exotic country like Poland), he suddenly turned the saving and debtors into bankrupts or wretches overwhelmed by debts. This had mostly affected farmers, small businesses and a huge mass of housing cooperatives’ clients. The state acted the role of a swindler, who breaks the rule of predictability of economic politics. Moreover, this problem has not been fixed to this day, and the sheep with some dogs have founded Samoobrona. Doctor Balcerowicz can, in this case, be called the moral godfather of this political formation.
The second peak of radical liberals fell on our miserable country during the rule of Jan Krzysztof Bielecki (from January till December 1991), and we have been experiencing the third since 2007. Curious that the sheep have been choosing radical liberals under mottos of unparalleled economic development, as a result of limiting economic freedom. Sheep imagine it like this: when the SRL (state-demolishing radical liberals) rises to power, then not only every Pole will be able to freely noodle around, but the state’s economy will fly like an arrow. Unfortunately, in reality this turned out to be, speaking French, crappe. The state’s economy experienced no radical change (no second Japan, or even Ireland), but has been suffering from the illness of stagnation, recession, unemployment and indebtment (especially nowadays).
The average citizen had it worse, however, as he was fed until fullness, especially just before the election, with the propaganda of success, while the purchasing power of his wallet constantly oscillated in the circle of European losers. Meanwhile, the wolf herd was blossoming, thanks to the disassembly of state control, gaining new privileges (official and secret), and still honing in on more bits (privatization of public media, hospitals etc.). As a result of the Smoleńsk catastrophe, and the overtaking of nearly all political power by the SRL, the wolf appetite has huge chances of satiation. And profits of the more resourceful journalists and private media would launch to the heavens, so there’s nothing strange about those potential multimillionaires swiftly advancing from the category of shepherd dogs to the side shepherd’s gang! Marshal B. H. ‘Blunder’ Komorowski, despite initial signals, acts like a beneficiary of the catastrophe, enfolding more and more offices and institutions with Platforma’s influence. He has to hurry, because just a few have been left from the several dozens leading points, and that’s not even certain…
And the sheeps will end up like always, to be precise – only wool will be left of them. Meanwhile, thanks to that million wool coats we will note another step of normalization. They will pat us with approval in Brussels. Dobzi ostsizione Polak, dobra Polak!
26.12.2009
Tradition and symbols
Fear fell in Europe upon followers of Christianity, as the eurocrats are mowing every manifestation of majority running rampart evenly to the ground. Hanging crosses in public places has been prohibited, as they can offend the feelings of non-believers, Islamists, or followers of animistic religions. Following this will probably be the elimination of every metalwork shaped like a cross, for example fences and buildings crossing each other. Even from the bird’s eye view. Europe will turn from a huge construction site into one large ruin, as the cross and its variants are omnipresent in architecture and culture. Flying brigades of Brussels’ inspectors will not only sweep up crossing apartment blocks and palaces with bulldozers, but also tear the crosses off necks of all sizes, blouses and bras. Next to them, hand in hand, IPN investigators will be carefully sweeping the area, and will scan everyone with a sensitive chip in search of stars and swastikas. Woe to old Slavs, officers with fivefold stars and retired antique vendors. I think that field courts will need to be established, because otherwise they will never make it on time with executing minority rights.
The only possible trick available here, which Zagłoba would probably recommend if he had lived in those wretched times, would be to prettily divide. The majority can become a minority after all, if it divides altogether. After all, we possess an incredible skill at it, and advantage over Europe, because – where two Poles are, there are three political parties. And in the whole United Europe the politically correct inquisition can rampage as it wishes, and here a forty million minority runs riot.
There is only one problem. Every single one of us wears a cross inside. One made of bones. What if it doesn’t appeal to the sturdy heads of Brussels?!
14.08.2012
Silence of the lemmings
There have been many theories concerning mass suicide of lemmings in sea (ocean) waves. Some mentioned viruses interfering with self-preservation instincts, other gregarious evolutionary mechanism leading to regulation of population surplus. The term ‘regulation’ is often used as a euphemism when radical actions are taken. To not scare the electorate, politicians announce a ‘regulation’, or a ‘deregulation’, because it is associated more often with fixing a riverbed, not with a guillotine.
However, in truth, nationally created regulations have more in common with the fate of drowned lemming herds than with country fixing. For one, simple reason. The ruling class in contemporary liberal political systems is completely i r r e s p o n s i b l e for its decisions and deeds. Numerous examples of corruption, nepotism and breaking basic laws of competition which from time to time emerge to the public opinion are quickly ‘covered’ by the equally corrupted and nepotism and clientism tainted media and judges. The mentioned eras of democracy in neoliberal capitalism were meant to serve as a vulture tormenting every single encountered law or moral-political carcass. De facto, media owners select their editorial team squads so that they can write and speak what they want, even without manual control, bathing in excuses of ‘mistakes and distortions’ made by politicians. The judges, in turn, are entangled in a net of informal connections to the financial and political world.
True, it’s easier for me to write about these aberrations of democracy from the position of an independent essayist, in his own scientific quarterly. While writing ‘from a different planet’ I create a personal distance towards what is happening in the real political underworld. Dependent media have to bow to the rulers, so they graciously fill up their advertising space, and also to the circle of recipients, so they want to buy it. However, pragmatics of being is at odds with nationality’s further perspective. The lack of real control over political leaders, for example in contemporary Poland, can lead to a social catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. That is exactly how XVIII century Poland perished. Who will care then what the drowning lemmings are screaming?
31.03.2016
A slight mixup of concepts
German lawyer Armin von Bogdandy, from the Institute of Max Planck in Heidelberg, thinks that, even though Poland is a sovereign country, European institutions have their reasons to meddle in the Constitutional Court conflict. (…) European Union is a community of nations which accept a canon of basic values, such as democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. Every member country must abide by power distribution and decisions of the CC – emphasizes the lawyer. (via wiadomosci.wp)
If those words hadn’t come from the director of the Institute of Max Planck in Heidelberg and a public and international law specialist, then they could have been considered a journalist exercise contradicting elementary logic.
As he considers:
- The power of Constitutional Court of Warsaw has a higher democratic potential than that of the government emerged by the Polish parliament. A group of party nominates selected by the previous government team has, according to a Professor, the ‘democratic’ right to dictate how the parliament should rule. It takes a naive ideologist not to notice a structural contradiction in this case, which demands fixing of a dysfunctional mechanism;
- Understanding of democracy and human rights by judicial power should dominate over their political interpretation. The problem here is that judicial verdicts in those cases are filled to the brim with legal formalism, which, eg. forced Poland to pay compensation for terrorists located in secret centers by the CIA. As such, the legal political correctness placed the superhuman rights of terrorists on the pedestal, while trampling the human rights of their victims.
If correct definition of human rights surpasses the abilities of the Court in Strasburg or the Venetian Commission, can it be entrusted to politicians and officials of the European Union? Are human rights not brutally violated in the Union countries, for example by the German government during the time of New Year’s ‘dead news silence’? Did Brussels abandonment towards terrorists in Molenbeek not violate human rights in the whole Europe? What authorization from the entirety of Europeans did chancellor Merkel have when she invited hundreds of thousands of Islam followers for an invasion on Europe? What democratic European organ give the chancellor of Germany the right to destruct small Balkan and Central European countries? What sanctions should EU impose on Great Britain for not having a constitution, and on Switzerland for the lack of Constitutional Court?
It is natural to consider that the EU bureaucrats from Germany and Benelux want to ‘cover up’ their glaring incompetence in managing the Europe by spectacular ‘exclusion’ of Poland. They are probably counting on that, thanks to the politic ‘Polexit’, they will succeed in intimidating smaller European countries, and at the same time achieve uncontrolled power in UE for Berlin by the means of democratic mechanisms. Maybe I’m over-sensitive, but this reminds me of yearning after some post-neoliberal Third Reich, where legal manipulations will replace common sense, and where the great will smash impudent nations with an economic knee. This would probably mean the end of Europe, as great empires fell for more trivial reasons. (sjw)
24.07.2015
Strangespokesman of civil rights
I don’t intend to be impolite towards subsequent Polish spokesmen of civil rights, but my nature leads me like a wolf to the forest, opposite to a celebrity. For I have to ascertain that those spokesmen were usually more of strangespokesmen than what they should have been. Before some begin to squeak with indignation and roll foam out of mouth like a certain deputy, I will allow myself to prove my opinion.
Firstly, the spokesman guarding civil rights is appointed by the parliamentary majority in our country. It’s kind of like a herd of crocodiles were to choose the watering place guardian, where the animals would head to safely drink. In my humble opinion every parliamentary majority chooses a spokesman who won’t stain them not only in ideological matters, but also in political pragmatics. As such, he doesn’t deliver public announcements against the government, but delivers when one needs to strike the opposition. Of course, fundamental sexual characteristics of a spokesman also include not licking government’s lower back area too ostentatiously and striking the opposition in a distanced manner, with an aristocratic moderation. This doesn’t change the fact that the best and the most respectable spokesman becomes a prisoner of this wolf, or crocodile herd, and protects the rights as far as the herd allows them.
Secondly, spokesmen chosen by the parliamentary majority are notoriously ideologically laden. Usually by the ideology of III RP, such as distrust towards traditional rules, and enthusiasm towards political correctness sublimated by the western elites as modern human rights. Even the failure of this sublimation in reality doesn’t discourage them: increase in social conflicts due to creeping Islamist jihad towards nations of Christian culture, or growth in crime due to drastic mitigation of law towards declared sociopaths. They aren’t discouraged even by what is, among heterosexuals, considered reprehensible, that is exhibitionism, if it’s an act of a sexual minority representative. As such, one can say that spokesmen actively support minorities, antagonizing them with the majority. Generally said, from protectors of rights they become a side of the conflict.
Thirdly, finally, if the Parliament appoints someone such as doctor Adam Bodnar, election of whom is unanimously supported by big fish of III RP such as professor Ewa Łętowska, Aleksander Smolar and Wiktor Osiatyński, then one can fear the evaporation of genies in public space, which I mentioned in the last two points. However, my fear concerns only the situation in which the spokesman is accompanied by the parliamentary majority which chose them.
For the situation changes drastically if the spokesman cohabitates with parliamentary majority of a different orientation. It’s highly probable that the next election will be won by the rightist coalition, which can end up well for everyone but the population of thieves and embezzlers. As such the contradiction of Adam Bodnar’s spokesman post with Beata Szydło’s goverment can turn out to be salutary for the health of public debate in basic matters. For nothing will heal this debate as much as an intelligent argumentation in the face of obvious discrepancies. And this is what I count on as a humble researcher of Polish absurdity. (sjw)
12.04.2015
Banderan Ukraine and rabbit hearts
Not long ago, in pro-government media over the Vistula and Odra rivers, news from Kiev were being disseminated that their whole banderism was a margin. That in a democratic election, which wasn’t hindered by war with Russian speakers, nor conflicts between oligarchs, nor finally financing the appointment of deputies chosen by them, which is nearly the entirety of parliament... that is, a democratic power was emerged, which will heal that unlucky country called Ukraine, as it lies outside all other countries.
Even some rightist politicians rejoiced like children, that power in Kiev was taken by Ukrainian oligarchs of, let me say, Moses faith. They knew how, with fire and iron, nationalism was plowed by such prominent representatives of sowietskoj własti such as Lew Trocki (Lejba Bronstein), or Grigorij Zinowjew (Owsiej-Gerszen Radomylski vel Hirsch Apfelbaum). Yes, even in Russian security organs revolutionists of Jewish origin were the crushing majority, for example on Ukraine they reached 80% of Cheka and NKWD. The grandfather of Lenin from mother’s side, a Ukrainian Jew Israel Blank was christened in an Orthodox church, and seemingly Felix Dzierżyński also belonged to that nation, when his father Rufin (Rufus) took over the assets left by the legitimate owner of this surname who was expelled to Siberia. As such, future oligarchs didn’t just come out from nothing, as they derived precious information and contacts in Yeltsin’s mess from meritorious veterans of Soviet Security.
In that childish joy of Polish right wing and central right wing there was nothing anti-Semitic or anti-Ukrainian. They just rejoiced that Jews will lead this lost Ukrainian nation towards a bright future. In short, they projected, a bit messianically, that those noble Chosen by Mammon will bring to the Europe the Ukrainian folk cleaned of pro-Russian sentiments and the insane cult of Bandera and Waffen SS Galizien.
Unfortunately, the result was different. The oligarchs surfed on the wave of banderan reborn sentiments, awoken during Yushchenko’s time. Maybe they feared that conflicts with the black sotnia will wipe them, in a result of the growing unhappiness from the course of system transformation. Ukrainians seem to be more radical than Poles, and keep going out into the streets to counter the government. Maybe they have less to lose.
At any rate, an act of legal protection of banderism, upaism and waffensism was passed in the Kievan parliament as fast as possible after the speech of president Bronisław, who made an appearance there as a fig leaf. Probably not a promoter, he served rather for the international nostrification of UPA and SS Galizien’s genocide. So, if a Polish president precedes an act with a friendly speech, then the French, German, or Americans, and definitely Canadians having to bear the lobbyists of OUN, don’t have to bother with anything. Especially when, excluding the leftist Miller and SLD, this topic has not been touched in Polonia number 3 for three days. Silence before storm or is the political class waiting for some instructions?
After all, maybe Ukraine is a precursor of New Deal?! Americans will announce the legal immunity of Ku Klux Klan, Germans – will approve the ideas of NSDAP, SS formation and Gestapo as a basis of new European Reich’ jurisdiction, and the French and English also have their Nazis in the pocket. They are starting to attack Polish emigrants, because they fear Islamists and Russians. After all, rabbit hearts fear only the strong. Such was the way on Volyn, such will probably be the way in Great Britain. Who will protect a Pole there? Could, like a yoyo effect, times of disdain be returning? Because social life in this modern damned and deceitful capitalism is already accordingly depraved... (sjw)
11.12.2014
Mean CIA and tortures in Mazurian forests
German media report on Poland’s role as a helper, who allowed CIA the establishment of prisons in which those accused of terrorism were tortured. Poles were defined as ‘zealous helpers’ of the CIA. ‘Nordwest Zeitung’, in an article titled unambiguously ‘Poland a part of CIA’s torture system’ informs that US Senate’s report, concerning the inhumane practices of CIA during interrogations, inter alia in a prison in North-East Poland, brought about a huge commotion, also in Poland.
Let’s try to put it in a less sensational-hysterical way. Now, the approval for interrogation of alleged terrorists by the agents of CIA in Poland was given in a specific atmosphere after the memorable attack on WTC, when Al-Qaeda arranged a slaughter of many thousand civilians, including Poles. Taking this into consideration, all allusions towards then Polish decision makers should be considered inappropriate, not to say unreasonable.
The case reminds one of the infamous ‘Polish concentration camps’, which were created in Poland conquered by the Hitler Germany. Similarities concern both inhumane ways of treating prisoners, and the fact that the Polish nation had no influence on using these methods.
In the case of concentration camps located in Poland Germans expanded them when the Polish nation fell due to Hitler’s aggression. In turn the secret CIA’s center was rented by Poland for the global war with Al-Qaeda’s terror. Considering the reasonable motive it is hard to undermine the right to give a credit of trust that the center will be used according to the binding law. However, if we do that, then we would also have to evict all foreign bases of the US, Russia and other countries. Not only that, we would have to remove all embassies, consulates, and even sales representations, because in every single of these places acts that violate human rights can be performed. Especially human-terrorist’s.
This problem can be viewed in the aspect of idealistic rules of human rights, placing both sheikh Mohammed, the planner of 9/11 slaughter, and the agent pursuing his accomplices on the same scale. But even an enemy of populism and dirty Harry will notice a difference between a serial murderer and an investigator trying to save potential victims by torturing this psychopath. Psychological or physical tortures turned out to be mightily effective in the history of humanity, and also served as deterrence to most criminals. Psychopaths are said to make a 5 to 10 percent of the population, and there is much fewer murderers. If Obama’s administration talks nonsense about the inefficiency of tortures performed during the CIA’s investigations, then they are either lying to crush Republicans, or to protect informers gained this way.
We have to say with regret that the legal-moral idealism according to the ‘overcome evil with good’ rule brings some effects only long after the departure of representatives to the company of angels. And in this whole grotesque-ghastly show of political hypocrites and deceitful media the ones who believed in the lofty goal of fighting terrorism ended up the worst. True terrorists may, in turn, triumph, because for their right of slaughter, humorously called human rights, fights not only the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation, but also the Court in Strasburg, senators in Washington, and their so very moral standards are glorified by German newspapers, spitting on their Western neighbor.
04.11.2014
Russian banishment of Poles
Russian propaganda, during the soviet era affectionately called "propa", quite often produces some negative feelings in me. I do not mean the Russian-Ukrainian relations, because in this matter I am a follower of the civilian choosing their country, not the other way around. Therefore, if a few million Russians prefer a Moscow Russia, not the Kiev one, then I consider the second one instigating a civil war barbarism. A miniature of the Volyn slaughter performed by the UPA on Poles, Jews and Russians not surrendering to the nazi stereotypes.
The country-creation of propa, justifying the slaughter or just humiliation of other nations, Poles, Jews, Kurds, Russian or Indians has serious restrictions in the minds of today civilized people.
Firstly, the location of national minorities on the area of a country, i.e. the Ukrainian, usually didn't interrupt its development. Until the oppression or minority extermination option won, lately Russians, until then negotiations and inner compromise could be set. But the dialogue of majority vs. Minority gained the form of dictate on Ukraine and Lithuania. A nazi excrescence on Europe's body had shown itself there in full glory, completely incompatible with the modern political European culture. That is why the full support for Kiev and Kaunas from Brussels, Berlin and Washington may be so surprising. On the other hand one needs to consider that many Ukrainian Nazis from UPA or SS-Galizien, while on the run from the Red Army "denazified" themselves successfully in Germany, the US or Canada. And today they, and their offspring put a strong pressure on governments. Plus an occasion has arrived to give Russia a hard time, and to slow down its economic expansion.
Secondly, and here I will take on both the Russian, and the Ukrainian historical propaganda, they go hand in hand crosswise to the now unfashionable national cult in the US and Western Europe, based on humiliating other nations. Against this, in the west and in Central Europe it comes up to funny, and often not very funny "overdoings" resulting from political correctness. Danish and Swedish police is afraid to intervene when it comes to hooligan acts of southern physiognomy emigrants, so there won't be a suspicion of racist or anti-islamic motives. In turn, the director of a clip ordered by Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs removed all real-life crosses from the movie, probably as not to associate Poland, God forbid, with some parochialism.
In the Rus, both of them, to cement the unity of a nation around its own people, a different path was chosen. Like mushrooms after rain grow the numbers of UPA's Nazis in Western and Central Ukraine, and the Banderan propa does not even leave out the school books. And in Russia the "banishment" of Poles from Kremlin was made a central national holiday. If one is stubborn, then such a holiday can be established, however it was the Tatars who ruled Moscow longer after all, so it's hard to understand the idea of Putin, why he chose to favor the Polish. Personally, I dislike the terminology of holiday. For some reason, other nations didn't think of organizing a national holiday of dishing the dirt on past enemies.
Americans don't speak about "banishing" the British, Polish about "banishing" Russians in 1920, even though Russian units were escaping very quickly after the Warsaw Battle, which saved the Europe from an invasion of bolshevism. On the other hand, the same Russians didn't think of "banishing" Germans from Russia in the past century, or a bit earlier the French under the leadership of Napoleon. The war success, which brought the nation's unity, though not really in the ethnic meaning, shows the past enemy with dignity, and a certain respect in a mature political culture. At least this concerns the commanders and soldiers who did not engage in genocide. Because if we sketch a too grotesque image of the enemy, then the victory over them gains a grotesque aftertaste...
01.05.2014
Nazi in NBA
White House Spokesman has announced that the president of the US Barack Obama approves a lifetime disqualification of Donald Sterling of the NBA league. On Friday TMZ website published a 10-minute recording of a conversation between Sterling and his partner. Sterling, who is the owner of a basketball club NBA Los Angeles Clippers, bore a grudge towards the woman, because she uploaded a photo in the internet where a famous black basketball player Magic Johnson stood next to her, and because she brought black friends to a match. "You can sleep with the blacks, you can bring them over and do whatever you want with them, but don't promote and come to my matches with them. You also don't need to show yourself next to them in photos on Instagram" - Sterling persuaded his life partner.
The whole affair with Donald Sterling, American billionaire of Jewish origin (originally called Donald Tokowitz) is multi-layered to me. It's a curse of mine to view the world as multi-layered, but let's agree that the flat can be beautiful as everything that's quite simple, but actually we live in a curved space-time.
And so the thouroughbred machinator Donald S. vs. Donald T. (not the one I write about in the PR section), here's what he did. In a private conversation with his concubine (I don't know whether a direct, or by phone) expressed a distaste that she publicly shows off with black people, even though he declared that he wouldn't mind her having sex with them in the house. At the same time he emphasized that he only cares about his image, not some outbursts of envy, which is understandable as he is 81 years old and most likely maintains his partner mainly for that image.
If Sterling decides to protect himself from being sacked from NBA on the court, then the whole affair may end in a media storm. "Sports Illustrated" notices some law problems. "Journalists anticipate that Sterling may decide on acting by the court. Because in front of the court it will be more difficult to prove his racism. A recorded conversation cannot be a proof in California. And there was no discrimination in his Los Angeles Clippers. After all he hired mostly black basketball player, and even a coach. Anyway, it is also about money. Why would anybody dictate a price for him? Since evaluations have already appeared that he could sell Clippers today for a billion dollars!" (quote from http://krzysztofsendecki.natemat.pl, 01.05.2014)
As you can see, the matter is multi-layered, as it is in business. Private motifs are put on a matter completely independent from them - sport rivalry, or transfer politics. It is somehow difficult for me to grasp these twisting roads of American democracy. To be brief, I will express it as usual, in points:
1. Why does a businessman who runs a company (sport, or whatever) which doesn't apply racial or nationalist discrimination lose the right to it, because he privately expresses his racist or nationalist opinions?
2. Why were a businessman's private opinions published without his consent?
I will admit that Donald Sterling does not bring out liking in me, but on the other hand the campaign against him stinks of private life invigilation and the manipulation of citizens by omnipotent corporations in the name of political correctness. I think that everyone should have the right to their private opinion, even to stupid social stereotypes. And if it makes sense let's discuss these opinions publicly.
Let's discuss, but not mix the private domain with institutional activity, because that is how the purest nationalism is born. And the politically correct Barack Obama leads us to trenches of nazism and racism as an obstinate totalitarian. Horrendous.
06.03.2014
Where Rome, and where Crimea
The saying "Where Rome, where Crimea, where babian taverns..." supposedly comes from the bountiful stories of Radziwiłł, titled "Panie Kochanku". It concerns neither more or less but one of our national flaws, that is bringing up every connotation that we can muster, and the battered brain sparks, in our conversations.
And so, when during the third republican political rhetoric the problem of Crimea emerged, the old demons instantly awakened. Right side politicians gladly recall visions of Russian divisions marching on us, and the Tusk germanophiles snarl that the political taming of the Siberian white bear, despite several years of petting, was not successful.
Unfortunately, this whole tumult lacks even a tiny bit of thought, called an analytical reflection by philosophers. Because on the grounds of the political turmoil on Ukraine and the Crimean ?irredenta?, besides the economical "bardak" and taking of power by "democrats" by means of putsch, an annulment of the act of regional languages, constituted in 2012, took place. During then, what was a compromise similar to the abortion act during III RP, people in districts and cities had been allowed to use their own languages in government agencies, if it applied to at least 10 percent of its residents. On that basis district councils, inter alia in Donietsk, Dniepropietrowsk and Zaporozhye adopted resolutions in which Russian was given a regional language status. De facto in Ukraine's bigger cities nationalists suggestions' to eliminate it for an intronization of folk, "rustic" Ukrainian language was met with a huge bottom-up resistance.
The interesting thing is that not only ethnic Russians, who make up some 1/3 or 1 of the general population, supported the Russian language. In the historic times Ukraine used to be a place of conflict between then three huge powers, the Kingdom of Poland, the Tsars' Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. It was given relative sovereignty only during the Soviet Russia, similarly to the contemporary Lithuania, which is currently only a scarce relic of the old Lithuanian Duchy's magnificence, while its actual successor is the contemporary Belarus. Because of the mixing of ethnic elements, powerful migrations from Poland, Russia and Turkey, processes of assimilation with the local people happened. A kind of Babel Tower was created there, and the military downfall of the Polish Republic had started the dominance of the Russian language as the official one. The short episode of II RP didn't change that fact drastically, and the time of the Soviet Union only strengthened the standing of Russian language in communication between all nations living in the Ukraine. One can say it has become a specific lingua Latina for contemporary residents of Ukraine, and it is truly a bilingual country, where Russian is a natural tool of communication for half the residents.
Kievan Februrary putsch put the matter of Ukrainian language dominance on the edge of a knife, imposing its formal rule on the entirety of residents. Oleh Tiahnybok, leader of Swoboda, a party of Ukrainian nationalists and the pillar of Jaceniuk's government, stated: "Ukrainian is the only official language, but I assure you that in everyday life nobody orders anyone which language to speak." Only that a major part of Ukraine's residents speaks Ukrainian badly, or not at all, which can, and even must result in their discrimination in offices, courts, and the educational system.
During the times when regionalization is considered more and more seriously in Europe, when provinces such as Catalonia, Basque Country or Scotland aspire to the level of a country, when under the auspices of UNO artificial country formations such as Kosovo are formed, there exist a dire need to examine these occurrences in a broader scale. Crimea becomes here a very typical case, where 97% of people speak Russian, the Donietsk region 93%, and the Lugan (89%) and Odessan (85%) regions are not very far (data from surveys via http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C4%99zyk_rosyjski_na_Ukrainie). The problem of communication language becomes the essence of democracy functioning, and all political prohibitions and orders of using the mother, or the only well-known language lead to serious social tension and the increase in number of separatist tendencies.
The lingual terror towards the Polish minority in Lithuania, or the lingual ostracism towards Russian-speaking people of Ukraine should not be treated by Europe, or the US as "little evil", if they strengthen the rule of a nation pragmatically useful, because it declares itself "pro-European". It is big evil, which violates fundamental human rights, which so it happens unfortunately, are treated quite selectively in the extremely humanitarian establishment of the European Union.
21.10.2013
Backward progress
Politicians' and publicists' excitement over the civilization progress in which we supposedly are partaking, can bring wonder and pity. Wonder - because most of this data is harshly manipulated and falsified, and pity because people, despite the obviousness, still believe in it... One of such alleged pillars of progress and prosperity in Poland is the common access to food for civilians. This was contradicted by empty shelves in butcher shops during the beginning of martial law, being busily filled by shopkeepers with vinegar.
Unfortunately, today filling of shop shelves happens in very controversial circumstances:
Firstly, everything we have the best from our farming is pushed to the export, which is quite understandable, as the commodity is competitive, without GMO and a plethora of chemical additions. Besides, this is thanks to the resistance of "stupid Poles", who didn't accept the European, or American genetic progress and the chemicalization of agriculture.
Secondly, which is obvious, what is left for us is of worse quality, rotten, poisoned or overdue within discards from the export. To get it moving markets organize sales, "refresh", keep, and improve...
Thirdly, within globalization of trade, we purchase the cheapest, and by this the worst food trash from the world junkyards, which goes bad often immediately after it is brought home from a store. Of course importers won't get this near their mouths. An unaware customer, astounded by music and commercials - why not, because they think that the national control organs wouldn't allow any goops to be sold. Only the poor fellow doesn't know that the basic rule of liberalism is erasure of the country, and specifically - bothersome controls - thanks which this and the other guy fills their wallets.
And so we have the fourth. So the evidently harmful food makes it to somebody's stable, somebody else (fairies?) had to approve this junk for sale. Those juicy sausages composed mainly of minced sinews and other trash, those drinks filled with carcinogenic pigments, or the sour, bitter or tasteless fruit, because it was grown industrially and so it wouldn't rot too fast - regularly sprayed with poison. Where is the native trade inspection?! Who will warn us that we are eating trash?! Well, the inspectors are busy - probably chasing stall keepers for the joy of media. And the international syndicates hurl the worst fraud at us for big money. Sometimes a person may be overcome by a reflection "how many euro, franks or bucks did politicians and experts have to hoard so we would buy this crap?".
I do not intend to mythologize the food policy in PRL, as there also were many hoaxes then. Only that for such "normal" trade practices as today many would be prisoned for long years, or maybe even death penalties (so-called "KS").
1.10.2013
Good system and bad distortions
Exactly as false the good lord and bad advisors stereotype is, exactly fake is the thesis of a good system and accidental distortions damaging it.
Communism had to expand its repressive system, because:
- firstly, it antagonized followers of private property towards itself, and only privileged citizens, anointed by the government could enjoy owning valuable goods;
- secondly, it had multiple alternatives, manifestations of which were made dull with heated iron, as they could result in fragmentation of the system and its implosion, eg. Trotskyism, nationalist deflection etc.
Communism in Poland lasted pretty shortly, between 1948 and 1955 (one can discuss a year forward or backward), and earlier and later we had system hybrids, hybrid mixtures infertile like mules.
Capitalism differs from communism mainly by permissibility of means of production privatization. All the rest, with flagship democracy resembles these post-communist hybrids, and the supposed democracy of that system resembles strongly the so-called "socialist democracy. Why does capitalism have to expand its repressiveness?
Firstly, private property in capitalism commonly relies on exploitation, deception, thievery or even plunder, which does not produce a proper reaction from the government creates epidemic indignation. This stimulates rebellious units to create extremist organizations like the Red Brigades, and this in turn gives pretext to expand the repression system, if such organizations do not by emerge by themselves, then governments often go as far as creating them from scratch, and then spectacularly, and media famously acting against them. Such actions were taken in Russia for centuries, for example in Tsarist Russia.
Secondly, in "young democracies" private property is protected only if it belongs to friends of the current ruling suit of 'democrats'. If not, then the government will hunt down even the most powerful oligarch, a fact which experienced a few in Eastern Europe, and in Poland for example businessman Kluska lost his chance to expand an IT consortium irrevocably. To suppress the bud of big fish contraction and thousands of their loyal employees, the government must expand not only special services, but the instrumental law system. The more the law is inexact and internally contradictory, the easier it is to "fend off", create a fiction of justice, adapt 'legal' repressions towards political and personal enemies. These tasks are performed by the parliament, and the more stupid, or more corrupt politically and financially the deputies, the easier it is to "push through" acts written for current needs of the ruling. Legal acts can act as an example of this, how they restrict the freedom of assemblies, the possibility to dismiss country representatives and local governments, or enabling repressions for employee protests.
Thirdly, the system of capitalist and communist exploitation contains alternatives destructive to each other, such as in form of social solidarity based on religious ideologies (in almost all world religions), and in varieties of socialist or pro-social ideas similar to solidarity. For a system of "K" type, which includes communism and capitalism, those seemingly innocent social movements, quite often connecting utopians and dreamers, are incredibly dangerous. They can result in trapping capital sharks and their underling piranhas in hermetic law tanks through such clarification of law, so the "distortions", therefore the organized society depredations cannot develop.
When it comes to solidarists and dreamers, it suffices to mock them with the help of friendly owned media, and in the case of pro-social movements, e.g. unionists, be prepared for a more serious conflict, including physical abuse.
And so, unfortunately, system distortions aren't something only subjective, which can be easily removed as a logic error. They are something which devours the interior of social systems, and the political systems grown on them grow more aggressive as the wish for reforming the oppressive government system grows stronger.
18.09.2013
System with a human face
The yardmen of Szczecin and Gdańsk, creating solidarity trade unions between 1970-1980 of XXth century by no means dreamt of capitalism. Most of them would be satisfied with a hybrid of some kind from the wallet of ideas of Edward Gierek. Modernization and competitiveness, rivalry, in brief depoliticization of management for introducing economical mechanisms. After this, personal responsibility and the expansion of management on all levels of social life must have followed.
And here the problem lay. It strongly didn't appeal to powerful staff of PZPR activists, because it took away power and profits from their sticky hands. In fact, a similar syndrome could be observed after Magdalenka, when new political elites merged with the old and arranged a sale of property left after Gierek. As far as corruption wasn't so brazen during Gierek and Jaruzelski, and the profits relatively low, then in III RP it determines the base of the system. Without personal schemes with the Power Holding Citizens nothing can be achieved. A debt collector can legally deprive a hapless common of a housing plot for 1/3 or 1 of value and the court will approve that. No saint rules of capitalism about inviolability of private property apply there. These rules protect only bigwigs and their developed client base. Institutions and offices bow down carefully for families of the Power Holding Platforma Obywatelska, to bring them out of trouble when they violate the law or get into any straits. PHPT rules and gives out privileges, money and impunity…
Modern unionist displayed poor reflex and allowed themselves to be dragged into disassembly of Solidary Poland, cheap workforce, toiling until, speaking worker-like, "f...ing death" and taking away chances for overtime and extras role, both in mother institutions and on the nationwide arena. With eyes like glass they watched the simulated government 'dialogue', various 'consultations', which had a purely propagandist nature. Now they have nothing to lose except shackles, as it was being said a hundred or two hundred years ago. Only that on the second side of the barricade stands an army of system beneficiaries, which milks them entirely. For whom this system is extremely friendly and which they won't give up without a hard battle. This army has the media, money and institutions under them. It can regroup, change old faces on the peak of power and organize 'new openings' without an end. In the now old days of solidary spurt of Poles the citizen state was something at one's fingertips. Now we are again standing in the mud, behind armored glass, and we can only hum the old communist melody "A mury runą…". And we can only have a friendly country, friendly system and even a friendly computer system for big money. Of course, we can only have big money if we belong to the race of class of Masters.
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