-- WARLIKOWSKI A SERIOUS CANDIDATE FOR OPERA'S OSCAR: http://wyborcza.pl/7,112395,24707218,czy-warlikowski-dostanie-operowego-oscara-w-specjalnej-kategorii.html

-- MILLER ATTACKS JUNCKER AND ASKS IF HE WAS DRUNK ON COGNAC - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/04/29/

-- ADAM LESZCZYŃSKI, WHO REPORTED ON THE DEATH OF KAROL MODZELEWSKI IN OKO.PRESS, REMEMBERS THE PROFESSOR: “He broke with the system in 1964 when, along with Jacek Kuroń – also a disillusioned communist – he wrote the 'Open Letter to the Party,' a critique of the PRL system from the perspective of someone who genuinely believed in the ideals of socialism. He was expelled from the party he belonged to and from his university job, and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. He was released a few months before the student protests in March 1968, after which he was again sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. At that time, he was the target of constant PRL propaganda attacks. The duo 'Kuroń and Modzelewski' was a symbol of the enemy for them. After his release from prison, he dedicated himself to academic work. He was a student of Prof. Aleksander Gieysztor, a great medievalist, who did not abandon his protégé even in prison. Modzelewski worked at the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He wrote his doctoral thesis, delayed by his prison stays (1974), and defended his habilitation (1979). He specialized in the history of the early Middle Ages; his doctoral thesis was dedicated to the history of the state of the first Piasts.” https://oko.press/straszna-wiadomosc-karol-modzelewski-nie-zyje/

-- SROCZYŃSKI: I REGRET WE DIDN'T LISTEN TO MODZELEWSKI MORE: “I regret that we didn't listen to Modzelewski more. I'm speaking here about myself as an active journalist too – admitted Grzegorz Sroczyński. And he added that he fully understood what the professor wanted to tell them, quite late, only a few years ago. Together with his guests, he reminisced about Karol Modzelewski's beginnings in politics, his first rebellion taking shape in the 1950s.” http://www.tokfm.pl/Tokfm/7,103085,24710319,zaluje-zesmy-go-mocniej-nie-sluchali-friszke-leszczynski.html#s=BoxOpLink

-- HE KNEW HOW TO REBEL WHEN ONLY A HANDFUL DID - A MEMOIR OF CRITIQUE: “He knew how to rebel when only a handful did, and not just in authoritarian times; he went against the prevailing mood of his own circle even when it seemed to others that all the important matters had already been settled and won. He had a mind and a pen like a razor, reason and courage combined, and what's more, he was a fantastic, warm person. And he told the best political jokes in the world. Professor, thank you for everything.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/zmarl-prof-karol-modzelewski/

-- HE WAS A CRYSTAL IDEALIST - PIOTR ZAREMBA ON KAROL MODZELEWSKI: “One of the greats of the pre- and post-August '80 opposition. He paid for his opposition to the PRL with many years of imprisonment. I met him in the 1990s; I interviewed him, talked with him when he was a politician of the Labour Union, trying to uphold the leftist ethos. I truly understood his earlier role thanks to friends from Wrocław. For them, he was a point of reference, a hero of anecdotes, but also a living legend of the 'Solidarity' movement there. I disagreed with him on many matters; he was a difficult politician, intolerant of differing opinions. But I have no doubt that he was a crystal idealist, humble, not seeking a career, a man of an era of selflessness that is now fading. On top of that, thanks to his historical works, we understood the nature of the Polish Middle Ages better; I remember that from my student days. It required great fortitude not to be broken and to retain a researcher's curiosity about the world after such terrible experiences. Grant him eternal rest, O Lord…” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011509202636

-- JUNCKER DOESN'T BELIEVE IN POLEXIT - AS HE SAYS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI IN RZ: “Poland has a tragic history. It, along with Hungary, initiated the process of democratic transformations in Central Europe. I admired Solidarity; I will never forget a few meetings I had with Lech Wałęsa. I have always considered Poland an example for Central Europe. Why do I mention history? Because it makes the Polish nation, ordinary people, know that their natural place is in the heart of Europe! After World War II, Poland and other countries in the region had to develop in the shadows. We did not have the same experience. We grew up in the sun! For Poland, Romania, and Hungary, building new, sovereign states was not an easy task.”

-- JUNCKER ON HOW HIS CLOSEST COLLABORATORS SPOKE WITH KACZYŃSKI: “The last time I met him was in 2005 during the NATO summit in Helsinki; he was Prime Minister then. I later had many meetings with his brother. I didn't have the opportunity to talk with Jarosław Kaczyński, although I asked him for a meeting. I sent a special representative who spoke with him and his closest collaborators for four hours.”

-- MORAWIECKI IS MY FRIEND - JUNCKER CONTINUES IN RZ: “He has become a good friend of mine. Besides, how many times did I meet with Prime Minister May in London? Only twice! And can one say by that that I disregarded her? She once sat where you are now, at seven in the morning, another time at eleven at night. Why fly somewhere if all this can be discussed here?”

-- JUNCKER ON POLES NOT WANTING THE EURO: “But I am not urging Poland to join the euro zone tomorrow morning either. It must make that decision itself. Of course, if it feels ready and if the members of the euro zone are ready, it can join tomorrow morning. But I am not a propagandist for the euro. I see that 50-60 percent of Poles do not want to give up the zloty. They clearly feel safer protected by their national currency than by the euro.” https://www.rp.pl/Unia-Europejska/304289975-Juncker-Kaczynski-nie-chcial-sie-ze-mna-spotkac.html

-- PRIME MINISTER MORAWIECKI ON DOUBLE STANDARDS IN THE EU - SPEAKS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PTT (Siennicki, Koziński): “We also benefit from EU agricultural policy and funds for building roads and railways. Although it's not like everything goes smoothly. We still see that double standards keep appearing within the Union. In individual sectors of the economy. For example, the issue of food, or even washing powders and cosmetics. Why is there such popularity in Poland for shops like 'Chemia z Niemiec' (Chemicals from Germany)? Because the same products sold here are of worse quality than those that reach the Western market. We will not agree to such double standards. And we will fight for this equality of treatment.”

-- WE LOVE THE EU, BUT WE FIGHT FOR OUR OWN - MORAWIECKI CONTINUES: “I keep my guard high, at eye level, so I don't feel any blows to the nose. By emphasizing our great love for the EU, we are fighting on the European ring for our own, for a better EU, and not just cowering in a corner, allowing ourselves to be beaten like before. The European Union is indeed a community of interests, but strongly stimulated by the interests of individual states. And whoever is not vigilant may play a less interesting role of a statistician instead of the main role.”

-- WE HAVE GOOD PEOPLE IN RESERVE - MORAWIECKI CONTINUES: “Around the European elections. We'll see which ministers end up in the European Parliament. We have good people in reserve – now they will have the opportunity to move to the front line.”

-- I DID NOT COMPARE JUDGES TO VICHY: “I understand that a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth, and you gentlemen have believed it. But not once, not for a moment, did I compare today's judges to the judges from the Vichy era. I encourage you to listen to what I said. I compared the necessity of carrying out a reform of the judiciary in Poland to the situation in the GDR in 1990 and to France in the early 1960s. Additionally, I stressed, and I stress this with all my might, that communist judges and prosecutors of the Stalinist era deserve the highest condemnation. And not a single hair fell from their heads in the Third Republic. This is the case, for example, with Stefan Michnik – a criminal in a robe, responsible for the deaths of many Polish patriots.” https://polskatimes.pl/mateusz-morawiecki-trzymam-garde-wysoko-zadnych-uderzen-w-nos-nie-czuje-wywiad/ar/c1-14087561/5

-- THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO RESOLVE AUTHENTIC SOCIAL CONFLICTS - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: “The school strike proved the ruling camp's structural inability to resolve authentic social conflicts. The logic of war and confrontation, typical for Law and Justice, was used in a situation that required negotiation skills and the ability to compromise.”

-- THE STRIKE DEMOLISHED THE PiS NARRATIVE - WROŃSKI CONTINUES: “The teachers' strike completely demolished the propaganda narrative of the ruling party. Until now, the country under Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was presented as a land 'flowing with milk and honey,' where there was money for everything. Meanwhile, it turned out that this was not entirely true, and if President Jarosław Kaczyński generously throws around his and others' money to win elections, then some social group must be deprived of that money. PiS will likely try to present itself now as the authority that stood on the side of parents and their children, enabling the matriculation exams to be held. However, after the suspension of the strike, it should not count on the gratitude of matriculants and their parents.”

-- WROŃSKI ON THE OPPOSITION'S PROBLEM: “The strike showed that the opposition parties have difficulty formulating their program regarding the teachers' demands. The declaration signed by the European Coalition in the third week of the strike, guaranteeing salary increases and the will for educational reform, was the minimum the opposition could do. EC politicians were likely aware that by joining the school strike, they could legitimize the government's propaganda, which presented it as a political protest.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24709584,polska-bez-mleka-i-miodu-czyli-siedem-wnioskow-po-strajku-nauczycieli.html

-- WILL POLAND IGNITE THIS AUTUMN - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “In September, PiS will have to face many problems, such as emerging scandals, unfulfilled promises, and protests that will increase. PiS will hear questions about where the shorter queues to doctors are, what about the help for 'frankowiczów' (people with Swiss franc loans), where are the efficient courts, where are the affordable apartments, where are the equal subsidies for Polish farmers? What about punishing those responsible for 'falsifying local government elections' in 2014, what about the WSI annex, what about bringing back the Smolensk plane wreckage and punishing those responsible for the disaster, what about the audit results and settlements of the 'scandalous' PO-PSL governments, what about the responsibility of Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz for the 'set on fire' guard booth? September will be a time for PiS to be put to the test.”

-- NIZINKIEWICZ ON THE EXPLOSION OF DISCONTENT: “While PiS is busy with the election campaign, widespread social discontent combined with the heated election atmosphere may translate into the hottest political autumn in Poland in years.” https://www.rp.pl/Analizy/190429452-Nizinkiewicz-Czy-jesienia-Polska-zaplonie.html

-- PIOTR PACEWICZ ASKS WHO PUNCTURED THE EDUCATION SYSTEM: “Announcing that he will not give raises to teachers because it would mean pouring fuel into a leaky tank, Morawiecki announces that he will undertake a 'comprehensive reconstruction of the education system.' This is political impudence, because the government, which terribly punctured the 'tank,' declares it will 'seal the tank,' without accounting for the deform.” https://oko.press/cyrk-na-narodowym-morawiecki-nie-chce-dolewac-do-dziurawego-baku-edukacji-a-kto-podziurawil/

-- RZ'S LEAD STORY ON THE CALL GIRL AGENCY IN PODKARPACIE AND THE VIP SCANDAL - IZABELA KACPRZAK AND GRAŻYNA ZAWADKA: “The sex business of the R. brothers was under special protection for years – not just from the services. Are compromising tapes, whose existence is spoken of by a former CBA agent, the explanation? – we reveal the second layer of the moral scandal from Podkarpacie. The international sex business of the R. brothers from Podkarpacie was exceptionally abhorrent. They bought women in difficult life and financial situations from Ukrainian pimps. They had to 'work off' this 'debt' with the R. brothers. According to 'Rzeczpospolita' findings, although the Rzeszów CBŚ knew about the proceedings for years (officers were free clients of the agency), the dismantling of the R. brothers' business was torpedoed for years, even though their competitors in Podkarpacie were eliminated. The current knowledge sheds new light on the matter: were the alleged sex tapes with VIPs recorded the reason for the services' 'helplessness'?” https://www.rp.pl/Sadownictwo/304289967-Panstwo-chronilo-sutenerow-na-Podkarpaciu.html -- GAZETA WYBORCZA ON THE NATIONALISTS' AGENT IN COURT: “The investigation into Jakub Kalus hanging PO politicians is still dragging on. Will his situation change with the information revealed by 'Wyborcza' that as a judge's assistant, he advised the accused nationalists?” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24709624,narodowy-doradca-sadowy-sluzyl-skrajnej-prawicy-wieszal-na.html

-- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI MOCKS THE BANANA INCIDENT: “Instead of gestures of solidarity with offended Catholics, our elites chuckled that the backward populace would now writhe, because for the sake of freedom of art, they have to overlook the fact that the other side is trampling on their sacred values. Freedom means we insult your sacred values – seems to say the photos of celebrities. And if you don't like it, you're a fascist. And apparently, the director couldn't stand it. And he removed the not very sophisticated allusions to oral sex from the exhibition. And he did it stupidly. But the reaction of the intellectual milieu is even dumber. The right wing was able to criticize the director's censorship tendencies. And the other side believed that by eating a banana, they were fighting for higher values.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/304289970-Szuldrzynski-Kto-broni-wyzszych-wartosci.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Piotr Barełkowski, Piotr Gontarczyk, Jacek Bendykowski.