-- WALDEMAR KUMÓR PAYS TRIBUTE TO EWA MILEWICZ ON FACEBOOK: "And I pay tribute to Ewa Milewicz. When I think of August '80, I see Ewa. She was at the shipyard from the first day. She was heading to the coast to pick up a part for a duplicator, or something. When she saw (with Konrad Bieliński) that something was happening, she stayed for the strike. She, a KOR activist, immediately got to work – writing down, supporting, noting what people expected. Read it yourself. For me, Ewa is a symbol. Pathetic? Yes. Wałęsa, Borusewicz, etc. – of course, absolutely. But Ewa is a role model. I have the honor of knowing and being friends with her. And I've spent oceans of time with her. P.S. I know Ewka will kill me for this post." -- EWA MILEWICZ'S REPORT FROM AUGUST 1980, PUBLISHED THEN IN THE UNDERGROUND "BIULETYN INFORMACYJNY": "I don't quite believe this is the end. Konrad, with a stack of the thirteenth issue of 'Solidarity,' says: – And we'll end up going to jail. I didn't manage to answer him before he was already next to the presidential table, handing Wałęsa a stack of 'Solidarity.' Those sitting at the table reach out, Jagielski leans back to also get a copy. Photojournalists, cameras. I say goodbye to my befriended delegates, the last shared tea, exchange of addresses. – So, Ewa, we won. I don't answer. Konrad and I discuss tactics in case the militia stops us at the gate. The head of supplies even gives us two cubes of butter and half a kilo of cheese for the road. I don't know what will happen after leaving the shipyard. I resigned from my position in Warsaw to stay here. I feel I have to describe all of this, but there's so much of it, it's too ambiguous; one can't help but be amazed, and one can't *only* be amazed. I don't know if I'll be able to describe it all, but at least I'll tell it, I'll call Janek Walc right after I arrive – I think to myself. Konrad gives the final instructions on operating the duplicator. We get safety passes stamped 'persons supporting the strike.' We're leaving, I don't know where." http://www.wis.ecs.gda.pl/images/elfinder/pdf/wis_EwaMilewicz.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1G_ui2BtGaNiZyZfWm8OCRNMGTKfvngJ-1Ik3UheaBKvUKZVX0sjopXuE -- MULLER ON THE COSTS OF RECURRING INCIDENTS AT THE CZajKA TREATMENT PLANT, DWORCZYK ON MINISTRIES' COMPETENCY REVIEW, EMILEWICZ ON NO LOCKDOWN, KOSINIAK ON NOT JOINING A GOVERNMENT WITH PIS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/09/02/ -- THE PRESIDENT, IN A NEW CONCEPT OF POWER, IS TO HEAD FOREIGN POLICY - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "The idea for President Andrzej Duda to serve as the coordinator of Polish foreign policy is linked to the concept of reconstructing the center of power that PiS politicians are discussing. In Jarosław Kaczyński's concept, the government, which currently consists of 20 ministers and over 100 people including deputy ministers, needs to be transformed into a cohesive command center. There is talk of 12-13 ministries and deputy prime ministers coordinating specific departments. This would also be a return to the situation from the first PiS governments in 2005-07, when Kaczyński was prime minister, and President Lech Kaczyński was responsible for foreign policy and its long-term vision. According to our PiS sources, this would be a validation of President Duda after his re-election, an acknowledgment of his prominent role in the ruling camp's system, and also entrusting him with a clear scope of duties that would give him influence in governing Poland." -- PRIME MINISTER IN THE EU, DUDA ABROAD, MFA WITH A TECHNICAL ROLE - WROŃSKI CONTINUES: "In such an arrangement, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki would conduct policy within the European Union forum, a task he already fulfills through his position as minister for European affairs in the Prime Minister's Chancellery (held by former MEP and Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymański). The current Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Prof. Zbigniew Rau, would only provide the Prime Minister with 'diplomatic tools' in this area. Thus, the MFA, which has co-shaped Polish foreign policy for 30 years, would be reduced to a 'technical' ministry." -- USA, NATO, THE THREE SEAS INITIATIVE - WROŃSKI ON MAIN DIRECTIONS: "Therefore, President Duda will coordinate relations crucial for the PiS government with the United States, where – as he emphasizes – he has established friendly relations with Donald Trump. This would be supplemented by relations with NATO, all of Eastern policy, and finally, the Three Seas Initiative – an alliance of Central European countries from the Black Sea to the Adriatic." https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26260061,nowy-pomysl-pis-polduda-odzyskuje-msz.html -- ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE END OF THE GERMAN AMBASSADOR ISSUE - PRZEMYSŁAW ŻURAWSKI VEL GRAJEWSKI IN GAZETA POLSKA CODZIENNIE: "On August 27-28 in Berlin, a Gymnich (i.e., informal) meeting of the EU member state foreign ministers took place, primarily concerning Belarus and relations with Turkey. During this meeting, a conversation occurred between the newly appointed Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Zbigniew Rau, and his German counterpart, Minister Heiko Maas. During this conversation, the 'ambassador problem,' which had been amplified by the media, was resolved as part of a package of other more important matters and interests connecting our two countries. Poland agreed to accept Germany's candidate." -- WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO ATTEND TO, AND IT'S GOOD THAT THE AMBASSADOR ISSUE WILL NO LONGER OCCUPY OUR ATTENTION - ŻURAWSKI VEL GRAJEWSKI CONTINUES: "Diplomacy must take into account public opinion – especially its own – but it cannot drift where media currents or trends push it, and it must distinguish between key and secondary issues. The essence of diplomacy is solving problems, not creating them. In the face of the serious challenges mentioned above, which both Poland and Germany face, and not always having convergent positions on every issue, artificially heating up the atmosphere around issues of little significance serves neither Warsaw's nor Berlin's interests. We have more important matters – mentioned above – to attend to, and it is good that this issue will no longer occupy our attention." https://niezalezna.pl/349336-koniec-sprawy-ambasadora -- GERMANY WILL NOT EMERGE FROM THE SHADOW OF WAR UNLESS IT RECOGNIZES REPARATIONS - JACEK KARNOWSKI: "Furthermore, the fact that such a wealthy Germany is unwilling to compensate for the immense harm inflicted on Poland makes any claims to leadership in Europe on new principles sound exceptionally false coming from them. As long as Poland does not receive compensation for millions of victims, for a destroyed country, for untold suffering, for lost historical opportunities, Germany will remain immersed in World War II. They will be a Germany that merely pretends to have been reborn. Paying reparations would also be beneficial for Germany. It would signify atonement for the victim, which is the first condition for forgiveness, both from the victim and for oneself, in one's own eyes. And without forgiveness, one cannot regain peace of mind, especially in the face of such a terrible past. It is therefore worth encouraging our powerful neighbor to reflect on this matter. If it is truly as ethically sensitive as it claims, if it so desperately wants to wash away the shame of WWII, it should make this gesture. It will not regret it, and it will sleep better." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/515778-niemcy-nie-wyjda-z-cienia-wojny-dopoki-nie-zaplaca-reparacji -- BRANDISHING A SWORD OVER THE GERMAN AMBASSADOR ISSUE, ON OUR KNEES TO MOSBACHER - ŁUKASZ WARZECHA IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "Regardless, this is an unconventional tactic towards the ambassador of a country with which we have conflicting interests, but which is a crucial partner for us. And now for the context: Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher, for the umpteenth time, has openly intervened via Twitter in our internal affairs, calling out (though without naming names) MP Lichocka and PiS on the issue of media 'deconcentration.' It doesn't matter that I am extremely critical of this idea from the ruling party. What Mrs. Mosbacher is doing has long crossed the boundaries of a normal diplomatic mission. Has Mrs. Mosbacher ever been summoned to the MFA to provide an explanation? Of course not. I explain that this is the mildest diplomatic measure. I could even believe that by taking action against the new German ambassador, Poland was trying to instill greater sensitivity in Berlin towards matters important to us historically, if it weren't for the fact that this is happening in the context of the impunity and silent acceptance by the government of increasingly scandalous outbursts from Ambassador Mosbacher. Here, brandishing a sword, and there – on our knees?" https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/200909938-Lukasz-Warzecha-Opowiesc-o-dwojgu-ambasadorach.html -- RYSZARD BUGAJ ON THE PROGRESSIVE DEMORALIZATION OF THE RULING PARTY - HE SPEAKS TO ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "It is also no coincidence that support for PiS is not overwhelming. It is high support, greater than ever before, but the saying that in Poland it is not the majority that rules, but the largest minority, remains true. What is happening before our eyes, and what in the long term must bring about a change in sentiment and support, is the progressive demoralization of the PiS camp, manifested primarily by this group's grab for money. Fortunately, not everyone, as I think this doesn't concern Jarosław Kaczyński or MPs, but the political background does not temper its greed." -- EVENTUALLY, EVEN A BAD OPPOSITION WINS ELECTIONS - BUGAJ CONTINUES IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "Eventually, even a bad opposition wins elections. If there's something I liked about Trzaskowski's campaign, it's that he finally admitted that they too made mistakes. Now, on economic and social issues, but also political ones, the opposition has no stance. For example, the Constitutional Tribunal: PiS has taken it under its thumb. Has the opposition proposed any reform project for the Constitutional Tribunal?" https://www.rp.pl/Wywiady-i-rozmowy/200909934-Ryszard-Bugaj-Rzadzi-najwieksza-mniejszosc.html -- TRZASKOWSKI'S PROJECT IS A HEAVILY SHIFTED BURDEN - SAID ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ ON TOK.FM: "Andrzej Stankiewicz, deputy editor-in-chief of Onet, spoke about the postponement of the launch of Rafał Trzaskowski's civic movement in the 'Political Interview.' – I have the impression that this project is already a heavily shifted burden. I think Rafał Trzaskowski slept through the summer holidays and, as a person who received the support of 10 million Poles, is doing a lot to squander that support – said the journalist. – In fact, after the presidential campaign, he has not appeared as a player in any serious dispute that has taken place in Poland. And we had clashes regarding LGBT people and the entire operation by the ruling camp in this regard. We had Ziobro's demand to withdraw from the anti-violence convention. There were raises for politicians. There were several events where Trzaskowski's voice would have been useful, and he was absent – added Stankiewicz." -- TRZASKOWSKI CAN'T FIND HIS FOOTING - STANKIEWICZ CONTINUES: "– What is happening now is the cherry on top, which shows that there is trouble with this project. There is trouble with Trzaskowski, who cannot find his footing – he said regarding the malfunction of the Czajka treatment plant. As he noted, 'Czajka's problems are certainly further problems for Trzaskowski and a gift for the ruling camp, but it's also not the case that a project that was very well prepared has been delayed.'" -- IT'S NOT LIKE THEY HAD SOME FANTASTIC IDEA FOR THAT SATURDAY THAT WOULD CHANGE THE SCENE - STANKIEWICZ AGAIN: "It's not like they had some fantastic idea for that Saturday that would change the political scene. Trzaskowski also hasn't found a complete answer to the question of how to separate his activities in Civic Platform from this new movement. He hasn't built a relationship between Nowa Solidarność and Civic Platform, or the Civic Coalition – which has its own problems, as we saw during the uproar over the pay raises – explained the guest of Karolina Lewicka." https://www.tokfm.pl/Tokfm/7,103087,26259797,andrzej-stankiewicz-trzaskowski-na-tym-etapie-nie-jest-politykiem.html -- NO ONE WILL REACH THE STANDARD OF PROPAGANDA SEEN IN THE CZajKA CONTROVERSY - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: "Trzaskowski's sewage is spilling into the Vistula again by the millions of cubic meters, and 'Wyborcza' is attacking Dworczyk's head... This is the only commentary on the whole affair for an editorial office that supposedly would die for ecology. Aren't they ashamed? Don't they know that every flush of a toilet is pouring a bucket of sewage into the Vistula and the Baltic? Including theirs, in the glass palace on Czerska Street. That's why below the commentary is another article proving that the cause of the problems is the faulty sewage system 'inherited from predecessors.' Who was the predecessor for two terms? Wasn't it Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz? What was done over the past year? Why were alarms ignored? Doesn't the mayor of the capital spend too much time on 'defending democracy' and election campaigns? Again – these questions are not asked, why confuse people's minds? Truly, whatever they do on TVP, although they do nothing but independent journalism from the circles of the Third Polish Republic, they will not achieve this standard of propaganda." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/515690-chcecie-naprawde-robic-propagande-uczcie-sie-od-michnika -- THE MOST EXPENSIVE TREATMENT PLANT IN EUROPE DOES NOT TREAT - JACEK LIZINIEWICZ IN GAZETA POLSKA CODZIENNIE: "Trzaskowski should have drawn conclusions from the catastrophe 10 months ago. He should have known what went wrong and why, and then solved the problem. He did not do this, and he did not even begin to do so, which clearly indicates that he is responsible for the ecological disaster. The mayor of the capital knows this perfectly well, which is why the topic of a 'sewage diver saboteur' who drilled holes in the pipes under the Vistula riverbed appeared. Congratulations to Civic Platform and its voters on the most expensive sewage treatment plant in Europe, which has one drawback – it doesn't treat sewage. A very well-spent 4 billion PLN. I won't even count how many times you've blown up your own scandals." https://niezalezna.pl/349557-szambonurek-sabotazyst -- ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA ON THE FACT THAT AFTER THE ESCALATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS AGAINST TRZASKOWSKI, NOWA SOLIDARNOŚĆ WILL BUILD ITSELF - SHE WRITES IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "It would be difficult to 'grill' one's own commissioner for the Czajka plant experiencing one breakdown after another, and bus drivers drinking and using substances too often. But that's not all. Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Waterway Transport Marek Gróbarczyk claims that Rafał Trzaskowski 'bears full responsibility for the pollution of the Vistula' and has filed a motion with the prosecutor's office supervised by Zbigniew Ziobro. So perhaps there is still hope for the opposition. If the police were to enter the City Hall, and the United Right were to lock the capital's mayor in a dungeon, Nowa Solidarność would build itself." https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200909923-Zuzanna-Dabrowska-Wyrzucic-Trzaskowskiego.html -- I DON'T BELONG TO SCHETYNA'S PEOPLE, BUT I WOULD SEE SIEMONIAK - A CIVIC PLATFORM POLITICIAN IN JAKUB SZCZEPAŃSKI'S ARTICLE IN INTERIA: "It is true that politicians associated with various factions are talking about the candidacy of the former head of the Ministry of National Defense from the Civic Platform era. – Siemoniak will likely become the club leader, although nothing is finalized yet. He is the most serious candidate – a Civic Platform politician tells us. – We need to distribute the burdens, that's my opinion. I don't belong to Schetyna's people, but I would see Siemoniak. There are many like me – he assures. What does the main interested party have to say?" -- I AM NOT IN ANY FACTION; IF SOMEONE THINKS SCHETYNA IS BEHIND MY CANDIDACY, I'M NOT INVOLVED - SIEMONIAK IN A STATEMENT TO INTERIA: "I am pleased with the positive opinion of Sławomir Neumann; he was a very good club leader during the last term. If the elections proceed with the agreement of various circles, I am ready to run – Siemoniak told Interia. He also distanced himself from factional affiliation: – I don't feel and have never felt like a member of any faction where one must shower with pro-leader statements. If people think that Grzegorz Schetyna is behind my candidacy, I'm not involved in that – he emphasizes." -- THE MOST SERIOUS CANDIDATE FOR THE NEW WAVE IS NITRAS - WRITES SZCZEPAŃSKI: "The most serious candidate associated with Budka and the 'New Wave' in Civic Platform appears to be Sławomir Nitras. When we asked him if he would accept such a position, he declined to comment. However, we unofficially learned that in conversations with colleagues, he has not hidden his interest in the position. He is currently the deputy head of the club. – Sławek, even at the beginning of the term, seriously considered this (heading the club – ed.). The club certainly needs someone decisive, someone who will make it a perfectly oiled mechanism – says a Civic Platform MP who spoke with Nitras." https://fakty.interia.pl/autor/jakub-szczepanski/news-cisza-przed-burza-znamy-faworytow-na-szefa-klubu-ko,nId,4705046 -- NO ALTERNATIVE: FUNDS FOR EDUCATION MUST BE INCREASED - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "There is no alternative: we must increase spending on education. Individual social transfers have been quite substantial in recent years. It's time to think about investments that will benefit all of us as a society. One such long-term investment is education. Teacher salaries must increase significantly, with the assumption that the working hours of pedagogues and educators will be arranged more flexibly. The state cannot ignore the fact that people are leaving this profession due to low earnings. We need well-paid teachers – educated, diligent, and passionate. We need more educators who can actively dedicate time to children. We need more spaces for children, e.g., well-equipped after-school clubs. We need smaller class sizes (thirty children in a class is too many), so that education is more effective and teachers are less tired. This cannot be achieved without money." https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26257731,nie-ma-alternatywy-trzeba-zwiekszyc-wydatki-na-edukacje.html -- HEALTH IS A BANKRUPT ESTATE, NIEDZIELSKI IS TO MANAGE IT - MARIA LIBURA AT THE JAGIELLONIAN CLUB: "Niedzielski's appointment indicates that the authorities still hope that the bankrupt estate, which our public healthcare system increasingly resembles, can simply be managed efficiently to avoid political risk. One thing is certain: the new minister is not coming for a ceremonial role; an exceptional challenge awaits him, as the healthcare system is beginning to lose its fundamental coherence." -- HEALTH SERVICES HAVE NOT MANAGED TO UNFREEZE LIKE WEDDINGS - LIBURA CONTINUES AT THE JAGIELLONIANS: "The system is stuck in a makeshift situation that was justified at the turn of winter and spring by a higher necessity. However, while in the first stage of fighting the COVID-19 threat, the entire system made a gigantic organizational effort – single-specialty hospitals were established, isolation wards, telemedicine was introduced, testing points were created – it is now clear that for longer crisis management in Polish healthcare, resources, and perhaps imagination, were lacking. Unlike weddings, health services have not yet managed to unfreeze." https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/09/01/tonacy-fachowca-sie-chwyta-czy-nowy-minister-opanuje-kryzys-w-ochronie-zdrowia/ -- IN PRACTICE, NOTHING IS HAPPENING - MICHAŁ KOLANKO IN RZECZPOSPOLITA QUOTES PIS COALITION PARTNERS ON RECONSTRUCTION: "If the coalition partners do not retain two ministries, Emilewicz will most likely be out of the government. But as we hear – PiS has not provided its coalition partners with a full justification as to why reducing their assets by one ministry is necessary, nor why such a far-reaching change in the number of ministries is needed at all. – We are surprised that first a deep reconstruction is declared, and then for a long time, nothing happens in practice – one of our sources from Gowin's party tells us. As one can hear, both Solidarna Polska and Jarosław Gowin's Porozumienie are now simultaneously mobilized and consolidated to defend their assets. The current coalition agreement stipulates two ministries for each coalition partner." -- ZIOBRO'S FACTION WILL ATTACK MORAWIECKI OVER ENERGY PRICES - KOLANKO CONTINUES: "Ziobro's faction expects that energy prices will soon, within a few months, become one of the most important political topics. As our sources from Solidarna Polska emphasize, it was Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki who took full political responsibility for electricity prices in Poland." -- WITHIN PIS, RANKS ARE CLOSING IN RESPONSE TO ZIOBRO'S ACTIONS - KOLANKO CONTINUES: "The situation within the largest party forming the United Right will also influence the reconstruction. Politically, PiS ranks have closed in response to Zbigniew Ziobro's actions (with the exception of a few individuals)." -- OR MAYBE 15? - KOLANKO ON RESISTANCE WITHIN PIS ITSELF TO MINISTRY REDUCTIONS: "But as conversations within Jarosław Kaczyński's party show – there may be very strong resistance within PiS itself to eliminating such a large number of ministries. Because this means a change in the internal balance of power, the weakening or strengthening of specific factions. This is an additional complication for forming a new government, as our sources admit. Perhaps the announced reconstruction will therefore not be as deep as the current political declarations that there will be 12 or 13 ministries. Perhaps there will be a few more, for example, 15." https://www.rp.pl/Rzad-PiS/200909937-Opor-ws-rekonstrukcji-moze-byc-najwiekszy-w-samym-PiS.html -- THE ACCURSED HELP THE RIGHT TO FORGET ITS UNCOMFORTABLE PAST AND PLAY THE THEATER OF UNYIELDINGNESS - MACIEJ GDULA IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: "The reinterpretation of post-war history by the right has another goal. It's about portraying the right in the Polish People's Republic in a heroic way that masks a much less heroic reality. Today's right-wing derives from figures who compromised with the Polish People's Republic and, at certain stages of their lives, were involved in supporting it. This applies, for example, to two unquestioned spiritual fathers of the right in Poland – Henryk Krzeczkowski and Paweł Hertz. The first, as an intelligence officer, and the second, as a publicist, supported the system during the Stalinist years. Later, they adopted a pragmatic political stance and focused on creating a conservative ethos. Meanwhile, the endecja circles around Bolesław Piasecki created PAX – an association of Catholics supporting the communist authorities and used by them to criticize the Catholic Church. The accursed allow one to forget this uncomfortable past and play the theater of unyieldingness on the right." -- ALL NEGATIVE MINUSES, IT'S HARD TO FIND ANYTHING POSITIVE IN THE CULT OF THE ACCURSED - GDULA BELIEVES: "It's hard to find anything positive in the cult of the accursed. Officially, it means promoting self-sacrificing patriotism. In the subtext, it is an acceptance of ethnic cleansing policies. Instrumentally, the accursed serve to cover up the less heroic history of the Polish right in the Polish People's Republic. To paraphrase Lech Wałęsa, the accursed are all negative minuses." https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/maciej-gdula/ogien-zastapi-walese/ -- THE EPISCOPATE'S PROPOSED CONVERSION TO HETEROSEXUALITY SHOULD BE BANNED - EWA SIEDLECKA IN POLITYKA: "Furthermore, the methods of this therapy cause suffering, so they can be considered cruel treatment. The penal code provides for the crime of psychological abuse, and one can wonder if conversion therapy falls under this definition. Especially since the Church uses a relationship of dependence towards the faithful. Therefore, the state cannot abdicate responsibility for what the Church does to the faithful within conversion therapy. If someone who has undergone it and suffered harm reports to the prosecutor's office – the prosecutor's office has a duty to initiate proceedings. The state's obligation to protect against pseudo-treatment and cruel treatment should also lead to the enactment of a ban on such practices. Especially towards children and adolescents who are most vulnerable to harm. In February 2019, Nowoczesna submitted a bill to the Sejm to ban conversion therapy. The Sejm never considered it. No similar bill has been submitted in this term." https://siedlecka.blog.polityka.pl/2020/09/02/kosciol-krzywdzi-panstwo-bezczynne/?nocheck=1 -- DONALD TUSK, IN LENGTHY DISQUISITIONS ON BELARUS, TELLS SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI THAT LUKASHENKO PLAYED A POSITIVE ROLE IN THE UKRAINIAN ISSUE: "In the spring of 2014. Lukashenko was, is, and will always be on his own side. He was rather probing how wide the scope for his game was and whether Europe could be drawn into it. But it must be admitted that in the Ukrainian issue, he played a positive role one way or another, regardless of how we view his motivations. Today we are dealing with a Lukashenko who, not only has he lost the ambiguous, but some mandate of trust from a part of Belarusians, but has also crossed the second red line; he is not only brutally suppressing his own society but has unequivocally turned to Russia for security guarantees. I recall his speech, perhaps from August 15, so unequivocal, when he said: Be careful in Moscow, this will spill over into your country too, you must help me. It couldn't be clearer – come to my aid, because I can't handle it myself. And this also negates his, of course ambiguous, role as a stabilizer who kept Putin at some distance, including regarding Belarus. This means that Lukashenko has lost two big and important matters for him, which does not necessarily mean, I emphasize again, that he has lost power today. Unfortunately, it may still last, based on violence and special services." -- PUTIN WILL ACCEPT A SCENARIO OF PARTIAL CONTROL OVER BELARUS WITH THE OPPOSITION IN POWER - SAYS TUSK: "However, the example of Ukraine, where the turn towards less radicality, as proposed by Zelensky, may find broader support, can also be encouraging. Therefore, Putin still has arguments in hand to guarantee Russia's presence in these countries. That is why imagination does not suggest to me a scenario where Russia would decide on an unequivocally forceful action. Unless something happens in Russia itself. I don't think Khabarovsk will become a breeding ground for a democratic contagion that will force Putin – today, because I don't know about tomorrow – into some very nervous reactions. Putin has time in this regard. Lukashenko has much less time. Putin is not in a hurry for now. Lukashenko is. In conclusion: if necessary, Putin will also accept a scenario of partial control over Belarus without Lukashenko and with the opposition in power." https://krytykapolityczna.pl/swiat/donald-tusk-bialorus-rozmowa-sierakowskiego/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Ryszard Terlecki, Bp. Krzysztof Zadarko, Ewa Kołodziej.