-- STRAIGHTENING UP, GREATER SELF-CONFIDENCE, FREEDOM, A BETTER MOOD, AND CALM ARE CERTAINLY EXPERIENCED BY MANY WOMEN IN POLAND SINCE THE ADVENT OF 500+. THESE ARE CONCRETE EFFECTS OF ESCAPING POVERTY – EWA MAJEWSKA – FEMINIST CULTURAL THEORIST, PROFESSOR AT SWPS UNIVERSITY, IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “Digression: my neighbor, who works in a factory, has two children. Until 2015, she earned 2,000 PLN net per month, and the introduction of 500+ meant a 50% increase in her monthly income. One day, when she visited me after a long break, I saw that she had a different posture – it’s hard to describe in words, but she presented herself with more dignity, took up a bit more space, spoke more calmly, and her gestures and facial expressions were more stable. This straightening up, greater self-confidence, freedom, better mood, and calmness are certainly experienced by many women in Poland since the advent of 500+. These are concrete results of escaping poverty. They don't need to generate deep reflections – a mother of two children working from dawn till dusk in a factory might not have the strength or time for that. But they can generate a concrete effect at the ballot box. And this cannot be underestimated.” -- THE DECLARATIONS OF THE LIBERAL OPPOSITION, WHICH FAN THE DRUMS OF PRIDE IN NEOLIBERAL GOVERNMENTS AND REFUSE ANY CRITICISM OF THEM, SO COMMON ESPECIALLY AFTER PIŚ'S FIRST VICTORY, SHOULD BE REVISED BY SOCIAL SCIENTISTS – MAJEWSKA AGAIN IN KRYTYKA: “The declarations of the liberal opposition, which fan the drums of pride in neoliberal governments and refuse any criticism of them, so common especially after PiS's first victory, should indeed be revised by social scientists. An attempt to outdo PiS in the amount of directly redistributed cash is not such a revision. However, criticism that doesn't have to sound like ‘Balcerowicz must go,’ but could sound like ‘this cannot happen again,’ would be. https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/spoleczenstwo-populistow-koniec-demokracji-feminizm/” -- BOSAK: CONFEDERATION IS THE ONLY ONE TO CORRECTLY READ THE DYNAMICS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN POLAND AND UKRAINE; BIEDROŃ ON THE EXPULSION OF PIŚ; MORAWIECKI: IN THE THIRD TERM, THE PRIORITY WILL BE TO HAVE EVEN MORE HOUSING – 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2023/09/23/ -- PO AND PIŚ MUTUALLY BLAME EACH OTHER FOR THE VISA AFFAIR, BUT THEY WON'T ESCAPE JOINT DECISIONS – PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZ: “As PiS and PO hurl the worst accusations at each other regarding the import of immigration troubles, it's easy to forget that the decision on how to deal with the wave of arrivals will have to be made collectively – both here in Poland and in the Union. (...) At the same time, it's worth realizing that in the longer term, we are unlikely to avoid working together to solve (or cut?) the Gordian knot of immigration. How to reconcile resistance to Brussels' hasty ideas with participation in deliberations on EU policy? It seems this particular paradox is beyond the capacity of Polish politicians from all sides.” -- BECAUSE IF PIŚ HAS ENDANGERED POLES BY OPENING BORDERS TOO HOSPITALITY TO APPLICANTS IN POLISH CONSULATES, IT MEANS THIS PROBLEM IS NOT FABRICATED – ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN RZ: “The narrative of Civic Coalition, supported, though less enthusiastically, by other opposition parties, is less consistent than the PiS narrative. Its offensive fits better with the Confederation, which is weakening for other reasons. Because if PiS has endangered Poles by opening borders too hospitably to applicants in Polish consulates, it means this problem is not fabricated. Meanwhile, the circles that are the ideological and social base of KO-PO essentially deny such threats. Some of them are even angry at Tusk for taking up this topic. Are the ads showing immigrants as a threat just a demonstration of right-wing hypocrisy? Or are they stirring up prejudice against foreigners?” -- IT IS MS VON DER LEYEN, NOT THE POLISH RIGHT, WHO WITH HER WORDS TODAY DELIVERS A PRECISE BLOW TO HUMANITARIAN ILLUSIONS – ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “This does not change the fact that it is Ms. von der Leyen, not the Polish right, who today, with her words, delivers a precise blow to humanitarian illusions. Not only Agnieszka Holland promotes them, but also, for example, Tomasz P. Terlikowski, arguing, incidentally, in the context of the film ‘Green Border,’ that human rights are superior to national interest. Perhaps they are. But the mere will of masses of people to move to a country where they expect a better life is not yet a human right. States even have an obligation to formulate the conditions under which arrivals are admitted or not. The fact that this is increasingly difficult does not negate the principle itself.” -- PARADOXICALLY, IT WAS THE SILENT PIŚ POLICY OF BRINGING HINDUS OR FILIPINOS FOR SPECIFIC JOBS THAT WAS THE REALIZATION OF WHAT IS GOOD IN IMMIGRATION – ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN RZ: “Paradoxically, it was the silent PiS policy of bringing Hindus or Filipinos for specific jobs that was the realization of what is good in immigration, even if Confederation politicians sometimes asked why people with darker skin tones drive us in taxis or deliver pizza to our homes. Incidentally, Poles showed their pragmatic openness long before the current crisis. Even before the 2022 war, they opened their gates to economic migrants from Ukraine. Then came the mass acceptance of war refugees.” https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39146611-po-i-pis-nawzajem-obwiniaja-sie-o-afere-wizowa-ale-nie-uciekna-od-wspolnych-decyzji -- AND THE GREEN PATRIOTIC MASKS FELL OFF. A VOTE FOR PSL-THIRD WAY IS A VOTE FOR OPENING BORDERS AND THE DISGUSTING LIES FROM HOLLAND'S FILM – MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “The cover-up operation has begun. But the green patriotic masks have already fallen off. Let’s recall that an institution subordinate to Marshal Adam Struzik supported the production of this film with PLN 300,000. And one of the leaders of the Third Way, Mr. Michał Kobosko, rushed to Agnieszka Holland's support. The people of PSL financed it. It must be said directly: a vote for PSL-Third Way is a vote for opening borders and the disgusting lies contained in Holland's film.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/663699-glos-na-psl-trzecia-droge-to-glos-na-otwarcie-granic -- IF THE OPPOSITION DOES NOT DEFEND SOLDIERS, IT WOULD NOT DEFEND THE BORDER EITHER – JACEK KARNOWSKI: “The fundamental question is: would the opposition, which supports a slander aimed at Poland's good name and which weakens our ability to resist aggression, be able to effectively defend our borders? Of course not. They would do what they do best: they would develop plans to retreat beyond the Vistula. And perhaps even beyond the Oder. They could do no more, even if they wanted to. Their hands are tied. It is Holland who presents the real PO line on the border.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/663670-skoro-nie-bronia-zolnierzy-to-nie-obroniliby-granicy -- THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS OF PIGS SITTING IN THE CINEMA. WHEN THE STATE STRIPS DIGNITY. IT TURNS OUT THAT IN POLITICS, ONE CANNOT FALL, THAT EVERY FALL CAN BE RELATIVIZED – POET WOJCIECH BONOWICZ IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Does it really have to look like this? Can’t one bite their tongue? Can’t one find a less inflammatory, less divisive word? Is power truly so magnificent that it is worth trampling on the dignity of an opponent to maintain or gain it? Is it worth trampling on one's own dignity for this purpose? (...) It turns out that in politics, one cannot fall, that every fall can be relativized. Różewicz was right when he wrote that today one no longer falls down, but in all directions. But he was also a poet – therefore an anarchist – so he is of no use in politics.” -- ONE WOULD WANT TO BE OUTRAGED, BUT PRACTICALLY HAS NO STRENGTH LEFT. ONE FEELS SHAME – AND PERHAPS ALSO PAIN – BONOWICZ CONTINUES IN TYGODNIK: “When I heard the president quoting the saying about pigs sitting in the cinema, only two words came to my mind: ‘Jesus Maria!’ One would want to be outraged, but practically has no strength left. One feels shame – and perhaps also pain. Is this how one can do it?” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/prezydent-mowi-o-swiniach-siedzacych-w-kinie-gdy-panstwo-odbiera-godnosc-184716 -- IT IS CERTAINLY NOT A FILM FOR HUNTERS, AND IT FOCUSES NOT ONLY ON THOSE WHO HUNT PEOPLE IN THE FOREST – ANITA PIOTROWSKA IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “‘Green Border’ was made to speak up for those others, left entirely without help. For those with a ‘bad passport,’ a darker skin tone, followers of foreign religions. And although the rhetoric of the finale may be all too evident (we are more moved by the fate of Ukrainian dogs and cats than by ‘others’ condemned to slow death), even animals, such as the Podlasian moose or wolf, played small but beautiful episodes in this uncompromising film. It is certainly not a film for hunters, and it focuses not only on those who hunt people in the forest.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/ludzie-w-lesie-recenzja-zielonej-granicy-agnieszki-holland-184679 -- HOLLAND'S FILM IS AN ACT OF CIVIC COURAGE – JAKUB MAJMUREK IN OKO.PRESS'S POWIĘKSZENIE WITH AGATA KOWALSKA: “Civil disobedience is defined as the conscious breaking of the law in the name of some higher values. In Poland, the law thankfully does not yet prohibit making critical films about the government. But it was certainly an act of civic engagement, or civic courage. So one could expect this type of reaction, although perhaps not on such a scale, to appear. We saw how the government previously reacted to artists who dared to tell a joke it didn't like, for example, about the Smolensk plane crash. How it reacted to actors who performed in the play ‘The Curse’ at the Powszechny Theatre. There also seem to have been stories about losing roles in TVP productions.” -- IF WE THINK OF ANY COMPARABLE EXAMPLE OF A POLISH FILM THAT REACTED SO QUICKLY TO KEY EVENTS, ONLY “MAN OF IRON” COMES TO MIND – MAJMUREK CONTINUES AT KOWALSKA'S IN OKO.PRESS'S POWIĘKSZENIE: “Rather, one could complain about Polish cinema after 1989 for rarely reacting so quickly to what was happening in Poland. Because of course, this film is exceptional as an interventionist film. A film that takes a stand on a very important, very deeply dividing issue in society, in a very rapid manner. It is not made 10 years after these events, but almost immediately. I must admit that if one thinks of any comparable example of a Polish film that reacted so quickly to key events, then only Andrzej Wajda's ‘Man of Iron’ comes to mind, so a film from over 40 years ago.” -- IT IS ALSO A FILM QUITE CRITICAL OF THE ANTI-PIS SIDE. WE SEE HOW THIS SIDE DIVIDES ITSELF IN THE FACE OF THE SITUATION AT THE BORDER – MAJMUREK STILL SPEAKS AT KOWALSKA'S: “Contrary to what the government says, it is also a film very critical of Belarus. The accusations that it is a gift for Belarusian propaganda are completely absurd for anyone who has actually seen this film. It is also a film quite critical of the anti-PiS side. We see how this side divides itself in the face of the situation at the border. It is also, finally, a film that is very critical of the migration policy of the entire European Union, not just Poland. So the message about this film, as presented by the ruling party, is simply untrue.” https://oko.press/film-holland-to-akt-obywatelskiej-odwagi-majmurek-o-zielonej-granicy -- HOW MUCH HATRED DOES PIŚ NEED TO WIN ELECTIONS – MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “PiS campaign strategists can be delighted; emotions work in their favor. Some voters will believe the propaganda that there is a conspiracy of liberal elites with Jewish circles, who allegedly hate Poland and want to let in thousands of illegal migrants sent here by Lukashenko and Putin. The ongoing Russian war in the East only makes such scenarios plausible. Hatred is needed to terrify Poles with the vision of a migrant invasion and to stir up emotions that the Episcopate warned against in July. To terrify them that Poland will become Lampedusa. Fear and hatred – these will make voters go to the polls and vote for Kaczyński.” -- THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, ACCUSATIONS OF THE STRENGTH OF AN ATOMIC BOMB WERE USED. AND THEY BROUGHT THE EFFECT EXPECTED BY PIŚ – SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES IN RZ: “Agnieszka Holland's film was used to unleash an absolutely unprecedented campaign of hatred. The director was compared to Goebbels; a spot about her film was illustrated with photos of Hitler and Stalin. Are there more serious accusations in our language than comparisons to creators of the totalitarian apparatus? Three weeks before the elections, accusations of the strength of an atomic bomb were used. And they brought the effect expected by PiS.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39152041-michal-szuldrzynski-zielona-granica-ile-nienawisci-potrzebuje-pis-by-wygrac-wybory -- ATTACK ON UKRAINE AND AGNIESZKA HOLLAND. THE GOAL – TO RETAIN POWER. AT ALL COSTS – IWONA SZPALA IN GW: “The radical course towards Ukraine has a simple explanation: PiS is no longer as loved in the countryside, it has competitors from the Confederation on its back, and it has internal polls showing worsening sentiment towards Ukrainians, so the strategists decided it pays to shift gears. And so what if Poland once again proves how unstable it is? What of it. For Kaczyński, there is nothing more important in life than retaining power.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,30218906,atak-na-ukraine-i-agnieszke-holland-cel-utrzymac-wladze-za.html -- FROM THE PAST WEEK, I REMEMBERED TWO BOWS FROM PIŚ PEOPLE TOWARDS RUSSIA – DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “Online comments directed at PiS: maybe you should release a Russian version, as you did with the report on the liquidation of WSI, to make Putin's task even easier. (...) The second event in the series of bows towards Russia is picking a fight with Ukraine over grain.” -- AND ZELENSKY INVESTED SO MUCH IN FRIENDSHIP WITH PIŚ, HE EVEN REPEATED THE SMOLENSK LIE AFTER THEM… – WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES IN GW: “And Zelensky invested so much in friendship with PiS, he even repeated the Smolensk lie after them... But electoral interest is more important than maintaining a united front against Russia. Because who else did the PiS government stand with in the front line on the issue of grain? Not only with the Confederation, but also with Putin's agent in the Union, namely Viktor Orbán's government. Everything adds up: the government has chosen a pro-Russian course to cover up its incompetence, because the issue of Ukrainian grain should have been dealt with a year ago.” -- PLATFORMA COUNTS ON HIGH TURNOUT TO BOOST PO IN THE POLLS, JUST LIKE AFTER THE JUNE 4TH MARCH. AFTER OCTOBER 1ST, TUSK MIGHT MOVE MORE EASTWARD – WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES IN GW: “Tusk has set off on his tour. In the first few days, the Tuskobus was in Brzeziny, Kępno, Leszno, Kalisz, Piła. Platforma focused on western Poland, where it usually wins, and today, on both sides of the barricade, mobilizing one's own electorate is key, especially before October 1st. Because this tour is also meant to advertise the march, to mobilize people to come to Warsaw. Platforma counts on a significant turnout to boost PO in the polls, as it did after the June 4th march. After October 1st, Tusk might move more eastward, counting on the post-march wave to give him the opportunity to win over those voters who readily join potential winners.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30212735,wielowieyska-po-marszu-miliona-serc-1-pazdziernika-tuskobus.html -- ON EVERY PIŚ BILLBOARD. AND WHERE ARE OURS? – AGNIESZKA KUBLIK IN GW: “Those dense PiS billboards are a bullseye. Placed so that they cannot be missed. Huge portraits. The candidates follow us with their gaze along the main road. Lit up. They don't compete with other commercial posters. (...) Did KO decide that here, in the east, it's not worth soliciting votes? PiS feels that votes cast in the countryside can be crucial for their third term. But Coalition, this works both ways. This is just a tiny snippet of the election campaign, I know, likely unrepresentative. But it's striking. Striking the voters' eyes.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30208023,agnieszka-kublik-z-podlasia-na-kazdym-plocie-pis-a-gdzie-nasze.html -- A RETURN TO NATIONAL POLITICS IN THE STYLE OF THE 1930s IN TODAY'S EUROPE IS A RECIPE FOR A WAR OF LILLIPUTIANS IN A WORLD INCREASINGLY DOMINATED BY GIANTS – CEZARY MICHALSKI IN INTERIA: “A return in today's Europe to national politics in the style of the 1930s is a recipe for a war of Lilliputians in a world increasingly dominated by giants. Even sick giants, like Russia. Boris Johnson's Lilliputian politics, disguised as a PR giant, ended in the catastrophe of Brexit. In Poland's case, Jarosław Kaczyński's politics, disguised as a giant, is incomparably more risky for our nation than Brexit was for the British.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-koniec-zgody-narodow-polskiego-ukrainskiego-i-innych,nId,7042873 -- ONE MUST LOOK FOR THE DOUBTERS. AND THOSE WHO ARE STILL UNDECIDED ARE – AS POLLS SHOW – INCREASINGLY NUMEROUS. DOES THE OPPOSITION KNOW WHO IS IN THIS GROUP? DOES IT HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR THEM? – MARCIN MATCZAK IN GW: “There are people in the middle of the political scene who are not zealots. There are opportunists among them who will vote for whoever gives them more, but there are also those who are looking for an alternative to the current government because they know it is ruining Poland. The emotionality of politics means that it makes little sense to convert the believers – one must look for the doubters. And those who are still undecided are – as polls show – increasingly numerous. Does the opposition know who is in this group? Does it have a proposal for them? For a long time, I have been trying to convince people that between the main parties, which are like football hooligans fighting, there is a large group of people who do not want this fight and extremism. And it is they who can decide the election results.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30208026,marcin-matczak-nie-potrafie-sie-cieszyc-tak-jak-kiedys-z-wygranej.html -- KGHM POLSKA MIEDŹ IS THE EIGHTH LARGEST COPPER PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, THE SECOND LARGEST SILVER PRODUCER IN THE WORLD – BUSINESS INSIDER: “KGHM Polska Miedź is the eighth largest copper producer in the world, the second largest silver producer in the world. – This is a very competitive market, which is increasingly regulated. The raw materials we extract are already critical, strategic raw materials for all economies – said Tomasz Zdzikot, CEO of KGHM Polska Miedź, in an interview during the Economic Forum in Karpacz. The company is not slowing down with investments both in Poland and abroad. – We have planned a record level of investment this year. Last year, we invested PLN 2.8 billion in Poland. This year, we have PLN 5 billion for investments – he added.” https://businessinsider.com.pl/biznes/kghm-polska-miedz-stawia-na-inwestycje/wfrf4fq -- BIRTHDAYS: Michał Jach, Katarzyna Maria Piekarska, Jakub Górnicki, Michał Sznajder, Mirosława Nykiel, Elżbieta Stępień. SUNDAY: Janusz Steinhoff, Agnieszka Arnold, Marek Opioła.