-- WRITERS WITHDRAW FROM GRAND PRESS COMPETITION - ŁUKASZ KAMIŃSKI IN GW: “Following accusations of mobbing at the 'Press' editorial office, writers are withdrawing their entries from the Grand Press competition in the 'Reporter Book of the Year' category. Grzegorz Piątek and Bartosz Józefiak were the first to withdraw.” -- "ONE PERSON, AFTER HALF A YEAR AT 'PRESS', ENDED UP IN A DAY PSYCHIATRIC WARD" - REPORTER WROTE - KAMIŃSKI CONTINUES IN GW: “The mobbing mentioned by Piątek was described in May and August of this year by Katarzyna Włodkowska in 'Gazeta Wyborcza'. Employees of the 'Press' magazine accused the editor-in-chief Andrzej Skworz of, among other things, humiliating, harassing, shouting at, or ridiculing female and male employees, demanding journalists write with a predetermined thesis, entering into unfavorable contracts, paying under the table, and demanding constant availability. As Włodkowska wrote, these behaviors affected the health of the editorial staff: they experienced anxiety, nervous breakdowns, and depression. 'One person, after half a year at 'Press', ended up in a day psychiatric ward,' the reporter wrote.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75410,30449018,nie-wezme-udzialu-w-dalszym-etapie-konkursu-pisarze-wycofuja.html -- CZARZASTY: I AM PROBABLY NOT A PROPONENT OF APPOINTING THREE MORE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEES AS A MATTER OF URGENCY - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2023/11/28/ -- PRESIDENTIAL POLL BY ONET: “In the first scenario, Rafał Trzaskowski would win the first round of the presidential election, garnering 34.6% support. Mateusz Morawiecki would advance to the second round with 29.9% of the vote. Szymon Hołownia, with 11.6% support, would take third place.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/sondaz-prezydencki-szymon-holownia-musi-znalezc-ofiare/d1905dc,79cfc278 -- IN UNOFFICIAL CONVERSATIONS, CIVIC PLATFORM POLITICIANS ADMIT THE GOAL IS TO QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY "CLEAN UP" AFTER PIS, WHICH REQUIRES GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE AND POLITICAL DETERMINATION, AS WELL AS THE PRIME MINISTER'S TRUST - PIOTR ŚMIŁOWICZ IN GAZETA.PL: “The composition shows that Donald Tusk is relying on his trusted Civic Platform companions in the most crucial ministries. In unofficial conversations, Civic Platform politicians admit that the aim is to quickly and efficiently "clean up" after the PiS governments, which requires both government experience – which all candidates from Civic Platform possess – and political determination, as well as the trust of the party leader and Prime Minister. Hence, individuals like Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz and Borys Budka are being appointed to key ministries such as Culture or State Assets, where problems related to public media or State Treasury companies will need to be resolved. 'We cannot afford mistakes,' Civic Platform politicians say unofficially.” https://jedennewsdziennie.pl/#id=119 -- THE CENTRAL BANK HAS RECOGNIZED THAT THE PROBABILITY OF SUCH A SCENARIO HAS INCREASED IN RECENT WEEKS AND IS PREPARING FOR A POTENTIAL CONFRONTATION - BARTEK GODUSŁAWSKI IN BUSINESS INSIDER: “For now, international financial institutions have remained tight-lipped and are refusing to comment on the new coalition's statements regarding the State Tribunal. According to our information, this matter is being analyzed by the legal services of the ECB, and the bank's position can be expected if the new majority's plans begin to materialize. (...) The bank also considered seeking support from a reputable PR agency that could attract foreign media and public opinion to the crisis surrounding the bank. However, according to our sources, such a move might be necessary if politicians move from words to actions.” https://businessinsider.com.pl/wiadomosci/adam-glapinski-szykuje-sie-na-wojne-z-rzadem-nbp-juz-szykuje-amunicje/jblj1m7 -- THERE ARE SIGNS ON THE AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN HORIZON THAT THE NEW GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE SERIOUSLY AND FIND A CREDIBLE RESPONSE TO THEM IN THE NEAR FUTURE - PRZEMYSŁAW SZUBARTOWICZ IN INTERIA: “While Jarosław Kaczyński, Mateusz Morawiecki, and Andrzej Duda are ridiculing themselves and the state with the prolonged farce of building a facade government that will never win a vote of confidence, the new democratic majority believes that the PiS unconstitutional system is a colossus on clay feet and is nearing its permanent end. Meanwhile, there are signs on the American and European horizon that the new government should take seriously and find a credible political response to them in the near future.” -- AMERICA BREATHED WITH SIMILAR OPTIMISM AFTER JOE BIDEN'S VICTORY - SZUBARTOWICZ CONTINUES: “This idyll has its dark side. America breathed with similar optimism after Joe Biden's victory three years ago. It seemed that Donald Trump, the king of populism and a renowned destroyer of the social contract and symbolic rules, who had compromised himself with the assault on the Capitol, would be significantly weakened by legal proceedings and would never regain his leadership vigor. The opposite happened.” -- PEOPLE FAR FROM THE RIGHT ARE STARTING TO FEAR VIOLENCE, EXTERNAL OTHERNESS, THE CHANGING WORLD, ISLAM - SZUBARTOWICZ CONTINUES: “People who are far from the right are starting to fear violence, external otherness, the changing world, Islam, and Putin's destabilization, while simultaneously feeling lost amidst the inadequate reactions of the West. They are beginning to suspect that the European Union, liberal politicians, and democrats are trying to compensate for their own helplessness in the face of the real migration crisis and the changing world by further pampering political correctness and inflating ideological balloons for the do-gooders.” -- BUILDING AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE FAR-RIGHT AND POPULISTS WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE THE ROLE OF THE LEFT, WHICH FOR NOW, AT LEAST IN EUROPE, IS FASCINATED BY THE CRIMINAL HAMAS - WRITES SZUBARTOWICZ: “Tusk seems to sense this wind of mental change. He has led to his party's MEPs voting against changes to EU treaties in the European Parliament, something PiS constantly frightens its electorate with, although this fear now has a wider impact. Building an alternative to the far-right and populists will certainly not be the role of the left, which for now, at least in Europe, is fascinated by the criminal Hamas, but it should become a new goal for liberal democrats. Such a task, however, extends beyond the Polish 'hell' and beyond Polish political infantilism.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-ciemna-strona,nId,7174416 -- THE ENTIRE NARRATIVE ABOUT AN EXPERT TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT IS JUST POLITICAL FICTION - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI: “But that's not the end of the paradoxes. After all, the 'ministers' presented by Prime Minister Morawiecki are not great experts. I'm writing 'ministers' because these are people who will manage ministries for two weeks, but they won't make any plans, any ten commandments of Polish affairs, or any coalition of Polish affairs. They will play their role in the political spectacle and leave after the constitutional deadlines. Who on this list is an outstanding expert in their field? Actress Dominika Chorosińska in the Ministry of Culture? Jacek Ozdoba from Sovereign Poland as a minister without portfolio in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister?” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39474391-michal-szuldrzynski-mariusz-blaszczak-i-inni-eksperci-w-rzadzie-mateusza-morawieckiego -- MORAWIECKI'S GOVERNMENT, OR THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL TROLLING UNDER DUDAS PATRONAGE - MICHAŁ DANIELEWSKI IN OKO.PRESS: “Duda, however, opted for a farcical delay of the matter, thereby simultaneously suicidally damaging his own image and giving the new majority several advance Christmas presents: - time to organize, divide positions and spheres of influence; - a convenient excuse for the start of government, because Tusk can always say that PiS clung to power so tightly that the new team now has to do everything hastily; - an ideal tool for maintaining electoral mobilization before the local and European elections: the antics of Duda and Morawiecki to justify their hold on power are so contorted that they must evoke either anger or mockery even from lukewarm voters – those legendary "undecided" who determine the election results. In one sentence, from the perspective of the political interests of the new majority led by Donald Tusk, PiS behaves like a character from "Faust": doing evil, always doing good.” -- PIS BEHAVES A BIT LIKE A POLISH HUNTER WHO AIMS AT A WILD BOAR EVERY TIME BUT IT'S NEVER A WILD BOAR - DANIELEWSKI CONTINUES IN OKO.PRESS: “In addition to general trolling, PiS has also been trying to attack more precisely in recent days – it is targeting the Third Way. But it behaves a bit like a Polish hunter who aims at a wild boar every time, but it's never a wild boar. So, for the fifth, fifteenth, and fiftieth time, we hear the same narratives: how Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz could have been prime minister but chickened out before Tusk, how the Third Way was supposed to maintain an equal distance from both major political forces, but became an appendage of Civic Platform, how Marshal Hołownia announced new standards, but in reality is a parliamentary despot unlike any Poland has seen, and that rank-and-file PSL and Poland 2050 activists would sincerely like to walk hand-in-hand with Morawiecki, but are ashamed to say it out loud.” -- HOŁOWNIA WILL CHASTISE NOT ONLY PIŚ DEPUTIES BUT ALSO COALITION COLLEAGUES, BECAUSE HIS GOAL IS CLEAR: AS AN ARBITER LIKED BY THE MAJORITY, TO ENTER THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN - DANIELEWSKI CONTINUES IN OKO: “Szymon Hołownia, as the Marshal of the Sejm, has become a bigger pop culture star than during the days of 'Mam Talent' (Got Talent), and it can be expected that he will consistently build an image as a cultured and witty, yet firm head of the lower house, who uncompromisingly upholds parliamentary standards and customs. It can also be predicted with certainty that he will chastise not only PiS deputies but also coalition colleagues, because his goal is clear: as an arbiter liked by the majority, to enter the 2025 presidential campaign. The assumption that he will become a puppet of the ruling majority in the coming months has neither logical nor political basis.” https://oko.press/rzad-morawieckiego-czyli-gabinet-trollingu-narodowego -- THE REAL GOVERNMENT, THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT. MORAWIECKI'S PERFORMANCE BEGINS - MAREK KĘSKRAWIEC IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Since Monday, we have had a phantom government and a real government operating in the shadows. It might be amusing if it concerned a small community, but not a 38-million nation with a war at its borders.” -- "ALONE AGAINST ALL" - KĘSKRAWIEC CONTINUES IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “'Alone against all' – that's a slogan for a sheriff in a town overrun by bandits in the Wild West, but not for the inhabitants of a country that freed itself from communism 34 years ago (the entire system lasted 44 years in Poland), and has been an EU member for two decades, experiencing a civilizational leap unparalleled outside of Ireland.” -- THE COLLECTIVE MENTALITY OF KACZYŃSKI'S PARTY HAS LED THE UNITED RIGHT TO THE MARGINS - KĘSKRAWIEC STILL IN TYGODNIK: “An important part of this period is, of course, the PiS government, which represented a huge regression in systemic matters, but in economic matters – despite numerous scandals involving the use of public funds for party purposes and the peculiar policy of the NBP – brought further development. The problem is that the collective mentality of Kaczyński's party, claiming paternity of all successes and accusing literally the entire political class of stupidity and treason of national interests, has led the United Right to the margins. Although it is large and comfortable, it is marked by future investigative commissions that will deal with, among others, Jacek Sasin and his envelope elections.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/rzad-prawdziwy-rzad-oficjalny-zaczyna-sie-performens-morawieckiego-185480 -- MICHNIK'S PUBLICATION ADMITTED THAT IT, ALONG WITH OTHERS, CONSCIOUSLY DECEIVED POLES AND THE WORLD - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “We learn that refugees from these 'cultural texts,' i.e., 'families with small children, an educated Afghan woman who speaks excellent English, a pregnant woman,' are 'now exceptions at the border.' The thesis that it was different before is also questionable, but let's leave that for other considerations. What is important is that Tomczak reveals the consciously constructed 'unrepresentativeness' in the media's description of migrant groups storming Europe's borders, confirming the picture presented by conservative media: The vast majority of people on the routes to Europe are young men. In the last year, women constituted only 10%, and children – 17%, many of whom were 16-17-year-olds. Importantly, Tomczak confirms what we have been writing for years: most come from countries where there is no war, their reasons for coming are economic, and European and Polish law gives them no right of entry.” -- IT IS DIFFICULT NOT TO CONNECT THIS FACT WITH THE IMPENDING CHANGE OF POWER. TUSK PROBABLY DOES NOT WANT SUCH HEATED RADICALS IN THE BACKGROUND ANYMORE, GW HAS BEEN TASKED WITH CUTTING THEM OFF - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “Why is such an article appearing now? It is difficult not to connect this fact with the impending change of power. Tusk probably no longer wants such heated radicals in the background, and GW has been tasked with cutting them off. Germany – Tusk's patrons in many areas – also does not want this border to be opened; they are tired of further waves of migrants themselves and do not want another one for now. They might have agreed to lies attacking the Law and Justice government because they knew it would never bend in defense of Polish borders. From Germany's perspective, Tusk's government should also maintain this border, so it's time to clear the field for him. The 'aid activists,' who turn out to be largely useful idiots or mere manipulators, have done their job. Their lies can now be revealed. What can we do about it today? Above all, remember the moment when the lever is being switched so openly, so brazenly. They cannot be trusted in any matter. They lied in this matter too; we spoke the truth.” https://wpolityce.pl/media/672092-za-cicho-o-tej-sprawie-przyznali-ze-swiadomie-klamali -- I READ MAŁGORZATA TOMCZAK'S ARTICLE IN THE WEEKEND EDITION OF "GAZETA WYBORCZA" TWICE, WITH INCREASINGLY STRONG INNER EMOTION - JAN ROKITA IN DZIENNIK POLSKI: “I read Małgorzata Tomczak's article in the weekend edition of 'Gazeta Wyborcza' twice, with increasingly strong inner emotion and a wider open mouth. I read newspapers regularly, so I know what I'm talking about: this is the most important journalistic piece published in Poland this year.” -- WITH CALM AND SURGICAL PRECISION OF FACTS, SHE TELLS THE STORY OF AN UNIMAGINABLE, MULTI-LAYERED LIE SURROUNDING THE BORDER DRAMA - ROKITA CONTINUES: “But with this article, Małgorzata Tomczak achieves something unique and extraordinary. With calm and surgical precision of facts, she tells the story of an unimaginable, multi-layered lie that was fabricated for political propaganda surrounding the border drama. She speaks of the invention (including giving a name) of a non-existent child who died of exhaustion at the border. Of delivering children's clothes and toys for fictitious children to the border, so that the media could then shock people with invented child tragedies, because people only want to give money for such tragedies.” https://plus.dziennikpolski24.pl/luksus-wlasnego-zdania-jana-rokity-pisalam-nieprawde/ar/c15-18100389 -- AFTER TWO YEARS OF WRITING ABOUT MIGRATION AND THE BORDER CRISIS, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WE ARE CREATING FALSE KNOWLEDGE - MAŁGORZATA TOMCZAK WROTE IN GW MAGAZINE: “None of these Syrian children, pregnant women, and educated Afghan women were invented – they were there too; the heroes of Grynberg and Holland saw them, and local women from Podlasie helped them. These are the kinds of people who more often report to activists for help. There is no misrepresentation here. But there is great unrepresentativeness, because the vast majority of people on the routes to Europe are young men. In the last year, women constituted only 10%, and children – 17%, many of whom were 16-17-year-olds. We say that right-wing propaganda distorts the image of migration by not showing children and women, and we do the same – but statistics are on their side. We also do the same with their reasons and goals for leaving – to the right-wing 'they are migrants' we respond 'no, they are refugees'; we invoke Syria, Afghanistan, wars, and ethnic cleansings in the Middle East. These people always 'flee from hell,' they don't go 'for a better life.' Their fate has been determined by terrible events, and we can save them. There is no choice, free will, or decision here.” -- SO WE SHIFT THE LENS IN SEARCH OF A HELPLESS MOTHER WITH A CHILD - MAŁGORZATA TOMCZAK CONTINUED IN GW MAGAZINE: “We have been building such a narrative about the migration crisis in Poland for over two years (and in Europe for almost a decade) in opposition to the right-wing discourse. Images of groups of men on boats and young boys crossing the border fence are terrifying; so we shift the lens in search of a helpless mother with a child.” -- THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SO SOLIDIFIED THE NARRATIVE ABOUT "PEOPLE SEEKING PROTECTION IN POLAND" AND "SERVICES PREVENTING THEM FROM DOING SO" IS ASTOUNDING - MAŁGORZATA TOMCZAK WROTE IN GW MAGAZINE: “The fact that we have so solidified the narrative about 'people seeking protection in Poland' and 'services preventing them from doing so' is astounding. For example, when discussing the Balkan route, we do not say that 'these people only want asylum in North Macedonia,' nor do we demand that 'Hungary finally process their protection applications.' In the Netflix film 'Sisters,' Syrian refugees know they must avoid services in certain countries because 'they will put them in a camp, take their fingerprints, and they'll be done for.' Their fate is not changed by a Serbian border guard respecting asylum law, but by the opening of a humanitarian corridor – by providing buses to Germany.” -- TODAY WE KNOW THAT EILEEN DID NOT EXIST. IT WAS ONE OF THE STORIES THAT ACTIVISTS HEARD AND PASSED ON - TOMCZAK WROTE IN GW: “Today we know that Eileen did not exist. It was one of the stories that activists heard and passed on. It resonated widely and was an important part of the narrative about 'children dying at the border,' which is now being solidified by 'Green Border'; for example, during an election debate about children dying at the border, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus spoke about it. It seems to me that we do not know of any documented case of a child dying on the Polish border. This does not mean, of course, that there haven't been any, perhaps on the other side of the border, and that we shouldn't talk about such a risk – but for now, we have discussed with great indignation a child who did not exist.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30395672,a-co-jesli-dla-migrantow-to-lepiej-ze-straz-graniczna-przerzuca.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Agnieszka Holland, Wiesław Walendziak.