-- ZOFIA ROMASZEWSKA turns 84. -- AUGUST '80: The Gdańsk Inter-Factory Strike Committee presented its 21 postulates. -- 35 YEARS AGO, the OKP-SD-ZSL coalition was formed. Tadeusz Mazowiecki was nominated as a candidate for Prime Minister. -- IT WAS A HUMILIATING RETREAT FOR ANDRZEJ DUDA. NOW THE PRESIDENT IS DIGGING HIMSELF IN DEEPER - JAKUB MAJMUREK IN NEWSWEEK: “President Andrzej Duda has struggled with the regulations on investigating Russian influence in Poland from the very beginning. First, he swiftly signed the 'lex Tusk' law, providing PiS with a tool to prosecute political opponents. A moment later, he made a spectacular about-face and wanted to introduce deep changes to it. And now, he has added the most absurd veto of his career to this.” https://www.newsweek.pl/opinie/to-byl-upokarzajacy-odwrot-andrzeja-dudy-teraz-prezydent-brnie-dalej-komentarz/d8hbb7w -- WHEN ANDRZEJ DUDA ANNOUNCED THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GAMES, IT SOUNDED RIDICULOUS AND TERRIFYING, BUT WHEN TUSK SAYS IT, THERE'S SOMETHING BEHIND IT - MICHAŁ SZADKOWSKI IN NEWSWEEK: “When Andrzej Duda announced the organization of the Games, it sounded ridiculous and terrifying, simply smelling of organizing more companies for public money where PiS cronies could be placed. But when Tusk says it, there's something behind it. The advantages of building halls and stadiums for champions, instead of facilities for young male and female athletes, are obvious. The former will be ready before the next elections. The latter will yield results in many years.” https://www.newsweek.pl/opinie/igrzyska-olimpijskie-w-polsce-to-zly-pomysl-z-wielu-powodow/ztjwhqx -- TUSK'S TEAM HAS STOPPED BEING AFRAID OF THE ADJECTIVE 'GREAT' AND EVEN 'THE GREATEST'. JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, THE IDEA OF BUILDING CPK, WHICH WASN'T EVEN GOING TO BE THE LARGEST AIRPORT IN EUROPE, WAS POSTPONED AS MEGOMANIA BY ITS BACKERS - ESTERA FLIEGER IN RZ: https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art40980881-estera-flieger-igrzyska-w-polsce-dlaczego-dla-donalda-tuska-wielkie-projekty-znow-sa-ok -- NEW REVELATIONS REGARDING NORD STREAM COULD HIT POLAND - WOJCIECH JAKÓBIK IN ONET: “Regardless of who is the true perpetrator of the sabotage of these pipelines, blame could fall on Ukraine, and indirectly on Poland, accused of covering for Kyiv. This means the biggest victims of Russian Gazprom's actions, which is a tool of the Kremlin's hostile policy, would be blamed. This framing of the issue could undermine Poland's initiative to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure (such as transmission pipelines) undertaken within NATO and under Poland's presidency, which begins in January 2025. Paradoxically, it was Kyiv and Warsaw that warned that Nord Stream 2 was not a purely business venture, while the Minister of Finance in Angela Merkel's government, and now Chancellor Olaf Scholz, claimed as much.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/nowe-doniesienia-w-sprawie-nord-stream-moga-uderzyc-w-polske-oto-dlaczego-analiza/jc5zk5v,79cfc278 -- ANTI-POLISH NARRATIVE IN GERMAN MEDIA - ANDRZEJ KUBLIK IN GW: “Meanwhile, Anna Adamiak, spokesperson for the National Public Prosecutor's Office, informed PAP that Wołodymyr S. could leave Poland without hindrance because Germany did not enter an arrest warrant for him into the search database used by border guards and law enforcement agencies of EU countries. This, in turn, suggests that Germany acted as if they wanted the wanted person to leave Poland. German media have not written a word about such an omission by their prosecutor's office. Instead, they presented the diver's departure as proof that the Polish authorities were protecting him. (...) This anti-Polish narrative in German media has effectively paved the way for the accusations made by the head of the BND from the era of Gerhard Schröder's government and the laying of foundations for Nord Stream.” https://wyborcza.biz/biznes/7,179190,31231157,spisek-dudy-i-zelenskiego-zmienil-nord-streamy-w-zlom-na-dnie.html -- WILL SOMEONE POINT OUT TO GIERTYCH THAT HE IS BEHAVING LIKE KRSTYNA PAWŁOWICZ IN TROUSERS? - MARCIN MATCZAK IN GW: “People who admire sadism in politics resemble children of a few years old. 'Will he catch him or not?', 'Will he rip off his tail or not?'. And Poland is becoming a parody of a serious state, where a person who is the face of accountability publishes posts about Kaczyński wearing his tie backwards and about him stealing his jacket with sleeves that are too long. I wonder if any of the Coalition politicians will ever point out to Giertych that his prankster-like behavior is compromising the idea of accountability. That he is behaving like Krystyna Pawłowicz in trousers.” -- SADISM IN POLITICS INCREASES TRIBAL DIVISIONS, AND DEEP, POLARIZING RIFTS LEAD SOCIETIES TO AUTHORITARIANISM - PROF. MATCZAK CONTINUES IN GW: “If reasonable Poland allows people taken from a cartoon to set the tone of public debate, it will end badly. Sadism in politics increases tribal divisions, and deep, polarizing rifts lead societies to authoritarianism. Because if you think that the other half of Poles are people devoid of morality, criminals, traitors, and foreign intelligence agents, then what reason do you have to organize elections and give them power? It's simple, if you think about it for a moment - the greater the polarization, the greater the risk to democracy.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,31225026,czy-ktos-z-koalicji-zwroci-uwage-giertychowi-ze-kompromituje.html -- THE PROBLEM IS THAT 'OZUSIFICATION' OF MANDATE CONTRACTS ALONE WILL NOT REMOVE ALL PATHOLOGIES, AND MAY EVEN CAUSE NEW ONES - JOANNA SOLSKA IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “The problem is that 'ozusification' of mandate contracts alone will not remove all pathologies, and may even cause new ones. The new law should be written by experts who are aware of the consequences of these solutions.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/rynek/2267259,1,na-reke-pod-stolem-rzad-chce-ozusowac-wszystkie-umowy-ale-patologii-tak-nie-usunie.read -- JUST AS IT IS WORTH BEING SUSPICIOUS, SO TOO SHOULD WE EXPECT THE STATE, IN THIS CASE, NOT TO TALK ABOUT PiS, BUT TO SAY IT IS IN CONTROL OF THE SITUATION AND PROTECTING CITIZENS - KATARZYNA SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “It is also known that politicians form commissions to satisfy public expectations of government action, and therefore several have been established in this parliament as well, while real work on accountability is being carried out quietly by the relevant services. However, now that Gonzalez and his partner have been described, a better statement is needed than the suggestion that the previous commission was politicized or could have acted to the detriment of the state. Just as it is worth being suspicious, so too should we expect the state, in this case, not to talk about PiS, but to say it is in control of the situation and protecting citizens.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2024/08/15/skrzydlowska-kalukin-pablo-gonzalez-i-szpiedzy-tacy-jak-my/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Zofia Romaszewska, Małgorzata Potocka, Ewa Spychalska, Jacek Wilk. SUNDAY: Zbigniew Ziobro turns 54.