-- THE GERMAN ORDERED CLOSURE, OR ON THE RESTITUTION OF ARTWORKS - MAREK KOZUBAL IN RZ: “The Ministry of Culture has liquidated the restitution department. Does this mean it is no longer dealing with artworks looted during the war? (...) The Ministry did not respond to Rz’s question about the reason for the liquidation. I try to interpret this as follows: when Piotr Gliński was minister, this department supported the politician’s position, but at the same time, he himself was involved in restitution matters, considering them to be in Poland’s state interest. If this was the deciding factor, it indicates a lack of a strategic approach in this area by the leadership, or simply pettiness.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art41000091-marek-kozubal-niemiec-kazal-zamknac-czyli-o-restytucji-dziel-sztuki -- SOLDIERS WHO WERE TO START SERVICE AT THE BEGINNING OF JULY HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT EMPLOYMENT IS FROZEN - RAFAŁ GÓRSKI IN GW: “Soldiers who were to start service at the beginning of July have been informed that employment is frozen at least until the beginning of October. Those who resigned from their previous jobs now have to look for new ones.” -- THE SITUATION IS TENSE, UNCERTAINTY IS FELT AMONG THE SOLDIERS - GÓRSKI CONTINUES IN GW: “The matter is widely commented on in closed groups concerning work in the army. On the most popular one, gathering almost 25,000 soldiers and job applicants for the army, there are plenty of posts from people who found themselves in a similar situation. The situation is tense, and uncertainty is felt among the soldiers. Not only in the context of their future work but also the geopolitical situation in which Poland finds itself.” https://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,31220981,zatrudnienie-w-wojsku-wstrzymane-powiedzieli-mi-ze-nie-maja.html -- IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024, ORLEN RECORDED A NET PROFIT OF APPROXIMATELY PLN 2.8 BILLION - ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY'S HALF-YEARLY REPORT. THIS IS MORE THAN FIVE TIMES LESS THAN A YEAR EARLIER - BUSINESS INSIDER: “In the first six months of 2023, it was PLN 15.5 billion. In its statement, the company mentions a difficult situation due to 'growing macroeconomic pressure.'” https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/orlen-pokazal-wyniki-za-pol-roku-duzy-spadek/d13768n -- NARROW SIDEWALKS BLOCKED BY CARS, TUNNELS AND FOOTBRIDGES, AND MOREOVER, DRIVERS SPEEDING THROUGH MULTI-LANE STREETS. SOME WARSAW RESIDENTS HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND DEMAND IMMEDIATE CHANGES IN FAVOR OF PEDESTRIANS - INTERIA: “The accident in Mokotów is a red alert for the authorities of Warsaw? According to Jan Mencwel, an activist of the Miasto jest Nasze (The City is Ours) movement and a Warsaw councilor, we are dealing with 'sweeping the matter under the rug.' – The perpetrator is the driver, but this pedestrian crossing was audited seven years ago with a negative result, and nothing was done – he pointed out in an interview with Interia.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/mazowieckie/news-wrze-na-ulicach-warszawy-dwa-razy-uciekalem-nikt-nie-hamowal,nId,7760922 -- INCREASING POLITICAL PRESSURE FOR THE ENTIRE RULING COALITION TO FIELD ITS OWN CANDIDATE MAY FORCE TUSK TO CHANGE HIS DECISION - PIOTR ŚMIŁOWICZ IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “This will solve several problems, primarily the election outcome. Tusk, of course, has a significant negative electorate that can play a considerable role, but his candidacy – naturally with the support of all coalition parties – could guarantee him victory in the first round. It is also known that it is unlikely that anyone other than Tusk (e.g., Rafał Trzaskowski) would be supported by both the left and Third Way. Nor is it possible for Civic Coalition and the left to agree on Szymon Hołownia as a joint candidate.” -- MARSHAL PAWLAK FOR PRESIDENT TUSK? - ŚMIŁOWICZ CONTINUES: “The PSL, in turn, could be convinced by the Prime Minister's position for Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz or the Senate Marshal position for Waldemar Pawlak or Michał Kamiński.” -- AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF OF GOVERNMENT, THE MECHANISM OF “EVERYONE AGAINST THE PIS CANDIDATE” WILL CERTAINLY NO LONGER OPERATE AS STRONGLY – ŚMIŁOWICZ CONTINUES IN TP: https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/zamet-przed-wyborami-prezydenckimi-w-polsce-aspiracje-wyzsza-koniecznosc-i-ryzyko-188044 -- BARTŁOMIEJ CIĄŻYŃSKI FROM THE LEFT ALSO RECEIVED COMMISSIONS FROM MUNICIPAL COMPANIES THROUGH CONNECTIONS, AND WORK IN A STATE INSTITUTION AFTER A COMPETITION WAS ARRANGED FOR HIM - MAGDALENA KOZIOŁ, MARCIN RYBAK IN GW: “Deputy Minister of Justice Bartłomiej Ciążyński from the Left, dismissed for refueling with public money, also received commissions from municipal companies through connections, and work in a state institution after a competition was arranged for him. – Because of him, Nasza Lewica (Our Left) has a reputation of being greedy – says one of the Wrocław politicians.” https://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,31242192,nie-tylko-tankowanie-za-publiczne-peniadze-sa-tez-inne-grzechy.html -- THE PLATFORM IS FURIOUS AFTER THE SCANDAL WITH THE DEPUTY MINISTER. "WHO ARE THEY PUSHING IN?" - KAMIL DZIUBKA IN ONET: “– Knowing Prime Minister Tusk, he is probably furious that he has to deal with a guy he probably hasn’t even seen – we hear from one of the Platform politicians. This is a reaction to the lightning-fast resignation of the Deputy Minister of Justice from the Left. Our interlocutors from the largest party in the ruling camp claim that some other nominations for deputy ministers on behalf of coalition partners raise serious doubts.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/platforma-wsciekla-po-skandalu-z-wiceministrem-kogo-oni-wciskaja/52ncj13,79cfc278 -- MINISTER OF SCIENCE DARIUSZ WIECZOREK ACTUALLY BEARS POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CIĄŻYŃSKI AFFAIR - MICHAŁ PŁOCIŃSKI IN RZ: “Minister of Science Dariusz Wieczorek actually bears political responsibility for the Bartłomiej Ciążyński affair. Someone put him in that position. And even if the minister did not do it personally, it is clear that it happened with his knowledge and is on his account. So, if Włodzimierz Czarzasty ‘believes that responsibility must be taken,’ will Minister Wieczorek take it?” -- HOW CAN WE BELIEVE IN A TRUE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER AFTER THE DEGENERATED PIS GOVERNMENT? - PŁOCIŃSKI CONTINUES IN RZ: “So, how is it with awarding positions along political lines? Because if we don’t see higher standards in this regard after the Ciążyński affair, and Ciążyński himself returns to some lucrative position in the Wrocław local government after his resignation, then how can we believe in a true change for the better after the degenerated PiS government?” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art40999531-michal-plocinski-lewica-chce-dymisja-ciazynskiego-wyznaczyc-wzorce-jest-tylko-jeden-problem -- IN PIS, THERE IS A BELIEF THAT IF 75-YEAR-OLD KACZYŃSKI IS FORCED TO RETIRE FROM POLITICS DUE TO HEALTH REASONS, CZARNEK AND MORAWIECKI WILL VIE FOR POWER ON THE RIGHT - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN ONET: “Błaszczak is the guarantor of the chairman’s power. Perhaps in time, Błaszczak will even become the party leader by Kaczyński’s appointment, but with his weak charisma and subservient attitude towards the chairman, he will always remain a figurehead. In PiS, there is a belief that if 75-year-old Kaczyński is forced to withdraw from politics for health reasons, Czarnek and Morawiecki will engage in a real struggle for power on the right.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/kaczynski-zmieni-pis-chce-rzadzic-dozywotnio/d4k148j,79cfc278 -- PIESIEWICZ WOULD NOT HAVE REACHED PKOL WITHOUT SASIN - PRZEGLĄD SPORTOWY: “The president of the Polish Olympic Committee and the Polish Basketball Association, Radosław Piesiewicz, would not have reached his current position if not for his influence within Law and Justice (PiS), primarily the support of Jacek Sasin. He also never refused photos with the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda. No matter how he tries to deny these facts, he sinks himself with every word.” https://www.onet.pl/sport/przeglad-sportowy/o-to-naprawde-chodzi-w-wojnie-po-igrzyskach-pis-po-i-najwieksza-tajemnica/jntxnde,5e4c2379 -- POLITICAL PLAN FOR THURSDAY: DUDA AND TUSK WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA, PIS DEPUTIES' CONFERENCES, COMMISSION ON SERAFIN'S NOMINATION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/08/22/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Edward Krzemień, Marcin Kierwiński (turns 48), Longin Pastusiak (89), Sylwester Chruszcz, Kazimierz Wóycicki.