POLISH NEWS BYTES
Compiled by Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent
PolAm votes ensure continued US support for Poland
– Andrzej Duda During his recent visit to the American Częstochowa, a PolAm Catholic Shrine in Doylestown, PA, Polish President Andrzej Duda urged Polish Americans to vote in this year’s US presidential election. He emphasized that by making their voice heard, they can ensure continued US support for Poland. Duda had been invited there to the unveiling of a new memorial honoring the Solidarity trade-union movement which had fought to overthrow Poland’s Soviet-imposed communist regime. Initially, there had been plans for Trump and Duda to meet at the unveiling ceremony, but the recent, second attempt on the former US president’s life pushed security concerns to the forefront. “In today’s world you never know what kind of characters are out there, so it’s best to the careful,” remarked Michael Blichasz, the President of Philadelphia’ Polish-American Cultural Center.
Photo: www.prezydent.pl
Poland, US should fight for God, family and country
– Donald Trump Former US President Donald Trump has posted a message on social media urging America and Poland to join forces in defense of our their shared priorities and values. “This is a wonderful day for our amazing Polish-American community and my great friend, Polish President Andrzej Duda at this unveiling of a monument to brave Polish heroes.” Trump said. “It honored the brave heroes who fought for Poland’s independence after World War II. It was the incredible example of Polish heroes throughout history that inspired the closing words of my speech in Warsaw to the courageous Polish People on July 6, 2017: “So, together, let us all fight like the Poles — for family, for freedom, for country, and for God.”
Detained Warsaw University students, lecturer return Six Warsaw University students and their lecturer have returned to Poland from Nigeria where they had been detained during anti-government protests. Their release was facilitated through Poland’s diplomatic intervention. The freed Poles were warmly welcomed home by family and friends at Warsaw’s Chopin Airport. They had been held in detention by African authorities for a month. Polish authorities had consistently argued that the students were in Nigeria under an academic exchange and had inadvertently found themselves in the wrong place.
Polish youngsters less fit than 15-20 years ago – sports minister The results of tests carried out among Polish school children have shown a significant decline in their physical fitness compared to 15-20 years ago, Sports Minister Sławomir Nitras said recently. The government is therefore planing to revamp the nation’s physical-education curriculum. The question arises: what can the government do about kids staying home after school with their junk snacks and smartphones rather than going out to play or being increasingly driven places by parents.
Poles hard-working but none too effective – EU’s statistical unit According to Eurostat, Poles are in the top three of the EU’s most hard-working or, more precisely, long-working nations. In first place is Greece, whose employees are on the job nearly 40 hours a week. Next are Romanians (about 39.5 hours), followed by Poles (roughly 39.2 hours). But Poland comes 23rd of the bloc’s 27 countries in work efficiency, calculated in terms of GDP per person per hour. Beyond Europe, the world’s most labor-effective countries are: the US, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Israel.
Germans lack Holocaust knowledge – Pilecki Institute Germans have significant gaps in their knowledge about the Second World War, a poll conducted for Poland’s Pilecki Institute has shown. 59% of Germans believe German Jews were the primary Holocaust victims while only 28% gave the correct answer – Polish Jews. 54% said Germans and their collaborators in occupied countries were equally to blame, 34% replied mainly Germans and 9% said only Germans. The Pilecki Institute was named after Witold Pilecki, an underground officer who deliberately got himself sent to Auschwitz to witness what was going on there and set up a resistance group at the camp.
26-year-old Pole now running from NY to LA Nicknamed the “Polish Forrest Gump” for his ability to run for days on end, 26-year-old Tomasz Sobania has already completed several ultra-distance challenges including the 18-day, 756-km Run Across Poland from the mountain resort of Zakopane to the Baltic Port of Gdynia, and a 90-day, 3,600-km run from Poland to Greece and back. At present, Sobania has successfully cleared NY state, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and made it to the Midwest in the second half of September. His cross-country route measures 4,490 km (2,790 miles). Initially the charity run was to raise funds for the hearing impaired, but Sobania says they should be redirected to aid victims of the current devastating floods.
Polish 13-year-old is world youth snooker champion Poland’s Michał Subarczyk has won gold at the World Under-21 Snooker Championships. the sport’s premiere youth competition. It was held in Bangalore, India. In the final, Szubarczyk defeated 20-year-old Alexander Widau from Germany. in his career to date, the Polish teenager has already won 14 medals in national competitions.
