Taking the moral highway
There’s been plenty to talk about as of late regarding Poland’s roads and motorways.
I’m referring to the recent COVEC debacle which has left the government with a severe case of egg on face syndrome as it now scrambles around trying to fix the mess it has created.
Many were sceptical when it was announced that Poland would be using cut-price Chinese firm COVEC and both the general public and rival construction firms alike were left scratching their heads and questioning the outcome.
Luckily the government stubbornly stuck to its guns and provided the answer that everyone expected. But what now? With EURO 2012 fast approaching, that answer may very well remain the same leaving Poland without the road it so desperately requires.
But anyone who has travelled long distance by car over here will tell you that the country not only needs to vastly improve its roads for the upcoming tournament, but for the safety of its citizens.
This week has seen a frightening amount of crashes around the country, many of which could probably have been avoided if the roads were in a better condition and of course had more lanes.
The number of times drivers put their own lives (and those of fellow road-users) in danger by taking risks and overtaking in potentially-hazardous situations is enough to make you finally purchase that dreaded train ticket.
If the government needs a reason to feel embarrassed, may I suggest it forgets about COVEC and instead thinks about why it has left the nation’s road infrastructure in such a shocking state for so long.
I’m referring to the recent COVEC debacle which has left the government with a severe case of egg on face syndrome as it now scrambles around trying to fix the mess it has created.
Many were sceptical when it was announced that Poland would be using cut-price Chinese firm COVEC and both the general public and rival construction firms alike were left scratching their heads and questioning the outcome.
Luckily the government stubbornly stuck to its guns and provided the answer that everyone expected. But what now? With EURO 2012 fast approaching, that answer may very well remain the same leaving Poland without the road it so desperately requires.
But anyone who has travelled long distance by car over here will tell you that the country not only needs to vastly improve its roads for the upcoming tournament, but for the safety of its citizens.
This week has seen a frightening amount of crashes around the country, many of which could probably have been avoided if the roads were in a better condition and of course had more lanes.
The number of times drivers put their own lives (and those of fellow road-users) in danger by taking risks and overtaking in potentially-hazardous situations is enough to make you finally purchase that dreaded train ticket.
If the government needs a reason to feel embarrassed, may I suggest it forgets about COVEC and instead thinks about why it has left the nation’s road infrastructure in such a shocking state for so long.
Predatory thoughts
Last week, former Civic Platform (PO) MP Kazimierz Wegrzyn was at the centre of a row over homosexuality. He was recently thrown out of PO for joking to a journo that, “I’d rather not discuss gays, but lesbians I’ll happily watch.” Clearly, he has entrenched views, from plain smutty to downright homophobic, because last Thursday he sent a text message to journalists declaring, “Gays should be kept away from children, especially the youngest ones,” because they would be, “At risk.”
This was in the context of a proposal to ensure homosexuals couldn’t foster children or run children’s homes, a proposal outrageously passed by the Senate, but rejected by Parliament (with 170 MPs still voting in favour). What these votes and Wegrzyn’s pathetic comment show is that the vast majority of the leaders of society, the most educated and privileged Poland has to offer are in fact as ignorant as pigshit.
Let me explain. The fear that lies behind keeping gays away from children comes from the following line of thinking. Homosexuality is not natural, it is a perversion. Therefore homosexuals are perverts the same way rapists and paedophiles are perverts, so we have to keep them away from children.
What these bigots don’t realise is the vast majority of child molesters are heterosexual. If you want to keep children safe, from any sensible point of view, they’re actually safer with gays than straights. The knee-jerk association of gays with sexual predators is as damaging as it is prejudicial, and as perverse as it is stupid. Young children really should be protected from exposure to Mr Wegrzyn and his ilk – they might be infected by their oafishness.
This was in the context of a proposal to ensure homosexuals couldn’t foster children or run children’s homes, a proposal outrageously passed by the Senate, but rejected by Parliament (with 170 MPs still voting in favour). What these votes and Wegrzyn’s pathetic comment show is that the vast majority of the leaders of society, the most educated and privileged Poland has to offer are in fact as ignorant as pigshit.
Let me explain. The fear that lies behind keeping gays away from children comes from the following line of thinking. Homosexuality is not natural, it is a perversion. Therefore homosexuals are perverts the same way rapists and paedophiles are perverts, so we have to keep them away from children.
What these bigots don’t realise is the vast majority of child molesters are heterosexual. If you want to keep children safe, from any sensible point of view, they’re actually safer with gays than straights. The knee-jerk association of gays with sexual predators is as damaging as it is prejudicial, and as perverse as it is stupid. Young children really should be protected from exposure to Mr Wegrzyn and his ilk – they might be infected by their oafishness.
EURO having a laugh
Who knew? Apparently, Gazeta Wyborcza is currently running a major social media campaign to see whether Poland is ready for next year’s European Football Championships or not. (This past week of course saw the countdown move past the ‘365 days to go mark). Now, while sceptics will of course say that Gazeta Wyborcza is wasting its time and that the country is nowhere near ready for the event, we remain optimistic and instead think we should ask a few questions about Gazeta Wyborcza’s methodology.
According to a press release from both City University in London and Gazeta Wyborcza 21 students will set off on nine-day journeys to 21 Polish cities this week, as part of a project called Mission 21 (Misja 21). It is an experiment for the newspaper which wants to test to what extent social media tools can be used to stimulate public debate and enrich journalism. City University is supplying the students.
Each student will blog and use tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to share their observations and experiences. "The students themselves are a diverse group, representing 11 different nationalities, to capture a range of perspectives and experiences likely to be encountered by tourists travelling to the country," the press release adds. "Most of them know almost nothing about Poland and none of them speak Polish."
Taking a look at the projects microsite, (wyborcza.pl/misja21), what immediately struck us as strange was the choice of cities. The students - besides heading for places which will be hosting matches come next summer (Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw) - are also off to places which will in all likeliness not see a single visitor: Olsztyn and Kielce, to name but two. Are those cities likely to be the given the ‘all ready for 2012’ green light? Almost certainly not, but then they do not need to be ready for Euro 2012, no more than Bradford needed to be ready for Euro ‘96.
We will be watching the students’ progress carefully this week, but we can’t help thinking that this project has been set up to once again fail, giving the media a stick to beat the authorities with.
According to a press release from both City University in London and Gazeta Wyborcza 21 students will set off on nine-day journeys to 21 Polish cities this week, as part of a project called Mission 21 (Misja 21). It is an experiment for the newspaper which wants to test to what extent social media tools can be used to stimulate public debate and enrich journalism. City University is supplying the students.
Each student will blog and use tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to share their observations and experiences. "The students themselves are a diverse group, representing 11 different nationalities, to capture a range of perspectives and experiences likely to be encountered by tourists travelling to the country," the press release adds. "Most of them know almost nothing about Poland and none of them speak Polish."
Taking a look at the projects microsite, (wyborcza.pl/misja21), what immediately struck us as strange was the choice of cities. The students - besides heading for places which will be hosting matches come next summer (Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw) - are also off to places which will in all likeliness not see a single visitor: Olsztyn and Kielce, to name but two. Are those cities likely to be the given the ‘all ready for 2012’ green light? Almost certainly not, but then they do not need to be ready for Euro 2012, no more than Bradford needed to be ready for Euro ‘96.
We will be watching the students’ progress carefully this week, but we can’t help thinking that this project has been set up to once again fail, giving the media a stick to beat the authorities with.
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