Drone On

Poland is planning a massive force of drones (about 1,000) to combat a potential Russian attack as part of a huge $10 billion military spending splurge. The huge weapons procurement program aims to refit the military with the latest  war fighting equipment.

Combat drones will fire air to ground missiles

 New air defense systems will also be purchased along with 14 multi-purpose helicopters, three coastal defense vessels and two destroyers. Letting contracts for submarines are in the pipeline as well.

Moscow is furious that the eastern European countries have allowed America to base its anti-missile forces in their countries because anti-missile missiles can shoot down Russian nukes. Romania has already switched on part of the shield and Poland is set to follow suit.

Russia, meanwhile, has moved Iskander ballistic missiles into Kaliningrad the small Russian enclave surrounded by Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. The rockets can easily reach virtually the whole of Poland. Currently, they have conventional warheads but can also be tipped with nukes.

You Betcha

Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin announced the Polish government is working on a new gambling bill, which will liberalize sports betting and online poker. 

 

On-line Gambling coming to Poland

Gowin said that “Poland suffered enormous, multi-billion losses” as a result of a bill introduced by the previous Polish government referring to the Gambling Act, introduced in 2009 by then prime minister Donald Tusk, which banned gambling outside casinos and online.

“That is why a few months ago we decided to change the law so that money flowed back into the national budget,” Gowin told Radio Polskie. He added that Poland has consulted with the European Commission, which gave its green light to move ahead.

According to the latest draft, slot machines would be nationalized, operating under the national lottery services. However, Govin said, bookmakers would still operate in the fringe economy. “Over the next several months gambling will remain in [a shady area of the economy], and Poles will continue to lose PLN 100-300 million a month,” Gowin said.

The new law would “liberalize” the system in such a way that it would be “safe to use bookmaker services, and play poker online”.