Undeniable Truth of Life #55

Do ya think the same is true in Poland?

If you answered yes... give yourself a pat on the back... or more appropriately, a nice cold Luksusowa.

Another Right-of-Center Chick

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Population Explosion

Over the last couple of decades Poland had one of the lowest birth rates in Europe where only Czech, Lithuanian and Romanian women had a lower fertility rate. With an aging population prospects of continuing growth looked dim especially in the workforce being large enough to fulfill the demands of employers. 

Polish couples got to work making more babies partially due to a government program giving 500 zloty per month to families with children. Nearly PLN 19 billion ($5 billion) has been paid out for nearly four million children under the government's flagship 500+ family benefit program, according to the Polish family minister.  
 
Under the scheme, the government gives parents PLN 500 a month for each child in low-income families, and for second and subsequent children in all other families. About 4 million children under the age of 18 have benefited from the government program since it was implemented last April

Poland had an 11% year to year hike in number of births in July.  Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (DGP) reports 35,000 new born babies citing the latest data by stats office GUS.

January-July year to year births increased 9% to 235,000. By the end of the year births are expected to exceed 400,000 if the trend is maintained .

Factors that seem to improved the birthrate include a better economic situation, shrinking unemployment, rising wages, a high number of women aged 29-34 and the positive impact of the government's family support scheme 500+.

Per-capita disposable income of Polish households rose at a moderate pace in the case of 500+ beneficiaries and wealth gap narrowing. 

Polish beautiful women

I often hear from people in the "know" that the most beautiful women in the world are Polish. It seems like some YouTubers decided to supply proof. So, here are some Polish beauties for your enlightenment. .



And, here's a tribute to the most beautiful female military personnel in the world.



Another person posts this: Sexy and beautiful Women in polish army



Just as beautiful is Poland's new PL-01. Sorry, no video posts of female tank commanders... yet!

Right, right - Left, wrong

When conservative PiS was elected to the first majority since free elections in 1989, most folks on the left side of the political spectrum forecast a sputtering economic climate for Poland. However, quite the opposite is the case.

The rating agency Moody's has recently adjusted upwards the economic forecast for Poland as domestic demand and overall fiscal performance outpace most other EU countries.

The Polish economy grew at 3.9 per cent in the second quarter, which outperformed previous expectations. Now, there is a good chance full year growth may post a 4.3% increase making Poland the envy of other countries around the world.
 

Mo' money, Mo' money, Mo' money

Predictions of economic growth seem to be continually readjusted upward by significant gains even though many economists warned that the right-wing Law and Justice party’s 2015 election victory would damage Poland’s economy.

Unlike debt redden America, Poland is on pace to limit their deficit to 2.5% of GDP down from an earlier forecast of 2.7%.

Poland continues to attract foreign companies to relocate there and there is no signs of a slowdown. 

Finger lickin' good

Poland was the EU’s leading poultry meat  exporter in 2016, and its lead over its closest competitors is ever increasing. More than 800,000 tons of poultry meat was exported posting  a 17 % increase year-over-year.

However, the average price of broiler chickens dropped by 5% y/y. Caused mainly by an increase in production in Poland, the EU and worldwide.

As far as export destinations, 40% of exports went to the UK and Germany. It is expected production of poultry meat in Poland will continue to grow, but more slowly than during the past five years.

 Poland is also the largest exporter of apples.

Check the circumcision

When someone sees a man wearing a beard and payots (those curly sideburns) they immediately assume him to be an Orthodox Jew. And, when he leads prayers in Hebrew, people assume he is a Rabbi.

Jacek Niszczota, Fake Rabbi

Jacek Niszczota who for years served as a community rabbi in the Polish town of Poznań was in fact a Polish Catholic and previously  a cook from Ciechanow, a town in north-central Poland.

The impostor presented himself to the community as Yaakav Ben Nistell from Haifa, Israel. His deceit was exposed recently when people in his hometown saw him on television taking part in ecumenical observances with Catholic and Muslim religious leaders. They then informed local journalists about the hoax. But, now he has disappeared into thin air.

The ‘rabbi’ had conducted Jewish related activities for youth in the local community for several years, and took part in ecumenical prayer services with Polish bishops. He also allegedly carried out interfaith meetings with priests and imams.


The Poznań community has posted a warning on its website saying Niszczota "deceived not only the community members but also other people with whom he co-operated on behalf of the Poznan Jewish Community."

As a volunteer, Niszczota who learned Hebrew and Jewish prayers by listening to Israeli radio, was not obliged to prove his identity, and his activities raised no suspicion.

He won the trust of the Jewish community with the good things he was doing: he baked challahs (bread) for Israel Independence Day ceremonies, he helped with maintenance of Jewish cemeteries and he had the right cultural knowledge. He also led prayers and gave lectures on Jewish tradition, that were all correct, and did not protest when people from outside the community occasionally addressed him "rabbi.


Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said he met the man a few times and always found him to be "very sweet and smiley."

While it's not good that Niszczota misrepresented himself, the incident is indicative of a growing interest in Poland and in its once-large Jewish community, which was nearly destroyed by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust during WWII.

Who 30 years ago in Poland would have pretended to be a rabbi, to say nothing of 70 years ago?

The night they drove ol' Dixie down

The post-bellum lyrics from the Joan Baez song from the 1960s. Now, it is popular to remove all symbols of the Confederacy from every corner of America.

In Poland, the government plans to demolish about 500 Soviet monuments throughout the country. This is really pissing off the Russians.

Lukasz Kaminsky of the the Institute of National Remembrance - whose institute is responsible for investigating crimes against the Polish nation - said that plans for the demolition of the monuments, would be sent to local authorities in the coming weeks.



   

Poland tearing down, removing, demolishing, destroying Russian war monuments on Polish soil. Liberals and progressives have a problem with this. Not so much with symbols of Dixie. The hypocrisy of this and many other stances and beliefs border on mental disease.

 

To be consistent let's destroy every vestige of Roman Imperial dominance including the word Roman from the Holy ____ Catholic Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not quite older than dirt

In the north of Poland pyramids an incredible 600 years older than those in Egypt have been uncovered. Archaeologists believe they may have been built circa 3000 BC (about the same time as Stonehenge in England). This discover strengthens the case of ancient sites in Europe.

Numbers on scan show pyramid sites

Experts say 7 were found near the village of Słonowice using laser technology. They are several meters in height and made using huge stone blocks. Used as funeral chambers for elders of the Funnel Beaker Culture community, the inner chambers were constructed using wooden logs instead of stones and were hidden under earth in a forested area.

Like the pyramids in Egypt, the structures are heavily influenced by astronomy and are placed along the east-west line, with the entrance to the tomb’s chamber always on the east side.

There may be as much as a dozen more in Dolic and in the Skronie forest near Kołobrzeg.

It is time to challenge what we think we know about ancient history. Mankind's development may be cyclical rather than linear. Perhaps global catastrophes wiped out the progress our ancient ancestors achieved. 

 

And, speaking of pyramids... more from Poland...

 

Polish pyramid cakes not quite so old

Like snowflakes - no two alike

Shields Up

Anti-ballistic SM-3 missiles that will make up the NATO missile-shield in Poland and the entire Central European region have gone through final testing in Hawaii, It is expected the system will become fully operational by 2018 and based near Redzikowo in the north of Poland.

 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

 

In September, the Sejm authorized the President to ratify the technical agreement regarding the Redzikowo base with the United States.

Is there more than one Saint Nick?

More than 4,000 people dressed as St. Nicolas filled Kraków's Main Market Square on the jolly ol' man's feast day. It set a new Polish record as the previous number was 2,000 set last year in Chrzanów.

The gathering of St. Nicholas' on Kraków's Main Market Square

 

 

St. Nicholas' Day is an eagerly awaited event for children across the country. Polish children customarily receive presents on both St. Nicholas's Day and on Christmas Eve (Wigilia).

Children write letters to St Nicholas stressing how well they have behaved and let him know what might make the perfect present. Those that have been nice collect the gifts, which appear, as if by magic, on the morning of December 6th.

Saint Nicholas' Day, observed on December 6  or December19  in Eastern Christian countries, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to his reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of Mass. In Poland, boys would dress as bishops begging alms for the poor. In Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly would find a lump of coal under their pillows. 

The American Santa Claus, is derived in part from Saint Nicholas and in part from the Dutch Sinterklaas, the saint's name in that language. However the gift giving associated with these descendant figures is associated with Christmas Day rather than Saint Nicholas Day itself. 

 

76% of Ukrainians in Poland want to stay... Forever

Polskie Radio reports 76 % of Ukrainians who are living in Poland wish to stay there permanently. Just 15% of Ukrainians in Poland want to return home when their visas expire. About 39% are currently in the act of seeking ways to stay.

Nearly 375,000 Ukrainians applied to work in Poland in 2014, 155,000 more than the previous year. With the deteriorating economic situation in Ukraine and the war in the east, many Ukrainians are looking for some security.

Good time in Poland

Visitors to Poland generally have a good time and the time tourists spend in Poland will be much better from this day forward. It’s all due to Poland’s new optical atomic clock. Scientists say it will keep better time than all previous clocks.

Basic concept

The incredibly accurate clock is ticking away at the National Laboratory for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (KL FAMO) in Poland. Actually, it’s not really ticking because this is an optical atomic clock. But, this one is so accurate that it would take billions of years to reach an error of one second. To put this in perspective, if you started this clock at the moment of the big bang, it would have lost only about one-tenth of a second by now. 

There won’t be a nightstand version of this clock anytime soon. It’s so big that this timepiece occupies four rooms at KL FAMO. The design of the clock shoots laser beams at suspended Strontium isotopes, which have an atomic half-life that is measured in billions of years. Optical atomic clocks are brand new technology, but they are so much more accurate than the traditional atomic clocks laboratories use for time-based experiments all over the world. 

Having a highly accurate way of tracking the passage of time that goes by quicker than the blink of an eye is of vital importance when testing aspects of general relativity and particle physics.

Now that’s something you can set your watch by.

Ogórek - A sweet pickle for President

Just a couple of days after planned World War II remembrance observances May 8, Poland will hold presidential elections.

One of the candidates, Magdalena Ogórek is raising a few eyebrows. A former television presenter with striking good looks, Ogórek was selected to represent the Polish social democrats in the May 10 election. 

However, her candidacy is garnering more attention for her outer qualities, rather than her inner qualities. The 35-year-old Ogórek has been criticized for not having much political experience. A closer look at her background shows she is the host of an international newscast in Poland, and holds a doctorate in history. She is also an author, lecturer and, most recently, was a media consultant to Poland’s central bank. 


Her candidacy has created a media fury, with news outlets focusing more on her appearance than her accomplishments. Ogórek has been subjected to criticism surrounding her political qualifications and had her surname - which translates as ‘cucumber’ – mocked. 

Polls show her unlikely to win the election, with incumbent, Bronisław Komorowski firmly in the lead. 

Parliamentary Speaker Radosław Sikorski, who announced the election date dismissed concerns that it's too close to the disputed end of World War II remembrance ceremonies, traditionally held in Moscow on May 9. Poland, the war's first victim, is planning an international ceremony on May 8.

złowionych szpiegostwo

The new cold war seems to be heating up as Polish officials detained a high-ranking army officer and a civilian today on suspicion that they spied for a hostile foreign intelligence service.

According to the AP: Polish media reported that the two — an army colonel and a lawyer — are suspected of spying for Russia, but prosecutors have refused to identify the country in question, but said the pair are suspected of hurting Polish interests.

Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet said that the matter is of an "extremely sensitive nature." He promised more information in the coming days. Some details were expected Friday.

Spying for foreign intelligence carries a prison term of up to 10 years. Organizers of spying rings can face up to 25 years in prison.

Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said several army members suspected of drug smuggling were also detained. He called it "an important day in the fight for the purity of the Polish army."

We have Marcy – Poland has Marzi

If you take time to talk to old people who experienced inter-war Poland (1919-1939) or Soviet dominated Poland (1946-1989) you usually come away with a story framed in the context of their life’s sculpted worldview.
However, wisdom is not the sole providence of the old. The colloquial idiom “Out of the mouths of babes (oft times come gems)” reminds us children occasionally say remarkable or insightful things.

A brand new book just translated into English titled Marzi is based on recollections of a little girl growing up in communist controlled Poland. Memoirs pertaining to quality of life, economic turmoil and government oppression seem less tainted when it is expressed through the eyes of a child rather than the opinions held by mature adults.

Chronicling her experiences by processing the meaning of everyday life and the events that unfold are presented as a series of vignettes using cartoon panels. It’s not a kid’s comic book, but rather intended for grown up readers.

From an interview with Cafébabel (a European magazine) the author Marzena Sowa explains, “Sometimes readers find it surprising that besides strikes, usually associated with ‘Solidarity’, people also had a regular life. I mean, going to school and to work, children playing in the courtyards, holidays. My comics won’t age. Even twenty years on you will find something new, something for yourself. We were all children, and we all had some wishes that never came true; I was always dreaming about getting a Barbie doll from Pewex (communist-era stores which sold Western goods in exchange for Western currencies).”

She also dreamed about living in France, free from communist rule.

The purity of a child’s unadulterated innocence is perfectly captured in drawings and words as Marzi struggles to understand what is going on in her country and what her parents are talking about. The little girl is illustrated with huge eyes, which reflects her innocent perspective and is much more engaging than could ever be expected from a plain text book.

From birth through fifth grade Marzi is a witness to Solidarność and the revolutionary reawakening of freedom that made it successfully through a terrible period of martial law.

Aside from what was happening politically, there is a private peek into Marzi's demanding relationship with her mom, and what was expected of children in Poland during the 80s.

Kids at a young age are not equipped to understand the consequences of or make conclusions on the human condition. Prior to defeating socialism fruit, candy and sugar were so rare that when a store took delivery of such items, she and her family would wait hours in line hoping by the time they got served there was still some left for them to buy.

Marzi doesn't really understand why things are the way they are. She can tell the adults are unhappy, but no one will bother to explain what's really going on.

As a sensitive only child, she tried to make a pet of the carp her father bought and kept in the bathtub of her crowded apartment until it was time to kill it so the family could feast on it for days.

It was poles apart from the world that we as Americans experienced as children. Wishing for a color TV, working in farm fields with her grandparents and chewing on window putty because she couldn’t get gum makes you stop and think how incredibly different it really was.

The shortages, brute force of government and frightened parents crowding the hospital with their children as radioactive contamination spread to Poland from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster are just part of Marzi’s memories.

Though her childhood is filled with adversity, other recollections are happier. There was joy in tagging along with her father at demonstrations and the hope raised by a state visit from native son Pope John Paul II.

Marzi observes that adults really don’t talk about the fall of Communism even though it was Poland that first broke the grip of Soviet tyranny. It was accomplished without a single windowpane being broke. Maybe that’s because in Poland it was done with finesse, quietly and nonviolently unlike the dramatic breaking down of the Berlin Wall in neighboring Germany.

Marzi was born at a time when Poland was undergoing some big changes. She watched it rebel. She watched it dream. And she saw its dreams come true.

Given the current climate of turmoil in our country, I can’t help but wonder if 20 years from now there will be another Marzi painting a picture of how thing were in 2012 - Trying to make sense out of how adults could have screwed everything up.

A quick way to buy this book is to click on Marzi at PolishToledo.com.

Polish Political Roulette: A winner every time?

You might say that Polish voters are a fickle group. At least seemingly more so than Polish-American voters with their entrenched voting habits.

Not once have Poles given any political party a second term of power since throwing off the yoke of socialism and the misery that 60 years of tyrannical communism brought them.

Poles’ yearning for freedom and liberty is hardwired into their DNA.

Kosciuszko & Pulaski

Kosciuszko and Pulaski didn’t have a stake in whether our American revolution was successful or not. Yet, they came here serving as generals on their own volition, where freedom was being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.

Stubborn and strong-minded? Do you know any dyed in wool Poles who are not?

During the communist era, one might imagine Poles were as weary as Colonial Americans at the Boston Tea Party struggling against the brute force of a much too powerful government. The socialist regime in Poland was intervening in daily life and taking away incentives for rugged individual entrepeurship by bulldozing the playing field with Politburo machinery and redistributing wealth within the dictated parameters of Marxist philosophy that was detested by most Poles.

Since crushing the Iron Curtain in 1989, they voted for a different government each time parliamentary elections were held insuring by fiat that no political party got too entrenched in power.

In spite of revolving door politics, Poland shot straight up the economic ladder, from an also ran country to rank 18 in terms of GDP across the globe.

Fresh ideas and policies came with each election. Perhaps that is one of the leading factors why Poland was the only EU country to dodge the economic meltdown.  They were the only EU country to have back-to-back years of positive economic growth and never having a down year.

Most spectators say on October 9, the incumbent Civic Platform party is likely to be returned as the majority or leader of a coalition government breaking the one term tradition when voters choose expanding prosperity over policies thereby rewarding Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s party with victory.



Andrew Michta



"If you look at the moving sands of the Polish political scene since 1989, a victory for the current governing party would show a continuity that hasn't been seen since the beginning of the transformation," said Andrew Michta, head of the German Marshall Fund's Warsaw office. A Tusk win "would mean people were responding to how full their purses are rather than reacting to ideological issues."

Maciej Krzak

Impervious to global financial catastrophes, living standards in Poland continue to rapidly advance unlike the recent massive loss of individual wealth in America. "The Polish economy really is in pretty good shape -- that's not just some kind of government propaganda," said Maciej Krzak, head of macroeconomics at the Warsaw-based Center for Social and Economic Research. "Poland can aspire, with time, to become one of the EU's largest economies."

Even though Tusk’s party lacks substance and ambition, Poland’s economy grew 4.4% from 2007 to 2010 while the EU average was barely one-tenth of one percent.

The reasons why Poland kept its economy growing right through the thick of the Great Recession has been discussed in previous columns. One could reasonably argue that Tusk holds a fist full of aces dealt by the practicality and common sense embraced by Poles with their reborn liberty.

After Poles freed themselves from a society of socialist dependency, it did not matter who was in office. Nobody in power could diminish the individual’s determination to prosper under newfound freedom. They molded their hills and mountains on that once desolate playing field by the sweat of their ingenuity and enterprise.

The political pundits in Warsaw predict Civil Platform will be the first party to achieve back-to-back wins in parliamentary elections. However, I’m a bit hesitant to go along.

At least now you have Huggies

I contend that if voters in their twenties who at best were in diapers during the Communist Era, are not represented in large numbers at the polls, there’s a chance that the tradition of not re-electing the incumbent government will stand.

Tusk’s party has become increasingly “content-free”, just like the MTV generation. They realize if they stand for something they might offend somebody. So, they mumble vaguely, promise to work hard, and all the while get less and less specific about issues. Finding a position paper from them is next to impossible.

With the lack of principles and conviction, the centrist party is hoping to win by presenting themselves as a “safe pair of hands” to keep steering Poland around Europe’s economic crisis.

Now, there’s a good question for fickle American voters.

Are you in good hands?

Is Poland’s luck about to run out?

Lately, I’ve been writing about Poland’s shining economy. Poles skating through the global financial meltdown with healthy growth is amazing. However, I hinted at the close of last month’s column that Poland’s lucky streak might be near the end.

Well, what could go wrong you might ask.

Poland assumed the EU presidency on July 1, 2011. The timing is unfortunate because the tires are about to fall off the economic wagon of several countries. There is plenty boiling right near the surface regarding the finances of PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain). Stress in Europe is mounting, especially now that England is distancing itself from the Euro Zone and German citizens don’t want more of their tax dollars propping up failing member States.

Publicity wise, it would look pretty bad if countries started defaulting and the economic contagion started spreading like an epidemic while Poland held the six-month term presidency. Many economists say it is not a matter of if, but when countries go bust. If the Polish term as head of the EU can get through the end of December, then it will be Denmark’s headache when they succeed Poland at the helm.

But, what would really be devastating is forced radical changes in Poland’s own economy caused by misguided and mistimed EU rules and policies.

I think we would agree that during the midst of economic turmoil and massive sovereign debt across the western world now is not the time to implement programs and regulations that will hinder recovery and growth, or in Poland’s case cripple it’s strong economic footing.

Poland is a young democracy and making great strides fostering free markets and industries that were short on productivity during the Communist era. While the EU environmental activists call for the abatement of coal in Poland - the continuation of plentiful coal powering the heavy industries making up the largest part of Poland’s industrial output is not a situation any country can turn around on a dime. There is no other energy source close to the cheapness of coal. The major cause of Spain’s 21% unemployment and debt crisis for instance stems from their reckless speed at adopting exorbitantly expensive green energy.

Last month the Polish Ministry of Economy received some bad news. Major companies said if energy costs go up, heavy industry would cut production or pick up and leave for Asia and Africa. A large exodus in sectors like chemical, metallurgy, mining and cement are considered certain and will affect thousands of good paying jobs. That would plunge Poland into an economic calamity of its own.

Coal may not be the villain it is made out to be. It wasn’t too long ago when Time and Newsweek rang the alarm about the coming ice age, devoting nearly a dozen covers to the topic in the mid-1970s. This past decade has been the opposite – hysteria about global warming presumably caused by CO2 emissions. But, lately there has been increasing interest in our sun’s affect on global temperatures being way more potent than so-called greenhouse gases. Read this article - NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism

Sunspots emit solar winds that heat the earth and last month the American Astronomical Society said the solar cycle is going into a hiatus meaning a lack of warmth producing sunspots. It might take as little as two years to determine if we’re headed toward another mini ice age like the Maulder Minimum experienced from 1645-1715 coming after the Medieval warm period which produced an abundance of food. Anecdotally, it snowed in Colorado on the first day of summer this year.

So, for Poland’s sake you’d think there is pretty good reason to hold off on expensive carbon dioxide permits that would debilitate one of the healthiest economies in the western world.

On the topic of fracking shale to capture billions of cubic meters of natural gas, Poland has another horde of enemies to fend off. While the prospect of becoming an exporting energy giant and removing itself and EU partners from the evil grip of Russia’s Gazprom, the environmental organizations are turning up the heat to impose a moratorium on this type of gas extraction like they were successful in doing across France.

Although there are worries about potential contamination of ground water, gas shale deposits are located several thousand feet below most water tables. If care is taken boring through the water table to get at the gas there is less danger of tainting well water.

Overall, one would think Poland was dealt a pretty good hand with coal and now the abundance of natural gas. But, changing the rules in the middle of the game might make Poland have to ‘Go fish’. Those increasingly colder winters in Poland have taking their toll on poorer folks freezing to death over the last couple years. Hot soup ain’t gonna be a substitute for much needed cheap energy.

Gold in them thar hill

Poland was the only EU country to escape the present recession and economic crisis. Industrial output jumped by double digits, while employment and wages are up and out pacing inflation. The discovery of natural gas shale fields that equal more than 300 years of the country’s consumption have major oil companies beating a path to Poland’s door. Then there’s a luxury goods market that is growing faster than any other European country and a debt to GDP ratio that is one of the lowest in the world. The Warsaw Stock Exchange had more IPOs (initial stock offers) than any other European exchange in the past 12 months including foreign companies clamoring to be listed. These are all admirable attributes envied by other countries.



What else could Poles ask for in economic terms?


How about hitting a motherload of gold and silver that was just confirmed in dolny Śląsk!


A few million years ago, way before brothers Lech, Cech and Rus came from the east to establish the Slavic nations, the Kaczawskie Mountains located in southwestern Poland were erupting with volcanic ash and lava flows that glowed in the darkness of night. The apocalyptic looking event heaved tons of wealth to and near the surface of the earth’s crust. Today, in the land of extinct volcanoes modern testing methods indicate substantial mineral riches not previously exploited since mining started there in the 12th century are ripe for the picking.


Mining has always been an essential part of the Polish economy and is one of the most time-honored professions in Poland. Through the centuries going deep under the earth was dangerous and often deadly. Although there is no caste system, Poland’s miners traditionally have been elevated to a special social station of their own. Not only for the Feast of St. Barbara (patron Saint of miners), but also for weddings, funerals and other important political or social ceremonies, miners wear an especially smart looking black uniform adorned with red feathers and act much the same as honor guards.


Perhaps the most wondrous and largest mine in the world is in Wieliczka. Salt is a very important mineral, which seemed absent in Poland until the 13th century when Saint Kinga a Hungarian princess on her way to marry King Bolesław threw her engagement ring into a Hungarian salt mine near her home only to have it found where she indicated Polish miners dig upon her arrival. For over 700 years salt had been scooped out of the depths where Kinga’s ring miraculously appeared.


At the Wieliczka works the vast subterranean chambers are adorned with statues, chapels, grand staircases, dining halls and even chandeliers carved entirely of salt. There is even a clinic for people with lung ailments since the salt laden air is antiseptic.


Although another underground city like the Wieliczka mine is not in the making 150 miles to the west, the little village of Radzimowice in the Kaczawskie Mountains just might add a ton of wealth to the Polish economy.


Stara Gora (the Old Mountain) is the name used mainly by geologists for the location, since it was formerly the place where gold, silver, iron and copper once were mined and remolded. Many mine shafts beneath the peak of Zelezniak bear testimony to the heyday of a once blooming town. Lately, the few inhabitants left take their chances and run farm tourism businesses in a region famous for its panoramic views, wine production and rare plants including orchids and gentian.


Last month four high tech borings nearly a half-mile in depth confirmed the presence of high-grade gold, silver and copper veins, which appear to be untouched in the extensions of the historic site. New veins were also discovered and include significant amounts of gold with about one ounce of gold per ton of earth.


The area has a long history of mining covering 1,000 years and anecdotal evidence suggests and that up to 18,000 ounces of gold were recovered from nearby rivers and shallow digs over the years.


Extensive underground shafts were developed in Radzimowice until the mine closed around 1930 due to low metal prices and the onset of the Great Depression. The underground workings were well documented during earlier mining operations and indicate that most of the ore was mined from six veins. During the 1950s some refurbishment of the mine was undertaken by the Communist government but ceased when the Kupfershiefer copper deposit was discovered at a different location.


With private companies free to explore with the profit motive incentives of capitalism, what was overlooked by the previous socialist regime’s central planning seems to be panning out rather nicely in a market where gold and silver have had a huge run up in value.


The energy and precious metal resources just recently discovered under Polish soil is bound to bring increased economic wealth to the nation just as the discovery of salt did 700 years ago. However, there is a sinister plot being hatched by EU environmentalists that might cripple the heavy industry and coal mining sectors of the Polish economy. The what else Poles could ask for question might just be requesting some sanity regarding EU carbon emissions policies. Stay tuned to this column for a look into the absurdia the environmental whackos may thrust upon the only shining economy of the western world.

Glitz in Poland

Więcej diamenty, proszę

Aren’t you just doggone tired of reading how great the Polish economy is doing in this column month after month? The rest of the world seems to be mired in economic crisis and here in America the all mighty dollar continues to take a devaluation beating with quantitative easing by the Fed, stimulus programs, bailouts and no true spending reform.

Polish-Americans unjustifiably have been the brunt of Polish jokes for years. At least now in one small corner of the world where our ancestors come from - throwing off the yoke of socialism and a totalitarian regime of market control and central planning has provided a cornucopia of plenty, while other nations go wanting.

Purchasing of luxury goods in Poland is off the charts. It’s been that way for quite a while and right through the economic meltdown most western nations are experiencing. In the past five years almost all luxury item categories registered impressive double-digit sales growth. Brisk economic growth and the increasing number of high-earning households fuel the growing accumulation of high-end items.

Poles have the cash to spend and are continually seeking more sophisticated international brands. International luxury item producers rushing in to set up shop in Polish shopping malls confirm Poland’s strong taste for luxury goods. 2011 will see even more new glitzy and glamorous brands battle for the favor of Polish customers.

The Polish economy has undergone an extreme transformation since the end of Communism. Booming exports and increased investment made Poland the only economy in the EU to escape an economic recession in 2009 thanks in large part to its strong domestic consumption of consumer goods and the lack of credit crisis in banking as well as very low individual household debt.

Topping of the list of lavish item purchasing is jewelry including timepieces. This category has seen over a hundred percent increase in the past five years alone. The aggressive marketing campaigns have also dumped a tremendous amount of money into media and advertising agencies. So, radio, television stations, newspapers and billboard companies are experiencing nice fat numbers on their income statement bottom lines.

The second largest category includes fine wines, champagne and spirits. The 45% increase is helped along by the proliferation of new fashionable nightclubs, bars, and luxury boutique hotels all across the country. The secondary affect in the drinks category has been the synergy with commercial real estate and construction transactions as well as massive new hiring in the hospitality field.

The next largest market segment is designer fashions. Interestingly Polish designers still dominate the couture niche while brands such as Armani, Hugo Boss, Burberry and others are making a bigger and bigger dent in the top end clothing category. If you find it hard to believe Polish designers are fabulous, remember Oleg Cassini’s birth name was Oleg Loiewski.

While the global forecast for luxury goods is rather modest, the Polish market for luxury goods has become increasingly desirable and in greater demand. Success builds on success and encourages new players to enter the game. Italian luxury car giant Ferrari is a newcomer to Poland and Louis Vuitton is set to open its first Polish store this month. These established brands along with all the other merchants coming into the Polish market bring with them the development of new distribution channels and infrastructure further boosting a hot economy in terms of revenue and new hiring.

The growing disposable incomes of Poles will continue to boost demand for luxury goods and services. Bound to help this along is a newly introduced strategy in the Polish finance ministry. While other countries are trying to debase their currencies to address repayment of structured national debt, the Poles are contemplating actions to actually increase the value of the złoty. Although this topic is a subject for another column at a future date, suffice it to say that the Ferrari with the 300,000 złoty price tag just might come down to a number more easily reached by the upper middle class in Poland. Then there will be a huge market for new bumper stickers saying, “Inne moje samochodu jest Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.” (My other car is a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud)

Trip to Poland

The Toledo Polish Geneaological Society is making a trip to Poland this year. If you are interested in finding your family records, this is the year you must go to Poland. We will be going to towns, villages and cities in Poland to find your family records.

Trip to Poland 2010 info:
http://www.polishtoledo.com/trip

The trip to Poland is being organized this year in September so that people of Polish heritage can find their family roots.

If you ever wanted to know where your Babcia or Dziadzia came from, this is the year you must travel to the land of your ancestors. Please call Kathy Grabel at 419-385-8516 for more information regarding this trip to Poland.

All you have to do is let Kathy know where your relatives came from, the name of the village, town or city, and the family name.

We will travel to those places and your family records will be waiting for you to pick up. And, you will actually see where your relatives once lived.

The departure from Detroit's Metro Airport will be on August 31, 2010, and the return date is September 10th.

The cost for this trip to Poland includes round trip airfare, sightseeing, accommodations at three and four star hotels, meals, transportation in a comfortable tour bus, English speaking tour guides and more. The total cost for the trip is $2,800 that includes everything mentioned above.

Don't miss this opportunity of a lifetime to travel to the land of your ancestors.

Trip to Poland 2010

For more information: [Click Here]