Saturday, December 26, 2009

Gynaecologist accused of giving patient orgasms speaks of court ordeal


Dr Angus Thomson Photo: SWNS
He endured sleepless nights and the trauma of a high profile legal case, before being told by a judge that he left the court without a stain on his character.

But Dr Angus Thomson fears the lurid headlines sparked by the allegations - including that he had given Mrs Giles a "leg-buckling orgasm" - will haunt him and his family forever.

"No matter the fact I was not found guilty, if my kids go on Google, put my name in, they will find headlines in papers from Spain, Portugal, Poland, Japan, China.... all round the world," he said.

One of his greatest concerns for he and his wife, Lucy, is how it will affect their three young children, boys aged seven, nine and ten, once they become old enough to realise the full extent of the claims against him.

"We're not mortally wounded by this, we are big enough to see the bigger picture," he said.

"However, I'd hate to think that in three years' time when the kids are slightly more engaged on the computer that they... the kids haven't had a hard time at school, but we were very concerned about the way it would be portrayed in the media. They essentially know somebody was saying nasty things about me which I guaranteed were not true."

Dr Thomson was investigated and cleared twice over the allegations, but then Mrs Giles sued for £50,000 in damages.

The ordeal has made him think that something must be done to give greater protection to medical staff against vexacious complaints.

The case against him was thin and he was in a strong position. He had already raised concerns about Mrs Giles' behaviour to senior hospital staff - as well as his wife - and he was well-regarded by his colleagues.

This helped the hospital take what might have proved a controversial decision not to suspend him during the investigation by the hospital and a subsequent one by the General Medical Council.

But he fears other doctors in a similar situation who had not flagged up a potential problem and who are perhaps socially awkward, unpopular or who speak English as a second language could be ruined by the suspicions of others.

"People might be thinking badly of them for three years and they might be picking up on every minute thing," he said.

"That puts undue pressure on them and they will start making mistakes.

"There needs to be some attention given to how we record when people make false accusations."

Headlines such as "Dr Orgasmo", treated the claims as a joke, but for Dr Thomson, 40, from Worcester, the prospect of being branded a sex offender has already affected his involvement with his children's primary school.

"A couple of years ago, I gave a talk to the year six kids and they asked me to do it again. I said 'I'd really like to, but I cannot do it.' I said I was busy.

"It was actually because I didn't think it was fair to put the school in a position where some parents might be upset that someone accused of sexual assault was doing this.

"I was really, really upset about not being about to do that."

Similarly, he was in turmoil over becoming a coach at his children's rugby club and whether the Criminal Records Bureau check would flag up the civil court action being taken by Mrs Giles. He also had to inform his children's school of the case.

"I had to go to the head teacher and say 'By the way, I'm in court this week being sued for sexual assault and harassment, will you look after the kids?' That was unspeakably difficult," Dr Thomson said.

"The head teacher is very professional, very approachable and I believe a very good judge of character.

"She said 'Angus, that's absolutely horrible for you, I'm sure it will be fine, good luck.'"

Even after the collapse of the case, the fear of being tarred with guilt by association to one of the most serious allegations against a doctor remains. He worries that patients will draw the wrong conclusion after putting his name in Google.

He was alleged to his sexually assaulted Mrs Giles, supposedly giving her two orgasms in 90 seconds, in the presence of a nurse, who dismissed the idea in court.

Other staff from Droitwich Spa Hospital gave evidence that she only made the complaint after a failed attempt to force Dr Thomson to see her as a patient after he had discharged her.

"These allegations are extremely serious in any walk of life, but in medicine and certainly in gynaecology, it is just monstrous to be accused of these things," he said.

"The last three years have been a real rollercoaster. There have been times when it hasn't been in my mind at all and spells of weeks and even months when it has been all-consuming.

"There have been many episodes of sleepless nights and we are still having sleepless nights.

"The trauma of the courtroom was immense, my wife is still very upset by it.

"I'm healing more quickly than she is because I'm back at work and she's on Christmas holidays with the kids. Whilst I'm getting all the support from colleagues and patients, letters from friends, she's not.

"She is getting some letters, but the support around me has really started to get me through this."

His wife, a GP, stood by him throughout and Dr Thomson said if anything the allegations had brought them closer together.

"My wife had known there was a patient who had been making contact unnecessarily, so although she was as shocked as I was, she's never suggested she had any doubt at all. She's been behind me 100 per cent the whole way," Dr Thomson said.

"I've been very fortunate because this didn't come out of the blue. I didn't have any marital disharmony because of it. I'm sure we would have had if I hadn't already highlighted there was a difficult patient."

Friends and colleagues have also been supportive. Dr Thomson said their house was "like a florists" because of all the flowers sent by well-wishers and he was particularly moved by letters written when the allegations first became public, during the week of the civil court case, before he had been cleared.

Patient-doctor confidentiality had barred the other doctor who was pestered by Mrs Giles from coming forward until the court case was reported by the media and therefore entered the public domain.

And while Mrs Giles was ordered to pay Dr Thomson's court costs of £30,000, unlike in other legal systems he does not have the right to counter-sue.

"I have no interest in personal redress now. I'm not chasing that at all," he said.

"By far the biggest cost personally has been emotional. I've not been to the doctors, I'm not taking sleeping tablets. I'm fit and healthy, just a little bit stressed - I don't think going through another court case would help that.

"But I think the right to redress would be a deterrent against false claims."

Dr Thomson also said some thought should be given to offering anonymity to doctors facing such complaints, although he points out it helped his case as the GP was able to come forward.

Despite his experience, he is still conscious of the need to protect patients, even wondering what would happen if Mrs Giles was to become the victim of medial malpractice in the future.

"I think doctors are always vulnerable to allegations which sometimes are very difficult to prove or disprove, but we also have got to remember that bad things happen to patients and we have got to put a stop to that," Dr Thomson said.

Source:telegraph.co.uk/

In Poland, Santa works year-round


KOSTOWIEC, Poland — He is 76, sports a long white beard, and likes people to call him Santa. For a decade, Pole Romuald Madrakiewicz has criss-crossed his country helping his fellow poor, and not only with seasonal cheer.

"It's Santa! Santa!" yelled a crowd of youngsters at a primary school in Kostowiec, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Poland's capital Warsaw.

Dressed from head to toe in red, with a sack on his back, Madrakiewicz strode in.

The marvelling children tugged on his beard: it was real, for sure.

He dipped into his sack, producing sweets and other little gifts which he shared out among them.

But this Santa is not just a giver. He also comes to collect.

The children in Kostowiec had prepared four big parcels, filled with food, sweets, soap, and toys. They were bound for an orphanage in Krosno, in southern Poland.

"Santa gave us the orphanage's address last year, as well as the addresses of several poor families who need help," Zbigniew Reluga, head of the school, told AFP.

"Since then, the children have been doing what they can to help, and Santa comes to see us several times a year," he added.

Madrakiewicz said he aims to teach youngsters what really matters.

"My visits are meant to help them understand that in life you can share everything you have," he explained.


He clearly knows how to spread his message.

"Sometimes the kids even put their favourite mascot in the packet," he said emotionally.

This Santa's real magic is to spread a sense of generosity wherever he goes.

Behind his smile, Madrakiewicz carries a lot of hurt.

A former social worker, he gets by on a tiny pension and doesn't have a real home. He lived in a hostel for the homeless last year, and is now staying with friends.

When he needs money to buy gifts, he sometimes hunts for bottles and scrap metal to swap for petty cash.

"Santa gives out gifts and doesn't expect anything back, and on top of that, he gives everything he's got," Madrakiewicz said, his eyes fired up.

He learned his values in his family home in southeast Poland, and in the Scouts, he explained. "You're a Scout your whole life, and a Scout does a good deed every day," he added.

He has won growing recognition for his work -- in 2007 he was named Poland's volunteer of the year -- and is increasingly in demand.

He receives dozens of letters every day via the office of Homo Mizerus, a magazine for the homeless based in a poor district of Warsaw.

"I get a massive amount of post which I hand over to those who help me, because I simply don't have time to read them all, let alone come to the aid of everyone who needs me. It costs a lot and the parcels have got too heavy for me," he said.

As he grows older, he is looking for a successor.

Turning to the youngsters, he called out: "Who can be Santa?"

"Someone who's kind to other people," replied six-year-old Filip.

"Anyone can be Santa, as long as they know how to share," Madrakiewicz responded.

Source:AFP

European weather deaths pass 100


Soldiers shovel snow in Milan. Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP

More than 100 people have been killed in the cold snap across Europe, with temperatures plummeting and snowfall causing chaos from Moscow to Milan.

In Poland, where temperatures have dropped to as low as -20C in some areas, police appealed for tip-offs about people spotted lying around outside. At least 42 people, most of them homeless, died over the weekend.

In Ukraine 27 people have frozen to death since the thermometer dropped last week. Authorities in Romania said 11 people had succumbed to the chill, and in the Czech Republic the toll was 12. In Germany, where temperatures have fallen to -33C in certain parts, at least seven people are known to have lost their lives in the freezing weather.

For millions of others across the continent, the cold snap has brought severe disruption, with flight cancellations and traffic jams thwarting pre-Christmas travel plans.

The resumption of Eurostar services brought some relief to passengers travelling between France, Belgium and England, but many trains across Europe were delayed or cancelled.

Airports were struggling to cope with icy runways, with Ryanair and Easyjet among several airlines to cancel some flights.

In Frankfurt, where snowfall prompted delays and cancellations, 3,000 people were forced to spend last night inside the terminals at the city's main airport. "It is totally chaotic today … no one knows what's going on – neither us nor the staff," Dorothee Schaefle, waiting in line, told Die Welt newspaper.

Roads were not exempt from the chaos. After a weekend that brought the heaviest snowfall in about 100 years, Moscow was gridlocked, with tailbacks snailing around the Russian capital.

In Italy, where winters are usually mild, motorways in the north-east were closed and the Ministry of Defence dispatched helicopters in Sicily to bring medical aid to those in need.

In Milan hundreds of soldiers worked through the night to clear the snow- and ice-covered streets.

Source:guardian.co.uk/

Monday, December 7, 2009

Poland Red Baron


FILE - Undated portrait shows Manfred von Richthofen, the most successful German fighter pilot during WW I with 80 downed planes. Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, was killed in aerial combat on April 21, 1918. A Polish historian says he made a surprising find when poring through World War I archives the death certificate of Manfred von Richthofen. Maciej Kowalczyk said Monday Dec. 7, 2009, that he found the file last month while going through old German archives in the western Polish city of Ostrow Wielkopolski.


Source:suomenkuvalehti.fi


Listed in Blogs By Country

Mouthpiece of communist Poland falls prey to market

WARSAW (Reuters Life!) - The once-powerful mouthpiece of Poland's communist party fell silent on Monday, bowing to the demands of the free market 20 years after the advent of democracy in eastern Europe.

Trybuna, direct successor to the influential communist-era 'Trybuna Ludu' paper, carried the torch for Poles nostalgic for socialism after 1990, but steadily lost readers.

"Dear readers, from the weekend Trybuna is no longer available at newsstands. The publisher of our newspaper took the decision to suspend publication due to the difficult material situation," Trybuna said in a short note on its website.

The publisher, Ad Novum, hopes to resume publication of the daily in February after talks with investors, it said, but industry analysts were doubtful, noting that the paper has been trying unsuccessfully to raise funds for some time.

Trybuna had a circulation of about 50,000, many of them elderly, before it folded.

Loyal readers expressed dismay about its demise.

"I am shattered... I read it every day since it first began. I am sorry the editorial board did not bother warning readers beforehand," said pensioner Waldemara Gora, 80.

"I was very attached to the People's Republic (communist Poland). It is a tragedy that in a country of nearly 40 million people there is no left-wing newspaper," she told Reuters.

Source:reuters.com/

Mouthpiece of communist Poland falls prey to market

WARSAW (Reuters Life!) - The once-powerful mouthpiece of Poland's communist party fell silent on Monday, bowing to the demands of the free market 20 years after the advent of democracy in eastern Europe.

Trybuna, direct successor to the influential communist-era 'Trybuna Ludu' paper, carried the torch for Poles nostalgic for socialism after 1990, but steadily lost readers.

"Dear readers, from the weekend Trybuna is no longer available at newsstands. The publisher of our newspaper took the decision to suspend publication due to the difficult material situation," Trybuna said in a short note on its website.

The publisher, Ad Novum, hopes to resume publication of the daily in February after talks with investors, it said, but industry analysts were doubtful, noting that the paper has been trying unsuccessfully to raise funds for some time.

Trybuna had a circulation of about 50,000, many of them elderly, before it folded.

Loyal readers expressed dismay about its demise.

"I am shattered... I read it every day since it first began. I am sorry the editorial board did not bother warning readers beforehand," said pensioner Waldemara Gora, 80.

"I was very attached to the People's Republic (communist Poland). It is a tragedy that in a country of nearly 40 million people there is no left-wing newspaper," she told Reuters.

Source:reuters.com/

Hidden Jews in Poland to get Chanukah guide

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A Polish-language guide to Chanukah will be distributed to Hidden Jews in Poland.

Shavei Israel, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to strengthen ties between the State of Israel and descendants of Jews around the world, will distribute the free books this week through its emissaries in Poland.

Hidden Jews in Poland lost all contact with Judaism due to the extreme anti-Semitism they encountered after the Holocaust; some even converted. Others concealed their Jewishness from the Communist authorities and now feel free to resume their true identity.

"In recent years, an increasing number of Poles have rediscovered their Jewish ancestry, seeking to reclaim the precious heritage that was so brutally taken from them and their forebears," said Michael Freund, founder and chairman of Shavei Israel. "It is our hope that this book will, in some small way, enable a new generation of Polish Jews to celebrate Chanukah with joy, as well as gain a better understanding of our eternal faith, its principles and beliefs."

Approximately 4,000 Jews are officially registered as living in Poland, but according to various estimates there are tens of thousands of others who have concealed their true identity or are simply unaware of it, according to Shavei Israel.

Source:jta.org/

Poland Hands Over Leadership at UN Climate Conference

The United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen began today, with 192 countries being represented. The conference was opened by Poland's Minister of the Environment, Professor Maciej Nowicki.

United States President Barack Obama and United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown are among the world leaders to show up at the conference, which is to last until 18 December. The last climate conference was held a year ago in Poznan, therefore Poland's Minister of the Environment, who was the president of that conference, hosted the opening ceremony of the Copenhagen conference and passed the leadership on to Denmark. Prime Minister Donald Tusk is also to take part.

The conference is attempting to reach a new consensus on climate change as the Kyoto protocol from 1997 expires in two years. The main goal is common declarations on the reduction of CO2 emissions. The European Union has proposed a 30 percent reduction of CO2 emissions, but other major economic powers, such as the U.S. and China, are not expected to agree.

According to Polish Radio, Jerzy Buzek, head of the European Parliament, said before the conference, "Concrete declarations should be made both concerning financial issues as well as the reduction of emissions. This should be the goal, but unfortunately there is little chance it will be reached at the meeting.”

With Poland relying almost completely on coal for its energy, it has constantly been at the centre of the debate on carbon emissions within the EU. And now, in the wake of the conference, according to Thomson Reuters, the European Commission announced on Thursday that it has appealed against Poland and Estonia's court challenge regarding their carbon quotas.

Poland appealed against the carbon quotas imposed on it by the EU for the 2008-2012 period. The appeal was successful as the European Court of First Instance cut Poland's quotas by 27 percent in September.

Now the Commission's appeal brings Poland's dependence on coal back into the spotlight. Barbara Helfferich, the Commisssion's environmental spokesperson said, “The Court of First Instance has not sufficiently taken into account the fundamental purpose of the EU ETS to reduce overall EU emissions of greenhouse gases and the need to ensure equal treatment of member states during the assessment process.”

But, that is not the only controversy Poland is in at the start of the conference in Copenhagen. There have recently been rumours that Professor Nowicki, who led the opening of the conference today, is to resign from his position as Minister of the Environment due to a conflict with the viceminister of the Ministry Stanisław Gawłowski.

Gazeta Wyborcza reported that several politicans from the Citizens Platform (PO) party have confirmed that Nowicki, an independent, is likely to step down, although the man whom he is supposed to be at odds with, Gawłowski, a member of PO, denies the rumours.

According to the Wprost weekly, Nowicki's resignation is a done deal, but Tusk's government is not commenting on it yet because of the Copenhagen conference.

Paweł Graś, the spokesman for Tusk's government said that the Prime Minister will comment the situation on Tuesday.

Nowicki was originally recommended for the position by PO. He is an advocate of changing Poland's outdated energy system by steadily moving away from coal energy in favour of renewable and atomic sources.

Source:krakowpost.com/

Poland looking to buy swine flu vaccine from Sweden?

Poland has requested the A/H1N1 vaccine from the Sweden, according to Swedish radio station Ekot.

The station has reported that Ewa Kopacz requested some of the Swedish “surplus of vaccine,” while Sweden´s Minister for Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund, was on a visit in Warsaw.

At the time, it is reported that Mr Hägglund rebuffed the request, explaining that according to Swedish law, the vaccine is not owned by the government, but by regional authorities.

However, Poland appears to have sent another, more formal request to the Swedish government.

According to Swedish Public Radio, an agreement is unlikely, as there are still some four million Swedes who have not received any vaccine, while talk of a surplus in the Scandinavian nation is unfounded.

From Warsaw Business Journal

Source:wbj.pl/

Poland looking to buy swine flu vaccine from Sweden?

Poland has requested the A/H1N1 vaccine from the Sweden, according to Swedish radio station Ekot.

The station has reported that Ewa Kopacz requested some of the Swedish “surplus of vaccine,” while Sweden´s Minister for Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund, was on a visit in Warsaw.

At the time, it is reported that Mr Hägglund rebuffed the request, explaining that according to Swedish law, the vaccine is not owned by the government, but by regional authorities.

However, Poland appears to have sent another, more formal request to the Swedish government.

According to Swedish Public Radio, an agreement is unlikely, as there are still some four million Swedes who have not received any vaccine, while talk of a surplus in the Scandinavian nation is unfounded.

From Warsaw Business Journal

Source:wbj.pl/

Poland looking to buy swine flu vaccine from Sweden?

Poland has requested the A/H1N1 vaccine from the Sweden, according to Swedish radio station Ekot.

The station has reported that Ewa Kopacz requested some of the Swedish “surplus of vaccine,” while Sweden´s Minister for Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund, was on a visit in Warsaw.

At the time, it is reported that Mr Hägglund rebuffed the request, explaining that according to Swedish law, the vaccine is not owned by the government, but by regional authorities.

However, Poland appears to have sent another, more formal request to the Swedish government.

According to Swedish Public Radio, an agreement is unlikely, as there are still some four million Swedes who have not received any vaccine, while talk of a surplus in the Scandinavian nation is unfounded.

From Warsaw Business Journal

Source:wbj.pl/

Poland looking to buy swine flu vaccine from Sweden?

Poland has requested the A/H1N1 vaccine from the Sweden, according to Swedish radio station Ekot.

The station has reported that Ewa Kopacz requested some of the Swedish “surplus of vaccine,” while Sweden´s Minister for Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund, was on a visit in Warsaw.

At the time, it is reported that Mr Hägglund rebuffed the request, explaining that according to Swedish law, the vaccine is not owned by the government, but by regional authorities.

However, Poland appears to have sent another, more formal request to the Swedish government.

According to Swedish Public Radio, an agreement is unlikely, as there are still some four million Swedes who have not received any vaccine, while talk of a surplus in the Scandinavian nation is unfounded.

From Warsaw Business Journal

Source:wbj.pl/

Poland looking to buy swine flu vaccine from Sweden?

Poland has requested the A/H1N1 vaccine from the Sweden, according to Swedish radio station Ekot.

The station has reported that Ewa Kopacz requested some of the Swedish “surplus of vaccine,” while Sweden´s Minister for Social Affairs, Göran Hägglund, was on a visit in Warsaw.

At the time, it is reported that Mr Hägglund rebuffed the request, explaining that according to Swedish law, the vaccine is not owned by the government, but by regional authorities.

However, Poland appears to have sent another, more formal request to the Swedish government.

According to Swedish Public Radio, an agreement is unlikely, as there are still some four million Swedes who have not received any vaccine, while talk of a surplus in the Scandinavian nation is unfounded.

From Warsaw Business Journal

Source:wbj.pl/

Poland to decide on legality of gambling sponsoring football


Online gambling companies have become a big source of sponsorships for football clubs. Poland’s proposed legislation to restrict online gambling poses a real threat to football clubs as their major source of finance is threatened. The Wall Street Journal reports on the implications of the legislation for football and states that e-gaming companies provide USD 18.2 million to Polish sports annually, and this includes Unibet's USD 4 million per season sponsorship of Polish football’s second tier 1 Liga. Bet-At-Home and BetClick, other leading on-line gambling operations, are the shirt-sponsors for Wisla Krakow and Lech Poznan, which are leading Polish teams. These annual USD 3 million agreements stand to become illegal if the draft legislation is passed.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski banned slot machines and restricted gambling to actual physical buildings through a bill he signed on Friday. The bill has also outlawed gambling-related marketing and advertising. Poland's legal direction is not a stand-alone position though as e-gaming sponsorship is already illegal in Russia and Ukraine. The European Court of Justice’s ruled against Bwin in the suit it brought against Portugal’s state-controlled monopoly over sport-betting. Bwin’s sponsorship of the Portuguese football league had previously been outlawed by the national government.

The current reality is that football is growing increasingly reliant on money from online gaming agencies. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are among those who wear shirts sponsored by gambling companies. With the global economic crisis taking its toll on many traditional sponsors, it has been a great time for online gaming companies to establish themselves as major sports sponsors.

Given this reality, a ban on gambling sponsorships has serious implications and can well affect the competitiveness of Polish clubs in the European leagues. There is serious concern that if online betting companies are banned in Poland they will have not motivation to be sponsors in the market and their beneficiaries will not be able to find easy replacements.

Even if Poland passes this law there are questions about whether the European Commission will let it stand. Given that one third of English Premier League teams now have shirt-sponsorships with online-gambling companies and given Austrian betting company Bwin’s recent deal with AC Milan and Real Madrid, this is a matter of great interest to the rest of Europe also. There are many newly regulated markets opening up for gambling at the same time and this is likely to facilitate the football and gambling industry alliances. France is expected lift a ban in January which will enable Ligue 1 clubs Marseille and Lyon to wear shirts sponsored by the Malta-based gambling company, Betclic. Italy passed a law allowing online poker last year and Denmark plans to open up its gambling market. This latter development may be the forerunner of things to come in the Scandinavian countries; earlier this year Spanish club Valencia was not allowed to wear shirts with its sponsor Unibet’s name while playing a match in Norway.

There are also concerns about a complete ban on sponsorship of sports by gambling companies similar to the one placed on tobacco companies. Alcohol and gambling sponsorships have recently been scrutinized and they are vulnerable to being outlawed on ethical grounds. A sports-business strategy and marketing professor, Simon Chadwick, says that " …there's now discussion over the banning of alcohol sponsorships, and gambling may also be banned in the coming years because there is a general consensus that socially undesirable sponsorships should not be allowed.” He also refers to the Lisbon Treaty, that is about to be ratified, and feels that online gambling sponsorships can be seen as going against the treaty’s emphasis on leading healthy lifestyles.

The gambling sector and its huge financial contributions to the sponsorship market means that any legislative ban will have tremendous impact on sports in general and football in particular.

Source:eufootball.biz/

Poland - Session of General Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski chairs the Polish delegation to the General Affairs Council (GAC) and Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) session in Brussels on 7-8 December 2009.

At the General Affairs Council Ministers focus on preparing the 10-11 December European Council session and on discussing draft conclusions. Other issues to come up for discussion are the EU enlargement policy and the presentation of the Spain-Belgium-Hungary Trio Presidency programme.

Issues to be addressed at the Foreign Affairs Council are the role of the EU as a global actor, West Balkans, and the Middle East peace process.

There will also be a ministerial meeting on the margin of the session with the Eastern Partnership countries.

Source:isria.com/

Seminar “Green Roads and Reduction of Noise in Poland”


On 4th of December an international seminar dedicated to a very important topic – green roads and reduction of noise in Poland took place. The seminary that was organized by Bisek Company in cooperation with Technical University of Wrocław, took place in a seat of Bisek. What is more, this event has been taken under a patronage of Marek Łapiński who is the Marshall of Lower Silesian voivodship.

The main goal of the seminar was to talk about skill-sharing connected with using asphalt modified by rubber, which is used to build very modern and environmental-friendly roads, in both Poland and the USA.

There were many famous quests who arrived to Poland in order to take part in the seminary such as well known expert - Professor Serji Amirkhanian from Clemson University in South Carolina in the USA. Poland was represented by Technical University Professor – Antoni Szydło, and dr Henryk Koba. Zbigniew Szczygieł – from the Office of Marshall of Lower Silesian voivodship and Adam Bisek – the head of Bisec Company, which produces modified and environmental-friendly asphalt.

Modified asphalt guarantees better grip of vehicles and shortens the breaking distance by 25 %. Rubber road means also noise decrease on the road by 4 decibels. However the biggest merit of modified asphalt is that it solves the problem of utilisation of used tyres, which land on illegal rubbish.

In Canada, the USA or Sweden, the rubber motorways have been being built for 15 years now. In Wrocław there are 30 test sections of such roads.

Source:poland.com/

Flood management contract awarded in Poland

CES Consulting Engineers Salzgitter, in a joint venture with Royal Haskoning and Pracownie Badawczo-Projektowe Ekosystem, has won a contract for the detailed design and construction of a retention polder near the town of Raciborz, Poland. The work is a core component of the Odra River Basin flood protection project.

The polder will cover an area of 2630ha with a retention volume of about 185Mm³ in a flood event. The dike will have a length of 21.8km and be built as an earthfill dam with an embankment volume of about 7.4Mm³. Hydraulic structures such as gates, spillways, etc will be constructed in order to regulate the filling and emptying of the polder during a flood event.


A disastrous flood in 1997 on the River Odra in Poland killed 54 people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure. As a result a comprehensive program was developed, funded by the World Bank, to enhance flood protection and to protect more than 2.5 million people against flooding.

Source:waterpowermagazine.com/

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Warsaw, The Ancient Is History, The Modern A Necessity



Like most other inland European cities, Warsaw is built around a large body of water, straddling the sparkling Vistula River. The small fishing town was first fortified as a Masovian stronghold in the early 14th century. Compared with the histories of its pre-Roman Polish neighbors, the city of Warsaw is practically a fledgling on the grand timeline of human settlement in the region. However, it did not take long for Warsaw to become the center of the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth and soon thereafter the capital of the (periodically) independent Poland nation until present.

Warsaw is far more inspiring for what has come and gone in the city limits and in the minds of the people than for the physicality of the city today. Warsaw has been destroyed and rebuilt more times than fathomable in its brief history. No other European city experienced quite as extensive horrors and bombardment during World War II from Nazi (and Russian) forces than Warsaw. Over 80 percent of the city was completely razed, including the Old Town and Royal Palace, and nearly 800,000 citizens perished. Though many important buildings were restored after the war, the city has lost much of its Baroque luster and instead has grasped on to the modern era of post-communist art and architecture. The invaluable history is well documented in the immaculately maintained museums and exhibits while, outside, the commitment to present and future life is clearly a driving force in Warsaw’s working gears.

Rebuild, Revive, Reinvent

Travel to Warsaw to marvel at its graceful execution of eclecticism. The visible stratification of decades in time is embodied by the rotating façades of building structures. Art-Deco and elaborate Modernist office buildings of the 1990s independence era rub shoulders with giant stone-slab housing complexes built during the chilling post-war Communist period, and somewhere in-between, old Baroque-style manors and museums accent the amalgamation. Many tours lead in and out of these fascinating buildings and locations.

Take the Memorial Route to the Struggle and Martyrdom of the Jews 1940-43 through the former Jewish District, which was transformed into a ghetto and then obliterated in WWII, and pass 16 commemorative granite blocks representing significant people, places or events. Just south of here visit the tallest skyscraper in Poland, the triumphant Palace of Culture and Science, a gift from the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Although it was destroyed per Hitler’s orders, the restored Royal Palace in Old Town should also be visited. Much of the grand residence has been returned to its 18th century splendor, complete with a museum of the salvageable works of art. Much of Warsaw’s grid-like structure is rife with greenery. Warsaw University hosts a magnificent Botanical Garden and the south of the city is just the beginning of the enchanting Kabacki Forest.

Travel to Warsaw to experience all of the joys of the big city, but with a uniquely Polish twist. The city is not only the seat of the National Opera and Philharmonic, but also jamming with jazz clubs and music bars. Come seek out the nuanced history in Central Europe’s staggeringly modern metropolis.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

Once Golden, Again Golden Poland


From a global and historic perspective is seems as though Poland had reached its golden era around the 16th century during the wealthy and powerful Jagiellonian Dynasty and that it has been largely downhill ever since. The Polish have taken a tremendous beating during the second 500 years of their existence but have had remarkable and admirable success pulling their vast and stunningly beautiful land back together to make up today’s modern Third Republic. Travel to Poland to experience fast-pasted cosmopolitan centers like Krakow, rewind in time in the horse-and-carriage countryside or lose yourself completely in one of the forested national parks.

Poland, Pillage and Plunder

Whether Poland has been synonymous with bridge or battlefield to its surrounding neighbors, the results have not been pleasant. As early as the 13th century, Polish states were ravaged by Mongolian raiders due to the lack of natural boundaries and its strategic position between east and west, which would again become a curse during the World Wars and the Cold War. There were few cities that emerged from WWII unscathed, but the baffling restorative reconstruction has left even the locals duped by the perfectly replicated Baroque and Gothic architecture. Thriving cities like Krakow and Warsaw are hubs of both traditional and modern Poland, showcasing contemporary art, classic jazz and an unfettered youthful spirit. Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp and Holocaust Museum is located just outside Krakow, which became the epicenter for the Nazi battle against Europe’s Jews. Also in this area is a World Heritage Site known as Southern Little Poland where an enchanting collection of medieval wooden churches still stand among the Carpathian Mountains.

Hillside, Countryside, Seaside

Poland has a unique draw due to its positioning on the Baltic Sea and its shared borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia. Poland today is finally the more tranquil, dynamic and cheaper cousin of its neighbors. Visit the Great Mazury Lake District in the northeast where nearly 15% of the area is covered by pristine lakes and canals, dotted with picturesque villages. This is a haven for cycling, canoeing and hiking. Don’t miss the 13th century Malbork Castle, the headquarters for the Order of the Teutonic Knights, which holds the title as the largest medieval castle in Europe. Then, as you find your way to some of the Baltic seaside resorts, stop along the coast in Gdansk, the historic medieval Hanseatic trading city that was perfectly restored in the 20th century. While you make your way east to visit Bialowieski National Park in order to see Europe’s last surviving native Bison, stop in the 14th century town of Torun to pay homage to Nicolaus Copernicus’ place of birth. For skiing and hiking, the Sudeten Mountain Range winds through part of southern Poland, including the popular escapes in the Tetra Mountains.

Although the ravages of the 20th century are behind Poland, they are certainly not out of mind. The Polish have a blossoming culture that emerged vehemently from the violence and repression of the Cold War. The reactive and eager populace finally has found a place to shine artistically, politically (as part of NATO and the EU) and domestically with open arms to those curious about the Polish way of life. Travel to Poland and discover a proud and established nation that is equally as excited to finally welcome you!

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Poland Twitter


Poland /ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the most populous Eastern European Member State of the EU.

The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by its ruler Mieszko I, in 966 (see Baptism of Poland), when the state covered territory similar to that of present-day Poland. In 1025, Poland became a kingdom and in 1569, it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, by signing the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795 and Poland's territory was partitioned among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic in 1918, after World War I, but was later occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. Poland lost over six million citizens in World War II, emerging several years later as the socialist People's Republic of Poland within the Eastern Bloc, under strong Soviet influence.

During the Revolutions of 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is constitutionally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Poland is a unitary state, made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is also a member of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, World Trade Organization, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).


Article Source: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland