Movie ‘Operation Danube’ brings Poles, Czechs together

After more than 40 years, Poles and Czechs come together to make a movie about one of the most problematic incidents in relations between the two neighbours – the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
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Dalai Lama made honorary citizen of Warsaw

Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader received an honorary citizenship of Warsaw, Wednesday.
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Katyn Critic Reviews

Entertainment Weekly
The great Polish director Andrzej Wajda musters the power of classical filmmaking and personal emotional investment to dramatize a stunning atrocity long covered up.
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Variety
This plays almost like an academic master class, meticulously exploring the event's ramifications but only catching full fire at the end
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Boston Globe
A history lesson for a country and a people forced to forget at gunpoint.
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A.V. Club
Wajda makes the murders look horrific and jangled, like something out of "Hostel," then ends Katyn with extended darkness and silence, allowing the audience to mourn for the death of a nation.
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The New York Times
The result is a film with a stately, deliberate quality that insulates it against sentimentality and makes it all the more devastating.
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The Hollywood Reporter
The period sets, costumes and cinematography all superbly recreate the brutal era, grand illusions and everyday suffering of the Poles under both the Nazis and the Soviets.
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An Open Letter to the Obama Administration from Central and Eastern Europe

Letter from leading politicians from Eastern Europe to President Obama. Letter signed by:
Valdas Adamkus, Former President of the Republic of Lithuania;
Martin Butora, Former Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the United States;
Emil Constantinescu, Former President of the Republic of Romania;
Pavol Demes, Former Minister of International Relations and Advisor to the President, Slovak Republic;
Lubos Dobrovsky, Former Defense Minister of the Czech Republic, former Ambassador to Russia;
Matyas Eorsi, Former Secretary of State of the Hungarian MFA;
Istvan Gyarmati, Ambassador, President of the International Centre for Democratic Transition in Budapest;
Vaclav Havel, Former President of the Czech Republic;
Rastislav Kacer, Former Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the United States;
Sandra Kalniete, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia;
Karel Schwarzenberg, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic;
Michal Kovac, Former President of the Slovak Republic;
Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria;
Alexander Kwasniewski, Former President of the Republic of Poland;
Mart Laar, Former Prime Minister of Estonia;
Kadri Liik, Director of the International Centre for Defense Studies in Tallinn, Estonia;
Janos Martonyi, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hungary;
Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Former Vice-president of the European Parliament, former Defense Minister, Poland;
Adam Rotfeld, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Poland;
Alexandr Vondra, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, Czech Republic;
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Former President of the Republic Latvia;
Lech Walesa, Former President of the Republic of Poland;

(Published on July 15, 2009 on wyborcza.pl)
We have written this letter because, as Central and Eastern European (CEE) intellectuals and former policymakers, we care deeply about the future of the transatlantic relationship as well as the future quality of relations between the United States and the countries of our region. We write in our personal capacity as individuals who are friends and allies of the United States as well as committed Europeans.

Our nations are deeply indebted to the United States. Many of us know firsthand how important your support for our freedom and independence was during the dark Cold War years. U.S. engagement and support was essential for the success of our democratic transitions after the Iron Curtain fell twenty years ago. Without Washington's vision and leadership, it is doubtful that we would be in NATO and even the EU today.

click here to continue reading this letter

Katyn coming to DVD

One of the best WWII movies in last few years is finally coming to the US market. Made in 2007 and Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Film last year, Katyn, directed by legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda, will be available on August 11. Amazon is already taking orders. Also, Netflix is already allowing its members to add this movie to the rental que.

"Having lost his own father in the Soviet massacre of Polish officers in the Katyn forest in 1940, Wajda waited for the demise of communism before dealing with this heartfelt issue in the way that he knows best – on film." (Graham Young, Birmingham Post)

If you want to understand the mistrust between Eastern Europe and Russia you must see this movie. So, tell your friends and family about this movie.

Three Nations Reject Abortion Language in UN Declaration

Last week in Geneva, Switzerland, negotiations went down to the wire as the Economic and Social Council wound down its high-level meeting on health. The push by the United States and most European Union countries to include language that some NGO's and developed nations interpret to include abortion was rejected. Poland, Malta and Ireland opposed the controversial language despite pressure.
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To Shrink a U.S. Car, Chrysler Goes to Poland

For decades, automakers looking for the secret to small-car success would journey to Toyota City in Japan. These days, they are coming to Tychy.
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Poland's leaders back appeal to Obama over Russia

Poland's prime minister and president say they back an appeal by former Eastern European leaders to President Barack Obama urging him not to overlook them as he pursues better ties with Russia.
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Poland reassured over US missile shield plans

Washington has calmed concerns that in a drive to rebuild ties with Russia it could drop a plan to set up a US anti-missile base in Poland, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Wednesday.
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Presidents Kaczynski and Lee meet in Warsaw

President Lech Kaczynski welcomed South Korean head of state Lee Myung-bak to the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Wednesday, and discussed economic, defence and energy cooperation.
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Anger at Commissioner Kroes visit

European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes is to receive a chilly reception when she visits Poland’s shipyards today.
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Zloty Rallies as Poland Says It May Begin Euro Entry This Year

The zloty rose the most in a week after Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said Poland may enter the euro-adoption process this year, leading eastern European currencies higher on speculation of a global economic recovery.
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Poland Seeks $1.5 Billion in First Dollar Bond Sale in 4 Years

Poland plans to sell as much as $1.5 billion of bonds in its first offering of dollar debt in almost four years, creating new benchmark securities for government and corporate borrowers in the central and eastern Europe region.
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EU parliament job set aside for eastern Europe

Italian centre-right MEP Mario Mauro has dropped his bid to become EU parliament president, leaving the path clear for Polish conservative deputy Jerzy Buzek to take up the post.
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Poland’s Laws Will Curb Growing Budget Gap, S&P Says

Poland’s legal safeguards will force the government to curb the budget deficit and keep the country’s debt from mushrooming to levels that caused rating downgrades in other countries, Standard & Poor’s said.
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Lithuanians To Gather In Hartford, All Over World, For Anniversary

Members of the Lithuanian American community plan to gather Sunday afternoon in Hartford to mark the 1,000th anniversary of the first written reference to Lithuania by singing the country's national anthem.
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Polish triplets got talent!

Three beautiful Polish triplets have won the hearts of the jurors of America’s Got Talent TV show.
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