November of memory: Poland remembers those who ... - Krakow Post

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12 The Krakow Post K A T O W I C E NOVEMBER 1-NOVEMBER 7, 2007 Ecological town to be built near Siewierz the krakow post TUP Company, the owner of a dozen hectares of attractive ground in Siewierz, in a green district on Perzycko-Siewierski Bay, wants to build a new town of about 5,000 inhabitants. There will be not only apartments but also places to rest and work. The concept of the town was worked out by 12 town planners from various countries. The town will consist of four parts, each of which will have its own market. It is planned to build low-income houses in the market and terraced houses along the streets. Farther from city center the apartment houses will be low-rise. This areas will be small and pedestrian-friendly. The town is planned to be self-sufficient. There will be shops, cafes, various services and a church. The town will also have ecological solutions, including biological sewage treatment. The town’s energy would come from sun-panels and biomass burning. Rainwater would be used to wash out the toilets. According to Wojciech Halicki, a biologist and specialist of ecology, such ecological solutions will be no more expensive than standard treatments. . Halicki is an author of the idea, but the project was worked out in cooperation with a group of specialists during “Charrette” workshops. This modern apartment district is going to be built according to the American pattern of ecological town-garden with its own market, yacht port, church, hotels and shops. This town of 120 square kilometers will be open, created according to the innovative methods of Charrette. The term “Charrette” arose in France in the 19th Century in the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. Originally it signified a trolley used by assistants to collect drawings during an exam. Today it is used to describe innovative planning methods. First stages of the town’s construction are expected in 2008. The project is expected to be finished in 20-25 years. It will be realized in four stages. The first houses will be built in 2009-2010. A 40-room motel in turn and a 1120-room hotel and conference center will be built in 2011/2012, before Euro 2012. “We estimate the value of the whole project at about 900 mln zloty – 1 bln zloty. In the first stage we will have to invest about 100 mln zloty, but we hope the project will be, at least partly, self financed,” Robert Moritz, the chief of TUP told PAP. Prices of the new city’s houses and apartments are unknown but the town is expected to be a great attraction for tourists, scientists and planning specialists. 16th Fusion Festival Justyna Krzywicka sTAFF JOURNALIST The 16th Fusion Festival in Silesia will begin on Nov. 9 lasting until Nov. 27. It will include various musical, artistic, literary and theatrical events. The festival will kick off with a performance by Denez Prigent from Brittany. The performer is the first to combine traditional folk music from Brittany with modern electronics. Trip-hop, electronics as well as jazz are fused with traditional Gwerz vocals and hymns. The Kronos Quartet will perform on Nov. 10 at the Gornoslaski Centrum Kultury (Silesian Cultural Center) in Katowice. The Quartet will include Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki quartets into their program, which includes “The Songs Are Sung.” The Silesian Quartet concert will be completely devoted to celebrating the works of the American composer Philip Glass. In the second week of the concert audiences will be able to appreciate the Il Giardino Armonico group in the church of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul in Katowice. The group will penetrate the various levels of European baroque music. The renowned violinist Christophe Coin will perform the solos. The closing of the festival will see England’s alternative Piano Magic performers. In the Teatr Rozrywki (Entertainment Theatre) the group will satisfy all those seeking ethereal independent vibes at the festival. Other alternative performers will include France’s Loyola, Troy Von Balthazar, George Dorn Screams as well as the phenomenal French group Jack the Ripper. The newly discovered Parisian group Caravan Palace is set to entice all with their electric-swing performance. Performers from Moldavia, Romania, Turkey and Serbia also form part of the program. Graphic art events will be held at the Galeria Rondo with works displayed by artists such as Roland Topor. Topor’s translator will present the works and life of the artist as well as Marie Binet from Paris. Other events include photo exhibitions from the young photographer Andrzej Tobis who with his “A-Z” exhibition depicts the stereotypes existing between Poles and Germans. Literary and poetic evenings with Chin Zhu Hao and Wang Yin are also part of the program, as well as various other young Polish and English poets. Info about the festival and booking of tickets can be found at: www.cameralis.art.pl Silesia faces need for more police officers Kinga Rodkiewicz sTAFF JOURNALIST Silesia needs police officers. The main police station is struggling to hire an additional 800 police officers. One source may be a series of meetings with unemployed people, which is being organized by labor exchanges. If this tactic is successful in hiring officers for the main police station, it may be tried throughout the country. According to the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, employment agency clerks are combing lists of 1,700 registered jobless people in Silesia to find suitable police candidates. Some of the requirements: at least a secondary education, Polish citizenship and an unimpeachable reputation. In addition, candidates must meet psychological and physical standards and have no criminal record. A police career offers the advantage of early retirement – as soon as 15 years. However, interest expressed at the unemployment meetings has been minimal so far. In Katowice, only 20 people attended a meeting and only two expressed interest in a police career. In Gliwice, police presented a special recruiting film, but three meetings attracted only 90 people. Unemployed Silesians are reluctant to attend the meetings and be identified for fear that if they refuse to apply for police jobs, they will lose their unemployment benefits and social insurance. “I know from television and the Internet that the police are recruiting people,” said Marcin Tycfrom Wodzislaw Slaski, an unemployed graduate of Silesian University. “But I’m not interested in being a policeman. Low pay and outdated equipment at the police stations discourage me from taking a job. Politicians promise modernization of the police, but they have never kept their word.” Another skeptic of the police recruitment campaign is Przemyslaw Koperski, director of the Employment Agency in Silesia. “The police have to understand that the labor market has become a worker’s market,” Koperski told Gazeta Wyborcza. “Without increasing wages and improving working conditions, the recruiting drives won’t mobilize young people to wear police uniforms.” Inspector Arkadiusz Pawelczylm, vice commandant of the police, says salaries are scheduled to rise. “New recruits will receive about 2,200 zloty per month, an increase of about 500 zloty,” he told Gazeta Wyborcza. String of hotels to be built in Katowice Joanna Zabierek STAFF JOURNALIST Katowice needs more hotels. Katowice has hosted few big events recently, such as sport, cultural and trade meetings. The main problem for people visiting the capital of Silesia is a lack of hotel rooms. Katowice aspires to be a metropolis attracting tourists, investors and artists of world fame. The region is developing very quickly, and the city wants to be well prepared to be an optional site for Euro 2012, the European football championships. As the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reports, accommodations for average tourists are the biggest problem. Katowice has only about 800 sleeping rooms of average standards. That is far too few to house visitors for such events as the concert by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, not to mention Euro 2012. So Katowice definitely needs development in this area. So far it has only Spodek, a great spectator arena, where all major events take place. But that is not enough to keep tourists in this city or even the region. Having problems finding a “bed and breakfast,” they flee from Katowice looking for a more convenient place. A good solution for Katowice would be building a few low-cost hotels for the average tourist who doesn’t need any extra facilities, but just wants to sleep in decent and clean conditions. Such hotels would bring a great benefit to restaurants, pubs and shops and also to museums, theaters and galleries. Does the city have any hotel plans? A few have been started. Near expressway A4, next to the shopping center “Threeponds,” the building of the “System” hotel continues. There will be more than 200 rooms of two- and three-star standards. Near Novotel, the two-star “Etap” hotel has been built. Plans for the next few years include erecting two hotels: one next to Silesia Center and the other near Katowice Business Center. They will have a total of about 500 rooms, Gazeta Wyborcza reported. These investments are a good step forward. But they are not enough. The center of Katowice needs renovation. And hotels could be a major element of the city’s new image. The railway station area is sleazy. One attractive hotel would make the area more attractive to tourists. And it is not only the railway station area that needs revitalization. Many other districts, squares and streets are neglected. The city authorities have no precise plan yet. But derelict tenement houses could be renovated into small hotels and hostels. Such a development would revive the center of Katowice and make this place more hospitable for tourists, businessmen and particularly for students, who usually look for cheap accommodations in the center of the city. Joanna Zabierek sTAFF JOURNALIST Being a freelancer has a lot of advantages: You’re independent, you can work flexible hours and there is no supervisor behind your back. But not everything is rose-colored. Without others around, freelancing can be lonely. Sharing an office allows freelancers to be independent while enjoying the benefits of a traditional office, including the contact with others. Office sharing has become popular in the U.S. Now it’s starting to be seen in Poland. Office sharing gives you proper office equipment, a place to meet clients, phone services and a mailing address. It also fills people’s need to socialize. Before office sharing swept across America, freelancers who felt isolated would often work in a coffee shop for a time each day. Although this gave them a chance to be around others, the “others” were usually not people with whom they could relate to through work. Office sharing is more than just using the same workspace. It is also about networking with others who are involved in an independent work existence. For example, it’s often difficult to become inspired when you’re working alone at home, having little or no contact with the outside world. You can feel almost paralyzed sometimes by the lack of contact and stimulation. So far, office sharing in Poland is available only in Warsaw, Wroclaw and Poznan. Kuba Filipowski of Poznan created the first office-sharing facility in the country. Some time back, the Web page designer decided to give up his full-time job for freelancing. He quickly learned how isolated he could get working at home. So he and two colleagues rented an office together. The sharing arrangement has worked so well that they are trying to popularize the idea. The U.S. has companies that specialize in arranging office-sharing space. In Poland one can only dream about it. Filikipowski and his colleagues had to do everything on their own. They found the J O B S Sharing an office: Solution for freelancers location. They even bought the furniture and equipment. Office sharing can have its problems, including conflicts among co-workers doing different jobs. For example, at a time when one worker needs quiet to concentrate, another is having to make phone calls. Filipowski said the answer is to create a set of rules that all office sharers must follow. “If we organize it well, there should be no problem,” he said. Filipowski said some jobs that people do as independent agents don’t lend themselves to office sharing. “Some jobs require having to have a quiet representative office – for example, architect, investment consultant or financial advisor.” Because of computers and the Internet, however, more and more people are able to work from home. America’s experience shows that not long after home-based workers shout with joy over not having to spend eight hours in an office, they “start to feel the lack of a community spirit and inspiration,” Filipowski said. And that bodes well for his new business. WEB Design Enthusiasts!!! You are wanted! We are currently looking for people to join our Web Design team. Successful applicants will: - be interested in good comunication with users - knowledge Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop - basics and principles of HTML and CSS If you are interested, please write to us: jargonmedia@gmail.com CALL TO ADVERTISE: Andrzej Kowalski, Marketing Manager, +48 (0) 798-683-160 MINI RESUME MINI RESUME Top Management M 31, University degree in engineering, 6 years of top management experience in leading companies in industrial cooling, refrigerating sector. Project management. Negotiations. Prepare technical solutions. Full scope of technical support: pre-planning. PC. Contact: jerrybarrows@ yahoo.com Business/Personal Assistant Talented, experienced lady is looking for a job of Business/Personal Assistant (full- or part-time) Degree in Philology, 10 years experience in Western companies. Very responsible, goal excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. Please contact me at: hiopole@mail.ru
NOVEMBER 1-NOVEMBER 7, 2007 A L T E R N A T I V E C O N S U M E R The Krakow Post 13 Fire in the mouth: Poland’s bootleg vodka tradition CC:2.5:Bartosz Senderek When a Pole asks a foreigner what he associates with Poland, he almost always hears the same answer: strong vodka. Kinga Rodkiewicz STAFF JOURNALIST When a Pole asks a foreigner what he associates with Poland, he almost always hears the same answer: strong vodka. The popularity of Polish alcohols is connected with a long history of making alcoholic drinks and with recipes handed down for generations. For centuries, Polish people have produced homemade alcoholic drinks. The technology of producing vodka came to Poland in the 13th and 14th centuries, thanks to Arabian and Italian merchants. The first written document about vodka dates to 1405, from a court in Randomizer. The golden age for the alcohol industry developed in the 16th Century when Poland became known as Europe’s granary. Corn production was so high that surpluses not used for food and alcohol production were exported to western Europe. In that era, each noble family produced its own unique liquor made from different fruits and herbs. Almost every male convent also produced alcoholic drinks. Even the peasants, especially along the Polish borderland, produced their own alcohols; the most popular were made from quince and wild strawberries. During the 17th Century, Krakow was the center of vodka production. The alcohol was exported to Silesia, and then to what is now the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. In 1782 Jan Baczewski opened the first big distillery in Lviv, which produced vodka and some liquors. The label stated: “The only vodka which is as good as Baczewski’s vodka is the Russian alcohol of Peter Smirnoff from Moscow.” The Smirnoff label contained the same statement about Baczewski’s vodka. In Communist Poland after World War II, it was difficult to buy a bottle of good vodka because of the limitation created by alcohol rationing coupons. In response, many Poles produced homemade alcohol. However, those who manufactured homemade vodka were said to be enemies of the state and were targets of TV and newspaper campaigns. Posters from that era depicted old, hunched-over men with eyeglasses and walking sticks in emaciated hands. The poster said: “Homemade vodka is the cause of blindness.” Police raids destroyed the home distilleries, and the offenders were arrested and jailed. The most popular drinks in the People’s Republic of Poland were liquors made from caraway, anise, barberry, mint, blackberries and ginger. Other drinks included hunter vodka, peach brandy, pear brandy, juniper vodka and many others. Today, the best-known homemade alcohol may be plum brandy from Lacko in southeast Poland. First the drinker notices the tempting smell of the plums. When he drinks a glass, he feels the fire in his mouth and a great flavor as well. Then the delightful warmth spreads into his body. “Plum brandy gives vim and blushes cheeks,” a label says. But one has to be careful how many glasses he drinks. The sweet homemade brandy is 75 percent alcohol. In 1992, the heritage conservator (a person who is responsible for the preservation and renovation of monuments) acknowledged the Lacko brandy as a national cultural landmark. According to documents dating to 1698, the brandy story begins with the people of Lacko growing plum trees. Serfs picked the plums and delivered them to the manor, where the fruits were used to produce alcohol. Lacko’s golden age began in 1882 when a Jewish family rented a parish ground and built a distillery. From 1882 to 1912, Samuel Grossbard owned the company. In 1912 a record 15,000 liters of plum brandy was produced. The brandy was delivered to neighboring shops with a label certifying it as a high-quality drink. From 1960 to 1980, Henry Maciuszek and Joseph Biernacki, headmasters at the local primary school, created the distinctive labels. They can still be seen on the web site: www.sliwowica.net.pl On a nationwide scale, the quality of Lacko brandy became well known thanks to Inkas Ferber, who married Grossbard’s daughter. Ferber used only the best fruits and well-made equipment, including oak casks in which the brandy matured. At that time, alcohol was exported mainly to Palestine. When WWII broke out and Jews were arrested, alcohol production collapsed in Poland. But soon after the war ended, people started to make their alcohol again. Since 2004, the process has been celebrated at the European Fest of the Plum Brandy and Picking Fruit. The biggest attraction of this day is a stand where everyone can see the process of plum brandy production. According to a 2006 Polish law, producing plum brandy – as well as other homemade alcohol drinks – is a crime unless the distillery is properly registered. Franciszek Mlynarczyk, mayor of Lacko, has helped write a law that proposes the production of homemade alcohols. “Our fruit growers produce 5,000 liters of plum brandy a year,” Mlynarczyk told Dziennik. “The Internal Revenue wants me to denounce the people who produce the brandy. The police do nothing because in Lacko everybody knows each other.” Actually, the Ministry of Agriculture and Finance organized a commission to prepare the rules of production and retail trade for the home-made alcohols. However, the act to legalize domestic alcohols hasn’t been enacted yet. That’s why homemade Lacko brandy cannot be bought at a shop. Jacob, a college student from Lacko, said: “Only trustworthy people who know the right time and place can obtain a bottle. It costs 45 to 50 zloty.” Opponents of legalization of homemade alcohols say they are dangerous to health. In comparison to national companies in which there are some quality controls, the lack of standards for homemade production is the main cause of concern. Even good bootleg vodka may contain some alcohols that are said to be carcinogens, or cancer agents. There is also a possibility of methanol contamination. Methanol even in minimal concentrations can cause blindness and death. However, plum brandy gourmets hope that the government, following a Balkans example where homemade alcohol is legal, will legalize it in Poland. Then there will be no obstacles to buying it in the shops and feeling from time to time that fire in the mouth. EPE Translations English - Polish - English Agency providing translation services for companies working in multicultural environment as well as for private individuals. Deliver standard, technical and sworn translations at competitive prices. Also provide interpreters located in Ireland, UK and Poland. Check out www.epetranslations.com tel: (0048) (0) 12 4212300 FOR PERMANENT, TEMPORARY AND CONTRACT STAFF IN IRELAND & UK • Ireland tel: (00353) 45 883420 e-mail: claire@issrecruitment.com • Manchester, UK tel: (0044) 0 161 9090050 e-mail: issrecruitment@yourcomms.net www.issrecruitment.com
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November of memory: Poland remembers those who ... - Krakow Post

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