It’s not always politicians and economists that are the most convinced that privatization or at least commercialization are the answers to everything. Here’s an astounding piece of neo-liberal thinking from a Doctor Talarek that appeared in this week’s Polityka in an otherwise interesting article about the massive numbers of people who die – not just […]
Out of the top corner of my eye, while sitting on a bar stool the other night, I saw the strapline on a Polish rolling news channel on the TV. It said “W Brukseli o kryzysie” or “In Brussels the crisis [is being discussed].” It got me wondering, and this is what I wondered: which […]
A few days after I got warned by the government that I had to choose a pension fund or let the randomised computer choose for me (see last post) I got a letter (no stamp, but my name was on it) inviting me to contact a financial adviser. I rang up this guy and demanded […]
This week I received a stern letter from the guvmint telling me I had not yet chosen which Pension Fund to “invest” my pension contributions in. If I had not made up my mind which horse to back within ten days, the missive said, one would be chosen for me. Naturally it was too much […]
Part of the government’s master plan, enthusiastically supported by Gazeta Wyborcza (boring the country where the main serious media agrees with the government), is to put an end to early retirement in Poland. Keep cracking the whip over the backs of aging proles: that’s the ticket. Perhaps, to give the neo-liberals their due, the system […]
I don’t know if yesterday was particularly black but look at the dates in this chart of the worst days on the FTSE 100. It’s like, how much more black could this be? The answer is none – none more black. And only a few years ago the Onion was looking into even more precious […]
In a glowing portrait of Gordon Brown (who appears to be doing something about the crisis other than make soothing noises) in the latest Nie, there is the following quotable quote: “…unemployment in Great Britain is expected to reach a terrifying 6%, which is regarded here [UK] as a catastrophe. In Poland 11% of people […]
Gazeta Wyborcza continues its “Poland is no Country for Old People” series. The Onion was there first.
Back in September rumours spread in Ireland that one of the country’s biggest banks was close to going bust. Total nonsense, the experts said. Everything was A-OK. But the rumours persisted. On one radio talk show a caller pointed out that savings in the Post Office Bank were state-guaranteed in their entirety. Within hours millions […]
“Poland is no country for old people,” Gazeta Wyborcza announced on Friday, with much handwringing in a full page spread advertising an upcoming series of heartrending etc etc. The text continues: “You humiliate us You forbid us love and sex Fast cars You tell us to throw pots and make wall hangings Look after your […]
