Weeklies reviewed by Krystyna Kolosowska.

The weekly Wprost has two articles regarding this week’s exhumation of the remains of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces during World War II. He died in mysterious circumstances in an air crash off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4, 1943. The date is the only fact which is certain about the General’s death, says Wprost. Speculations that the catastrophe was a result of Soviet, British or even Polish conspiracy have since abounded. The theory that Wladyslaw Sikorski died in an accidental air crash has few subscribers, though of course it cannot be ruled out. Several theories that General Sikorski was murdered are also widely debated. Pathologists and radiologists from the southern city of Krakow have at their disposal computers and modern diagnostic techniques, including multislice computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to help them search for evidence, but Wprost is convinced that this examination is unlikely to once and for all silence disputes among historians.

In another article on the exhumation, Wprost says that, for some, it boils down to a hunt for sensation at all cost. But for others it is the first sovereign, independent Polish attempt to establish the truth. The death of General Sikorski caused the degradation of the Polish cause on the international scene and, in effect, Poland’s political defeat in the last war. There are many mysteries surrounding the air crash and the death of Sikorski, and conflicting reports as to what kind of injuries he suffered - that is why the matter is important for Poles.

Polish immigrants have permanently settled abroad – writes Tygodnik Powszechny, saying it is not true that the global financial crisis has sparked off a mass return of Polish workers back home. According to an EC report published recently, Poles constitute the biggest group of migrant workers in Europe. Sociologists are not unanimous in their opinions of how Poles adapt to life abroad. Some claim that they tend not to participate in social life. They live in a migrant “limbo” of working, sleeping and eating, plus, sometimes, meetings with Polish friends. Other experts say that we have to account for a new breed of Poles – young, educated, working legally. They feel like citizens of Europe and are increasingly well organized abroad. The picture of integration with foreign societies, the British for example, is not necessarily good, though. Twenty percent of Poles are not interested in joining any civic organization, while some 70 percent say they have no time for such activities. Things may change with time, however, as more and more Polish immigrants take to the idea of civic community.

Newsweek says that a growing number of Poles  have switched to discount shops which sell a limited assortment of goods at low prices. According to a survey conducted by the PMR company, discount shops have been the fastest growing segment of the market in Poland in 2008 - up by 28 percent on a year to year basis. This boom is not surprising – many low income consumers feel the brunt of the crisis and are reaching for cheaper goods, even at the cost of quality. With private labels constituting even 85 percent of their offer in Poland, discount shops can conduct an aggressive price lowering policy and push small retailers off the market. Their number fell by 24 thousand between 2006 and 2007. But such small, usually family owned, shops are not absolutely doomed. For several years now they have been joining hands, creating trade groups or chains, which can withstand competition through unity, says Newsweek.

There are dozens of shops in Poland offering legal drug-like substances. Officially, they are sold for “collectors’ needs”, writes Polityka. The first fun or smart shop was opened in the central city of Lodz last August by the World Wide Supplements Importer. By March 2009 it plans to expand its chain here to 100 shops. The emergence and rapid expansion of fun shops have baffled the Polish drug enforcement authorities, because earlier research did not suggest that they would have a chance to succeed here. Two weeks after the first shop opened in Lodz, its mayor alerted prosecutors, with the claim that this new kind of outlet may be violating the law. But neither the city officials, nor the police and sanitary authorities have determined anything. The shop continues to enjoy successful business.

Przekroj says there are places in Poland where the local people hardly ever open their windows, because of the unbearable stench pervading the neighborhood. But there is good news – horrible stench will be legally banned shortly. Foul smell producers are numerous – from food and bone meal to sewage treatment and pharmaceutical plants. Some sources of offensive smell may not fall into the stink category at first whiff – for example, inhabitants of a housing estate in western Poland complained about the smell of mint and eucalyptus, produced by a nearby chewing gum factory. But the biggest trouble-makers are industrial pig farms, of which there are 117 in Poland and the number is growing. Some are branches of foreign firms, which moved here mainly from the United States and Canada, where the law is more restrictive. A small community near Poznan, where the American pork giant Smithfield Foods has its pig farm reeks with pig waste. But with no sanctions at hand, the problem of stink only attracts the attention of local newspapers at most. Now, after twenty years of work, the Ministry of Environment has presented a draft bill on combating offensive smell for public consultation and will send it to Parliament soon.