President Nicolas Sarkozy has found himself a scapegoat for EU’s weakness writes a columnist with Dziennik.
Press reviewed by Alicja Baczynska
A columnist with Dziennik comments on French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal to the Polish head of state to keep his word and finally sign the Lisbon Treaty. The journalist points out that it was France who turned down the first European constitution in the first place in a nationwide referendum several years ago and so blaming Poland for EU’s deadlock and divisions exposes the union’s double standards.
If the forecast 10 percent drop in the country’s GDP proves to be true, this could be bad news for Poland as well, claims a columnist with Rzeczpospolita. He believes a weaker Ukraine will be more dependent on its most powerful neighbour, Russia. Moreover, impoverished Ukrainians may turn to Poland for help, which may in turn result in a major immigration wave. And another big question is the Euro 2012 football championships, jointly by the two countries. The columnist believes Poland should do everything in its power to help, which would even entail addressing the issue in Brussels, as the future of Poland is at stake.
“Recess is like a discotheque,” writes Życie Warszawy in an article about the ever-present din at Polish elementary schools. Research has shown that the noise level there can reach 110 decibels, while the threshold of noise acceptability stands at 85. It’s important to note that noise levels above 90 decibels harm hearing over time, and so being exposed to such racket for several hours on every weekday is bound to cause problems with learning, not to mention serious hearing damage of the children. Experts have a few solutions to offer, such as initiating hearing tests for schools, or creating silent zones, where the teachers would be responsible for setting breaks instead of the bell, whereas classes would have rooms assigned, which could rule out roaming across the whole school. Right.
A parliamentary public health committee is in for a heated debate over regulations regarding smoking ban in public places, writes Dziennik. Approving the proposed the amendment bill in its present form would spell trouble for many small and medium-sized businesses, which could not afford creating required smoking rooms for its staff. Without such rooms employees would have to go outside for a cigarette, and stay 10 meters away from the building’s entrance, which could mean a pretty long walk if you happen to be working in a densely built commercial area.
City councils across the country haven’t been too stingy with this year’s Christmas decorations, writes Rzeczpospolita. For example, a 85-meter spire in Wrocław, one of the city’s landmarks, has been adorned with lights and ornaments, thereby creating a Christmas tree higher than the one in Rio De Janeiro, hailed as the largest in the world. Other trees more reminiscent of the real thing are still pretty big, reaching a whopping 27 meters in Warsaw. The capital has forked out 2.5 million zlotys, which is over 600,000 euros, for the tree and decorations. The city council’s way of saving a little cash is to buy a fake tree and keep the ornaments for years to come. Only time will tell for how long they will want to use the same illuminations and baubles every single Christmas.