Regardless of the necessity of the Iraq War, recalling troops with the job half done will only worsen an already bad situation. The people of the West will not tolerate yet another long-lasting war which will result in withdrawing the military earlier than necessary. On the other hand, swift and short military engagements will not yield in satisfactory results in the long term either.
Yes, I am a liberal, and despite the fact that many Poles consider this word a slap in the face, I don't feel ashamed by making this statement (let's treat it as a sort of political “coming out”). Why am I writing about it now? Well, because after the campaign “Secular School” has been launched, I got bored with constantly explaining the differences between a liberal and a leftwinger.
Liberté! has recently launched a campaign to create a civic legislative initiative that aims at putting an end to financing religion lessons from state budget. The project has reached the leading media in Poland and has stirred up public opinion in a manner that Poles have not seen for a long time.
I would like to live in a society with more balanced power relations between men and women. Nevertheless, I expect it would be free individuals who will create it. People who are equipped in proper knowledge and who make use their rights, and who are able and willing to shape the world. Because I believe they can do it. And the state itself can’t.
The main issue of the Ida debate, noticeable also in other societies, is an expectation that art will reflect our perception of the world. Books, movies and music should be well suited to be used against opponents. We don’t like art that induces questions and raises doubts. It should rather remain in line with our expectations and convictions. And that’s not just our Polish problem.
Orbán is interested only in cash, not in values. His disregard for values or (to make it sound more proudly) for ethos of Western democracy continues for years and is expressed in many constitutional reforms or a positive evaluation of the model of the political system of modern China. He therefore easily avoids the topic of Ukraine’s right to sovereignty, self-reliance in international politics and territorial integrity.
Since the May 14, 2014, Google has received 185.000 requests and deleted 670.000 search results (i.e. it made impossible to find particular articles via European versions of Google search engine). The EU still does not understand the old truth that once something is on the Internet, it stays there forever, and that the Internet does not equal Google.
Liberty. Equality. Fraternity. France and Europe and its three pillars have been shaken. Or rather have been shaking for at least a decade, but few wanted to admit this and to take action.
The problem is that their current effort is mainly defined by the bureaucracy and by the need for centralized decision making. But the real needs of the EU economy will not be met.
It appears that if back then, CIA ordered them to insert their fingers into a paper shredder, they would gladly do that in accordance with this unconditional trust. Unfortunately, the consequences of such a behaviour may be far more serious than the Texas paper shredder massacre.
