Posted on 11/25/2004 3:22:45 PM PST by Cutterjohnmhb
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Wedged between troubled Ukraine and the West, Poland has plunged into the disputed Ukrainian presidential election in an attempt to mediate - a sign of anxiety over the prospect of instability and rising Russian influence so close to home.
President Aleksander Kwasniewski said Nov. 25 that he would head to Kyiv at the request of Ukraine's President, Leonid Kuchma, to help broker talks between the government and the opposition led by Viktor Yushchenko, who says he was robbed of victory by a Moscow-favored candidate in the Nov. 21 runoff vote.
"I have been asked by Kuchma as well as the opposition to come to Ukraine for discussions and as a mediator. I am ready and willing to do so," he said.
"I am going as the Polish president, but I hope with the backing of the European Union."
Kwasniewski was to leave Nov. 26 for Kyiv, the Polish news agency PAP reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at kyivpost.com ...
Poland is a great ally.
I have tremendous admiration for the Poles but am glad God put me on this earth in America, not Poland, for her proximity to wolves.
I pray the Polish president can be of great, and surprising, use in this mess.
Chernobyl is still a ticking time bomb. The lid for Reactor #4, the one that blew the night of April 26/26,k 1986 is standing on its edge next to the remains of the reactor vessel . It weighs 100 tons and awash in highly radioactive very fine dust.
The ad hoc containment sarcophagus they created around destroyed reactor is a joke. Our story showed video of birds routinely flying in and out of it... but not for long.
Security at the site is a worse joke. One guard at abandoned Pripyat City (the power station is really at Pripyat, about 12 km from Chernobyl City in Chernobyl Goblastk (County) was delighted to sell us his AK for $80 US green.
Anyone assaulting plant could set a relatively small conventional explosive charge, topple the lid, and send a cloud of highly radioactive dust (depending on the winds aloft) over Hungary, Germany, Austria, France... and Poland.
Poland has a very valid interest in a secure Ukraine.
Poland Rocks!
An honorable nation filled with BRAVE and humble people. They put up twice the fight against the Nazis then the French did..withless than 25% of French military capability.
They are good friends.
Ping!
Ping
Yuschenko has already called for protesters to surround Parliament and government buildings for a "forced strike" and has called for opposition leaders to form a Ukrainian Guard, which would protect itself by any means necessary. Hopefully Walesa and Kwaszniewski can bring a peaceful resolution to the matter.
Wasn't it the Poles that, in one battle, rode in on horses versus the Nazi tanks?
What bravery, I thought (brought tears to my eyes when I first read about that)
Why are there so many jokes made about them (the Poles) instead of the french, who are the more contemptable?
So the Nazis (and in the future, the Islamic jihadis) could march in the shade!
You are probably refering to the video of soldiers on horseback trying to stab tanks with lances.
That was a propaganda video, and it was complete B.S.
Horses were used then as living ATVs, being much faster than walking. The cavalry didn't try to poke tanks (they would have had to be very stupid do that). They were equipped with anti-tank rifles, like the Maroszczek, which could penetrate the thinner armor of the early panzers.
If you would like to read a great book about Poland and WWII, my first recommendation would be to get "A Question of Honor" by Lynne Olson, and Stanley Cloud.
Website: www.questionofhonor.com
If you don't have much time, but are still interested in this topic, a good website is www.polandinexile.com
Besides the 1939 campaign, I think the battles of Britain, Monte Cassino, Bologna, Ancona, and Studzianki would interest you, as well as the Warsaw Uprising.
Some more famous Polish units were:
Kosciuszko Squadron (RAF 303 Squadron), which were the top scoring unit in the Battle of Britain
II Polish Corps, which took, among other strongholds, Monte Cassino and Ancona. They never lost a battle.
Now, about Ukraine, I really hope this blows over and nobody starts fighting. There is nothing worse than countryman fighting countryman.
I hope Walesa has smartened up in the last decade.
He seemed great for a while, being against communism, but he pretty much sold off Poland for pennies to foreign companies to try to get rid of the debt that he added to after the communists were thrown out.
If you go to Poland today, you will find that anything Polish is rare! Nearly every large store is German or French. Even most food companies have been bought by foreign companies (ex. Cadbury Wedel). We have Walesa to "thank" for a lot of it. He isn't exactly the most intelligent man. He could barely write when he was president. He is one of those guys who wants something good, but just knows how to argue a lot.
I just hope he doesn't let us down this time, and helps Ukraine work out their problem.
May God be with us.
Man. I hope this gets resolved RIGHT. And soon. What a jam.
Amen to all that. I hope so too.
You got it!!!!
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