Poland

Poland To Move Thousands Of Troops To Border With Ukraine

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Related info:

– Sikorski U-turn: Polish ex-FM backtracks on scandalous ‘divide Ukraine’ claim:

Radoslaw Sikorski — the speaker of the Polish Parliament and that nation’s former foreign minister — was forced to apologize after claiming that he overheard Vladimir Putin in 2008 suggest that Ukraine should be divided between Russia and Poland.

A bombshell report published by Politico Magazine over the weekend called “Putin’s Coup” alleged that Sikorski heard that the Russian president told Donald Tusk, then the Polish prime minister, that Poland should “become participants in the divide of Ukraine” during a Polish delegation’s 2008 visit to Moscow.

“He wanted us to become participants in this partition of Ukraine… This was one of the first things that Putin said to my prime minister, Donald Tusk, when he visited Moscow,” Politico’s Ben Judah quoted Sikorski as saying following an interview that formed the basis of the Sunday article.

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Polands Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak

– Poland to move thousands of troops to border with Ukraine (RT, Oct 27, 2014):

Warsaw has decided to relocate troops from the west of the country towards its eastern border due to “the biggest security crisis since the Cold War.” It is a major realignment of the military structure, Poland’s defense minister told the AP.

“The geopolitical situation has changed, we have the biggest crisis of security since the Cold War and we must draw conclusions from that,” Poland’s Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told The Associated Press on Monday.

He explained that the number of troops stationed at three military bases in the east will triple in two years. Siemoniak added that the quantity of military hardware stationed at the bases will also be increased.

Read morePoland To Move Thousands Of Troops To Border With Ukraine

NOT The Onion: US Chopper Squadron Invades Poland, Accidentally

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– US Chopper Squadron Invades Poland, Accidentally (ZeroHedge, Sep 10, 2014):

No, this is not from The Onion. Bloomberg reports that six U.S. army helicopters landed in a rapeseed field in northern Poland to ask for directions after veering off course on their way back from military exercises. Locals were alarmed and explained, “we know that security is the most important thing right now… But thank God it was the Americans.” We wonder how long before Sikorski proclaims this an invasion and demands NATO react… 

20140910_gruta_0

As Bloomberg reports,

Five Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and one tandem-rotor Boeing Co. Chinook chopper touched down near the village of Gruta, 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Warsaw at about noon yesterday, according to local eyewitnesses. Some residents were at first spooked at the sight of the aircraft, Halina Kowalkowska, the village’s head, said by phone.

“We know that security is the most important thing right now,” Kowalkowska said. “But thank God it was the Americans.”

Read moreNOT The Onion: US Chopper Squadron Invades Poland, Accidentally

Poland Blocks Flight Of Russian Defense Minister’s Plane

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– Poland Blocks Flight Of Russian Defense Minister’s Plane (ZeroHedge, Aug 29, 2014):

The last time Poland ‘spoke’ it was to accuse Russia of invasion (and the time before that it was to accuse the government of giving the USA blow jobs), but this time actions speak louder than words:

  • *POLAND BLOCKS FLIGHT OF RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER’S PLANE: RIA

Defense Minister Soigu’s plane was forced to U-turn and land back in Bratislava.

As RIA reports,

Read morePoland Blocks Flight Of Russian Defense Minister’s Plane

Russia Busts European Sanctioned-Fruit Smuggling Ring

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– Russia Busts European Sanctioned-Fruit Smuggling Ring (ZeroHedge, Aug 22, 2014):

Just days after Russia banned the import of various foods from sanctions-supporting nations, VZ reports Russia’s food safety ministry Rosselhoznadzor has discovered fruit being smuggled in via Belarus that was restamped as being from Zimbabwe and various other non-sanctioned nations. It appears the smuggling nation culprits are Poland, Slovenia, and Greece and Russia is now “actively monitoring the situation,” suggesting they may extend import bans to Belarus also if the situation continues. In addition, Rosselhoznadzor intends in the future to move to a system of electronic certification of goods in transit.

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World Reserve Currencies: What Happened During Previous Periods Of Transition?

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Reserve Currency Status

– World Reserve Currencies: What Happened During Previous Periods Of Transition? (Economic Reason, Aug 11, 2014):

The decline of the US dollar hegemony is ever so clear today and this article aims to provide the reader with what exactly happened during past periods of reserve currency transitions. Historically, when a reserve currency transitioned over to a new one, it marked a pivotal change for the world. The economic paradigm shifted and the rules of the game changed. This time will be no different when the US dollar loses its status as the reserve currency!

The transition process of the world reserve currency brings much uncertainty

Read moreWorld Reserve Currencies: What Happened During Previous Periods Of Transition?

Russia Sanctions Blowback: Finland’s Largest Dairy Lays Off 800, Spain Seeks EU Aid, Poland Complains To WTO

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Putin-laughing

– Russia Sanctions Blowback: Finland’s Largest Dairy Lays Off 800, Spain Seeks EU Aid, Poland Complains To WTO (ZeroHedge, Aug 13, 2014):

Well that didn’t take long. Mere day after Russia announced its ban on Western nation food imports, European countries are scrambling (as we explained why here). Greece has already expressed dismay, but now Spanish officials will meet with EU leaders to discuss offsetting the country’s estimated up to $800 million in food and agriculture losses due to sanctions. Poland is pissed and has complained to the WTO claiming “Russia has broken international law in both its embargo;” and Finland’s largest dairy producer has announced 800 layoffs due to the sanctions. When does Europe tell Washington – enough!

Spain demands aid… (despite Rajoy’s support for anti-Russia sanctions)

Spanish Agriculture Minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina said the restrictions have prompted her ministry to convene a meeting with the European Commission in Brussels on Thursday.

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The Spanish government has estimated that agricultural losses will amount to €337 million, or about 1.8 percent of Spanish exports. Other groups, like Spain’s opposition Socialist Party, have estimated the losses to be higher- €581 million.

Read moreRussia Sanctions Blowback: Finland’s Largest Dairy Lays Off 800, Spain Seeks EU Aid, Poland Complains To WTO

Ron Paul: “End Torture, Shut Down The CIA!”

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Related info:

– JFK Wished He Could Splinter The CIA ‘Into A Thousand Pieces And Scatter It Into The Winds’ (Crooks And Liars, Jan 8, 2014)

Flashback:

– Former UK ambassador: CIA sent people to Uzbekistan for extreme torture, to be ‘raped with broken bottles,’ ‘boiled alive’ and ‘having their children tortured in front of them’

ronpaul-tst_184x65

– End Torture, Shut Down the CIA! (Ron Paul Insitute, July 27, 2014):

By Ron Paul

Remember back in April, 2007, when then-CIA director George Tenet appeared on 60 Minutes, angrily telling the program host, “we don’t torture people”? Remember a few months later, in October, President George W. Bush saying, “this government does not torture people”? We knew then it was not true because we had already seen the photos of Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib prison four years earlier.

Still the US administration denied that torture was torture, preferring to call it “enhanced interrogation” and claiming that it had disrupted so many terrorist plots. Of course, we later found out that the CIA had not only lied about the torture of large numbers of people after 9/11, but it had vastly exaggerated any valuable information that came from such practices.

However secret rendition of prisoners to other places was ongoing.

Read moreRon Paul: “End Torture, Shut Down The CIA!”

Leaked Tape Has Polish FM Comparing Ties With US To Giving Oral Sex

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US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.jpg

– Leaked tape has Polish FM comparing ties with US to giving oral sex (RT, June 23, 2014):

The Polish Foreign Minister believes his country’s alliance with the US is worth nothing and compared his government’s stance to giving oral sex and receiving nothing in return, a Polish magazine said, citing a leaked recording of a private conversation.

Excerpts from the alleged exchange between FM Radoslaw Sikorski and Jacek Rostowski, an MP and former finance minister, were published Sunday by Wprost, which promised a full transcript and audio files later on Monday or Tuesday. The same magazine triggered a political storm in Poland this month by releasing a recording of a conversation between the head of Poland’s central bank and the interior minister, implying a link between the two violating the bank’s independence.

Read moreLeaked Tape Has Polish FM Comparing Ties With US To Giving Oral Sex

In Explosive Scandal, Head Of Polish Central Bank Recorded Promising Assistance To Government If Minister Fired

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–  In Explosive Scandal, Head Of Polish Central Bank Recorded Promising Assistance To Government If Minister Fired (ZeroHedge, June 15, 2014):

Remember when conventional wisdom said central banks are apolitical and impartial, and anyone who claimed that the world’s money printers (which in the New Normal of failed fiscal policy means the only source of stimulus, and thus infinite political leverage and an existence “above the law”) are in fact the most political and partial entities was, what else, a conspiracy theorist? Well, there goes another conspiracy theory, replaced by conspiracy fact.

Yesterday, Polish magazine Wprost released a recording of a meeting between Interior Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz and central bank Governor Marek Belka which took place in a Warsaw restaurant in July 2013. In the recording, Belka told the minister he would be willing to help the government out of its economic troubles if the finance minister was fired.

Read moreIn Explosive Scandal, Head Of Polish Central Bank Recorded Promising Assistance To Government If Minister Fired

President Obama Announces $1BILLION Fund To Increase US Military Deployments To Europe

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obama-nobel-peace-prize

Flashback:

– Putin Laughs Right In Journalist’s Face (Video):

From the video:

“We are on track with our missile defense program.”

Watch the video here:

– European Reassurance Initiative: Obama announces $1bn fund (BBC News, June 3, 2014):

President Barack Obama has announced plans for a $1bn (£600m) fund to increase US military deployments to Europe, during a visit to Poland.

Mr Obama, who will meet Nato leaders amid concerns over the Ukraine crisis, said the security of America’s European allies was “sacrosanct”.

Read morePresident Obama Announces $1BILLION Fund To Increase US Military Deployments To Europe

U.S. To Send Troops To Poland, Estonia

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– Poland, Estonia exercises part of plan to increase presence in eastern Europe (Stripes, April 19, 2014):

STUTTGART, Germany— A small contingent of U.S. soldiers will deploy to Poland and Estonia for a series of upcoming ground exercises aimed at reassuring allies shaken by Russian intervention in neighboring Ukraine, according to a report.

The U.S. is planning to send a company sized Army element of roughly 150 troops to conduct drills with allies, spanning roughly two weeks respectively in both Poland and Estonia, The New York Times reported Friday.

Read moreU.S. To Send Troops To Poland, Estonia

Poland Is Quietly Mobilizing Its Army Reservists

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See also:

– Polish Tanks Mobilized To The Border Of Ukraine

– Poland Is Quietly Mobilizing Its Army Reservists (Zerohedge, March 24, 2014):

It seems the words of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warning that “the world stands on the brink of conflict, the consequences of which are not foreseen… Not everyone in Europe is aware of this situation,” are a little more real than some (US equity buyers) might suspect. As The Week’s Crispin Black reports, at least 7,000 Polish workers in Europe have received call-up papers as army reservists in the last few weeks. Polish authorities dismiss it as “routine” but the men note this has never happened before.

As The Week’s Crispin Black goes on to note,

At least 7,000 reservists have been recalled to the colours for immediate exercises lasting between 10 and 30 days.

Read morePoland Is Quietly Mobilizing Its Army Reservists

NATO Starts Air Drills Close To Ukraine’s Borders

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nato-war-games-poland-f-16
F-16 “Fighting Falcon” jets

– NATO starts air drills close to Ukraine’s borders (RT, March 11, 2014):

NATO has begun wargames in Poland as recently dispatched US jets are set to take part in the exercises. Poor weather has delayed naval maneuvers in the Black Sea, with the US saying both drills were planned before the outbreak of unrest in Ukraine.

The air drills began on Tuesday at the Lask Air Base in central Poland. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski was present as the exercises commenced, standing by as four Polish F-16s lifted off. A US Hercules transport plane landed with support staff, while at least 12 US F-16 fighter jets and 300 personnel are due to arrive by Thursday.

Read moreNATO Starts Air Drills Close To Ukraine’s Borders

US Deploys F-16 Fighter Jets In Poland and Lithuania Amid Ukrainian Turmoil

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F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon

– US deploys fighter jets in Poland and Lithuania amid Ukrainian turmoil (RT, March 10, 2014):

The US is sending a dozen F-16 fighter jets and nearly 300 service personnel to Poland by Thursday as part of a training exercise in response to the crisis in neighboring Ukraine, the Polish defense ministry confirmed.

The agreement to deploy US military forces in Poland was made between US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and Poland’s Minister of National Defense Tomasz Siemoniak during a telephone conversation on Sunday, March 9, 2014, according to a statement on the official website of the Polish Ministry of National Defense.

Read moreUS Deploys F-16 Fighter Jets In Poland and Lithuania Amid Ukrainian Turmoil

Polish Tanks Mobilized To The Border Of Ukraine

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– Polish tanks mobilized to the border of Ukraine (Intellihub, March 3, 2014):

POLAND – The conflict in Ukraine begins to expand as countries allied with the European Union are rattling sabers with Russia over control of the struggling country.  It was reported by multiple sources yesterday, that Poland is now involved with the conflict, as they began massing troops and tanks along their border with Ukraine.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday it was essential to prevent Russia’s seizure of Crimea expanding into a wider regional conflict.

Read morePolish Tanks Mobilized To The Border Of Ukraine

The Countdown To The Nationalization Of Retirement Savings Has Begun

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leviathan-to-eat-401k

– The Countdown to the Nationalization of Retirement Savings Has Begun (International Man – Casey Research, Feb 5, 2014):

Simply put, the new myRA program put forward by Obama is at best a sucker’s deal… or worse, it’s a first step toward the nationalization of private retirement savings. (Note: If you haven’t yet heard of myRA, I’d strongly suggest you read this excellent overview by my colleague Dan Steinhart.)

Even before the new myRA program was announced, there had been whispers about the need for the US government to assume some risk for US retirement accounts. That’s code for forced conversion of private retirement assets into government bonds.

Read moreThe Countdown To The Nationalization Of Retirement Savings Has Begun

Obama To Unveil Treasury IRA Plans, Or Planning For A Post-Monetization World

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20140128_ira_0

– Obama To Unveil Treasury IRA Plans, Or Planning For A Post-Monetization World (ZeroHedge, Jan 28, 2014):

Wondering who will take over the mantle of Treasury bond buyer now that the Fed is stepping away? Curious of the government’s next steps towards repression and control of wealth? Wait no longer. As the AP reports, President Obama will unveil a new retirement savings plan tonight that allows first-time savers to buy US Treasury bonds tax-deferred for retirement. Of course, this is not the mandatory IRA that remains somewhat inevitable (as the muddle-through fails) but is certainly a step in the direction we alerted readers to a year ago by which the government generously offers to help manage your retirement savings. Two words spring to mind… remember Poland.

Via AP,

Read moreObama To Unveil Treasury IRA Plans, Or Planning For A Post-Monetization World

Four Key Lessons From 2013

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– Four key lessons from 2013 (Sovereign Man, Jan 2, 2014):

1) Politicians believe there are no consequences for destroying our liberty…

Stimulus and response. That’s the easiest way of summing this up. When politicians steal, and there are no consequences, they’re going to keep stealing.

Cyprus proved this point handily. The government froze bank accounts for everyone in the country (of course, the big bosses got their money out in time). And yet, there was no violent revolution in the streets. People just accepted it.

Poland nationalized pensions. Argentina imposed severe capital controls. The French are taxing everything under the sun. The US government was caught red-handed spying on… everyone.

Read moreFour Key Lessons From 2013

They Are Coming … “IMF Proposes A 10% Supertax On All Eurozone Household Savings” … For Your Savings!

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“They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes, drums… drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow lurks in the dark. We can not get out… they are coming.”
– Gandalf (reading)

– They’re Coming For Your Savings (Dollar Collapse, Oct 12, 2013):

Another of history’s many lessons is that governments under pressure become thieves. And today’s governments are under a lot of pressure.

Before we look at the coming wave of asset confiscations, let’s stroll through some notable episodes of the past, just to make the point that government theft of private wealth is actually pretty common.

Read moreThey Are Coming … “IMF Proposes A 10% Supertax On All Eurozone Household Savings” … For Your Savings!

Cyprus-Style Wealth Confiscation Is Now Starting To Happen All Over The Globe

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– Cyprus-Style Wealth Confiscation Is Now Starting To Happen All Over The Globe (Economic Collapse, Sep 24, 2013):

Now that “bail-ins” have become accepted practice all over the planet, no bank account and no pension fund will ever be 100% safe again.  In fact, Cyprus-style wealth confiscation is already starting to happen all around the world.  As you will read about below, private pension funds were just raided by the government in Poland, and a “bail-in” is being organized for one of the largest banks in Italy.  Unfortunately, this is just the beginning.  The precedent that was set in Cyprus is being used as a template for establishing bail-in procedures in New Zealand, Canada and all over Europe.  It is only a matter of time before we see this exact same type of thing happen in the United States as well.  From now on, anyone that keeps a large amount of money in any single bank account or retirement fund is being incredibly foolish.

Let’s take a look at a few of the examples of how Cyprus-style wealth confiscation is now moving forward all over the globe:

Read moreCyprus-Style Wealth Confiscation Is Now Starting To Happen All Over The Globe

Poland Confiscates Half Of Private Pension Funds To Cut Sovereign Debt Load

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– Poland Confiscates Half Of Private Pension Funds To Cut Sovereign Debt Load (ZeroHedge Sep 6, 2013):

While the world was glued to the developments in the Mediterranean in the past week, Poland took a page straight out of Rahm Emanuel’s playbook and in order to not let a crisis go to waste, announced quietly that it would transfer to the state – i.e., confiscate – the bulk of assets owned by the country’s private pension funds (many of them owned by such foreign firms as PIMCO parent Allianz, AXA, Generali, ING and Aviva), without offering any compensation. In effect, the state just nationalized roughly half of the private sector pension fund assets, although it had a more politically correct name for it: pension overhaul.

By way of background, Poland has a hybrid pension system: as Reuters explains, mandatory contributions are made into both the state pension vehicle, known as ZUS, and the private funds, which are collectively known by the Polish acronym OFE. Bonds make up roughly half the private funds’ portfolios, with the rest company stocks.

And while a change to state-pension funds was long awaited – an overhaul if you will – nobody expected that this would entail a literal pillage of private sector assets.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said private funds within the state-guaranteed system would have their bond holdings transferred to a state pension vehicle, but keep their equity holdings. The funds would effectively be left with only the equities portions of their assets, even this would be depleted, and there will be uncertainty about the number of new savers joining.

Read morePoland Confiscates Half Of Private Pension Funds To Cut Sovereign Debt Load

It’s A ‘0.6%’ World: Who Owns What Of The $223 Trillion In Global Wealth

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Full article here:

– It’s A “0.6%” World: Who Owns What Of The $223 Trillion In Global Wealth (ZeroHedge, June 2, 2013):

Back in 2010 we started an annual series looking at the (re)distribution in the wealth of nations and social classes. What we found then (and what the media keeps rediscovering year after year to its great surprise) is that as a result of global central bank policy, the rich got richer, and the poor kept on getting poorer, even though as we predicted the global political powers would, at least superficially, seek to enforce policies that aimed to reverse this wealth redistribution from the poor to the rich (a doomed policy as the world’s legislative powers are largely in the lobby pocket of the world’s wealthiest who needless to say are less then willing to enact laws that reduce their wealth and leverage). Now that the topic of wealth distribution (or rather concentration) is once again in vogue, below we present the latest such update looking at a global portrait of household wealth. The bottom line: 29 million, or 0.6% of those with any actual assets under their name, own $87.4 trillion, or 39.3% of all global assets.

Here are the key highlights via Credit Suisse:

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Hyperinflation: The 10 Worst Cases

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– Hyperinflation – 10 Worst Cases (ToTheTick, May 22, 2013):

I have a neat little app on my smartphone that I like to look at when I’m feeling bored. It won’t change anything in my life, but it makes me think as I see the numbers clocking up, and then suddenly stopping for a few seconds. It’s the app that tells me the how much the National Debt of each country stands at in real-time. As I sit down at my computer screen the USA National Debt amounts to $17 041 241 xxx xxx. Forgive the x’s…they’re not kisses…I tried to get the last six digits, but, there’s no point, they’re moving too fast! Speedie Gonzalez has got into that app! It works out to $54 087 per person. That’s the same value as 3 408 248 816 XXX Big Mac Meals.

Inflation is hot property today, hyperinflation is even hotter! We think we are modern, contemporary, smart and ready to deal with anything. We’ve got that seen-it-all-before, been-there-done-it attitude. But, we are not a patch on what some countries have been through in the worst cases of hyperinflation in history. Here’s the top 10 list of worst cases in history. We’ll start with the worst first…let’s think positive!

Read moreHyperinflation: The 10 Worst Cases

Farmers Land Stolen For GM Food Production

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– Farmers Land Stolen for GM Food Production (Activist Post, Jan 22, 2013):

Barb’s note: Recently, a ban on GMOs in Poland has been applauded as a step in the right direction. However, a little bit of digging uncovers the real agenda. This is not a real ban, but a deceptive act that actually opens the gateway for GMO production in Poland where none previously existed. Please read the following expose by Sir Julian Rose, who is on the front lines fighting this takeover.


Sir Julian Rose

ICPPC

Greetings demonstrating farmers!

I am an English farmer and Polish patriot. I want you to know: your actions are being supported by a growing number of farmers in other Countries as the news of this Polish Resistance spreads around the World.

I am proud to be able to support your efforts to secure your land and prevent multinational corporations and government stealing it away from you and from future generations.

Once it’s lost we will never get it back.

It is a vital battle that you are fighting. Listen carefully: it is now becoming clear that the land which the Polish government is trying to secure for multinational corporations is for use as “designated GMO areas” to conform with European Union ‘free trade’ regulations.

The recently passed “Seeds Act”, to be effective as of January 28th, bans the planting of GM seeds but allows their trading (Maize Mon 810 and Amflora GM potato). The government has lied to the people of Poland about this, claiming that they are prohibiting GM seeds from being planted.

Read moreFarmers Land Stolen For GM Food Production

Poland Bans Cultivation Of GM Maize And Potatoes

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– Poland bans cultivation of GM maize, potatoes (France 24, Jan 2, 2013):

Poland on Wednesday imposed new bans on the cultivation of certain genetically modified strains of maize and potatoes, a day after an EU required green light for GM crops took effect.The centre-right government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk imposed farming bans on German BASF’s Amflora strain of potato and US firm Monsanto’s MON 810 maize or corn, according to a government statement Wednesday.

The ban on specific strains essentially uses a legal loophole to circumvent the EU’s acceptance of such products.

Global environmental watchdog Greenpeace hailed the move, which will take effect on January 28.

“The government has kept its promises,” Greenpeace Poland said in a statement.

Read morePoland Bans Cultivation Of GM Maize And Potatoes